Tasting for Style and Quality

Identifying wine aromatics are important for tasting, as is honing in on its structure. Tasting for the MW, however, I’ve noticed I’ve had to add ‘tasting for style’ to my repertoire. The quality assessment is a key component of the Practical exams, usually worth even more points than absolute identification of the wine, so I pulled three styles of dry wine this morning in order to reflect on styles and quality of wine.



Frascati and Muscadet
Frascati is made in central Italy from Malvasia and Trebbiano, two of the most neutral grapes I know. Malvasia generally has higher ripeness and a fuller body, so blending with the higher acid Trebbiano makes for a pleasant wine. I thought this Frascati had an awful lot of aromatics (I probably shouldn’t have picked a Frascati ‘Superiore’, which I am guessing is a Frascati higher in alcohol, so will have higher aromatics). Starting with the Frascati, like I said there were more aromatics than I thought there would be. It was nearly tropical, indicating a warmer climate. The acid seemed to be high until I tasted the Muscadet. While still writing down components to a traditional tasting note, I concluded that the Frascati was a soft and refreshing wine and its relative neutrality on the palate would make it an excellent aperitif.

Muscadet always smells musty – nearly corked - to me. I believe that to be the lees talking. Aromatically, this wine was even more neutral, though I did get that pure lemon aroma and flavor. There was a bit of CO2 prickle on the tongue and really mouthwatering acid. My personal preference says this is not a very pleasant drink, but I could imagine it being a lovely mignonette for oysters.


Gewürztraminer
Here was the step up in style and quality (by design). A darker color suggesting more ripeness and/or extract, and textbook Gewürztraminer aromatics easily jumping from the glass: perfume, perfume, perfume, plus a little tropical note. The palate was softer and much fuller in body, which allowed for a longer finished compared to the two above. It also seemed slightly off-dry, a little more red apple (so again, ripe), and even had a little spiciness/bitterness on the finish.

Going from the Gewürztraminer back to the Frascati and Muscadet not only highlighted the more ‘noble’ nature of the Gewürztraminer grape, but also the higher quality: Gewürztraminer had a longer length that was layers and layers of tropical fruits and spices. It probably helped somewhat that, by design, the Francasti and Muscadet retail for around $13 and the Gewürztraminer was $22.


Maybe Too Easy
The tasting was designed to focus on different style and quality levels and that was definitely achieved. It was helpful to go about this tasting with the intention of quieting my analytical mind and focusing on the quality and the setting that such a wine of this style would be served. Next up will be a look at terroir and quality.

The wines:

* Borgo del Cedro Frascati Superiore 2010 $13.50, 13.5% abv

* Hautes Noelles (Serge Batard) Muscadet Sur Lie 2010 $13, 12% abv

* Paul Blanck Gewurztraminer 'Classique' 2010 $22.50 (for 750ml), 14% abv

Quality flight: Mendoza Malbecs

This beat-up palate is brought to you by allergy season.

Set-up
While Malbecs from Argentina don’t show up often on the actual Master of Wine exams, I thought this would be a good place to practice quality levels within the same region. Malbec is not native to Argentina, but the area is more well-known for the grape than in France, where the grape has historically had to make up at least 70% of the wines of Cahors. Before the winter freeze 1956, Malbec used to play a more significant part in the blends of Bordeaux and some research suggests that the clones used in Argentina are decedents from the Bordelais vines rather than from Cahors or the Loire.

Located in the fat west of the country, Mendoza is the largest and most-important wine-growing region in Argentina (about 70% of its annual production). Luján de Cuyo is a subregion within Mendoza that features higher altitudes and more temperate weather.

Without tasting, I would expect the wines to display ripe plums, dark fruits, perhaps some floral, but above all, ripe (not cooked) fruits clearly indicating New World. I would think the palate would show medium acid, but higher tannins. Basically, I think of Malbec as a Merlot with more going on with the palate – acid and grip. I would suspect that the Altos would be more about upfront fruit and a quick finish, the Felino to show more interesting things on the nose, and a more defined palate, and the Bramare to build upon that, perhaps displaying some minerality? Plus oak.

The wines
Altos Las Hormigas Malbec 2009 (Mendoza) $13, 14.2%
Felino ‘Viña Cobos’ Malbec 2009 (Mendoza) $20, 14.9%
Bramare ‘Viña Cobos’ Malbec 2008 (Luján de Cuyo) $39, 14.9%

(Note the Bramare is a shiner – the front label says Cabernet Sauvignon and the back label says Malbec. It is indeed a Malbec.)

The Altos showed pepper and plums and a smokiness at a medium intensity. The palate had firm tannins, medium(-) acid and a medium(-) finish, with the simple taste of sour dark fruits. Both the medium(-) finish and linear flavor profile indicates that this is a high-volume production wine, and the lowest in quality in the flight.

This Malbec is the “main production” wine according to the Altos Las Hormigas website. The grapes are from different sites, vinified separately before the final blend. Stainless steel fermentation and aged for three months in the vats with French and American oak insertstaves. Annual production: 700,000 bottles.

The Felino displayed more dark plums, a slight bit of vanilla (oak?) and dry earthiness and a slight burn from alcohol. The vanilla softened the impact of sour dark fruits on the palate, and firm tannins were still on display. The length was a bit longer here (medium) and were carried by the tannins and fruit, indicating a better quality wine.

American winemaker Paul Hobbs is a partner in the Viña Cobos Winery which produced both the Felino and Bramare.The wine is 100% Malbec. The vineyards are from the smaller appellations of Luán de Cuyo, Maipú, and Valle de Uco at an elevation of 2,300 to 3,770 feet, yielding 4.3 to 4.6 tons per acre. Fermented in stainless steel with a native MLF in barrel that took four months to complete. It was then aged eight months in American and French oak, 21% new. Annual production: 262,320 bottles.

The Bramare had an overt use of sweet vanilla oak with plums and a slight floral perfume. The use of oak could indicate a more expensive wine. The oak made the attack smooth and sweet but the palate of this wine had the highest impact of acids, tannins, and flavors of vanilla and plums. Despite intensity, there was nothing angular so the wine was in balance. The use of oak and the balanced and clear flavors on the palate shows that this is the highest quality wine in the flight.

Bramare’s fruit was from the prime subregion of Luán de Cuyo with an elevation of 3,000 to 3500 feet. Yields here are 2.0 to 3.1 tons per acre. Stainless steel fermentation with MLF in barrels with native yeasts completed in three months. Eighteen months in 22% new American and 15% new French oak, the balance in used oak. Unfined and unfiltered. I couldn't find production numbers.

Observations
On the second round, when I tasted them blind, there was a distinct yeasty character on the Felino that I didn’t pick up before. Lees stirring on a red wine in Mendoza? Maybe a result of the MLF? That was the factor that helped me decide between the Felino and the Altos (the sweet oak on Bramare gave it away quickly).

What surprised me from this tasting was that despite high alcohol, I didn’t perceive it as much on the palate. I’m not sure if that was due to the fact that they were all in the same zip code, the fact that I’m in the middle of allergy season and everything hurts anyway, or that it was all in balance. I wonder if there was more RS leftover to soften the blow and my damaged palate didn’t pick up on it this time around. May have to try a few of these again…