Monday, March 10, 2014

Tasting practice for WSET Advanced #1

I have just started my WSET Advanced and I'm super excited!! There is a lot more work with this level than the Intermediate, and rightly so, but after Class 1 it is a little daunting. The tasting is more sophisticated and the book twice as thick, I need to get studying... and that means drinking, ahem, I mean tasting wines too.

Badger is my initial support group (until I find others), and he has set me the task of tasting one white and one red per week without knowing what it is, so I can practice. This is what I tasted today:

Medium intensity, lemon yellow, clear  appearance.
Nose: Clean, lemon rind, yellow apples, honey, blossom, sand, I'm getting something oakey but can't put my finger on it... maybe its not oak, maybe its tropical fruits instead, yes mango and passion fruit.
Mouth: medium- acidity, medium+ body, dry, medium+ alcohol, pronounced, but short length.
I'm getting golden delicious apples, mango, papaya, passion fruit,almond  skin, apple juice from concentrate, honeycomb.
Quality: Acceptable, mid-low price (I haven't yet learned the correct terminology and I'm doing this blind) so I'd guess £8-11, definitely Chardonnay (I got that from the first sniff), from Chile... wait, no Central Valley California.

Right, what is it?
Hahn winery, Chardonnay from Monterey 2012, 14.5% and £14.

Blimey! Not bad for a first go, I'm not as rusty as I thought. Now, i would tell you what I got wrong or what I missed, but I need to move on to the red. Good game, good game.


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