Mini Wine Tasting - Four wines under $30 from around the world

Wine and Plein Air DO mix!

Ah, my WSET course is a faint wisp of smoke that has gone. It's been over a month since I've written my exam.

But I still don't know if I passed!

One thing that I did during my WSET course was weekly wine tastings with my friend, Keith, usually after a plein air painting session. We have continued to do so and have tasted some pretty interesting wines, as well as paint3ed some fairly good little studies. We taste two different wines each week and the last two weeks have had us taste some of the best.

So I thought I'd share them....

Last week was my week - and I picked two wines from two very different places.

The first was a 2013 Unanimé Gran Vino Tinto ($30) from the Uco Valley in Argentina. This was a Bordeaux-ish style blend of 60% Cab Sauv, 15% Cab Franc and 25% Malbec and was a delicious wine. It definitely had some strong tannins but also had enough fruit to back it up. Medium plus acidity, black fruits, and a nice long finish. Incidentally, this wine was a present from the parents of a student I taught for two years - and I think this wine was from the first year. Vivino rates it as one of the top 1% of wines in the world and I'm not surprised with its aromas and tastes of blackberry, plum, cassis, tobacco, and leather.  This wine would age well for a few more years but I liked the boldness of it right now! A complex, intense wine, I would rate this as Outstanding.

Unfortunately, for some reason, I didn't take a photo of the next wine. That's too bad because this wine is a bit hard to track down.

For taking care of their dog, my daughter and son-in-law gave us a bottle of Jabulani (not 100% sure of the year) MCM blend ($25?) from Ottawa in Ontario. This wine was very interesting because it is a blend of Merlot, Cab Sauv and Marquette grapes. Marquette is a hybrid grape which means that it is a hybrid of Vitas Vinifera (the wine grape species) and another, North American grape. This is like crossing  a wine grape like Merlot with Welch's Concorde grapes.

The result is a fruit forward, easy drinking, interesting wine. Unlike some other non-wine-grape grapes, Marquette is not 'foxy' or musky in it's taste - it is just fruity! This wine is low in acidity with medium tannins and is great to slurp away, despite its shorter finish. I'm not sure you can buy this outside of Ontario but if you find it, grab a bunch! It's a lovely red patio sipper.  A Very Good wine.

This week was my friend's turn. He picked a couple of excellent wines. Interestingly, they both tasted quite fruity and I mistook the first one for a new world wine.

The first one was an 2016 Zabu Il Passo Nerello Mascalese from Sicily in Italy.($23). The il passo might refer to the passito method. In this wine, the grapes are left on the vine to wither and raisinate, which concentrates the flavours and sugars. As a result, this wine is a little sweet (although I had a hard time telling if it was fruity or sweet), and quite rich in flavour. The Nerello Mascalese grape is one of the two main grapes in the Mount Etna appellation but it appears that this wine is made in the Sambuca di Sicilia area which is on the west side of Sicily while Mt. Etna is on the east side.

There were aromas and tastes of blackberry, plum, and black cherry as well as vanilla and some tobacco. This had medium tannins and medium minus acidity. The finish was medium and it was a fairly intense wine. This would go well with a number of dishes from steak to duck to pasta with meat sauce. I commented to my friend that I would prefer this with a pasta dish over many of the Chianti wines I have tasted! I would rate this wine as Very Good.

The other wine that we tasted this week was a 2014 Gerard Bertrand Saint Chinian from Languedoc, France ($24). The Languedoc region has a bit of a bad name for wine as it is part of the 'wine lake' of France where an ocean of cheap wine (like Fat Bastard and Arrogant Frog) is made. There are, however, some areas of really good wine and the region is making progress towards reinventing itself as a quality region. Saint Chinian is the name of the village and also the appellation so this is better quality wine. The grapes used to make this wine are Syrah and Mourvédre which are destemmed, pressed, and then a third of the grapes are aged in oak for nine months.

This was another wonderfully fruity wine although a bit more austere than the Sicilian wine. You could definitely taste the Syrah but the Mourvédre added some complexity to the mix. There were aromas and flavours of blackberry, plum, and black currant and, perhaps, some cherry. There was also tobacco, oak, a spiciness - including pepper - and some earthy, leathery characteristics with this wine. It had medium tannins (a bit surprising as Mourvédre can be a tannin bomb), medium plus acidity, and a medium plus finish. I really enjoyed this wine and felt it performed above its price point. I would rate it as Outstanding.

