WineWriting.com by Richard M James

New wine tours from Wine Voyages

2012-01-26T17:42:00.000Z

Wine Education Service and Criterion Wine (both UK based) have teamed up to create an exciting new wine holiday company called Wine Voyages, with several tours planned from the end of May 2012 onwards. The first is a wine tour by coach to the wine & food mecca of Alsace country from 31 May to 5 June; and other scheduled trips include Champagne in July and November, Greece in September and Burgundy in November. Tours to more classic wine areas of Europe are also being put together, as well as further afield to e.g. California and South Africa.

To find out more, email info@winevoyages.co.uk or phone Sandy on 020 8991 8213 or Malcolm on 020 8991 8212. Full details are here:

wine-education-service.co.uk

Photo: Riquewihr in Alsace.

Millésime Bio 2012

2012-01-25T14:51:00.000Z

Just returned from a day-and-a-half tasting my way around what appears to have become the biggest organic wine show in the world, Millésime Bio in Montpellier (the Languedoc's finest/only city). But it's still a nice down-to-earth user-friendly fair though, like the growers and winemakers themselves who were there showing their wares on a simple table so you can easily talk and taste. No flash stands, corporate bull or "ah, you haven't made an appointment?" attitudes.

Anyway, expect a few new winery "profiles" (I'll drop the FBI gag this time... oops there I go again with that silly/sad sense of humour) over the coming weeks focusing on people and wines fresh from Italy and Austria...

Chile: "no way rosé!" part 3

2012-01-18T19:28:00.002Z

Or my latest "rosé of the mo" even: this tasty pinkie is part of the Co-Op's (UK) 'Fairtrade' range - that term makes a slight cynic like me slightly suspicious of the otherwise implied "we really stitch up our other 'non-fairtrade' wine suppliers," although the concept is commendable of course. It's sourced from Chile's Curicó Valley - I only kept the front label so don't know who made it - but, anyway, was £5.99 I think and is a Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot blend.

2011 Chilean Fairtrade Rosé - fairly deep raspberry/cherry colour and fruit aromas, lovely juicy mouth-feel vs quite rounded and textured too, then delivers crisp and refreshing finish. Worked well with different dishes in an Indian restaurant.

More Chile pinks, plus here and here too. Other recent Chile: Pinot Noir, Syrah/Shiraz.
Coming soon: profile on De Martino winery and Carmenere vertical tasting report.

France: the Original Malbec

2011-12-19T18:32:00.000Z

A little Vs-up to Argentina perhaps, where Malbec is thriving in certain places made by certain wineries; but this red variety did come from southwest France originally and is still very much alive in the Cahors region (some winemakers have even been replanting it in parts of the Bordeaux wine-lands). Rigal, a major Cahors producer and owned by the ever-expanding JeanJean group (link goes to a Languedoc feature on my other blog), has launched a tasty gutsy fruit-driven varietal Malbec (vin de pays du Lot, the name of the département and the long river that runs through it) called The Original Malbec (2010 vintage, 13% alcohol), which has lots of vibrant spicy character, nice weight, red/black berry fruits and dry yet rounded finish. Maybe a good Christmas-y "red of the mo" even... A Fiver on offer at Asda, usually over £7 I think.

Wine courses in Belfast

2011-12-12T11:01:00.001Z

Wine Education Service, which runs consumer wine courses and tastings at various centres around the UK, and yours truly RMJ have teamed up to launch a new introductory evening wine course and a one day wine workshop. The five week course starts in February 2012 in Belfast City Centre and in Bangor (Co. Down), and the one day event is on Saturday 28 January in Belfast. Details as follows:

Belfast

1 day workshop "the World of Wine" on Saturday January 28th: £85 per person including tasting approx 15 wines with tuition, lunch with wine and a course manual.

Oscar Wilde room, Ramada Encore Hotel, Saint Anne's Square, Belfast BT1 2LD. www.encorebelfast.co.uk

5 week introductory course Tuesday evenings starting 7 February until 6 March inclusive: £125 including half-a-dozen wines tasted each session, tuition and in-depth course material. At the Ramada as above.

Bangor

5 week introductory course Wednesday evenings starting 15 February until 14 March inclusive: £125 including half-a-dozen wines tasted each session, tuition and in-depth course material.

Upstairs @ the AVA vin café bar & grill, 132 Main Street, Bangor (opposite the rail station). www.theava.co.uk

More information and booking: www.wine-education-service.co.uk, tel: 020 8991 8213. Or email Richard James richard@winewriting.com.

Posh Chablis @ M&S

2011-12-05T15:48:00.000Z

Marks & Spencer has always had a reputation for good reliable Chablis in my book, usually expressing exactly what you’d expect and want from a nice bottle of Chabbers. And the latest vintages of their whole Chablis range didn’t disappoint (except one) when sampled at their London press tasting a few weeks ago. These 'steely' dry whites are made from 100% Chardonnay, as is all Chablis stating what might be b******* obvious for some perhaps, although producers haven’t always put this simple and nevertheless interesting fact on their back-labels. Classic ‘straightforward’ Chablis is usually unoaked; and the higher quality ‘Premier’ and ‘Grand Cru’ wines, sourced from certain specific vineyard sites, often see varying degrees of barrel ageing depending on how rich the wine is, the producer’s style or vintage quality. Mind you, they’re getting dearer though with no Chablis under a tenner at M&S nowadays (apart from the 'Petit' version, which I didn't try this time and have found OK but lacking substance in the past), although they do occasional promotions like everyone else of course!

2008 Chablis La Chablisienne (12.5% alc.) - classic creamy vs steely style, nice intense buttery fruit vs crisp bite and light lees edges; maturing oily vs still fresh finish. Good + : £10.99

2008 Organic Chablis Jean-Marc Brocard (12.5%) - from a biodynamically farmed vineyard where they use “medicinal plants against insects and diseases.” Deep coloured and fruity, has almost toasty edges with exotic buttery fruit vs very crisp bite and long lingering finish; quirky stuff but lovely with it. £14.99 170 stores.

2007 Chablis Premier Cru Fourchaume Union des Viticulteurs de Chablis (12.5%) - quite rich and mature on the nose, subtle concentration of warm buttery fruit vs steely cut vs mature oily finish; fair class with elegant balance and length. Very good, drinking well now. £18 300 stores.

