Wine tastings - events and information

I'm starting this as the official wine thread. Here I'll announce wine tasting events and post wine tasting notes from previous events. I'm going to try to plan wine tastings about once a month. Also if anyone has any questions about wine tasting, recommendations, regions, making or even what to pair with a particular dish you can ask me by posting here. Other people can also feel free to answer questions if they have some knowledge to contribute on the subject.

Crosslink by admin: TT members interested in wine

Great idea! Recommendations would be good. I never know what to buy...just stand there staring at the bottles hoping for some inspiration Perhaps you can make a weekly recommendation or something

Tasting Notes from Jan. 29th, 2005 wine tasting. Notes are a collection of the groups comments and are listed in order the wines were tasted.

Sancerre 2003
Didn’t get wine name, maybe someone knows?
nose- pineapple, citrus, minerally, flinty
sweetness in front, acid in middle, dry finish,

Fetzer Sundial Chardonnay 2003 California
nose- perfumy, yuk, citrus, apricot, slight pee smell
stronger taste than last, tasted bad, wouldn’t mind if served in a
bar but otherwise won’t drink, don’t buy Fetzer

Filcheto 2000 Vini Nobile di Montepulciano :
nose- earthy, minerally, metallic, blackberry
light body, acidic, don’t like after-taste, low in tannins, watered down,
big in front with no flavor behind, after-taste harsh, needs dish with a
tomato sauce

Tandem 2003 Camino de Santiago aRS Nova
50% Tempranillo, 30% Cab. Sauv., 20% Merlot
nose- nice smell, berries, no metallic notes, muddy, earthy, prunes
fuller body, smooth, balanced, cinnamon, black pepper, tannins on
finish, benefit from 3-5 years aging in bottle, good

Marqués de Cáceres Gran Reserva Rioja 1995
nose- very oaky, berries
really intense in front to middle of tongue, flavors leave mouth in back
with nothing, smooth but less than previous, more acidic and tannic,
nice wine

Clos Fourtel 1st Grand Cru Classé St. Emilion Grand Cru 1995
nose- perfumey (Channel), earthy, touch of brett (barnyard smell),
intense
thinner than expected by nose, low in fruit on taste, light tannins
would pair well with a steak in a cognac sauce

Terte du Moulin St. Emilion Grand Cru 2001
nose- minty, earthy, fruity, not as strong smelling as previous
easy drinking, pleasant, too easy to drink..-dangerous, heavy tannins,
needs 10 years age, has good potential, chocolatey on back of tongue
with a bit of coffee

Cháteau La Lande Bordeaux 2002
light nose, lighter body than last, really spicy (cinnamon), smooth
balanced, complex, undertones of fruit, very well balanced

Chateau D’Aydie Madiran 2001
nose- anise, alcohol, phenolics
intense, blackberry, jam, tight tannins, age 5 years than decant, too
strong for some while the best so far for others

Rosemount 2002 Shiraz-Mataro-Grenache
Shiraz is known as Syrah elsewhere, Mataro as Mourvedre
nose- black currant, morello (bing) cherry jam
syrupy, sweet, anti-freeze, saccharine, overly sweet, big fruit, low
tannins, a bit flabby, several also enjoyed

Hardys Notting Hill 2002 Shiraz
nose- spicy, cinnamon, undertones of fruit
dry, fruity, smooth, peppery, thick, classic Aussie Shiraz

Peter Lehman Barossa Shiraz 2001
nose- less spicy than previous, tannins, opens a lot (means changes
and gets better when sitting in glass)
intense, rich, smooth, complex, really great, peppery, my fav of night,
should decant 1 hour

Copperidge 2002 California Zinfandel
nose.- really bad brett (barnyard) smell, hard to get past, over-oaked,
gets better sitting in glass, brett blows off a bit
anise, plumy, blackberry

the Peter Lehmann wine was fantastic, I'm going to treat myself to a few bottles next time I'm in a snazzy wine shop.

Re: the Copperidge Zinfandel - I took this one home with me and drank a few cheeky glasses of it on Saturday, and it was delicious, absolutely no trace of pig-poo, smelled and tasted lovely and fruity. So maybe this is one that needs decanting? It definitely benefitted from standing 24 hours in a half-filled bottle that had been opened previously...

@ Blimeygirl, in that case my recommendation of the week is Peter Lehman 2001 Barossa Shiraz (see above notes).

This is an Aussie Shiraz. Peter Lehman is one of the best and most well known producers from Australia to have a large exports. This is a big wine and will benifit if you let it sit in your galss for a whiel before drinking. Pair this wine with big meat: steak, schweinebraten, any gamey meat, lamb. For veggies: pair with strong cheeses, I suggest a blue cheese, or mushroom dishes witha strong sauce.

