Our first Blind Tasting.... was it good or bad?!

So it finally happened, we received our wine sample from Russell, and this time, for the first time, it was a blind tasting.... we all screamed!  Nooooo.... we're good but we're not that good!

And he proved us correct, that is, we're good, but not that good!!  It always helps when you see the label and you know what grape variety it is, which country it comes from and any other detail you can find when you search the wine online for tasting notes and background information.  And that all adds to our opinion of the wine in what we're tasting, smelling, and our conclusion of it.  In other words, we all have a slightly biased or preconceived opinion before we've actually tasted the wine for ourselves.  Its true.

So its a great exercise to taste the wine blind.  Now, that doesn't mean that you blindfold yourself and scrabble around the table trying to find the glass you've just poured your wine into before said blindfolding! (although I have to admit that actually sounds like fun, maybe more of a party piece than a serious wine tasting though!, and high risk of wine being spilt before you've actually managed to taste it!, although I'm sure there are a few folks out there who have actually tried this... and perhaps succeeded, good on you!)

I now have the tricky task of documenting the blind tasting notes, so, here we go......

This one's from myself (Susan, Commercial Executive) - after 20 years in the wine trade, I really should have had a better result than this....!!

On first taste, I thought this one was a bit of an oddball.  Had to smell and taste it a few times to decipher what I was actually smelling and tasting. 

The wine is light, with aromas of raspberries and vanilla on the nose.  On the taste, its light bodied, dry, subtle hint of vanilla leading into sour (but pleasant) cherries on the aftertaste. 

Nice easy drinking style and very enjoyable. 

What is it?  My stab at this one is, it has the weight of a Pinot Noir but not the jammy fruit of a hot climate.  It is  young. 

Where?  Bourgogne Pinot Noir

From Keron, our Retail Manager.  Keron comes from a Trade background in spirits, mainly Malt Whisky and has a great knowledge and palate for Malt Whisky, and she's currently studying for her WSET Intermediate qualification on wine.

Great idea by the way. For the first time I am able to put my novice wine tasting skills to practice. So totally unaided here goes.

Nose and appearance – ruby in colour, light fruity aromas akin to red berry fruit, no obvious oakyness and colour indicates a young wine.

Taste – medium tannins, low acidity, light bodied and quick dry finish. I’m thinking red cherries/red currants slight hint of cranberries.

Conclusion – very good. Drinkable on a summer’s day or with food.

What is it? - I’m thinking Pinot Noir or Gamay

Where? – a bit fuzzy here but I’m going to go with Burgundy, US or Chile – if you were to push me – Burgundy/Beaujolais

Food accompaniment – Bolognese, chilli con carne, crispy duck pancake rolls with hoisin

Price - £14.00

From Jon, our newest recruit, and who is a member of our Orders Team, a great excuse for having to "know" all about wine... Jon is new to the wine trade (although not wine drinking!) and is having a bit of fun getting to know some of the wines we have here in our warehouse.

So I tried the wine last night and my first observation was that a significantly larger sample size was required! (good comment Jon, we all totally agree... Russell take heed!)

I’m not very good at this but – it smelled to me like cherries/blackberries. There was an earthy/smoky kind of taste to it and a bit of a dry bite that made me want to smack my lips (not literally, that would hurt!)

What is it?  I think it is a Shiraz Cabernet mainly because it reminded me of one’s I've had in the past.

Thought this was very good.

Good stab Jon, you got the fruit bang on, and the smokiness from the oak ageing.... or at least, the same opinion as myself and Keron ... and that's not to say we're right at this stage!


From Clive, our Systems Guru, and it looks like he's going to go to the top of the class....

Deep Red in colour with a small hint of brown on the rim, coats the glass well.

On the nose, blackcurrant and damson with a hint of vanilla. Nose not very pronounced - have to work quite hard to get the aromas.

Quite a big mouth feel, but unable to pick up the fruit flavours that I smelt on the nose. Strong savoury taste with quite pronounced tannins.

Not really sure about this wine, and Russell I think it was a particularly tough one to choose for a first blind tasting. I'm going to guess at a Bordeaux blend, but maybe one that's not quite ready for drinking yet, or needs a lot longer than I gave it to breath.

