Blind Tasting: Sauvignon Blanc & Chenin Blanc
Monday, December 17th, 2007
I haven’t reported on our Rosenblum after-work study group in a while. Back in October, we met for our first blind varietal tasting. Grape of choice: Sauvignon Blanc or Chenin Blanc. And I have to say, we got our egos bruised a bit.
Wine 1: daybright, grapefruit, apple, grass, pepper, lemon, stone…thought it was New Zealand, tunred out to be Chile: 2004 Killer Bee Sauv Blanc from Maipo Valley
Wine 2: bright and youthful, lemon, pear, lime, somewhat spicy, with creamy lemon custard, so def. some oak…thought Sonoma Fume Blanc….actually 2006 Chenin Blanc from South Africa
Wine 3: passion fruit, key lime, pear, grapefruit, straw, minerality…surely this is New Zealand….but no, it’s French– 2006 Domaine du Tremblay Quincy (SB) (more…)
blind varietal tasting, Sauvignon Blanc, 2004 Killer Bee Sauv Blanc, 2006 Domaine du Tremblay Quincy

I’m living vicariously through my friends. Even though I opted not (i.e. was too scared at the time) to, tomorrow my friend and co-worker will take the sommelier certification exam, the next level up from the introductory exam she passed a couple months ago. This very time last year, I
I’ve been quite amiss with reporting my wine
My first venture into this assembly was to be Bordeaux, probably one of my least travelled areas of France. I have not had many opportunities to taste wine from this region in my ten-year span of enological adventures. A couple of cheap-ish bottles here and there that didn’t do much for me and once a very small pour of a rather expensive bottle a couple ordered when I was waiting tables at a fancy little place in Mississippi. They were celebrating the woman’s completion of her thesis and spent the most any two people ever had before at a table of mine—nearly $500 and most of that was the wine: a Chateau Pichon-Longueville, if I recall. And I’ve got one bottle in my little wine fridge. A 2000 Saint-Emilion I almost brought to the tasting but decided to let it keep aging as these wines so often need to do.
My tasting group was not the most organized affair this time. At the last meeting we chose a theme but never really decided on a date. Therefore, after throwing an e-mail out last week, only a few people followed through and we ended up changing it from Thursday to Monday. With the last-minute assignment and a not-so-common variety (Chenin Blanc), there was a bit of stress for some in finding a bottle. We still managed to survey seven different bottles: three from France and four from California.
Last week we had another episode of the winetasting group. This time the victim was Beaujolais. Now, you’ve most likely had the Nouveau version at some point, but it’s not fair to base your opinion on that. Beaujolais Nouveau goes through carbonic fermentation at a super fast speed to enable that third-Thursday-of-November release. Usually pretty dull, often watery and tasting of bubble gum or nail polish remover, its claim to fame is as a Thanksgiving wine (perfect timing, and it’s cheap and plenty).
If you read
Last night was about California red blends– a blind tasting of six wines, with a couple surprises thrown in. One was that the group favorite was not actually a blend (miscommunication about the theme): the 2004 Aquinas Merlot, whose nose was reluctant at first but then made way for a pizza place and later on, toffee. Also very popular was the 2004 Clayhouse Adobe Red, a Zin blend from Paso Robles which smelled to me of blueberry muffins. We also had the 2005 Folie a Deux Ménage à Trois, the lightest of the bunch and reminding me of tinned strawberries. However, I’ve been amiss with some of my choices lately, as my 2002 Venge Scout’s Honor came in next to last perhaps due to some slight heat. Though as we continued tasting during the discussion, it kept changing and improving in the glass.
As promised, here’s the update on the Rhône Valley wine tasting. As the destination was a little hard to find, our glasses were late and we had to improvise a bit, pouring the wines in two flights. When all was said and done, we tasted through eight wines, with one being a 2005 Triennes Viognier from nearby Provence, which reminded me initially of a Japanese restaurant but later softened into tropical fruit and citrus. A 2005 Domaine Vins De Vienne from Saint Peray showed the most oak, being the roundest and creamiest of the bunch. My favorites were a 2005 Domaine de la Becassonne, with its notes of peach, apricot, and white flowers and one that I bought at only $8- La Vielle Ferme, which tasted like peach melba in a glass.
I was pretty proud of my pork tenderloin cooked with apples, carrots, celery, and onions (all very tender and sweet). Poor Sara,
Thanks to a co-worker (
Everyone dove right in–swirling, smelling, sipping, scribbling. I had no moment of panic, that fear that no flavors or aromas will make themselves known. At one point, I asked a friend to pull out an aroma card I had printed for some of us, courtesy of Alder over at 

