The event was held in the ballroom of the Marriott City Center, Charlotte. Andrew McNamara has MS credentials (Couirt of Master Sommelier), Clint Harris, another panelist is WSET certified and is a Certified Wine Educator, and Catherine Rabb is a senior instructor in the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte. She is a Certified Specialist of Wine and a Certified Specialist of Spirits and has written wine columns for the Charlotte "Observer." We sampled and discussed twelve wines, five white and seven red wines. Some were comparisons of Old World and New World versions of the same grape.
2012 Domaine Thomas & Fils Sancerre Blanc La Crele compared with 2011 Yealands Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand.
Sniffing, sipping, swirling, etc. it was obvious that the New Zealand wine was more pungent and grassier than the wine from the Loire Valley, France. The participants found citrus elements, particularly grapefruit in the Sancerre wine and perhaps some pear. I noted some lemon in the New Zealand example but an overriding green grassy element. Catherine Rabb noted some tropical notes in the second wine and guava might be close to the mark.
Wines three and four compared Old World and New World Chardonnay with 2012 Simmonet-Fabvre Chablis, France and 2012 Alexander Valley Vineyards Chardonnay, Sonoma County, CA. The were widely different but I wasn't thrilled with either wine. The Chablis, unoaked, did not have the flinty/steely characteristics I favor in Chablis. It did have a shyer profile than the Alexander Valley wine which came across as fuller, richer, more buttery. I smelled vanillin in the California Chardonnay and the panel discussed the influence of oak on Chardonnay, which is basically a pretty neutral grape.
Our final white wine was a less common Italian grape, the Trebbiano di Lugana, in 2012 Zenato Lugano di San Benedetto DOC, Italy. I found an apple cider note in this wine.
The next three red wines were compared to each other--2011 Brella Pinot Noir from Oregon (grapes from different vineyard regions within Oregon), 2012 Punto Final Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina, and 2011 Seven Hills Winery Merlot, Walla Walla Valley, Washington. Asked to raise our hands for our favorite of the three, I voted for the Malbec although I wasn't thrilled with any of them. The Pinot Noir struck me as atypical for the grape variety. Others were saying smoky, woody, spicy, barnyard, horse, leather, etc. I didn't find that so much and did find some raspberry fruit but found it light-bodied initially although it did have a lengthy finish. It just wasn't as bright and vibrant as I expect from Pinot. The Malbec I found to have a sweet nose with dark, ripe fruit, perhaps riper than I prefer. One panelist referenced ripe, juicy plum. Both the Malbec and Merlot were darker in color than the Pinot Noir, the Merlot being nearly opaque. I found it lacking in personality with maybe some black currant notes but hard to pinpoint the flavors.
I did like the Merlot a bit better after going back to it later in the tasting so maybe with aeration or cellar time it would be more impressive.
We were invited to try the last four red wines and write down quick impressions. The vintage of the ninth wine wasn't listed and I forgot to check the bottle when leaving. It was a Domaine Santa Duc Cotes-du-Rhone old vines, Rhone Valley, France. It was my favorite of the tasting (although the Rioja might be my favorite with more cellar time.) It was 70% Grenache, 25% Syrah, and 5% Mourvedre. One panelist said that technically it qualifies as a Cotes du Rhone Villages AOC. I found this wine medium-bodied, pleasant with red currant and pomegranate notes. A panelist said that it probably had the highest alcohol percentage of all twelve wines but it didn't drink as hot IMHO. The 2011 Castello di Neive Barbera d'Alba Santo Stefano was a paler color than the Cotes du Rhone and had a drying finish. It suggested berries as the primary fruit flavor. The 2010 Vina Bujanda Crianza Rioja DOC, Spain was the wine I thought held good potential. It again was a paler color than the Cotes du Rhones or the Cabernet Sauvignon. I got some red plum notes in the Rioja. We were told that it is made as a very traditional Rioja. I quite liked it. We finished with a 2012 Alexander Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County, CA. This was a darker color and had a tannic finish. I found dark fruit and an oakiness. While I think this was the favorite of some of the attendees, the two I wanted to purchase were the Cotes du Rhones and the Rioja. If the retailer is willing to ship to Fayetteville I will be purchasing those two.
It was a well organized and educational tasting for $40 a person.