Any advice for how to hold my Intro to Bordeaux tasting?

I'm holding an Intro to Bordeaux wine tasting for about ten of our friends in a few weeks. We're all pretty much novices in wine still. Everyone's had California Cabs but few people have had much Bordeaux, including me. Our group has in the past done blind tastings, but I'm not sure if that will be appropriate for this tasting. I went to klwines.com and got:
2001 Coufran, Haut-Medoc
2004 Lalande-Borie, St. Julien
2005 Plain Point, Fronsac
1995 Smith-Haut-Lafitte, Pessoc-Leognan

I was planning on decanting the 3 youngest wines 2-3 hours before showtime, and then decanting the 1995 wine a few minutes before guests arrive. Since I have one decanter, I was going to decant and then pour back into the original bottles, then brown bag them. Someone else will randomize the order of tasting, and we will taste them one by one (we don't have enough glasses for each person to have 4 glasses).

Is this going to work? I want to make sure I show the wines properly. Alternatively, I was thinking of doing the 3 youngest wines blind, and then open, decant, and taste the 1995 wine (not blinded).

Steve, Hello and Welcome to the Forum.....

Sounds like a fun evening. Consider perhaps the possibility of asking each person to bring four glasses with them to the tasting. If that works out (and I know some will disagree with me), do not decant at all but open the bottles about an hour or so early and then pouring directly into the glasses, pouring enough so that people can follow the wines as they open in their glasses. If that does work, avoid any confusion by giving people a magic marker so they can mark the foot of each glass with the number of the wine being poured.

Enjoy!

Rogov

I would do this as a non-blind tasting. I would open all bottles shortly before you expect the first person to show up (30-60 minutes) and taste to ensure all bottles are not flawed. I rarely decant so probably would not but would decide after I tasted them. I would taste either youngest to oldest or I would do it based upon area with the fronsac first, Haut-Medoc second, St. Julien and then the Pessoc last.

I suggest you do this non-blind because you say its an intro tasting. Knowing that you are moving through vintages or regions and which ones are of greater interest to me when I start learning about a new region. Once I have a baseline understanding of a wine region, I don't mind tasting blind or non-blind but for some reason I don't like tasting blind initially.

I'd agree that multiple glasses so you could (a) watch development and (b) look at the similarities and differences side by side would be best
I also think there's no point in blind if your group doesn't have experience and preconceptions.
But most important advice is to have fun!

Thanks for all the prompt replies. I think 4 glasses per person may not be doable, so I think we're going to have to go unblinded. I think I already knew that was the best way.

ok, so I am going to uncork all 4 bottles 30-60 min early, taste them, and decant them if necessary. Then I'll serve them in order (Fronsac, Haut-Medoc, St. Julien, Pessoc), giving a brief description of the region before each one.

as far as decanting -- if the wine has no nose or if it tastes one-dimensional or way too acidic, I'll decant. Also, I'll decant if there's a lot of sediment visible.

[Jenise]

Thanks for all the prompt replies. I think 4 glasses per person may not be doable, so I think we're going to have to go unblinded. I think I already knew that was the best way.

ok, so I am going to uncork all 4 bottles 30-60 min early, taste them, and decant them if necessary. Then I'll serve them in order (Fronsac, Haut-Medoc, St. Julien, Pessoc), giving a brief description of the region before each one.

as far as decanting -- if the wine has no nose or if it tastes one-dimensional or way too acidic, I'll decant. Also, I'll decant if there's a lot of sediment visible.

Why not have your guests bring their own glassware? Most of my wine groups do that--we joke about our geek luggage but we all understand that most people don't have sufficient glassware for a large group, and maybe we don't mind always comparing from the same glass style anyway.

And welcome to WLDG!

Steve
Some good comments from others, and whilst there may be different approaches, there's good logic to each.

Blind/non blind perhaps depends on the group. If they find that best for non-prejudiced assessment (or maybe for some non-serious competitiveness) then blind is ideal. However if your experiences are limited in this field, then the need for blind as a 'leveller of reputations' goes away. In my early days of wine tasting, everything was effectively blind, even though I could see the labels

As for decanters, it doesn't have to be a fancy decanter, as any glass / pottery jug that's big enough will do the job. It may be that you could borrow a couple of jugs from family / friends? However what you suggest is fine and the air from this 'double decant' process (bottle to decanter to bottle) should be enough to do the job.

As for multiple glasses, I agree in the concept, but if you don't have enough glasses (or indeed space, which I find is the typical limiter) then aim to keep half to a third of the bottle unpoured for each bottle. Once you've tasted from each of the bottles, then let people taste again from whichever bottles they want to. We find this works best with wines that may have needed additional air. We often also serve food at this point, which can also point to a wine that needs food to shine.

regards

Ian

I'm glad you have one older wine to compare. I do think it should be the final wine tasted (which I believe is what you are planning.

