How Professionals Taste Wine
Ξ April 2nd, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ A Day at a Time, Tasting Notes |
Did you ever wonder how some wine professionals can look, smell and taste a wine and deduce the grape, country, region and year produced without knowing what the wine was in advance? Some even can tell the producer or the winemaker. The name for such sleuthing is called Blind Tasting. It takes years of practice and lots of skill to be an accomplished blind taster. Especially in today’s wine world where modern winemaking has blurred the traditional typical designators that indicate where a wine is from.
All the major wine education programs, the WSET & Master of Wine program, ISG, Society of Wine Educators and the Court of Master Sommeliers, have designated tasting rules to train palates for blind tasting. 
The Court of Master Sommeliers is unique in the respect they deduce the wine origins orally whereas most the other programs the blind tasting is written. To pass the certifications within their program you have 4 minutes to individually give an oration on the different aspects of the wine to come to a decision of where a wine comes from and its detailed components that tell you what it is. They call the process “The Grid”.
I brought a bottle of wine to Chef Peter Garcia (PG), Certified Sommelier and Cathy Nguyen (CN), Certified Sommelier of El Meson Restaurant in Houston to blind taste. Instead of the customary “double blind” where they know nothing about the wine in the glass in front of them, they did know the theme was Cabernet Franc, but they had to figure out where in the world the wine came from and what year it was produced. They know I write about Bordeaux for WWW.ReignofTerroir.com, but they also know from previous experience, I’m likely to throw them a serious curve ball, so nothing could be certain. They still haven’t forgiven me for switching an inexpensive lean California Chardonnay into a Premier Cru white Burg bottle a couple years ago. True to form, I threw them another with this tasting.
Instead of doing the tasting as the quick 4 minute grid, and giving their results, we still followed “The Grid” rules, but we audio taped the entire detailing all their thoughts. So we have for you all the intricacies of the deductive reasoning skills of finding out where the wine came from. So, if you ever wanted to know how wine professionals amazingly blind taste wines, this is how they do it:
Donna (DCT): To start, I’d like to talk about people taste wine, but they don’t taste it like professionals do, they understand professionals blind taste, but they aren’t exposed the processes and the reasoning behind those processes, paying attention to “The Grid”. The grid is rigid in it’s processes, but I’d like to display for the readers what goes on in your minds while your working your way through a blind tasting.
PG: I’d like to say, it’s a 4 minute procedure and instead of quickly running through it, we’ll detail it and footnote it as we go along. Immediately we’ll jump in and look at the appearance. And right away I see this wine color it is of high concentration, in other words as I’m passing my hand underneath the glass, I can’t see my hand, so it gives me a full concentration. If you see half your hand or a part of it, that’s medium and then if you see your hand clearly that’s light concentration. That could either be an indication of a variety of things, of the varietal or the youth of wine. This is a red wine of course, it should be said, right now I can see the rim to core variation and that’s the difference between the density in the center of the appearance as you tilt the glass away from you to the rim and the appearance of the rim. Right now I see a light color on the rim, but it’s very dense in the center so the variation is minimal, an older wine would show much more variation, more graduation of hues and colors. This wine is not that old. We’ll see what “not that old” means in a moment, we’re going to put that in our back of our mind, because not that old could be 7 years, 3 years or 1 year.
PG: Also the brilliance of the wine will give you an indication to the varietal of the wine and even how it was made. Right now I say the brilliance is moderate plus, this wine is not exceptionally brilliant, but it’s not lackluster wine by the looks of it. The color is say dark coffee to red cherry color, this is not a garnet wine, garnet is more ruddy more rusty colored to that direction, this wine is more ruby red. That immediately takes care of the appearance, there’s no gas or unusual things you should be concerned with, it’s clear in all respects, from the appearance, well made.
PG: (smelling the wine) on the nose, immediately you note it’s not defective, it has a wonderful aroma. Strawberries and Cherries. Cherries primarily, big cherries, it has a lot of zing. It has fennel, cocoa, (smelling again) once again, cherries, herbs, some dill, cinnamon, baking spices, that leads me to believe this wine has been aged in oak. Cassis! Currants, the Crème de Cassis behind any American bar. Take a whiff of that and it’s what you get. But the aromas are highly pronounced, they come at you, they don’t have to be coaxed out. That also leads me to believe this wine is relatively young.
I get vanilla, definitely vanilla, dill, not so much dill, but vanilla.
DCT: I’m getting that dill aspect on it, it’s like whenever you open up a package of Gravalax salmon, it’s like popping out at me. (Laughing) Minus the fish smell of course!
