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Red wines from our tasting nigh

I'm actually a bit behind in my WSET blog but I had such an enjoyable time this week, I thought I'd blog about a recent evening.

I was invited to a wine tasting evening with some of the people from my WSET class. Here's what comes to mind:

As the big test date looms nearer (less than two weeks), I have become more and more focussed on memorizing facts, practising questions, making charts and maps, and recording myself talking about important information and then playing it back.

Thursday night was a big break from that - and a reality check. Wine is not just about learning and memorizing information - it is about the social aspects of getting together with people, having a few drinks, talking, laughing and enjoying each others' company. Yes, we tasted and talked about the wines and commiserated about our mutual trepidations of the upcoming test but we also talked about each others' work and lives and history - the wine was a part of the evening but it was not the only part of the evening.

To paraphrase one member of the wine group, at the end of the day, we have learned so much about wine, have been exposed to so many wines, have a much improved palette and nose, and have made friends with a bunch of new people.  I want to do well on the test, but I've already had a rewarding experience, regardless of the result.

A great group of wine-experts-in-training.

There were four others in the group; Sarah, who sits beside me during my WSET class and is originally from London, Greg and Marilyn, also in my class, who are part of the family that owns Deep Roots Winery in Naramata, and Andrew, a very knowledgable wine-o-phile who was able to procure our wines for the evening. I really enjoyed spending the evening with these people and also enjoyed sipping and discussing the wines.

The first wine was a bit of a treat. It was a 1994 (yes, I said, 1994!) Moulin Touchais Coteaux du Layon Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley ($57 on Vivino). This was a highly acidic, intensely sweet wine with tastes of honey, candied apricot, orange zest, almonds, and some earthiness like mushrooms, probably from botrytis. This Chenin also had the distinctive aroma of lanolin or wet wool. It was an amazing wine to start with but, because I was driving, I ended up dumping some of it in my spit cup (ugh!). Definitely an Outstanding wine. I really have grown to enjoy sweeter wines like this because they are balanced with the strong acidity - as opposed to stick sweet wines I had when I was younger like Baby Duck or Calona White.

The first wine was a bit of a teaser and we just enjoyed it without doing a serious tasting. Our second wine was the first real taste. I sort of sat back and watched what others did during the first two tastings but spoke up more after that. I actually guessed (in my head, of course) that this wine was a Torrontes but never said anything - so much for showing off. This was a 2015 El Porvenir Laroum Torrontes from Cafayate which is in the Salta region of Chile ($30). This had aromas and tastes of citrus fruits like grapefruit and lemon as well as peach and apple. It also had non-fruit aromas of fresh grass and honeysuckle. This youthful wine was medium in intensity, acid, alcohol, body and length and was rated as a Good wine which was ready to drink but not suitable for ageing. And, to be fair, Andrew did help us narrow down the wine varietal before I made my amazing guess (that I kept to myself).

Next was another wine that I guessed correctly after Andrew's coaching, again, in my head (what a chicken!).  This was a 2017 Granbazan Albarino Etiqueta Ambar from Rias Baixas, Spain ($40). I really got pineapple on this wine as well as stone fruits like peach and apricot. Unfortunately, I got a bit of vanilla on this which means I was fooled as this wine did not have any oak on it. When I taste a white wine, I am always trying to taste if there is vanilla or toast on it which is a product of oak ageing - and I seem to find it far too often! There was a floral aroma as well of orange blossom that some of the other tasters got but that I missed. I struggle with floral aromas and I probably should find some of these flowers in the next 10 days before my test! This light bodied wine had medium plus acidity, medium plus intensity, medium alcohol and a medium plus finish. Seafood would be a wonderful accompaniment to this wine and, although it is not suitable for ageing, it is ready to drink and is Very Good.

Every now and then, there is a wine that is so recognizable that I can place it immediately. The bubble gum, banana, and red liquorice aromas are unmistakably a Beaujolais Nouveau - in this case a fresh 2018 Louis Max ($20). This is a low tannin, medium minus body wine that's not strong in intensity and does not have a long finish but it is FUN to drink! I really like this style of wine, even though it is not exactly loved by some wine experts. It is easy to slurp back and is friendly enough to go with food that is really casual. Andrew completed his WSET test earlier this week and a Beaujolais Nouveau was the red wine for the blind tasting. I would be so happy if that were the case for our test! This wine is definitely ready to drink and should not be aged. It was a Good wine.

The next wine was a tasty one - a 2015 Klinker Brick Old Vines Zinfandel from Lodi, California ($40). I actually guessed this one too, but, wonder of wonders, I actually said something!  This had aromas of black currant, blackberry, blueberry, pepper, tobacco, cedar and jam. I thought there were some tertiary aromas of mushroom but that didn't seem to be the consensus of the group. I looked on Vivino later and some people did think there was some tertiary aromas like leather so I really am not sure if this was developing or not. This full bodied, high alcohol wine had a medium plus intensity of flavours and a medium plus finish and deserved a Very Good rating. Could you age it? I thought you could but who knows?

The last 'official' tasting wine was a 2014 Chateau de Jau Jaujau Cote de Roussillon red wine blend from the Languedoc Roussillon region of France ($48). We didn't know this was a blend which showed up in our differing notes. Some of us tasted black fruits and some red fruits and some both. On the nose, I found red plum, blueberry, and blackberry as well as black currant leaf, and cedar. This wine had medium plus body, a medium plus finish, and a medium intensity of flavours. A Very Good wine, it was a blend of Syrah, Grenach and Mourvedre. It was suitable for ageing - but was a bit pricey.

Greg and Marilyn brought a wonderful wine for our final, informal tasting. It was a 2014 Deep Roots Naramata Syrah (I think Greg said it was around $40 when released but there's none left now!).  I was asked, earlier in the evening, what my favourite wine was - I really do like Bordeaux so I went with that initially - but, having this wine, I was reminded that Syrah is another one of my favourite wines - especially Syrah done right - which this was. There were aromas and tastes of blackberry, blueberry, and black plum as well as smoke, tobacco, and a bit of leather. There was also some pepper on the nose. This wine was lovely - full bodied, strong intensity of flavours, and a wonderful long finish. I would rate this Syrah as Outsanding and could probably age for a few more years.

As we sat around and chatted and sipped from the remnants of wine, I reflected on how enjoyable an evening I had. We made some progress on our tasting and we discussed some of the more frightening aspects of our looming test but, by far, the most important thing was a group of people coming together over a common interest and having a great time doing it.

Cheers!