My Recent Bordeaux Wine Tasting Experience
- Jan 20, 2016
Hello Fellow Wine Lovers and Connoisseurs,
My name is Sydney, I have being working at Everything Wine in Morgan Crossing for close to 6 months now and when the opening arose for me to attend a Masterclass taught by Jordan Carrier I jumped at the opportunity! My knowledge of wine ever since starting here has greatly expanded and I just want it to keep growing, so what better way to do that then to attend a class?
The class I attended was all on Bordeaux. How fitting as I myself am French. I recruited my Dad to join me for this class as well, being quite the wine lover himself. We spent the night trying 6 different wines from the Bordeaux region, whilst snacking on some appetizers paired with each wine. What a night!
We started off the night learning a lot of history about the region of Bordeaux. The first wine that we tried was the Chateau Bel-Air Lagrave 1989
Medoc Red Blend, a 1989 wine priced at $70.99. This was the oldest wine that we tried all night (older than me!) This wine was a very interesting wine, as I will explain. When inspecting the colour of the wine I noticed how complex it was. While holding the glass over a white sheet of paper and just slightly tilting the glass you could see the different colour rings. This wine was a deep burgundy purple colour in the middle, which then faded to an orangish colour (is organish even a word?) which then faded into a clear watery rim around the top. It was quite neat to be able to observe the colours like that! My first initial smell of this wine was a crushed gravel, leathery smell. I found this wine to be semi-dry, but probably my least favourite of the night. Not because I did not enjoy this wine, just simply because we had so many other wonderful wines! I kept in mind this is the oldest wine I have ever tried, and the taste of it is not something my pallet is typically familiar with.
The next wine we moved onto was the Lafon Rochet, a 2000 wine priced at $175.99, the most expensive of the night. This wine was my second favourite wine of the night, and I very much enjoyed it. This wine had a beautiful bouquet, it smelled of licorice, and lots of fruit. I would say this wine was quite dry, with a touch of spice to it. This wine was paired with a mushroom, goat cheese Crème Brule (yes, you heard that right, Crème Brule) different and delicious! The richness and the cream of this dish really softened the tannin's of the wine and made it just that much more enjoyable than it already was!
The third wine of the night, and my favourite was the Haut-Milon, a 2009 wine priced at $59.99, and it was incredible. This wine was a very deep burgundy colour, and when I first smelt this wine I couldn't quite pick up on what I was smelling, as I am still learning and trying to develop my nose for wines and their bouquets. I continued sniffing determined to pin point what it was I was smelling and I finally discovered it.. Chocolate! It's no wonder this one was my favourite. I found this wine to be so smooth and overall just a wonderful wine. This wine was paired with a puff pastry wrapped meatball, which complimented the wine nicely. I highly recommend giving this wine a try, especially for a nice special occasion. The price point is definitely affordable, especially for a special occasion wine, and it is one you are going to want to try!
Moving onto the fourth wine of the night, and my third favourite was the Branaire Ducru, a 2010 wine priced at $153.99. This wine is a 4th growth, and it was rated 98 points. If you are not familiar with the point system. know that 98 points is an exceptional and almost perfect rating, 100 being perfect. This wine was a very dark and deep red colour. It smelled of fruit, plum in particular. This wine was a very dry wine, and I found it to have a spice to it. This wine had high tannin's and it was paired with a cracker topped off with a slice of rare beef and blue cheese drizzled with a red wine reduction, which nicely accompanied the wine and softened its tannin's.
The fifth wine of the night was the Chateau Domaine de l'Eglise, a 1996 wine (the same age as myself) priced at $105.99. This wine was 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. This wine was my Dad's favourite of the night. His pallet is much more developed than mine so it made sense that he enjoyed this one more than myself. This wine had a similar colour ring to the first wine, the Bel Air Lagrave, where it was a deep burgundy colour in the middle, which faded to an orange. This wine smelt of cayenne pepper, and other spices. I found this wine to be very very dry, hence why my Dad enjoyed it so much. This wine was paired with a tomato bisque, along with a piece of baguette with melted Brie cheese, Very delicious. I highly recommend trying this wine if you have a developed pallet and are a fan of dry wines, this will be a wine you will deeply enjoy.
Finally, the last and final wine finishing off the night was the Lassegue, a 2006 wine priced at $67.99. I really enjoyed this wine, it was quite nice. Its bouquet smelt of different fruits, such as cherry and plum. This wine was very smooth and a nice wine to finish off the night. It was paired with some dark chocolate brittle, which was truly a match made in heaven. A perfect end to the class.
Overall I found this class to be a wonderful experience. I learnt many different things about the history of Bordeaux, and the wines that come from this region. I left the class with a greater knowledge and understanding than I had when I first started the class, which was the exact reason I wanted to attend it. Whether you have newly found your love for wine, or you are just wanting to expand your knowledge and try some incredible wines I highly recommend you attend one of the many classes Everything Wine has to offer, I promise you they will not disappoint! Come in to Everything Wine today and check out our extensive collection of wine!
