Part 1.
Host: Bob Noland Participants: Tom and James Noland with Jim Szippl (the +1 or as he puts it “the outlaw”) Done right before Thanksgiving Dinner. Tasted blind
Cheeses to go with wines:
1. Navarra
2. Manchego
3. Aged gouda
4. Pecorino romano
5. Mango-ginger stilton (soft cheese with sweetness from fruit)
Plus fresh bread, crackers and water.
Wine #1.
Dark straw color with a nice nose of lemon and light toast. Midpalate of good acidity, tangerines and lemon fruit. Fairly complex nicely balanced wine. Long finish of acidic fruit and lemon zest with wet rocks.
Nice match with Navarra. Fruit accentuated when matched with stilton.
My guess: Chablis, Bob thought this was one his wines the muscadet
Wine #2
Nice straw color with serious oak on the nose (Oak Monster!) with an underlay of peach. Nice balance on the midpalate, fairly strong acidity. Nice long finish of tingly acid. Decent food wine with cheese but not as good as #1.
My guess: Chardonnay, new world. Everyone but Bob also guessed Chardonnay. Bob maybe a chenin blanc.
Needs age and food.
Wine #3
Nice straw yellow again. Nose of lemon and dry hay. Midpalate has subtle flavors of lemon, nice acidity and some depth. Good minerality on a long finish.
Nice match with cheese number 1 that reminds me of manchego (Bob wanted us to guess the cheeses also and did not tell us until the wines were revealed that what they were). Really good match with the fruit laden stilton and it brings out the fruit in the wine.
My guess: Maybe sauvignon blanc. Definitely old world. James guessed pinot blanc.
Wine #4
Light lemon yellow. Shy nose of some citrus. Bob gets floral characteristics off the nose. Somewhat acidic on midpalate with citrus fruits. Medium finish with acidity and a bit of lemon peel bitterness at the end.
OK with cheese #1. Good with the stilton/mango.
My guess: Marsanne, new world. Bob guesses vigonier
Ratings:
Best wine: #1 3 votes, #3 1 vote
Best food wine: #3 3 votes, #1 1 vote
Best sipper: #3 4 votes
Old World new world votes: #1 all vote old world, #2 all vote new world, #3 all vote old world, #4 all vote new world but 2 say old world style
Name that white Part 2
What do I mean part 2? Well, when Bob was pouring out the whites he suddenly said who brought a red? Well that turned out to be me. I brought the wrong bottle (both were in identical paper bags and I forgot to check if I brought the right one). So my GSM (CdP wannabe – nonfrench) wine was opened 24 hours early. Ooops! However, this turned out to be a bit of luck. Check out the tasting notes for the Noland Brothers GSM tasting for more information.
Wine #5
Tom’s white tasted the day after US Thanksgiving.
Nice straw yellow. A nose of lemon, grapefruit with a hint of buttered popcorn. A somewhat austere wine (Bob). Nice midpalate of peaches, lemons and grapefruit with a bit of vanilla on the entry. Nicely balanced medium bodied wine with good acidity and a long finish. Nice sipper (Tom-the acid lover).
Bob – Old world, needs food. Pinot blanc.
James- Old world, maybe albarino
James – favorite wine of all the whites.
Bob, Can’t say without a direct comparison but it is a good wine.
Tom, I agree with Bob, it’s up there with the best, but hard to say without directly comparing the wines.
Wines revealed (contributor):
Wine #1 Janko Grillo Sicillia by Feudo di Santa Tresa 2005 13% abv (Bob)
Wine #2 Step Road Chardonnay 2005 Australia 13% abv (James)
Wine #3 Albarino 2006 Rias Biaxas 13% abv (Jim Szippl)
Wine #4 Cotenay de la Lave 2007 Domaine Guindon Saint Gerion (Muscadet) (Bob)
Wine #5 Vouvray Sec 2007 Le Haut-Lieu Chenin blanc 12.55 abv (Tom)
End notes: Jim Szippl brought these great cue cards on his wine but we wanted to taste blind so we did not use his hints. The best card had a map of all the wine regions of Spain in color. Bob claims he was not trying to hit us with obscure wines but no one but him had even heard of Grillo as a variety of white wine grape before. However, the Grillo really was a good wine and we all bought some at $7 a bottle. Thank God for James who brought the only wine that was somewhat easy to guess.
