How do you say. "Oh, crap!" in Spanish. WSET 3.10 - Spanish and Portuguese Wines

Courtesy Art of the Table

Things started off pretty well....

I sat down at this week's class and Lynn, the instructor, handed back my blind tasting note - which I nailed - and the mini quiz - which I mostly nailed.

I was feeling pretty damned confident!

Then we did the first tasting.

It was two whites, one from Spain and one from Portugal. After Lynn described some of the characteristics of each one, I smugly came to the conclusion that the first wine was an Albarino and the second was a Vinho Verde.

Wrong.

Oh, crap.

The first wine was actually 2017 Aveleda Vinho Verde from Portugal ($15). It had a fairly complex flavour profile with pear, lime, orange blossom, melon, wet stone and a floral component on both the nose and palate.  This low alcohol, high acid wine had a little bit of spritz which was hard to detect initially since it was a bit of a surprise. This was a blend of mostly Loureiro and Alvarinho grapes.  A 'drink now' wine, this was rated as Good and would go well with cooked or fried white fish.

The second wine (that I thought was not as good) was actually a great Albarino from Spain - it was a 2017 Terras Gauda Albarino from Rias Baixas ($40). This had aromas of peach, apricot and pear and also a savoury or cheesy aroma - maybe even cream cheese. It had extended lees stirring which gives it that cheesy smell. There was similar fruit and savouriness on the palate along with grapefruit. This was a high acid, medium alcohol wine with a medium plus finish (not short, like I thought!). It was balanced and complex so would be rated as Very Good and could be aged for a bit.

Spain is a country with a big wine growing area but most of the vines are spread out so they get enough water. It just can't compete with Italy or France in the amount of grapes grown. There are a variety of climates in Spain with the main difficulties being either too much rain (on the coast) or not enough rain.

The big grape here is Tempranillo. This thick skinned, medium acidity grape is popular on its own or with other grapes. It's grown in Rioja, the Ribera del Duero, Navarra, Toro, and La Mancha.

Another big grape is Garnacha (Grenache). This high alcohol grapes is one that loves the heat and ripens late. It is usually blended with other grapes such as in Rioja, and Navarra. It is also grown in Carinena, Calatayud, Priorat, and Ribera del Duero.

Monastrell (also known as Mourvedre) is a great grape for the heat as it has quite a thick skin and ripens late. It is grown in the Levante area which includes Valencia, Jumilla, and Yecla.

There's also other black grapes such as Graciano (blending grape),  Mencia (a fresh fruit grape grown in Bierzo), and Carignan also known as Carinena and also known as Mazuelo.

Albarino is a popular white grape that is a thick skinned, high acid grape with stone fruit and citrus fruit. It is found is the northwest region of Spain.

Verdejo is the other bigger grape that is used a lot in sherry. It has melon and peach flavours, similar to Sauvignon Blanc, which it also happens to be blended with fairly frequently.

Our next two wines were, in fact, both Tempranillo wines from Spain. I would have been happy to drink both of these wines all night long.

The first was a 2008 La Rioja Alta Reserva Tempranillo ($75). This medium garnet wine was the more delicate of the two with tastes and aromas of red cherry, plum, strawberry, fig, toast, pepper, cedar, mushroom and leather. The finish was long, the intensity was high, and the wine was balanced and complex. An Outstanding wine that could easily age a few more years.

Not only was the first one great, the second was, in my opinion, even better! It was a 2011 Pintia Tempranillo ($104) from the Toro region of Spain. This wine was high in tannins and had flavours and aromas of smoke, black plum, blackberry, black cherry, violet, forest floor, cedar and leather. This wine was high in acidity, high in alcohol, had pronounced intensity, and had a long finish. Another Outstanding wine that could age for years!

I felt that I had redeemed myself with the Tempranillos. I nailed some of the flavours and aromas down and was started to feel smug agin. Then we had the next two wines. One was a Monastrell (Mourvedre) and one was a Mencia. I like Mencia - in fact, I've had three or four bottles. I tasted several at the Wine Festival in the spring! I KNEW my Mencia - I even recommended it to my table mates! I also remembered how tannic the Mourvedre was from Bandol so I thought it would be so easy to figure out which was which. The first one I thought was all black fruit and tannins so was the Monastrell and the second one was all red fruit and lower tannins so was the Mencia.

