Blind Chardonnay Tasting

Gary Vaynerchuk blind tastes 3 different Chardonnays from all around the world.

Blind Chardonnay Tasting Hello everybody and welcome to Wine Library TV I am your host Gary Vaynerchuk, and this my friends is the Thunder Show a.k.a. the internet’s most passionate wine program and tonight Mott link it up, wine and web on serious 10A XM139 10pm eastern, 7 pacific, check me out the first hour is all about wine. We are going to talk a lot of Vino. We’re going to talk autumn wines tonight. I highly recommend you tuned in, if you have not listened to my serious radio show, you are missing out. Alright now to that and now more brown bags, brown bags continue to cause Hoopla and hype, Mott, they like the brown bags. I kind of like a big upset on Tuesday on the Pinot Noirs from New Zealand, I thought that was kind of—excuse the Washington Estate back on Monday the big upset then Washington State on Tuesday which was awesome, and now we tie in and we go in with the Chardonnay’s not from California. So I ask Okay Merf, bag them up, Chardon me up, not from Cali, so let’s see what is going on here Mott, You’ve lost my pen and now I found it. Alright, It’s good to say a little of bit oak, zoom in, sorry Mott thank you -- wine number one, a little sniffy sniff. Quite oaky on the top and smoky so it is oaky and smoky. It sounds like a good name for like a classic kid cartoon. It’s oaky and smoky show. So it is a little hint of butter—it’s—I would actually think it would be California, so I know it better, I know these are not American wines. So this is a new world kind of Chardonnay on the nose for me. Let us give it a whirl. Golden Granny Smith apples on the initial kind of flavor profile good fruit. Kind of chard-smoky wood on the back pallet. A good length, a little bit of pear, nice acidity, solid wine, let us give it one more shot. Medium body—you know solid chardonnay a little thin, kind of this in how the excitement as you can see, do you almost notice my energy level Mott? It’s kind of like tank here a little bit or am I still a little hyper? Okay, because I don’t know that wine kind of, that wine kind of disappointed me a little bit. I don’t know I just kind of it lost me there for a second. Anyway wine number two in brown paper bag. Let us see what is going on here. A little bit more color let us go sniffy sniff. I like this nose, a little more tangerine and passion fruit coming through, very tropical nose which is intriguing and delicious. A little kind of creamy like whipped up cream delight. You know very dessert like on the nose. Marzipan kind of candy thing, really pretty. Let’s give it a whirl. Different kind of style. This is interesting. How do I say this, I like and I think it is cheap. I have a weird thing with this I almost feel like it’s from a strange little place. I like it and it feels like it comes from a place that doesn’t make very good chardonnay. It feels like Hungarian, you know I could see this from Hungary, I can see this from somewhere none traditional. It would be the best way I can kind of put that. I will be surprise that this was a French chardonnay, I will be surprise that this wasn’t Italian. I feel like this is for my warm climate kind of awkward place. I don’t know. It’s a bathling little chardonnay for me. I almost feel like I like more than I should. That’s my little two set prediction alright. And finally wine number three, and by the way I am not -- I'm kind of playing in my -- I am playing with my self here which is totally appropriate, what I should be doing is explaining a little bit more. The reason I like that is it has some awkward different flavors, there is some greenness in the wine, it felt thinner which I kind like, because I like lighter style whites in general. It taste a little cheap because it has this kind of like candy caramel thing on the backend, it is charming it is kind of like cheesy charming, you can taste super well made but the flavors were decent to me. And you know that is kind of just where I go with that so wine number three. A very tropical nose as well. This is more you know kind of like oranges blasting out, orange blossom very floral kind of fakey-fake but not too bad. A little apple on the nose as well, perfumey, let us give it a whirl. It is a light. It’s a light wine, it has good acidity, it is serviceable but it taste like an average $10 kind of wine not really feeling it, okay. And that‘s that. Not the best show of all time. All the three wines are probably wines that I would not buy again you know, and that’s that, so I’m not excited, in the last place chardonnay number three, I scored 81 points and figured it was $11 new world, New world maybe Australian, Argentina. Catena Chardonnay from Zapato, I am blown away Decanter of man of they year. I got it okay, 2008 Catena Chardonnay, 91points Jay Miller 13 bones. I did not feel it. I went 81 points and $11 so at least I was in the general price range place. In second place at 85 points -- oh nice shot Mott, good work you are ready 85 points 17 bones Saint Veran, 2008 chardonnay from Jean Jacques Litaud, this is $17. Mott not bad work as you could see I originally wrote 86 but I lowered the point good work huh. Drilled that one, feeling pretty good. Show that one more time, one more time, Show that really tremendous prediction 17, 17 that is good work I'm proud of myself. Thank you. I appreciate it. 17 is a weird number for you right. And finally the wine that one with 87 points and I am predicting $9, so the least expensive wine to my opinion and from an awkward place was my prediction. Is a chardonnay from Long Island so it is a little bit of awkward place, Peconic Bay Chardonnay North oak long island chardonnay ‘07 $16 86 points wine spectator so we’re on the same rating as me. I thought this was a little bit of less expensive wine because it gave me an awkward play and it came from a little bit of different place and I could tell and long island was. So Long Island beating France and Argentina in the blind chardonnay tasting. It is kind of like being the prettiest girl in the ugly school, but it is still a huge victory for New York, Long Island coming through and islanders have not won for a long -- Mott you remember the Islander’s -- was that a big deal here? They were dominant those early 80’s and where you Islanders fan? But people are getting excited in New York area because the island is -- it was more out there. Jersey wasn’t all caught up in it, I got it. Interesting show Catena massively disappointing for me. I do want to say on the record. I am normally a big, big fan of the wines of Catena but this is why the brown papers bags are really interesting you know it levels the playing field and I just did not feel this vintage you know brought it the ’08. I am really proud that I nail the exact price one here and Long Island with a huge, huge victory -- let’s play word association Long Island. You, that was the question about of the day by the way—Long Island give me your response. You lurkers, you with a little bit of me we are changing the wine world.