What did that leave? Hundreds, if not thousands of 'other' white grape varieties. Country and vintage was unimportant. Straight varietal or blends were also unimportant. And we ended up with quite a variety ……
As usual, the wines were tasted blind, with only the vintage known.
L.S. Merchants Chenin Blanc 2018 (Margaret River, 14%). Pale yellow in colour. Nose of lemon blossom, honeysuckle, a little musk and salinity, jasmine. High acid palate, a little waxy, with peach and stonefruit. Great length.
Nodus Tollens White Field Blend 2018 (Great Southern, 13.5%). Pale yellow in colour. Spicy and perfumed nose, with musk, and lychee. Initial indications were gewürztraminer. The palate was a little oily, with a lifted mid palate. Good acidity and length. This ended , up being a blend of pinot gris, gewürztraminer and Riesling. Strongly favoured by the group.
Brash Higgins Chenin Blanc 2017 (McLaren Vale, 12%). Yellow bordering on gold, and slightly cloudy. Slightly volatile nose, with lots of bruised apples. The palate was described as sour lollies, sherbet lemons, and sour milk, and there were lots of signs to indicate oxidative wine making.
Simla Field Blend Blanc 2016 (Derwent River Tasmania, 12%). Yellow in colour and very cloudy. Sulphides, burnt rubber, stale cider granny smith apples and laundry detergent. The flat apple cider follows through to the palate, almost to the point of apple puree, and there’s crisp acidity. The blend consists of sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, Riesling and pinot blanc. Someone didn’t follow the tasting guidelines
Domaine Lucien Jacob Aligote 2016 (Bourgogne, France, 12%). Pale yellow and very bright. Lots of lemon and a little pear, with some cordial and sherbet. The palate is slightly spicy, and a little saline. There’s high acidity and a long liner finish. Well supported by the group.
All Saints Marsanne 2015 (Rutherglen, Victoria 12.4%). Yellow in colour, and bright in the glass. The nose is a little shy, with musk, some salinity and some rockmelon. The wine is a little oily, with some brine, mango, soft peach and high acid. An unusual combination of characteristics, perhaps.
Tahbilk Marsanne 2012 (Nagambie Lakes, Victoria, 12.5%). Yellow in the glass, and quite bright and seemingly undeveloped for its age. Lemon, honeysuckle, a little peach, with signs of early development so there’s a little toast and lanolin. The lemon on the palate is almost tart, and honeyed on the back palate. High acid and good length, but all in balance.
Marc Bredif Vouvray 2009 (France, 12.5%) This chenin blanc is quite pale yellow for a 10 year old wine. The nose is gentle (one taster described it as “relaxed”) but complex, with passionfruit blossom, and honeycomb / beeswax. There’s a touch of sweetness on the palate, which the group found hard to describe, due to its complexity. The term “subtly luscious” was used. Great length, balanced and seamless.
The Marc Bredif Vouvray 2009 was voted wine of the night by a strong majority. It was noted by some in the group that the interest from this type of tasting (where we don’t know the variety in advance) is we cannot predict what might be poured. This was a fascinating tasting, for that reason.
Cheers
Allan