2008 Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos Louis Moreau (13%) - richer and toastier profile, concentrated vs crisp mouth-feel; quite 'impressive' although perhaps trying too hard to be a white Burgundy from further south. £38 50 stores.

Germany: Reichsrat von Buhl "Grand Cru" tasting

2011-11-28T13:33:00.003Z

Kirchenstück single vineyard

"Or 'Grosses Gewächs' tasting to be precise, although the German equivalent of 'Grand Cru' does sound more like a term of abuse than a term describing a first-rate vineyard site..." Sensational taste-off of Von Buhl's 2009 vs 2010 dry Rieslings, sublime 2010 sweet wines and "a little surprise" vintage from the past...

CLICK HERE to read the full works, which goes to the just added German section of my wine words pages where you'll also find these archive features brought across from "old" WineWriting.com:

Riesling Riesling & Riesling or "a couple of racy German tastings combined..."

Terrassen-Mosel: "Extreme vineyard walking, right-angle Rieslings & Mosel-side eating..."

Plus an "international Riesling review" and Lingenfelder's "Vineyard Creatures"...

Australia: Rhone / Med winter reds (up north anyway)

2011-11-24T13:56:00.002Z

Following in the shadowy footsteps of a similarly themed post on my other blog called Southern French reds @ Marks & Spencer's (opens in a new window), here's a trio of hearty Aus "reds of the mo", if you like, created from Rhone / Med grape varieties and recently shipped neatly onto the shelves of your nearest Marks & Spencer's (well, perhaps, as these two have limited distribution as you can see below) and Asda (added 28 Nov). Discovered at a recent M&S tasting at their HO in London (more recommended wines from that to follow), and the third one in my local Asda store...

2010 Hunter Valley Shiraz - Tyrrell's Wines (100% Shiraz, 13% alc.): odd nose at first turning into sweet cherry and spicy 'medicinal' notes, it's a little at sorts with itself on the palate (still youthful though) but finishes better in a fuller Crozes-Hermitage like way. £9.99 M&S 150 stores.

2008 Marananga Dam Grenache / Shiraz / Mourvèdre - Torbeck, Barossa Valley (44% Grenache, 34% Mourvèdre and the rest Shiraz/Syrah; 13% alc.): rich ripe fruit with meaty edges on the nose, liquorice and pepper aromas/flavours too vs enticing tangier side; punchy and concentrated mouth-feel with attractive sweet/savoury style, then maturing yet still lively finish. Very good although quite pricey: £12.99 M&S 200 stores.
2009 Shiraz / Viognier (14%) - Zilzie Wines, SE Australia: Victoria based Zilzie does a straight Viognier white wine as well as this spicy aromatic red blend, following a bit of a fashion in Aus for adding a drop of white Viognier to red Shiraz/Syrah in the style of traditional northern Rhone reds such as Côte-Rôtie. I liked the not so full-on fruity style of this one with attractive black cherry and cassis hints, a spicy floral side to it too, as I said; nice rounded quite weighty palate with fairly soft tannins and just a hint of chocolate oak adding texture and aroma/flavour. £6 Asda on promotion (usually £10).

Undiscovered Spain: Castilla y León

2011-11-16T18:41:00.001Z

"Home-cured acorn-fed Iberian Black Pig

with La Setera wines"

by Brett Jones

I've just resurrected this tasting & touring feature originally published on "old" WineWriting.com and now here for the first time, as it seemed like a good idea:

"Undiscovered Spain - from Valladolid to the Portuguese border and north beyond León..." Featuring the following Bodegas with restaurant and hotel tips: Pilcar (Cigales region), La Setera (Arribes del Duero), Cenit (Tierra del Vino de Zamora), Zamoranas, Otero (Valles de Benavente), Agribergidum (Bierzo), Margon (Tierra de León) plus get to know your Juan Garcia, Prieto Picudo, Mencía and Godello; grape varieties, that is... "The vast evocative Castilla & León region, which lies roughly between Madrid and the north coast stretching almost from Rioja across to Galicia and Portugal, isn't exactly 'undiscovered' for Spanish wine lovers at least. Hip Ribera del Duero needs little introduction and other areas such as Toro and Rueda, which are found to the east, south and west of Valladolid, appear to have gained some ground in the recognition stakes. But on this tour, we travelled resolutely west..."

Read the full works here (goes to 'SPAIN' wine words archive - scroll down to below Cava guide). Big ham photo © Brett Jones "the Wine Maestro": thewinemaestro.co.uk. More pics in the article and on shutterfly.com.

Spotlight on Sicily: updated

2011-11-16T17:07:00.000Z

From www.cantinaottoventi.it

I've now slipped nine fuller winery profiles of some of the producers and wines extracted from an earlier article "Spotlight on Sicilian wines" into my increasingly huge ITALY archive (click there). These snapshots complement, with a few nice photos too, this tasting feature already teleported across from "old" WineWriting.com, where you'll also find more reviews and generic info. Includes these exciting wineries: Brugnano, Ceuso, Cristo Campobello, Casa Grazia, Limonio, Murgo, Ottoventi, Mimmo Paone, Santa Anastasia...

Chile: Nuevo Mundo

2011-11-09T17:31:00.000Z

As you would expect from right-on importer Vintage Roots (goes to their site) with their long-standing organic-with-knobs-on credentials, this new range (Nuevo Mundo = New World in Spanish obviously) is sourced from the Maipo Valley by star winery De Martino (profile on them and Carmenere 1996-2010 vertical tasting report to follow, by the way!) entirely from certified organic vineyards managed with "increased water efficiency," as the blurb says. Not only that, I'm also told the wines are "100% carbon neutral (how's that then, transported by wind power perhaps?) and made from native yeasts with low sulphite levels..." Carrying the eco-business theme right down the line, the labels and cases are from recycled materials and the paper used is even chlorine free with "low ink content." Needless to say, they only use light-weight bottles too to cut down the shipping weight. So, well done guys. And the quality of the wines, you might well be wondering... Very good across the board with a nice mix of styles of red varietals and blends, although I didn't try their two Sauvignon blancs back at Wines of Chile's annual London mega-tasting (much as I enjoy drinking Chilean SB, I couldn't face the thought of sampling through loads of wines that all taste pretty much the same, just different levels of intensity usually).

