Nomadic Wines

Weekday Wine Tasting group - March 28 BYO and blind tasting

On March 28, we got together to do a “double blind” tasting. Everyone brought a bottle and wrapped it in tin foil; that way, no one knew the names or contents of the wine. In some groups, the objective of this exercise is to guess the contents (i.e. Pinot Noir or Cabernet, Italy or France). In this tasting, we were simply choosing our favorites without any prejudice.

This was a fun tasting. I think everyone liked the wines, although some favorites clearly rose to the top. I am listing the wines in the group’s order of preference. The first three wines seemed to be the cream of the crop.

2003 Calona Vineyards Cabernet-Merlot, Okanagan Valley (Canada) – very pure fruit with great balance; not too sweet
2001 DeLoach Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast (California) – clearly Pinot Noir, but very sweet. This one was popular with the ladies.
2003 Catena Malbec, Mendoza (Argentina) – I thought this was the most balanced wine of the night and it had the best finish -- no lingering aftertaste at all. Some notes of mocha and spice.
2003 D'Arenberg The Footbolt Shiraz, McLaren Vale (Australia) – I have tried this before and enjoyed it more than last night. It is not too jammy or fruity.
2004 Goat-Roti, Paarl (South Africa) – disappointing – I didn't think this wine had much character. I expected there to be more to it, but it was fairly light.
2004 Bianco Aldo Dolcetto D'Alba, Piemonte (Italy) – a little sweet, light-bodied - it was a little short on the finish
2002 Franciscan Oakville Estate Merlot, Napa Valley (California) – I don't really remember this one
2005 Montes Pinot Noir, Casablanca Valley (Argentina) – this didn’t really remind me of Pinot Noir - it was a little bitter and tannic
2004 Morgante Nero d'Avola, Sicilia (Italy) – I remember this being spicy and fruity. I bet it would go well with pizza/pasta.
2004 Salzl Seewinkelhof Zweigelt, Burgenland (Austria) – this is an unusual grape just from Austria. It is round and juicy like Pinot Noir, but spicy like Zinfandel. I never find them to have much complexity, but they usually smell good and taste nice initially.
2003 Artazuri, Navarra (Spain) – I guessed correctly that this was Grenache, but I assumed Cotes du Rhone. It showed the tell-tale Grenache characteristics of licorice and spice. It didn't have the concentration to be great.
2002 Gaetano D'Aquino Chianti Riserva, Chianti (Italy) – this wine was corked - tasted like wet dog, wet barn… generally pretty gross.

posted by nomadfromcincy @ 11:17 AM