Varietal Wines The Same Only Different

by Julian Schultz
julian@oxfordwineroom.com


At horizontal wine tastings, wines of the same varietal grape and of the same vintage year are sipped for enjoyment, education and evaluation. Invariably comes sthe question: "Why do these Cabernet Sauvignons (could be a Chardonnay or a Pinot Noir or a Zinfandel) vary on the palate? After all, they are made from the same varietal grape aren't they? Coca Cola always tastes the same; Seven Up does too, doesn't it?"

In my over 50-years attending wine tastings, I hear that question most frequently from newcomers to wines...but also from oenophiles who may have forgotten. I have written wine columns on this subject some half-dozen times during the past 21 years.

At the recent Stephen Ross Wines wine dinner at the Castle restaurant, I heard the question again, heard about Coca Cola's uniformity of taste, heard that the taste of the Pinot Noirs from the same vintage year is varied. Why?

The answer warrants yet again another column: Yes, varietal wines do vary, even when made 100 percent from the same grape of the same vintage year. Here's why:

     A varietal grape reflects the soil characteristics in which it is grown. But soils from different areas - areas often within micro distances of each other - may vary in composition: Chateaux Haut Brion and La Mission Haut Brion are across the road from each other and the soil variation shows in the wine.

     Climatic conditions influence the grape during the growing season. But exact duplicate climates are rare. So the wine we drink from the grapes growing here, may differ from the same varietal grapes growing there because of climate differences. We speak of "micro climate differences" within proximate areas, which affect the taste of the wines.

     Grower viticulture practices vary: pruning, use of pesticides, time of harvest, trellising methods, fertilization methods, etc. These cause greater or lesser differences in like varietal gapes. Therefore, the wines may differ to the degree that growing methods differ.

     Although vintners grow their own grapes, they also buy grapes. But different vintners buy from different growers. Therefore, there are varying qualities in vintners' wines to the extent that grapes used are related to the quality differences of their suppliers.

Wine differences are magnified by the differences in winery vinification methods, degree (if any) malolactic fermentation, storage practices, blending concepts, filling procedures, wood aging and barrel staves preparation - the latter will be discussed at length later. Therefore, some taste differences are inevitable when comparing different brands of the same 100 percent varietal grape or of similar varietal blend composition.

Even if all grapes were grown and made into wine the same, there could still be a difference. When wines leave the cellar, they go through many hands: railroader, trucker, distributor, wine shop, consumer. Potential variations in the care given to a wine from winery bottling to consumer table are many. These are reflected in the aroma and flavor.

Therefore the inevitable conclusion: Some taste differences are almost certain to be found in wines of the same varietal grapes, bottle to bottle.

The very same Cabernet Sauvignon tasted last week may not taste the same tonight. Why? Answer: The reasons may be physiological, psychological, sociological and/or gastronomical.

Physiological: You have a horrendous cold, a discomforting sinus infection, a headache, an itching rash. These will alter your perception of the wine.

Psychological: Your wife (mistress or girl friend) kicked you out of bed, the boss roasted you at the office, the IRS office wants to interview you. These will diminish tonight the flavor and pleasure of last week's - even last night's! -- same wine.

Sociological: Last week you tasted a wine at a crowded noisy wine bar, or at a home party with arguing relatives, or at a restaurant where the wine service was abominably slow. You are tasting a wine of the same varietal at home tonight. The disappointing flavor of last week's wine is beyond recognition or comparison. Or taste that disappointing wine with a loved one snuggled in close at an out-of-the-way inn before a crackling fire: same wine but in a different tasting environment….never tasted so good.

Gastronomical: What foods are you eating now with the wine or have eaten for lunch? Certain foods are enemies of wine: garlic and similar pungent onion foods, chocolate, ice cream, bananas, strongly accented sweets, mustard, horseradish, pickles and other vinegar infused foods and salad dressings, most citrus foods especially with dry red wines, vegetables like artichokes and asparagus. If their flavors are pronounced, they are avoided by palateers who are serious about the purity of aromas and flavors in their wines.

