Blind International Sparkling Wine Tasting Challenge: And the Winner Is...

#5) 2007 Huet "Cuvée Huet" Vouvray Petillant Sec ($29.99)

K&L Notes: Maison Huet has been a leading force in the Vouvray appellation for quite sometime now, and today is regarded as one of the premier producers of Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley, if not the world. Founded in 1928, the estate now covers 35 hectares, which are divided up between three properties - Le Mont, Le Haut-Lieu and Le Clos du Bourg - all that have been farmed biodynamically since 1990. These wines are stunning and are worth being in your cellar. In addition to its famous vineyard-designated wines, Huet also produces this delightful sparkling Pétillant, a blend of fruit from the aforementioned 'big three' vineyards with other small parcels on the estate.

Last Friday, K&L customers and staff put their palates to the test and tasted through a blind lineup of a whopping thirteen sparkling wines from all over the world. This was the third installment in our series of Blind Tasting Challenges in Redwood City, events that have become very popular with our customers! K&L's Ryan Woodhouse carefully chilled, numbered, and wrapped each bottle in aluminum foil so the wines could be kept on ice without the covers getting soggy (clever thinking!). Tasters were presented with a blank, numbered tasting sheet on which to make notes and invited to guess country and region of origin for each wine. At the end, each taster had to submit a vote for his/her overall favorite wine before receiving the key to the tasting.

The winning wine, the 2007 Huet "Cuvee Huet" Vouvray Petillant Sec  (100% Chenin Blanc), beat out some serious contenders, including three Champagnes, two popular domestic producers, and some of our best-selling sparklers from other style categories such as Cremant de Limoux, Cava, and Prosecco. The Huet sure stood out in the lineup as distinctive, with its combination of sweet and savory aromas and flavors and obviously richer body as compared to the others - it's not your "typical" sparkler! Because of its unique profile, K&L staff admit to being suprised the Huet emerged as the most popular in the tasting, but then again, K&L attracts a pretty sophisticated and adventurous bunch of customers, so it's really no surprise at all!

Here is the complete lineup:

1. Silvano Follador "Dosaggio Zero" Prosecco, Italy ($24.99)

2. 2009 Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs Brut Sparkling, Napa/Sonoma, CA ($28.99)

3. Quartz Reef "Methode Traditionelle", Central Otago, New Zealand ($21.99)

4. 2008 Can Mayol Loxarel "Refugi" Reserva Brut Nature, Penedes, Spain ($17.99)

5. 2007 Huet "Cuvee Huet" Vouvray Petillant Sec, Vouvray, Loire Valley, France (29.99)

6. Louis Roederer "Brut Premier" Champagne, France ($38.99)

7. 2008 Argyle Willamette Valley Brut, Oregon $24.99

8. Ariston Aspasie Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne, France $38.99

9. Graham Beck Brut Sparkling Wine, Western Cape, South Africa ($14.99)

10. 2010 Antech "Cuvee Eugenie" Cremant de Limoux, Limoux, France ($13.99)

11. 2007 Marguet Pere et Fils Brut Rose Champagne, France ($49.99)

12. Jansz Brut Rose, Tasmania, Australia ($19.99)

13. Mas Codina Cava Brut Reserva Penedes, Spain ($12.99)

Stay tuned for the next Blind Tasting Challenge!

Blind Tasting Series: International Sparkling Friday 1/4 & New Direct Imports Tasting Saturday 1/5

Caves at Schramsberg, Napa Valley Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all enjoyed some great bubbles during the holidays (I can assure you I did!). After drinking all that fizz, do you think you can distinguish grower/producer Champagnes from the Grandes Marques? How about Cava from Prosecco? Can you pick out that Loire sparkler, or identify one from New Zealand? Well, now is your chance to find out...and enjoy some fabulous sparklers along the way. Friday Night Tastings in Redwood City are back, and we're kicking off the year with the next installment of our popular Blind Tastings Series with a special Blind International Sparkling Tasting Challenge! So far the Blind Tasting Series has been great fun and we have seen some huge upsets and perhaps unlikley winners. I hope you can join us.

