In this episode, we taste an excellent Tempranillo called 3 Ases which is available from John’s shop Czwericks.
It has a fantastic blackcurrant aroma which is really powerful and great to “sniff at”!
Blackcurrant and a hint of vanilla on the palate with a great length. It is a great wine with a good deal of complexity.
We discuss how we think this wine would pair fantastically with Iberico Ham – the wine which costs £22.00 would need to be appreciated to it’s full and savoured over an evening, cheaper than a trip to the cinema and in my book far more enjoyable.
Just to clarify the discussion we had with regards to the length of time different classification mean the wine has been in a barrel and in the bottle her is a guide: –
Crianza:
A wine labelled Crianza has spent one year in oak barrels.
Reserva:
A wine that says Reserva on the bottle has been aged for two years; one of these years has to have been spent in oak.
Gran Reserva:
These wines are aged for two years in oak and three years in the bottle.
A link to John’s Spanish wines available though Czerwik’s website:-
In the first part of this episode, we taste the first of our Malbec wines from Chile.
The wine tasted in this episode is Tesco’s Chilean Malbec.
The price is very competitive at just £4.75 a bottle, but is it worth that?
The nose gives off a lot of fruit, cherry and the taste also is of predominately cheery with strawberry and raspberry flavours.
Very light on the tannins making it very soft. It is also very “juicy” and would make an ideal wine for someone trying to acquire a taste for red wine.
At the price, this is excellent value!
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In this episode, we taste two big names in the Champagne world Pol Roger and Armand de Brignac which both have a hefty price tag so we are expecting great things from both of them, but particularly the Armand de Brignac as it retails between £200 and £3001
In this first part, we taste a Vintage Pol Roger 2004 which retails at a price around £75.
A fantastic well-balanced glass of Champagne with no excess acidity to detect. The flavour is as close as you can get to perfection for John L!
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In this episode, we taste wine straight out of a bottle, using an electric aeration pump and finally in this part of the episode by decanting the wine before pouring it into the glass.
Decanting certainly made a difference, as one would expect but whilst improving the taste compared to pouring straight from the bottle it made no discernable difference compared to the electric aeration pump.
In this episode, we are comparing tasting wine straight out of the bottle, aerated by a special aeration device and by decanting,
In this part of the episode, we taste a wine from a bottle that has just been opened and then dispensed via an Aervana electric wine aerator.
A definite improvement was experienced, it toned down the tannins, opening up the wine, helping the fruit flavours blossom and making the wine “richer” and providing a “silkier” feel.
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This video was conceived from a question from Herya Wang who asked for a better explanation of the term earthy.
So we decided to go through some of the terms used by wine tasters to express what they are tasting, sometimes these terms can seem pretentious and snobby but they are in many ways the go to explain what your taste buds are going through.
We have listed some bullet points below to assist while watching this video.
Our Top Ten Phrases
Dusty / Earthy
Example – Tempranillo
Summertime when it has not rained for some time and you walk through a dust cloud.
Or smell when repotting a plant
However, remember it is just a component and when combined with fruit does not taste horrible
Minerality
When at a waterfall it also smells of the rocks,
An example can be Champagne and Chablis as the chalk subsoil these grapes normally grow in gives a minerality to white wine.
Gamey
Near a barn or somewhere where there are animals or animal smell
Example Pinot Noir
Tannin and Acidic can sometimes be confused
Normally Acidic taste will come from under your tongue whilst the Tannins will be experienced from your cheek area
Tannin
Eating bran flakes without milk – your mouth feels very, very dry
Acidic
Imagine eating a citrus fruit like a lemon which makes your mouth and sometimes your eyes water.
Finish / length
After you have finished swallowing the wine how your mouth feels and what taste is left and for how long. Acidic wines tend to just clean the palette whilst a wine with length can sometimes be felt for many minutes afterwards
Bouquet or Nose
The small or aroma the wine gives off
Wine is Tight
Needs time to breathe before the full taste of the wine can be experienced.
One should open the bottle for a while before drinking or even decant.
Some old wines sometimes can be described like this and it is almost as if they need time to recompose themselves
Balance
If we say wine is made up of:-
Acidity or sweetness
Tannin
Fruitiness
Non Fruit flavours
Alcohol
Then balance is when none of these components overpowers any of the others
Let us know your thoughts on snobby wine terms and whether there are any we have missed.
In the second part of this episode, we taste the red wine being offered by Virgin Atlantic top their Premium Economy – thanks so much to Saleem and Ali for arranging the samples for us.
A blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre grapes which are grown in Spain and bottled in France.
In the third part of this episode, we taste some first class Bourgogne Chardonnay wine served by Virgin Atlantic to their Upper-Class passengers.
A really classy wine and as described in the video it’s lush and extremely well balanced.
This wine is available online for under £18 if you fancy trying it, just google Olivier Leflaive Bourgogne Chardonnay, a great price for such a complex and well-balanced wine. Especially when you consider that it effectively has Royal approval, being served at Windsor Castle to toast Harry & Megan at their wedding reception!
