THE BERLIN TASTING - LOS ANGELES
Held
Wednesday, May 12, 2010,
the Los Angeles version of "The Berlin Tasting" is a recreation of a tasting originally held in Berlin, Germany, on January 24, 2004. At the time, Steven Spurrier and Eduardo Chadwick of Viña Errazuriz led a blind tasting with 40 of the top European wine journalists and professionals, in an effort to match Chilean wines against some of the world's finest wines. Modeled after the famous "Judgement of Paris" tasting led by Spurrier in 1976, the Berlin tasting included 16 wines, including Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Latour, Tignanello, and Sassicaia. Tasted blind, the highest scoring wine was Errazuriz' 2000 Viñedo Chadwick. Additional Errazuriz wines in the tasting were also impressive, finishing 2nd, 4th (tie), 6th (tie), and 9th. The overall surprising results became memorialized in the Chilean wine industry as "The Berlin Tasting."
In an effort to taste-test other media from around the world, Spurrier and Chadwick have taken their comparison blind tasting on the road to North American and Asia. While the wines in each of the subsequent tastings have varied, the focus has always remained the same - comparing Chilean wines against both Old and New World icons. Additional tasting thus far have included: London (finishing 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 10th and 11th); Tokyo (2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 10th; Canada (3rd, 5th (tie), 7th, and 8th); Canada (3rd, 5th (tie), 7th, and 8th); New York (1st, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 9th (tie); and now Los Angeles.
The following ten wines were served and tasted single blind, meaning participants knew which wines were in the tasting, but did not know which wines were in each glass.
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RESULTS
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Group Ranking:
2006 Stag's Leap S.L.V.
2006 Château Haut Brion
2006 Opus One
2006 Château Lafite Rothschild
2006 Kai
2006 Viñedo Chadwick
2006 Sassicaia
2006 La Cumbre
2006 Seña
2006 Don Maximiano |
My Ranking:
2006 Seña
2006 Opus One
2006 Stag's Leap S.L.V.
2006 Château Haut Brion
2006 Kai
2006 Château Lafite Rothschild
2006 Sassicaia
2006 La Cumbre
2006 Don Maximiano
2006 Viñedo Chadwick
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2006 Château Lafite Rothschild : Medium ruby garnet in color. Slightly sweet and smoky in the nose, with notes of cassis, dusty spices and a hint of tobacco leaf. Dusty tannins on the palate, with very good core of fruit - yet obviously young and a bit backward at present. Off-sweet mouthfeel, excellent balance and lengthy finish.
Comments: Ranked #6. Thought to be definitely a Bordeaux.
2006 Sassicaia : (100% Cabernet Sauvignon.) Dark ruby garnet color. Somewhat closed in the nose, with faint aromas of dark fruit, some barnyard scents as well as some green notes and rhubard. Huge core of fruit on the palate, with very drying tannins, good balance and structure, and a very long finish.
Comments: Ranked #7. Thought to be Italian.
2006 Don Maximiano Founders Reserve : Dark ruby garnet in color. A bit musty and funky in the nose, with dark fruit and hints of burnt tar and asphalt. Nice mouthfeel initially, but develops some bitterness at mid-palate. Good balance and nice gripping tannins on back end. Juicy acids throughout and through the long finish.
Comments: Ranked #9. Thought to be either Italian or Chilean.
2006 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V.: Dark ruby garnet in color. Sweet nose of dark cherry fruit, with touches of vanilla, burnished wood, and cocoa. Excellent lightly sweet fruit on the palate, excellent balance, very juicy mouthfeel - almost black forest cake-like - yet, quite delicious.
Comments: Ranked #3. Thought to be definitely New World, and guessed it to be the Opus.
2006 Errazuriz La Cumbre Shiraz : (97% Shiraz, 3% Petit Verdot.) Very dark purple ruby color. Forward aromas of menthol and eucalyptus, along with vanilla and a decidedly green note. Less green in mouthfeel, nice and tasty with a light bitterness noted on the long finish. Menthol notes did seem to dissipate with time.
