The Official Wine Thread

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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... strong white flower component.

What, like jasmine?

Originally Posted by tattersall

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What, like jasmine?
Ehh, I couldn't make out exactly what flower. But very floral on the nose, and whenever I get that I always say "white, red, or purple?" and it was definitely white. It may have been jasmine, I'm not sure. Maybe closer to cherry blossom. That's what I get for trying to name three tastes in a wine.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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Ehh, I couldn't make out exactly what flower. But very floral on the nose, and whenever I get that I always say "white, red, or purple?" and it was definitely white. It may have been jasmine, I'm not sure. Maybe closer to cherry blossom.
That's what I get for trying to name three tastes in a wine.

I just don't have the nose to distinguish floral scents in wine. Obviously a noob...

2007 Juliusspital Würzburger Stein Scheurebe. Had it with a quiche Mrs. Piob made for dinner. Very floral on the nose, all white flowers, like orange blossom. Tons of lemon rind and peach stone too. A very lively acidity, palate confirms the nose. Just great with the quiche.

Last night had half a glass of 2001 Oreno. So well made and so, so delicious.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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Ehh, I couldn't make out exactly what flower. But very floral on the nose, and whenever I get that I always say "white, red, or purple?" and it was definitely white. It may have been jasmine, I'm not sure. Maybe closer to cherry blossom. That's what I get for trying to name three tastes in a wine.

Come on now, Kylie. I think the issue is not whether people can distinguish that a wine has floral, fruity and roasted notes, because they can. The issue is, as I remember it and I still have not looked for the article, though I think it was referenced by Matt Kramer, that people are pretty much unable to distinguish and name multiple red fruits in the bouquet of a red wine. In other words, when you hear an a-hole like Gary V. screaming "I get cassis, black currant (same thing lol,) raspberry and a bit of red gooseberry and a little blueberry!!!" what he is really saying is, "I smell red fruits" and then listing the ones he remembers so that his sycophants write positive responses to his little show. It's fine, and the fruits listed do have different aromas when smelled separately, but I dare somebody to mash a couple of those fruits together and see if they can discern the differences, much less smell them as fleeting aromatics in a mixed substance like wine. How about, "I smell green pepper, a long thin one, rather than one of the Safeway favorite short, stocky ones, and perhaps somebody has left the organic tag on the pepper, because I can smell a touch of food glue. Also, the shopping cart in which it was purchased seems not to have been cleaned for two days."

Originally Posted by iammatt

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Come on now, Kylie. I think the issue is not whether people can distinguish that a wine has floral, fruity and roasted notes, because they can. The issue is, as I remember it and I still have not looked for the article, though I think it was referenced by Matt Kramer, that people are pretty much unable to distinguish and name multiple red fruits in the bouquet of a red wine. In other words, when you hear an a-hole like Gary V. screaming "I get cassis, black currant (same thing lol,) raspberry and a bit of red gooseberry and a little blueberry!!!" what he is really saying is, "I smell red fruits" and then listing the ones he remembers so that his sycophants write positive responses to his little show. It's fine, and the fruits listed do have different aromas when smelled separately, but I dare somebody to mash a couple of those fruits together and see if they can discern the differences, much less smell them as fleeting aromatics in a mixed substance like wine.

How about, "I smell green pepper, a long thin one, rather than one of the Safeway favorite short, stocky ones, and perhaps somebody has left the organic tag on the pepper, because I can smell a touch of food glue. Also, the shopping cart in which it was purchased seems not to have been cleaned for two days."

Well I'm basically saying the exact same thing you are--- I definitely get floral notes, but can't name the actual flower.
As to the rest of it, I agree that at SOME point it becomes silly to list off tons of flavors, where one could say fruit and then say either red, black, tropical, stone, etc. There isn't a need to say lime, lemon, meyer lemon, and tangerine all in the same wine, when you can just say that the wine has tropical fruit notes.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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Well I'm basically saying the exact same thing you are--- I definitely get floral notes, but can't name the actual flower.
As to the rest of it, I agree that at SOME point it becomes silly to list off tons of flavors, where one could say fruit and then say either red, black, tropical, stone, etc. There isn't a need to say lime, lemon, meyer lemon, and tangerine all in the same wine, when you can just say that the wine has tropical fruit notes.
Then we, young one, are in agreement. I dare you to listen to Gary V, though, since Gomestar put him up as a model of somebody who is pushing people toward tasting wine the right way.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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Then we, young one, are in agreement. I dare you to listen to Gary V, though, since Gomestar put him up as a model of somebody who is pushing people toward tasting wine the right way.
I like Gary V in that he seems to get people excited about wine and tries to make it more approachable/less stuffy for consumers. But I don't generally find his tasting notes all that interesting. It especially bothers me when he goes into one of his tirades where he spouts off like this: "This smells... wait hang on. if you took a deer.. yeah, no wait, if you took a deer and covered it in strawberries and raspberries and then ran it over with a car, that's EXACTLY what this wine smells like. Seriously. That's it-- a roadkilled deer covered in strawberries and raspberries. WAIT!! I also get some pie dough notes. Okay guys--- take a deer, cover it with strawberry pie, and then run it over. THAT'S THIS WINE!!"

I put him on as a model of somebody who is doing a great job of getting people to explore more wine regions than they would ever care to think about. This, to me, is a great thing. I am not him nor do I have his palate so I cannot comment on whether or not he actually tastes what he describes. I have not promoted his over the top style (contrary).

And for reference, he isn't an asshole. He is very cordial and a fun guy to be around.

Okay, so we can all agree "red fruits" is a pretty doable descriptor? So what I was recently taught is, try and discern the red fruits that you have olfactory memories of. Of course, people with more experience tasting red fruits are going to have more distinct olfactory memories than someone that has not tasted a lot of red fruits.

Apparently, lemons and Meyer lemons have pretty distinct smells. Lemon vs. lemon rind has distinct scents too. One of the things we were told is go compare regular lemon smell to Meyer, then lemon fruit to lemon rind.

Now, I'm with ya'll on huge, impossible write ups.

Okay, just got a Zachy's email. Free upgrade to 48 hour air shipping. Had three nice CdPs in the cart and then found out minimum purchase of $750 for upgrade.

Originally Posted by iammatt

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How about, "I smell green pepper, a long thin one, rather than one of the Safeway favorite short, stocky ones, and perhaps somebody has left the organic tag on the pepper, because I can smell a touch of food glue. Also, the shopping cart in which it was purchased seems not to have been cleaned for two days."

i like expensive grape juice. also, a fellow i visited in the south of france found in his cellar a case of bottles dated 1904 which, when he popped open, filled the room with a sweet intoxicating aroma.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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I like Gary V in that he seems to get people excited about wine and tries to make it more approachable/less stuffy for consumers. But I don't generally find his tasting notes all that interesting.
I am all for anyone getting people interested in trying new and different wines, but I can't stand more than about five seconds of Gary V. He's the human equivalent of a lot of CA wines: too much of everything. Nonsensical tasting notes, with endless descriptors, are a pet peeve of mine. The all time champ, is Brian Buzzini, aka Mr. Buzz, on erobertparker.com and other boards. He once described a wine as tasting of "smoked cherries, still on branches...." among other descriptors. He is either a complete buffoon, or a masterful troll as he has legions of followers on Parker's site who take him seriously.

Why, exactly, should I be all for other people drinking the wines I like and driving up the prices?