The Most Difficult BLIND Tasting

In early June this year, 111 people from around the world walked into an exam room. Well, it was not one exam room, but three different locations around the globe, Napa, London, and Adelaide. They were all nervous when they sat down and prepared their glasses and their spittoons because they knew a lot was on the line. They had prepared for years for this moment, spent time away from their families, paid for the program, and bought wines, plane tickets, and books to study. Many of them had failed before, and most of them were likely not going to succeed this time. But still, they were going to give it a shot in order to prove to the world that they have mastered the topic they feel so much passion for, not really knowing that they will never master it truly. This was the vibe during this year's Master of Wine exam. A couple of weeks later, the wines and the questions were released, and I thought after passing the Master of Wine exam 13 years ago, it was about time to see whether I still got it. My team has selected six out of this year's 36 wines for me to taste blind. I don't know what the wines are, and I don't know what the questions will be yet. So let's dive in. The Master of Wine exam is widely considered to be the most difficult exam in the wine world. It consists of two parts. One is theory, the other is practical, and we're going to focus on the practical part. Once you pass theory and practical, you also have to write a research paper in order to get the Master of Wine certificate. When I sat the exam, the most difficult part of the exam was the practical part, the blind tasting, where you have to identify 36 wines over the course of three days blind. You don't know anything about the wines, and then you have to write a long answer to what the grape variety might be, where this wine might be from, what the alcohol level might be, what the quality level might be, and so on and so forth. Blind tasting is difficult if you have one wine in front of you and you're sitting at your dinner table, but if you have 12 wines in front of you each day during a stressful exam week, that's just another level. So compared to sitting the actual exam, this should be fairly easy. I'm only doing six wines instead of 36 wines, but I'm also not on the same level that I was at when I was sitting the exam. My palate was probably the sharpest it has ever been during the preparation, during the run-up for my Master of Wine exam. So let's see how this is going to go. I'm a little bit nervous, to be honest. So right before the exam, you're setting up your table. You need 12 glasses, and I used to number them using a Sharpie because I was afraid of mixing them up. So I just wrote one, two, 12 onto the bottoms of the glasses to make sure that I'm not confusing them. You also need your spittoon, and I always had a little stopwatch in order to make sure that I keep track of time because that's the most common mistake people make. They lose track of time, and then they can't finish the papers, and they fail because of that reason. In the exam, you would usually taste white wines on the first day, red wines on the second day, and the third day will be a mixed bag of sparkling wines, rosés, fortified wines, and so on and so forth. All of the wines come in numbered carafts so that you don't see the shape of the bottle. You pour the wine yourself, and then you wait for someone to say go. I'm going to do things slightly differently here. The wines might be from different papers, so I'm going to read the questions first and then see whether I need to pour some wines at the same time next to each other in order to be able to answer the question. The wines might be from the paper one, two, or three, so yeah, I don't really know what's going to happen, so I have to read the question first in order to be able to pick the right wines, and then I'm going to taste, so let's go. All right, drum roll. The first question is, wines one and two are from the same single variety and come from three different countries. With reference to all wines, identify the grape variety, and then for each wine, discuss the quality in the context of its region of origin and comment on the wine's maturity. This is a pretty straightforward, pretty common question in a Master of Wine exam. Being able to taste two different wines next to each other in order to identify the same single grape variety makes it a little easier for me, so I'm getting an easy start here. Let's see how it continues. Okay, so this is wine number one, and here we have wine number two. Okay, first things first, both wines kind of have a lighter color, but wine number one is quite a bit darker in color, so it's a little more golden, whereas wine number two is really, yeah, really bright yellow with a touch of green. It goes without saying that those two wines are white wines, and now I need to taste the wine properly in order to be able to deduct what the grape variety might be. That's where we're going to start. Usually in the exam, I would smell all of the wines, all 12 wines in front of me. First