Though a serious mix of professionals from the wine and restaurant industry, ol' Dirty sneaks in with a press pass.
The goal is simple- Sharpen your skills. Some are doing it for study, for work, and others just for the challenge.
Whether you are an occasional consumer or a serious collector, blind tasting exercises are a great way to develop your skills, knowledge, and most importantly to learn to appreciate what lies behind the label.
In this round, we had eight Wines- 4 whites, 4 reds, all bagged and numbered.
As we worked through wines, what stood out to a lot of tasters- the Spoof Juice. The lab made, concentrated, heavily extracted, crazy oaked, high alcohol wines that were built purely for murder! The wines came across as offensive to the senses-- power, but no redeeming character... They stopped everyone in their tracks and elicited statements of WTF is that?!?!?!?!
Whites:
1. 2007 Burgans Albariño
(Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas) Albariño variety
I thought it was CA Chard. It seemed rich, heavy (someone mentioned residual sugar). I should have gone back to this one, because it settled down, and showed some nice tree fruits.
2. 2007 Domaine Menard-Gaborit Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine sur lie Cuveé Prestige
(France Loire Valley, Pays Nantais, Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine) Melon de Bourgogne variety
Crazy perfume- floral, medium- bodied, crisp acidity. Much more expressive than a typical Muscadet. I happily nailed this one- It helps that I brought it.
3. 2002 Domaine Guy Amiot et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Baudines
(France, Burgundy, Côte d Beaune Chassagne-Montrachet 1er CruPouilly-Fuissé) Chardonnay variety
Character. Just a touch of smoke, distant lemon, and rock. I pegged it as White Burg, but Puligny-Montrachet instead of the Chassagne...
4. 2006 Catherine et Pascal Rollet Pouilly-Fuissé Dom. de la Chapelle
(France, Burgundy Mâconnais, Pouilly-Fuissé) Chardonnay variety
Ripe, far more tropical on the nose than most other PF's I've had before. Lean PF structure- I brought it and that helped a lot to nail it.
Reds:
1. 2002 Boekenhoutskloof Syrah
(South Africa, Coasta Region, Paarl, Franschhoek Valley) Syrah variety
1st glimpse- Med. red w/ orange rim. Looks like old Châteauneuf du Pape. Nose of Syrah (meaty, dark berry) vs Grenache- Thoughts of Côte Rôtie for a moment, but too heavy on the palate for the color. I guessed 1999 Central Coast Syrah. (I'll take the grape!)
2. 2003 J. Lohr Cabernet Sauvignon Hilltop Vineyard
(USA, CA, Central Coast, Paso Robles) Cabernet Sauvignon variety
Weird, stewy, almost animal (but not bretty)- rich and heavy on the palate-- I guessed some freaker Mourvedre or spoofy Priorat. Shocker to see this as Cab Sav--- no clue how this can be...
3. 2003 Marchesi di Barolo Barolo Cannubi
(Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo) Nebbiolo variety
Semi-floral, cherry nose that make me write Italy on my pad. First thoughts are Nebbiolo or Dolcetto d'alba-- but then the palate.... MONSTER Tannins... ridiculously huge- Defying all laws of the universe... My thoughts of ITA go ou the door, and I just scribbled "weird-a**, Spanish sh**!
4. 1999 Château Léoville Poyferré
(France, Bordeaux, Médoc, St. Julien) Bordeaux Blend
Menthol, blackcurrant, a little pencil lead- but still some pure fruit. Napa Cab hits my page in 2 seconds. Color looks like around 1999.... Close. This was a very pretty wine. The fruit on it made me think older CA, but easily Wine of the Night! (Thanks Michael!!!!)
Huge thanks to Matt Olson from the finalanalysis blog and Cayce for hosting us, and feeding us once again!
And a final note from Matt---







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