PG: The vanilla is workin’ it. Dig out the vanilla. This is all oak footprints here.
What I like about these aromas is they are welded together nicely; it’s a nice one perfume. It’s got some floral characteristics as a secondary.
DCT: Cathy, what would you add to that?
CN: Like the herbs, I mean, I’m getting a lot of herbs, like rosemary, eucalyptus.
PG: It’s definitely highly complex; immediately you’re elevating it in your mind, this is a wine of quality. Because you’re smelling a lot of different things on many levels.
DCT: I agree.
PG: There’s no defects in the nose, we’ve identified our descriptors, fruits…..
CN: Combination of red and black fruits…..
PG: Have we discussed minerality?
CN: We haven’t?
PG: Yea, we haven’t. I’m definitely getting wet pebbles and wet river stones.
CN: Well, I mean, definitely as far as minerality is concerned, it’s dark soils, there’s a wetness to the stones, you don’t get the damp clay, it’s got a little bit of that funk like in after its been raining and kind of mildewey. After it’s been raining all night and it’s really humid out, that funk after you walk past fresh cut grass.
PG: After it’s been raining?
CN: (Laughing) It’s got that kind of funk after its raining and really humid…….
PG: Slick streets in the city of New York (Laughing), yes. Yes its wet pavement, wet slate, if you grow up in Catholic school, which I did, and you’re told to clean the black board and you get a wet cloth, you can smell the wet slate and chalk. I find that a lot in good quality wines. It takes me back to my elementary school days.
CN: It’s like on the exhale after taking a drink; it has that dry sense if you’ve been inhaling wet chalk.
PG: Speaking of more fruits, I’m getting big blueberries here. What do you think?
DCT: Hmmmm, (smelling deeply) but it’s not cooked fruit for me though.
PG: That’s another dimension, is it cooked or fresh?
CN: It’s pretty ripe though.
DCT: It’s ripe, but it’s more like where the berries are sagging on the vine and they haven’t been picked, but they haven’t gone over the edge to the cooked stage yet.
PG: Another distinction is whether the wine is very winey in the smell or fruity.
CN: At first it was winey, but as it’s opened up, it’s fruitier. Nice vinosity.
PG: I think here it’s a perfect balance, it gives you the best of both worlds, if it’s overly fruity in the nose, I tend to fear it’s flabby in the palate.
CN: I feel the longer it opens up, the more fruit showing, but at the same time it’s not losing any of its mineral or earth characteristics.
PG: I failed to mention viscosity or it’s “tears”. By looking at how the tears run or how the color of the wine attaches itself to the glass. Shiraz is classic for that. It’s going to give you an indication of high alcoholic content, indicating a warm climate, warm climate of course, providing more sugars in the fruit, providing more alcohol in the wine because of the heat. On the other hand it could be highly viscous wine as a result of residual sugar.
We all taste the wine with lots of rolling and slurping noises.
PG: Let’s confirm our nose experiences. Strawberries.
CN: Bing Cherries.
DCT: Screaming bing cherries. It’s like when you open a bag of those Chilean cherries and you’re sitting there munching in the supermarket….those big huge suckers that paint your mouth…….
CN: And then on the finish you get that nuttiness from the pit of the cherries.
PG: Yea! Now you’re getting the tannins, is that the tannins from the skins or of the barrels? Now, I wasn’t overwhelmed by wood on the nose….and the tannins I’m feeling on my palate, now there’s some wood there… but …
DCT: I’m getting more tannins from the woody stems versus the oak barrels. It’s not that upfront tannin from oak. I don’t think it’s going to be a really long ager, but a really graceful ager. It’s really elegant.
PG: Like one of the things….sometimes I look at a wine and I get the sensation of a bloody mary with a celery stick in it except it’s not a bloody mary, but it’s a wine and it’s got a 2×4 in it.
CN: Exactly.
PG: It’s a pity, this wine though shows elegance in the way it balances the tannins of the wood and the fruit. So that’s interesting and it’s got that cherry pit thing going on.
DCT: It’s like rolling those cherry pits around in your mouth.
PG: Can we confirm any baking spices in the wine?
DCT: Big on the vanilla, but no baking spices….no cinnamon…..there’s absolutely no heat on this wine.
PG: I don’t get any white or black pepper on the back palate.
CN: There’s no cloves or anything like it. But at the same time, the fruit, I’m not saying it’s a fruit forward wine, it’s standing up to the wood, we were smelling dill, but the fruit is standing up to it, so I’m debating whether this is a higher alcohol or warmer climate….
PG: So lets call it. Is this a high alcohol wine?
CN: Oh no, I would call it medium. If it was high alcohol it would be filling the cheeks of my mouth.
PG: The acid really balances it out. If the acid could mask the high alcohol level, I think it’s around 13% or 13.5% alcohol. So this wine has higher acid than what you would expect, but it matches the alcohol and balances it out.
Now the minerality,……..it’s all there, the rocks we talked about earlier.
CN: It’s dusty though…..
PG: Dusty tannins…that indicates some age….
CN: It’s just a little bit….
PG: Well I mentioned earlier the colour led us to believe it’s not that old, but the finer the tannins get the older the wine is, so I think we’re in the 3-7 year range.
CN: I agree with that….
PG: Not younger than three, at least 5, not more than 7, after 7 years of age, you’re going to see more rim to core variation, more ruddy color in the rim.
Now we know it’s from a continental climate at least. We know this wine has a high quality, it has an excellent finish, it’s balanced, high minerality, we’re not talking new world here. This is certainly not Napa Valley; this is a little cooler than Napa. Besides Bordeaux where else do they make Cabernet Franc?
CN: Washington State.
PG: Maybe you’re on to something……
CN: But Washington is not gravelly.
PG: You’re right……
CN: Washington is new world, but it has that volcanic minerality.
PG: Are you getting any Bret?
CN: No, but there’s that after the rain funk.
PG: We’re eliminated California, Washington is on our radar scope, but not really considering it. What about Australia?
CN: I don’t have a 2×4 in here.
PG: What’s in New Zealand…..??
CN: Definitely not that….
PG: Chile?
CN: This has more acid, Chile, unless you’re talking top of the peaks, you’re not getting acid from Chile.
PG: Argentina?
CN: Same thing as Chile and the 2×4 is not there.
PG: Where does that leave us?
CN: Not Spain, it’s not cooked.
PG: Spain would have more intensity…. South Africa
CN: Not funky enough, doesn’t have that dirty feet smell…. What about Italy?
PG: Okay, let’s consider Italy. Where are they making Cabernet Franc in Italy?
CN: You’re right. Point taken.
PG: So we’re back to France, go back to the nose, smell the nose and the aromas and see if you can plot out any bicycle tire.
CN: Its not as potent a bicycle tire. A new sneaker.
PG: Converse Chuck Taylors!
CN: Yes, that rubber, vulcanized rubber, no glue, smells like an ointment.
PG: These chemical odors, you see them a lot in Bordeaux, iodine etc. This strengthens my case for Bordeaux.
DCT: So name it.
PG: It’s not St. Emilion, it’s too masculine for that, it’s Pomerol, 2004.
CN: Pomerol, 2002 or 2003.
PG: So what is it?
DCT: Chateaux Vieux Certan 2003. 80% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot.
PG : A Pomerol with 80% Cabernet Franc ?
DCT: Remember the vintage of 2003?
CN: The summer was really hot so more Cab Franc was used in the blend.
The debate on the wine then went on another 20 minutes. 2003 was called the California Vintage in Bordeaux. Ripeness levels were a record high. While the right bank of Bordeaux is made primarily from Merlot, on very warm vintages, the Cabernet Franc begins to shine and you see more of that grape used in the blend, with the winemaker balancing the higher acid of the Cabernet Franc with the over ripe Merlot. If a traditional blend was used of 80% Merlot to 20% Cabernet Franc, the wine due to the ripeness levels of the Merlot would have probably been on the flabby side.
This is case in point of why Bordeaux blends their red varietals, maintaining the consistency of the wines. When one year a varietal doesn’t perform as well due to weather conditions another may perform very well with those factors bringing a consistent and excellent product regardless of vintage. Chateaux Vieux Certan has a very clever winemaker.
I’ve been critical on the 2003 vintage, even though the critics have been lauding it. I’ve found quite a few wines ready to drink now and that’s been a good thing, but I personally don’t think they have the aging power of a traditional vintage. Chateaux Vieux Certan shocked me with how excellent this wine was. Can’t speak highly enough about its elegance.
Though it was a tough year for France, this is a wine that shows careful decisions made with the blend. And it’s case in point why Bordeaux blends their wines versus bottling single only varietals. Cabernet Franc performs exceptionally well in soil of Chateau Vieux Certan. This Chateau is well worth collecting.
Alexandre Theinpont turned what for others was a difficult vintage for Bordeaux into something truly extraordinary. He should be very proud of this vintage.
Donna
