The August Massacre

 

Things did not go as planned.  It was my first mock exam since the start of Summer, and playing under timed conditions while writing "correct" answers is much more difficult than sitting at a table and riffing your way to an answer.  Still, it's fun to play the game...  I'll lay out to you what my notes and conclusions were like this is an NFL team Monday morning film session.  A couple of things to note...  1.  I probably didn't give John enough budget money for the case which led to a couple wines that were extremely challenging due to them maybe being interesting but perhaps not the most "typical".  2.  As he's not in the MW program, the mock leaned into identification and didn't ask winemaking questions which would have been some major points on a few of the wines, but admittedly would have scalped me on a couple of misidentifications.  If you've read this far you're probably on board for how I'm going to lay this out.  If you're not into it, for God's sake stop reading and click over to some cat videos to make better use of your time.  OK... Let's go.

Wines 1 & 2.  Same single grape, different countries.  Identify grape and country.

Wine 1 notes:  Medium gold, musky nose, 13% ABV, round mouthfeel pointing to malo, Med + acid, citus/melon palate with vegetal note on finish.  Neutral barrel aged.  Medium concentration/finish. Old World.

Wine 2 Notes:  Pale clear with blueish tinge?, Lime/citrus/zest/herbal medium nose, Med + acid, honeydew melon palate, no oak/malo, very clean winemaking, had to be fined/sterile filtered, 13% ABV.  Little savory on finish but fruit is pointing New World

What did I say: As soon as I smelled this, I thought "this is so familiar".  I looked at the clear Wine 2 and thought, "that looks like that Australian semillon they sell at Whole Foods".  That was all it took for me to start pounding that square peg into the round hole.  Wine 1 was fairly non-aromatic, with Wine 2 being mediumy on the aromas.  They were both low alcohol, elevated acid, and wine 1 had an oxidative neutral barrel age thing going that fit with Bordeaux.  Wine 2 definitely didn't have the screaming acid one assumes you'll get from Hunter Valley, so maybe somewhere cooler climate?  How about Margaret River?  Yeah, that works.

What the wines were:  Wine 1 was Di Lenardo Friuli DOC Pinot Grigio.  Wine 2 Elk Cove 2022 Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley OR.

What I should have said:  Look, I almost never drink pinot gris, so I can have a blind spot there but FOR FUCK'S SAKE I took two pinot gris to Blind Wine Wednesday this week and finished them up TH/FR.  Perhaps that is why they were so familiar dipshit?  Though neither wine showed elevated ABV that one might expect, they were both medium bodied and very medium in almost all respects.  This was a very bad miss on my part.  Both wines had the phenolic bitterness that I chalked up as being "vegetal".    

Wines 3-5 are from the same country.  Identify origin and grape(s) of each wine as closely as possible.

Wine 3 notes:  Pale straw color, small bubbled mousse, foamy, Tangy green apple, lime, wet stone, med + acid, Prosecco?  Cava?  Bubbles vibe tank method and not getting autolytic character, but it's not floral enough to be glera/prosecco... New World sparkler?  Dry.  ABV 11.5-12? 

Wine 4 notes:  Med- Ruby color, nose of cherry/cranberry/earth, med acid, light bodied, fine grain tannins with elevated grip, palate not great complexity, cherry with earthy note on finish, 13.5 ABV, no oak, thin skinned grape: grenache?  Chilean pinot?  Not green though.

Wine 5 notes:  med ruby color, red/black fruit nose, blend?  No clear variety on nose, Med acid, med tannins, red/black fruit on palate like nose, tobacco secondary flavor, clean winemaking., savory wine.. Bordeaux blend?  Mencia?

What did I say:  When approaching a trio like this, I'm looking for a banker.  I know what wine "X" is, therefore I can deduce the other two by process of elimination.  The closest thing I have to that is wine 3.  I feel like it's got to be an artisan prosecco or cava.  The sparkler isn't great.  It's crispy and OK.  I feel like that note at the end is pointing to a short time on lees and the small bubbles definitely say "traditional method".  It's not floral, and the ABV is probably 12 which would be a tad high for prosecco.  This could be an entry level cava, something sitting at $12-$15.  So if I'm in Spain what about wines 3/4?  Thin skinned grape for sure on wine 4.  It's got moderate acid with medium tannin, so grenache is in play here, maybe one of those higher elevation wines from Serra del Grados?  Wine 5 could certainly be tempranillo, but that tobacco streak is more like Mencia.  Clock is ticking...  OK.  I'm going Spain.

What the wines were:  Wine 3 La Montina Saten Brut Franciacorta, Wine 4 Angelo Negro Angelin Langhe Nebbiolo 2021, Wine 5 Villa Antinori Toscana 2021

What I should have said:   When I put that sparkler in Spain, I was fucked.  That one mistake is all it took.  Look, a Franciacorta from 100% chardonnay made in that saten style is not an easy call.  I was on point with the foamy aspect and the little bubbles, but I sure didn't pick up 18 months on lees.  Cava was a very reasonable call here, but it was wrong.  The real mistake I made was not picking up on the high acid on Wine 4.  By putting high acid into the note on wine 4, it HAS to be nebbiolo.  If you have nebbiolo, you must be in Italy.  Of course, the downside there is I would have called Wine 3 a prosecco and then talked about tank method production and got killed there.  However, the Bordeaux blend in my note on wine 5 was right on target.  That wine is a kitchen sink of Bordeaux grapes with sangiovese tossed in for good measure.  This group really demonstrates how razor thin the decisions are between passing and failing this exam.  Because I missed the acid intensity on Wine 4, I was dead at that point.  If I got that acid, I probably score major points with deductions on Wine 3 winemaking methods.  Fucking A man.

