I was very excited to be teaching the Level 4 class last night.  We are finishing up studying Western European wines and wine industries.  Next we move onto North and South America.  But before we do that we try to squeeze in Great Britain, Switzerland, Southeast Europe, the Levant, other winemaking countries of Europe North Africa, South Africa.  That’s a mouthful, so I shorten the title of the class to “small scale struggling wine industries.”  This may be a gross overgeneralization but it’s easier to say.  This is a great class to teach because we cover some of the most important issues facing the wine industry as a whole.  We discuss barriers to entry, governmental impediments (tariffs, taxes, regulations), political instability, language barriers, economic instability, access to labor, access to resources, and access to intellectual capital, international competition and marketing. All of these issues can be boiled down to a central question.  Can producing quality wine be profitable given roadblocks of specific areas?  Great topics but I am not going bore you with the business details here.  The thing I was most excited about was the lineup of wines we would blind taste.  A few of the wines were a first time experience for me, some of them impressed, and some disappointed.

Random night makes for interesting blind tasting notes because you have no pre-determined realm of possibilities.  When we study Spain for example the white wines exist in a certatin realm of possibilies i.e. Albarino, Verdejo etc. Anything goes on random night.  We blind tasted a total of 9 wines. 

First the whites.  Honestly, the whites did not impress.  (Except for the Royal Tokaji 5 Putts)  The tasting notes all started to sound the same.  Generally each had very low acidity, a low concentration of fruit in the nose as well as on the palate.  It became a rinse, rather, and repeat.  None of the wines were “bad” but none were distinctive and structurally they were all quite “watery.” Here are two of the notes

Very pale straw with green hues and deeper concentration of gold at the sides with a 2 cm wide band of water white at the rim.  Nose: Semi-aromatic, white floral, white fruit, and citrus – lilies, pear, lemon and wax, smoke and cat pee.  Threshold spark of effervescence in the mouth.  Low acidity with no sourness or bitterness, medium body, oily texture, medium viscosity, high heat, moderate plus alcohol 13.5% simple fruit on the palate white peach, red delicious apple and a hint of white pepper.  Threshold residual sugar 1.0% Medium concentration fruit on palate but lacks acid balance in structure.

07 Montmolin Neuchatel – Switzerland 100% Chasselas $22 – very pale straw yellow with gray hue – slight gold concentration of color at the sides with a 1.5 cm wide band of water white at the rim.  Clean nose which is simple and semi aromatic – green apple, honeydew melon, with a subtle note of kerosene.  Effervescence is notable in the glass as well as a threshold sensation on the plate.  Low acidity with no sourness or bitterness.  Light body, smooth round texture, medium viscocity, low heat, residual sugar at 1.0% low concentration of citrus fruit on palate. Lacks acid balance in short finish

05 Royal Tokaji 5 Puttonyos $40 – densely concentrated old gold with copper edges concentrated to a yellow gold rim.  Complex and very aromatic nose of citrus and botrytis, orange peel, hazelnut, with a subtle note of earth and latex.  High mouthwatering acidity with no sourness, no bitterness, no astringency, residual sugar at about 12%, high viscosity, low heat and low alcohol at 10%.  Full body, rich texture.  Complex and long lasting finish with slowly evolving concentrated flavors of ripe peach, stewed orange, clove, and almond.

As we discussed the issues facing the Hungarian wine industry and the profitability of making dry wines in the region, the students continued to sip on the Tokaji and I couldn’t blame them.  It was delicious and a welcome relief after the rather boring whites. Then it was onto the reds.

The biggest disappointment came when I was preparing the carafes for the blind tasting.  Before class I nose all of the wines for faults.  Patrick at Winestone in Chestnut Hill always sends a back up bottle in case I find a fault.  (He comes to pick up the unused bottles at the end of the week – love that guy!)  I had trouble removing the foil on the 05 Stapleton & Springer Pinot Noir, South Moravia Czech Republic $20.  Houston, we have a leaker.  The cork and foil were covered with a reddish brown goo that smelled of balsamic vinegar.  I hoped that the second bottle would not but it had the same issue.  I decided to open the bottle that did not have as much goo on it but the wine inside was brown and putrid smelling.  BUMMER!  I was so looking forward to trying a wine from the Czech Repub.! Moving on

Densely colored, cloudy amethyst concentration to a 1 cm wide purple brown rim with an additional ½ cm of water white.  Highly aromatic fruit forward nose plums, grape soda, with underlying vegetal notes of tomato leaf and dill.  Medium body with high acidity, tart sourness, low astringency, extracted bitterness, coarse texture, low viscosity, low heat, medium alcohol 12.5%.  The medium finish exhibits red berries, tart plum, menthol and bark mulch medium length.