2011 Carmenere rosé (13% alc.) - lively and crisp with bags of red fruits, builds up to a creamier finish vs refreshing and juicy. £8.75
2010 Carmenere red (13.5%) - tangy soy sauce notes vs raspberry / blackberry fruit, spicy peppery edges with attractive fresh side vs a bit of weight and a touch chewy too. £8.75
2009 Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon / Carmenere (14%) - similar tangy soy aromas / flavours with extra cassis, cherry and plum tones; attractive sweet / sour finish, longer and more intense than the above. Makes a nice change that Reserva doesn't just mean "oaky" here! £10.50
2009 Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon / Malbec (14%) - tasty cassis notes with spicy edges, concentrated and firm vs sweet fruit, stylish and long. £10.50
2007 Reserva Carmenere (14.5%) - herby red pepper tinges vs savoury leather tones, intense and punchy palate vs enticing maturing fruit edges, quite big yet still tight and structured on the finish. Lovely wine. £9.50 on offer.

Spain: Catalonia & Aragón

2011-10-31T19:34:00.002Z

Here are four tasty "wines of the moment" worth looking out for, sourced from two almost neighbouring, dynamic regions in northeast Spain, which are newish releases from Spanish specialist importer Burridges of Arlington St. based in Sussex, England, who supplies wine shops throughout the UK and Ireland. Stockists for the Cava include Firth Wines, Thomas Panton, some branches of Spirited Wines and members of the Merchant Vintners consortium: such as S.H.Jones, Portland Wine, House of Townend, Wallaces, Wineservice, The Vineyard (IOM) and Tanners. Retail price is about £8-£10 a bottle. More info @ burridgewine.com.

Castell d'Olérdola - Cava

I first came across this good-value Cava label in supermarkets and wine shops when I lived up the coast a bit from Barcelona for nine months back in the not too dim and distant. They're already listed in my Cava mini-guide, so it was good to retry a couple from this range made by the well-known Castillo Perelada group. Both wines sampled here see around 12 months lees-ageing in bottle, although the Reserva is then matured in their cavernous cellars for up to two more years after 'disgorgement' (ejecting the yeast sediment). They also produce Kosher Cava too, by the way.

Rosado (Trepat, Monastrell; 11.5% alc.) - the first one is a rare red Catalan variety, the second is what the Spanish call Mourvèdre; then again, they can call this Med-est of reds what they like, it all came from Spain originally! Quite delicate rosé fizz with lightly toasty notes vs red fruit cocktail, rounded off-dry vs lively mouth-feel and finish.

Reserva (Macabeu, Xarel.lo, Parellada; 11.5%) - made from the three white Catalan staples: classier and drier, quite rich with oat biscuit flavours vs intense and crisp-ish. Nice quality fizz.

Bodegas Esteban Martín - Cariñena

This relatively small region lies east of Calatayud and west of Catalunya, and its vineyards are found on a dramatic plateau at 400 to 800m altitude making it a little cooler in summer (but still hot and dry) and pretty cold in winter. Established in 2003, Viñedos y Bodegas Esteban Martín is a modern family-run winery based in Alfamén smack in the middle of Cariñena, and is circled by a whopping 150 hectares (375 acres) of their own vines mixing Spanish and French varieties.

Vinem Crianza red 2008 (mostly old-vine Garnacha, Cabernet, Syrah, Merlot; 14% alc.) - touches of oak grain adding coco notes and texture, quite lush and plummy with sweet fruit vs savoury edges, chunky and powerful with well-balanced oak / tannins / alcohol vs attractive fruit.

Vinem red 2010 (Garnacha, Syrah; 13.5%) - peppery with black cherry and liquorice, soft fruity style vs a hint of dry grip and oomph, attractive easy-drinking red with some guts too.

Spain: La Rioja Alta

2011-10-25T12:34:00.000+01:00

There’s something sublimely seductive, enticingly delicate and just pure pleasure to taste and drink about this absolutely classic style of wonderful old-fashioned Rioja, which really blossoms and shines after 10+ years of age and quietly puts to shame some of those new-fangled, over-extracted, heavy-handed, monster reds coming out of other regions of Spain; or even Rioja too nowadays. La Rioja Alta winery is an undisputed master, whose cask-aged Reserva and Gran Reserva reds show a lightness of touch, sometimes only 12.5% alcohol yet bags of character and complex developing aromas/flavours. And, considering the quality and charming maturity you get for your money, they’re relatively good value as well compared to, say, expensive young Priorat, Bordeaux or California.
Mind you, La Rioja Alta isn’t just a perfectionist in this enduring and hopefully not disappearing style. With their Torre de Oña Reserva, they’ve succeeded in creating a more ‘modern’ Rioja with all the class of their better-known names such as 904 or Ardanza. These lovely reds are based on Tempranillo with a splash of other varieties (see below for details) sourced from different vineyards and districts of Rioja Alta - it's a subzone, the upper or higher bit, as well as the winery's name (they probably had it first otherwise I don't imagine they'd be allowed to use the term). Thank you for sharing these bottles, wise folk at Armit Wines, London, which are sold by numerous other wine shops and restaurants.