My name is Sydney, I have being working at Everything Wine in Morgan Crossing for close to 6 months now and when the opening arose for me to attend a Masterclass taught by Jordan Carrier I jumped at the opportunity! My knowledge of wine ever since starting here has greatly expanded and I just want it to keep growing, so what better way to do that then to attend a class?
The class I attended was all on Bordeaux. How fitting as I myself am French. I recruited my Dad to join me for this class as well, being quite the wine lover himself. We spent the night trying 6 different wines from the Bordeaux region, whilst snacking on some appetizers paired with each wine. What a night!
We started off the night learning a lot of history about the region of Bordeaux. The first wine that we tried was the Chateau Bel-Air Lagrave 1989
Medoc Red Blend, a 1989 wine priced at $70.99. This was the oldest wine that we tried all night (older than me!) This wine was a very interesting wine, as I will explain. When inspecting the colour of the wine I noticed how complex it was. While holding the glass over a white sheet of paper and just slightly tilting the glass you could see the different colour rings. This wine was a deep burgundy purple colour in the middle, which then faded to an orangish colour (is organish even a word?) which then faded into a clear watery rim around the top. It was quite neat to be able to observe the colours like that! My first initial smell of this wine was a crushed gravel, leathery smell. I found this wine to be semi-dry, but probably my least favourite of the night. Not because I did not enjoy this wine, just simply because we had so many other wonderful wines! I kept in mind this is the oldest wine I have ever tried, and the taste of it is not something my pallet is typically familiar with.
The next wine we moved onto was the Lafon Rochet, a 2000 wine priced at $175.99, the most expensive of the night. This wine was my second favourite wine of the night, and I very much enjoyed it. This wine had a beautiful bouquet, it smelled of licorice, and lots of fruit. I would say this wine was quite dry, with a touch of spice to it. This wine was paired with a mushroom, goat cheese Crème Brule (yes, you heard that right, Crème Brule) different and delicious! The richness and the cream of this dish really softened the tannin's of the wine and made it just that much more enjoyable than it already was!
The third wine of the night, and my favourite was the Haut-Milon, a 2009 wine priced at $59.99, and it was incredible. This wine was a very deep burgundy colour, and when I first smelt this wine I couldn't quite pick up on what I was smelling, as I am still learning and trying to develop my nose for wines and their bouquets. I continued sniffing determined to pin point what it was I was smelling and I finally discovered it.. Chocolate! It's no wonder this one was my favourite. I found this wine to be so smooth and overall just a wonderful wine. This wine was paired with a puff pastry wrapped meatball, which complimented the wine nicely. I highly recommend giving this wine a try, especially for a nice special occasion. The price point is definitely affordable, especially for a special occasion wine, and it is one you are going to want to try!
Moving onto the fourth wine of the night, and my third favourite was the Branaire Ducru, a 2010 wine priced at $153.99. This wine is a 4th growth, and it was rated 98 points. If you are not familiar with the point system. know that 98 points is an exceptional and almost perfect rating, 100 being perfect. This wine was a very dark and deep red colour. It smelled of fruit, plum in particular. This wine was a very dry wine, and I found it to have a spice to it. This wine had high tannin's and it was paired with a cracker topped off with a slice of rare beef and blue cheese drizzled with a red wine reduction, which nicely accompanied the wine and softened its tannin's.
The fifth wine of the night was the Chateau Domaine de l'Eglise, a 1996 wine (the same age as myself) priced at $105.99. This wine was 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. This wine was my Dad's favourite of the night. His pallet is much more developed than mine so it made sense that he enjoyed this one more than myself. This wine had a similar colour ring to the first wine, the Bel Air Lagrave, where it was a deep burgundy colour in the middle, which faded to an orange. This wine smelt of cayenne pepper, and other spices. I found this wine to be very very dry, hence why my Dad enjoyed it so much. This wine was paired with a tomato bisque, along with a piece of baguette with melted Brie cheese, Very delicious. I highly recommend trying this wine if you have a developed pallet and are a fan of dry wines, this will be a wine you will deeply enjoy.
Finally, the last and final wine finishing off the night was the Lassegue, a 2006 wine priced at $67.99. I really enjoyed this wine, it was quite nice. Its bouquet smelt of different fruits, such as cherry and plum. This wine was very smooth and a nice wine to finish off the night. It was paired with some dark chocolate brittle, which was truly a match made in heaven. A perfect end to the class.
Overall I found this class to be a wonderful experience. I learnt many different things about the history of Bordeaux, and the wines that come from this region. I left the class with a greater knowledge and understanding than I had when I first started the class, which was the exact reason I wanted to attend it. Whether you have newly found your love for wine, or you are just wanting to expand your knowledge and try some incredible wines I highly recommend you attend one of the many classes Everything Wine has to offer, I promise you they will not disappoint! Come in to Everything Wine today and check out our extensive collection of wine!