Grand Cru (Perth) Tasting Group – “Grape Varieties You’ve Never Tried Before”

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

This is an unusual theme, I know. This was the blurb promoting this tasting:
”Usually (not always) we bring a wine along because we've tried it before, like it, and want to show it to the Grand Cru group.
Let's change it up a little. Not only will the rest of us be surprised - so will you! Please bring a wine of a grape variety you've never tried before. There's several thousand to choose from!”

This was easier for some than for others, as those with different levels of wine experience will have tried more or less grape varieties. We certainly got a range of varieties, and not an Australian wine among them! We started with two white wines:

Plessis-Duval Suvre Et Maine Muscadet 2020 (Loire Valley, France): Pale straw in colour. Perfumed nose with musk, pears and some minerality. Honeydew melon and grapefruit on the palate, with refreshing acid and moderate length. A good wine for a summer’s afternoon.

Bodega Maranones Picarana Albillo Real 2016 (Spain): I’m advised Albillo is the grape variety. Yellow tending to gold in colour. Apricot blossom, toasted almonds, bruised apple, ripe paw paw and sherry / flor characters on the nose. The sherry character runs through the palate also, with marzipan and soft cheese. Medium acid and good length. Obviously made in an oxidative style, and a couple of tasters thought it might be a Jura. The group was divided on its future – some thought it was at its peak, others thought there was plenty in the tank. Well regarded by the group.

The reds followed:

Almanova Mencia 2020 (Spain): Crimson in colour. Raspberries, mulberry, plums, violets, bubble gum and graphite on the nose. Tart red fruits and sour cherry sit on the palate alongside grippy tannins. There’s quite high acid and alcohol, and leads to a medium finish.

Ronchi Di Cialla Schioppettino 2019 (Italy): Schioppettino is a grape that was saved from extinction about 50 years ago. Light garnet in colour. Very herbal and slightly medicinal nose, with red cherries, tomato leaf and dill. Cola on the palate with modest tannins, good acid, but a short finish.

Terranoble Valle Del Maule Carmenere Gran Reserva 2019 (Chile): Deep crimson. The nose is complex, with cocoa powder, graphite, blackberry, dark fruits, green capsicum, tomato leaf and tobacco. There’s more dark fruits on the palate. Tannins are considerable and grippy, and there’s good supporting acid and the wine finishes long. This was very Bordeaux like and had we not known the theme of this tasting …… Highly regarded by the group.

Sericis Bobal 2018 (Utier Requina, Valencia, Spain): Deep crimson in colour. A straightforward nose, with cranberry and fennel. The palate shows green and stalky characters, under-ripe grapes, red fruits and cocoa powder. There’s firm chalky tannins leading to a moderate finish. Well regarded by the group.

Domaine Wachau Blauer Zweigelt 2018 (Wachau Austria): Deep crimson. A touch of acetone. What little nose there was showed a little Ribena and some medicinal notes. We suspected Brett had struck, although this remained unresolved. The palate was flat, with sour cherry and blueberries and very grippy tannins. The fruit finishes short, while the acid and tannins linger longer.

Wine of the night was the Terranoble Valle Del Maule Carmenere Gran Reserva 2019.

All present agreed that this was an unusual but entertaining theme, and we got to try bottles we might not have otherwise considered. I have since purchased one of the wines myself and might track down another.

Cheers
Allan

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[Ian S]

Always an interesting theme, whilst some enjoy taking this to its extreme, e.g. the Oddities ad-hoc tastings in the UK, that very much sought after the truly obscure.

[paulf]

This would have been a fun tasting.
I have seen Australian examples of Carmenere, Mencia and Schioppeitino but they are few and far between.

[GraemeG]

I have something in the vicinity of 160 different grapes tasted (mono and in blends) documented on Cellar Tracker and I'd like to get to 200, so am always on the lookout for something new! Schiopettino is certainly new to me.

[Ian S]

148 according to CT, which is probably probably about right with others never listed e.g. tasted away from home vs. duplication of varieties in CT, plus their 'blends' that also double count. I've tried to de-dupe what's listed, but there will still be some CT errors in there, and also added in a few obvious omissions when scanning it Roussanne, Nascetta, Pinot Meunier, Bacchus, Dornfelder, Merwah, Trincadeira, Schiopettino and Schiava. There will be quite a few others e.g. a few Valle d'Aosta and Portuguese white grapes:
Aglianico
Aleatico
Alicante Bouschet
Alvarinho
Areni
Arneis
Auxerrois
Auxerrois Blanc
Bacchus
Baga
Barbera
Bical
Blauburgunder
Bobal
Brachetto
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Sauvignon
Carignan
Carricante
Chardonnay
Chenin Blanc
Cortese
Corvina
Dolcetto
Dornfelder
Durif
Erbaluce
Falanghina
Favorita
Fiano
Folle Blanche
Franconia
Frappato
Freisa
Friulano
Fumin
Furmint
Gamay
Garganega
Garnacha / Grenache
Gewürztraminer
Graciano
Greco di Tufo
Grignolino
Grüner Veltliner
Jacquère
Lacrima
Lambrusco
Loureiro
Macabeo-
Xarello-Parellada
Malbec
Malmsey
Malvasia Bianca
Malvasia di Lipari
Manseng
Manzoni Bianco
Marsanne
Mencía
Merlot
Merwah
Montepulciano
Moscatel / Moscato / Moscato Blanco
Moscato Rosa
Mourvèdre
Müller-Thurgau
Muscadelle
Muscat
Nascetta
Nasco
Nebbiolo
Negroamaro
Nerello
Nero d'Avola
Nero di Troia
Nosiola
Obaideh
País
Pallagrello Nero
Palomino Fino
Parellada
Pedro Ximénez
Pelaverga
Petite Sirah
Pinot Bianco
Pinot Blanc
Pinot Grigio / Pinot Gris
Pinot Noir / Spätburgunder
Pinot Meunier
Pinotage
Primitivo / Zinfandel
Prosecco (Glera)
Ramisco
Refosco dal Peduncolo Rosso
Riesling
Rossese di Dolceacqua
Roussanne
Ruché
Sangiovese
Saperavi
Sauvignon Blanc
Savagnin
Scheurebe
Schiava
Schiopettino
Sémillon
Shiraz / Syrah
Silvaner
Tannat
Tempranillo
Teroldego
Timorasso
Tinta Barocca
Touriga Nacional
Trebbiano
Trincadeira
Turbiana
Verdejo
Verdicchio
Vespolina
Vidal
Viognier
Viura
Xinomavro