Tastings at home

Tastings at a friend’s or in your own home is always fun. Last month I went to a tasting at a friend’s place. We all put in $30 and we split into two teams; the boys and the girls. We tasted some lovely wines and these were split into flights of two. They were all tasted blind; we weren’t to know what any of the wines were, where they came from, the grape varieities. So it was a true tasting with no prejudice. But it became more difficult as the night went on as I didn’t use any spitoons. If I want to be serious, even in my free time and when I’m not being a wine geek, I need to bring a spitoon!

First we tried a sparkling then a Champagne. I found the Champagne more biscuity with a slightly heavier weight to it. That’s not to say that every Champagne will be richer and bolder than a sparkling – I mean there have been a few English sparkling wines mistaken for Champagnes in the past but in this case it applied. The sparkling was from the Swan Valley and great value at $24.

The line up

The line up

The next was a Chardonnay from Chablis in France and Chardonnay from Vasse Felix. I could taste the slightly sweeter notes in the Vasse Felix with the slight minerality of the Chablis and its steelyness. Chardonnay is so flexible – grown in Chablis in one of the most northern vineyards in Europe (only Champagne and the vineyards in England are further north), and grown in Margaret River – they both reflect what the wine world talks about, ‘ terroir.’

Next up was a Pinot Noir from Central Otago and a Pinot from Burgundy. I can’t remember the vintage of the New Zealand Pinot but you could tell the Burgundy Pinot was older due to the colour in the glass. As reds age they lose their colour and a bricky hue forms around the rim of the glass. This 2009 exuded dried strawberries with a hint of fresh fruit still on the palate. While the NZ Pinot was much more fruit driven with aromas of berries, spice and leather.

Food to accompany a tasting at home

Food to accompany a tasting at home

The seventh and eigth wines were both Malbecs, one from Mendoza in Argentina and one from Frankland River in WA. Malbec really is at home in Argentina. It used to be used more in Bordeaux blends but today only makes up about 5-6% of the blend. I haven’t tasted Malbecs recently so to compare an Argenitinean with a Western Australian was a welcome surprise.

Ninth and tenth were Cabernet Sauvignon blends. I could taste one was from Bordeaux – the left bank where Cabernet is the dominant grape variety. Aromas of leather, dust, earth as well as berry fruit stood out from the glass. In comparison the Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon was lively and fruit driven with aromas of chocolate, spice and leather.

Eleventh and twelth were both Shiraz blends. It was interesting to see how this grape performs in differing amounts in a blend.

We ended the evening with some wonderful cheese, I had a cup of tea and then it was off to bed! Thank you to Ida and Tom for a wonderful night!

Cheese platter

Cheese platter