here, I'm just going to smell one and two next to each other. It's just easier to properly smell the wines before you put anything on your palate. If you have the wine on your palate, it will kind of, there will be some interference between what you smell through your nose and what you are getting retronasally, and on top of that, I usually did that in order to see whether anything stands out, whether I can already maybe identify something just based on the aroma. In this case, both wines are really fruit-driven, so you don't have any oak aroma here, which kind of rules out a couple of options. In a question like this, when it would be a grape variety like Chardonnay, for example, there would probably be an oaky Chardonnay in the lineup as well in order to, yeah, kind of showcase the whole range of starts that you can get from Chardonnay. In this case, it's just fruit-driven, so I'm suggesting this might be a grape variety where people don't usually use oak in the winemaking process. By the way, you should guess along. Based on my descriptors, you might be able to tell what I'm tasting. Let's see. Both wines are fruit-driven. Both wines showcase flavors of lemon, lime. You also have some apple aromas here. They are fairly delicate. There's not a lot of opulent, exotic fruit flavor. It's more refined. Wine one showcases a little bit more of an oxidative edge, so there's a little bit of bruised apple character there, maybe suggesting that they used large oak vessels in order to ferment and mature the wine. Wine two is really fruit-driven. There's very little oxidation going on, suggesting this might be from stainless steel. On the palate, both wines are really light and fresh. There is a lot of acidity here. The alcohol is fairly low. I would say for both wines, at roundabout 12, 12.5% of alcohol, but the acidity really stands out. There is a long finish, suggesting really good quality, and both wines are bone dry. There's no residue or sugar at all. Of course, in the exam, you should focus on what you have in your glass, but you also have to read the question properly and kind of understand what the examiners are suggesting, what kind of information they're conveying to you through the question. I mean, the question is, wines one and two are from the same single variety and come from three different countries. I'm guessing that my team didn't change that properly. Probably there were three wines and they came from three different countries, so I'm guessing those two wines come from two different countries, but that already tells you a lot. Same single variety suggests that this might be a grape variety that is usually not used in a blend, but is made as a single varietal wine traditionally. And the fact that the wines are from different countries suggests that this grape variety is planted all around the world, at least not just in one country. I mean, if you look, for example, at Italy, and there are quite a lot of grape varieties that are only planted in Italy and that don't really make it to the international market, this must be a grape variety that is planted around the world or at least in three different places. So this narrows down the list quite a bit. Just based on the question, this could be a grape variety like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, maybe Gewürztraminer or Vionier. It's unlikely going to be something like Formint or maybe Gaganega. So not a grape variety that is really just associated with one country or one region. But as soon as I factor in the aroma and the taste of the wines, I would rule out a grape variety like Gewürztraminer and Vionier because this is not as aromatic as a Gewürztraminer or Vionier would be. It is also probably not going to be Chardonnay just because Chardonnay tends to have a relationship with oak or in a question like this, there would be an oaky Chardonnay in the lineup as well. And on top of that, the flavor profile and the texture doesn't really fit Chardonnay. For me, this is more going into the Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, maybe Silvana category. So those three grape varieties would also be a good match because they are planted internationally. Silvana maybe a little bit less so, but still in enough markets for it to be an option. And yeah, well, now you just have to narrow it down. You have to funnel down in order to make sure that you discard the grape varieties that are not the right choice. And yeah, let's do that. The flavor of apple, lemons, and limes is more consistent with Riesling or Silvana, not so much with Sauvignon Blanc. With Sauvignon Blanc, we would definitely get a little bit more exotic fruit and also some green herbaceous notes. On the palate, we have a lighter body with 12 and a half percent of alcohol, which is consistent with both grape varieties, Silvana and Riesling, but I just feel it has more aroma than Silvana would have. So for me, this feels more like a Riesling. I'm pretty confident that it is Riesling because I'm very familiar with this style, but there are maybe some other options that I didn't consider. Grüner Veslina