It is quite fun to be part of the jury in wine competitions. It is also very good blind tasting practice. And above all, it is very humbling. Blind tasting is very difficult. In a way. On the other hand it is very simple. The only thing you can do is trust your own taste and your own judgement.
Some time ago I had the pleasure of being part of the jury in the Saint Bacchus 2012 (need I say as the only Swede?). It is a competition for wines from the Roussillon. Unfortunately, in my personal opinion, the Roussillon is a region mainly known for its sweet VDN wines. They are excellent, comparing favourably with e.g. many port wines, but limited in “use”. At the same time the dry reds and even whites can be excellent. Think for example of the Calce village that has become very famous for its top quality “table wines” although many people don’t think of them as coming from the Roussillon.
But back to the competition. There are some 20 different categories and one jury for each one. For each type of wine the jury should agree on one “best” among the candidates. I was more than happy to be part of the jury for dry whites. It contained a wide variety of wines, many of them from the muscat grape variety, but no doubt also from others.
The wine that the dry white jury singled out as the winner was:
Côtes du Roussillon Blanc: Château Rombeau 2011
https://www.domaine-de-rombeau.com/
A very fresh and aromatic, with some muscat character but not too much.
More information and the full list of winning wines: https://www.saint-bacchus.com/.
