Competitions

A week and a half ago, the Wijnsocieteit in Tilburg held its yearly "vinologen"tasting. In this copy of the official exam that Dutch wannabe connaisseurs have to take, you are asked to try and identify 12 wines (multiple choice, three possible answers, "only" 7 good answers needed).
Today: tasting 16 red wines to select the "best restaurant wine" in Breda.

Both challenging competitions. The first because after eliminating the ever-present obvious incorrect answer, the coice between the two left-over options proved hard. Two woody whites were shoe-ins: the L de la Louvière Pessac Leognan and the Hamilton Russel Chardonnay. The most beautiful wine of the evening I thought to be a Bandol because of its tannins, but I should have followed all the other clues this rich, chocolaty wine offered: JCP Maltus Barossa Shiraz.

In the end, only 4 correct answers! So I could just as easily have guessed all wines. As one fellow-taster put it: a very humbling experience.

This morning 16 reds. Luckily, afterwards: coffee and worstenbroodjes (sausage rolls). First flight of 4 had young, hard wines. One very fragrant in a positive way, another rather off-putting. The following 4 were the best, with number 4 the best of the best. Some other tasters concurred.

A lot of New World wines, we reckoned, as the wines got sweeter and sweeter. Or were we just getting used to the tannins? We'll find out soon enough - I am currently waiting for the unveiling by e-mail.