Saturday, March 27, 2021

Birthday Sangiovese

As I've said, we've watched al lot of WINEKING. Peter Koff's love of Sangiovese inspired me to plan a Sangiovese tasting. I figured if I could use his company, Great Wine 2 U, even better. A lot of the choices were unavailable, but I found my way to a selection if 4.

I was concerned about the age of two of them. I contacted the company with this concern. Peter responded, saying he had tried one of them recently and it was "lovely." He said he hadn't tried the other recently, but would. He responded later that he was trying the other and it was "delicious!"

Despite the assurances, I was still concerned. A couple of days before the tasting, the latest WINEKING tasted some Sangiovese. I decided to add one last minute, if I could get it to everyone involved.


The front tree always looks beautiful my birthday weekend.

It was yet another celebration via remote tasting, but there's light at the end of the tunnel, and I look forward to in person, vaccinated gatherings.

In an effort to reduce the cost of the tasting, 4 of us split bottles the day of the tasting. I was worried about some of the corks being problems, since they were over ten years old. I used an AH-so wine opener and didn't have any problems.

We used these great half bottles I found on Amazon, inspired by Jose's suggestions.

When Jose picked up his bottles, he dropped off a box of Alfajores Lili had made for me for my birthday. What a wonderfully delicious surprise!

We all joined up at 6 to taste and enjoy each other's company.


Results




E - 2017 Volpaia Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG, came in first place with an average of 3.59. It cost $30.50 from TotalWine.

C - 2013 La Fornace Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOC, came in second place with an average of 2.66. It cost $76 from Great Wine 2 U.

A - 2003 Cupano Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, came in third place with an average of 2.50. It cost $92 from Great Wine 2 U.

B - 2012 Stellekaya Hercules Stellenbosch South Africa, came in fourth place with an average of 2.20. It cost $27.50 from Great Wine 2 U.

D - 2005 Lombardo Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG Italy, came in last place with an average of 1.45. It cost $70 from Great Wine 2 U.

Overall I did not enjoy the wine. I was surprised at how much taste A had, given its age. In the end, everyone reminded me that it's more about the social interactions, which was close to a 5. Many expressed an interest adventuring out into different varietals. Overall it was a great time and I discovered that Alfajores pair wonderfully with a number of the Sangiovese we tasted!

Friday, March 19, 2021

Intimate Remote Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Tasting

As I mentioned before, we've watched a lot of WINEKING lately. One of the episodes involved a bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc. I had never heard of this. Given my recent love of whites, I set about gathering a tasting. I could only find 4 of them, 2 from TotalWine and 2 from K&L. K&L had six or so for pre-arrival, but I wasn't willing to wait. Overall, it was slim pickings.

Ted and Shannon were eager to try the varietal, unsure they had ever tried it.

We let the wine breath and warm up for 30 minutes before we joined Ted and Shannon on the zoom. The ideal temperature for tasting these wines is 64-65 degrees. They were a little cold when we started. We had a great time tasting them.

I don't usually get much on the nose of the wines, but for the third wine I was thrilled to get a strong note of warm bread.

Results




A - 2019 Domaine de Marcoux, came in first place with an average of 3.63. It cost $60 from K&L.

B - 2018 Clos St Michel, came in second place with an average of 3.44. It cost $45 from TotalWine.

C - 2019 Domaine de Beaurenard, came in third place with an average of 3.25. It cost $60 from K&L.

D - 2018 Domaine Presidente, came in last place with an average of 3.00. It cost $36 from TotalWine.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc is interesting. All the wines were well made, but I'm not certain I like the flavor profile. More research may be required.





Saturday, March 13, 2021

Intimate Remote Sangiovese Tasting

The results of the 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition inspired me to pick up 5 different tastings. If you snooze, the wine is unavailable. Even after springing into action the day the results were published, I found an Idaho Albarino unavailable to non club members after its Double Gold win. I was also disappointed to find that Texas Heritage Vineyard was unable to ship their Best of Class Barbera my way. Sue was somewhat relieved. Needless to say, I would have added a Barbera tasting, had they been available.

We've been watching a lot of WINEKING. Peter Koff's love of less familiar varietals has inspired me to expand my blind tasting. Sangiovese was the perfect place to start. Fortunately our good friends Ted and Shannon are always willing to try, indulging my madness.

The cherry blossom tree out front always looks beautiful when Spring is in the air, and my birthday near.


We let the wines breath for an hour before we joined the zoom session. We had a great time tasting with Ted and Shannon.

Results



Results

A - 2016 Procedo, Red Willow Vineyard, Columbia Valley, came in first place with an average of 3.83. It won Double Gold at the 2021 SF Wine Competition. It cost $76 from the winery.

C - 2017 Las Positas, Estate, Livermore Valley, came in second place with an average of 3.58. It won Double Gold at the 2021 SF Wine Competition. It cost $48 from the winery.

D - 2017 Deer Hill Vineyards, Tiffany Hills Vineyards, Lamorinda, came in third place with an average of 2.96. It won Best of Class at the 2021 SF Wine Competition. It cost $55 from the winery.

B - 2016 Idle Cellars, Speedy Creek Vineyard, Knights Valley, came in last place with an average of 2.81. It won Gold at the 2021 SF Wine Competition. It cost $60 from the winery.