Wrong again.

Oh, crap. Again.

The first was 2016 Alvaro Palacios 'Petalos' Mencia from Bierzo, Spain ($46). It had aromas of red fruit, savoury, and roast coffee. It had only medium tannins and medium plus acidity with a long finish. It was rated as Very Good.

The second was a 2015 Juan Gil Monastrell from Jumilla ($33). This is the one that had the black fruit as well as vanilla on the palate. It had full body, high tannins, and a medium finish. This was a Good wine.

I'm usually a bit shaky on my tasting notes for white wines but I don't usually struggle so much with reds. I don't know what happened - possibly I decided that the first one was a Monastrell and that coloured the rest of my tasting. I've also listened to podcasts where wine experts have admitted to getting it wrong a bunch of times and that's their job!

Oh well, c'est le vin. On to Portugal.

Portugal doesn't just make Port! It makes lots of wine and many form the 5 varietals that make Port. They are Touriga Nacional (high quality, great flavour, high tannins), Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Tinta Barroca, and Tinta Cao.

There's also the wine grapes that made the previously mentioned Vino Verde - Loureiro, Arinto, and Alvarinho (same as Spanish Albarino).

There's a ton of other grapes (like Spain, like Italy), but I think we'll just focus in our last two tastings.

The first was 2015 Cabriz Touriga Nacional and others blend from the Dao region ($22). This ruby wine had both red fruit (red cherry, cranberry) and black fruit (blueberry, black currant) was well as savoury notes. This was a mostly medium wine that was rated as Good and was suitable for drinking now.

The final wine was a 2015 Quinta do Crasto Touriga Nacional Reserva and others blend from the Douro region ($54). This was a purple wine that tasted of black fruit including blackberry, forest floor, barnyard, toast and leather. This wine had medium acidity, medium plus tannins, and high alcohol with a medium plus intensity of flavours and a beautiful long finish. This wine was rated as Outstanding.

So, after a rather mediocre tasting night, I felt a little disappointed but I don't think you can accurately taste every wine that's put in front of you. Even the pros get it wrong. Luckily, for the WSET blind tasting, you don't have to guess the wine, just describe it. My challenge is to try to avoid jumping to conclusions when I taste the wine. If I think in the first three seconds, "This is a Chardonnay," I'll probably be hooped.

Oh well, time to study some more.

How do you say, "Oh, crap!" in Spanish?

"Oh, mierda!"

Vancouver Wine Festival - Oh What a Night! - Part Two

Another lovely Cava from Segura Viudas

It's really amazing - put a large number of people in a large room, give them a wine glass and access to over 700 different wines, and tell them they have just three hours to drink what they can.

That's the main premise behind the Vancouver Wine Festival.

And the people! They were so interesting! Most people were dressed rather smartly but there was the occasional chill dude in a t-shrit and jeans. There were also some women dressed in rather short, tight dresses that maybe weren't the most comfortable for a wine tasting - especially with stiletto heels... And, of course, there was the odd person wearing running shoes - probably a very smart idea as we all spent most of the three hours on our feet.

At many of the booths were people with blue lanyards attached to their name tags. These were the actual winemakers and they were great to talk to. They were passionate and answered all of my questions - even though they had probably heard them many times before - with an enthusiasm that was riveting.

Onto the wines, again.

We'll start with Portugal, the other country featured in the festival.

There weren't a ton of wines from Portugal, especially compared with Spain, but I did try a couple Douro Valley wines.  My favourite, by a mile, was Quinta de Crasto.  The first was a 2015 Superior  ($36 at Everything Wine) made with a variety of grapes including Touriga Nacional. Great berry flavours and strong body in this wine. The second was a 2014 Reserve Old Vines ($41). Amazingly, the vines that this wine was made of are over 90 years old! This was a smooth wine with balanced tannins. The vineyards that this one comes from has literally dozens of different grapes mixed so it's a real testament to the winemaker and the mix as this wine is a really enjoyable drink.