would be one, Fulmint could be one, but it's not really a grape variety that is planted in too many different countries. I mean, obviously you can find three different countries that make Fulmint for sure, so maybe I should have considered it, but I would say for Fulmint, it doesn't have the right alcohol concentration for dry Fulmint, and when it comes to Grüner Veslina, I would expect a little bit more of a creamier texture while those wines are really fresh and quite on the acidity. In the exam, the answer would have been probably around three quarters of a page long, so you have to write a lot, which makes it even more important to really focus on the time. Here, fortunately, I don't really have to focus on the time that much. The next question is, discuss the quality in the context of its region of origin. I mean, I guess that I will have to identify the region, not just the country, in order to be able to answer that, and that's kind of the first step before I move on to the quality. For me, wine number one feels a little bit more old-world in style because of the use of large oak vessels in the fermentation. It also has a really distinctive kind of nutty, kind of wilder flavor, while wine number two is much more precise, very clean, very pure, suggesting more of a new world origin here. Due to the style of wine one, there's great complexity in the depth and intensity while also maintaining that great freshness. We are definitely in a high-quality category here, but first I have to identify the country in order to then go into the region. I mean, this could be from Alsace, from Germany, many different regions in Germany, really, or from Austria, in my opinion. I find this difficult to pinpoint. I mean, this is definitely a little bit more opulent style. I wouldn't necessarily go to Nahe or the Mosel here, but it could be from Alsace. It could be from a region like Wachau or Kamptal in Austria. It could also be from the Rheingau, Rheinhessen, maybe also the Pfalz. Yeah, that's tricky. I will go to Germany with this wine. I think it is just very complex. It is high-quality and it feels traditionally made, but by someone who really knows what they're doing. There are quite a lot of wineries in Germany focusing on Riesling, suggesting that, yeah, this could be from there, but I don't feel entirely confident here. And just because of this concentration, the richness, but also that beautiful freshness, I would be in the Pfalz with this Riesling. Wine number two is a little bit more difficult. This is really precise, pure, very fresh, and linear. This could be from many different places. I mean, there's Riesling in California, in Chile, in Australia, obviously, New Zealand. So there are quite a few different countries producing Riesling, but this is very high-quality. And Australia is probably the country out of the New World countries that is most well-known for producing high-quality Riesling. So I'm going to say this is from Clairvalley in Australia, just because of the quality and the beautiful freshness, the vibrancy. And when it comes to the quality, I think both wines are really high-quality. I used to use this acronym BLICK, which is balance, length, intensity, and complexity to describe quality. And they have balance, length, intensity, and complexity, both of them in spades. As it is Riesling, they shouldn't be super expensive. I would say they are in the premium segment when it comes to Riesling. Both of them probably retailing for 40 euros in Europe. And yeah, I think they're just amazing examples of wines that could be served in the finest restaurants all around the world, or would be sold in retailers, in specialized retail, in shops, not in the supermarket or in the discount. The last questions for those two wines is comment on the wine's maturity. And I think both wines are not old. It feels, however, like wine number two is definitely much younger. I would say it's probably three years old. It has this bright, really light color. It has lots of primary fruit flavor. There's great freshness on the palate. The acidity actually feels kind of punchy still. So I would say, yeah, maybe three years old. While wine number one, for me, feels a little bit more mature. The color is a little bit more golden. You have more mature fruit flavors. And on the palate, you have this beautiful texture, great grip. I wouldn't say this is old, though. I would say this was maybe just exposed to a little bit more oxygen in the cellar and maybe has one more year. So maybe it's four years old. But both wines are relatively young and both wines are meant to be aged. So I think both of those wines, also being consistent with the grape variety Riesling, can age for decades, at least for two decades. So let's reveal wine one and two before we move on to the next question. Obviously, in the exam, you wouldn't know what the wines are after tasting them. The answers would only be revealed after the exam a couple of weeks later. But yeah, let's just do it to keep us entertained. So wine number one, I thought, was from the Pfalz in Germany. I thought it's a