I recently celebrated my birhtday with a few friends. All participants work in the wine industry. So I thought it would be a nice idea to have a “you will never be able to blindly guess it”-tasting. After the tasting we had a bbq and finished a few of the bottles. If the bottle was empty at the end of the evening I noted it down, as I think that it is a good indicator of quality.
We started with 1959 Gelber Muskateller (Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains) from my own Winery; nobody guessed it was that old, there was no guess beyond the 90s; great wine, with a little air it improved significantly even after 2 hours because the little tannin it had at the end of the tongue dissolved wonderfully. The variety wasn’t guessed either , curiously the differences between Muscat and Riesling start to fade with age. (bottle was empty at the end of bbq)
Tolpuddle Chardonnay Tasmania 2022, due to the topic my friends were hesitant to say what everybody was thinking: Meursault. The style was really similar. An extremly well well made wine, that unfortunatley fails to transport an unique expression of terroir. (bottle was empty at the end of bbq)
Grosset Riesling Polish Hill 2022, Clare Valley, Australia; extremely mineralic, very straight, surprisingly lots of petrol, a quite extreme expression of really cool climate riesling; the critics were more kind to the wine than we were (97 parker) . One Participant guessed the wine correctly as he had the same bottle only 2 weeks ago by coincidence. (bottle was only half emptied)
Chateau Mercian, Chardonnay, left bank, Yamanashi, Japan – very well made, tasted like a very warm origin. It as well vinified but all the components tasted like they were standing next to each other without actually mergin and creating synergy. (probably the weakest wine of the evening, bottle was not emptied)
Weingut Topf, Chardonnay Hasel 2011 – a warm chardonnay, just like the previous wine. But a very good expression of a warm climate (2011 was extremly hot in Austria) Chardonnay. Very tropical, very lush, a little sweet, but very well rounded and overall a good wine. This lush style is a a little out of fashion, but impeccable! (only very little left in the bottle at the end)
Emidio Pepe, Montepulciano Old Vines 2018; initially didn’t smell at all like a sulphur-free wine, incredibly fresh and precise. My original guess was a Northern Rhone Syrah. Wine improved rapidly with air. Great dual use wine: nice to sip, but easy to swallow. (bottle was one of the first ones to be emptied)
Clos Alpata 2019, Chile, Maule Valley; 99 parker, 99 euros; camenere-based bdx blend (70% carmenere), initially very medoc, very graphite. Once again nobody wanted to share their initially thought due to the topic. Everbody would have guess a very good Left Bank BDX. Initially a very green carbernet franc aroma made the wine seemed rough. With air it got better and better. Well structured wine and I am very happy that I have another bottle to hold for 5 to 10 more years. (bottle empty, one of my favorites)
Kusuda, Syrah 2016, Martinborough, New Zealand; incredibly scarce, very straightforward, very cool style. Great acidity and also good extract interwoven with the acidity. It still feels like 0g of fat on the ribs. Probably the wine of the evening for me; it was criticized for having almost too much pinot on the nose, a friend of mine threw a small fit about it; (bottle finished, mainly by me, very happy that i bought a full case)
Garage Wines, Vigno Carignan 2018, Chile; pure carignan, of course nobody was able to guess that… extreme mineralic, extremely dry; it has good length but seems quite thin in places; 99 Parker points, but nobody could really understand that; very drinkable but not enough punch; (not finished)
After that, we moved to the pavilion for a barbecue and opened a few additonal bottles:
Raventos i Blanc, Mas de Serral; it was recommended to me as supposedly the best cava in Spain; the whole table deemed it quite good, but it didn’t really blow anyone away. A champagne for the same price would probably have been better received, would have had more punch in regard of acidity and concentration. Nevertheless, a very great sparkling wine; the amount of detailed information on the back label was impressive; (bottle was finished)
A sangiovese-based pet nat from Abruzzo; was good, but didn’t make much of an impression; (not finished)
Lopez de Heredia, Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva Rosado 2012; probably the best rosé I’ve ever drunk; the collective attention span was already very low at this point of the evening, only a few people at the table were still actively tasting it, the bottle was quickly finished; for me, definitely one of the highlights of the evening!
Lopez de Heredia, Vina Tondonia Reserva Blanco 2011; I already knew the wine and it is one of my absolute favorites; simply beautiful meadow herbs and minerality; incredibly tight for a wine that has been in the barrel for 10 years; I could bathe in it.
It was a really fun evening.
corwintanner
Interesting to see that most of the choices are well known varieties and regions. That could make it a bit more interesting since there’s actually a chance someone may call it blind.
I actually had that Clos Apalta (possibly the same vintage) in a wine pairing the other night. Chile continues to impress. I can for sure see being led to left bank despite the hefty dose Carmenere. The grape didn’t stand apart nearly as much as I’ve found in other wines.
Looks like a fabulous tasting and right up my alley. I need to organize one of these myself (if I ever find a wine group).
