SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT WRAP-UP

So last night, I ventured into the foray of online tasting, joining Master Sommelier Fred Dexheimer of Wines of Chile, 8 Chilean winemakers and over 50 wine bloggers from all over the place for a virtual flight of 8 Chilean Sauvignon Blancs. I hadn’t ever experienced anything quite like it, and the end result was three-fold:

1. I was exposed to several Chilean wineries not currently available here in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
2. I interacted with a lot of my peers for what was a fairly raucous time online.
3. I ended up slightly inebriated.

The set up was already established, yet I had to run down the street to pick up some food to go, thanks in large part to watching a movie before sitting down to taste (Milla Jovavich in “The Fourth Kind” – really disturbing stuff). Getting back from local restaurant Grandview Tavern with soup for the Mrs. (she wasn’t feeling well) and a salad for myself (at 6:55 pm to be exact) the tasting, which started at 7, was going to start without me. Throwing the wines open and on the table, and tossing the salad in front of me, I logged on just in time.

Master Sommelier Fred started things off, and we walked through each wine, spending 5-10 minutes with each winemaker, while the panel of winemakers and Fred fielded questions from the blogger chat stream, which moved faster than the cars at the Indy 500.

I had jokingly thought of pasting the transcripts to the blogger chats here, but I left the party after 1 hour and 15 minutes, and had about 6 or 7 pages of blurry blogger comments that meandered from the wines to pop culture references (some of the bloggers were commenting on how hot some of the winemakers were).

(Oh how one finds themselves at ease when wine is a-flowin’.)

Anyway, here are my overall notes:

1. Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc Reserva Casablanca Valley 2009. Grade=Outstanding. This wine was a great way to start, with a lot of vibrant acidity and bracing citrus notes. Some pronounced mineral at the finish makes this a great value.
2. Ventisquero Queulat Sauvignon Blanc Casablanca Valley 2009. Grade=Outstanding. Much more minerality than the Veramonte. Has a chalky element that reminds me of a Saint-Bris from Chablis. Some green apple and dried herbs add depth.
3. Undurraga T.H. Sauvignon Blanc Leyda Valley 2009. Grade=Outstanding. Reminds me of a Muscadet with its hints of sea salt and oyster shells. There are some notes of lemon peel and grapefruit pulp as well. Very nice.
4. Valdivieso Single Vineyard Wild Fermented Sauvignon Blanc Leyda Valley 2009. Grade=??? Everyone else thought this was corked, cooked or just off, but I could get the sense that was the wild fermentation talking. Had a Chardonnay that was going through WF in WA that had similar tones. Kind of Madeira meets Bourbon in the nose. Some orange blossom and buttered toast. Not much in the way of acidity. An SB for the David Lynch crowd. Just still trying to ascertain if this was intentional or not. If so, I give it a score of “outstanding.” If not, a score of “no, really?”
5. Santa Rita Medalla Real Sauvignon Blanc Leyda Valley 2009. Grade=Outstanding+. Grapefruit, haricot vert, dried herbs and flint in the nose and on the palette, with some guava and gooseberry notes as well. I really liked the acidic finish here.
6. Cono Sur Organic Sauvignon Blanc San Antonio Valley 2009. Grade=Outstanding+. Certainly the best value of the lineup, this SB showed some tart Meyer lemon, honeydew melon, some white flower and pineapple notes. The acidity here was a bit less sharp than the others, making it a bit rounder and mellower. Really nice.
7. Haras de Pirque Haras Estate Sauvignon Blanc Maipo Valley 2009. Grade=Outstanding. Reminds me of a good Graves, a bit rocky and minerally, but with some lemon meringue, citrus parfait, and fresh cut hay. The acid was mellower here too. Very nice.
8. Casa Silva Cool Coast Sauvignon Blanc Colchagua Valley 2009. Grade=Outstanding+. I almost liked this one the most. More exuberant mouthfeel than the others, at least to me. Some kiwi fruit, guava, gooseberry and grapefruit, yet finishing akin to a Pouilly-Fume, with some lime zest and honeydew. Quite good.

I had a lot of fun and want to thank Fred, the winemakers who spoke to us, the wine bloggers who participated and to all at Wines of Chile for including me in this event. I admit, I got a bit rambunctious (apologies for the more humorous/less professional remarks in the blogger chatroom). Get some wine in me, on top of a long day at the store, and I am ruined.