Continuing to swirl, sniff, sip, and slurp after my WSET is done is an important way to keep up the tasting skills I have (hopefully) developed. And, no matters how the painting goes, I always have something to look forward to!

Half the World in an Evening? Preposterous! Wines of North and South America - WSET 3.11

This week's map homework - nice map but maybe on blank paper next time?

This week's readings were insane - all of North and South America!

How the heck am I going to remember all of this info?

With just four weeks to go, it's pretty intimidating. Not at all like WSET 2.

In the mega-wine week, we covered bits about Canada, Oregon, New York, and Washington but spent most of our time looking at California, Chile, and Argentina.

Yes, we did leave out lots of areas but I guess those are the main ones.

The first wine we are going to look at, however, came all the way from the Okanagan, Mission Hill. We tried a 2016 Mission Hill Reserve Viognier ($22). This youthful wine had peach, melon and ginger spice aromas. On the palate, it was a really medium wine with medium acidity, body, intensity, and finish but did have high alcohol (just). It was rated as a Good wine and one that was good to drink now but not suitable for ageing.

I've already done a whole blog posting about our trip to the Willamette (rhymes with, "Damn it") Valley in Oregon - if you are interested in that, it is here. We tried one wine from there - a 2015 Sokol Blosser Pinot Noir ($48). This wine had aromas of red cherry, red plum, smoke, vanilla, and perfume. On the palate, I also tasted some leather. This wine had medium body, medium minus tannins, medium plus acidity, and a long finish. It was balanced, complex and pretty intense and would garner a Very Good rating.

If you want to try an outstanding wine from the Willamette Valley, try the 2014 Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve that we had on our trip to Oregon. Although it cost close to $100, my wife and I opened a bottle we had squirrelled away from the trip last weekend and it was an intense, wonderful wine. I might have to buy it again, despite the hefty price.

On to California.

Courtesy Wine Folly

California was the most detailed area of the night but also the one I related to the most since I've actually been to Napa. Napa is just one of the wine counties that includes, in the North Coast, Sonoma and Mendocino as well. There are also many AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) which are the smaller wine area inside the region.

Napa County is probably the most highly regarded region with a multitude of different AVAs. The wines here are expensive and prestigious. For example, there's Los Carneros which extends into Sonoma and is famous for its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay - both still wine and high end sparkling. Three big AVAs that are famous for Cabernet Sauvignon are Stags Leap, Oakville, and Rutherford, although wines from these areas are super pricey. St. Helena and Calistoga AVAs are home to Cab Sauv, Syrah, and, California's grape, Zinfandel.

Zinfandel is a tricky grape - it ripens unevenly so it has to be hand picked but when it dries a bit and turns into a bit of a raisin, it is concentrated, full bodied, with wonderful red and black fruit as well as liquorice.

Sonoma County is the other big region with AVAs such as Russian River (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), Dry Creek Valley (Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc), Alexander Valley (Cab Sauv), and Sonoma Coast (elegant Chardonnay and Zinfandel). The area of Sonoma County is actually bigger than Napa.

Mendocino County includes Anderson Valley which is very cool and is home to aromatic wines like Riesling and Gewürztraminer while Mendocino AVA has full bodied Cab Sauv, Zinfandel, and Syrah.

The Central Coast hosts the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA (elegant Cab Sauv), cool Monterey (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), Pablo Robes AVA (Cab Sauv, Merlot, and Syrah), and Santa Maria Valley (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay - concentrated fruit and high acidity).

The last area we checked out was the Central Valley. This is a mostly flat area that is hot and dry and is a lake of cheap jug wine. However, the Lodi AVA has cooling breezes from San Francisco Bay and has some of the oldest and best Zinfandel vines in California. I would LOVE to try a Zin from Lodi!

So, let's look at the Zinfandel we did try! It was a 2015 Ridge Dry Creek Zinfandel ($74). This wine burst with aromas of black plum, cassis, raspberry, violet, vanilla, and liquorice. On the palate, there was also tobacco and plum - both red and black. It was a high alcohol wine with a long finish and pronounced flavours as well as medium body and tannins. Due to its lower tannins, it was not considered suitable for ageing but it would definitely be a wine to drink now! Although our instructor rated it as Very Good, I would have to go with Outstanding.