With that caveat I'd suggest not really a wine for drinking on its own, but would may be go well with strongly flavoured or spicy red meat dishes, might work particularly well with char-grilled steak.

So, the moment of truth, here is Russell's, our General Manager, critique on our critique....

Not bad generally. Off the mark with the identity but really that has little to do with anything! 

Red fruits - Not a million miles off their notes, they start going into the darker fruits though which would be there but I would agree that overall there was something a little brighter about this wine. Body nope apparently it is full (I would disagree and bung it in the middle).

There is oak in it but only 10% new oak and then 70% old oak and 20% Steel so you would not expect massive oak flavours to be coming through. Young? Not sure on that front, it is an odd one. It is starting to get into it's developed/developing phase with 4 years age on it, but I found it was still very fresh fruit forward just the tannins were starting to mellow out rather than any obvious ageing signs. At this age I would expect more of the Vanilla, cedar and oak to be coming through and then after the red fruits to be going more baked and less fresh.

Probably the big off put is that it is an Haut Medoc but with a Merlot dominance and really very little traditional Bordeaux about it. If you told me it was a Bordeaux I would pin it as a modern Cotes de Bourg or something like that (certainly nothing to do with Rothschild). Merlot dominated Bordeaux always tends toward the fruitier style, but at this age I was expecting more astringency.

Price? Right ball park

Summary:

Grape Variety:  Never in a million years did we think it was a Merlot (apart from Clive!)

Body:  Seemingly it's full bodied, we all said light to medium (apart from Clive!)

Country:  On the whole, we got it right - France

Region:  We went for Burgundy, but it's a Bordeaux (Clive again, got it right)

Fruit:  In the main, we all got this right with the red fruits.

Oak:  Yep, we got this right.

The Actual Wine itself:

Chateau Peyre-Lebade Cabernet-Merlot France 2010 - 70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon

from the Haut Medoc area of Bordeaux, France.

Til the next one, we can't wait....great way to taste wine, build the senses and have a bit of fun with the guessing game.

Steenberg Merlot 2010

I'm approaching the stage in my personal wine education where I'm going to start blind tasting. I think I can say with complete confidence that I would have got this wine 100% wrong in a blind tasting. I don't know what Steenberg's secret is, but they've managed to make the gentle and unassuming Merlot grape produce a more Cabernet Sauvignon / Shiraz like wine - big full bodied and absolutely delicious.

The wine is dark red with just a hint of a tawny rim and it coats the glass nicely hinting at a high alcohol content (14%). The nose brings an initial waft of savouriness followed quickly by deep and juicy red fruits with just a subtle hint of vanilla.

I couldn't wait to taste the wine and it lived up to its promise with a lovely mouth filling flavour a perfect melange of the savouriness and the fruits that I picked up on the nose, a nice almost chewy complexity and just the tiniest hit of tannins on the finish. Due to a miscalculation on Russell's part I got a full 75cl bottle to taste, but this wine was so good that the entire bottle only lasted a little longer than the "one gulp" 12.5cl samples we normally get to taste.  A new personal favourite.

Clive Holroyd
Database Manager

"At last a white wine that needs some air"

Mission Estate Reserve Chardonnay - I have, of late gotten into quite a comfortable place with modern Chardonnay regarding them all as really quite similar unoaked whites that could quite easily be mistaken for many other whites that we all know and don't loathe owing to not having a recent past obsession with heavy oaking.  So I have to say I opened up the Mission Estate Reserve Chardonnay expecting more of that same familiarity.  I, had not in fact, noticed that this was the Reserve wine which undergoes barrel fermentation and so I got a whopping surprise when hints of barrel (notice I am being careful not to say oak here!), jumped out of the glass and onto both my palate and into my aroma sensors. 

