Tasting - Yellow Tail Merlot

 

Name: Yellow Tail Merlot

Variety: 100% Merlot

Region: South Eastern Australia

Country: Australia

Year: 2021

Price: $6.50

Critic review: Surprisingly tasty. Nice and mellow with good amount of sweetness. Overflowing with red cherry, blackcurrants, blueberry. Overall good enough to enjoy occasionally. Orph x (12/17/2021) 3.5/5

Wine Folly: pg 131 Merlot in general: Cherry was the most fruit prominent flavor for me, but I didn't get much chocolate, dried herbs, or vanilla. I could find some plum if I was really searching for it. This merlot was more spicy than anything. I didn't decant this wine for 30 minutes. I'm noticing a trend with not decanting wine. Noted for next time! 

My review: This wine was pretty good. The spice I picked up was pepper, but not as strong as black pepper, maybe green or white. I liked the dryness of the wine and the cherry flavor in the background. There wasn't too much of a finish, but my mouth definitely felt those tannins.

Also, I decided to hold onto this wine for a few days and see how the taste developed. After about a day, the wine tasted pretty similar to when I first opened it. However, as time went on, the tannins and the spice softened to bring out the cherry more. I enjoyed this wine more once the cherry was expressed, but after about a week, the wine started to get worse.

I didn't have any food with this wine, but here's another casual picture of me and the wine:

Tasting - Juggernaut Pinot Noir

 Name: Juggernaut Pinot Noir

Variety: 100% Pinot Noir

Region: Russian River, California

Country: USA

Year: 2020

Price: $16

Critic review: Exquisite Pinot Noir! I admit I purchased this one because of the name. It is incredibly smooth on the palate with warm notes of dark chocolate and dark cherry. really enjoyable it's own, with a beautiful thick steak, or a rich and creamy tomato heavy pasta. Just lovely! - Hattie Presnell (4/28/2022)

Wine Folly: pg 150 Pinot Noir in general: I believe this pinot noir has more body and tannins than other light-bodied pinots. Also, I didn't think this pinot was as acidic as wine folly portrays pinots to be. I get the cherry, I would even say black cherry, and some of the clove. The wine was not decanted for the recommended 30 minutes and also was not aged for the 5-15 years. pg 288 CA Pinot Noir: I agree with the bolder, more fruit-forward description in this section.

My review: I liked this wine! The smell was very velvety and promised dark cherry flavors, and the taste delivered! This wine was surprisingly more on the dry side, which I also liked. With me attempting to put more descriptors onto what I'm tasting, I was thinking about what kind of spice I detected. Finally, it hit me, I got a glove finish! Very good wine.

I did not pair this with any food, but my friend Cooper joined me for the wine tasting. Here is a very casual picture of me and the wine:

Tasting - Prophecy Pinot Noir

Name: Prophecy Pinot Noir

Variety: 100% Pinot Noir

Region: California

Country: USA

Year: 2019

Price: $14

Critic review:  Really good! Cherry, leather and tobacco nose along with (interesting) coconut, tropical fruit, and cedar. The palate is sweet and seems thin but it’s full of odd nuances - Oddly delicious. - TysonT (1/8/2021) - 4/5

Wine Folly: pg 150 Pinot Noir in general - The main component I taste is the acidity in this wine. Interestingly enough, the other main flavor I get is the cherry, maybe because of the visual association with red wine and cherries. I did not decant the wine for the 30 minutes recommended  and the wine was aged 3-4 years, rather than the 5-15 years recommended. After watching the Wine IQ lectures, I'll probably try decanting next time!

pg 288 CA Pinot Noir - This region produces the boldest, fruit-forward Pinot Noir. I'm too overwhelmed by the acidity of this wine to really taste the Blackberry, dried blueberry, clove, rose, or cola suggested.

My review: Similar to my first review, regrettably, I was congested. My nose most likely sabotaged my tasting of this wine, especially with me choosing an acidic wine while I couldn't taste any of the other, more delicious notes. I did not particularly like this wine because of the acidity, but I would like to try this wine again once I recover. The only notes I detected was the cherry.

No food was paired with this wine, but my friends Zach (right) and Rob (not pictured) were tasting with me.

Tasting - William Hill Sauvignon Blanc

 

Name: William Hill Estate Winery Sauvignon Blanc

Variety: 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Region: North Coast, California

Country: USA

Year: 2021

Price: $15

Critic review:  Pear and green apple with a slight lemon. Med-high acidity. Basic Sauv blanc. Nothing special nothing horrible. - Kcornett (8/7/2022) - 88

Wine Folly: pg 165 Sauvignon Blanc in general - I definitely get the copious amounts of acidity and a little honeydew, but not so much of the gooseberry, grapefruit, white peach, or passion fruit. I did chill the wine ~3 hours before enjoying, which I think more brought out the crisp finish. 

pg 292 North Coast, CA Sauvignon Blanc, talks about how the terroir imparts rich fruity flavors. I tasted a little honeydew.

My review: Unfortunately, my nose was not cooperating with my congestion levels, therefore, I was not able to smell much of the aroma. With that in mind, I was overwhelmed with acidity while all other flavors were lost on me. However, the finish was very refreshing. Ultimately, I can confirm that this tasted like wine. It would be interesting to taste this wine again when I am not under the weather and as my palate develops throughout this course, but, as it stands right now, I would not drink this wine again.

I did not pair this with any food, but I did enjoy with my friends Zach and Rob. Here's my excitement before trying the first wine of the course:

My Prior Wine Experience

Wine, to me, is something to be savored. From the get go, I've enjoyed wines ranging from wine with family at holidays to wine at a restaurant to me purchasing wine for myself. Throughout the years, my wine intake has increased ultimately to enjoying winery outings once-in-a-while and tasting different wines every other week. Typically, I'm attempting to pair wine with dinner. However, the art of pairing wines with food is often lost on me, but I've learned what I like and what I do not like.

I understood relatively quickly that I like Full-Bodied wine without the distinction of red or white. Light bodied, or in my mind mild wines, do not entice me. This body declaration most likely comes from my attitude toward wine, where I like to focus on the wine I'm drinking, trying to taste the different notes while concurrently appreciating the symphony created. Complexity delights me.

Apart from the body of the wine, I usually like dry wines over sweet wines. I enjoy both crisp, refreshing whites and dry reds. Whereas, I don't enjoy sickeningly sweet wines. There is ambiguity in the range between sweet and dry wines where I cannot specifically state what I like and don't like. Lastly about my tastes, I have recently been introduced to the world of port wine, and they are fantastic! So maybe I do like some sweet wines after all.

Looking onward to this course, I hope to learn how to determine different elements within wine, describe what I'm tasting, taste more great wine, and pair wine with food. I'm very not good at tasting different notes within wine, therefore, I can only communicate in general descriptions of wine. Thus, through this course, I would like to link tasting different notes and learning how to describe the wine in more detail together. Additionally, I'd like to figure out how to buy new wine I will like just by looking at the bottle and the internet. Futile goal, I know, but I can get better at it. Then I'd like to add the layer of pairing food with wine to the list of goals for this course. Fundamental pairings could lead to more intricate wine experiences.

Here's a picture of me: