This was a unique opportunity to compare two vintages of the same wine among the group. Some had tasted the younger vintage and others tasted the older vintage (Ideally, it would have been best to have everyone taste both wines, but lately it’s been tough to get together.)  We created a collective tasting note for both wines:

Appearance: 2019 had a medium intensity, lemon colour with a lemon-green rim, compared to the 2016 which was paler and lacked the lemon-green hue.

Nose: Although each wine seemed equally intense (medium) the 2019 showed notes of green apple, fresh peach, butter, cream, and baguette. The 2016, by comparison, lacked the green apple and had notes of pear, cantaloupe, banana among the backdrop of the butter, cream and baguette. The older vintage had an undertone of oak which was not present in the 2019.

Palate: For mouthfeel, both wines are dry, with a perception of a touch of sweetness owing to the fruit. Each wine had medium acidity, medium-high alcohol, and medium-to-light body. Melon and green apple came through for 2019s flavours along with vanilla and oak, while 2016 was still very tropical, just as it smelled. The length was short-to-medium and pleasant.

Overall, both wines were judged as ‘good’ as they each had a decent variety of flavours and scents, and their textures felt balanced. In regards to value, some were inclined to judge these wines as ‘very good’ because they represent good value with the $18 price point.

The wine was a deep ruby colour with inky legs and had a bit of sediment.

The nose started out with an intense pyrazine aroma which was reminiscent of a pungent green bell pepper (some even perceived this as a cat pee smell), but this seemed to dissipate over the course of the tasting. Other aromas included cherry and oak wood. Some perceived a note of petrol.

The pallate was dry with medium-low acidity, abundant and slightly corse-textured tannin and medium alcohol. The wine was medium-full bodied. Flavours included cherry candy, Strawberry jam and a touch of wood. Medium length.

Overall, the wine was acceptable for quality and slightly faulted owing to the green pepper note. Revisiting this wine the next day showed marked improvement as the bell pepper aromas had fully dissipated and were more reminiscent of a roasted red pepper. There was a blackberry jam and vanilla sugar note combined with a flavour of back fruits and a pleasant black currant finish that was longer lived.

The wine represents good value considering the on-sale price of $12.95.

But one has to be has to be patient and decant the bottle, entirely, for a few hours or pour off a glass and leave the remainder of the bottle to rest and breathe for enjoyment the next day.