December Taste-Off
Unique Red Blends
ArtPeople Gallery
December 18, 2008
ArtPeople Gallery
December 18, 2008
Our Taste-offs are based on two main premises
(1) Those who consume a product are the best judges since they put their money where their palates are. These are people who enjoy wine with dinner ,but are not professionally involved in the wine industry. While the experts may be looking for more subtle qualities such as a "sense of place" or "complexity" in a wine, the typical wine lover is seeking drinkability above all else--how delicious a wine is.
(2) One wine can fit most, which is to say that certain wines can please an array of tasters, from novices to grape nuts, and whether one is a " tolerant taster" or "hyper-sensitive taster".
Following the perspective of the "wisdom of crowds", we seek to create a microcosm of wine drinkers, a palate populi, not to conduct an objective test of quality, but to find agreement among personal preferences. Sensory evaluation, while it may change with more experience, does not require specialized training or technical expertise. Wine Spectator columnist Matt Kramer has written that agreement/consensus on the appeal of different wines results in the least offensive wines emerging with the highest group scores. But what he considers a criticism we consider an accolade. The so called "safe" wines do hold greater appeal and can well achieve higher scores among a cross section of amateurs. Easy-to-drink wines with distinctive fruit and soft tannins represent the sweet spot for wine making.
This means that certain wines that appeal to more refined tastes will not always, indeed may seldom appeal to the less refined. If, for example, a Grand Cru Chablis were inserted into our citizen's choice judging of California Chardonnays, no doubt it would get a lower score. Perhaps a few tasters might spot its special qualities, but most others would find the stony, acidic, austere character of the Chablis to be off-putting.
It follows from this that we are NOT interested in knowing and reporting whether, for example, a Chardonnay has more of a citrusy or a more peachy mango character. We want to know simply how much our representative group of tasters likes a wine, i.e. did it achieve an aggregate score of Very Good or above. In our view, such an approach is the most reliable way of guiding other consumers.
This time, 22 out of 45 members and guests submitted ballots, most of which were only partially filled out. Some of the wines received as few as 9 ratings, some as many as 15. Six participants, our "Core Group", rated all 12 wines.. Tasters were also asked to rank their 1st, 2nd and 3rd favorite which we factored into our algorithm. Three out of our 12 wines scored Very Good or above. We provided an array of nibbles so participants are able to taste the wines with food.
Here are the results:
Acorn Winery 2005 Medley Alegria Vineyards Russian River Valley $30 29% Zinfandel, 24% Syrah, 9% Cinsault, 9% Sangiovese, 9 % Cabernet Franc, 8% Muscat Ottonel. Winemaker Bill Nachbauer co-fermented 18 different field blended varieties in two lots with different yeasts. After fermentation the lots were pressed into 50% new oak barrels for aging. The lots were then blended after three months and aged for another 15. RATING: Excellent (8 out of 11 ballots VG or above-Highly Recommended)/Core Group: 1st place Best of Tasting by a wide margin.
Bella Vineyards 2005 Hillside Cuvee Estate Alexander Valley $28 54% Cabernet sauvignon, 25% zinfandel ,11% petite sirah, 10% petite verdot
RATING: Very Good (6 0ut 0f 10 ballots VG or above-Highly Recommended) 2nd place / Core Group: 4th place
Trinitas Vineyards 2005 Old Vine Cuvee $13 at the winery - 29% Zinfandel, 26%
Mataro (Mouvedre), 22%, Carignane, 16% Petite Sirah, 4% Alicante Bouschet, 3% Black Malvoisia RATING: Very Good (9 out 15 VG or above) 3rd place/wines costing $22 or less : 1st place/Core Group: 3rd place. Best Value by far. Skylark Wine Company 2006 Red Belly North Coast $20. Composed of 47% Carignane, 47% Syrah, 6 % Grenache. This Southern Rhone style blend is produced by Boulevard restaurant Wine Director John Lancaster and Sommelier Rob Perkins. Acorn 2005 Medley Alegria Vineyards Russian River Valley $30 29% Zinfandel, 24% Syrah, 9% Cinsault, 9% Sangiovese , 9 % Cabernet Franc, 8% Muscat Ottonel
RATING: Good-Very Good (6 out of 11 ballots VG or above) 4th place/ $22 and under: 3rd place/Core Group: Very Good 2nd place
Terre Rouge 2005 Tete-a-Tete Sierra Foothills $15-An assemblage of Mediterranean varietals 56% Syrah, 28% Mourvèdre, 16% Grenache
RATING: Good-Very Good (7 out of 13 VG or above) tied for 6th place/Core Group: tied for 7th place
Green and Red Vineyards 2005 Sobrante Estate Napa Valley $22 70% Zinfandel, 30% Syrah
RATING: Good-Very Good (7 out of 13 VG or above) tied for 6th place overall/Wines $22 and under: 3rd place/Core Group: tied for 7th place
Turnbull Vineyards 2005 Old Bull Napa Valley $20- 18% Tempranillo, 16% Sangiovese, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 6 % Barbera 2% Syrah, plus smaller amounts of seven other grapes
RATING: Good-Very Good (4 out of 13 VG or above) 5th place/Wines $22 and under: 4th place/Core Group: tied for 4th place
Muir-Hanna Vineyards 2005 Bully Red Estate Napa Valley $22 50% cabernet sauvignon, 33% merlot, 7% primitivo, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petite Verdot.
RATING: Good (4 out of 13 VG or above) 8th place/ Core Group: 5th place
Costa del Sol 2005 Napa Valley [Second label of Benessere]$18 -61% Sangiovese, 29% Merlot, 10% Zinfandel
RATING: Good (5 out of 13 VG or above) 9th place
Periscope Cellars Deep 6 California $22 - 46% Syrah, 13% Tannat, 13% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Petite Verdot, 8% Petite Sirah, 8% Zinfandel
RATING: Satisfactory 10th place/Core Group: 10th [may have been a flawed bottle; to be retasted again]
Vina Robles 2006 Red4 Paso Robles $14 - 53% Petite Syrah 38% Syrah, 7% Tannat, 2% Touriga
RATING: Satisfactory, 11th place/Core Group: N/A
Ed's Red Napa Valley $17 - 84% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Syrah DQ'd-Merlot--not an unusual blend
Comments