True, there is no accounting for taste: One person's taste delight may well be another's palate poison. Some enemies of wine may add to the complexity of the food when their flavors are moderated by savvy chefs and are used so subtly as to be indiscernible.

Garlic as an example is tolerable if used gently…gently…ever so discreetly… and you are resigned to a kiss less evening. But try that same wine with mild Cheddar cheese and chewy and crisp-crusted baguettes, and you may discover Paradise.

I had mentioned earlier that differences in wood and barrel staves preparation (cooperage) in which wine is fermented and aged affect the perception and flavor of wine: Each barrel imparts its distinct color, aroma, taste, body, texture and aftertaste to the wine.

Robert Mondavi some years ago conducted nationwide seminars on this subject, two of which I attended; one was held at the Castle Restaurant, the other at the Sturbridge Sheraton Hotel.

We were told to bring eight glasses and "a clean, unencumbered, pure palate" - no sweet, citrus, or strongly seasoned food. Eight Mondavi Pinot Noirs of the 1980 vintage, each aged in a different French or American barrel, would be poured.

Before we tasted, we were told how wine is affected by characteristics of the barrel that are obtained from the oak of different forests in France. Our ears rang with uncommon terms about the different preparations of barrel staves: hand split, air dried, kiln dried, sawn; fire, steam, and/or fire toasting, charring; the coopers' use of tight-grain wood versus loose grain wood, heartwood versus sapwood. These barrel-making methods used by different coopers markedly change the character of the wine.

Now, about the wines themselves. Where to begin? Yul Brenner, in Siam, said, "It is a puzzlement." Alice, in wonderland, said, "It gets curiouser and curiouser." Julian Schultz, in consternation, said," In just two weeks my ability to evaluate seems to have gotten muddled."

What has this got to do with the subject at hand? Well, I had attended the same barrel-age tasting at the Sturbridge Sheraton two weeks earlier. We evaluated the same eight wines. There was some consistency in my ratings, but not to the extent that I was satisfied.

I am showing only my top four preferred wines of the eight wines tasted at each seminar. Some of the Sheraton's wines rated five to eight rated showed up among my preferred Castle top four wines, and vice versa with the five to eight rated wines at the Castle showing up in the Sheraton's top four. So much for my consistency, but haven't I said frequently that the environment in which we taste wines raises or lowers our pleasure? An example of this:

I had tasted a magnificent Victor Hugo Zinfandel recently at home. I ordered it again at bistro type restaurant where the environment was noisy with cross currants of loud and excited conversation. I couldn't relax and I didn't appreciate the wine. So I took home the remaining six or so ounces, which I drank again with dinner the next evening in the quiet, comfortable, relaxed atmosphere of home. What a difference the environment made! The fruited flavors came alive and I was able to luxuriate again with the wine: the same wine, but where I drank it made all the difference.

Let's make the point another way: I recently served a super Midnight Cellars Chardonnay, relatively inexpensive to dinner guests. Their unrestrained delight raised my own pleasure, although I was very familiar with it. The Midnight Cellars seemed to assume an aura of nobility. But suppose we had drunk it with dinner in a crowded, noisy restaurant where our ears were assailed with constant boisterous conversation?

Same wine. Different environments. Different experiences.

Anyway, what follows are my tasting notes at each seminar, my perceptions and rankings of the wines…and, alas, the inconsistency of my palate. The notes are copied just the way I wrote them -- between jumping back and forth from one wine to another. This may account for the inconsistent evaluation sequence, not the usual ritualistic progression from sight to swirl, to smell, to sip, to savor and to swallow.