First impression straight out of the bottle ???????  It made me really sad this was the first Chardonnay I have had recently that was not an instant appeal.  So I tried it again and no magic had yet happened.  So I sat down and popped the glass on the table and instead enjoyed a little catch up TV leaving the glass alone for a good 20 minutes not to purposefully aerate it but in fact it was just not what I had in my head so my brain was just readjusting what it was hoping for with what it was getting.  Part way through an episode of my favourite show Gold Rush (sad I know but I just love it), the adverts were fast forwarding so I picked up the glass by habit had a quick sniff, a sip and a wine snobs gargle.  It took a moment to register but the first reaction now was just wow, what a wine.  The hints of toasty vanilla were still there but much more mellow and subdued, they had faded to the background and integrated into the wine as a whole.  That left the tropical fruits to come out and shine and boy did they, bags and bags of banana, mango, passion fruits and too many more flavours to name them all just raced around the mouth.  By this point the wine was not fridge temperature so no doubt this also helped the fruit flavours to develop.  After that glass I wanted to make sure so I poured another glass with the same result of the wine balancing out and integrating itself perfectly over the space of 10 or 20 minutes.

So there you have it, and it is a lesson I should really know by now.  If at first sip a wine does not seem right then give it a chance.  There have been many times, more commonly with a red I will admit, that first sample was really off-putting and it had been written off.  Stubbornness had then brought me back to the glass only to find a completely different wine.  Now I would not say that you need to go out and invest in a wine aerator or decanter specifically for white wine.  It is much less common and so the justification is not there, instead I wanted to suggest a few easier and cheaper options.  Firstly use your biggest glass, not a normal small white wine glass.  You do get some wider bowled wine glasses often called Chardonnay/Montrachet glasses, these are as the name suggests for more oaky styles of Chardonnay that require a little air.  Play with the wine, swirl it in your glass and take your time.  Have you ever had a mint tea in Morocco??  If so you will have seen them pouring the tea from the pot at full arm stretch into the cup, this works well with wines that need a little air but it does take a bit of patience and probably a cloth at the ready!  If none of these work or require too much restraint, then just pour yourself a glass for now and a glass for later straight away.  By the time you finish glass one then glass 2 will be ready and waiting at its’ best!

Russell Wallace

General Manager

3 Recommendations from Russell

With Mothers day upon us I thought I would treat my mum to a little bit of a wine tasting with dinner on Sunday. She is vegetarian so we had a nice baked gratin barley dish with some lovely creamy mushrooms and some baked spud, squash and spicy beetroot. I thought it would be nice to open up a few totally different types of wines, see what went well with the food (loads of different flavours and textures going on there) and what generally was enjoyed without prior knowledge of what was what.

So we had the Doolhof 2009 Chardonnay, the Mission Estate Riesling and the Mercedes Eguren Sauvignon Blanc.

First up the Chardonnay, this is always my favourite: presenting unoaked Chardonnay to virtually anyone is always a guaranteed success in terms of it being both enjoyed and surprisingly so. The fruits tended towards the exotic and were alive and still quite full. I would imagine a younger version will be even more intense, but for this purpose the softer fruits and the mild acidity alongside some more robust alcohol and body did well for the creamy angle of dinner. (The current vintage of this Chardonnay is 2011).

Next up was the Riesling. Now I can see this wine really taking off if we could all (and I include myself in this) remove the negative musty, old, German connotations that we have surrounding this grape. It is a superb, often dry, flavour packing love machine of a grape and does extremely well out in New Zealand. There are Citrus and peach flavours here in abundance but it is that extra aromatic loveliness that just makes this a stand out. Now, many people refer to Riesling as having a characteristic "petrol" flavour, yes I know what you are thinking, something like "well stuff that I don’t fancy drinking my car!" In reality, in modern Rieslings, especially quality examples from the new world, this character is quite mild I promise. If you concentrate you can sometimes detect the faintest hint of it. More important in this wine is the relatively warm Hawkes Bay climate this wine comes from. For Riesling this is a master stroke as it keeps the acidity in check and the alcohol somehow still stays nice and modest at 11.5%. Can you tell this was my wine of the night, and in fact a god send for the spice within the black pepper lacing much of the dish and the spicy beetroot?