high-quality wine, maybe four years old. And, well, I thought it is a Riesling. Let's see whether I was right. Nope, I wasn't. So it is a Riesling. I was right about that. But it is younger. It's only two years old. And it's from the Wachau region in Austria. So not from the Pfalz in Germany. So this is the 2024 Domain Wachau Riesling Federspiel Riedbruck. This is a delicious wine, but it is not as expensive as I would have guessed. This is more around the 20 Euro mark. And, but I still think I would have received quite a lot of scores. I mean, I identified the grape variety correctly, and I did identify the quality fairly well, even though I would have left some marks on the table here. So let's see whether I can redeem myself with wine number two. Riesling, this should be Riesling two, but where is it from? I said it's from Australia. I said it's from Clare Valley. I said it's three years old. And I thought it was pretty high quality. Yes. Well, I mean, this is from Australia. It's not from Clare. It's from Eden Valley, but yeah, pretty good. So this is the 2024 Pusey Vale Estate Riesling from Eden Valley. This is a bone dry Riesling. I was fairly correct when it comes to the age. And this is a young wine. The alcohol is a little bit lower than I would have thought. This is at 11.5% of alcohol. But yeah, apart from that, I mean, I'm not in Eden Valley, but in Clare, but yeah, I was pretty good on that. I just had a look at the price. This is a bit cheaper, but not that much cheaper. This retails for around about 30 euros here. So yeah, I would call this a pretty good answer. So the next question is wines three and four are wines from regions influenced by the Mediterranean Sea. So again, two wines that we can compare and contrast. For each wine, identify the primary grape variety and origin as closely as possible. So it's not the same grape variety likely. B, discuss how winemaking has impacted the freshness of the wine. And C, comment on the commercial position. So that's a different question. Let's see. For both wines, we know that they are from regions influenced by the Mediterranean, which covers quite a lot of ground. It could be Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, Greece. The Middle East, Turkey. So yeah, lots of different places. The question is identify the primary grape variety and origin as closely as possible, which kind of suggests that we have to use the grape variety in order to identify the origin, which means that they are likely made from grape varieties that are kind of associated with one place rather than grape varieties that are planted all over the world. But that's just a guess. So let's taste them. Okay, right off the bat, this is much more difficult. They are not really telling me all that much. I think wine four is a little easier to identify maybe. So this has a very restrained fruit flavor, not a lot of aroma, but quite a lot of complexity. And there's green apple, there's some grassiness there, some greenness, but there's also a little bit of a salty aroma coming through. So this is quite delicate and fresh. Based on the nose alone, it could be something like Chardonnay, it could be a Riesling, it could be a Pinot Blanc, Weisburgunder. So not a grape variety with lots of power, but obviously there's not that much Chardonnay being produced in Mediterranean regions. Also Pinot Blanc and Savannah are not grape varieties that can be found in those places very often. So for me, this reminds me a bit of Assyrtiko, a grape variety that is quite successful in Greece, especially on the island of Santorini. It has this beautiful complexity. And when I taste the wine, it also has that salty texture, salty taste that Assyrtiko often has. Intense acidity, but also really concentrated texture. So this feels fairly consistent with Assyrtiko. So I'm going off on a hunch here because this is not aromatically easy to identify, I think, but this saltiness is really what pulls me towards Assyrtiko and I would say this is Assyrtiko from the island of Santorini in Greece. The other one is much more difficult. This is quite aromatic, actually. There's quite a lot of ripe fruit flavor, apple, pear. There's also a little bit of a peachy aroma. There's some orange flavor coming through as well. So this is aromatic, but I don't really know how to match this flavor profile with a grape variety that I can think of. On the palate, it's quite juicy, quite concentrated. The acidity is not very high. There's good grip there, a little bit of phenolic-ness as well. So what are Mediterranean grape varieties? We had Assyrtiko here from France. It could be something like Grenache Blanc, Roussan, Marsan, Vionier, Roll. When you go to Italy, it could be something like Grillo from Sicily. It could be Trebbiano. It could be Fermentino as well, which is Roll. It could be quite a lot of different grape varieties, but it's likely not going to be from Greece and something like Turkey or the Middle East is more unlikely. So let's stay in France or Italy. So it could be also something like Palomino from Spain. Or, man, this is tough. So I would say