I wonder though - could some of the wines have been poured into the wrong glasses? Example: wine #2 poured into glass #3; wine #3 poured into glass #4? That might explain some of the variation in my ratings at the two tastings. Remember…eight wines were poured at the same time. I could have been confused when jumping back and forth among the wines as I alternated sipping them and picked up the wrong glass(s) - thinking I was sipping #3 when I was really sipping #4.

Or, as I have written in previous wine columns, on any particular night one's sensory sensitivity may not be as acute as on another night and his tasting evaluation is not as reliable as on another night.

My palate was clean and unencumbered on both nights, as I was careful to eat only bland food, which I always do when I am to taste seriously.

My emotional state of mind wasn't any different during the two events, except that I kissed many lady friends who were at Castle tasting and bussed none at the Sturbridge event. If that explains my inconsistency, then I am content with the results and would be delighted to entertain an encore.

At Sturbridge:
Wine ranked #1. From Alliers forest; Taransaud, cooper; normal barrel toast, new barrel: "intense aroma and flavor, deep fruit and oak, smooth soft finish, woody emphasis, muscular."

Wine ranked #2. Alliers forest; Francois, cooper; heavy barrel toast, new barrel: "more wood in nose, noticeable char, slight undertone of vanilla; fruit in mouth and much oak; intensely concentrated wine, smooth-to-slightly rough finish." (I learned later this was the '78 Reserve.)

Wine ranked #3. Nevers forest; Demptos, cooper; light to medium toast, new barrel, aged 14 months: "great flavor intensity, full body, minty/woody palate, concentrated, balanced, warm finish and aftertaste."

Wine ranked #4. American forest; Tonnellerie Francois, cooper; normal barrel toast, new barrel: "darker, intense color, deep concentrated aroma, woody, heavy, minty accent, warm finish, lingering aftertaste."

At the Castle:
Wine ranked #1. From Alliers forest; Francois, cooper; heavy barrel toast, new barrel: "great nose, intense fruit perfume, nice balance; fruit, wood, pepper throughout mouth, complex, aftertaste intense but some youthful roughness, garnet color."

Wine ranked #2. American forest; Tonnellerie Francois, cooper; normal barrel toast, new barrel: "deep concentrated fruit nose of berries, wood; palate of blackberries, raspberries, much character, assertive, has grip; grapey, fleshy, some black pepper, deep color, oak intensity; finish somewhat raw, balanced, super wine with maturity."

Wine ranked #3. Nevers forest; Demptos, cooper; light to medium barrel toast, 14 months aging in new French oak barrel: "nose a mixture of berries, citrus, wood; peppery, tannic, sub-surface flavors on palate, not fully opened but a solid wine; well constructed, clear lighter color than in other wines, lighter body, warm to hot alcoholic finish and aftertaste; not raw or rough but warm to hot; very slow legs, good viscosity; pleasing, soft spoken but firm."

Wine ranked #4. Limousin forest; Taransaud, cooper; normal barrel toast, new barrel: "berries and leafy nose closed at first; berries on palate, less oak, peppery, hot, a mouthful that won't let go; rough lingering finish; needs time to develop into a super wine, but understated now."

Wine Pick: Montevina Terra d'Oro Zinfandel 2001, $15. A fruit bomb of cherries and plums overlaid with anise and clove; balanced with supple tannins, fruit acids, velvety texture; smooth fruit accented swallow and lingering aftertaste. This is a good as a fine zin gets.

Wine Pick: Yalumba "Y" Series "Unwooded" Chardonnay, Australia 2003, $7.99. Taste ripe, round fruit with nicely balancing peppery accent; interesting spices over pear and tropical fruit flavors. Fresh fruit swallow and moderately long aftertaste. Look again at the price!

Wine Pick: Midnight Cellars Full Moon Red, 2000, $11. A complex blend of zinfandel, merlot, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc. Exciting fruit and spice tastes that endlessly occupy the palate with hints of cedar and tobacco. You won't buy a better wine at this price.

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julian@oxfordwineroom.com