The SOMM Journal

August / September 2015

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{ SOMMjournal.com }  103 Château Maris 2012 Picpoul de Pinet, Languedoc-Roussillon, France ($13) Clean style, appealing, yellow and green citrus fruits with an herbal quality. Peachy, saline and neutral. Quaff now. Correct guesses: 0. PURE WINE CO. Anita and Hans Nittnaus 2012 Heideboden Pinot Blanc, Burgenland, Austria ($18.99) Neutral, weighty, reductive and sulphuric. Saline characteristics, some minerality but overall lacking personal- ity. Correct guesses: 0. MONIKA CAHA SELECTIONS Josmeyer 2008 Riesling "Le Dragon," Alsace, France ($22) Earthy and pungent, with classic petrol aromas, but a "fading palate" over- whelmed by lees fermentation. Drink now. Correct guesses: 2. DOMAINE SELECT WINE ESTATES Pazo de Señorans 2013 Albariño, Rías Baixas, Spain ($23.99) Some floral aromas; ripe, savory and flush with yellow flowers and fruits: golden raisin, golden apples and peaches. Saline. Good alternative to Pinot Grigio. Correct guesses: 1. EUROPEAN CELLARS Domaine Sigalas 2014 Assyrtiko, Santorini, Greece ($27.99) Hands down, the somm pick: "pure personal- ity" and "full throttle." High-toned. Salty and smoky aspects from the volcanic soil. Ripe fruit. Correct guesses: 4. DIAMOND IMPORTERS Lagarde 2009 Primeras Viñas Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina ($89.99) Expressing enough sweet- ness to evoke late-harvest wine. Ripe, complex and sunbaked, showing plums, baker's chocolate. "Trying very hard to have its elements together." Correct guesses: 1. WINEBERRY AMERICA Château Lassègue 2005 St. Emilion Grand Cru, France ($110) "Bloody and tannic, showing flavors raging from cocoa and porcini to figs and rust. Bitter and savory. Old World characters but New World style. Correct guesses: 0. JACKSON FAMILY WINES KRSMA 2013 Sangiovese, Hampi, India ($32.99) Spicy holiday aromas "Virginia baked ham: clove and spice"'; beet juice, exotic. Reduced and meaty. Correct guesses: 0. METRO WINE Alta Mora 2013 Etna Rosso DOC, Sicily, Italy ($33) Aggressive tannins still need working out. Tones of salami or sausage; lacks focus and "transport- ability." Not enough depth to define region or variety. Correct guesses: 0. TERLATO WINES Badiali 2014 Lacrima di Morra d'Alba Le Marche, Italy ($22.99) "Hyper-aromatic" with floral aromas (jasmine, chamomile) and fleshy plums and nectarines. Correct guesses: 1. PETER WARREN SELECTIONS Singular Varieties and Palates Mike hosted the panel and production team at Bar Boulud, one of the three adjacent restaurants where he is Head Sommelier. We were joined by Jerusha Frost, Head Sommelier at Chef 's Club by Food & Wine; Morgan Harris, Sommelier at Aureole; and Jack Mason, Wine Director at Marta. Because this tasting was more about taste buds than terroir, our wine selection focused on single varieties so the somms could drill down into the classic grapes and regions. If there was any pattern to speak of, it was that most of the wines escaped clas- sic descriptions. The guesses on varieties and geographies showed not only how grapes travel (was this Grenache Old or New World?) but how different palates-in- training picked up on key characteristics. Or not. Where some tasted "desiccated fruit," others tasted "green and vanilla." French wines were taken for southern Italian, Albariño was thought to be Pinot Grigio and a Mount Etna Nerello Mascalese mim- icked Pinot Noir or Gamay. While every- one guessed the Assyrtiko from Santorini, no one guessed the Sangiovese from India. "The great thing about wine tasting is that we're leveling the playing field," said Mike. "We don't take money or labels into account . . . we are just tasting wines for what they are." He added, "We kiss lots of frogs to get to the princes." "When the first wine was revealed, I knew that this was not a normal Court of Master Sommeliers tasting and that I would need to rely on the grid of classic wines of the world and apply them to grapes or regions that I do not normally blind taste," Jack noted in an email after the tasting. Over all, of the ten wines tasted, Jack had the most correct guesses with a 40% aver-

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