Comments: Ranked #8. Thought to be either Italian or Chilean.
2006 Opus One : Dark ruby garnet color. Slightly reticent/closed in the nose, with background notes of dark fruit, toasted herb and some parmesan-related aromas. Lovely complex mouthfeel, with flavors of dark fruit and meat drippings, moderate fine-grained tannins, great balance and long finish with fascinating aftertaste.
Comments: Ranked #2. Thought to be Italian.
2006 Château Haut Brion : Medium dark ruby garnet color. Somewhat closed in the nose, with background aromas of earthy dark fruit, tabacco leaf, and chalk. Moderately full tannins in mouthfeel, off-sweet dark fruit, very nice balance and long finish.
Comments: Ranked #4. Thought to be Old World - either French or Italian.
2006 Viñedo Chadwick : (100% Cabernet Sauvignon.) Medium dark ruby garnet color. Some medicinal/green aromas initially, along with earthy fruit and toasted herbs. No medicinal/green notes on the palate, but some bitter and very drying tannins lend a bit of rusticity to the mouthfeel. Very good balance, with some oaky background flavors that lead to a juicy, if tart finish.
Comments: Ranked #10. Thought to be Chilean.
2006 Seña : (55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 13% Petit Verdot, 10% Carmenère, 6% Cabernet Franc.) Brilliant dark ruby garnet color. Fabulous nose of dark fruit, sweet hardwood shavings, and a touch of toast. Very structured with surprisingly integrated flavors of red and black fruit, dried herbs, and toast. Excellent balance, with juicy acids throughout and very long tasty finish.
Comments: Ranked #8. Thought to be Bordeaux.
2006 Errazuriz Kai : (87% Carmenère, 9% Petit Verdot, 4% Shiraz.) Dark ruby garnet color. Slightly sweet nose of red fruit, tapioca, vanilla, black cherry and toast. Off-sweet yet ripe fruit in the mouthfeel, elegant texture with soft tannins, excellent acids and a hint of bitterness toward the finish. Picked up a touch of heat on the otherwise very long finish.
Comments: Ranked #8. Thought to be Bordeaux.
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(l to r) Francisco Baettig, Steven Spurrier, Eduardo Chadwick, Michael Quinttus |
Final thoughts: Blind tastings can be, forgive the pun, sobering. With all of the outward signs of producer and region obscured, real evaluation can begin and one is able to concentrate fully on what is in the bottle. Of course, this is exactly what a taster should do anyway. However, labels do have the ability to give the taster pre-conceived notions about a wine, and I do think tasting blind is a more reliable method of determining tasters preferences.
Easily the most interesting thing about this tasting was the inclusion of a Shiraz (Syrah) in the lineup. To the best of my knowledge nobody picked it out as the outlier, a non-Bordeaux variety-based wine. The depth and color alone should have been a giveaway, but no one seemed to consider this. I'm not sure whether this says more about our group, or more about the lack of perceived typicity in the wine itself. Either way, the wine was surprising.
Another interesting wine was the Errazuriz Kai, a Carmenère-based wine. The grape itself has something of a checkered past, originating in the Bordeaux region of France then subsequently brought to Chile. Philloxera all but killed the variety in France, but it has endured in Chile, where it has become the de facto national grape. Usually referred to in less than kind terms by wine tasters (due to a persistent greeness), this rendition did quite well in our tasting and was the favorite at the New York tasting. Another interesting note: I believe I heard both Spurrier and winemaker Baettig both say they had the Haut Brion "dead last" in the tasting! Different bottle, perhaps?
The final tabulation for the Los Angeles version of "The Berlin Tasting" had Errazuriz wines finishing 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th and 10th. Not as illustrious a finish as in Berlin or even New York for that matter, but a tribute nonetheless to the huge advances in winemaking by this producer, if not all of Chile. Kudos! |
