Tuesday, August 26, 2014

TWITs Takeover Southbound - Thursday Sept. 4th, 2014

TWITs Takeover Southbound - hosted by Southbound restaurant in Chamblee

Date:  Thursday, September 4th, 2014 7:30 pm ET

Bring:  TWITs attendees should bring $20/person to cover the cost of the wines.  The Southbound Menu will also be available if you would like to purchase any food.

Theme:  Transition into Autumn

Tasting Notes:

1) 2012 Domaine Mosse 'Magic of Ju Ju' Chenin Blanc
13.5% alcohol
Acidic, hint of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, fruity notes of pear and apple. Hints of live yoghurt. Resembles a Jura wine.  natural wine

2) 2010 Bodegas Gerardo Mendez Albariño Do Ferreiro Rias Biaxis, Galicia Spain
13% alcohol 
Citrus nose, honeydew melon, parm chz, sour cherry, Goes Great w spicy chicken, pickle, Good viscosity,  Matt says Chardonnay from burgundy Sancerre?
Melissa guessed Albariño 

3) 2012 Negretta La Roc Fronton "La Falle Noire d'Ambat" , France near Cahors
13% alcohol 
Funky nose, Maybe a tannat or cab Sauv, stinky oregon pinot? Better on palate than nose, Thick on the mouth, some acidity, spice, Opens up, heat on the nose, Grenache? Syrah? Mourvèdre, Dark syrupy, dirty, earthy, Priorat? From the boot? Cab franc blend, tannat, Hermitage, Sangiovese, Barbera ?

4) 2001 Tempranillo, R Lopez De Heredia, Vina Tondonia Reserva, Rioja Spain 
13%alcohol
Thanksgiving, cinnamon, nutmeg, a sweet potato, nice balance, skins of sweet potato, old cabinet, cigar box,
Roasted just out of the oven, a lot of butter, Italian Nebbiolo, dryer than it smells, fruity, dark, love the nose,
Cherries, leather, fruit forward, heat on the nose, it's got grip on the tongue, dill, black olives,  Sangiovese, Italian, Tempranillo, cab?
















Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Chardonnay hosted by Ms. Ardela - Wednesday August 20th, 2014

Chardonnay hosted by Ms. Ardela - Wednesday August 20th, 2014

Theme:  Chardonnay  (can be from any region or country, oaked or unoaked).  We will sort the wines into oaked and unoaked groupings, then blind taste them and unveil each grouping as we go.
Price range: up to $20/bottle for Singles, up to $40/bottle for Couples
For an extra Challenge:  Try to bring a Chardonnay that is not from California.

Ms. Ardela hosted a lovely TWITs, and she even hired a fanTAStic caterer:  Milton L Johnson Jr of  MJ's Exquisite Events! Check out his website for photos of his events, and for hiring information.  Milton did a superb job and the food was delicious!

Tasting Notes:
Welcome Wine:  2010 Tuck Beckstoffer Semper "Ulises" Chardonnay - $35/ bottle
14.8% alcohol 100% Chardonnay
Sonoma Coast, small producer. www.tbwines.com, apple, aged cheese tones, vanilla

1) 2012 Domaine Guillot-Broux, Macon-Villages, Jenny & Francois - $19.99 @ Le Caveau
12% alcohol
The first organic vineyard in Burgundy!
different nose, cloudy, greenish-hues, meek, rather stinky like a cheese, unoaked? French?, unfiltered, organic, guessing Le Caveau, Burgundy style, sharp, guessing its a younger wine, marshmallow on the palate, limestone soil, chalky, light viscosity, late and long legs, soft, acidic and tart at the end, has turbidity, tactile, low priced young Burgundy, easy drinking, almost no flavor, quaffable.

2) 2011 Tapiz Alta Collection Chardonnay, Mendoza Argentina, Jean-Claude Berrouet - $19.99
13.9% alcohol
lighter, citrus nose, honeysuckle, light floral, this actually has a nose!, nice, higher end Burgundy? beautiful, white flowers, some chalkiness, squirt of lemon & lime, tastes of tropical fruit (pineapple), top heavy, bitter after-palate, great summer wine, meadow of flowers, more mature wine, "The turbidity is quaffable" - quote of the day.
the label said: "creamed pear and kiwi"

3) 2012 Chablis, Bel-Air et Clardy, Domaine Alice & Olivier de Moor - $42.99 @ Le Caveau
12.8% alcohol
drier, hits the back of the mouth, a hard left turn (from the last wine), lighter, bigger - woah!, hint of citrus, butter & shortbread, fresh churned amish butter, buttery, viscous, all-around lovely, dry-tart finish, pucker, suggest serving with scallops, tastes like expensive restaurant wine, "perfectly unobtrusive", French but not Burgundy, combo of savory, citrus, bitter, acidity, no oak!  complex, has seen some wood, it's all over the mouth,
"I can smell it in the glass after it's gone," lilac or dill nose in the glass,
We later learned this is Eric's new favorite Chardonnay and it's totally organic, imported by Louis Dressner

4) 2012 Liquid Farm "White Hill" Chardonnay - $42.99 @ Le Caveau
13.8% alcohol, 10% oaked, 100% Chardonnay blended from 7 vineyards: Bent Rock, Zotovich, Kessler-Haak, Rita's Crown, Huber, Radian & Clos Pepe.
lighter, clear, pale straw, diluted ammonia, old lady perfume, Grandma's house, honeydew melon, pineapple, everything is strong, oak-bomb, soft, Sonoma, American Oak? beautifully done oak, very nice, caramelly, toasty, tipicity, recommend pairing with flaky white fish and cream sauce and capers,
Sidenote:  There was some debate about what the label had on it.  Was it a beet?  A kholrabi? a turnip?
go here to read about it.

5)  2007 Côtes du Jura, Les Gaudrettes, Bornard - $33.99 @ Le Caveau
12.5% alcohol, natural wine, some oak (18 mos)
golden, unfiltered, turbidity, aged, urine, petroleum, parmesan cheese, like a Riesling, drier, bubbly fuzzy sweet tarts, essence of menthol on the finish, effervescent for 1 second, a baby crib, ricola, anise, lactic-acid fermented, cough drop, eucalyptus, this is going to be a journey, kefir, natural wine, when there's floaties in the glass it might be unfiltered, "oh Pierre, there you are", fuzzy navel, live yogurt culture, ash, florals, if you closed your eyes and tasted it, it might be a red wine or rose, most complex all evening, similar to #3, French but not Burgundy, layers upon layers, "it's cray-cray", lingering layers, almost a rose.