We also tried a 2013 Darioush "Caravan" Cab Sauv from Napa Valley ($89) and it was spectacular. It had aromas of black plum, cedar, forest floor, earth, black pepper, black currant, and coffee. On the palate, this developing wine had addition tastes of tobacco and mushroom. It was a high alcohol, high acidity, medium plus tannin wine with a pronounced intensity of flavours and a long finish - a classic Napa Cab! We rated this wine as Outstanding.

Before we leave North America, we did try a wine from Washington State - if you are interested in that blog entry, it is here. I would definitely revisit that area, as I would with Oregon. The wine we tried in class was a 2013 K.Vintners Syrah from the Columbia Valley ($67). This was another really enjoyable wine with black plum. black currant, white pepper, cedar and leather on the nose. This developing wine had cedar, blackberry and cooked fruits on the palate and was a high tannin, high alcohol, medium plus body, medium plus intensity, high acid wine. It was a bit astringent with the high acid as it could have been a little more plush or ripe. This was rated as a Very Good wine with ageing potential.

For such a skinny country, Chile has a fair number of wine regions to know. First, though, the grapes that are grown there. Cab Sauv and Merlot are big grapes in Chile as well as their signature grape, Carmenere. An interesting thing about Carmenre is that it is originally a French grape that fell out of favour after Phyloxera hit. Meanwhile, in Chile, thanks to being surrounded by ocean, mountains, desert, and ice fields, Phyloxera never came there. Wine growers in Chile thought they were growing a lot of Merlot but realized that it tasted different than other Merlots. That's because it was Carmenere!

White grapes of Chile are mainly Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

The regions of Chile are hard to remember so I will just review the four big areas - Coquimbo (Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and Chardonnay), Aconcagua (Carmenere, Syrah, Cab Sauv and some Sauvignon Blanc), Central Valley (Cab Suav, Syrah, Carmenere) and Curico and Maule Valleys (Carignan). The smaller areas to watch for when you buy wines from Chile are Casablanca, San Antonio, Leyda Valley, Maipo, Cachapoal Valley, and Colchagua Valley.

We tried just one wine from Chile. It was a Carmenere and, if you want to revisit the Carmenere in a blog post that I thought was amazing, the link is here. This one was a 2016 Calina Carmenere from the Central Valley ($24). It definitely tasted of red fruit such as cherry, plum and cranberry as well as red liquorice. It had a certain herbaceousness about it that detracted from the overall flavour. It hit all the medium spots in acid, tannins, body, etc. and was just rated as a Good wine.

There is so much to learn about Argentina but I will just hit the things that relate to the wines I tried. First, the white grape that Argentina is famous for is the Torrontes grape. It is an intensely fruit and floral grape and is definitely and aromatic grape. It is found in a number of areas including Mendoza, San Juan, La Rioja and Salta.

We tried an 2015 El Porvenir Torrontes from La Cafayate in Salta ($22). I had a difficult time deciphering the aromas of this one so I will go with the group's descriptors. On the nose were honeysuckle, melon, elderflower and orange blossom aromas in a pronounced intensity. On the palate it was dry with medium plus acidity, medium body, finish and alcohol. This 'drink now' wine was rated as Very Good.

The black grape from Argentina that is their flagship grape is Malbec. This deep purple, oaked grape is grown in Argentina more than anywhere else in the world. If the flavours are extracted gently, it can be a very elegant wine with floral aromas and spice. It can also be blended with Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc, and Petit Verdot. I have had lots of Malbecs before form Argentina and have not been overly impressed by them.

The last wine we tried, however, did impress me. It was a 2014 Bramare Malbec from the Lujan de Cujo in Mendoza ($67). Name a black fruit and it was there. I loved this wine. Black plum, blueberry,  black currant - and more. It was definitely oaked with lovely cedar and tobacco but it also had that ageing flavour of barnyard, mushrooms, and earth. It was our last wine of the night so I just leaned back and sipped the contents of my tasting glass - no spitting with this one! This full bodied wine had intense  aromas on the nose and pronounced flavours on the palate. This wine was balanced, had length and was complex, deserving an Outstanding rating.

Now, back to my studying!

Old World vs New World wines - again- and some Christmas wine suggestions

This is one of those things that I have realized - or maybe, it's better to say - had an epiphany about. I know I've blogged about it before but it is such an important thing that I have realized that I am going to go on about it once again.

I have slowly grown to notice this, and thanks to taking my WSET course as well as tasting wine thoughtfully - one might even say, mindfully.

