Kicking off what I’m jokingly referring to as my SAT Prep course * with a week centered on crisp, cool-climate whites. The first bottle is a Muscadet from the Loire Valley, my first exposure to the Melon de Bourgogne. I chose this one to kick off my study plan because I really wanted to get a sense of what vinification on lees brought to a wine.
This wine is clear pale lemon in appearance and the aromas come through at a medium intensity. I picked up grapefruit, pear, honeysuckle, and bread with salted butter.
It’s light-bodied, bright and crisp on the palate. Flavors are medium-intense; the ones that jumped out at me the most included yellow apple, grapefruit, lemon peel, and bread dough. I’m glad that I was able to observe those bakery notes on the nose and again on the palate — this is really cementing the lees contact effect for me.
This wine isn’t as intense or complex as many of the wines I’m used to, but I’m not mad about it. It’s enjoyable and refreshing but doesn’t linger — the finish is relatively short. It’s a lower-alcohol wine (12%), which I think suits its freshness and overall balance.
Chilled to approximately 50°F then enjoyed in a Zalto universal style glass. Tasted for note-taking reasons first, then paired with a chicken al pastor burrito.
At $11.69, this is one of the least expensive bottles on my study list. Total steal; this wine drinks easily and I think it’d be easy to convince my friends to give it a try.
* I hate explaining my jokes, but since r/wine folks are from everywhere, it’s a play on both WSET’s Systematic Approach to Tasting and the SAT exam that American high school students often study diligently for. I’ll be tasting a lot of wines over the next 12 weeks.
by ultravioletneon
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Those wines are maybe the best QPR in the world.