Spot The Frog

A Blind Tasting Of A Dozen California Reds and One Bordeaux

Recently my friends and I blind-tasted a dozen small production Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons and Cabernet-based blends from the 2005 vintage. We taste wine blind so we won’t be influenced by the name and reputation of the winery and because we feel more at home drinking wine out of a dirty paper bag.

In a game I like to call “Spot the Frog” we included a 2005 Grand Cru Classé from St. Emilion Grand Cru. When wines are young it’s not hard to pick out the French ringer in a group of California wines but as wine ages the differences become less apparent. Identifying the lone Bordeaux in a blind tasting had some tasters feeling a little tongue-tied, but I brazenly predicted I could spot the frog with my tongue tied behind my back.

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