this is not Grenache, Roussan, or Marsan just because of the flavor profile. It could be something like a Vionier, but it doesn't really smell like a Vionier for me. Grillo could be an option, definitely. Roll or Fermentino, I think, is also a good option. But usually, Fermentino has more acidity, in my opinion, but this feels a little more rich and round. Could also be something wild from Croatia. So I need to come to a conclusion. And yeah, I would just say this is a Roll from Provence, from France. And yeah, that's my final answer, but I don't feel confident at all here. So when it comes to a question like discuss how winemaking has impacted the freshness of the wine, you have to look at the different steps of winemaking and kind of connect them to the freshness in the wine. So in this case, both wines were probably fermented in inert vessels that didn't give up a lot of oaky flavors, which would impact the freshness, in my opinion. It also feels like the acidity is fairly well-maintained, even though they are from warmer climates. So that might suggest that they blocked malodactic, even though I'm not really sure about that. When it comes to the alcohol, I think they were harvested fairly ripe. So I don't think the earlier harvest date has really impacted the freshness here. And well, I'm actually not too sure whether the harvest date would still be part of the winemaking process. So yeah, alluding to those different points in order to explain why the wines are fresh or not fresh would be what the examiners would be looking for here. And when it comes to the commercial position, I would say both wines are fairly high quality. I would say the wine that I identified as an Assyrtiko is probably really high-end, maybe 40 euros again, something for fine dining, high-end restaurants, because it's a great wine with many different dishes, especially with seafood. So this balance, length, intensity, and complexity that the wine has can be used in a high-end dining environment. Whereas wine number three is a little bit more fruit forward, more juicy, a little bit more easygoing. This is a wine that retails for less than 20 euros, in my opinion. And is maybe something that you can even find in the supermarket, in a well-stocked supermarket. So I'm going to start with wine number four because I feel a little bit more comfortable or confident in my choice here. I said it's an Assyrtiko from Santorini, and it is an Assyrtiko from Santorini. I'm quite proud of myself. So this is the 2025 Gaia Wines Thalassitis from Santorini. It's from old, ungrafted vines. That's what it says here. And let me check the price. So yeah, this retails for 47 euros. So I said 40 euros. So I'm in the right ballpark here. Delicious wine, and yeah, I'm quite happy here. So let's see whether I will be happy with my choices on wine three. I said it's all from Provence, and yeah, but I don't feel confident at all here. Oh, not that bad. I mean, well, I'm wrong here, but not completely wrong. This is the 2025 Costa Molino Fermentino di Sardegna from Italy. The winery, I guess, is called Argyolas. And this is Fermentino, but Fermentino is roll. It's not from Provence. It's from Sardegna, but yeah, still, I identified the right grape variety, at least. So this retails for 10 euros. So I was right on the quality level. So yeah, I'm feeling good about myself. I still got it, at least so far, but we still have two wines to go. So the last question is, wines five and six are from the same country and region. Identify the origin as closely as possible, compare the style and quality in the context of the region of origin, and compare the maturity of the two wines, considering the likely vintage. All right, let's do it. So wine number five, I rinsed out my glass here to make sure that I don't have any residue from the previous wine in the glass. And wine six, I'll do the same thing. All right, we definitely have red wine here, and I don't know how easy it is to see, but wine number five is this one. It is much lighter in color, and wine number six is much darker. So there's a difference there, but those two wines are from the same country and the same region, so they should also be similar in a way. Okay, both wines have intense fruit flavor. There's cherry fruit there, there's blackberries, and there's a little bit of spice. Wine number six definitely has some oaky, some aged flavors, a little bit, yeah, a little powerful, while wine number five is a little more restrained or more fruity. On the palate, we have the same situation. Wine number five is quite fresh, grippy tannins, great acidity. Wine number six is a little bit more browned and rich, a little bit more matured, definitely older in my opinion. This feels like a warmer place, so it's not Northern France or Germany. It's more of a warmer environment, not super hot, but warm. The style, it being a little bit more loose and a little wilder points me towards the old world, which is not, I mean, that's not as clear cut as it used to be, but it just feels a little wilder, and for me, it feels more like an old world origin. It could be