This was the first time I had taken a note on Dole – It was a bit overextracted for my taste but I found it interesting none the less.

Opaque cloudy black with ½ cm purple water color rim with a very slight water white meniscus.  Semi-aromatic with green bell pepper dominating the nose of medium complexity with underlying notes of lilac, black currant, and mint leaf.  Medium body, Low acidity with no sourness, medium tannin which is slightly astringent, not bitter, no sweetness, low viscocity, medium plus alcohol 13.5%, noticeable heat, Smooth, round texture. Simple complexity with low concentration of blackcurrant and plum on the medium finish.  Slightly out of balance with low acidity and alcohol.

I wish I had a second glass today but my husband finished off the bottle when I got home! If his opinion mattered he liked it very much.  I found it interesting

I will skip the boring tasting note here because it would read like a “California” AVA Cabernet Sauvignon.  Technically correct, varietally expressive and balanced.  A bit rustic for me but a good value and for the Kosher wines I have tried this is an excellent example.

Deeply colored amethyst with a 1cm wide rim of rose fading out to a pink meniscus.  Deeper blue hues at the core.  Clean, medium intensity aromatics with medium complexity rose petal, blackberry, plum, stewed beets, bark mulch, black pepper and subtle vanilla.  Medium body, medium acidity, no sourness,  medium tannin, slowly emerging astringency, high heat, medium viscosity, medium plus alcohol 14%, smooth round texture balanced by acid/tannin structure.  Concentrated plum, spice, and smoke on a medium plus finish.

I have a knee jerk reaction to Pinotage because I have had so many poor examples which reek of campfire smoke to a fault.  The students guessed Shiraz and I wonder if there is some mixed in here.  I can say this with 100% certainty that this is the best Pinotage I have ever had. 

A very interesting night with lively conversation and interesting wines.  Which one should I put on the final? hmmmm

2004 Jean Michel Gerin Cote Rotie “Champin le Seigneur” $65 13%  tasted Feb 2010

Consistent garnet red edge to edge with no noted deeper blue hues at the core.  Deeply concentrated color out to a very thin red brick meniscus.  No effervescence but some notable cloudiness.  Intensely aromatic with multilateral complexity lead by equal shares of hibiscus and spicy black pepper.  Underlying savory aromas of bacon, leather, wood smoke and fresh roasted coffee bean are complemented by plum and blackcurrant.  Medium body, moderate acidity which lends no sourness to the ripe fresh fruit aromas on the palate. Moderate alcohol at 13% is balance by acidity and tannin and offers no noticeable heat.  A High level of ripe tannins offer structure without stripping the mouth dry.  The finish is as long as it is intense and complex beginning with a mouth filling violet perfume followed by ripe cherry, vanilla with black pepper and tobacco smoke for the aftertaste.  Starting to show some age and ready to drink now but nowhere near ready to show its full potential.  An excellent, expressive and technically perfect example of Cote Rotie.

2007 Domaine de Noir Chinon $17 13%ABV

Consistent pale amethyst from edge to edge. No deeper blue hues were noted at the core.  Clear with no effervescence. Moderate concentration of color nears a medium sized band of paler purple and a thin rim of pink at the meniscus. Fresh, clean semi aromatic nose.  The multilevel complexity of aroma is lead by green bell pepper, pine, and black pepper.  Deeper aromas of black currant, mulberry, and mushroom reveal themselves in a less volatile, subtle way.  Tart but not overtly sour with moderate acidity.  Medium astringency with fine, well ripened tannins.  Light body, moderate alcohol 13% with is well balanced with simple, tart but fresh fruit on the palate cranberry and redcurrant leaving with sweet herbal aftertaste of rosemary and a threshold level of bitterness with no heat noted.  A youthful wine meant to be enjoyed young and fresh.  An excellent example for its type and at $17 very good quality for the price.

and if you prefer a less techinical tasting note -- http://www.wine.com/V6/Domaine-de-Noire-Chinon-Soif-de-Tendresse-Rouge-2008/wine/100279/detail.aspx

This is my go to Chinon and Cabernet Franc because I think it expresses the region and grape so well - for so little!

