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Holy crap. That’s what I call a festival. Hundreds of distributors and so much wine. While I am still working on getting a press pass (I’m legit, right?) to the 4 hour event, I think the 2 hours is well worth the money. A lot of big names with some surprises mixed in. Also, recognize that within 2 hours, my mom and I had tried probably over 40 wines. I will let you know when things got to hazy to trust (or read my notes). Here’s my first half of the review.
My mom and I first got there (she flew in. She’s adorable) and waited in a long long line. We immediately got glamoured and tried the Domaine Barons de Rothschild Bordeaux.
Perhaps not our best first choice. The nose was of pink and black pepper and blue and red berries. With a sour red raspberry and cherry mouth and some nutty bitterness, it was far too young but definitely had possibility. Give it a break, it was a 2008 vintage.
After that, my mom decided to really start off the evening comparing different sparkling wines. Hey, she’s the boss. Who am I to argue?
Moët and Chandon’s Grand Vintage was staring us right in the face so we took a taste. A smell of terroir, slight barnyard and yeast came through with some poor bubbles. I don’t know why, but I am a curse to bubbles. Even if other glasses are frothing forth, mine just fade. Regardless, there was a light citrus and green flavor in the mouth which emptied a bit on the midpalate.
This is when we decided to focus on rose sparkling wines cause, frankly, their fun and hard to find. Perrier-Jouët’s Blason Rose fit the bill. A lovely salmon color with almost no nose, it was a bit shy in the mouth tasting of flower and grapefruit. Nice, but I need a bit more.
My mom just could not stay away from the Moët so we tried their rose as well. Besides my exciting number of bubbles, it had a very interesting nose of maple syrup and mouth of butter, syrup and lemon pith. Yum.
Next up? The Veuve Clicquot Rose. Something was really wrong with this bottle. It was off gassing and frankly tasted bad. I’m giving the benefit of the doubt and saying there’s a wine fault, probably too much sulfer.
I decided to go outside the box and try the Taittinger Rose, owned by Louis Jadot. I’d never heard of it but wasn’t too disappointed. The nose was light and smelled of maraschino cherries, a flavor that continued in the mouth with orange, cherry and lemon. A bit shy but nice.
To ease my mom away from the sparklings, I spotted Inniskillin. We got the last drop, and it was of the Vidal Gold. We all know my obsession with Inniskillin (having just bought 6 bottles on super sale online), so I was quite the happy Thirsty Girl. The nose was of honey and green citrus with a mouth of honey, roses and almonds.
Since we’re in Canada territory with Inniskillin, I guess that means Cloudy Bay belongs next to it? Apparently that’s what the people in charge thought so I got to try some of Cloudy Bay’s newest Sauvignon Blanc. I am partial to New Zealand’s Sauvignon Blanc, so if its not for you, neither is this paragraph. The nose was of grass (of course), citrus and its rind (of course) and cantaloupe (what? okay!). The mouth was full of citrus, grass and grapefruit. A little too ripping in acid for me since the top of my mouth was basically dissolved but a great NZ Sauv. Blanc nonetheless.
And since we’re in New Zealand, lets talk about South Africa. Okay, I’m not sure how they connect, but, again, blame those in charge. I’m guessing its the wine growing areas they just weren’t sure what to do with.
Ken Forrester was there to give some tastes of his wines and he was so nice I tried four, starting with the Petit Chenin Blanc. Full of ripe fruit and some butter, the Petit Chenin was a nice, refreshing light wine for summer. The Sauvignon Blanc was also light with the expected greenness, but very different in tropical fruit flavor, a neat difference from the standard NZ Sauv. Blancs. We tried the Pinotage, but not matter how much I try, I’m just not a fan of Pinotage. Sorry South Africa.
Perhaps that will change when I go to South Africa next month for the World Cup! Ken and I talked about this and, as you can see, he’s pumped. Nearly as exciting was his signature wine, the FMC (or Forrester Meinert Chenin). Very much to my mother’s palate (nurtured in Sonoma and Napa), the FMC has lovely ripe fruit and explodes with butter and honey. While I am not a huge butter fan, I quite enjoyed this wine. It is very well made and balanced. Good show South Africa and good luck in the World Cup (but Go England!)!
Finishing up with some “unusual” countries for today, Part II shall come later. Enjoy the so far ratings!
Domaine Barons de Rothschild Bordeaux
Me: B-
Moët and Chandon Grand Vintage, 2000
Price: $59.99
ABV: 12.5%
Me: B
Perrier-Jouët Blason Rose, NV
Price: $87.29
ABV: 12%
Me: B-
Moët and Chandon Nectar Imperial Rose, NV
Price: $54.99
Me: B/B+
Veuve Clicquot Brut Rose, NV
Price: $57.99
WINE FAULT
Taittinger Cuvée Prestige Rose, NV
Price: $78.49
Me: B-
Inniskillin Vidal Gold, 2006
Price: $76.99
ABV: 40%
Me: A-
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, 2009
Price: Unknown
Me: High B
Ken Forrester Petit Chenin Blanc, 2009
Price: $9.99
ABV: 13.5%
Me: B
Ken Forrester Sauvignon Blanc, 2009
Price: $14.99
ABV: 13.5%
Me: B-
Ken Forrester The FMC, 2008
Price: In the $50s, I think
ABV: 14%
Me: B+
I love that the woman at the Wine & Spirits store who does tastings knows me on sight now. Its very cute when she holds the bottle automatically so I can take a picture.
With that being said, you probably know what’s coming: a Stingy Sampling! Today’s tasting was the Piper Heidsieck Extra Dry Brut Champagne. In the spirit of selling off all sparkling wine in the store, we were allowed to taste a higher end wine, a sparkling wine that uses the actual traditional champagne method (let me know if you want to know the long details of the method, or just Wiki it).
The nose was exciting. Its been awhile since I’ve had a real champagne, so the yeasty smell was all I could ask for, with a hint of citrus to give some extra zest. The mouth had the full bread/yeast flavor with some wonderful orange and white blossom flavors. While I did not have enough to really test the bubbles, or mousse (also, it involves foaming at the mouth and I just don’t think tasting woman would appreciate that), the bubbles were lively. A delicious wine.
Piper-Heidsiek Extra Dry Brut Champagne N.V.
Price: $32.99
Rating: B+
Thirsty Girl's Whiskey Rebellion 
