Having completed our world tour and all of the tastings laid out in Andrea Immer Robinson’s book, Great Wine Made Simple in March, we decided to review some of the basics at our April 16, 2009 class. After all, with wine it’s not possible to practice too much. We started our review by exploring the three most popular white varietals: a Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt 2003 Piesporter Goldtrőpfchen Riesling Kabinett (9.5% alcohol), a Robert Mondavi 2006 Fume Blanc from Napa Valley (14% alcohol) and an Acacia 2006 Chardonnay Carneros from Sonoma Valley (14.4% alcohol). We tasted them in that order to go from lightest body to fullest body.

The Riesling lived up to its reputation with a pale, yellow-green color and a tangy and grassy aroma. It had hardly any legs, characteristic of a light bodied wine. This particular brand was sweet but not overly so. It had quite a fruity taste with pear and canned mandarin oranges being the predominant flavors. All in all a delightful wine that a couple of members of the class favored over the other wines we tasted.

Next we turned to the fume blanc, which is another name for a sauvignon blanc grape. The Robert Mondavi winery coined the named fume blanc in reference to the Pouilly-Fume region of France where the morning mists look like smoke. The color of this wine was a straw yellow, making it look a tad riper than the Riesling. The smell was more complex as well with hints of earthiness coming through and eliciting comments like “dung”, “diesel gasoline”, “wool blanket”, “wet stones” and “barnyard”. We all noticed the fuller body as the wine coated our tongues more. As far as taste was concerned, it was tart like a green apple Jolly Rancher. Its higher acidity reminded some of early spring grass. We thought it would be better with food, particularly hot food, than the Riesling.

Finally, we tried the chardonnay, the fullest bodied of the three most popular whites. Its color was a striking yellow gold, and its aroma was quite a bit bolder with notes of fruit, lilac, oak and even glue. As one would expect from the fullest bodied wine, it really coated our tongues and felt like velvet in the mouth. The lilac aroma also came through in the taste together with butter and a bit of tartness. Then the taste of roasted walnuts appeared at the back of the tongue. Perhaps that’s why more than half of the members of the class favored this wine over the others.

At our next class on May 21, 2009, we’ll try three of the most popular red varietals: a 2006 Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Pinot Noir (14.3% alcohol), a 2006 Estancia Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon (13.5% alcohol) and a 2006 J. Lohr Paso Robles Syrah (13.5% alcohol).

See you all on May 21 around sevenish!! And don’t forget to look up past tasting notes on montaukwineclub.blogspot.com.

Suzy Marquard