There are over 10,000 grape varieties being made into wine around the world right now; some of them 1000's of years old, and some quite new. I have always been interested in finding new varieties and wanted a way to track them. That's when I stumbled across
The Wine Century Club. A free "club" you can join if you have tasted over 100 different varieties. You download the PDF, fill it out, email it in, and in 1-2 months you get a certificate :) I am currently at 160 varieties tasted and was able to tick off a few new ones after this tasting.
To introduce people to the Century Club I based my tasting on introducing new grapes with a fun flight of 10 wines from 6 different countries.
1. JIDVEI SEC - FETEASCA ALBA - Romania - 2015 - $12.49 - BCL
This was a nice refreshing palate cleansing Romanian wine from their popular Feteasca Alba grape. There was some citrus, lime leafs, and fresh cut hay. Dry with crisp fresh acidity, a great palate cleanser and sunny patio sipper.
2. BOUTARI - MOSCHOFILERO - Greece - 2016 - $16.99 - BCL
Greece hides some amazing and unique wines and Moschofilero is one of the two main white grapes. (The other being Assyrtiko) It makes wines high in acid and perfumed like a Gwertz in varying degrees of sweetness. This one is dry with typical notes of grapefruit, lime and some nice orange blossom notes on the nose and palate.
3. UMANI RONCHI - CASAL DI SERRA - VERDICCHIO CLASSICO SUPERIORE- Italy - 2015 - $17.99 - BCL
There are over 1000 different varieties currently used for wine production in Italy and would take a couple lifetimes to learn them all. Verdicchio is the dominate grape variety in the central Italy region of Marche. This one had notes of green apple, unripe melon, tangerine and sliced almonds with a hint of minerality. Dry, med body with good concentration and balance. A good change up from the old Pinot Grigio.
4. UTIEL REQUENA - PASION DE BOBAL - Spain - 2016 - $16.99 - BCL
As a transition into the reds this Rose made from the local Valencia grape Bobal, was a great cross-over and versatile wine. Bobal has traditionally been used for bulk red wines but is now making some nice juicy roses. This one had notes of strawberries with cream, cherries, and a bit of floral on the nose. Dry, med body, well balanced with good fresh acidity.
5. BOUTARI - NAOUSSA - Greece - 2014 - $16.99 - BCL
This Greek wine hails from the region of Naoussa and the wines are made exclusively from Xinomavro. It is similar to Nebbiolo and some Pinot Noirs. This one had red fruits, plum, sun-dried tomato and some dried roses. It was dry, light to medium body with soft but present tannin's and decent length. Definitely worth exploring.
6. DEL ABAD GOTIM DEL RISC - BIERZO MENCIA - 2012 - $17.99 - BCL
Mencia is a grape found mostly in northwestern Spain. It used to only make light bulk wines, but recently has been having a comeback with more concentrated versions. These are usually fruity approachable wines. This one doesn't disappoint with bumble berry pie, balsamic, some spiciness, and oak notes. Dry, full bodied with high acidity and a textured chewy tannin mouth-feel.
7. LAZIO CESANESE - CASALE DEL GIGLIO - Italy - 2014 - $23.99 - BCL
Cesanese is a native Italian grape from the Lazio region south of Rome. It has been grown there for over 2000 years, but only recently making a comeback. This was my first time trying this grape and it was a nice surprise. It had notes of ripe blackberry, prune, white & black pepper, with rich bold flavours, high acidity and decent finish. Could age a few more years.
8. EDOARDO MIROGLIO - MAVRUD - Bulgaria - 2012 - $21.49 - BCL
Mavrud is a grape from Bulgaria, very much made in an old world classic style. Oaked aged rich wine. Can age for years and is typically low yielding. This one was a little smokey from the oak, had a little cigar ash, some bramble-berry, and a hint of dirty wild earthy strawberries. Full body, good acidity, nice complex backbone and interesting decent finish.
9. HESKETH SMALL PARCELS - Bonvedro - Australia - 2015 - $34.99 - Everything Wine
Hesketh Small Parcel wines from Australia are going away from the norm and finding a few varieties that are showing quite well from Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Bonvedro was another first for me and has many names including False Carignan. This one was well balanced with notes of cherry, strawberry, some herbal , black pepper and some campfire smokiness from the oak. Grippy tannins and high acidity with nice long finish.
10. HESKETH SMALL PARCELS - Touriga - Australia - 2014 - $34.99 - Everything Wine
This small parcel wine is made from Touriga Nacional which is one of the main grapes used in the production of Port. It also makes great full bodied table wines, but is hard to find as a single variety. This was the favourite of the night with 9 of 11 making it their top pick. This one had rich smokey black currant, mulberry, leather, and some stewed tomato. It was really well balanced and just floats down your throat. There's a hint of residual sugar to balance out the juicy tannin and high acidity. A wonderful surprise from the Barrosa Valley in Australia.
SPECIAL TREAT
ROYAL TOKAJI - TOKAJI ASZU 5 PUTTONYOS - 2009 - $23.99 BCL (250ml)
As a special treat and to toast my wife leaving for China I bought a sweet Hungarian Tokaji. Tokaji is one of the world's great sweet wines and the best are expensive and highly sought after. Puttonyos refer to how much sugar was added. It ranges from 3-6 Puttonyo; this 5 Puttonyo wine means it would have 120g/L of sugar. This wine was made from Furmint, Hárslevelű and Muscat de Lunel, with Furmint being the grape that usually dominates Tokaji blends.
This one had notes of honeyed apricot and orange marmalade with super high acidity that really helps cut through the sugar to help balance the wine out.