I found this wine at Walmart for $9.99, a bargain for the quality. Walmart carries 3 of wines from this winemaker. I have tried other wines from him in the past and have never been disappointed. Joolybooly also bought this wine somewhere else. Perhaps she can say where she found it.

@Topsy, I had the same experience on Sat. with another wine. Totally undrinkable pig-poo on the smell and taste. I'd drank half the previous week and the smell wasn't there. So I left the bottle open at room temp. The next evening the smell was gone and the wine tasted fine.

Topsy you're just showing off now!!
You looked as confused as me at the start of the night

cheeky - I'm a now a connoisseur of fine wines, I'll have you know

actually, it's true, I couldn't get those apricot notes, they were a bit too much for me. .. I could smell the pig poo, though, that was unmistakeable

I've bought that Lehmann in Spar at Rotkreuzplatz where they stock about 3-4 others by Lehmann. Similar price too.

I didn't make this wine tasting but will want to joing for the next. Though I did have a great wine this weekend. In kaufhof they sell Penfold's bin 389 for only thirty euros. It is always a great wine. I believe the year before I paid eighty euros for the same bin in Berlin, so at this rate it is a bargain...could be wrong as I am far from a sommlier. If they bin 707 though, grab it!!

Bin 389 usually runs in the high 20's to low 30's so it probably wasn't that bin that you got in Berlin (unless they really cheated you). Maybe it was bin 707 as you mention because that one is usually around €80. It's funny you should mention these to bins. I'm not sure if you realize but they are directly related. Bin 707 full name is Grange-Penfolds bin 707 and is Cab. Sauv. Bin 389 is a blend of Cab. Sauv. and Shiraz. It goes by a nickname "Baby Grange" or "Poor Man's Grange." This is because part of the wine that goes into the final blend is aged in the barrels from the previous year's Grange wine. So maybe there's something to that wood that you like...

Penfolds is a very goos Aussie producer making all levels of wine from typical bargain grocery store wines to world class wines for €80 and more.

With information like that, I am definitely coming to the next meeting. Thanks

My favourite comment: "a bit flabby, several also enjoyed"

Yes, the Barossa is my favourite, I buy it from HIT at Motorama shopping centre (RosenheimerPlatz S-Bahn) for €9.99.

I shall bring a bottle of mum's vanilla-red back from the UK next week, can't wait for the next tasting!

really, sounds lovely???

Cat-pee is an official wine term for describing a common aroma in white wines, partcularly Sauv. Blanc. It's even found on wine aroma wheels. Generally it's thought of as a fault in wine, but I guess that goes without saying...

thanks for the info, I knew there was a reason i only really like reds

This is all so interesting, wish I could have joined you Friday! Hope to be there next time.

I just posted 4 piccies which I took right near the end, sorry there are none of the tasting, just drinking!

Wine of the Month. (normally I'll try to do this weekly but I'm leaving for the rest of the month on vacation)

I know that many of the wines I post are a more expensive than most people care for so I will also try to start review less expensive wines.

Cotes du Rhone 2003

That's all the label says. But it is sold at all tengelmanns and easy to recognize. It has 4 guys in shades of light blue with a bit of gold playing bocche ball accross the top of the label above where it says Cotes du Rhone and sells for the unbelievably cheap price of 2.69! (some Tengelmann's have it labelled as 3.69 but don't worry it rings up the right price at the register).

This wine has bright rasberries on the nose. On the palate it is smooth and approachable for both non-wine and wine drinkers. It has a fruity taste up front that is balanced with acidity. The wine is a light body red and can be drunk alone, with mild cheese (for instance Guryere) or with chicken, for example. It is very pleasent but has little finish (i.e. it pretty much leaves the mouth of flavors after swallowing) although there is a slight lingering fruitiness in the front of the tongue. The tannins are practically non-existant. This is the cheapest red wine I've ever tasted and actually thought was okay. It's a blend of Grenache, Cinsualt, Syrah, and Mourvedre (It doesn't state percentages but the list is always in order of greatest to least percent).

hhhm, good tip! I like Grenache in red wine blends... shame you post this 2 days after i move house, and my old flat was over the road from Tengelmann!!!

So when is the next tasting? Will bring back Sauternes from France this weekend...

As an Aussie (still in Oz) its great to see our wines getting such a good wrap!! glad that the prices are reasonable too.

I dont think Penfolds makes any poor reds ... the 407 and 389 are great tastes and even the Bin 28 is fantastic value if you get it .. keeps well too.

I might need to bring a case or two with me when we relocate... hope they dont tax it on the way in.

Penfolds actually started making a grocery store line about 4-5 years ago. They are label Penfolds Rawson's Retreat and sell for $4 a bottle US-american. They are quite good for their price point. Do to the popluarity they now make several varietals under this line including a Cab Sauv., Merlot, A Cab. Suav-Shiraz blend, Chardonnay, Riesling, and a Semillon-Chard. blend. They are easy-early drinking wines.

