Blind tasting can be a great way to expand your wine palate and get you out of your comfort zone.
The ‘I don’t like Chardonnay…or Sauvignon’ argument, depending on which way you swing, is always entertaining when people don’t know what they’re drinking. And testing people’s boundaries with some more unusual grapes is half the fun too.
I recently arranged a virtual blind tasting for a group of friends who like their burgundy’s so I set myself the challenge of finding some wines I hoped they’d like but from places they perhaps wouldn’t think to choose.
The bottles don’t reflect what was inside!
We tasted five wines but the knockout favourite white and red were as follows:
(1) Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay from New Zealand
The winemaker at Kumeu River, Michael Brajkovich, was the first New Zealander to become a Master of Wine. He is well known for creating wines that show the hallmarks of New Zealand with old world inspiration. I read one review that described this wine as ‘white burgundy in kiwi clothing’. I hoped I was on to a winner and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
We drank Kumeu River’s Estate Chardonnay which is the wine that they built their reputation on – the grapes are hand harvested from six different vineyard sites in the Kumeu region and only the best grapes from these vineyards are selected for the Estate label. 2019 has also been highlighted as one of their greatest vintages. And it was delicious with so much going on on the nose that lived up to expectations in the glass. Zesty citrus, then peach and apricot, followed by a freshness that was flinty before a smooth cream finish. I think this will only improve with age too – yum!
Whilst we are on Chardonnay we also drank the Vasse Felix ‘Filius’ Chardonnay from Margaret River in Aus. Vasse Felix is Margaret River’s founding wine estate and they are well known for making premium Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. The wine we tried was their 2019 Filius range or ‘son of’ the premium wine which at £12.99 a bottle was incredible value for money for a great zesty Chardonnay, lots of grapefruit and lemon with some honey and even a bit of spice coming through.
(2) Rapsani Terra Petra (Xinomavro) from Greece
Having loved the Greek Xinomavro at my last tasting, I wanted to try another from the same producer and take a step up in price to see the difference (£22 a bottle for this one). My favourite description of this grape is ‘the bastard son of Nebbiolo and Pinot Noir’ and with one couple in our midst who can never agree on reds – one loves Italians while the other lives for Pinot – this was a real crowd pleaser.
So much concentrated fruit flavour with good level of acidity and high tannin – this wine will definitely get better with age, in fact, it really opened up once open for an hour or so. Dark cherry, blackberry, hints of chocolate with smokiness and charred wood adding complexity. The flavours kept going. I’ve ordered some more and can’t wait to try it again in a few years – we drank the 2018 vintage.
I really think the Thymiopoulos family are on to a winner here. Xinomavro is a tricky grape to grow and whilst it is thriving on the slopes of Mount Olympus, it isn’t grown with any particular success anywhere else.