Writing tasting notes

I write tasting notes for a couple of reasons. One because it forces me to put into words a description of a wine and secondly it's expected of me as a Diploma student. So much of the course relies on tasting it would be short sighted of me to skip the process. I don't write notes for all the wines I taste although I do however keep a record of what it is I drink so I, at least, can go back to what I know I like - or not as the case may be - and buy some more.

I've started using Tasting Buddy to keep detailed notes. It's a bit of software that runs on a handheld device and you can also load the notes onto the web and share them with others. My key interest in using this is it saves me handwriting notes and acts as a neat way to keep all the details in one place. My IPAQ is a pretty old one so it's very slow but still usable. I don't know if it runs on state of the art handhelds such as the Blackberry.

The people behind Tasting Buddy also arrange for the lists of wine at some trade functions to be available so you can download and use them on the day such as for the forthcoming Wines of Argentina event. Whether or not I'll actually use my handheld at the event is another matter. I struggle enough to take decent notes at tastings so it may be a nit over the top to try to use it. At least I could use it as a record of what it is I did taste.

Two Loires

Trout for dinner last night called for something white and decent.

The first was Sainsburys 2006 Sancerre, one of their Taste the Difference range. This was a lovely light yellow colour with green tinges and an appealling aroma of gooseberry and melon. On the palate, again gooseberries with that slight sharpish tickle you get from them. Extremely well balanced and a real winner at around £9 per bottle. It says on the label is is made by Henri Bourgeois who according to Wine behind the Label is one of the best producers of Sancerre.

Purely in the interests of a comparison, as I don't drink 2 bottles per night, I opened up a Pouilly Fume, 2005 from Chateau de Tracy, again a producer that comes highly recommended in the same book. Again aromas of gooseberry and melon but also something a bit grassy. In the mouth there was less of the fruit and more of the grassy, minerally touch to it. Again a well made wine, perfectly in balance.

And with the comparative tasting over, I had two wines to drink with my trout, peas from the garden and new potatoes roasted in olive oil in the oven, with plenty of the wine left over for tonight.

Moroccan wine

No posts for a while as I've been away in Morocco on holiday. I didn't expect to find local wine but reading the Oxford Companion to Wine before going I read that of all the North African countries, Morocco has the most suitable climate. This is to do with the moderating effects of the Atlantic as well as the role the Atlas Mountains play. We were on holiday in the far South close to the border with Mauritania and, given the temperatures and the desert state of the land behind us, we didn't see any vines. I understand most of them grow much further north.

The wines I tasted I didn't enjoy but I was trying the equivalent of the vin du pays rather than anything of a higher quality. The reds and roses, and they also do quite a few gris, had almost a bubble gum aroma and taste, as well as little body. I didn't manage to try any of the whites as towards the end of our time I picked up a local tummy bug. A quick search using Wine Searcher shows a number of importers in the UK which surprises me. I'd be interested to know more about the profile of the customers who buy them.

Yet another two rieslings

I wrote a couple of days ago about 2 Aussie Rieslings I had tasted. The picture shows 2 German Rieslings I opened to compare the other day. I have just started studying Germany as part of my WSET Diploma and, along with reading the notes, some extensive tasting practice is called for. And how different they are from each other and the 2 Aussies.

The 2005 from the Saar, or to give it its full name Dr Wagner Ockfener Bockstein Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Riesling, was a much more steely wine than the more full bodied Pfalz. Aromas of honey with some tropical fruit, and soft with hints of lime on the palate. And it was off dry. The Bassermann Jordan 2005 Pfalz was altogether a more rich and fuller bodied off dry wine with a stronger aroma of elderflowers.

It's clear from reading my WSET notes that Rieslings from the main German regions are all quite different and this comparative tasting shows that. It does however make any blind tasting that much harder. If one grape can taste so different from within one country how on earth are you supposed to work out what it is in an exam!