Aha, I knew I was on to something good with the 2.69 Cotes du Rhone!

Nice to have a professional justification for my choice now (must admit that at the moment this one is closer to the TOP end of my price range) (please don't have a heart attack Winegirl).

I'm already looking forward to joining your next event! In the meantime thanks for the wine lessons.

@Mr&MrsC Compare prices before you bring wine over from Oz! You'll most likely find it's cheaper here than there. Unless you're not getting it retail of course.

BTW: I think the next wine tasting will be in the second week of March (since I'm gone till the 28th). Starkbierfest is on Sat. 12th so don't want to have it on the 11th. The first weekend is also a possiblity but it will depend on whether I have an apartment by then. If you have a suggestion for a date PM me and interest because I don't want this thread to get clutter with date debating...makes it hard to find the actual wine info. I'm thinking of having a theme for the next tasting: Red Syrah/Shiraz (same grape) and White Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio/Grauburgunder (same grape). Any region of the world is fine. We'll compare styles.

Is Grand Vin De Bordeaux 2000 any good? My ex boss gave it to me for xmas 2003 and said it was special, only to be drunken on a special occasion.. So I am having it now with me dinner cos its all I have.

well then tell us if it's good! I think you opened it a bit soon...

Hold on a minute... Doesnt Grand Vin De Bordeaux mean Big wine of Bordeaux?? That cant be its name... And theres heaps of french words on there...

@JB true... Its finished already and im still a couple of hours away from heading out, should have cracked it open after 8 i reckon. But it was ok.. Im no expert though...

Grand Vin De Bordeaux means is a high level of Bordeaux. It's similar to the word reserve used in the us, australia, new zealand and several other countries. 2000 was a good year as great as 2003 for instance but far better than the 4 previous vintages (1995-1999). I definitely would have let that one sit for a few years at least 5, 10 would be great. But most people probably won't wait that long in that case you should decant it. The taste would have improved markedly by decanting for say 2 hours.

I've been asked a few times if pouring one small glass out of a bottle and then letting the wine sit in the bottle for 20 min to let the wine open up is a good thing to do. THe answer is that it doesn't do anything. The contact with oxygen is so slight you would have to leave it open like that for a day or more to have a noticeable effect. You really need to decant or if you don't want to do that pour a full glass, swirl it a few times, then let it sit while you make dinner.

Great idea to have regular tastings. I would come along for sure (though am on hols from tomorrow until the 4th Mar). As a proud South Aussie I love reading the great comments about Peter Lehmann (which you can also get in Kaufhof basement @ Stacchus for EUR 12.99). On Saturday I will be showing friends around the Barossa and will be stopping in there for sure.

Winegirl, thanks for starting the thread.

"Quaffable but far from transcendent" (sorry, I just saw "Sideways" tonight and had to say that)

Mailbags >> saw sideways last night too! great flick...

Wine Tasting at Degustini March 11 2005 -- reserve by March 8. I'm going if I'm in town and I'll post it to the other thread. Anyone else?

my bf has something like 50 bottles of wine in our dining room (on a self-made wine rack). i keep suggesting he should store them in the basement. he won't budge. what's the best advice? or do we just leave them there?
btw, we are both fans of spanish wine. i've had too many Chateau Migraine.

Best advice: start drinking them.

Wine Tasting at Degustini March 11 2005 --

would love to, but am going to Cebit until 11pm

Winegirl, when is the next wine tasting?

@elfenstar: Move them to the basement. The basement is th best place to store them if you don't have a climate controlled storage unit (as long as your basement never floods). Temperature changes are hard on wine because it results in srinkage and expansion of the cork. This can lead to cork failure which will spoil the wine. In a basement the temperature stays the pretty much the same all year round plus at a cooler level than upper floors which is also good. However if all the wine is drunk in a year or less don't worry about it (but I doubt that with 50 bottles). He porbably likes seeing and deplaying them. Tell him to move the ones he wants to age to the basement and keep the "drink now" wines on the upper floor.

Next wine tasting??? So the next 2 weekends are pretty booked and then the NCAA basketball tournament starts and well I'm a HUGE fan. One possible date is Thursday, March 24th. Problem is I'm not moving into my new place till Apr. 1st. So I can't host. If anyone can host please PM me. Don't pos tto the thread because I don't want it to get cluttered, makes the info and questions hearder to find. I'll post more if I hear from anyone.

March 24th is Easter weekend, just not sure if you had noticed this.
I will probably be around then, but I'm not sure who else will be?

Guardian article about branded wine in the UK.