2007 Torre de Oña Reserva (Tempranillo, Mazuelo; 13.5% alc.) - oakier and chunkier than the others but with seductive smoky and lush mouth-feel / flavours, lots of black and red fruits with a splash of vanilla set on solid backdrop with fresh vs punchy finish, tasty and stylish too. £19

2004 Viña Arana Reserva (Tempranillo, Mazuelo; 13%) - ‘cheesy’ developing notes vs lovely sweet berry fruit, has a bit of grip and freshness with firmer tighter finish than the older wines; still a relative baby and very promising. £20

2001 Viña Ardanza Reserva Especial (Tempranillo, Garnacha; 13.5%) - the grapes are mostly sourced from their Ardanza estate in Fuenmayor. Beautiful classy nose, smoky maturing and ‘volatile’ with enticing sweet fruit, has a bit more oomph vs fresh bite and elegant savoury finish; the alcohol’s more obvious than on the others, but it adds to its more structured make-up and this is definitely still very good wine. £25

1998 Gran Reserva 904 (Tempranillo, Graciano; 12.5%) - browny red colour, delicious ‘cheesy’ vs sweet-fruit nose with dried berries and light touch of vanilla, complex maturing savoury flavours yet it’s still alive and fresh; brilliant classic trad style. £35

1997 Gran Reserva 904 (13%) - ‘cheesier’ still with dried fruit vs savoury silky palate, meaty vs sweet profile, elegant and tasty, ageing yet still alive with a hint of lingering acidity and long cheesy/meaty flavours. Superb. £35
More info @ riojalta.com

Pinot Noir: Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand

2011-10-15T22:37:00.002+01:00

Monthélie vineyards
http://www.vins-bourgogne.fr/

This dual-hemisphere array of tasty Pinot was sampled and selected from a triad of recent tastings in London (Marks & Spencer, Wines of Chile, Armit), all going to show that Burgundy, home of Pinot if you like, really does have its work cut out nowadays. Although the Nuits St. Georges, Volnay or Corton-Bressandes scrutinized below were particularly good, French Pinot does sometimes lack a bit of obvious charm; whether because a certain wine just needs more time to open up or simply just isn't as good as it should be, given its high price and reputation of the producer, area or vineyard it comes from. That's not to say that the "New World" Pinots chosen here are more charming in the sense of more upfront, obvious or straightforward. Some of them are certainly pretty typical of the undoubted quality emerging from particular regions and winemakers, and most of them seem to effortlessly exude that seductive intricate PN "sweet/savoury" style, as I call it, cunningly abbreviated to "s/s" in my tasting notes.

Cooler climate wine regions such as Australia's Geelong (southwest of Melbourne) or New Zealand's Central Otago (centre-south of South Island); and the coastal areas of Limarí (a good trek north of Santiago), Casablanca or San Antonio (west of the capital) really are looking very exciting for Pinot in Chile (I'll try to avoid lapsing into those "difficult / fussy grape variety" clichés, oops too late...) By the way, that intriguing name of one of the Austin's wines has a distinctly Aus sense-of-humour tale attached to it; I copied this snippet off their London distributor's website, Armit Wines: "In a desire to produce an affordable, fruit-driven, immediate-drinking Pinot Noir, the Sixfootsix label was born in 2003. The quirky name derives from a Geelong folk-hero with a questionable criminal background, William Buckley, who was a giant of a man at six foot six inches tall..." So, there you have it; good Pinot is indeed a tall wine, rather than big, with fascinatingly sinister origins!

And another thing (updated a couple of days later)... A glass of 2010 "Pinot Noir" from the Languedoc ordered in a pub-restaurant yesterday (The Ivy House, Chalfont St. Giles: pretty good food actually with a touch of style) got me wondering about that "Pinot" scandal (goes to the story on Decanter.com) involving the Sieur d'Arques winery, other co-ops and merchant-vintners and Gallo (for one of their Red Bicyclette US range). Well, this one, made by the Foncalieu co-op winery group, was surprisingly deep-purple coloured with distinctive Merlot-esque aromas and quite chunky tannins. Allegedly vin de pays Pinot Noir, which it "obviously" was compared to all the others with real varietal character sampled here. Hmm... On the other hand, I've now (25/10) added a Languedoc Pinot at the bottom by Domaine de Clovallon that really does taste of Pinot and is quite stylish too, even if a touch pricey. You'll find more from this estate and more good PN from the region - especially Limoux - on my other blog frenchcataloniawine.com.

Australia

SixFootSix Pinot Noir 2008 Austin's Wines - Geelong, Victoria (14% alc.)
Maturing "sweet/savoury" nose, juicy vs dried cherry fruit with gamey edges, still lively vs drinking nicely too, quite long delicate finish. £12 Armit.
Austin's Pinot Noir 2009 - Geelong, Victoria (13% alc.)
Fairly gamey with quite rich dried Morello/Kirsch notes, again builds up to tasty and refreshing finish even vs lingering maturing side. Very good. £16.50 Armit.
More Oz Pinot here (then scroll down a bit).

New Zealand

Leah Pinot Noir 2008 Seresin - Marlborough (biodynamic)
Complex gamey vs towards herbal cassis notes, fair weight (14%) with hints of vanilla coco oak, although it does add texture; tasty "sweet/savoury" profile on the finish. £42 magnum, Armit.
Paper Road Pinot Noir rosé 2010 Borthwick Estate - Wairarapa (13%)
Lively and intense, very "s/s" PN style for a rosé with plenty of flavour, lush vs crisp combo, perhaps a tad tart in the end but quite a mouthful overall! £12 Armit.
Paper Road Pinot Noir 2009 Borthwick Estate - Wairarapa (14%)
Enticing Pinot nose, savoury vs sweet cherry, quite intense and stylish, again fresh vs weighty combo with fine length. £13 Armit.
Lobster Reef Pinot Noir 2009 - Marlborough (13.5%)
Very attractive easy-going style with bags of Pinot character, soft and silky with a touch of freshness still and sweet vs gamey fruit. Not hugely complex but who cares, especially at £7 on offer at Asda (usually £11).
Clocktower Pinot Noir 2009 Wither Hills - Wairau Valley, Marlborough (13.5%)
Appealing "s/s" aromas, ripe and silky then gamier on the palate, difficult not to like its style with a touch of dry texture and weight vs fresh acidity, maturing vs sweet fruit finish. £12 M&S (125 stores).
Earth's End Pinot Noir 2009 Mount Edward Wines - Central Otago (13.5%)
Again very seductive perfumed "s/s" profile, more intense and more oomph than above with lively acidity underneath, concentrated and tasty with structured mouth-feel still; attractive developing edges vs perfumed fruit, perhaps trying a bit too hard but it's impressive anyway. £16 M&S (120 stores).

