Hey Hey! Chardonnay! WSET Class number 3 = Part 1

So I couldn't sleep a wink on Sunday night.

And I ended up feeling completely crappy on Monday morning.

Long story short, I took Monday and Tuesday off work because I was TERRIFIED that I would be too sick to go to my WSET class on Tuesday night. It isn't exactly a bargain course and I really do enjoy going to the course.

However, I was a little worried that, even if I did go, my nose or my taste buds would be compromised from what turned out to be a head cold.

I rested at home, drank litres and litres of water, slept a ton, and then, lo and behold, I felt OK on Tuesday night and headed out to Vancouver for my WSET class.

Everything set up for WSET class!

The main things covered in this lesson were the two wines that originally came from Burgundy, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and also how to read wine labels.

The wine labels are interesting because those incredible French people have a completely different way of doing their wine labels. Instead of telling what the varietal is, they tell where the wine was made- maybe the region, maybe the town, or maybe just the winery. It's up to you to figure out what kind of grape it is. Ah, the French!

The first half of class was basically spent talking about and tasting Chardonnay. Chardonnay is not a really aromatic grape (like Gerwürztraminer, for example) and can be grown in a pretty wide range of climates. It is a bit of a chameleon, however, as its taste changes depending on where it is grown.

It is also up to the winemaker to determine what the final style will be  - you can add oak, you can do additional fermenting (malolactic) to soften some of the acids, or you can leave it in the dead yeast cells to give it a creamy texture.

Chardonnay from Burgundy is usually left alone - no oak, no extra fermentation. Some of the famous places that they make Chardonnay in France are Chablis, Mersault, Poully-Fussé, and, the king of Chardonnays, Montrachet. I watched a video on YouTube on the weekend and, in part of the video, a winemaker from Mersault said, "The Australians make Chardonnay wine. Here, we use Chardonnay to make Mersault wine." Interesting perspective.

Chardonnay is also made in many other places around the world. It is made in California (Russian River and Carneros) where it is oaked and has peachy flavours. It's made all over South Eastern Australia where it has citrus, melon and oak flavours. It's made in pretty much every other wine producing region because it is so darned popular!

The first pair of wines we tried were both from the Burgundy region. The first wine was a clear, pale, lemon wine with medium intensity on the nose and smelled of apple, pear, and citrus. There was also a minerality to the wine as well as vanilla and oak. On the palate there was peach and nectarine as well with high acidity and medium body. Our group thought it had a medium plus finish and rated it as Very Good. However, we were informed by Dave, our instructor, that it was a medium minus finish and was closer to Acceptable or Good. It was a 2015 Louis Latour Bourgogne (so the lowest level of Burgundy wines) and cost $22.

The second of the two wines was also clear, pale and lemon. Our group found it to be medium intensity on the nose, with citrus, grapefruit, pear and grassy aromas. On the palate, we felt it was light body, oaky, with a medium finish. We were apparently wildly off the mark! We felt it was Acceptable. Dave said that it was actually a very complex wine with a medium plus finish and he noted other flavours that we didn't taste. It was a 2013 Domaine Latour-Giraud Mersault that could be had for $86! At least I wasn't the only one in my group to think that this wine wasn't quite stellar.

The next tasting pair was a bit better for our group.

The first was a nice wine that was clear, medium intensity, lemon colour. It had medium intensity on the nose and had a number of aromas including apple, peach, pear, vanilla, and tropical fruit. On the palate it had medium plus acidity, medium body, and additional tastes such as citrus, apricot and cedar. It had a medium finish and was a New Zealand Chardonnay - a Kumeu Village 2015  - and was rated Good plus for $33. Our group definitely liked this one.

The final Chardonnay of the evening tasted like a cross between syrup and pop - it was sickly sweet. Although clear, medium and lemon in colour, on the nose there were just some floral, peach and apricot aromas. However, on the palate, I first tasted sweetness. Then oak (vanilla, toast, caramel), and then some peach. It had medium body, medium minus acidity, and a super short finish. It was OK for slurping back but was not a great choice. It was, in fact, a Yellow Tail from South East Australia (home to Australian bulk wine) and put you back a stunning $11.

I remember when we had exchange teachers from Australia here in Maple Ridge. They laughed that Yellow Tail was so popular here as they said that nobody except teenagers drank it in Australia. Made me think of those Calona White days of my youth.....

Next blog, Pinot Noir!