Traveling Light Relay

1. Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2005 (New Zealand) $29.95
2. Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet 2002 (Burgundy, France) $57.95
3. Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Riesling Kabinet 2002 (Moselle-Saar-Ruwer, Germany) $21.95
4. Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Herrenweg de Turckheim 2004 (Alsace, France) $38.95

Since most of us are still quite inexperience in wine tasting, we like the idea of having distinctively differnet white wines, so that we can see the big contrast between them. Also we didn’t do a blind taste, so we could just openly asked Vincent what we thought about the wines while we were drinking them.

Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2005

Wine Enthusiast Rating: 91
This is the highest this benchmark wine has ever scored with our tasters, from what is beginning to look like an excellent year for Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. It’s still in an early estery phase right now, marked by honeyed tropical fruits, nectarines and grapefruit, but you can sense the herbal-jalapeño flavors lurking in the background. Rich and powerful on the palate, long on the finish, with this wine, Cloudy Bay is on top of its game.

Wine Name: Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2005
Producer: Cloudy Bay
Region/Appellation: New Zealand, Marlborough
Grape Varieties: Sauvignon Blanc
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $29.95

Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet 2002

WSJ Dow Jones Index: Very Good
Best value. Serious wine. Plenty of fleshy fruit, but tightly focused into phyllo-like lyaers of taste. Seems expensive.

Wine Name: Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet 2002
Producer: Joseph Drouhin S.A.
Region/Appellation: France, Burgundy
Grape Varieties: Chardonnay
Alcohol: 13.5%
Price: $57.95

Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Riesling Kabinet 2002

Wine Spectator Rating: 92
Rich and creamy, yet backed by tangy acidity, providing a stage for the pear, apricot and banana flavors. Really multidimensional and long, picking up a mineral aftertaste. Terrific ’02 kabinett. Drink now through 2015.

Wine Name: Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Riesling Kabinet 2002
Producer: Graach Josephshöfer
Region/Appellation: Germany, Moselle-Saar-Ruwer
Grape Varieties: Riesling
Alcohol: 9.0%
Price: $21.95

Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Herrenweg de Turckheim 2004

‘First and foremost, you get a sense of genius in every glass of Zind-Humbrecht wine. But [Olivier Humbrecht] also has the amazing ability to explain the winemaking process from its origins deep within the soil, through the vine, into the grape, through harvest and fermentation, through ageing and bottling, and into your glass, so that even a wine novice understands exactly why the wine tastes the way it does … [He is also a raconteur and comic genius. Asked how he knows his grapes are ripe, he replies] ‘When the birds start eating the fruit.’ (Robert Parker Jr., http://www.erobertparker.com/, April 15, 2004) ‘I’m going to suggest that Zind-Humbrecht is probably the best producer in Alsace, with a stunning line-up of powerful, rich wines that possess a real sense of place.’

Wine Name: Zind Humbrecht Pinot Gris Herrenweg de Turckheim 2004
Producer: Zind Humbrecht
Region/Appellation: France, Alsace
Grape Varieties: Pinot Gris
Alcohol: 15%
Price: $38.95

The GINI White Wine Index

Even though we didn’t have a blind taste, we still rank them. We ranked the bottles 1 to 4, add up the numbers, whichever one has the lowest score is the best. Here is the list of participants: Aaron, Andrew, Kelvin, Kwong C, Kwong T, Naomi, Stephanie, Vincent W

Down the Drain

Of course we didn’t let a single drop wasted; this time is the most we spent on wine (yet)

This is a preview of the Bordeaux we’ll try this weekend:

 

We actually had this meeting more than a month ago (April 22); it’s just me being really busy for the past month.  We meant to have this once a month, but we have not been able to find a day good for most people.  In fact, looks like we won’t be able to do this until August.  But some of us did get together to have some wine a few times in May, including a few times in Las Vegas.  I don’t remember most of the wine we had; I guess I should ask Vince for the list of wines we’ve been having.

 

No Longer Blind
Well, I do remember the Shiraz we had in this meeting #3, that’s because I wrote it all down.  This time we were not doing blind tasting (so no more brown bag covering the bottles).  We were doing both vertical and horizontal tasting; it’s horizontal because 2 of them are 1998 Australian Shiraz, the other two are 2003 Australian Shiraz; it’s vertical because they are from two wineries (so 2 bottles from each winery)

 

 

 

Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz 2003

– fruity, tannic, short finish, not ready for prime time
Elderton Barossa Shiraz 2003
– Longer finish, sweet, well-round, sour, dense/concentrated, more flavor
Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz 1998
– Cellar, tone down and less fruity, more tannic than 2003 (which is unusual), spicy at first
Elderton Barossa Shiraz 1998
– Much longer finish, balance, harmony, nutty, less fruity
 
The GINI Australian Shiraz Index
Like previous two times, we ranked the bottles 1 thru 4.  Then we add up the numbers.  Whichever one has the lowest score is the best. Here is the list of participants: Aaron, Andrew, Anson, Kelvin, Kwong C, Naomi, Vince M, Vincent W

 

	Bottle #	Vineyard	Region	Pts	Group Rank	My Rank
	1	Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz 2003	Coonawarra, South Australia	24	4	4
	2	Elderton Barossa Shiraz 2003	Barossa, South Australia	14	2	3
	3	Penfolds Bin 128 Coonawarra Shiraz 1998	Coonawarra, South Australia	28	3	2
	4	Elderton Barossa Shiraz 1998	Baross, South Australia	14	1 (more 1st place votes)	1

 

We have not had another meeting since April, and it seems that we won’t be having another one until August (or September even); maybe we will have a BBQ (right, Ida?)  Despite of that, some of us had been getting together to have wine over dinner.  Maybe I’ll blog on some of those wines (if I actually have the time)