It has been said that occasionally guessing wine blind is an interesting sport,
but not one of much value. Much more important is the ability to taste a young
wine and be able to predict its future evolvement. Blind tasting, however
occasionally humiliating, is great fun.
In the early ’70s, several of us each brought a wine to a tasting to see who could guess the
vintner and then vintage, the country and the grape varietal, or just come the
closest. As I recall, after several months, some of us could get close, and
even nail one every once in a while.
A good way to get started is as follows:
•Every week meet with another person or persons before dinner and try the
following blind (one person will have to pour the wines and know).
Week 1 - California Sauvignon Blanc vs. Sancerre or Pouilly-Fume from the Loire
Valley
Week 2 - California Chardonnay vs. Puligny-Montrachet or Chassagne-Montrachet
from Burgundy
Week 3 - California or Oregon Pinot Noir vs. red Burgundy
Week 4 - California Cabernet Sauvignon vs. red Bordeaux from the Medoc
Week 5 - California Merlot vs. red Bordeaux from St. Emilion or Pomerol
Week 6 - California Syrah vs. Shiraz from Australia
Week 7 - California Sangiovese vs. Chianti Classico from Tuscany
•Generally, especially vs. the French counterparts, the California wines are made
from riper grapes, have less acidity, and don’t age quite as well; so, for example, an ’05 California Chardonnay vs. an ’02 Puligny-Montrachet or an ’02 California Cabernet vs. an ’00 red Bordeaux would be a pretty good match.
•Serve hors d’oeuvres appropriate and complementary to the wines. If nothing else, something
as simple as Danish Havarti with Chardonnay or brie with reds will work. Some
prefer just bread or crackers.
•Make notes on each wine. Eventually there will be something that will gel. For
example, if a red has flavors of chocolate, eucalyptus, black currants or plum,
then the odds are it’s Cabernet. If it’s similar, but even more “plummy,” it might be Merlot. If it smells of dirt, leather, tobacco and mushrooms, then
it’s probably Pinot Noir. And if it smells of tar and faded roses, it’s Barolo from Piedmont (Nebbiolo grape).
•If none of this seems to help, try one match four or five times in a row, i.e.,
California Cabernet Sauvignon vs. Bordeaux. Eventually, you’ll discover which is which and even more importantly, why.
Generally speaking, wines made from ripe grapes in California have more fruit than their counterparts. But the sunshine, which ripens the fruit, also dampens
the total acidity (makes the PH higher). This is why sometimes in a blind
tasting without food, the California wines excel, whereas later, with foods
that complement the higher acidity, the French wines taste better. Knowing this
can help in blind tasting.
Although I have missed so many as to be almost depressed—I missed every wine at one tasting and realized later that I had taken an
antihistamine and decongestant before—there have been some notable exceptions. One of my favorites occurred in the
mid-’90s when I was a guest at a Christie’s Board luncheon in London. Everyone took a guess at a dessert wine, served
blind. I suggested that it was most reminiscent of an unknown Chateau from the
1921 vintage in Sauternes. The next closest was 1945. It turned out to be an
unknown Chateau from the 1923 vintage in Sauternes. I wasn’t particularly proud of myself, but it was nice that the guest from Texas knew
the time of day in some pretty exceptional company.
