I've done a number of tastings in the US but this was the first time I actually made sure I went to a number of different ones (normally I don't go to more than one per trip).
Wine Exchange Beaujolais Day. November 17, 2012.
I've been to a number of tastings at Winex and they generally do a pretty good job. They have little snacks if you want. They have plenty of seats, plenty of spit buckets.....You get a few people there to drink wine but you get just as many wine geeks that are there to taste... The ones I've been to tend to have about 15-20 different things to try.
Most of the Beaujolais they had for tasting was ok. Good acid, lowish tannins...Wine Exchange has a good buyer so it was really hard to go wrong. At the same time, a majority of what they had available was pretty boring as well.
The only shocker was the
Chateau des Jacques Moulin-A-Vent Champ de Cour 2009. At 30 dollars it is an expensive Beaujolais but I'm not even sure I'd call this a Beaujolais....Big, almost vanilla like oak on the nose, big fruit...dark dark fruit...It was almost like an Australian Pinot...except the use of oak was very good (not overpowering) and the wine was still very medium bodied. I've heard people refer to Moulin-A-Vent Beaujolais as very Burg like and this definitely reminded me of that. Good acidity, nice dark fruit, more tannic than I'd think a Beaujolais would have...nice depth to the wine...I'd like to try this again in a year or so..is was very good.
Hi Time Wine Cellars "Super Bad Ass" California tasting November 23, 2012.
The first time I've actually been to Hi Time for a tasting...to be honest, I was pretty disappointed. You can definitely see, people come here to DRINK not to taste. They charge a lot for the number of wines you get to taste..and that is probably because they serve you double or more the amount you might have at a tasting. On the good side, if you want to go somewhere and drink wine...these aren't a bad deal..you'd see tons of people show up with some cheese they bought and just sit there and drink drink drink...I think I was one of only two people that actually spit.
I think there was like 8 California wines and 1 Washington wine....They were all pretty good..well made..nothing wrong w/ them...I wasn't excited about any of them either. The more expensive wines had more structure..the less expensive ones were more drink now...I'm sure people would be very happy to drink them..I'd happily drink them..but I'm not sure I'd buy any of them. They were, IMO, typical CA wines...Well made, tasted good, but overpriced for what you get. Oddly enough, the most interesting wine was a heavily oak CA Chardonnay..and not because I thought it was really interesting..but because I haven't had one of those in quite awhile.
Wine Exchange Burgundy tasting November 24, 2012
Probably one of the most expensive Winex tastings, but it is Burgundy so it was to be expected.
A lot of good stuff...they really do have great buyers here...only disliked one wine, the rest were all very good...so for those that think Burgundy is full of land mines, the great thing w/ the buyers here is they tend to not pick those...
Robert Denogent Macon-Fuisse Les Taches 2010.
I haven't had too many Chards from Macon..and the ones I've had were almost salty....This was a very nice Chardonnay, great acidity, good balance..felt old world but quite fresh. A good buy at 24 dollars.
Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet 2010.
A bit tight on the nose but getting a bit of citrus...Once I try it, it definitely sings of Burgundy..especially in the mouthfeel...good acidity, good use of oak...wine is a bit tight but oddly enough, the finish was crazy long...I could hardly believe it. It isn't that I wasn't expecting a long finish from a white Burgundy but it still felt like it needed more air and more time..and yet it delivered a long long long finish...The downside? 90 dollars.....
Domaine Faiveley Mercurey Clos des Myglands "Monopole" 1er Cru 2010.
Nose is a little tight but palate had great acidity, great depth..not overly tannic for a 1er Cru this young...I'm not sure this is built to last..but for 30 dollars it is a great buy..
Domaine Charles Audoin Gevery Chambertin 2010
Very good structure, great acidity..for 43 dollars this was a very good Gevrey Chambertin.
Other notables:
Domaine Tortochot Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru 2010
Domaine de L'Arlot Nuits Saint Georges Clos de L'Arlot 'Monopole' 1er Cru 2010
Domaine Charles Audion Marsannay Les Favieres 2010
Domine des Heritiers Louis Jadot Corton Pougets Grand Cru 2010
Mongeard-Mugneret Savigny Les Beaune Les Narbantons 1er Cru 2010
