Thirsty Thurdsay:Gnarly Head Chardonnay Tasting

 Hooray wine!

Husband and I started in our first tasting, not having much to compare it with, a bit blindly and confidently.
We sat down before dinner (prepared by Husband) we pull out my sheet and went to tasting. We had no clue whether or not the wine was hazy or brilliant, pale or deep, but had a good time giving it our first go!

Here is how the tasting turned out:

WINE NAME	Gnarly Head				WINE TYPE		Chardonnay
VINTAGE	2011				PRODUCER		<Alcohol 13.5%>
GRAPES	Chardonnay				REGION		California
PURCHASED	Bevmo				PRICE		$13.99
Companions	Husband and Wife				Food		(after tasting Chicken Curry Casserole)
SIGHT									NOTES		PTS
Clarity	Cloudy (less)		Hazy		Clear		Brilliant (more)				3/5
Depth of Color	Watery/Thin (less)		Pale		Med/Deep		Dark/Rich (more)				3/5
Color	WHITE - Yellow Gold Brown		Green Tinge Pale Yellow		RED - Purple Red/Purple		Red Red-Brown		like aged paper yellow
Viscosity – liquid	Thin		Normal		Heavy		Syrupy		No legs		4/5
SMELL
Aroma	Herbal Nutty		Fruit Mineral		Spice Earthy		Floral Icky		hint of vanilla		3/5
Bouquet	Dumb/Pale/Closed		Simple/Pleasant		Deep/ Dark		Powerful/Dynamic				3/5
Smell Intensity	Light (less)		Mild		Prevalent		Pronounced (more)				2/5
TASTE
Acidity (like a lemon)	Flat No Bite		Fresh Crisp		Tart Tangy		Sour Vinegar		Total acid .53g/100ml		5/10
Sweetness	Dry		Off-Dry		Semi-Sweet		Very Sweet		Residual Sugar .14g/100ml		4/5
TASTE Descriptors Balanced Chewy Complex Concentrated Crispy Deep Delicate Dull Firm Flabby Harsh Hint Intense Intriguing Jammy Piercing Simple Soft Structured	FRUITY Berrylike Blackberry Black Currant Blueberry Raspberry Strawberry Cherry – Black/Red Plum – Prune Gooseberries Citrus Grapefruit Lemon/Lime Stone/Tropical Apple Apricot Mango Melon Peach Pear Pineapple		FLOWERY Violet Rose Orange Blossom Jasmine Lily Geranium Orchid HERBAL Hay Mint Rosemary Thyme SPICY Black Pepper Licorice Cinnamon Clove		NUTTY Almond Coffee Hazelnut Walnut EARTHY Dry leaves Cut grass Moldy Mushroom ICKY Barnyard Dirty Diaper Boiled Egg Gas Alcohol Flinty Vinegar		OTHER Buttery Oaky Mineral Vanilla Cedar Tobacco Chocolate Leather Butterscotch Olive Bitter Hot - alcohol Sour Sharp Sugary Salty Velvety		yet I taste no vanilla...		7/10
Complexity	Simple		Interesting		Exciting		Dynamic				4/5
Balance	Unbalanced		Good		Very Well		Perfect				6/10
Body	Light		Medium		Heavy		Huge				3/5
AFTERTHOUGHTS
Finish	None		Short		Medium		Long (10 secs +)				4/5
Drinkability	Never Again		Maybe		Yes		Can’t wait				6/10
Value	Waste of money		Eh…		Decent		I love a value!				4/10
Overall	A decent and nice wine, but probably won't make it to the top 10 list.										61 /100

All in all, the experience was a simple, no pressure sort of affair. Husband and I agreed that there was no wrong answer to what we did or didn't taste or smell. The event added a little bit of glamour to our "Let's stay in for dinner" date. I am looking forward to next week's tasting.

Until the next tasting...