The blind tasting claimed one more victim this week. Without the death of a man or scratched ego, reassure yourself, because the friend Jean (fictitious name, because he does not want to disappoint his own brother who is a great connoisseur of the thing) is more inclined to laugh royally at fail to deprive yourself of a good glass of wine, especially when there is a lesson to be learned from the exercise.
The finding is nonetheless revealing. It appears that we are more intransigent, more severe, with the wines, especially if one of the wines tasted turns out to be, let’s say, more “demanding” with our palate. In a word, the reflex, when choosing the “best wine”, will always be to go for the one that charms, flatters and immediately reassures.
Perception
This truism once again highlights that, with equal quality, we are always inclined to vote subjectively according to our own history in terms of tastes. A shift in perception which is clearly lessened when one knows the identity of the wines.
However, beyond the barrier of tastes, the “losers” of the lot were not those to whom we would have cast an evil spell with raised visor.
Witness, to start, two glasses of chardonnay. Why did Vincent Wengier’s 2020 Petit Chablis ($21.90 – 14955481 – (5) ★★★) have all the panache of a magnificent loser here to the 2018 Chardonnay “Triumph” from the Ontario Southbrook Vineyards ($24.95 – 14977162 – (5) ★★★)? Because, at its very essence, burgundy, with its barely chalky mouthfeel, created a sense of transient austerity that the rounder, butterier, textured New World simply didn’t have.
We hope all the same for a rapid renewal at the same low price of this Chablis which was nothing small here!
As for the second, it is a serious qualitative competitor. It’s a bit like being asked to choose between Marlène Dietrich and Marilyn Monroe.
Then, two reds: the first, light; the second, full-bodied. A question of fabric and textures, once again. Perceived as skinny and with “little taste”, Karim Vionnet’s Beaujolais-Villages “Nature” 2021 ($24.30 – 13581318 – (5) ★★★) nevertheless laughed cheerfully, as if each of the little Gamay berries had been tickled to the bitter end, as they burst under the tooth, displaying freshness and fine texture, suppleness, conviction and extreme digestibility.
Nothing to do, therefore, with Le secret de Mathilde 2019 from the Château de Gourgazaud in Minervois ($18.75 – 14,758,824 – (5) ★★ 1/2), whose fictional friend was enjoying himself. Same freshness, same clean fruitiness, with “more taste”, opulence and ripe sap.
The moral of the story ? Beyond appearances, the losers are not always those we think.
A fiasco… which is not one
In order to spare him both disappointment and a little discomfort in terms of self-esteem, I did not submit my friend Jean (fictitious name…) to the tasting of the blend — improbable, but very successful — of Italian grape varieties (Sangiovese, Nero d’Avola, Montepulciano, etc.) that is this Fiasco Monte Bernardi ($24.75 per liter – 14,989,850) concocted by Tuscan winemaker Michael Schmelzer with grapes from organic farming.
Aged in concrete vats and bottled in this pleasant format that we would like to double, this light and tasty wine remains just as festive as it is delicious. There is plenty to delight the whole family under the arbor, with dishes where seasonal tomatoes are king. Serve, of course, very chilled, even in your Duralex glasses. (5) ★★★