The wine tasting

Last Sunday, we had the first of what is hopefully a long series of wine tastings. There were several of us – I think that there were 8 of us in all. We gathered at one couple’s home. Each person, or couple, was to bring two wines – one to share, and one for the host. The idea is that we will rotate hosting these, and each time around the host will be able to build their cellar.


I ended up being the de facto master of ceremonies, although I was not the host this time. I brought some of the tasting charts that Peter Granoff has on the Virtual Vineyards site, since I think that they are kinda neat. I also brought a copy of the wine aroma wheel.

We started with a 1997 Estancia Chardonnay. It was very fruity – mostly grapefruit, with just a little oak, and a medium finish. It has a very pale color, and a medium body, for a chard.

Next we had a Chenin Blanc from Chateau Thomas. Chateau Thomas is apparently a small vineyard up in the Cincinatti area, so it is unlikely that you will ever see their wines in a store in your area. I suppose that depends what your area is. I don’t much care for Chenin. This was light bodied, with a very short finish and a very pale, almost clear, color. It has a caramel aroma and flavor, with a sharp, acidic aftertaste.

Continuing the downward trend, we had the wine that I brought. In the tradition of the day – being right after Beaujolais Neauveau day, I brought the Jaffelin 1998 Beaujolais Neauveau. It was vinagery and yeasty, with a lot of fresh fruit and tannins hiding behind the fact that this was barely off the vine. Seems that it is a waste of good grapes to try to get a wine down your gullet before it has had a chance to mature any. But, tradition is tradition!

The next wine was an improvement. The 1996 Louis M Martini Merlot. It had mild tannins, and moderate oak. It had a good full body, with lots of nice fresh fruit. I felt like perhaps it could use some more time, but was in all a very nice wine.

The highlight of the evening was, for me, the 1997 Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a very intense, full bodied Australian cab, with a nice hefty dose of earthy aromas that one expects from a South Australian wine. It was substantially better than the “president’s selection” cab that I tried last month from the same winery, although it is a few dollars cheaper. Go figure. The color was delightful – a deep dark maroon that was shading towards black. The lighting was not the best one could hope for, but it was still a lovely color.

We finished up with a bottle of Ca’del Solo 1995 Muscato del Solo from Santa Cruz. It was, of course, a dessert wine, so it is not for everyone. It was, in fact, a little sweet for me, although not as sweet as the Bonny Doon of which I am so very fond. Being a Muscat, it was simple, with lots of citrus – grapefruit and tangerines. It did not have the thick mouth feel that one gets from some muscats. This would make a nice evening sipping wine.

As a bonus on the evening – well, some folks thought so – I broung a the last bottle of a batch of strawberry wine that I made. Previous bottles from this batch had been rather yeasty, but this had less of the sediment, and so less of that flavor. It was actually pretty good, if a little beery for my taste. It was a little more like a sparkling cider than a wine, but definitely drinkable!

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