Categories
Tastings

June 2012 Blind Tasting

A good return to the blinds and Bin 18 served Vino Miami well as we forged ahead in the Old world with a nice pairing of Cotes du Rhone’s and Chablis. Many thanks to Jeff for coordinating and arranging our return to the blind format after our break in May. We missed Matt Jewell only a few blocks away seeing Miami win Game 3 of NBA Championship series and now a part of Miami Heat history. Nice to have long term Vino member extraordinaire Saad returned as well and put the group at a needed 10 for the evening. Jeff’s guest Wesley was a welcome addition as well as Andrew’s guest Julio as well. Many thanks to Wesley for the well needed tasting notes with more to come, and a very nice bottle of 2010 Cotes Du Rhone “Calendal” a terrific end to our Cotes tasting.

Wine Notes:

The winning white was wine Chablis wine #1 2009 Vaillons – Domain William Ferve with a overall score of 6.8 and ranked a even 8 by our guests Wesley and Julio provided by Mosheim/Mahmoud/Issa/Smith. Second place goes to wine #3 at very close to the winning score at 6.25 is the 2010 Premier Cru – Montmains from Cohen/Jewell and scored a 8 by Wesley and 3 by Julio. Third place was Wine #2 with an overall score of 5.124 was the 2008 Kermit Lynch Les Truffieres and our guest enjoying with a 8 and 4 score provided by Hege/Tenen/Gamson. Mixed bag as it seem some Vino members were into Chablis and some were not in on the famous French white, with scoring random at best.

Reds:

The winning red was wine #1 2009 Domaine De LA Janasse Les Garriques with an overall score of 7.24 and scored 6 and 8 by our guest provided by Hege/Tenen/Gamson. Second place was awarded to wine #2 the 2007 Alain Jaume “Rasteau” Les Valets at 7.125 and scored 6 and 5 by guests provide by Mosheim/Mahmoud/Issa/Smith. Third place the 2007 Domaine Grand Nicolet Les Esquayrons “Rasteau” at 6.5 and scored 8 by Wesley and 5 by provided by Cohen/Jewell Two “Rasteau” was an interesting connection and the same year made this notable. Tight scoring on all three wines seem to have everyone enjoying the taste and finish.

Tasting Notes:

Wesley did a terrific job of providing us with tasting notes and have provided them below for reference and for comparison and look to have tasting notes going forward.

Sight/Nose/Taste/Finish

Whites – Chablis

1. Light color/Soft floral bouquet on the nose/Hints dry soft quince on the palate/ Crisp finish.
2. Light color/Soft bouquet/Difficult to grab it character/Lemon zest on the palate with light body/Dry finish
3. Light color/Soft-bland like paper hints on the nose/Minerals and stones on the palate with Light body/Soft long finish.

1. Apple red color/Overripe cranberry nose/Pepper & spices on the palate
2. Dark plum color/Berries and soft soil palate/Soft finish with hot spices
3. Dark plum color/Soil and earth with hints berry nose/Light peppery with hot spices to warm the palate/Complex.

We set our next tasting on the calendar for July 17th hosted by Andrew Cohen and Matt Jewell and look forward to our next tasting. Wine details and venue will be announced soon.

Best, your wine captain! MH

Categories
Tastings

April 2012 Blind Tasting

Rooftop setting and clear Miami Beach sky was the perfect backdrop for our April blind tasting. Many thanks to Matt Jewel and Andrew Cohen for hosting, cooking and providing a perfect location in the heart of South Beach. We all enjoyed meeting our newest guest Stephano and many thanks to him as he brought several wines for pre- and post-tasting including the well liked, 2010 Poggio Aignepri Rose as well as his knowledge of Italian wines. We missed Leo, Saad and Brian as we conclude our three blind tasting focusing primarily on Italian wines with one Riesling tasting in the mix.

An enjoyable tasting with a collective nod to the wines as everyone seem to enjoy their drinkability. Harder to separate taste as most selections were similar in body and tannis. It also should be noted that one red was not of actual D’ Abruzzo origin- as we were specific to the grape varietal and not to the famous Tuscan town.  However, all wines seems to work well with our nice selection of cheeses and of course Matt’s grilled steak and vegetables were a perfect menu for these nice table wines.  More thanks as we were also able to also enjoy a higher priced red as a comparison wine after our blind tasting, 2003 Emido Peo Tolanu Nuvo worthy and well liked.

Wine Notes:

The  winning white was a classic Soave wine #2 with a overall score of 6.14 and ranked a even 5 by our guest Stephano, provided by Mosheim/Mahmoud/Issa/Smith a nice wine I Campi, Campo Volcano 2009.   Second place goes to the Soave Pieropan 2010,with an overall score of 5.88 and our guest enjoying with a 7 score. Rounding out and off by a few tenths is the Inama , Vin Soave, Soave Classica 2010 at 5.7 and scored a steady 6 by our guest.