Last up was a Sauvignon Blanc, I sort of picked this one to be a bit mean if I am honest! It is a Castilla Sauvignon and it has had a year or so in the bottle so some of its’ intensity has mellowed out and there is nothing Marlborough-esque left here. In fact the reaction when guessing was "well it is not a Sauvignon Blanc" (at this point I restrained my balls of laughter at the statement coming from some of the world’s most experienced Sauvignon fans). What we have left with this Sauvignon is a delightfully soft and mellow white. An excellent sunshine, lunchtime and enjoy it on its’ own kind of white. If you know and enjoy a typical and modern White Rioja, then this is for you. White Rioja, in the modern unoaked and as delicate as a game of Jenga that has been going for half an hour, is what the Spanish love with lunch or a party evening "on the tiles." Uncomplicated and soft but full of quality and absolutely pleasant. So perfect as a third and final wine that we all enjoyed after eating.


Russell Wallace, General Manager

3 New Recommendations

SAWL0009B11X  Doolhof Wine Estate Signatures Unwooded Chardonnay 2011

I was fortunate enough to taste the 2009 vintage of this wine at the weekend but was feeling slightly daunted by opening the bottle as I imagined it might be a bit stewed with it being a slightly older vintage!  No way.... this was lovely and really enjoyed it.  Good acidity and the fruit was still vibrant and tasting well.   Typical green apples showing through with a tropical edge.  Not too dry making this an easy drinking white.  I’m looking forward to tasting the 2011 now as I’m sure it won’t disappoint.  If you’ve gone ABC (Anything But Chardonnay), this one will change your opinion, promise!

  

SASW0016B13X  Delaire Graff Chenin Blanc 2013

I love Chenin Blanc, one of my favourite varieties when I’m choosing wine from the new world, crisp, clean and citrusy, and there are a few in our portfolio which I’d class as my favourites.  Tasting this one was a bit of treat as its from one of our newer producers in our portfolio which I’m not so familiar with.  So, it was opened with gusto on Saturday night (although, I have to point out that any wine opened in my house on a Saturday night ... or I guess any night of the week..... is opened with gusto!!).  This Chenin Blanc is quite different from my usual quaffing Chenin, in that it is more upmarket, although I would point out its not massively upmarket in price.  It has all the attributes of a typical Chenin:  good acidity, citrusy, but added to that are honeyed tones which add weight to this normally fairly light style of grape variety.  A great wine for accompanying food and a great contender to fight off these big Australian Chardonnay’s.  Highly recommended to try if you prefer a white with a bit of muscle.

FRSO0510B12X  Chateau Maris Minervois Organic 2012

It’s ages since I’ve tasted Minervois, one of the old style wines, possibly slightly forgotten with the huge platform of wine we are now privy to in the UK.  The South of France is one of those areas which has a bit of everything when it comes to grape varieties and keeping track of them is no mean feat.  I made it one of my missions when I was studying wine to hone in on the South of France and try to decipher every single grape variety they grew there – I think I might have shelved that project and moved onto something slightly less time consuming!, but at the same time, I’ve kept my enthusiasm going for this area as there are some really great wines that, if you are a wine lover, don’t steer away from them, get stuck in and try them!

 This Minervois is really smooth with dark jammy fruit, surprisingly velvety and definitely elegant.  It has a little edge of spiciness on the finish and is perfect for drinking on its own as well as with food.  I was really impressed with this one, quite often Minervois, from past experience, can be middle of the road, lacking in character but this was superb in quality, taste and finish.  I’ll definitely be ordering this one again and its a snip at the price for this standard.

Susan Ross, Sales & Marketing

Aussie Wines that taste as good as they look!

I'm not sure if i'm alone here but I find that when it comes to the wines of our Aussie cousins I need to tread a little carefully.  I know that some of the best wines in the world that originate here, but for the more affordable wines I just find that there is often a couple of issues.  Foremost amongst which is wines that look great or sound totally wacky with comedy names.  I'll be honest I like this about the Aussies, being able to instantly pick out a well-designed bottle on the shelf and perhaps even then have a quiet chuckle when I read the name appeals to the silly side of me.  The problem is just when the actual wine does not live up to the hype the disappointment is even greater, so really they have to over deliver.  When re-discovering some of our newest Australian additions I happened across a whole sphere of fabulous wines at a good price that offer something strangely refined in a country where it seems that muscle and intensity is everything, when it comes to Shiraz at least!

Vinaceous Divine Light Sauvignon Blanc 2013.

