The Lafite Laureate is a wine tasting competitors for people within the Netherlands. It’s organized by the Verenigde Vinologen Nederland (Dutch Affiliation of Vinologists). “Vinologist” is a Dutch title for somebody who has handed the Dutch wine information SDEN examination at degree 4 (roughly much like the worldwide WSET). It was once a contest for vinologists solely, however as of this 12 months anybody can take part. The principle sponsor is Lafite, and the grand prize for the winner is a go to to Château Lafite Rothschild in Bordeaux, France, with a lunch and tasting on the chateau with the winemaker. To get to the semi-finals, it’s a must to be among the many finest 20% of the preliminary rounds. The most effective 10 within the semi-finals go to the finals. The finals for this 12 months have been in Oldenzaal on the premises of the opposite sponsor: De Monnik Dranken. The competitors has been organized yearly since 1997. I’ve been collaborating since 2018, principally to study and prepare my wine tasting expertise. On the finish of every spherical, the tasting notes and the way you may have give you the right reply are mentioned intimately, which is a superb studying expertise. I’ve an obstacle in comparison with contestants that work within the wine commerce, as a result of they get way more apply in tasting completely different wines. I principally drink wine at dwelling and in eating places, with a bias in direction of the varieties of wine that I like. Regardless of that, it was on my bucket record to win this contest a minimum of as soon as. I already managed to get to the finals twice earlier than, and even got here in third in 2020. (It additionally occurred that I used to be overseas throughout the semi-finals and needed to drop out. This 12 months there was one contestant, Bernard Witzel, who was snowboarding in Austria, and flew again to the Netherlands only for the day to take part within the finals. It’s a good factor that he did, as a result of he got here in third.) I’m proud to inform you that this 12 months I’ve gained the Lafite Laureate and may name myself Vinologist of the Yr 2025!
Blind tasting is about recognizing a wine simply from tasting it. There isn’t any blindfold concerned, as a result of the looks of the wine can also be essential. The “blind” half is that you don’t get to see the bottles. To be good at this competitors, you want tasting expertise, information, and analytical expertise. The tasting expertise embrace assessing the colour of the wine, smelling and recognizing the aromas, assessing the acidity, alcohol degree, and sweetness of the wine, in addition to the feel of the wine and the tannins. The information contains the traits of all the principle grape varieties and wine manufacturing areas on the planet, in addition to wine making strategies. Due to completely different winemakers and vintages, not all wines of the identical grape selection and wine manufacturing space are alike. And lots of winemakers attempt to make wines that the general public likes, so the identical traits happen all around the world. So even when your tasting notes, information, and analytics are fairly good, you possibly can nonetheless find yourself on the improper reply. All of this makes wine tasting a humbling expertise.
The choice of the wines and the drafting of the questions for this 12 months’s finals of the Lafite Laureate was performed by two Masters of Wine: Cees van Casteren (on the far left within the picture above) and Job de Swart (on the far proper). Cees has been doing this for years, and he has gained the competitors himself twice in 2001 and 2004, earlier than changing into MW in 2012). I’ve discovered so much from him by collaborating on this competitors. The wines have been supplied by sponsor De Monnik Dranken. (In concept it could be potential to coach for the finals by shopping for and tasting all of their wines, however with a whole lot of wines of their portfolio, that’s not actually possible.)
These have been the 12 wines that we needed to style and assess. A type was supplied for our tasting notes. (It’s a good tactic to style the wines first with out trying on the questions, as realizing the query can ship you down a tunnel that makes you understand the wine otherwise.) There have been 25 questions we needed to reply in regards to the 12 wines, divided into 5 flights.