Chile

Aconcagua Costa Pinot Noir 2010 Vina Arboleda - Aconcagua (14%)
A little closed up at first, subtle vs intense "sweet/savoury" Pinot character, quite commanding palate with concentrated tasty style and classy length / bite. £15+ New Generation Wines.
Reserva Pinot Noir 2010 Valdivieso - Casablanca (14%)
Nice perfumed "s/s" and cherry notes, fruity vs savoury with lively punchy mouth-feel, a touch of oak and attractive bite. £10-£15 Bibendum Wine.
Reserva Pinot Noir 2010 Vina Tabalí - Limarí (13.5%)
Lovely perfumed cherry tones, juicy and tasty with "s/s" edges, attractive sweet fruit and refreshing bite. £8-£10 Boutinot.
Reserva Especial Pinot Noir 2010 Vina Tabalí - Limarí (13.5%)
Smokier and edgier style, has a bit more grip and weight then fairly intense finish. £10-£15 Boutinot.
Talinay Pinot Noir 2009 Vina Tabalí - Limarí (14%)
Touches of oak, quite big mouthful with enticing perfumed "s/s" notes, a little tannin and fresh bite too, fair class overall. £15+ Boutinot.
Lo Abarca Hills Vineyard Pinot Noir 2007 Casa Marin - San Antonio Valley (14.5%)
Delicate aromatic "s/s" nose, tangy vs sweet fruit palate with maturing tones, quite weighty but balanced alcohol, attractive and classy savoury vs perfumed finish. £15+ Mentzendorff & Co.
Corralillo Pinot Noir 2010 Matetic Vineyards - San Antonio Valley (14.5%)
Rich cherry fruit with wilder edges, perfumed and intense; light grip and lively acidity vs a bit of oomph and concentrated. £14 Armit.
EQ Pinot Noir 2009 Matetic Vineyards - San Antonio Valley (14.5%)
Touch wilder and gamier still, more intense "s/s" profile too with sweet floral fruit, a little more oak textured but well-integrated, powerful and tasty finish. £18 Armit.
Tierra y Hombre Pinot Noir 2010 Viña Indomita (13.5%) - Casablanca Valley
Herby black cherry and cassis notes, perfumed and fruity, fairly intense with almost tart vs sweet fruit combo, not bad length too; very "modern" style but the PN still comes through nicely. £8 M&S (300 stores).
More sexy Pinot from Chile here: Viña Leyda.

France - Burgundy

Monthélie rouge 1er Cru Sur la Velle 2009 Leflaive (13.5%) - Côte de Beaune
A touch closed up, quite savoury and concentrated on the palate, a little clunky acidity/alcohol wise but it's fairly long and lingering. £35 Armit.
Nuits St. Georges 2008 Domaine Arnoux-Lachaux (13%) - Côte de Nuits
Perfumed vs savoury nose, more austere style vs maturing edges, nice dry vs sweet mouth-feel, tight and fresh still vs gamey elegant and long. Pretty classic. £29 Armit.
Mercurey 2009 Domaine de la Grangerie (13%) - Côte Chalonnaise
Very perfumed floral cherry and cassis aromas, quite intense and tangy vs "sweet/savoury" fruit, lively bite and elegant length vs attractive maturing profile. £13 M&S (from November in 175 stores).
Volnay 2009 Domaine Roux (13%) - Côte de Beaune
Savoury forward and ripe on the nose, tasty "s/s" combo with a touch of tannin lending texture vs fresh acidity; concentrated vs elegant, lovely tasty finish, still structured vs developing edges. Stylish. £20 M&S (from November in 150 stores).
Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru 2009 Domaine Antonin Guyon (13.5%) - Côte de Beaune
Enticing delicate nose, fragrant strawberry and cherry, maturing raisin-y notes; concentrated with subtle oak grain, dry vs fresh mouth-feel with long "s/s" flavours, floral vs gamey too, lovely finish and still very alive. Class, should be too: £50 M&S (50 stores).

France - Languedoc

2008 Les Pomarèdes Pinot Noir vin de pays d’Oc Domaine de Clovallon - further to my comments above on a case of Pinot fraud, this one’s definitely Pinot from this slightly off-the-wall estate in Bédarieux on the fringes of the Massif Central mountains. Succulent silky “sweet/savoury” style and attractive Pinot character, shows a touch of dry grip vs fresh acidity on the finish. Very good for Languedoc PN although kinda dear at £15.75 (Terroir Languedoc).

Portugal: Quinta da Falorca, Dão

2011-10-03T19:51:00.001+01:00

This pretty 13 hectare estate lurks in the increasingly hot Dão region about 10 miles from the historic town of Viseu, lining the somewhat inclined banks of the Dão river itself. There are four Quintas or vineyards actually – Vale das Escadinhas (perhaps the best-known one), Barreiro, Esmoitada and Falorca – where vines are kept company by olive, nut and pine trees. I'm told Quinta Vale das Escadinhas goes back a long long way and was founded by the Costa Barros de Figueiredo family. More info @ qve.pt or on London wine merchant Armit's site, who had these flavoursome little Portuguese numbers at their recent tasting. Mind you, they're on the dear side though...

2010 rosé (Touriga Nacional, 13.5% alc.) - big fruity rosé style with boiled sweet notes, dried red fruits vs tangier redcurrant and Morello cherry edges; good but expensive. £12

2010 white (Encruzado and Malvasia, 13% alc.) - juicy with light yeast-lees notes, banana vs green fruit combo, bit of oomph too vs crisp, full tasty and long finish. £14

2004 Reserva red (Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Alfrocheiro Preto, Tinta Pinheira, Jaen; 14.5% alc.) - rich smoky black cherry, chocolate, liquorice and pepper aromas / flavours; chunky and grippy vs attractive dried fruits and complex smoky maturing finish. £20

2006 E-Falorca red (Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz, Alfrocheiro Preto, Tinta Pinheira, Jaen; 14.5%) - smoky nose with sweet dark berries vs herby peppery tones, punchy and firm vs developing nice sweet fruit edges vs still very lively. £11

Heavy metal legends Motörhead release wine

2011-10-03T12:59:00.000+01:00

The latest in a (too) long line of celeb wines "made" by pop / film stars etc., and by far the most interesting in terms of who whatever the wine actually tastes like (post a comment if you have), I spotted this on DECANTER.COM recently and thought it worth, erm, thrashing out here. Click on the link below to read the full story on Decanter's site, by ace (of spades) web editor Adam Lechmere:

"Rock legends Motörhead have released their own wine, an Australian Shiraz loaded with attitude – as well as fruity aromas and rounded tannins..."

