Disclaimer: I am one week into WSET 1 and our first tasting (Chardonnay) is Monday. I've had 0 formal training and have never been much of a drinker of anything (I'm 65). How did I do?
When I opened the bottle (screw cap), I smelled vinegar. I decanted for an hour. Poured into glass. It's purple and a bit translucent. I smelled cherry and plum. I also smelled cinnamon (is that the oak?).
It has a little sweetness (which confuses me bc textbook said it's dry). The back of my mouth felt a little dry, medium tannins. The front of my mouth watered a bit, medium acidity. I blind-guessed alcohol at 12.5 but the label says 13.5. I'm not sure how to judge alcohol level. The body seemed light to medium but again, textbook suggests they're medium to full. I definitely tasted the cherry and plum and the cinnamon seemed deeper, I don't know what. There was also kind of a musty or earthy smell that I don't know how to identify (was it just too old?). It has a bit of a burning sensation going down, no idea what that means either.
I don't know the price as it was a gift, but knowing the gift-giver, I'd say less than $20. I think it's ok and I'm going to have another glass now.
Did I do OK? I promise I won't do this with every bottle–but wanted to share this with someone!!
by reesemulligan
22 Comments
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Do it with every bottle if you want my man! Enjoy!
If you’re testing and tasting to figure out a baseline, please stay away from this wine. It’s a terrible example of what Pinot noir should taste like and in fact, will confuse you when tasting quality Pinot noir.
There may be a lot of snarky and unhelpful responses here that have nothing to do with you or your analysis, simply because Meiomi is (rightfully) one of the most hated producers in this subreddit.
Overall, I think you’re off to a great start, and you absolutely hit the nail on the head with respect to its sweetness. Pinots shouldn’t be sweet, and especially not sickly so like Meiomi’s “attempt” at one. Simply being able to pick that out and recognize that something is off is a great place to be at that stage.
The other tasting notes seem reasonable. That burn is generally the sign of a low-quality producer in my experience. The alcohol should be integrated, and if it stands out on its own, that’s a problem.
Please stay as far away from Meiomi as possible. It’s an absolute trash expression of California pinots and will make identifying both the varietal and location harder going forward.
Great notes.
Unironically, the only way you would’ve angered this sub would be if you had positive tasting notes. Meiomi is a bit of a meme here and universally hated.
Really nice job for your first set of tasting notes. Well done.
I love that you did a tasting note on Meomi Pinot. Yes, we all know it is heavily manipulated, but I say like what you like and taste everything without bias. Don’t let gatekeepers on this sub deter you. Thank you!
These are really good notes on kind of a shit wine. That forced sweetness you taste is one of the reasons it’s not a good wine. It’s made to be easy drinking for the crowd that doesn’t really like wine.
And excellent call that it should cost well under $20. Unfortunately it doesn’t. But nice job picking up on the lower quality.
Try a Pinot from Oregon next. Cloudline is decent and easy to find.
Great notes, written with care and attention, for a wine that hardly deserves it.
I hope you soon get the chance to taste a Pinot Noir that will deserve you as a drinker.
Honestly didn’t know this was still being vintage dated.
Please do this again with more wine you try. I enjoyed the read 🙂 Have fun with WSET1!
Really great honest notes. Love your matter of fact style. No embellishment, this describes what you experienced. Nice!
I think you did great for what the exercise is. That burn is a clue for alcohol. As others have shared many of the characteristics you find are not typical of Pinot noir so not the best baseline. Picking up the sweetness, and your reaction to it, shows your palate has potential. Hope you enjoy the hobby as much as others here do.
This is a solid tasting note for a newbie! Unfortunately, Meiomi isn’t a very good example of Pinot Noir, especially for someone who is just starting out.
You’re bang on with the sweetness. A typical Pinot Noir isn’t supposed to be sweet, but some brands make wines that are meant to sell to a broad audience, rather than being faithful to the usual style of the grape. Meiomi absolutely has some added sugar. You’re also right about the cinnamon being an oak influence. Oak can give notes of baking spices like clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. The musty smell is never good in a wine, it means that it is probably faulty, or just poorly made. The burning sensation isn’t a good sign of quality either, it means the alcohol isn’t balanced properly (too high, in this case).
If you want to try a more typical example of Pinot, look for something from Oregon or Chile. Nothing against California, but Pinot tends to do better in cooler climates (in my opinion).
Keep it up! 🍷
You did really well! I got suckered into buying Meiomi at one point and am currently ignoring the bottle while I try to drink better things.
Post all your tasting notes, that’s literally why we are all here :). Your notes are quite good btw, keep it up!
Great to hear an honest take on a wine that is pretty infamous here. Feels like you are pretty spot on.
I fucking hate this wine 🙂
Wines like Meomi are gonna be a little sweet, even if they should be dry. These wines are produced on an industrial scale for a mass demographic that has a sweet tooth.
Great notes and analysis on a terrible wine. It sucks to apply so much thought to a bottle whose producer applied so little.
I feel like there’s Syrah in itZ
You put more effort into those tasting note than they did in making the wine.
Great job, articulating flavors can be very challenging and you did a great job!
Is this post for real? Or just trolling for laugh’s. I mean, who goes for their WSET but doesn’t really drink? If it’s for real, I applaud your bravery. And good luck with your WSET.
It’s super awesome that even you at your stage knew it wasn’t right. Great notes and happy learning