126 wines today
Today was the first day's judging at the International Wine Challenge, where I'm busy for the next two weeks as a panel chair. It's the world's largest blind tasting competition.
What I tasted today, by flight, with the number of wines in each in brackets:
- Vintage Champagne (7)
- Spanish Merlot (3)
- Languedoc Sauvignon Blanc (5)
- Spanish Syrah (7)
- German Pinot Noir (8)
- Australian Semillon (10)
- Spanish Tempranillo Blends (6)
- Spanish Syrah Blends (12)
- Bordeaux reds (12)
- English Madeleine Angevine (3)
- South African Cabernet (6)
- Austrian Riesling (13)
- Piedmont Cortese (8)
- Douro Touriga Nacional (5)
- Australian Chardonnay (21)
which makes 126 wines, which didn't feel like too many.
The panel I was on was great, although we lost one to fatigue at lunchtime, and then another was seconded to a separate group in the afternoon. We finished the day with a couple of Coopers, which is a nice touch.
Labels: blind tasting
5 Comments:
Jamie,
Any thoughts on closure related faults across such a wide range of wines and styles?
Cheers
126 with different wines, red and white mixed, as well as different areas and varietals is a good way to taste that many wines. I think those numbers get difficult when you have 126 Châteauneuf du Papes, for example. I've tasted that way for Bettane & Desseauve, and I think it pushes any taster's limits.
Are you becoming assimilated into the world of panel tastings, Jamie? What's your current view of their strengths and weaknesses?
What order would you taste those in, Jamie? Douglas.
Just wondering, by the time you have tasted 126 wines even with spitting them all out, are you not just a little bit tipsy?
What happens to the tongue, does all that wine affect it in a bad way?
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