NV  Ku Dé Ta -“coup d’état” “Wine Revolution” Pinot Noir -"South France" Vin de Pays d’Oc - $8.99

WARNING: WINE SNOB ALERT!

DISCLAIMER:  People who read this tasting note are going to think I am being snobby. You certainly are entitled to your own opinion but in my own defense low priced wines do not deter me.  In fact many of my favorite wines are under $20 and then some.  I have even been known to say that Yellow Tail is a fair example of a quality product for its type.  That being said.....

Deeply colored garnet with deep blue hues.  Aromas are forward and obvious; grape juice concentrate, cranberry juice and grape soda.  I shot grape soda out of my nose in a fit of giggles when I was ten – this wine brought me back....I digress.   A dry wine with next to zero tannin and very little acidity and a good dose of alcohol at 13%.  To say that this wine is unstructured is an understatement.   There is simple ripe cherry fruit on the short, “tinny/aluminum”, somewhat bitter finish. 

I find it annoying that the producers feel they need to explain their brand name.  Does putting “coup d’état” on the back label to explain the phonetics on the front label insult my intelligence?  No, but by pointing out the obvious the label reminds me of the annoying jokester in the office that feels the need to explain the punch line of every predictable joke.  Get it? Get it? Ugh, I get it!   It’s obvious and so is this wine!

My expectation was that this wine was that it would fall in the “I don’t care what I’m drinking as long as it tastes good” cocktail category.    I certainly did not expect that this was going to be a noteworthy wine suitable for aging but a fruity enjoyable cocktail meant for high volume mass market sales.    However, I did have reasonable expectations that the wine would at least be “quaffable.”  There are plenty of pleasant $8.99 wines out there which do not fall into the “drink and think” category but rather are enjoyable “cocktail” wines, for the price; this is not one of them.  This seems like a blatant attempt to blend not so good wines in an effort to make a better product. 

France continues to hold onto the idea of regional typicity and to a certain extent I applaud them for it.  France can arguably produce the finest expression of Pinot Noir on Earth.  If this is intended to be a stepping stone wine to encourage interest in the Pinot Noirs or wines of France it is sorely off the mark.  If this is typical for Vin de Pays d’Oc pinot noir – I would not buy another.  Yet I have great hopes for and have had many excellent wines for a fair price from the Vin de Pays d’Oc.  They are typically Grenache, Mouverdre, Syrah and other interesting and indigenous varietals.   Perhaps this was an attempt to be the cheapest Pinot Noir on the market?  In any event, this seemed to be a case of putting lipstick on a ….. ok that’s enough talk for an $8.99 wine.  Boy, it is so much harder to write about an inadequate wine than a good or great wine!

setting: sunny 77°F - Thursday June 25th 4:30pm - Mood: Estatic (leaving for Hawaii in the am)

This wine is a blend of handpicked Grenache, Syrah, Cinsault, and Counoise grown on the mostly decomposing granite soils of Paso Robles yet inspired by the wines of Chateauneuf du Pape.  In fact owner Robert Hall who recently visited MA told me that he actually clipped the starter vines himself in the Rhone Valley more than 30 years ago.  He is an absolutely charming man who has done so much to promote the wines of Paso Robles and the region itself.  The region is uniquely situated in Southern CA in the very warm rain shadow of the York Mountains.  The gaps in the mountains offer a direct pipeline of cooling influences from the Pacific Ocean.  This combined with very cool nighttime temperatures allow the grapes to maintain a bright, spicy acidity.  Mr. Hall explained that the biggest advantage the grape growers in Paso Robles have over their Northern colleagues is the sun - PR does not suffer from the effects of lost daylight to fog as they do in Napa and Sonoma.  Nor do they typically suffer from hailstorms or rain during harvest.  The grapes ripen from both sun and heat insuring that the grapes are physically and phenolically ripe. 

