|
| Vive la difference! (Other Whites) Part 1 |
|
| Thursday, 30 November 2006 | |
|
Reported by Rod Story In late November, guild director Rutha Astravas led an interesting and informative tasting of lesser known white grape varietals; something other than Chardonnay, Riesling, or Sauvignon Blanc. There were 14 different wines with 18 different varietals covering a range of whites from the less unusual (Gruner Veltliner) to the obscure (Inzolia). The tasting provided the attendees the opportunity to discover new grape varietals that they can now look for when buying wines. Kudos to Rutha for organizing this fascinating tasting. All wines, their varietals (in parentheses), prices, and LCBO product numbers are listed at the end of this article. The first flight was made up of four wines. The first wine was a blend of three indigenous Sicilian varietals. It had the most distinct flavour (nuttiness, lees) of the four wines in the first flight. It was quite light (almost white) in colour with a slightly herbaceous nose. The second wine, which was a Greek varietal, had a pink hue with a floral/persimmon nose. It was light bodied with high acidity such that it required food (shellfish?). There were citrus notes on the palate with a bitter finish. Since the nose didn’t follow through on the palate, the wine was a bit disappointing. The third wine was an Albarino, which is usually known for being wonderfully aromatic. Unfortunately this one only had a nose of volatile acidity (green gooseberry) and not much taste other than a light lanolin/mustiness. The pick of the first flight was the final wine, a Picpoul de Pinet from Midi. It was very aromatic (ripe apples, guava), medium bodied with a round, long finish. Good value at $14.95. The second flight consisted of four wines. The crowd favourite was the third wine, which was a blend of three varietals (Arrufiac, Petit Courbu, Manseng) from southern France. It had a rich, opulent nose of ginger, spice, and tropical notes (mango). Its nose was like that of a late harvest wine. The flavours came through on the rich warm palate. A great deal for only $13.95. The first wine of the flight was a disappointing Gruner Veltiner that wasn’t typical in its mostly closed nose (slight citrus), acidic watery palate and bitter finish. The second wine was an Arneis (Italy). It had a slight nose of spice (ginger, cinnamon) with a crisp citrus/mineral palate of medium length. The fourth wine of the flight was a Chasselas (also known as Fendant) from Switzerland. It was almost white in colour and smelled and tasted of bacon and smoke with a bit of coconut on the finish. It was not a favourite of the crowd with one wag commenting on its similarity to pasta water. The third flight had five wines with the crowd equally split amongst the last three for their favourite. The first wine had a pungent almost chemical solvent nose with some pine notes on the palate. It had no votes amongst the group. The second wine had baked apple and honey with a mix of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg) on the nose with the baked apple coming through on the front palate, but it faded abruptly which was disappointing. The third wine had toasty oak with earthy mushroom on the nose, which followed through on the palate with the addition of lime marmalade. The fourth wine had the nose of a late harvest Vidal (peach and apricot) but was bone dry with the same flavours as the aroma though weaker. It was quite full bodied and had a noticeably long finish. The last wine was Bonny Doon’s Malvasia with its classic rich honeysuckle and melon nose that followed through on the palate with slightly bitter finish. It was lighter in body than the fourth wine of the flight. The last flight had one wine, which was a late harvest Torrontes. Torrontes is the signature aromatic white grape of Argentina, which this taster previously has only had in dry versions. This late harvest version was almost white in colour with a nose of honeysuckle and a front palate taste of honeyed citrus followed by a long honeydew melon finish. Flight 1 2005 ‘Regaleali’ Blanco, Tasco D’almerita, Sicily, Italy (Inzolia, Grecanico, Catarratto) 531780 $15.45 2005 Tselepos Moschofilero, Arcadia, Greece 724583 $16.95 2004 ‘Salterio’ Albarino, Bodegas Martin Codax, Galicia, Spain 2774 $15.45 2005 Terre A Verre, ‘Les Roches’, Picpoul de Pinet, Midi, France 525444 $14.95 Flight 2 2005 Stadt Krems Gruner Veltliner ‘Sandgrube’, Krems, Austria 687913 $14.95 2005 Grimaldi Roero Arneis, Piedomont, Italy 531699 $13.95 2004 ‘Les Vignes Retoruvees’ Blanc, Plaimont, Gascony, France (Arrufiac, Petit Courbu, Manseng) 525451 $13.95 2004 Fendant Etoile Du Valais, Valais, Switzerland 686394 $16.95 Flight 3 2005 Rocca Di Montemassi Vermentino, Maremma, Tuscany, Italy 6908 $14.95 2003 Taburno Falanghina, Campania, Italy 924324 $12.95 2003 Margan Semillon, NSW, Australia 961516 $15.95 2004 Enotria Cellars ‘Inycon’ Fiano, Sicily, Italy 670810 $10.35 2005 Ca’del Solo Malvasia Bianca, Bonny Doon, California 948737 $20.95 Flight 4 2005 Etchart ‘Cosecha Tardia’ Torrontes, (500 ml), Cafayate, Argentina 1446 $11.95 |
|
| Last Updated ( Friday, 05 January 2007 ) |
|
Special offers to (and from) Guild members! |
| Latest News |
|---|
| Moderation |
|---|
 The National Capital Sommelier Guild strongly supports moderate and responsible consumption of wine and spirits. Guild dinner events allow a designated driver to attend at a reduced price. The designated driver will not be served alcohol. Guild tasting events provide and encourage the use of spit buckets. |
|
||