WTN: An odd selection

[wineguy]

Tasting Notes from an informal tasting held with friends as we test our tasting abilities. All of these wines were tasted blind and then revealed after discussion.

We started with two sparklings the first was a Prossecco from Nino Franco, non vintage. Small bubbles with almost no colour, at first the nose was very tight showing just a hint of peach but coming back to it later, it opened up into a wonderful perfume that was backed by some green grass. The palate was very delicate and light with a nice peachiness all the way through to finish very fresh and light with almost no alcohol.

The next sparkling was a 2000 Riesling from Canada, in the Ontario region. The winery was Vineland Estates, I have had the still Riesling and Gewurztraminer before and really enjoyed them, but this sparkling was a let down. The bubbles were of medium size while the colour took on a straw tone. The nose started off strong showing some good Riesling characteristics but was mostly citrus dominant with a hefty alcohol presence. The palate is where the charmat method really came through as a few friends quickly pointed out that it was like drinking apple cider with twice the alcohol. The tartness was quickly taken over by the hot finish, not fun to drink.

Next we went on to three whites and these were meant to really throw us for a loop. The first was a 2001 Tokay Pinot Gris from Alsace by Paul Zinck, it had a light honeyed peach nose that took some real coxing to get out of the glass. The palate was welcomed with soft dry citrus, peach, and mineral notes that held the medium body of the wine all the way across the palate ending with a soft but short finish. One of those wines that would disappear before you knew it, being so enjoyable to drink.

The next wine was one I had a few weeks prior that really knocked my socks off. It was an 1998 Albarino by Carqueixal from the Rias Baixas region just above Portugal. The funky nose is what turned me on first, the combination of grapefruit, mushroom, mineral, oak, and pineapple all layered beautifully together. The complexity continues to evolve as you work your way through the wine as I enjoyed it more at the finish than at first. The palate works alittle differently than the nose as it comes in softer with crisp citrus flavours that compliment the oak and tropical fruit. For myself it is a great wine on its own as it keeps you searching the whole time, but most of my friends would prefer it with food.

The fifth wine was a comparison with the third as it was another 2001 Pinot Gris from Alsace but this one was from the Reserve line of Pierre Sparr. The nose had a great complexity of typical Pinot Gris characteristics of peach, perfume, grass, and mineral. The palate took on a bit of sweetness but the body of it was almost non-existent until the soft and long finish that carried through with the same characteristics as the nose.

Our last wine was a 2000 red from the Cote du Rhone AOC by the Perrin brothers out of Chateau de Beaucastel. The wineshop is calling this totally organic but when you read the label it says they take from various locations within the appellation, sounds more like a marketing ploy than anything else, but I am also not up on the organic regulations in France. Don’t let this take away from the fact that organic or not I really injoyed this wine. It shows a little bit of age with some fading of colour around the edge but has a nice dark red center. The nose has a fresh cherry scent that dominates the earthy undertones, very nice. The soft cherry flavour carries through on the palate all the way to a slightly hot finish that is of considerable length.

If anyone has experiences with these wines or the organic regulations of france, please let me know I would like to see what others have to think. Till next time.

[Mark Sommelier]

Hello wineguy,

Thanks for the post.

I'm not a huge prosecco fan. I personally don't really care for sparkling wine. Please allow me to list random responses:

Pinot Gris from Alsace is the answer. When the question is "do you have pinot grigio", the answer should be "NO". Pinot Gris is great. In Europe, the white wines from Galicia (pronounced Galithia) are called Rias Baxias (pronounced Riash Bakshash) in the local dialect. Albariño is for Americans.

There are some Grand Cru Pinot Gris you should look for, they will blow you away. Weinbach and ZH are the 2 producers to look for.

The great inexpensive wine the Perrins make is called "Les Sinards" Chateuaneuf-du-Pape. Good bang for the buck.

Organic, or organique, is new in France. There are other designations people put on their boxes, also. Biologique, organique, biodynamique, are some of them. Keep drinking! Keep posting!!

[Christopher]

Albariño is for Americans.

There is evidence at Geisenheim (of course) that Albarino may be a clonal selection of Riesling carried by the German Monks to the Iberian Penninsula during the 13th century.

[tjaehnigen]

Most Canadian wines (not talking dessert wines now) I have had have never been great. In fact, I'd say few are beyond 'good', making them very good. Just my opinion.