from the south of France, maybe from Bordeaux, could be from Italy, from Tuscany, maybe even Piedmont. It could be, I don't see it coming from Spain, so I don't really think that's a valid option. It could also be from somewhere further down south in Italy. In Spain, it could actually be from Rioja, but you don't really have that much oak, at least not American oak influence here, but it could be Rioja. The acidity, though, points me more towards Italy. It feels like a Sangiovese-based blend. I mean, the color difference is also kind of consistent with that. Sangiovese can be quite light in color. It can also produce darker wines. You can produce different quality levels, fresh and juicy to really concentrated and complex. So yeah, maybe that's a good guess. What is interesting here, though, is that it says country and region, but it doesn't say anything about the grape varieties. So it could actually be from Tuscany, but this could, for example, be Chianti Classico, while this is from Bulgari and is like a super Tuscan cuvee with Bordeaux grape varietals. That's definitely an option here. So in the answer, they probably would have wanted me to talk about Sangiovese as part of the wines, especially this one, wine number five, because that's a grape variety that is very much linked to Tuscany. So that would be one option. The climatic conditions would also factor in, but I think I covered all of that. I'm just going to say I'm in Tuscany here, but I actually like the idea that this could be a Chianti Classico, while this is from Bulgari and is a Bordeaux cuvee, maybe with some Sangiovese in the mix. I guess that we are already entering into the second part, compare the style and quality in the context of the region of origin. So this is definitely more of a lighter expression, more fruit forward, not maybe the wine that is meant to be aged for a super long time. While this is much more concentrated, more opaque in color, denser on the palate, the tans are really grippy, and yeah, they are intense. So this is kind of covering the style. I think quality-wise, this might be more of a mid-segment kind of Chianti, 20 euros or something like this, while this is more in the 40 euro range, more high quality, even though I actually enjoy this more. This is a really fun, nice Chianti, if it is a Chianti. When it comes to the maturity, I would say this is probably younger than this, and this is a little bit older. I would say this is maybe from the 2023 vintage, more recent vintage, quite fruit forward, and juicy and quite delicious. While this is maybe 2021, so more mature, maybe 2020, more mature, more aged, with more aging potential. This is now, I mean, you can drink it now, but it is definitely a wine that still has legs that you can put away in the cellar and keep for a little longer, for maybe another 10 to 15 years. So shall we have a look what the wines were? Wine number five, and wine number six. So I said Italy, I said Tuscany, this I thought was Chianti, while this was Bulgari. Let's see. This is Chianti. Chianti Classico, Isassi, Mellini, 2020, 2021. So I was two years off here, but I was in the right place. And yeah, same grape variety. So let's see about wine number six. Oh, damn. Okay, I kind of went in the wrong direction here. So this also is Chianti Classico. It's also a 2021, but this is Castello di Ama's San Lorenzo, which is the Gran Selezione. So a Sangiovese-based wine, aged in oak, meant to be aged. So I identified that, but I was off when it comes to the grape varieties here. Price-wise, I was pretty good. I mean, this is 10 euros and this is 55 euros in the Castello di Ama. So definitely a price gap here, but I really like this. Well, this, yeah, I mean, it's definitely too young. So I just learned that this is actually Sangiovese with Malvasia Nera and Merlot. So there is a little bit of Merlot, a little bit of Bordeaux in this wine, but, well, I mean, I was kind of wrong there. However, I mean, I wasn't right with all of the wines, but I wasn't completely off. So if I would have tasted and identified all of the 36 wines the same way I identified the six wines, I might have actually passed the exam. But I didn't sit the exam. I didn't write the answers. So, yeah, who knows? But this wasn't too bad, at least. But still, a lot of respect goes out to all of the Master of Wine students who sat the exams this year, and especially to the ones that passed the exams this year. But we're only going to find out in September, I think. So there's still a little bit of time. All right, this brought back some nice memories of my time as a Master of Wine student. It was a stressful time, but I also really enjoyed it. And it's good to see that it wasn't all for nothing. I can still taste. So, yeah, I feel fairly good about myself. So thank you for watching. I hope you enjoyed this video. If you did, then please like down here, subscribe to my channel if you haven't done so already. My question of the day is, are you going to sit the Master of Wine exam? Let me know down below in the comments, but whatever you do, stay thirsty. See you soon. Bye.