Tasting note: 

Gem like garnet red with moderate intensity and good concentration of raspberry juice color out to the pink rim.  This wine gave me a shiver when I smelled it - I think my eyes rolled back in my head a bit as well.  Robust multi-lateral aromas of intensely ripe black cherry, chocolate, coffee bean, vanilla bean, leather.  The aromas are rich but can also best be described as fresh and clean rather than gaudy or gamey.   Moderate weight with plenty of spicy acidity and a moderate presence of ripe round tannins gives just enough structure to balance the 13.9% alcohol.  It is less complex on the palate than in the nose though not a detrimentally so.  A subtle hit of bitterness, cherry skin, sweet earth, and tobacco smoke reaveals itself on the slightly less than moderate finish.  I would recommend this wine as an excellent choice for any of your summer barbeques or outdoor parties.  Great structure, would pair well with a multitude of dishes, especially ribs.  Most importantly it is weighty enough to stand up to a bit of char but not heavy enough to make you or your palate crave a nap before the burgers are served.

2007 Yali Sauvignon Blanc, Rapel Valley Chile 13%

It’s Sunday and the Red Sox are playing in Tampa Bay.  Chores are done for the day and burgers and potato salad are ready to go for dinner but dinner is a few hours away.  Time to relax.  I set the mood for you because wine tasting notes for this palate tend to reflect my environment and emotional state.  It is a cool gray day with sprinkles on the newly flowering rhododendrons. Maybe if it were a hot, dusty day I would find more enjoyment in today’s glass?  Maybe if the weekend hadn’t been so busy I wouldn’t be feeling so deprived of what I thought was going to be a special treat?   In any case, the current mood is disappointed with the 2007 Yali Sauvignon Blanc from Rapel Valley, Chile.

Consumer perspective:  Why did I buy?

I find that Sauvignon Blanc is excellent refreshment I had no particular designs on pairing the wine with a meal.  An attractive tall, thin, green bottle with a stelvin enclosure and a simple, elegant label with a silver etching of a small bird.  The label reads “Winemaker’s Selection.”  Yet, there is no further indication that this has any meaning.  The back label explains the “El Yali” wetland is Central Chile’s most important wetland ecosystem.  The wetland lies between the famous wine regions of Maipo and Casablanca.  Grapes and wetlands, hmmmmm, what?  The vineyards are located in the Lolol area of the Rapel Valley near the coast and south of the Capital city of Santiago. 

In all fairness, this is last year’s model, a 2007.  It is possible that due to its age the wine has rapidly lost the components I find most enjoyable in a well made sauvignon blanc – freshness of aroma and acidity.  The color is golden yellow like the flesh of a golden delicious apple.  Aromas of ripe apricots, cantaloupe with a sickly sweet reminder of juicy fruit gum or canned fruit cocktail overpower a muted hint of grapefruit and flint.  Outside of the grapefruit and flint this note sounds more like a Marsanne/Roussane blend, maybe?   The palate is medium body and round with very little acidity except for a tangy twinge which quickly flattens with 13% alcohol.  The finish has an alcoholic, oily, strangely metallic, bitter aspect to it. Sigh, disappointing. 

This wine is very popular in the UK.   Majestic carries it for £5.  I bought it at McKinlays in Holden, MA for $11.99.  I love a good cheap wine but when I can get a better wine for 8.99….it doesn’t do much for my assessment!   This 2007 is not a GOOD wine it is simply mediocre.  Consumers should not settle for mediocre “technically good,”“no fault” wines when so many enjoyable reasonably priced wines are currently available.   I am in search of the 2008 but if the ’07 is any indication, it certainly should be consumed very young and fresh.  For comparison’s sake try Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc, Casablanca.   For about the same price you can enjoy refreshing aromatics with softer acidity than the crisper styles found in New Zealand and France.  Current mood: disappointed but hopeful – and the sox are now mounting a comeback ­4-3 in the 8^th – there is hope for the ’08.