What is it? There is a big difference between Old World and New World wines and one way to look at it is this:

In the Old World - and here, I'm talking largely of France and Italy, although this may apply to other European countries - wine has grown up as an accompaniment to food. When you look at a fine French wine - say, a Chablis - the next thing that you do is figure out what you are going to pair it with - say, a whitefish or some shellfish with a cream sauce. These wines are really meant to be imbibed with the food of the area that they are close to. A bottle of Chianti? Try it with some Spaghetti Bolognese. A bottle of Bordeaux? Try a grilled steak or some lamb. Nebbiolo? How about a Piedmont fondue with truffles?

These are wines that cry out for a food pairing.

Just last month I had a Bordeaux from Paulliac that tasted ok at first sip but needed something. It turned out that it needed a big, juicy sirloin steak to make it sing.

New world wines, on the other hand, are, for the most part, just fine to drink on their own. It's easy to just sip away before dinner until the darn thing is gone and dinner isn't even on the table! This happens far too often at our house and with friends. On occasion, I bring a bottle of wine to a party, after asking what is being served, because it will go well with the food. Unfortunately, 9 times out of 10, it will be gone or mostly gone by the time the first course hits the table.

Now, just because many New World wines are good on their own, it doesn't mean that they aren't good with food. Many of them make fantastic pairings. On occasion, though, the wines just don't sing like one from the Old World.

Here are some wine suggestions as Christmas approaches (but good anytime):

First is one that I've had before - but probably a couple of months before I started this blog. It was a (New World) 2014 Terrunyo Block 17 Carmenere from Chile - and I bought it for my (now) son-in-law because it was written up as the best Carmenere in Chile. At the time, I shuddered to pay $38 for a bottle of wine - now I don't shudder so much if I know it is going to be a special wine. When we bought this particular wine I actually purchased three bottles, one to give, one to drink, and one to hold on. Last night, we had the one to hold on.

It was a wonderful wine - even better than the first bottle. It was a super dark rich, purple wine with wonderful black and red fruit flavours and some tannins. It had some nice oak and was a wine that really seemed to stand up with a strong intensity of flavours. We had prepared pork chops baked in the oven over a potato and tomato gratin but, unfortunately, by the time dinner was on the table, guess what?

Next up is a tasty Tuesday night wine. Yes, it is good to drink fancy wines such as the Carmenere but the reality is that most of us can't afford to drink a $40 bottle every night.  This one I chose because somebody gave it 89 points (although there's a large contingent of experts who are not particularly please with the point system - for an excellent view on this issue, check out this article by Jancis Robinson) and it was an Old World Cotes du Rhone. It is a Pere Anselme La Fiole from the Cotes de Rhone - the producer is actually from Chateauneuf de Pape. Although my Vivino app thinks it' is an actual CNP blend, it is actually a $17 bottle that tastes pretty good - specially for a Tuesday night. Nothing too intense or complex and definitely goes better with some food.

The third wine was recommended to me by a pretty reliable source at one of my favourite liquor stores. It was a New World Argentinian Fuego Blanco Cabernet Franc Malbec that I was pretty excited about. I love Cab Franc and was intrigued about the addition of the Malbec. Unfortunately, I found this wine to be rather dull or thin - not awful but not worth the $35 I paid for it. I was defintely disappointed and would not consider purchasing it again - wth or without food. I was surprised that it was rated pretty highly in the  Vivino app (and that someone on the bottle had given it 93 points) but my advice is - stay away from this one.

Finally, a fantastic (Old World) port! For the 325th anniversary of the company, Taylor Fladgate has come out with a tawny port that is a mix of 10, 20, 30 and 40 year old tawny ports. It is incredible! It has complex tastes and is not overly sweet so you can really enjoy sitting back and sipping. It also comes in a commemorative bottle which reflects the design of the original port bottle when the company started (my wife loves the bottle and won't let me throw it out). At $48 a bottle, it's a bit of a splurge but is actually a great price for tawny port. I swear I can taste elements from each decade as I savour this wonder. If you have a port drinker on your Christmas list, I recommend that you check your local liquor store stock and buy what you can. There's a reason why there's four bottles in the photo!

Sauvignon Blanc- not just cat pee - Carmenere, and Malbec - WSET Class #4 - Part 1

I left early for this week's class. I had a couple errands to do but I figured I would have time to try out a new place that my wine group had told me about. Unfortunately, by the time I got to Pokéritto, there was a giant lineup and I was running out of time. I ended up at Tim Hortons for a chicken wrap which was rather tasteless and I could only choke down half. What do you pair with disappointment?