Wines 6-8 are from the same country.  Identify country, origin, grape(s) as closely as possible:

Wine 6 notes:  Pale ruby (thin skinned), oak sitting on top of red fruit aromas, med acid, low tannins with fine grain, light bodied, this is pinot, tannins in body seem like they are coming from wood, not integrated very well, wine is simple but from high quality region due to all the new oak sitting on it, Bourgogne regional at $35?

Wine 7 notes:  Fruity fruit fruit nose, carbonic, color leaning into violet, 13.5 ABV, low tannin, soft mouthfeel, berry bowl palate with a little earth at end, gotta be gamay, Beaujolais Village?  Not structured enough to be cru, fruity little pounder 

Wine 8 notes:  Brett/stable nose, overwhelms fruit, Red/Black fruit character, palate is barnyard, earth, red fruit, leather, tobacco.  Green streak flashes across the palate.  med body.  Chinon from super trad/rustic producer?  Either Loire cab franc or Northern Rhone syrah, but not meaty/olivey.. Beaujo?  

What did I say:  I was thinking wine 6 could have been Chilean because it was darker than I'd expect for Burgundy, but wine 7 with that fruit bowl carbonic nose/palate was Beaujolais for sure.  That could mean wine 6 was a 2020 Bourgogne which would explain the color.  Totally makes sense with the level of French oak on a not very exciting pinot noir when you can charge $35 or so for it.  We have to be in France, especially with that bretty fucker in glass #8.  That must be a Chinon due to the tannic structure.  Syrah wouldn't be built that way. 

What the wines were:  Wine 6 Nicolas Potel Bourgogne 2020.  Wine 7 Domaine Sables des Verts Saumur Chamigny "Glouglou" 2021.  Wine 8 Chateau Castagnac Fronsac 2018

What I should have said:  Well, I couldn't have been any more on the money for wine 6.  Wine 7 is essentially Beaujolais but made with Cab Franc.  They use carbonic maceration on half, it's all steel ferment and aged in tank for seven months prior to bottling.  I just poured it again, and those tannins are soft.  I dunno.  That would have been difficult to put into the Loire.  Wine 8 really surprised me.  I was so focused on the brett I should have leaned into the tannic quality more.  Those are medium grained.  Also, I think I willed that green streak into being as it was more aged tobacco than herbs.  Not the worst miss in the world, but I hate to miss Bordeaux.  A successful flight overall.

Wines 9 & 10.  Same country and same grape.  Comment on quality and maturity of wines.

Wine 9 notes:  Oak prominent in nose.  red/Black fruit.  Leather.  Medium ruby color.  Leathery red fruit, oak aged, good length and complexity.  Seems like extended barrel age and more recent bottling/. Firm tannic grip.  Savory.  Rioja or Bordeaux.

Wine 10 notes:  Jammy nose of black fruit, deep color, hot climate, med acid, black fruit on palate, med grained tannins, grip in gums, 14.5 ABV Ribera del Duero?  

What did I say:  I wrote an extensive and well written note about how this was a Rioja Riserva and a Ribera del Duero.  The American oak and heavy use of oak screamed out Rioja in wine 9, plus the tannins were grippy but not fierce like I'd expect in Bordeaux.  Wine 10 clearly is from a hotter climate with black fruit quality, less grippy tannins, less acid, and high alcohol.  Then when I finished writing it, I had doubts and thought "maybe wine 10 is St Emilion?".  14.5ABV, black fruit and softer mouthfeel could be merlot in a hot vintage.  That's when I reversed course and edited my answer into Bordeaux.

What the wines were:  Wine 10 Muriel Reserva Rioja 2016.  Wine 11 Cepa 21 Ribera Del Duero 2019

What I should have said:  I have been consistently told that your first guess is usually the correct one.  Like most of those taking these exams, I have willingly ignored this advice and changed correct answers like I did here today.  One would hope that this is the last time I do that, but let's be honest...  I will do it again sometime in the next 45 days for the exact same result.  As we often said about teenage Bobby Latina in the Cowslingers band van, "The Boy don't learn."

Wines 11 and 12 are same country same grape.

Wine 11 notes:  Deep ruby color, nose black fruit and au jus, this is big boozy rich soft black fruit, a shit ton of new oak flavor, it's almost a dessert, there some RS here?  New World syrah from hot climate?  Barossa or Paso? Maybe Washington.  14.5 ABV. 

Wine 12 notes:  Sort of the same wine but a little less full throttle.  Black fruit, menthol, very clean winemaking, way less oak if any, high ABV, 14.5. Australia?  

What did I say:  These were so rich that they had to be from hot climate.  They were clean wines, and the level of oak on the first one shows some ambition.  They really reminded me of the big Parker wines of the 1990s/2000s.  The tannins were present but not giving structure on wine 12 at all, which is a little flabby.  Wine 11 has some tannins to hold up to the heft of the rich fruit, so I'm thinking a big ass Barossa shiraz there.  Wine 12 could frankly be from anywhere in Australia, so maybe Clare Valley is defendable.  

What the wines were:  Dusted Valley Boomtown Cabernet Washington State 2021, Wine 12 Sonoma Crest Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

What I should have said:  The tannins and oak should have made me consider cabernet more heavily on wine 11, but that meaty aroma sold me.  It was so rich I felt like it had to be New World syrah.  To be fair, this is where he ran out of budget and plopped in two negociant wines hoping for the best.  Wine 12 is a tough call on cabernet as there is almost no structure to speak of in the wine.  You'd get that as an airport glass pour and not really even notice that it's there.  In an exam it would have been wine 11 sitting next to a $75 Napa Cabernet. 

Final Result:  Failure.  

Next steps:  Re-write, re-taste, don't repeat mistakes