The one thing our family does well is consume copious amounts of good wine. Our obsession with wine started over a decade ago and is now at a point where the family motto is “life’s too short to drink bad wine” But how do we know what’s good, avoid it, or “run out and buy this wine by pallet load” ... we do blind tastings at random. Blind wine tasting is a great way to educate yourself as to what you really like. Not what you SHOULD like, but what your personally preference actually is. In blind tastings, you taste wine objectively, not knowing cost, region, varietal or brand. Sometimes we’ll theme the blind tasting stating the wines are “all Cabernet” or “all California whites wines” but usually it’s just as simple as “all reds” or “all whites” and we’ll have to guess the details.
The goal of blind tastings is simple: which wines did we like? which would we buy?
My brother (and Chief Propellerhead of VineSugar) brought over three red wines he wanted me to taste blind. He brown-bagged them, labeled them A, B and C with a Sharpie and poured away. The results, as always, were surprising:
Wine A
This wine had a great, classic Cabernet aromas, I thought. Dusty cherries, licorice, sweet leather and tobacco notes. It offered nice, bright fruit flavors, approachable entry and had nice full, round tannins in the finish. Hints of espresso, vanilla and wood spice. It then started to open up and released earthy qualities, herbs and big helpings of sweet oak nuances.
I liked this wine very much. It didn’t have an overly transcendent quality but it pleased in every sense of the word. It had everything I want in a good Cabernet. I rated this 4.5 to 5 stars. My initial thoughts were that is was an older (mid ‘90s) Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley.
I was kinda close. Turned out it was a 2001 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley, Sonoma $60 retail ... prob around $70 by now.
Robert Parker gave it 90-92 points: The 2001 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignons reveals a saturated ruby/purple color in addition to a lusty, sweet perfume of cassis, spice box, licorice, and lavender. The wine is ripe and medium to full-bodied, with low acidity, abundant glycerin, wood, and alcohol, and admirable texture as well as length. It will be at its finest between 2003-2014.
Wine B
The color on the wine was intense. It was dark, inky and the aromas were wafting before my nose could come close to the glass. Exotic, sexy, alluring scents... rose petals, mixed red and black berries, jammy, ripe fruits with nuances of vanilla, cigar box and freshly cracked pepper. Creamy smooth entry, with fruit bombs exploding black, jammy berries through a finish that wouldn’t quit. Plush tannins that amplified as it lingered with gobs of blueberries and spice. This was a big wine made in a very elegant fashion.
Immediately, I thought this was a California Zinfandel worthy of at least 4 to 4.5 stars.
Again, I was damn close. Turned out to be Frank’s Family Vineyards Reserve Zinfandel from Napa Valley. At 15% alcohol and retailing around $40, this low production wine was a hit. Tim also mentioned that he opened it the day before and let it decant since then so clearly, this is a big wine that needs time to open up.
Wine C
This threw me all off. This wine was tight, offered little fruit but had incredible depth that led me to think this was a young Bordeaux that needed time before it would shine. There were lots of black licorice, vanilla spice, big chewy tannins and oak and cedar note that linger well after the finish. It definitely had an old world quality to it especially after drinking the two previous fruit-bomb by comparison. It was very interesting and had some serious potential but my guess was that it needed 3-5 more years before it would drinking well.
Again, so close... yet so far. It wasn’t a Bordeaux but in fact a Barolo. The 2001 Prunotto for about $55/bottle. What really surprised me, aside from the fact that this was my first-ever Barolo to taste but how, even though it was 2001 vintage, that I STILL thought it needed another few years before it reveal all it had to offer. Truly amazing that wine is still made in a fashion where patience reigns supreme.
Quite the mix of red wines indeed. Tim and I had some good laughs over all this and were amazed at the results. We re-tasted the wines after knowing their identity which is always another eye-opener of an experience. It’s always amazing how we as consumer are so swayed by brands, packaging and preconceived ideas... this couldn’t be more true when it comes to wine.
We then poured ourselves a healthy glass of the Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, bellied up to the kitchen table and chowed down on chicken nuggets, green beans and wild rice. Because... well, why not?