Standing at 12.5% ABV and coming out of the Margaret River, where I have actually just visited, I was pleased to find a Sauvignon from here that did not insist upon blending with Semillon!  A healthy natural acidity within the grapes coupled with minimal skin contact during fermentation makes for a really delicate and fresh style of Sauvignon.  The nose is quite mild but the flavours of pineapple and mango just build and build where the citrus freshness comes through.  It is the sourcing of fruits from different sub-regions of Margaret River that offer different qualities to the wine and offer the end complexity.  We agree with James Haliday who gave this 94/100 points
£13.24 per bottle or £153.22 per case of 12

Riposte Stiletto Pinot Gris 2013.

With a little further Alcohol at 13% the small amount of residual sugar within the wine serves to enhance the natural flavours and balance the wine overall.  This Adelaide Hills Pinot Gris sees a very small amount of time in French Oak combined with Malolactic fermentation all give this wine a very smooth creamy texture that compliments and enhances the tropical & stone fruit smoothie flavours.  It comes as no surprise that wine maker Tim Knappstein is something of a pioneer and hugely regarded figure in Australia who has won a string of awards for all his wines including this Pinot Gris.  I have to say this style has really won me over to the case of Pinot Gris.
£15.11 per bottle or £174.92 per case of 12

 Rob Dolan True Colours Chardonnay 2012.

ABC (Anything But Chardonnay)?  Let us change your mind please!  Normally that means breaking out the unoaked Chardonnay, well Rob Dolan has created possibly the best introduction to Chardonnay and in particular Chardonnay with delicate integrated oak.  For those of you still reading, I am not a massive fan of heavily oaked wines, but the key words here are delicate and integrated, the oak just feels like it belongs alongside the warming tropical fruits and balanced acidity.  Rob Dolan, Yarra Valley in Victoria and voted newcomer of the year, this ex Aussie rules star has a surprising ability to show off some finesse!
£167.27 per case of 12

Route du Van Dolcetto-Shiraz 2012

79% Dolcetto and just 21% Shiraz but does the Shiraz make the Dolcetto or does the Dolcetto make the Shiraz?  Frankly with a wine this good I just don't care about those kind of technicalities, I just want to savour it and enjoy it.  This was most probably everyone's highlight of the night.  Whilst the combination is unusual it makes total sense when you try it, the softer, earthy characters of the Dolcetto are magnified by a spicy shiraz incorporating parma violet and rich plum jam.  Unoaked, just like the Italians, this is a scarily drinkable wine with silky fine grained tannin.  Honestly if you aren't sold by now then there's no hope!
£11.68 per bottle or £135.10 per case of 12

 Riposte Cutlass Shiraz 2012

Another almighty showing by Tim Knappstein in the Adelaide Hills.  At 14% ABV you might be expecting the usual monster Shiraz, alas if that is what you love, The Riposte Cutlass Shiraz has just a little more refinement to it, in part owing to the position up in the Adelaide Hills.  If, however, you are left needing to instantly brush your teeth and have a long lie down after the average Aussie Shiraz then this small batch (genuinely) hand crafted option will be just the ticket for you.  There is plenty of body and flavours of menthol and white pepper but it is just sublimely smooth and balanced.  "It's Shiraz Tim, but not as we know it!"
£17.40 per bottle or £201.46 per case of 12

 Vinaceous Raconteur Cabernet Sauvignon 2012

For the final wine of the evening we head back to Margaret River and for one of the regions specialities, Cabernet Sauvignon.  I am stuffed if I know why but Cabernet from most parts of the world just fail to excite me, neither wonderful or awful, Australia is one of the few places I see real potential in the varietal as a standalone grape.  Vinaceos do it exceptionally well, 100% Willyabrup old vine fruit, the nose just leaps out at you with lemongrass and all sorts of sweet spices alongside fresh fruits and herbal notes.  What's nice to see here is a decent amount of acidity keeping the whole wine refreshing and balance the 14% ABV.
£14.21 per bottle or £164.54 per case of 12

There you have it a line-up of 6 totally different wine styles, offering something from the more refined side of Australia, oh and have you noticed?  Not a mention of the Barossa once!