A few minutes later, sitting in class, Rajen (the guy whose family owns Desert Hills), asked our table group if we were interested in joining a monthly tasting group. I definitely agreed and am actually looking quite forward to it. Each person brings a bottle of wine in a paper bag and then the group does a blind tasting. Sounds like fun!

Our table group is quite friendly now, especially after discussing all of the different wines that we have tasted. Some of us shared about our weekends as well as other small talk.

This week we looked at a bunch of wines. The first two were the white wines Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.  By the way, Sauvignon Blanc has a bit of a reputation of smelling like cat pee. I guess I haven't smelled enough cats peeing because I didn't really notice it....

Sauvignon Blanc is a very aromatic white wine which is usually dry and is a crisp wine that ranges in taste from grassy (think fresh cut grass) to tropical aromas. It is found in many places in the world, mostly in cooler or moderate areas. It is also found in Bordeaux and is one of only three white wines in Bordeaux. In the New World, New Zealand is the place that grows great Sauvignon Blanc. Unlike Chardonnay, it is much more consistent in its taste. Interestingly, it is one of the few wines that is supposed to pair well with sushi.

Semillon is a much more neutral grape that is sometimes added to Sauvignon Blanc. Sauvignon Blanc doesn't age very well but Semillon ages really well and blends well with Sauvignon Blanc. Semillon is also found in Bordeaux.

Our first tasting had three wines - one was a Semillon, one a Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux and one a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.

The first was a wine with a pronounced nose with aromas of stone fruit, green apple, green pepper, grass, and floral hints. On the palate, it had the same flavours as well as  grapefruit and some smokiness. It was definitely dry, had high acidity, medium body and a medium plus finish. It was rated as Very Good and was a 2015 Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre by Hubert Brochard and had the name Terroir de Silex. This wine had definite aging potential and cost $40.

The second wine also had pronounced intensity and had aromas and flavours of bell pepper, mint, green apple, tropical fruit ( I noticed pineapple), and peach. It had high acidity, medium body and a medium minus finish. It was also rated Very Good and, I think, was one of Dave, our instructor's, favourite Sauvignon Blancs as he was wearing a t-shirt from the winery! It was a 2015 Spy Valley from New Zealand priced at a mere $21. It was a very agreeable wine and our group enjoyed it.

The final wine tasted different than the first two - that was the first hint that this was a different wine. Where the other two were pale, this was medium in colour. It was a medium intensity wine on the nose with aromas and flavours of cut grass, apples, green peppers, smokiness, and toast - even though it was unoaked! It had medium body, high acidity, and a medium plus finish. It was Very Good. It was, of course, the Semillon. It was a 2009 Peter Lehmann from the Barosa Valley ($32). Semillon on its own is best aged and this particular winery only releases it aged - so it basically ages in the bottle for seven or eight years before being released. In fact, Semillon in general should age from seven to ten years before popping the cork!

The next post will deal with more Bordeaux wines but I will fast forward to the last two.

We spent some time looking at some other red grapes that originated from Bordeaux but were not that important in Bordeaux anymore. Both Carmenere and Malbec have been adopted by two different countries, Chile and Argentina, respectively.

The Carmenere grown in Chile was originally thought to be Merlot as Carmenere had basically been wiped out everywhere else in the world thanks to a virus. It makes purple wine and tends to have a bit of mint to its character.

Malbec is Argnetina's signature grape and has very dark fruit. It also makes purple wine and is a bit spicy, sort of like Syrah.

Our first tasting was deep purple and had a medium plus intensity on the nose. I noticed spice, black currant, cassis, prune and a general aromatic nose while there was black cherry and even toast on the palate. It was a full body wine with medium acidity and tannins and a medium plus finish. This 2013 Carmenere from Vina Tarapaca was rated as Very Good and cost $25. The words "Gran Reserva", however, don't have a great deal of meaning when it comes to Chilean wines. This wasn't a particularly popular wine with my table group but I didn't mind it too much.

The last wine was, of course, a 2014 Malbec from Catena in Argentina ($24). It was a medium to deep purple had a much lighter intensity nose than the Carmenere. I found it really hard to discern aromas and flavours but did come up with red fruit such as red currants. It had light tannins, medium body and medium acidity with a medium finish. It was rated Good. I have had quite a few different Malbecs and this one just wasn't that great to some of the others that I have had.

Next time, the tasting will look at Bordeaux reds - some of my favourite wines in the world!