MOCK EXAM MACON UNIT 5 24/03/2018 - NOTES by MATTHEW STUBBS MW

TASTING

WINE 1

Appearance : The wine is clear, pale gold with a very fine, persistent mousse

Nose : The nose is clean with medium + intensity and aromas of white flowers (acacia, almond
blossom), green fruit (green apple), citrus (lemon and lime), stone fruit (peach), yeast (brioche,
toast) mlf (creamy) and marzipan.

Palate : The wine is dry with high acidity, medium alcohol, full body, medium + to pronounced
flavour intensity with characteristics of lemon, green apple, elderflower, an intense brioche and lees
character, creaminess from the malolactic, touch of hazelnut with a very fine and persistent
mousse and a long finish.

Conclusion : A very good quality wine as seen by the lovely balance between fresh citrus fruit,
high acidity and creamy texture, complexity from the high toast and extended lees contact, a very
fine and delicate mousse and a long, elegant finish.
A wine that has all the complexity of high toast and lees characters and fine delicate bubbles of an
example made by the Traditional Method.
Drink now has potential for ageing as seen by the concentrated fruit, fine bubbles and high acidity.

WINE 2

Appearance : The wine is clear, pale gold with a vibrant mousse.

Nose : The nose is clean with pronounced intensity of mango, pineapple, peach, honeysuckle,
lemon, baked apple with quite obvious biscuit, creamy and hazelnut characters.

Palate : The wine is dry, with high acidity, medium alcohol, medium + body, medium + to
pronounced flavour intensity with notes of mango, white peach, lemon, honeysuckle, toast,
brioche, butter, cream, hazelnut with quite a creamy and persistent mousse and a medium + finish.

Conclusion : A very good wine due to the fine integration of tropical fruit and high acidity, the
complexity from the fairly extensive lees ageing, rounded buttery texture from malolactic, the
creamy and persistent mousse and the medium + finish.
A wine that shows the complexity from brioche notes and primary, secondary and tertiary
characters of a wine made in the Traditional Method.
Drink now has potential for ageing due to the high acidity quite complex and varied fruit flavours
and the fairly long, creamy finish.

WINE 3

Appearance : The wine is a medium salmon colour with small bubbles and a quite persistent
mousse.

Nose : The nose is clean with medium intensity notes of roses and violets, strawberry, raspberry
and cherry. It has a touch of lemon and green apple is earthy, with a hint of brioche and biscuit and
some slight dried cranberry and toast aromas.
Palate : The wine is dry with medium + to high acidity, medium alcohol, medium body, medium
flavour intensity with characters of violets, cherry, strawberry, earth, a touch of biscuit and brioche
and some dried cranberry. The mousse is quite delicate and persistent and the finish is medium.

Conclusion : A good quality wine as demonstrated by the balance between red fruits and citrus
characters, some complexity from the slight brioche, toast and dried cranberry notes, a delicate
and quite fine mousse and a medium finish.
A wine that has more texture and biscuit character from the lees contact than would be associated
with the more pure fruited tank fermented sparkling wines suggesting a rosé wine made in the
Traditional Method.
Drink now, not suitable for further ageing due to the integration of fruit, acid and yeast showing the
wine is at its peak now.

THEORY

LEES AGEING

Lees ageing in sparkling wine is a term used to describe the time the wine spends on the dead
yeast after the second fermentation. It is commonly referred to as autolysis.
The process is significant because when yeast die, over time (normally from around 15 months
onwards) they give flavours of brioche, toast and biscuit to the wine thus contributing to its
complexity and freshness. The longer the wine spends in contact with the lees, the more intense
these yeasty aromas imparted to the wine become and therefore making the wine more complex
and higher in quality.
Lees ageing is sought exclusively in bottle fermented sparkling wines, particularly those made in
the Transfer and Traditional Methods. Wines made from Cuve Close, or in the Tank Method, are
intended to maximise the primary fruit characters from the grapes or base wine and do not require
any lees ageing as they are not looking for the yeasty, autolytic characters.
Traditional Method sparkling wines, in contrast, gain much of their characters, complexity and
quality from contact with the lees. Examples range from as little as 9 months lees ageing in some
generic Cava and New World sparkling wines, to a minimum of 15 months in NV Champagne to at
least 36 months in Vintage Champagne. The very best examples of Vintage Sparkling wine,
particularly Champagne, could have up to 10 years or more of contact with the lees producing a
very complex , intensely yeasty almost marmite and cheesy character of sparkling wine. This
would be seen in the Prestige Cuvées and very premium recently disgorged examples like
Bollinger RD.