Blind International Sparkling Tasting Challenge

Friday, January 4th @ K&L RWC

5pm-6:30pm | $10  K&L Local Events

We will be pouring a flight of 12 fantastic bubblies from all over the globe and invite you to try to identify the country, region, and price, and to vote on your favorite. The "key" will be revealed after tasting, and the most popular wine will be announced on Uncorked soon after.

Te Whare Ra is our first Direct Import from New Zealand

Tasting Saturday, January 5th: Direct Import Wines from the Southern Hemisphere | 1pm-4pm

Our first Saturday tasting of the year will be feature a fantastic line up of Direct Import wines from new ventures in the southern Hemisphere. As of last year we have been seeking out new winemakers and properties in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa that have not previously been available within the USA. The idea is to bring the very best small producers direct to you, our customers.

Our new Direct Import from South Africa Waterkloof Estate

So far the project has been a great success and this tasting will feature wines from: Te Whare Ra (Marlborough, New Zealand), Amelia Park (Margaret River, Australia), Hewitson (Barossa, Australia) and Waterkloof (Stellenbosch, South Africa). This is a great oppourtunity to taste some of the most exciting wines coming from these countries and almost all are exclusive to us at K&L!

There will be 12 wines and the cost is $20. The tasting runs from 1pm-4pm. Visit K&L Local Events for more details.

I hope you can make it.

Cheers!

Ryan

Introducing the Champions of the Blind Chardonnay & Cabernet Tasting Challenge!

The candidates were chosen, running mates too. Opinion polls are silent, votes are in and counted. Two unlikely winners have emerged...

By: Ryan Woodhouse | K&L NZ & Aussie Wine Specialist

In the world of wine, if Cab is King, Chardonnay must be his Queen. When putting together the recent flights of blind tastings we tried to include a variety of styles and price points from all over the globe to represent the truly international dominance of these grapes. We had some obscure dark horses and some out and out favorites. But when the old brown bag comes into the picture the playing field is leveled and reputations dashed.

We started with ten Chardonnays the Blind Chardonnay Tasting last Friday night in Redwood City, followed by eleven Cabernets on Saturday afternoon. Attendants to each tasting were asked to taste through the blind lineup and cast a single vote for their favorite wine. After voting, they received the wine legend.  

Queue a lot of swirling, slurping and head scratching! Some people confidently scribbled down notes, country, region even producer, while others professed themselves completely baffled, taking only random stabs at price point and nation.

When all was said and done I was pleasantly surprised by the results, as were many of the participants.

Your 2012 blind Chardonnay Tasting Champion (drum roll please….)

2010 Craggy Range “Kidnapper's Vineyard” Chardonnay, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand $16.99

And your King of Cabernet :

2009 Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, Western Australia $29.99

Back to back wins for NZ and Oz!

These two wines triumphed over some prestigious Napa wines, Premier Cru Burgundy and everything the rest of the world could muster, with some challengers at three times the price! Scroll down to check out the complete lineups for both tastings at the end of this article and you will see that the competition was serious.

Here is some info on our winners:

2011 Craggy Range "Kidnapper's Vineyard Chardonnay, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand ($16.99)

Craggy Range is one of New Zealand's leading producers that focuses on highly prestigious single vineyard wines that illustrate remarkble micro-climates around these spectacular islands. The Kidnapper's Vineyard is situated in Hawkes Bay, right up against the pacific ocean, on the east coast of New Zealand’s north island. The vineyard is named after the nearby Cape Kidnapper's, a headland that takes it's name from a dramatic abduction of one of Captain Cook's crew by indigenous Māori in 1792.

Cape Kidnapper's, Hawkes Bay. Photo: EIT New ZealandThe vines grow literally a stones throw from the surf. This situe has a notable impact on the wines aromatics and flavor as this coastal proximity has imparted a distinct saline quality upon the wine. Most importantly the vineyard is cooled by brisk sea breezes keeping this wine bright and crisp with a nice zippy acidity. The grapes have a long hang time and this slow ripening allows excellent flavor develoment.