The primary flight was three glowing wines. We needed to decide by what methodology they have been made, and from what nations. The one clue supplied was that two wines have been from the identical nation. A very powerful strategies for making glowing wines are the charmat or martinotti methodology (second fermentation in a tank) and the standard methodology (second fermentation within the bottle). Essentially the most well-known charmat methodology wine is Prosecco and probably the most well-known conventional methodology wine is in fact Champagne. The standard methodology might be acknowledged by what is known as autolyse aromas, that are developed by yeast cells that disintegrate because the wine rests after the second fermentation within the bottle. This autolyse aromas odor like brioche or toast. The primary wine had solely a really faint whiff of toasty aromas, and from the acidity and primary high quality I assumed it might be Crémant de Bourgogne and thus conventional methodology from France (which turned out to be right). The second wine had aromas of pear and yeast, and a distinct mousse. Due to the yeast I puzzled for a second whether or not this might be a wine the place the yeast of the second fermentation is left within the bottle (pétillant naturel or méthode ancestrale). However because the wine was utterly clear fairly than cloudy, I concluded it needs to be a (good high quality) Prosecco, and thus Italy and martinotti methodology (which additionally turned out to be right). For the third wine, I had little question that it was a conventional methodology due to the sturdy aromas of toast (which turned out to be right). It was a top quality with a really persistent mousse, however there are prime quality conventional methodology wines from France, Italy, and Spain. Due to the elevated acidity, I made a decision it needs to be Champagne and thus France (which turned out to be right).
The second flight was three white wines from France. We needed to decide the grape varieties and manufacturing areas (realizing they have been all French). The primary wine had a impartial aroma with buttery notes (pointing to malolactic fermentation), some oak, and medium acidity. The principle ‘impartial’ grapes utilized in France are Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Blanc, and Pinot Gris. As a result of malo and oak are commonest in Burgundy, I made a decision it needs to be Chardonnay from Burgundy (which turned out to be right). In actual fact, it turned out to be Chablis. Chablis is understood for its excessive acidity, however this was a Grand Cru (from the most effective vineyards with southern exposition) and from the nice and cozy classic 2022, so the acidity was solely medium. I’m glad that we solely needed to decide the area and never the appellation. The second wine had an aroma of bruised apple and better acidity than the earlier wine. I instantly acknowledged Chenin Blanc, which is dangerous as a result of it may well trigger tunnel imaginative and prescient, however it turned out to be right. Loire is the principle manufacturing area for Chenin Blanc, so I put that for the area (and turned out to be right). The third wine was the simplest of all twelve wines, and I consider everybody had this one right. Golden coloration, very fragrant with lychees and roses, that might solely be Gewurztraminer from Alsace (which it was). To make it much more clear, the wine had important residual sugar (which might have made it straightforward to tell apart from Gewurztraminer from Alto Adige in Italy, however we already knew it was France).
The third flight was two wines from the identical producer in the identical nation, one white and one pink. We needed to decide the nation and grape varieties, the place it was specified that the pink was a mix of two. The white one was fragrant and a bit inexperienced in each aromas and coloration, with medium plus acidity and comparatively low alcohol. I instantly thought it was a Sauvignon Blanc, which as I mentioned is harmful as a result of it’s onerous to get out of such a tunnel as soon as you’re in it. The pink one had very ripe jammy fruit aromas and aromas of eucalyptus. Only one sniff and I used to be in Australia (which turned out to be right). (Reds from Chile may have a eucalyptus aroma, however the fruit is extra perfumed.) The white might be a Sauvignon Blanc from Australia, in order that match with the image and I didn’t think about different grape varieties as I used to be positive it wasn’t a Riesling or Chardonnay (the most typical whites in Australia). Nevertheless, that was improper, as a result of it was a Viognier from Australia. I’m very aware of Viognier from its most well-known manufacturing zone: Condrieu within the Rhone Valley, France. I’ve tasted Australian Viognier solely a few instances earlier than, and to me it doesn’t have the standard apricot aromas. For the reds I assumed I acknowledged Shiraz and Grenache. I did marvel about this, as the standard mix in Australia is Grenache with Shiraz and Mataro (Mourvèdre). The Shiraz was right, however the second grape was a Cabernet Sauvignon. In Australia the mix of Shiraz and Cabernet is kind of frequent, however I didn’t discover any aromas that I affiliate with Cabernet.