AUSTRALIA

Australia is a large producer of sparkling wine both at the entry-point, inexpensive end and also
wines at the very premium end to rival Champagne.
The Riverland areas, including Riverina and Murray-Darling are the source of the inexpensive
sparkling wines made either by carbonation or tank method from a variety of black and white grape
varieties. Most common grape varieties here include Chardonnay, Muscat, Semillon and even
some Sultana. The least expensive wines will be made by injecting CO2 into the base wine, some
slightly better examples will be made in the Tank Method, often with interrupted fermentation or a
high dosage making the wines sweet. These are easy-drinking, sweet styles at a cheap price point,
under £6 intended for mass appeal and to be drunk young.
The big brands, such as Hardy’s or Jacob’s Creek, also make a huge volume of bottle fermented
sparkling wines, most commonly in the Transfer Method. These would be priced around the £9-10
mark and would have some hints of brioche and toast to go with the ripe tropical fruit characters
and would most likely come from selected areas within South Australia with little fruit from the
hotter Riverland locations. Ageing on the lees would typically be around 12-18 months just enough
to give a yeast character but not enough to match the breadth of most Champagne.
The highest quality sparkling wines would be made in the Traditional Method and come from the
cooler locations such as Yarra Valley, Adelaide Hills or Tasmania. The influence of Ocean (Yarra),
altitude ( Adelaide Hills ) and latitude (Tasmania) make these the best sources of fruit for high
quality sparkling wine with enough ripeness and high acidity to provide longevity for extended
ageing. These wines would typically have between 2 years and 6 years ageing on the lees
depending on style but could easily be seen on a par with Champagne. In fact many Champagne
houses, for example Moet, have facilities in Australia making wines from the same grape varieties
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Australia also makes a unique style of red sparkling wine, Sparkling Shiraz. A high quality, medium-
dry, oak aged wine made in the Traditional Method often from very good sites in Barossa and
McClaren Vale.

LIMOUX

Limoux is an Appellation in the western part of the Languedoc, south of Carcassonne and close to
the Pyrenees. Climatically, it is the coolest region in the Languedoc due to the very strong Atlantic
influence and the altitude, up to 500 metres, from to its proximity to the mountains. It is the only
region in the Languedoc that has an appellation for sparkling wines.
This is the birthplace of sparkling wine being discovered at the Abbaye de St Hilaire, close to the
town of Limoux in 1531, 150 years before Champagne.

There are 3 types of sparkling wine made in Limoux.

Blanquette de Limoux : The most popular style, this is based on the Mauzac grape which
compose a minimum of 90% of the blend. The balance can be made up of Chenin Blanc and
Chardonnay. The wine is made in the Traditional Method with a minimum lees ageing requirement
of 9 months. The finished wines are more fruity than yeasty with a strong apple character deriving
from the Mauzac grape. Quite widely available, sold in its domestic market around 7 euros a bottle.

Crémant de Limoux is a wine also made in the Traditional Method. The difference between this
and Blanquette is that the grapes used in the blend are Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc, up to 90%,
with the balance from Mauzac and/or Pinot Noir. The minimum ageing requirement is longer at 12
months, the wines therefore have more autolytic character than Blanquette and are a little more
complex. Since 2006 there is a also a Rosé style too with up to 10% still red pinot Noir permitted in
the initial blend.

Blanquette Méthode Ancestrale

This is the original sparkling wine from Limoux and the one closest to the style discovered by the
monks in 1531. It is made solely from the Mauzac grape (100%) and has only one fermentation
rather than two like Blanquette or Crémant de Limoux. The first fermentation is interrupted when
the alcohol reaches between 6 and 7% abv and the wine is bottled after around two months, with
no lees ageing and with a light filtration to take out the yeast. The wine is sweet with between 60
and 80g/l of residual sugar, a moderate rather than fully sparkling mousse and finished alcohol of
around 6.5%. Although the original style, commercially it is the least well-known accounting for no
more than 5% of the total production of Limoux sparkling and rarely seen in export markets. It is
usually priced slightly higher than the other two styles at around €9 in its home market of France.