I've passed - just

I got the result of the essay I wrote back in April as part of my WSET Diploma. I passed - and I'm disappointed. The subject was "Establishing a Vineyard" and I had to write between 1500 and 2000 words.

It's possible to get a merit, which is between 65 and 75% with a distinction being over 75%. I was really hoping to get a merit considering the amount of effort I put in. I consulted reference material widely so had an extensive bibliography, I visited Denbies and spent a morning with the vineyard manager and also read and researched widely. I also think my writing skills are reasonable so was pretty sure I wouldn't lose marks for structure and style. I really would have appreciated more feedback from the examiner as to what I could have done to get a higher mark.

My next essay, due in November, is on the co-operative movement, and the one after that is on the crisis in the French wine industry.

Back to work

I'm back to work at Oddbins this Tuesday. I haven't done a shift there for over 4 months. I'm one of these "zero hours" people which means I don't have to work any hours nor do they have to offer me any.

I'll be interested to see what new wines they have including their own recently launched range. It will also be good to catch up with all the gossip about Oddbins future. There has been a lot in the trade press, especially in the letters page of Off Licence News, about the company's future. I helped out at the opening of the Lingfield branch exactly 12 months ago - it is now a Nicolas. I don't really understand the logic that says underperforming branches will become part of the Nicolas estate. How do you suddenly become profitable just because you change your brand to one less well known and reduce the range of wines you stock?

Comparing 2 rieslings

I tried a couple of Aussie rieslings last night. Starting my Diploma studying on German wines put me in the mood to try out some of Germany's most famous grape, but the cellar was bare of German wines, so I thought the Aussies would be a good second best.

The first was the 2006 Lodge Hill by Jim Barry from the Clare Valley. Pale yellow with greem tinges with an interesting aroma of lime, rose and maybe a bit of wet leaves. A nice medium intensity on the palate with lime again, some grapefruit and what seemed like a bit of pleasant prickle or maybe spiciness. The second was the 2006 Bethany from the Barossa Valley. Similar colour to the Jim Barry and similar aroma although on the palate I picked up some coconut in addition surprisingly.

Both were very pleasant drinking wines I would be happy to have again. The Lodge Hill features in Wine behind the Label, that excellent reference book. It gets 2 stars which equates to a "wine with more depth, interest and concentration". The Bethany also gets a mention. That's good enough for me.

Riccardo Cotarella

Cotarella is not a name I had heard of until quite recently. It turns out he is an Italian "flying winemaker" although his consultations are mainly in Italy. There was a tasting of his wines in London and I now have a few bottles as payment for some work I did for the PR company who organised the tasting. The wineries he consults for are shown in the attached graphic.

There is also an article about him in this month's edition of The Drinks Business. I had heard of a couple of the vineyards he consults for - Feudi di San Gregorio, whose wines you can get in Oddbins, and Castello Banfi whose wines are readily available in the supermarkets. The ones I have are from some of his other wineries and I'm looking forward to trying them out. Italian wines are amongst my favourites because they are such food friendly wines and there is nothing better that a good glass of wine to go with a plateful of tasty Italian food.

An interesting day

I got a call late on Monday asking if I could help out at the International Spirit Challenge the following day. As I had nothing planned, and it was an opportunity to meet up with some people I had enjoyed working with at the International Wine Challenge, I jumped at the chance.

Tuesday was the day for tasting vodkas and whiskys. The vodkas ranged from basic and inexpensive through premium and super premium to flavoured styles. The whiskys were mainly malts and I admire the ability of the judges to taste over 150 in one day. That takes enormous skill and experience.

As is usual with these events I took the opportunity to taste a few at the end of the (long) day when my work was finished. In amongst the selection we chose were a couple of 40 year olds, a Glenfiddich and a Dalmore. Research on the web showed that these 2 retail for £950 and £1350 respectively. This was therefore a unique experience and one I can't see coming my way again.