A recent trip aboard the Golden Princess featured two separate wine tasting events hosted by the ship’s sommelier staff. The first was less elaborate, and we’ll post on that one here:
Errazuriz Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc. This Chilean wine was light in color with excellent clarity and a melon nose. The flavor was a suprisingly sweet mix of pear, melon, and apple.
Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay 2005 (Lake County). Color was straw/light yellow, with brilliant clarity. The aroma had apple, melon, and pineapple notes. Flavor was rich, creamy, and crisp, with apple, melon, oak, and spice.
Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc 2005. From Marlborough, New Zealand, this wine had gooseberry in the nose. Its flavor notes were citrus and peach. It was lightly syrupy in texture, and some residual acidity created a pleasant finish.
Chianti Classico, Riserva (Tuscany). This Chianti had a ruby red color in the glass and a mild berry nose. Its flavor was dry and acidic.
La Crema Pinot Noir. This deep red wine featured an interesting toasted marshmallow nose, with cherry and plum notes leading into an oak finish.
As a group, this wasn’t the most stunning batch of wines, though they were all reasonably drinkable. The second tasting which I’ll report on later was more elaborate and featured somewhat more interesting wines.