Grand Cru (Perth) Tasting Group – Alternative Whites.

[Waiters Friend]

G'day

Keen followers of our tasting group (both of you) may recall that we held an Alternative Whites tasting in December 2019. http://forum.auswine.com.au/viewtopic.php?f ... es#p159108

We decided to have another go. “Alternative” excluded chardonnay, semillon, riesling, sauvignon blanc, and pinot grigio / gris.
We followed the usual tasting format, wines served blind in descending order of vintage only. We had no idea of the grape variety or origin of the wine. As usual, the tasting notes are a composite of the group’s musings, and not necessarily my personal opinion. (Disclaimer complete). The wines ranged from 2019 to 2003, and international wines were more than usually represented (as were wines under cork).

Belardent Picpoul di Pinet 2019 (Rhone Valley, France): Yellow in colour and quite deep for a 2019 vintage. The nose had lots going on, in a lighter-bodied style: Lemon sherbet, honeysuckle, lemon myrtle florals, honeydew melon, a hint of cashew, developing in the glass to include peach and apricot. The palate was tangy and showed stone fruits. There supporting acid and a touch of viscosity. Medium length. Highly regarded by the group, and an excellent opening wine.

Marq Fiano 2019 (Margaret River, WA). Pale yellow (not straw). The nose shows a touch of citrus, but more lychee and herbs and a strong salinity, like a hard salty cheese. The palate is tangy, with the citrus being more prominent (lemon, orange peel), some strawberry and a slight sherry note (or was that the orange peel?). Good supporting acid and a just shy of medium finish.

Rudi Pichler Federspiel Gruner Veltliner 2018 (Wachau, Austria). Yellow gold – quite dark for a young wine. Not a lot of fruit on the nose, which was more about honey, beeswax, brine and savoury notes. The palate tasted a little like sparkling mineral water and a few tasters picked up an initial spritz. Red apple and pears came out with a little time in the glass. At this point, the acidity dominates, but there’s some palate weight and viscosity, and some tasters reckon this will improve with age. Long finish.

Contessa Pecorino 2018 (Abruzzo, Italy). Pale yellow in colour. Salinity and minerality emerge again, with lemon zest, lemon balm, oyster shell and a touch of musk on the nose. The palate is more expressive, with tropical fruits, including tart pineapple, good acid, and a touch of sourness like Granny Smith apple skins. Only just medium length. Again, there was a slight spritz initially, and some tasters commented that the wine is reminiscent of an aged Riesling in some ways.

Marc Bredif Vouvray 2018 (Loire Valley, France). Chenin Blanc. Medium yellow in colour. The nose initially showed tropical fruits, moving into apple, pear and hay. There’s fruit sweetness on the palate, especially apple juice, which opened up a debate about residual sugar vs fruit sweetness. There’s also some sourdough. The back palate especially becomes more complex and shows considerable weight and a very long finish. Highly regarded by the group.

Credaro Kinship Gewurztraminer 2016 (Margaret River, WA). Pale yellow, especially for a four year old wine (and the opposite of what we were seeing in the younger wines). Many of the aromas you would expect from a Gewurztraminer are here (tinned lychee, musk, florals, spice) along with some spearmint, and the majority of the group had no difficulty in picking the grape variety. The palate showed lime cordial and under-ripe strawberry, which gave a tartness to the wine that was not dispelled by high acid and a little back palate astringency.

Chateau Sixtine Chateauneuf Du Pape Blanc 2016 (Rhone Valley, France). This wine is made up mostly of Roussanne. Yellow with a touch of brown, and an indication that this might be oxidised. The nose certainly showed more of that sherry / rancio, along with some floor polish and burnt orange. Some honeydew melon glimpsed out from the sherry, caramel and beeswax on the palate, and this might not be a representative bottle.

Greg Burenfosse Cotes Du Jura 2013 (Jura, France). Deep yellow (but this time probably deliberately so) Roasted nuts, salinity, chlorine and flor yeast on the nose, while the palate showed some honey and lemon over beeswax and tart acid. Reasonable length. One taster likened it to a manzanilla sherry (without the extra alcohol).

Grego E Menaguillo Godello 2013 (Spain). Again, deep yellow in colour, like the CNdP, and more comments were made about early oxidation. It got worse – sweaty make underwear was referred to. The nose was saline, the palate showed damp earth and sourness, and we decided this might also not be a representative bottle.

Delatite Dean Man’s Hill Gewurztraminer 2011 (Victoria, Australia). Yellow gold in the glass. Some sherry, caramel, popcorn and lanolin on the nose, along with honeysuckle, grass, hay, lavender and damp earth. The rhubarb flowed through to the palate, with mango, passionfruit, and charred pineapple. Luscious, with excellent length and acidity.

Gravner Ribolla Gialla 2008 (Friuli, Italy). The most interesting colour of the night for a whites tasting –garnet like a rose` with hints of orange. And this is definitely a skin contact wine, aged in qvevri (amphorae) in the Georgian style. Some of the grapes come from just inside the Slovenian border as well. The nose shows macerated strawberry, lavender, bergamot, ginger, and a touch of damp earth. There’s more strawberry on the palate, with rose-hip, Tea, and the splash of saliva released by sucking river pebbles. Tannins are present (4 months on skins in qvevri) and some savouriness. Certainly the most unusual wine of the tasting.

Marc Bredif Vouvray 2003 (Loire Valley, France). Chenin Blanc. Medium yellow in colour, and only slightly darker than its younger sibling. The nose shows greengage, lychee, confectionery, musk and white blossoms. There’s baked pears on the palate and again appears to be slightly off-dry due to the fruit intensity. Amazing freshness for a 17 year old white wine, almost zesty, while being full bodied and good length. Highly regarded by the group.

Alternative whites 2020.jpg

Like the December 2019 tasting this threw up a varied and eclectic range of wines. The wine of the night was the Marc Bredif Vouvray 2003 – a wine that epitomise the age-worthiness of Chenin Blanc. Thanks to all who joined us on the night and contributed their wine and their opinion so generously.

Cheers
Allan

[mychurch]

Lovely stuff. I think your notes are consistently the best written on the site Allan

Chenin ages well and that basic 18 needs more time. Shame there was no Swan Valley in the tasting to do a direct comparison - I think it’s one of Auz’s best kept secrets.

[Waiters Friend]

Thanks for the positive comments mychurch. Maybe its time that the Grand Cru Tasting Group did a Chenin tasting!