The fourth flight was two reds from the identical producer, identical grape selection, and the identical manufacturing space. We needed to decide the grape selection and nation, in addition to which of the 2 wines was the upper high quality. The primary wine had a comparatively mild coloration, earthy advanced aromas, excessive acidity, and really excessive grainy tannins that have been very astringent. The second wine was additionally a comparatively mild coloration however extra purple, decrease acidity and tannins, however nonetheless aggressive tannins, and candy-like fruity aromas. It was clear that the primary wine was the upper high quality, because the second was made for simple ingesting (which turned out to be right). The grape selection was harder. There are just a few grape varieties with the mix of sunshine coloration and (very) excessive tannin, as each coloration and tannin come from the pores and skin of the grapes. Often a darkish coloration coincides with excessive tannin (Cabernet, Syrah, Tannat, Aglianico, Sagrantino, and so forth.) The exceptions with mild coloration and excessive tannin are principally in Italy: Nebbiolo, Nerello Mascalese, and typically Sangiovese. It’s the latter that didn’t happen to me throughout the finals, as Brunello is the most typical Sangiovese that has such excessive and grainy tannin, however I had not tasted Brunello in a very long time and Sangiovese wasn’t actually on my radar as a grape selection with mild coloration and excessive tannin. And so I wrote down Nebbiolo, though particularly the second wine had aromas that aren’t normal for Nebbiolo and so I used to be not assured about my reply. It was in reality Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino, and so I didn’t rating very properly on this query. As I already talked about, this isn’t only a contest but additionally a studying expertise. I did really feel a bit silly because it was revealed this was Sangiovese, as Italian wines normally give me a bonus (as a lover of Italian wines).
The ultimate flight was two Coteaux du Layon from the identical producer, however completely different classic, with related sugar and alcohol ranges. Coteaux du Layon is a candy wine from the Loire Valley in France, of late harvest Chenin Blanc. We needed to decide which of the 2 wines was the oldest, and the sugar degree, alcohol degree, and classic of the primary wine (selecting between 1995, 2005, and 2015). I gauged the alcohol degree shut sufficient (it was 13.5% and I had put 12.8%, so throughout the 10% margin), however the sugar too excessive (it was 90 grams/liter and I had put 113 grams). What was difficult about these wines, was that the primary wine had a lighter coloration than the second wine, whereas the primary wine had extra developed aromas and tasted much less candy than the second wine (though it was acknowledged that the sugar degree was related). The fruit aromas of the second wine have been extra fruity and fewer developed. White wines darken with age, so from the colour the oldest wine needs to be the second. However candy wines style much less candy as they age, and the aroma turns from fruity to developed. So for the style and aroma, the oldest wine needs to be the primary. (Cees and Job talked about that this problem was not on goal; the colour had been a shock for them as properly.) I made a decision that the aroma and style are extra essential than the colour, and put the primary wine because the oldest. I put the classic as 2005 because it was developed, however not as developed as I might count on from a 1995. Each turned out to be right. The second wine was from 2011.
I didn’t have an ideal rating (and I don’t suppose it’s affordable to place reaching an ideal rating within the finals of this competitors as the following merchandise on my bucket record), however I did have the best rating of all of the finalists with 20 out of 25 factors. And so I will probably be going to Château Lafite with my husband, and I’ll positively write a weblog about that. (I heard final 12 months’s winner solely went to Lafite not too long ago, so it might take some time.) Due to the VVN, Cees, Job, Andrea, Linda, and naturally the sponsors for organizing this nice occasion.
If you wish to study extra about wine tasting, I can strongly suggest the e-book “Anybody can style wine” by Cees van Casteren (obtainable in English and Dutch).