2 Comments
I recently celebrated my birhtday with a few friends. All participants work in the wine industry. So I thought it would be a nice idea to have a “you will never be able to blindly guess it”-tasting. After the tasting we had a bbq and finished a few of the bottles. If the bottle was empty at the end of the evening I noted it down, as I think that it is a good indicator of quality.
We started with 1959 Gelber Muskateller (Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains) from my own Winery; nobody guessed it was that old, there was no guess beyond the 90s; great wine, with a little air it improved significantly even after 2 hours because the little tannin it had at the end of the tongue dissolved wonderfully. The variety wasn’t guessed either , curiously the differences between Muscat and Riesling start to fade with age. (bottle was empty at the end of bbq)
Tolpuddle Chardonnay Tasmania 2022, due to the topic my friends were hesitant to say what everybody was thinking: Meursault. The style was really similar. An extremly well well made wine, that unfortunatley fails to transport an unique expression of terroir. (bottle was empty at the end of bbq)
Grosset Riesling Polish Hill 2022, Clare Valley, Australia; extremely mineralic, very straight, surprisingly lots of petrol, a quite extreme expression of really cool climate riesling; the critics were more kind to the wine than we were (97 parker) . One Participant guessed the wine correctly as he had the same bottle only 2 weeks ago by coincidence. (bottle was only half emptied)
Chateau Mercian, Chardonnay, left bank, Yamanashi, Japan – very well made, tasted like a very warm origin. It as well vinified but all the components tasted like they were standing next to each other without actually mergin and creating synergy. (probably the weakest wine of the evening, bottle was not emptied)
Weingut Topf, Chardonnay Hasel 2011 – a warm chardonnay, just like the previous wine. But a very good expression of a warm climate (2011 was extremly hot in Austria) Chardonnay. Very tropical, very lush, a little sweet, but very well rounded and overall a good wine. This lush style is a a little out of fashion, but impeccable! (only very little left in the bottle at the end)
Emidio Pepe, Montepulciano Old Vines 2018; initially didn’t smell at all like a sulphur-free wine, incredibly fresh and precise. My original guess was a Northern Rhone Syrah. Wine improved rapidly with air. Great dual use wine: nice to sip, but easy to swallow. (bottle was one of the first ones to be emptied)
Clos Alpata 2019, Chile, Maule Valley; 99 parker, 99 euros; camenere-based bdx blend (70% carmenere), initially very medoc, very graphite. Once again nobody wanted to share their initially thought due to the topic. Everbody would have guess a very good Left Bank BDX. Initially a very green carbernet franc aroma made the wine seemed rough. With air it got better and better. Well structured wine and I am very happy that I have another bottle to hold for 5 to 10 more years. (bottle empty, one of my favorites)
Kusuda, Syrah 2016, Martinborough, New Zealand; incredibly scarce, very straightforward, very cool style. Great acidity and also good extract interwoven with the acidity. It still feels like 0g of fat on the ribs. Probably the wine of the evening for me; it was criticized for having almost too much pinot on the nose, a friend of mine threw a small fit about it; (bottle finished, mainly by me, very happy that i bought a full case)
Garage Wines, Vigno Carignan 2018, Chile; pure carignan, of course nobody was able to guess that… extreme mineralic, extremely dry; it has good length but seems quite thin in places; 99 Parker points, but nobody could really understand that; very drinkable but not enough punch; (not finished)
After that, we moved to the pavilion for a barbecue and opened a few additonal bottles:
Raventos i Blanc, Mas de Serral; it was recommended to me as supposedly the best cava in Spain; the whole table deemed it quite good, but it didn’t really blow anyone away. A champagne for the same price would probably have been better received, would have had more punch in regard of acidity and concentration. Nevertheless, a very great sparkling wine; the amount of detailed information on the back label was impressive; (bottle was finished)
A sangiovese-based pet nat from Abruzzo; was good, but didn’t make much of an impression; (not finished)
Lopez de Heredia, Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva Rosado 2012; probably the best rosé I’ve ever drunk; the collective attention span was already very low at this point of the evening, only a few people at the table were still actively tasting it, the bottle was quickly finished; for me, definitely one of the highlights of the evening!
Lopez de Heredia, Vina Tondonia Reserva Blanco 2011; I already knew the wine and it is one of my absolute favorites; simply beautiful meadow herbs and minerality; incredibly tight for a wine that has been in the barrel for 10 years; I could bathe in it.
It was a really fun evening.
Interesting to see that most of the choices are well known varieties and regions. That could make it a bit more interesting since there’s actually a chance someone may call it blind.
I actually had that Clos Apalta (possibly the same vintage) in a wine pairing the other night. Chile continues to impress. I can for sure see being led to left bank despite the hefty dose Carmenere. The grape didn’t stand apart nearly as much as I’ve found in other wines.
Looks like a fabulous tasting and right up my alley. I need to organize one of these myself (if I ever find a wine group).