International Grenache Day

2011-09-23T14:11:00.001+01:00

It's today folks. My other blog, by its very French Mediterranean nature, is crammed full of Grenache based wines and talk. Just follow that link and skim through the latest posts to find several very recommendable wines made from one of my favourite red varieties: e.g. Galatée Cotes du Roussillon Villages by Piquemal, “Mais où est donc Ornicar” Minervois by Sénat, L’Extreme from the Côtes Catalanes by Les Clos Perdus and so on... Plus wine tasting & touring features such as "Banyuls & Maury, sweet seductive Roussillon," with the spotlight firmly on those delicious Port-style fortified reds made from, you guessed it, mega Grenache.

There are also a few Grenache-themed pieces on this blog: such as "Australia: Grenache" penned with enthusiasm back in June and quite a bit of Spanish wine blogging/reviewing, such as Borsao's seductive Tres Picos from Campo de Borja region in this post; or 2009 San Valentín Garnacha by Torres dug up at the recent Belfast Wine Festival.

So, go forth and purchase, taste, enjoy, talk about and share a tasty warming red carved from purest red Grenache. Unless you fancy a full-bodied white made from white Grenache or rosé from "grey" Grenache, that is...

More info: internationalgrenacheday.wordpress.com

Champers vs English fizz

2011-09-22T18:11:00.000+01:00

From gusbourne.com

Another idea for a mini-theme came to mind while sampling some nice fizz at London-based wine merchant Armit's recent tasting. They import the rather superlative Champagnes of Pierre Gimonnet et Fils and had them lined up alongside an English sparkling newcomer - relatively, their first "commercial" vintage was 2006 which wasn't released until the end of last year - from Kent called Gusbourne Estate in Appledore. And the verdict? Well, as you'll see below, my notes and "scores" on the excitingly simple 1 to 3 scale for all five wines are pretty much on a par. So, well done Gusbourne especially since they've only been making "Champagne style" fizz (same varieties, same ageing methods I'd guess) for six vintages, including the one they're probably picking now or about to. Classy wines although, as is the "problem" with these very small production, new-kid-on-the-block boutique English sparkling wine houses, the prices are more or less the same as the Gimonnet Champagnes. Not really a criticism - good luck in the current retail climate - just an observation, as I'm sure they've invested a lot of money into the estate and winery. Must go there sometime...
This reminds me to focus a bit more on English sparkling wines; it's been a while since I tried e.g. Ridgeview, Nyetimber, Camel, who all produce lovely fizz. There's a newish "does what it says on the label" website too covering the whole 'topic' with handy on-line shop: sparklingenglishwine.com.

Cuis 1er Cru Brut NV Champagne, Gimonnet - classic balance of bread-y yeasty notes, a bit of roundness and texture vs nice steely bite. 2 £30
Gastronome Brut 2006 Vintage Champagne, Gimonnet - toastier vs tarter profile, fine and tight style with long tasty finish, still seems quite young really. 2+ £32
Fleuron 1er Cru Brut 2005 Vintage Champagne, Gimonnet - delicious bread-y nose with oat cake tones, rich vs tight mouth-feel with fresher acidity vs more of those enticing biscuit flavours. 2+ £36

Gusbourne Blanc de Blancs 2006 (100% Chardonnay) - bread-y and lightly toasty vs nutty crisp side, subtle balance style and length. 2 £25-£30
Gusbourne Sparkling Rosé 2008 (Chardy, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier) - toasty with hints of chocolate and sweet red fruits vs crisp bite and dry texture, quite toasty finish but it's very tasty and different. 2 £25-£32

Chile: Syrah / Shiraz

2011-09-21T16:09:00.002+01:00

An aloof themed tasting table sat, literally, on a raised stage at the recent Wines of Chile annual London bash, dramatically billed as “Sensational Syrah”; but I think the Haydn-esque fanfare for fab Syrah from Chile is a little premature. Out of nearly 50 wines tasted, I found it quite hard going to find enough star Syrah / Shiraz to warrant this trail-blazing title; or even a decent amount of good attractive wines showing varietal character and reasonably priced (a lot of cloud-cuckoo-land RRPs in this line-up, it has to be said). Looking back through my tasting sheet, notes like “a bit extracted,” “too oaky,” “lacks charm” or “heavy handed” keep cropping up.

However, certain well- and lesser-known wineries did shine through, so here’s my twenty-something pick for what it’s worth (including a couple of Syrahs that weren’t ‘on the table’ but lurking elsewhere in the venue). On a stylistic, or marketing note perhaps, most of these wines are labelled Syrah rather than Shiraz: I guess this means Chile’s winemakers are modelling themselves on Europe or California rather than Australia?

Viña San Pedro ‘1865’ Limited Edition Syrah 2008, Elquí region (14% alc.) - quite rich and smoky fruit, dark lush profile showing better oak integration and nice texture, quite punchy yet balanced with spicy vs rustic edges. Dear though at £20. UK importer: Les Grands Chais de France.

Viña San Pedro ‘Kankana del Elquí’ Syrah 2007 (14% alc.) - fairly complex herbal berry tones with meaty edges, liquorice and leather mix with concentrated berry fruit, dry powerful mouth-feel, quite extracted but good. Silly price though at £35.

De Martino Single Vineyard Syrah ‘Alto Los Toros’ 2008, Elquí (14.5%) - quite tight and closed up, firm textured yet concentrated with sweet blackberry fruit vs lightly savoury notes; still pretty solid, grippy and powerful vs nice lush mouth-feel too. £23 Les Caves de Pyrene.

Viña Tabalí Reserva Syrah 2010, Limarí region (14.5%) - youthful and ‘inky’ with a touch of aok, tight firm palate showing hints of chocolate oak, fair length though with sweet fruit vs dry tannins, closes up on the finish. Fair value: £9.49 Boutinot Ltd.

