SAWOL Round 7: the South Australian Wine Options League, our monthly blind tasting at Bar Septimus.
South Australian Wine Options League
Thirteen competitors, six wines, an average of 21.5 out of sixty. Petra won the round on 35, and was the only person in the room to place the opening sparkling in the Adelaide Hills.
Five of the six glasses were Australian. The room went looking for them in Champagne, Alsace, Chile and Sauternes anyway, which is the best argument we know for tasting blind.
The wines
Adelaide Hills Sparkling Chardonnay NV
Sparkling, Adelaide Hills
Chardonnay on its own, from the Hills. The fine bead sent most of the room to Champagne or to a Pinot Noir and Chardonnay blend; only three named Chardonnay alone. Petra was the one competitor to call the Adelaide Hills, and five took the non-vintage points.
Variety: 23%Region: 8%Vintage: 38%
Clare Valley Riesling 2020
White, Clare Valley
Seven of thirteen found Riesling. The region split the room between the Clare, Eden Valley and Great Southern, the three Australian addresses that do this style best, with four landing on the Clare. Six called 2020. Mengqi Zhou was the only competitor to score all ten.
Variety: 54%Region: 31%Vintage: 46%
Côte Chalonnaise Chardonnay 2022
White, Burgundy, France
The trap of the night. The Côte Chalonnaise is the one corner of Burgundy where Aligoté has its own appellation, at Bouzeron, and five competitors followed that reasoning to the wrong grape. All five had the region right. Kat, Nat and Andrew Munro were the only three to call Chardonnay.
Variety: 23%Region: 46%Vintage: 54%
Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2018
Red, Coonawarra
The first of a Coonawarra pair poured three vintages apart. Four named Cabernet and four placed it on the terra rossa. The vintage beat almost everyone: most picked 2021, the younger wine’s year. Kat alone called 2018.
Variety: 31%Region: 31%Vintage: 8%
Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2021
Red, Coonawarra
Same district, younger wine. This one drew Carmenère, Tannat and Malbec as often as Cabernet, which is the four-option card doing its job. Stu Bates and Kat took eight points each.
Variety: 31%Region: 31%Vintage: 31%
Riverina Semillon 2022
Dessert, Riverina, New South Wales
Ten of thirteen found Semillon, the best hit rate of the night. Five then sent it to Sauternes, a fair compliment to Griffith. Mahara Esplugues Silva and Jae Hyun Park scored all ten.
Variety: 77%Region: 38%Vintage: 23%
Round 7 results
| Competitor | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Petra | 35 |
| 2 | Andrew Munro | 32 |
| 3 | Mahara Esplugues Silva | 31 |
| 3 | Stu Bates | 31 |
| 5 | Kat | 30 |
| 5 | Mengqi Zhou | 30 |
| 7 | Nat | 22 |
| 8 | Dylan Smith | 19 |
| 9 | Alex Hubczenko | 16 |
| 10 | Jae Hyun Park | 14 |
| 11 | Emily Schweiger | 13 |
| 12 | Karlie Reichelt | 4 |
| 13 | Kate Gelsthorpe | 2 |
Leaderboard after Round 7
| Competitor | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alfred Yapp | 34 | 50 | 27 | 41 | 34 | 37 | – | 223 |
| 2 | Petra | 43 | 17 | 35 | 19 | 22 | – | 35 | 171 |
| 3 | Stu Bates | 25 | 29 | – | 17 | 30 | 33 | 31 | 165 |
| 4 | William Abbott | 27 | 34 | 35 | 42 | – | 19 | – | 157 |
| 5 | Abraham Halim | 39 | 19 | 28 | 21 | 24 | – | – | 131 |
| 6 | Alex Stone | 43 | 18 | 23 | 21 | – | – | – | 105 |
| 7 | Mengqi Zhou | – | – | – | 20 | 18 | 20 | 30 | 88 |
| 8 | Amy Leask | 20 | 30 | 15 | 15 | – | – | – | 80 |
| 9 | Andrew Munro | – | – | – | – | 35 | – | 32 | 67 |
| 10 | Roy | – | – | – | – | 37 | 28 | – | 65 |
| 11 | Dom Vu | 21 | – | – | 6 | 13 | 25 | – | 65 |
| 12 | Will Schmidt | 45 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 45 |
| 13 | Malcolm Short | – | 11 | – | – | – | 26 | – | 37 |
| 14 | Alex Hubczenko | – | – | – | – | – | 16 | 16 | 32 |
| 15 | Mahara Esplugues Silva | – | – | – | – | – | – | 31 | 31 |
| 16 | Kat | – | – | – | – | – | – | 30 | 30 |
| 17 | Dee Tran | – | – | – | 27 | – | – | – | 27 |
| 18 | Sam Watkins | – | – | – | – | 25 | – | – | 25 |
| 19 | Greg Wilkie | – | 22 | – | – | – | – | – | 22 |
| 19 | Nat | – | – | – | – | – | – | 22 | 22 |
| 19 | Sophie Liao | – | – | – | 22 | – | – | – | 22 |
| 22 | Dylan Smith | – | – | – | – | – | – | 19 | 19 |
| 23 | Jeremy Reep | – | – | – | – | – | 18 | – | 18 |
| 24 | Anita Wilkie | – | 17 | – | – | – | – | – | 17 |
| 24 | Avi Weiss | – | – | – | – | 17 | – | – | 17 |
| 26 | Cynthia Koch | – | – | – | – | – | 15 | – | 15 |
| 26 | Inyeong Jeong | – | – | – | – | – | 15 | – | 15 |
| 28 | Bernie | – | – | – | – | – | 14 | – | 14 |
| 28 | Jae Hyun Park | – | – | – | – | – | – | 14 | 14 |
| 28 | Michel Neale | – | 14 | – | – | – | – | – | 14 |
| 31 | Emily Schweiger | – | – | – | – | – | – | 13 | 13 |
| 31 | Sam Kurtz | – | – | – | – | – | 13 | – | 13 |
| 33 | Kris Saw | – | – | – | – | – | 11 | – | 11 |
| 34 | Karlie Reichelt | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 | 4 |
| 35 | Kate Gelsthorpe | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 2 |
Only a competitor’s best eight rounds count towards the championship.
The verdict
Petra’s 35 was the best score of the night and keeps her second, behind Alfred Yapp, who sat this round out and still leads on 223. Andrew Munro followed his 35 in June with 32. Stu Bates and Mahara Esplugues Silva tied on 31, and Mahara did it on her first night in the league.
Five competitors read the Chalonnaise correctly and still lost five points to Aligoté. Knowing the map is half of it. The other half is remembering that most of the map is planted to Chardonnay.
SAWOL is open year round, and new entrants join at any round. The Round 8 recap has the latest standings.
The South Australian Wine Options League
SAWOL is our monthly blind tasting championship at Septimus. Six wines poured blind, points for guessing grape, region and vintage, and prizes on the night.
Catch up on the season
Come and taste it
SAWOL meets monthly at Bar Septimus, 220 Grenfell Street, Adelaide East End.
After SAWOL Round 7
The league runs on the first Monday of the month: six glasses poured blind, 24 seats, points for variety, region and vintage. See the upcoming rounds and the rules.