I agree with everything that article said. Incidentally my winery was also owned by constellation (mentioned in the article). My winery made the no. 1 selling merlot in the US: Blackstone Winery. While I think our wine was a good value $8.99 so about 5 pounds, I agree a lot with the last statement


But if that's what gets people into wine in the first place fine. We just hope they move on to better wines.

can't do the 24th, back home for easter. I can host if it's for 8 people, don't want to push my luck with new landlord...

but the next dates I can do will be 3rd and 9-10 April

For future reference, wine questions can be posted to this thread. The next wine tasting will be very soon at my place. I just need to work out a date as there are so many events going on right now.

Wine Review:
1998 Vina Bondad Gran Reserva
DOC Valdepenas, Spain

At Tengelmann's for €5.49

This wine is made from Spain's most famous grape Tempranillo. On the nose the wine hits you with full fruit but what makes it interesting is the fruit balanced with eucalyptus (for those who don't know image minty but more herbal). There is also a hit of tar and oak on the nose. This is a wine you should spend time just smelling. However it is also tasty. On the palate the wine has an up front fruit and a dry mid palate. The oak tannins are smooth rather than the harsh tannins often found in younger wines. Furthermore, 1998 was rated as an excellent year for this region. The oak and fruit are in good balance which is often not the case with a Gran Reserva (often over-oaked, see below). After the initial dry finish there is a lingering fruity-floral taste. This wine is a superb buy at 5.49 and I will definitely be picking up some more bottles. It is definitely drinking well now but it will also be interesting to see how it changes in the next year or 2.

Spainish wine disignation:

Crianza: Crianzas spend between 6-12 months in oak casks.

Reserva: Reservas are aged a minimum of 1 year in oak casks and 2 years in bottles or a combination of both with a minimum of one year in casks.

Gran Reserva: These wines are only made in exceptional years, undergo extensive ageing, with a minimum 2 years in oak and 3 in the bottle.

These are the designations for spanish wines which vary from other regions because it is related to length in oak rather than quality of grapes or vineyard. The Gran Reserva is not always the best. It really depends on the year, particularly how well that year's flavors can carry the oak. Because the wine spend so long in barrels it can often taste of nothing but oak which I personal do not like. That is way the good wine maker will only make this wine when the conditions are right to compliment the oak.

Winegirl, thanks for the review!
I might try this one - usually I never buy wines from La Mancha or Valdepeñas, I got disappointed too many times. They really do mass production of Reservas in those regions, and the results are nice looking bottles with dubious contents sold at nice prices in the supermarkets. However, for me these wines turned out to be pretty expensive - quite a few bottles I bought were simply undrinkable and ended up in the sink.

As you write, the labels Reserva or Gran Reserva in fact don't tell anything about the quality, and I think especially with wines from these two Spanish regions you are lucky if you find one that you don't want to pour away after the first sip.

Winegirl's last top tip for Tengelmann wine was a hit, so I'll definitely be trying this one out
BTW I vote for a nice Sunday early start for the next tasting, what do you think?

@ Onni, Agreed. I don't usually buy Gran Reservas because they are usually too over oaked and nothing but wood on the palate. But I wanted to try something new last night and the Tengelman's by my house has a very limited selection. I also quite like the grape Tempranillo so I'll usually give it a try when I find it. It's a reliable grape that usually sells for less than wines from other regions.

I don't think this is a superior wine that I would tell my winemaking friends to look for at home but I think for 5.49 it's a steal.

I had 2 thoughts for dates of the next winetasting. Sunday, May 1st or the following Wed. which is the night before a bank holiday. It will be at my place. Please do not post to this thread which day you would like. I will start up a poll next week on another thread. I don't want this thread to get cluttered because it makes it harder to find the information.

Sorry for posting this late. I forgot to put up the final word. The next tasting is at my place on Thursday, May 5th atarting at 6pm. The theme is Syrah/Shiraz for red wines and Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio/Grauburgunder for white wines. Blends are okay so long as these grapes are more than 50% of the blend. You can bring a wine from any region between €8-12. Please also bring a little food to share. Ideal food is things that complement wine but don't distract from it, for instance cheeses, sliced meats, olives, fruits and veggies, bread, etc. If everyone brings stuff this ends up being a full meal.

Please do NOT post here that you are coming. PM me. I don't want this thread to get clutter because it makes it harder to find the wine info. I'll post a list of the people coming.

Just a reminder that this Thursday is the wine tasting at my apartment starting at 6pm. PM me to let me know you are coming and to get my address.

Okay the list for Thursday's wine tasting so far is:

Me
Jeeves
Topsy
Crawlie
Showem +1
Ski
Genie
NicNZ

If I forgot to send anyone directions please let me know. And if anyone else would like to join PM me.

Also PLEASE bring a wine glass!

Having just moved into a new flat I don't have any wineglasses so is anyone able to lend me a glass tomorrow, since Winegirl doesn't have many? Cheers.