Viña Tabalí ‘Payen’ 2007, Limarí (mostly Syrah, 14% alc.) - herby peppery nose with wild black fruits, subtle oak on a very concentrated palate, dry vs sweet texture and liquorice vs meaty finish. One of the best ones I tasted (pic. above). £15 Boutinot.

Von Siebenthal ‘Carabantes’ 2008, Aconcagua region (85% Syrah/10% Cab Sauv/5% Petit Verdot, 14.5% alc., organic) - better fruit with berries and spice vs nice meaty edges, chunky firm and punchy mouth-feel with a bit of character finally. £19.75 New Generation wines, D. Byrne & Co, Wimbledon Wine Cellars.

Errázuriz ‘Aconcagua Costa’ Single Vineyard Syrah 2010 (13.5%) - red pepper tones vs quite lush black cherry/berry fruit, big spicy mouthful then firm tight finish, needs a bit of time to open up. £20 Hatch Mansfield.

Errázuriz ‘La Cumbre’ Syrah 2007, Aconcagua (97% Syrah, 3% Petit Verdot, 14.5% alc) - similar profile to above but more intense, more new oak and more oomph; quite fine grained texture, still closed up really, promising although expensive. £52 Wimbledon Wine Cellars, slurp.co.uk

Marqués de Casa Concha Syrah 2008, Buin-Maipo region (96% Syrah, 4% Carmenere, 14.5% alc) - quite oaky at first but this has attractive black fruits with smoky edges, liquorice hints too vs chunky tannins and rounded weighty finish. £10.99 Corkscrew Wines, Nethergate Wines, Tanners Wines, Villeneuve wines, Corks Out, Farr Vintners, Harrods, everywine.co.uk, Bablake Wines.

Santa Carolina ‘Specialties’ Syrah 2009, Maipo (14%) - enticing herby spicy berry nose, quite concentrated lush and powerful, touch of choc oak and grip vs dark fruit finish. £15 Justerini & Brooks.

Viña Leyda Single Vineyard ‘Canelo’ Syrah 2009, Leyda region (14%) - smoky blackberry aromas, lively fruit vs grip vs subtle oak texture, powerful yet rounded; at last, a bit of class and Syrah style. Good value for quality too @ £10. Great Western Wine Co.

Profile on Leyda and more wines.

Matetic Vineyards ‘Corralillo’ Syrah 2009, San Antonio region (organic/biodynamic, 14.5%) - fairly firm and tight vs pretty concentrated with sweet vs peppery profile, black cherry and plum fruit underneath; again well balanced and stylish. £14.30 Armit Wines.

Matetic Vineyards Syrah 2008, San Antonio (organic/biodynamic, 14%) - wild edged with spicy black cherry and berry, punchy and grippy vs lovely fruit, has more new oak but not over the top. £37 Armit Wines.

Matetic Vineyards ‘EQ’ Syrah 2010, San Antonio (organic/biodynamic, 14%) - smoky bacon tones layered with spicy black fruits, nice tannins and weight, a tad over-oaked perhaps but it’s quite concentrated and has good depth of fruit. £15+ Armit Wines.

Anakena ONA Syrah 2009, Peumo - Cachapoal (14%) - peppery and herby vs savoury notes, lush and punchy but concentrated, firm vs sweet fruit; a bit classier and more Syrah like. £10.25 Stratford’s Wine Agencies.

Caliterra ‘Tributo’ Shiraz 2009, Colchagua (91 Syrah, 5 Malbec, 4 Petit Verdot, 14% alc.) - hints of attractive smoky lush character, dark choc notes on its firm vs rounded palate, black fruit finish. £10 everywine.co.uk

Ventisquero ‘Grey’ Syrah 2009, Apalta - Colchagua (14.5%) - more aromatic and spicy, hints of grainy coconut oak, tight and firm mouth-feel, a bit controlled but could be good a year or so on. Restaurants only: imported by PLB Group.

Morandé Gran Reserva Syrah 2008, Maule (14.5%) - touches of attractive spicy cherry fruit vs coco oak grain, lively and powerful though with sweet dark cherry finish. Restaurants only: imported by Barwell & Jones.

Italy: south by northwest

2011-09-15T18:18:00.004+01:00

So to speak... but I do enjoy a nice little movie reference pun every now and then (answers on an e-card please, a clue: Cary Grant snapping his fingers at a waiter at the wrong moment...). London based wine merchant Armit has a bit of a reputation for its posh Italian wines (and just posh wines full-stop actually), e.g. luxury-priced Gaja; and I tried a few recently so decided to theme it up, posting-wise, starting with Italy. Because, well, why not when there are seductive red and white wines like these out there waiting to be discovered. The selection I've tasting-noted below does indeed run from the glorious south (Salento) via the solid middle (Tuscany) to the unexpected northeast (Valpolicella) then heads way out west (Liguria and Piemonte). Plus a bonus island red thrown in from Sardinia, as you do. And you know what to do for more about 1, 2, 3...

Red

2007 Salice Salentino Riserva, Puglia - Cantele (Negroamaro/Malvasia Nero, 13% alc.): perfumed nose enhanced by pruney dried fruit notes, smoky and lush palate with dry vs sweet texture, fairly mature and very attractive now with tasty savoury finish. 1+ £9.85

2008 Montessu; Isola dei Nuraghi, Sardinia - Agricola Punica (14%): sunshine wine with dried figs, hints of tobacco and savoury meaty edges; powerful grippy mouth-feel balanced by nice maturing fruit, tasty traditional Med style. 2 £15.99

