Talented Amateur Blind Tasting #2 was held on Sunday, May 21. Like the first, we tasted two flights of three wines each. The first flight was Spanish tempranillos and blends (two Rioja, one Catalunya). The second flight included three wines contributed by subscribers (thanks–you know who you are!), all red blends costing less than $25 per bottle. This post will provide results of the tasting.

After hosting two blind tasting events, I will be re-orienting the focus of the next few tasting events–those changes for upcoming events will be the subject of my next post (#18).

The format of TABT#2 was identical to the TABT#1: wines were all uncorked two hours before the tasting, and carafed one hour before. Each taster was provided with three wines to taste in each flight, a form for recording their tasting notes and overall assessment of the wine, and water and plain baguette slices for palate-clearing. The only addition was the availability of Anne-Noble-style “tasting wheels” at the table. The tasting of each of the two flights started with a “quiet phase” of about 15 minutes, during which tasters were requested to minimize conversation and focus on tasting the wines and recording their assessments. After all the tasters had completed recording their assessments, each taster shared their overall assessment and their tasting notes with the group. The tasting of both flights was completed in about an hour, after which wine-friendly food was served and the remains of all the wines were available for re-tasting. All tasters had a chance to revise their assessments and tasting notes throughout the event.

RESULTS

The scoring system was a simple, largely qualitative system devised by TA:

• 1–“Meh”
• 2–“OK”
• 3–“Enjoyable”
• 4–“Very good”
• 5–“Outstanding”
• 6–“Stunner”

The table below shows the taster ratings for each wine, with averages by wine and by taster. The shading is green = high, red = low.

The results echoed those of the TABT#1:

• No “stunners”. Some really good wines, but nobody got their socks knocked off by any of the wines.
• Love-it-or-hate-it. Reactions to most wines were somewhat polarized. Four of the six wines had at least two 1’s or 2’s (“Meh” or “OK”) AND at least two 4’s or 5’s (“Very Good” or “Outstanding”).
• Crowd-pleasers? Kind of…two wines had at least two 4 or 5 ratings, and only one 1 or 2 rating:
  • 2016 Bodegas Muga “Seleccion Especial”. I provided this wine for TABT#2. It was purchased at Total Wine about six months ago for $38. It is no longer available there. Total Wine has the 2018 vintage, but it is selling for $48. Hmmm…not sure about that value.
    • TA: This was my favorite wine in the tasting, I thought had some great aromas typical of Spanish tempranillo: cherry and cedar. Plus I got a touch of anise, like one of those German anise cookies. I liked the balance of this wine, too–just acidic enough to be fresh, and with some nice smooth tannins, and a long fruity finish. In my opinion, if you do not like this one, you probably do not like Rioja.
  • 2018 Six Hands “Prestige”. TA subscriber “tedrunner” provided this wine for the tasting, and it is still available at Corti for about $20. Tasters seemed to like the berry-driven fruitiness of this one, and the mild tannins.
    • TA: I liked this wine for its fruitiness, and given the blend (petite sirah 60%, syrah 20%, zinfandel 20%) it is not surprising it has a big taste. It is aged in 40% new oak barrels, and I got a definite spicy, clove note from it, too.
• Trader Joe’s Test. Reminder–the TJ’s Test is: did you like a cheap bottle from TJ’s better than the more expensive, highly-rated wine? A TJ’s Test built into the first flight.
  • Non-Vintage Puerta de Plata Reserva Tempranillo/garnacha blend, acquired at TJ’s for $10, was rated outstanding by two tasters. Not a bad thing to enjoy a low-cost wine. Gosh only knows if it is currently available at TJ’s.
    • TA: Not my favorite, by far. The main aroma I got was worcestershire sauce, and some smoky, charcoal-y notes. Those that liked this one picked up cherry, tobacco and earthy notes.
• Settling a Score. Reminder–for wines with widely divergent scores from expert reviewers, the TABT ratings were used to “Settle a Score”.
  • 2018 Benjamin de Rothschild & Vega Sicilia “Macan Clasico” Tempranillo, a classic of Rioja, was rated 97 (!!) by Mike Desimone from Wine Enthusiast, and 89 by Alison Napjus of Wine Spectator. Just like these tests in TABT#1, this group of tasters aligned much more closely to lower rating.
    • TA: I felt bad about putting this wine out, it was clearly too young to drink, and many tasters commented on this. I thought this wine had the best aroma of all six…a really great combination of black fruit, leather, tuber rose, and cedar…but the tannins were so strong and raw I almost hated to taste it. I think this wine would have fared much better in a couple of years. I still am shocked at a 97 rating.