 
View Larger Map

In the winemaking process the Kidnapper's Chardonnay is lightly whole bunch pressed into neutral oak tanks for fermentation. 10% goes to new French Oak Puncheons (double size barrels that impart much less flavor). This chablis-like style of production compliments the vineyards cool, crisp, mineral and saline flavor profile. The restraint, balance and complexity of this wine really surpasses it's very modest price point. Here is a link to Craggy Range’s website for more info about this spectacular vineyard site and the winemaking process. Craggy Range's Kidnapper's Vineyard.

King of Cabs: 2009 Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, Western Australia $29.99

 The Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon is a truly historic wine. Vasse Felix was the first winery established in the now renowned Margaret River region of Western Australia. Planting vines in 1967 Vasse Felix has made this estate Cabernet every vintage since 1972 and continues as a leading family owned estate today. The fruit for this wine comes from the Wilyabrup sub-region known for producing world class cabernet. Vasse's neighbors include Cullen Estate and Moss Wood who make prolific Cab based wines themselves. You can see from the map below again the ocean plays a huge role in tempering the climate in Margaret River. This region gets pretty warm during the summer months but the frigid southern ocean is a constant factor cooling the winds and allowing greater flavor development and acid retention in the grapes.

View Larger Map

The 2009 Vasse Felix Cab shows archetypal Margaret River Cabernet characters. Concentrated black and blue fruits (think fresh blackberries and blueberries combined) with aromatic minty and subtle eucalyptus hints. With air the wine shows some thyme and cedar notes with dusty soil qualities. The wine is concentrated and powerful but without being over saturated or extracted. It has impeccable balance and a fine but persistent tannin structure.

Vasse Felix's Wilyabrup Vineyard

We hope you get a chance to try some of these winning wines, available now in our stores and on KLWines.com. Our blind tasting series has been a great success with lots of positive feedback from our customers, which means you can look forward to more blind tastings in the future! We invite you to come on down and attend the next one, or perhaps be inspired to stage a blind tasting of your own at home! You can follow us on Uncorked for updates and on Facebook and K&L Local Events for future listings and details.  

Cheers,

-Ryan

Blind Chardonnay Line Up:

1: 2010 Château de la Charrière Bourgogne Blanc Dom. Yves Girardin, Burgundy, France $14.99

2: 2010 Craggy Range “Kidnappers Vineyard” Chardonnay, Hawkes bay, New Zealand $16.99

3: 2011 “Heggies” Chardonnay, Eden Valley, Australia $19.99

4: 2009 Dom. Paul Pillot Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru "Champs Gain" Burgundy, France $59.99

5: 2010 Clos Pepe “Barrel Fermented” Chardonnay, Santa Rita Hills, California $22.99

6: 2009 Brick House "Cascadia" Ribbon Ridge Chardonnay, Ribbon Ridge AVA, Oregon $32.99

7: 2010 Te Whare Ra Chardonnay, Marlborough, New Zealand $24.99

8: 2010 Cakebread Chardonnay, Napa Valley, California $34.99

9: 2008 Monteviejo "Lindaflor" Chardonnay Valle de Uco Mendoza $19.99 (was $30)

10: 2010 Daniel De Wet "Limestone Hill" Chardonnay Robertson, South Africa $15.99

Blind Cabernet Line Up:

1: 2009 Sapaio "Volpolo"Bolgheri, Italy $32.99

2: 2009 La Croix de Beaucaillou, St-Julien, Bordeaux, France $49.99

3: 2009 Fabre Montmayou Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva, Mendoza, Argentina  $15.99

4: 2009 Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, Western Australia $29.99

5: 2010 Reyneke "Capstone" Red Bordeaux Blend, Stellenbosch, South Africa   $24.99

6: 2008 Attila Gere Cabernet Sauvignon, Villany, Hungary $21.99

7: 2001 Jean Leon Cabernet Sauvignon Gran Reserva, Penedes, Spain $39.99

8: 2008 Seven Hills Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington, USA $21.99

9: 2009 Kathryn Kennedy "Small Lot Cabernet", Santa Cruz Mountains, CA, USA $32.99

10: 2010 Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, CA, USA $69.99

11: 2009 Amici Cellars Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, CA, USA $37.99