Would be nice to start with a white Bordeaux as a starter. Goes well with Chevre (goat cheese). It kind of loosens your palate. I like your first scenario. But you can decant the wine the night before if time is a problem. I like to use a Pyrex bowl, and then back into the bottle after 30-60 minutes. You will probably find that the '95 would benefit from a splash decant as well. You have a nice selection of wines. Please report back on the results.

The main obstacle to 4 glasses/person is that most of the tasters are not wine geeks YET. I'm by far the geekiest. I anticipate them saying it's too much trouble to bring glasses. But I think I just might ask around and see if they surprise me.

I'll try to remember to post my WTN. The tasting isn't til Jan 23. Thanks again for the advice!

[Jenise]

The main obstacle to 4 glasses/person is that most of the tasters are not wine geeks YET. I'm by far the geekiest. I anticipate them saying it's too much trouble to bring glasses. But I think I just might ask around and see if they surprise me.

I'll try to remember to post my WTN. The tasting isn't til Jan 23. Thanks again for the advice!

Then perhaps you suggest two glasses and pour the wines in two flites? It was especially true when I was just starting out and didn't have a strong frame of reference of my own, but I tend to think that the backdrop of a comparison wine makes the characteristics of each wine stand out more. Anyway, just an idea. And please DO post your notes; we'll all be wondering.

...giving a brief description of the region before each one.

Are you are also going to describe the individual wines and not just the regions (i.e.: Grape types and percentage of each, time in oak or bottle prior to release etc)?

I think I've done my research -- I've got PDFs from the websites for each of the wines (grape breakdown, oaking, filtration, etc.), as well as assorted tasting notes for afterwards. I've got a copy of the Wine Spectator Wine Vintages Chart since I've got 4 different years. I also grabbed Clive Coates' book on Bordeaux from the library and bookmarked each of the chateaux. I borrowed Jancis Robinson's encyclopedia but it's less useful. I also have a 1 page handout with a mini map of Bordeaux and a couple of paragraphs on Bordeaux and Bordeaux tasting, compiled from various web sources including WineDoc. For the 2005 Plain-Point, Fronsac, I've bookmarked Gary Vaynerchuk's video review -- I'm contemplating playing his video right after we taste the wine. I hope this qualifies me for at least novice/impoverished wine geek status.

Steve
Wow! That's very fine prep work.
I like how you've scheduled critic's tasting notes and the video for after you've tasted. There's a real risk that people feel obliged to bow to the superior palates (sic.) of the critics, so ideal for everyone to have their say without that influence. It's maybe a good chance to turn this back on the critics and use it to debate which critic best expressed your own opinions of the wine. Who best matched up to the assembled palates and who was on a completely different planet?! The key thought process here would be it's the critics 'on trial' not the tasters around the table.
Have fun
regards
Ian

It looks to me like you have a good sampling of Bordeaux, Steve. I fell in love with the first Bordeaux I ever tasted and have only slummed in anything else since. For years I have tried to interest uninitiated folks in Bordeaux and have held a number of impromptu tastings. Never, ever, have I found even one of these people to like Bordeaux as well as Cal Cab or Merlot. Normally they don’t like the Bordeaux at all, declaring it to be too earthy and barnyardy, after I furnish the descriptors for them to use.

It seems to me, but only a feeling, not anything I have had confirmed, that anybody who is going to like Bordeaux will find this out on their own early on. So I would be very interested in learning what you and your friends think of the Bordeaux vis-à-vis Cal cab. One thing that will be important for you to do is make sure that the group does not feel that they will be discourteous by saying anything negative about the Bordeaux. I need to really work at getting the truth out of uninitiated people who taste my wine. I make use of the old expression, In Wine There Is Truth: that you should always tell the truth about wine; it is part of the wine culture.

That is some great advice, Ian and Covert. You caution against two pitfalls I was absentmindedly planning to make. I've watched a bunch of Vaynerchuk videos, but I've never tasted a wine against his videos -- and I guess "I" won't this time either, since I've already watched the video and read his notes =( But at least I can make it a valuable experience for my friends. And I realize now that I'll have to watch my own language and body language and allow people to express their genuine feelings.

Just less than 10 years ago, before I had any interest in better beer or wine, I travelled to France and stayed with some friends of friends. All 5 of the wines that I lugged back in my huge backpack really woke me up to French wine with a host of tastes I'd never gotten out of domestic wines, and I've been looking to rediscover those flavors ever since. I wish I had recorded the wines, but there was a Crozes Hermitage, a supermarket St. Emilion, a Beaujolais, a Bourgogne(?), and an Alsatian white.

That is some great advice, Ian and Covert. You caution against two pitfalls I was absentmindedly planning to make. I've watched a bunch of Vaynerchuk videos, but I've never tasted a wine against his videos -- and I guess "I" won't this time either, since I've already watched the video and read his notes =( But at least I can make it a valuable experience for my friends. And I realize now that I'll have to watch my own language and body language and allow people to express their genuine feelings.

