Masked bubbly tasting
21 October 2010
Wednesday evening the 21st October we held a masked sparkling wine tasting.
We gave this tasting the title of "what bubbles gives you more bang for your buck."
We choose a bunch of diverse wines covering a variety of price points and areas. We tasted all the following the following wines masked.
de Venoge Blanc de Noir Brut French Champagne @ $89.99. Marquis de la Tour sparkling from the Loire @ $18.99. Carpene Malvolti Prosecco from Italy @ $24.99. Leeuwin Estate Pinot Chardonnay 2006 fromm W.A.@ $35.99. Acrobat NV Brut from Mudgee, NSW @ $11.99. Bay of Fires Pinot Chardonnay Cuvee from Tassie @ $29.99. Quartz Reef Methode Traditionelle from N.Z.@ $36.99. Storm Ridge Pinot Chardonnay from the Yarra Valley @ $23.99. And lastly Yarrabank Cuvee Traditional Methode 2006 also from the Yarra Valley @ $38.99.
It was a very interesting excercise. The stand out wine being the Champagne, with most people picking it as such. It was the most complex, toasty, mouthfilling wine of the line up, but the best value for money I am not sure. Most tasters also picked the Prosecco in the line up. The nose and the style of this wine was startling different from the other wines but it did not score very well overall.
We gave this tasting the title of "what bubbles gives you more bang for your buck."
We choose a bunch of diverse wines covering a variety of price points and areas. We tasted all the following the following wines masked.
de Venoge Blanc de Noir Brut French Champagne @ $89.99. Marquis de la Tour sparkling from the Loire @ $18.99. Carpene Malvolti Prosecco from Italy @ $24.99. Leeuwin Estate Pinot Chardonnay 2006 fromm W.A.@ $35.99. Acrobat NV Brut from Mudgee, NSW @ $11.99. Bay of Fires Pinot Chardonnay Cuvee from Tassie @ $29.99. Quartz Reef Methode Traditionelle from N.Z.@ $36.99. Storm Ridge Pinot Chardonnay from the Yarra Valley @ $23.99. And lastly Yarrabank Cuvee Traditional Methode 2006 also from the Yarra Valley @ $38.99.
It was a very interesting excercise. The stand out wine being the Champagne, with most people picking it as such. It was the most complex, toasty, mouthfilling wine of the line up, but the best value for money I am not sure. Most tasters also picked the Prosecco in the line up. The nose and the style of this wine was startling different from the other wines but it did not score very well overall.
The wine which raised the most eyebrows was the Acrobat NV. Most people rated it in the mid range, then seeing the list of the wines and prices at the end of tasting thought it amazingly good value.
The Marquis sparkling from the Loire also scored well in the value for money stakes.
The Beresford is a lighter, fruitier style that appealed to some. The Quartz Reef was described by one taster - in one word - mysterious, and I think that a pretty apt description! The Bay of Fires rated very highly overall. The Leeuwin was the big disappointment to most and the two Yarra Valley bubbles were there about the middle. The Yarrabank being a bit more complex then the lighter Storm Ridge.
Overall I personally thought the Bay of Fires the best value for money, the French the best wine and the Acrobat being my runner up in the bang for your buck stakes.
Cheers, Michael @ wineseek.