The winning red was wine #2, provided by Cohen/Jewell from an enjoyable group with a overall score of 7.87 and was very fruit forward, well balanced and enjoyable for it’s 2002 vintage and scored 7 by our guest. Second place was awarded was the dry and smooth 2008 Le Berne Rosso Di Montapulciano (Not a  D’Abruzzo varietal) and scored with a 5.71 and Stephano’s lowest score at a 4. The 2009  Montepluciano D’Abruzzo “Samael”  close behind at 5.42  and was scored another 6 by our guest. Close scores again keep the second and third wines together and voting was reduced and exaggerated by having only 7 members and one guest.

Now we move on as we get ready for a beer party for our May event as we prepare to return to tastings and verticals for the summer months. Given the recent tasting mishap for these wines, I have provided some insight into the origin of the grape and clarification on both Montipulicano the wine town and the grape grown in a different region of Italy- Montipulician D’ Abruzzio.

Let’s get ready for our “Red Solo Cup” party and in the meantime lets add comments on the next format and then decide on the next  format.

Best, your wine captain! MH

Categories
Tastings

March 2012 Blind Tasting

Another terrific event and many thanks to Abraham for arranging with Gino and his excellent team at LMNT – Our most unique and enjoyable location this year and many thanks for being a part of Vino Miami Wine Club. We missed  Leo and enjoyed the company of our two guests Gino and Eduardo and hope to see them at our next tasting.

It was an interesting wine night with a observation that all tasted wines seem to have the group in a unimpressed mood, with the exception of the winning white wine.  It also should be noted that the reds were all highly rated wines in the 92-95 range- and not resonating in our scores or in our taste buds during this blind event.

Wine Notes:

The  winning white was the tasty and well balance along with terrific drinkability the 2010 Principessa Gavia “Gavi” with a overall score of 8.37 and our guest giving a ranking of 7.5 The winning wine was provided by Cohen/Jewell/Leo nice wine find as several commented on case fees with a bottle price around $14. Other tasted wines were the 2011  TO LE  DA NA  “Gavi” with an overall score of 4.75 and our guest chiming in at 4.5 score. The ill matched and maybe an ill as in corked 2009 Vigneto Ca da Rena Pigato was scored at 1.87 and guests entered in  a solid 1 point  and not cheap at $26 a bottle as a fill in purchased at the last minuet by your vino wine captain.

The winning red wine provided by Mosheim/Mahmoud/Issa/Smith from a set of highly rated wines is the well rounded 2006 Manzone  Barolo Le Gramolere with a overall score of 6.875 and scored a average 5 by our guests. Second place was awarded to the jammy – 2007 Langhe  Viticoltore Nebbiolo at 6.6 and a impressive 7.5 score from our two guests. The 2007 Azelia Barolo was scored at 6.5 and not liked by our guests with O and 7 score by Gino and Eduardo. Tight scores separated these reds from one another and from each wine member, food became a deciding factor once again.

Our next tasting will be April 10th hosted by Cohen/Jewell/Leo as we round out three blinds featuring Italian wines. The red has been changed to Montepulciano d’Abruzzo and the white is a Soave from Veneto.

A Wine Question to ponder: What is really in that glass of vino that we love, what do we taste is it fruit, tannis, terroir or moolah- as it seems that our discussion around our recent blind tasting was wine price point as to deciding whether expensive wine equates into a better wine for our blind  or even vertical  tastings.  Here’s a link to some research on the question. An opportunity for us to have more discussion at our next tasting.

Let’s get ready to set the next wine round and wine format as we decide on blinds, verticals  and wine themes and keep the wine flowing.

Best, your wine captain! MH

Categories
Tastings

February 2012 Blind Tasting

We enjoyed the evening and nice to return to the blind tasting format.  Winning wines were the dry and delicate Riesling from Villa Wolf 2010 Riesling Dry Pfalz  $15 from Mosheim/Mahmoud/Issa/Smith with a subtle 11.5 alcohol content. Along with the full bodied, well balanced 2006 Belpoggio Brunello Di Montalcino $39.99 Hege/Tenen/Gamson picked from a nice selection of Brunellos with good years ’04, ’05 and ’06. Well done for us to blindly go into a vertical tasting of this varietal.

Thanks to our host Restaurant:
Cantina 27, 27th & Collins, Miami Beach

4 Course Menu:
Crostini with Shrimp and Prosciutto
Ravioli with Browned butter sauce
Veal Scaloppini
Assorted Cheeses

Best, your wine captain! MH