Just less than 10 years ago, before I had any interest in better beer or wine, I travelled to France and stayed with some friends of friends. All 5 of the wines that I lugged back in my huge backpack really woke me up to French wine with a host of tastes I'd never gotten out of domestic wines, and I've been looking to rediscover those flavors ever since. I wish I had recorded the wines, but there was a Crozes Hermitage, a supermarket St. Emilion, a Beaujolais, a Bourgogne(?), and an Alsatian white.

It sounds as if you might have the background to love Bordeaux already in your blood. This is great!

Where are you writing from? I just want to get an impression, if I can, of the ambient culture you are working with.

[Jenise]

I think I've done my research -- I've got PDFs from the websites for each of the wines (grape breakdown, oaking, filtration, etc.), as well as assorted tasting notes for afterwards. I've got a copy of the Wine Spectator Wine Vintages Chart since I've got 4 different years. I also grabbed Clive Coates' book on Bordeaux from the library and bookmarked each of the chateaux. I borrowed Jancis Robinson's encyclopedia but it's less useful. I also have a 1 page handout with a mini map of Bordeaux and a couple of paragraphs on Bordeaux and Bordeaux tasting, compiled from various web sources including WineDoc. For the 2005 Plain-Point, Fronsac, I've bookmarked Gary Vaynerchuk's video review -- I'm contemplating playing his video right after we taste the wine. I hope this qualifies me for at least novice/impoverished wine geek status.

And you're thinking they're not geeky enough to carry their own glasses?

[Jenise]

Oh, btw, Steve, are you serving food?

1. I'm on the peninsula of the Bay Area in Northern California. My go-to store is K&L (klwines.com). While I'd love to dive into Bordeaux, I think I may need to explore Rhones first.

2. I may be geeky, but sadly, none of my friends comes close to my geekiness (novice geekiness). Um, that's why I joined this forum =)

3. The plan is for people to eat an early dinner on their own and then come to my place. I was going to have water, crackers, and a mild cheese (Fontina?). I think we learned from past tastings that freshly baked brownies and bacon wrapped dates have overwhelming aromas.

freshly baked brownies and bacon wrapped dates have overwhelming aromas.

And overwhelming flavors!

Sweets in general are very difficult to match with dry (i.e. non-sweet) wines so I would save anything of that sort until after the 'serious' tasting is over.

[Jenise]

2. I may be geeky, but sadly, none of my friends comes close to my geekiness (novice geekiness). Um, that's why I joined this forum =)

That's why we're here; AND, we were all where you are now once upon a time. It's fun to help.

3. The plan is for people to eat an early dinner on their own and then come to my place. I was going to have water, crackers, and a mild cheese (Fontina?). I think we learned from past tastings that freshly baked brownies and bacon wrapped dates have overwhelming aromas.

The mild cheese is a good idea; you might also consider some food. I know everybody ate, but beyond the issue of empty vs. full tummies is the subject of what happens when you taste a wine like Bordeaux just after you've had some kind of compatible food. The wine POPS, the difference can be huge in a way that drinking big fruited California reds would never prepare you for. Consider having some cold cuts along with the cheese--meats like ham or a dried beef like capicola will buffer the effect of tannins and really show what those wines were made for that without food, would not be nearly so obvious.

Thanks, Steve. Your home 20 was my stomping ground in the '60s. Watched "The Doors," the movie, for the very first time last night. Brought back some memories of the area, plus delighted me by weaving in the god, Dionysus, which I appreciated as making a very brief appearance at the dawn of Aquarius. Appreciation of the wine god brought me to this forum, rather than geekdom; although, very few of its members here appear to me, anyway, to take a dionysian view downward into the earth to balance their understanding of that part of the god's spirit revealed in grapes above.

It's interesting regarding Rhone wines. At a dinner recently, so as to not dominate with my Bordeaux preference, and always the go-to person with regard to wine ordering, I balanced equal portions of Rhone with my usual Bordeaux. People at the table remarked that the Bordeaux blew away the Rhone in strength, and rendered it an also ran. I didn't think so, as Rhones are pretty powerful, but I am so commenting nonetheless.

1. I'm on the peninsula of the Bay Area in Northern California. My go-to store is K&L (klwines.com). While I'd love to dive into Bordeaux, I think I may need to explore Rhones first.

2. I may be geeky, but sadly, none of my friends comes close to my geekiness (novice geekiness). Um, that's why I joined this forum =)

3. The plan is for people to eat an early dinner on their own and then come to my place. I was going to have water, crackers, and a mild cheese (Fontina?). I think we learned from past tastings that freshly baked brownies and bacon wrapped dates have overwhelming aromas.

I think that you will find sliced apples and a decent cheddar to be a very nice match with Bdx. Also 70% Cocoa dark chocolate is another knockout match. I would also have olives and maybe celery as well. Cabot Extra Sharp or Tillamook are both nice cheddars. And a chevre (goat cheese) is perfect with a white Bordeaux if you decide to start with one. That is a wine that everyone will like and they are fairly inexpensive ($10-$14).