Yesterday we got super pretentious. We swirled our glasses, closed our eyes, discussed flavours, finishes, noses, the socio-economic breakdown and replenishment of the former soviet union in eastern Europe, the effects of tannin and acidity on balance, the depth of colour, the differences of old and young... etc. We also looked up scorecards for some of the tastings, which genuinely helped us narrow down some of our thoughts on different aspects of the wine - something I'll be doing again. Pretentious? Tick.
Learning is fun when it involves getting drunk.
Albacore Coonawarra McLaren Vale Shiraz 2009 (Australia)
Definitely a belter, the intensity of the nose was spectacular. It wasn't complex and only a couple of flavours came through, but on their own they were enough to make it excellent. Smooth and strong, I'll be interested to drink the second bottle in a few years and see if the balance changes, as it says it's drinkable over the next ten. It may be that by then there is more complexity, but will there be a loss of intensity and will it matter?
Gran Villa Reserva 2002 (Spain, Navarra, Merlot)
The complexity gained with its age was undoubtable, the aroma was a little less intense than the Shiraz but overall about equal, being more complex and interesting but with less immediate impact. Extremely balanced, 'chewy'ness came through on the palette and in the finish, but there was sweetness and richness hitting at different times. This merlot felt a lot like a Rioja and had undergone similar oak ageing, and was produced in the neighboring region. Anyone who says merlot is boring needs to give this a shot, it says a lot about what different ages and ageing processes can have on the grapes - nothing like your classic merlot here. On paper i.e. on our scorecards this came out on top of the Shiraz, but in fact we both preferred the latter, as although some individual characteristics were not as strong (perhaps as it was much younger) the power and intensity were such that the rest became less relevant.
Cave de Turckheim Pinot Gris Sables at Galets 2008 (France, Alsace)
The fact that this comes from the same grape as all those Pinot Grigios I've had in the past is extremely surprising. My wine tasting partner El Sollinidor did notice the smell was reminiscent, but the crisp dry elements were nowhere to be found. Of all the wines drunk that eve, this was the most interesting. Very complex, with an outstanding nose and finish, it was rich and aromatic. Amber is my closest thought, but this is probably prompted in part by the colour. Which was amber. By the end of the glass it was beginning to feel too sweet for our palates, but that hardly ruined the experience and while we both agreed this was not naturally our type of wine, it was interesting to taste and try. El Sollinidor also nearly choked himself on the second sip, trying to get 'more air' into his mouth by sucking in little gulps of air with the wine in his mouth, a ridiculous sight which when described here isn't at all funny. Needless to say, it was actually the funniest thing to have occurred in the entire of history. HA HA HA. This'un I think is fairly typical of Alsace, and recommended as being at drinking age. It was certainly complex for a white and the oak ageing definitely shined through (unless it wasn't oak aged).
Also drunk was further Sail Chardonnay for comparison purposes with the Pinot Gris, and the rest of the Three Block from yesterday. The Three Block fell well short of the Albacore on the scorecards, which was borne out in the price (though I didn't tell El Sollinidor the price difference until afterwards, that part at least was blind!). One thing we noticed was that though the Three Block was interesting and tasted good, the nose smelt a little of chemicals and lacked complexity, and the finish was very short and with too much tannin. That's not to say it's a bad wine - it beats many I've drunk of the same type, and the previous review says much - but rather sheds light on the importance of comparison, and when put up against a bottle much better it's easier to see where it could be better; I would not have noticed the nature of the differences without going to the efforts we did.
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