Blind tasting hell

Pin It

Got together with a bunch of WSET students for dinner and wine tasting. Venue was Babylon, a new restaurant on Gough Street. Honestly the food was nothing to write home about.

While I realize the food was cheap, I was expecting somewhat better spring chicken than what I got. The starter of Boston crab claw salad was also only so-so. Happy to have pumpkin pie for dessert, as it is Halloween after all.

We had 11 people with 11 bottles of wine, which was more than plenty. We were blind tasting, and with this crowd anything goes.

2000 Nyetimber Cuvee Classic - an interesting sparkling wine made from all three Champagne varietals in West Sussex, England. Toasty oak, yeast and minerals on the nose, while slightly acidic on the palate.

Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blanc NV - a very vibrant wine, crisp but not too acidic - a tad sweet even. Unfortunately the finish was a bit short.

1975 Pichon Lalande - classic Bordeaux nose, with plum and some red fruits left. Very smooth to drink but a bit flat on the palate.

2007 Novy Family Blanc de Noir - a very interesting wine made by the people at Siduri, from Pinot Noir grapes. Lots of tropical fruits like banana and pina colada, with nutty almonds, floral and sweet nose. Really enjoyable and my white wine of the evening.

2004 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc - a classic white from Graves, with very heavy, toasty oak and lots of minerals. It's surprisingly ripe on the palate with good acidity balance.

2000 Siduri Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard - really big and powerful sweet nose, a classic Californian Pinot, with a hint of orange rind.

2004 Pauillac - interesting and surprisingly good for the 3rd wine of Chateau Latour. A bit plummy, smoky and sweet, ripe fruit. Not sweet on the palate, however.

2001 Mustuguillo Quincha Corral - a Spanish wine made from Bobal, this was my red wine of the evening. Explosive sweet nose, very jammy with lots of power and oomph! A bit high on the alcohol and could use a bit more aging.

2001 Yarra Yering Dry Red Wine No.1 - very sweet nose with a hint of stewed prunes, grilled meats, smoke and coffee. The nose was a bit sharp but the wine fell a bit flat on the palate.

2004 Camille Giroud Corton Les Chaumes - a typical Burgundy with sweet fruit and black cherries. A bit more alcoholic than I expected.

1988 Hugel Gewurztraminer Selection de Grains Nobles - very floral nose with acetone, orange, pink grapefruit notes. Sweet on the palate but finish was a bit bitter. I'm glad I finally had a chance to open this bottle.

Needless to say, this was another evening of drunkeness...