The last one from this winery was the first of the ports that I tried - and boy, did I enjoy trying.

The 2013 Quinta de Crasto Late Bottle Vintage Port was a good Port - not too sweet and with balanced tannins. It was about $26 at the festival which is a killer good deal. I hope that it ends up in the liquor store on a regular basis.

Fonseca had some damned fine Ports as well. My two favourites were the 2015 Guimaraens Vintage Port ($74 at the festival $87 at Devine Wines in Edmonton - 2012 vintage $82 at Everything Wine) with its raisiny elegance and the 2008 Vintage Port Quinta do Panascal($60 at festival, $44 - Marquis Wines in Vancouver) with its rich, creamy, black fruit flavours.

I had never heard of Warre's Port before and was thrilled to try this 1985 Vintage Port. What a rich, smooth, yet powerful Port. A wonderful taste. ($135 at the festival, $129 at Devine's in Edmonton). 

Ah, but there's always the one that got away. My youngest is a Supervisor at Brewery Creek and was able to try a 50 year old Taylor Fladgate Port at the Industry Tasting in the afternoon. Fifty year old! However, when I got to their table, I was told that the Industry people drained the bottle! Damn!

Moving on in our world tasing was a delicious Pinot Gris from New Zealand. The Villa Maria Pinot Gris Seddon Vineyard  ($33) was so crisp, honey-like and fruity that I immediately thought of that wonderful Fort Beren's Pinot Gris ($20) I had last spring. Although this one tasted very similar, the price point seemed just a bit high.

It is sometimes said that wine originated in Turkey - so where better to taste than at the only wine from Turkey, Suvla. I tasted two wines - the first was a unique Turkish grape called Karasakiz ($23) which was OK but a bit different than any other grape I had tried. It was a very light wine so it might be a good wine to pair with lighter fare. I also tried their 2010 Sur ($35 at festival and $30 at Marquis in Vancouver) which was a blend of several wines and I found that wine to be quite tasty with good tannins and a little sweetness and fruitiness. A very interesting couple of wines.

We tried a few wineries from France but the one that I enjoyed the best was from a negociant (and I'm sorry to say, I can't remember which one!).  They specialize in Bordeaux wines and I was privileged to have one of the winemakers from one of the wineries they represent lead me through a tasting of exceptional wines.

I started with a 2009 L'Egerie de Chateau Chereau from Saint-Emilion ($32) which was a Merlot/Cab Sauv/Cab Franc blend. It was good but not outstanding.

The next wine I tried was a 2009 Chateau du Taillan Cru Bourgeois ($37 - looks like it might be regularly stocked in BC liquor stores) from Haut Medoc. A Cru Bourgeois wine has to earn that classification each year which is no easy feat. It has Merlot, Cab Sauv and Cab Franc and is a wonderful black fruit, black cherry wine. A super deal.

I finished with a 2005 Chateau Verdignan also from Haut Medoc ($52) which was a blend of Cab Franc, Cab Sauv and Merlot. A very accessible wine that would pair nicely wth food but is delicious on its own. A splurge that would merit a special occasion.

Our final stop was our friends down south, the USA. I did skip the Canadian wines because there is only so much time to sample and I can try Canadian wines anytime. The three hours just fly along, especially when you take a couple shopping breaks.

The first winery was Charles Smith / K Vintners from Walla Walla, Washington. I liked all of their wines but I loved one - their 2014 M.C.K. - Motor City Kitty Syrah ($50). This powerful wine had delicious dark fruits and a super long finish. I couldn't find it in the onsite liquor store so we have altered our planned trip over Spring Break so that we go through Walla Walla on the way back from Las Vegas, just so I can pick up some of this wonderful stuff!

Finally, near the end of the night, we went to the California section to a winery we had actually visited in Napa seven years ago, St. Supery. We enjoyed all of their wines but the big standout for me was their Cab Sauv - and I was sure to pick up a bottle of this. I know, the photo is of the Sauvignon Blanc - and that's what happens when you are taking photos at the end of the evening! However, rest assured that their Estate Cab Sauv ($61) is a classic Cab Sauv with strong tannins but a balanced taste due to the fruitiness of the wine.

Thanks to the BC Liquor Store, we didn't actually have to pack our case of wine home - they will ship it to our local liquor store in a week or two for pick up.

As I finished my last glass (and, to be honest, I had stopped dumping when there was a half hour left so I could fully appreciate drinking, not just tasting, the wines), I said goodbye to my frat brothers from all of those years ago as my wife and I sauntered back to the hotel. We both had a fantastic time and really enjoyed ourselves. I am already looking forward to next year's wine festival.

¡Salud!

The Final Reds - WSET Class #6 - Part 2

After our break (where I chomped down the rest of my poké from Pokéritto) we looked at some different reds from Italy, again, and then a couple of other places. These were all different grapes and it was interesting to compare all of the tastes. I didn't feel so off base this week and that feeling continued for the second half of the class.

We were not quite finished with Italy as our next wine was a Barbera grape from Alba - and is touted as practically the opposite to super chewy Nebbiolo. It is a very food friendly wine and usually comes form Asti or Alba and that is why it is called Barbera d"Alba or Barbera d'Asti. 

The particular one that we tried was a 2014 Barbera d'Alba from Paolo Conterno.  It was a pale ruby wine with medium intensity on the nose and aromas of red currant, cranberry, cherry, plum and white pepper. On the palate, it was dry, with low tannins and a light body and flavours of red fruit, plum, vanilla, and smoke. It had a medium finish and was in that tricky area between good and very good. This $24 wine was certainly drinkable but not quite as good as the next one. 

And where was the next next one from? It was a 2010 Taurasi made by Le Masciare and was also Italian. It was made with the Aglianico grape which is often called the "Nebbiolo of the south" as it is made in Campania. The Taurasi DOCG is the top wine made from Aglianico in Italy. 

This wine was  deep ruby, and had medium plus intensity on the nose with aromas of blackberry, blueberry and black cherry. On the palate, it was dry with high tannins, high acidity, and full body and tasted of black fruit, aged fruit, wet leaves, smoke and tobacco (full disclosure - I didn't actually taste the wet leaves - nor have I yet to this date...).  It had a medium plus finish and was rated as Very Good and cost $50.

The next one was my favourite of the evening. I'm not sure if the rest of my group felt that way but I really liked it. It was deep ruby in colour and had, to me, a pronounced intensity one the nose with baked fruit, plum, prune, black cherry and a hint of cinnamon. On the palate, it had medium tannins, hi acidity and full body and tasted of raising, jam and cherry. It had a medium plus finish and I rated it as Outstanding but our instructor, Dave, insisted that it was merely Very Good. 

It was a Rioja Reserva from Spain. Rioja wines are rated by age; Joven (under a year), Crianza (at least two years), Reserva (at least 3 years) and Gran Reserva (at least 5 years). This way, if you buy a Reserva, you know that it is ready to drink now! Rioja wines are at least 75% Tempranillo.

This particular Rioja was a 2011 Marques de Murrieta Reserva Rioja and cost $45. I am really going to have to explore some more Rioja wines!

The last wine of the night was from Portugal and was from Douro. That is the only region of Portugal that we really have to know and the main grape is a Portuguese variety called Touriga Nacional. It is the signature red grape of Portugal. 

It was a 2013 Niepoort ($40) made in the Douro Valley and was a deep purple in colour. It had medium intensity and black fruit such as blackberry, black cherry, and plum on the nose. It had black fruit on the palate as well with the addition of cloves and black pepper with high acidity, medium body and high tannins. It was also rated as Very Good. 

I'm a little sad, now that we have finished exploring so many red  and white wines. According to my outline, we have sparkling and sweet wines next week and I don't think I'll be as excited as I have been over the past 6 weeks. Then it's fortified wines which I am also not a huge fan and finally spirits - and then the exam. I will, however, continue to practice my WSET style tasting as often as possible and share what I can on this blog.