Friday was the second installment of our blind tasting series here at the Vinfolio offices. We sampled six different bottles of Chardonnay which were provided by the staff as examples of how this versatile variety can express itself. As is becoming our new format, a bottle of debatable provenance was also included to test the tasting abilities of our wine experts.
The procedure for this tasting was that although the bottles were hidden in numbered brown bags, the names of the wines were provided (listed in random order) on score sheets which we handed out. We asked the staff to match the correct wine name with the correct numbered bag and then provide feedback on whether or not they liked each bottle and if they had any additional comments (flaws, notes, etc.). After everyone had tasted all six wines, we tallied the results and revealed the bottles. Interestingly, the wines with the highest and lowest respective release prices (excluding the flawed bottle) received far and away the greatest number of “like” votes.
Wines tasted (listed in order of positive votes):
2005 Gagnard, Jean-Noel – Chassagne-Montrachet Les Caillerets 1er Cru (5 votes)
2008 The House of Independent Producers (Hedges Family Winery) – Chardonnay Columbia Valley (5 votes)
2004 Kumeu River – Chardonnay Mate’s Vineyard (New Zealand) (4 votes)
2008 Eric Kent – Chardonnay Russian River Valley (3 votes)
2008 Qupe – Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley (2 votes)
1996 Jadot, Louis – Puligny-Montrachet (0 votes) – This was the flawed bottle.
