Ever wonder if the rare, limited quantity wines sold directly to the winery’s own wine club members are any better than the moderately priced wines that you can buy in the grocery store?   Last night, my friend Steve Volkhardt, who subscribes to many prestigious wine clubs put on a tasting to answer that question.   We tasted four pair of wines along with another pair as a warm up during the reception.

This group of tasters always tastes double blind.   We not only do not know the order of the wines, we know nothing about them other than what we can see with our eyes.  That is, we only know the color; nothing else.  Most wine judgings and competitons as well as most wine magazines do divulge the region, varietal, age and price and only the producer or brand is a mystery.   Rude Tasters never divulges any of this.  The only known fact going in is what can be seen; color and whether the wine is still or sparkling.  It is very humbling to taste double blind, even for those who consider themselves “experts”.   Even after smelling and tasting, I could not positively identify the Sauvignon Blancs, the Syrahs or the St. Francis Chardonnay.   Tasting double blind is a mysterious endeavor!

Clearly, the group results indicate that this group preferred the more expensive limited production offerings.  The fourteen attendees picked five out of five.  On the other hand, the only limited bottling that I preferred to the mass production variety was the 2009 Siduri Hirsch Vineyard Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($54) which I did prefer to the 2014 Cline Sonoma Coast Point Noir ($17).

Below are the results.  They are listed in the order that they were tasted with the price, my notes and my score followed by the group score and group rank.

WARM UP WINES SERVED DURING RECEPTION

2015 Rodney Strong Charlotte’s Home Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc $15   Fine cool climate wine style, fresh pear and crisp citrus nuance; I would have guessed Pacific NW or Michigan and preferred it to the other warm up wine.

2013 Merry Edwards Russian River Valley Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc $32  The nose was quite fresh, crisp and lemon-like though the palate offered up a huge buttery oaky finish.  The group preferred this one.

FIRST FLIGHT

2014 St. Francis Sonoma County Chardonnay $15  Exotic wormwood, nutmeg, honey mead, fresher than fresh with citrus yellow fruit with a lush finish; very pretty wine with an exotic spicy tang reminding me of dry vermouth. My score 93 points / group score 86 points / 8th place

2012 Benovia Russian River Valley La Pommeraie Vineyard Sonoma Chardonnay $48  Vanilla cookie dough, soft mouth feel, lots of butter, long and fine with a fresh crisp finish. My score 86 points / group score 96 points / 1st place tie

SECOND FLIGHT

2012 Woodenhead Russian River Valley Dolensik Vineyard Syrah $40Fruit leather and red licorice, brown sugar, lake water scent,  fat exotic fruit and fat finish with a huge bitter oak finish.   My score 88 points / group score 96 points / 1st place tie

2014 Charles Smith Boom Boom Columbia Valley Syrah $18Fine elegant balance and mouth feel makes you think of a fine Meritage style wine with a crisp slightly edgy finish; perfection!  My score 94 / group score 95 / 3rd place

THIRD FLIGHT

2013 Artezin (Hess) Mendocino Old Vine Zinfandel $18Complex fine aromatic berry somewhat like Campari bitters which is both jammy and textured with a fresh edge simultaneously.  My score 90 points / group score 89 points / 7th place

2011 Ravenswood Sonoma County Estate Zinfandel $35Bacon, eucalyptus, exotic perfume and Mediterranean spices;  long soft finish.  My score 89 points / group score 91 points / 4th place tie

FOURTHFLIGHT

2009 Siduri Sonoma Coast Hirsch Vineyard Pinot Noir $54Classic Pinot bouquet of black truffles, road tar, compost, dead leaves, green twigs and pine needles with an underpinning of cherry brandy and coffee.  My top pick with 98 points / group score 91 points / 4th place tie

2014 Cline Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir $17Juicy pure Pinot fruit with some of the bigness one might associate with Syrah; chocolate and marmalade with complex spice laden finish.  My score 88 points / group score 90 points / 6th place

So, if you enjoyed reading about this tasting, you should do something like this yourself with friends.   Pit those who feel that the only way to find a great wine is to buy it from their favorite winery’s club against those who are convinced Sam’s Club, Costco or their local grocery store is the best place to find the great wines at a fraction of the price of the wine clubs.  The most important thing to remember is that it must be double blind.   If anyone knows what is being tasted, all bets are off if you are looking for honest opinions.   Even the host can be single blind.   In this instance Steve put the bottles in bags and his wife Sue numbered them so that although he did know what was being tasted, he did not know the precise order.

Enjoy in Good Health,
Brian Cain, the Michigan Vintner