2008 Promis, Ca'Marcanda, Tuscany - Gaja (Merlot/Syrah/Sangiovese, 14%): smoky rustic vs herbal peppery notes, quite rich dark fruits and punchy weight vs 'inky' peppery, tight vs maturing finish showing subtle concentration. Good oldie style. 2 £25
2008 Magari, Ca'Marcanda, Tuscany - Gaja (Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot, 14.5%): more Morello cherry and less earthy, again quite concentrated and lush with dark plum and a touch of chocolate oak, finer and more textured although has a bit more oomph too; fairly classy. 2+ £32.17
2004 Ca'Marcanda; Bolgheri, Tuscany - Gaja (Merlot, Cab Sauv & Cab Franc, 14.5%): complex savoury nose with liquorice and earthy tobacco tinges, rich dark and concentrated palate with smoky edges, punchy and lively still with underlying grip and acidity. 2-3 £67.17
2009 Le Volte, Tuscany - Tenuta dell'Ornellaia (13.5%): smoky dried fruit aromas, lush cherry fruit with sweet vs dry mouth-feel, maturing edges and attractive drinking now. 1+ £15.17
2009 Le Difese, Tuscany - Tenuta San Guido (14%): smoky Morello nose, dried fruits, liquorice vs tobacco hints; powerful vs fresh, layered with sweet maturing earthy fruit. 1+ £15.37
2009 Guidalberto, Tuscany - Tenuta San Guido (Cab Sauv/Merlot, 14%): sweeter fruit although it seems 1-2 years younger, intense and concentrated, stylish balanced palate with power and bite and delicious long finish. Yum. 2-3 £27.17
2006 Sugarille; Brunello di Montalcino, Pieve di Santa Restituta, Tuscany - Gaja (Sangiovese, 15%): lovely coffee and tobacco notes vs dried cherry fruit, a touch of coco/chocolate on the palate adding roundness to its punchy lively firmer side, the alcohol's a tad warm but this is very concentrated and tasty. 2 £89

2005 Valpolicella Superiore - Romano dal Forno (Rondinella/Molinara, 15%): "lightly appasite" it said on the backlabel, meaning towards Amarone style I think. Seductive smoky dark fruits with hints of chocolate and cedar, lush vs tangy palate with cassis vs prune fruit profile, still pretty solid and impressive yet balanced too. 2-3 £61
2006 Barolo, Piemonte - Giacomo Fenocchio: pretty classic Nebbiolo profile with maturing dried fruits and 'cheesy' edges, soft vs firm palate and tasty savoury finish. 1-2 £29

White
2010 Vermentino; Colli di Luni, Liguria - Cantine Lunae (12.5%): zesty zingy citrus with peachy apricot hints, tasty and refreshing with nutty vs 'mineral' intensity, roundish yet crisp finish. Nice style. 1-2 £12.99
2010 Roero Arneis, Piemonte - Bruno Giacosa (12.5%): aromatic nutty nose, tighter more 'mineral' palate, juicy and lees-y too with fresh acidity. Dear though at £21. 1
I didn't like this guy's reds by the way...

More 'themes' on the way from this tasting: Pinot Noir, Champers vs English fizz, classic Rioja, Quinta da Falorca (Portugal), a couple of enticing red Rhones & white Burgundies...

Spain: Bobal, Monastrell, Garnacha, Tempranillo

2011-09-05T22:06:00.001+01:00

This loosely connected lightening-tour tasting of half-a-dozen reds takes in a couple or so “modern classics,” kind of, ranging from northern Spain and heading towards the southeast coast, and all mostly made from sunny Med-red grape varieties. These wines are available from independent wine stores and on-line retailers supplied by UK importer and agent boutinot.com (more info there, they do also sell certain wines in the US): I've now updated it with a few outlets and approx prices. For total wisdom regarding my back-to-basics 1 - 2 - 3 "scoring system", just move your eyes a few cm to the right.

Miguel Gil

2009 Pasión de Bobal Utiel-Requena region (near Valencia: Bobal is native to this area) - juicy black fruits and spices, nice and lively mouth-feel, quite punchy too vs soft tannins. 1+
£11 Virginwines.co.uk, Selfridges, D. Byrne.

2009 Juan Gil Monastrell (= Mourvèdre/Mataro), Jumilla region - full-of-beans 'modern' red with spicy blackberry fruit and a touch of vanilla oak, again has that attractive rounded vs punchy combo. 2
£8 Noel Young, Great Grog.

2008 Clio Monastrell/Cabernet Sauvignon, Jumilla - still quite oaky yet has spicy attention-grabbing style with rich concentrated palate, dry vs sweet tannins/fruit to finish. 2
£35 Noel Young, Hanging Ditch.

2008 Borsao Tres Picos Garnacha, Campo de Borja - also quite smoky oaky vs juicy liquorice, peppery too with oomph and supple tannins, chocolatey yet lush-fruity mouth-feel. 2
£13 Wines of Interest, Woodwinters.

2009 Borsao Mítico Garnacha, Campo de Borja - enticing juicy vs chunky Grenache style, spicy and powerful vs sweet liquorice finish. 1+
£6 Asda

2009 Mesomeros de Castilla, Ribera del Duero - fairly tight and closed up, grainy texture vs intense berry fruit, fiery finish almost vs solid tannins, needs 6 to 12 months to express itself better but promising. 2
£9 Virginwines.co.uk, PW Amps.

Belfast Wine Festival, the aftermath…

2011-09-04T15:34:00.001+01:00

Belfast's first Wine Festival appeared to go swingingly last Bank Holiday Monday at St. George's market, which proved a perfectly satisfactory venue for the show (light enough, laid-back, has a lived-in food&drinkie feel to it). As I mentioned in my previous post, Olly Smith was on hand to liven up a couple of tastings with his usual enthusiasm or throw in wine matching tips for the chef demos that also took place live. There were a few good food stands there too, including Spanish caterer Tapitas who did a tasty wee platter of tapas for a fiver (paella, cured ham, chorizo, tortilla...) and the Co. Down Honey Farm (Crossgar) matching it with goats' cheese, sweet wines etc.
One small criticism perhaps: seems a tad mean to charge £16.50 entry, then another £5 if people wanted to try a further wave of ten wines (and then another fiver for the big samplers...). I appreciate the organiser would want to make a decent profit and it's not wise to let people 'try' as many as they like... But why not, e.g. put out more tip-buckets and encourage punters that they don't have to drain every drop in their glass (naive, moi)?! I've knocked up notes on my twenty-something favourite wines deemed to be very good for one reason or another: post a comment if you agree or disagree, or with yours…

Torres' Fransola vineyard, Upper Penedès

Whites

Italy: 2009 Primo Bianco Vermentino di Sardegna (13% alc.) – lovely example of the usually pleasant-surprise Vermentino grape variety, with floral honeysuckle aromas and peachy lightly tropical fruit notes, weighty vs elegant mouth-feel, tasty and intense finish. £10.99

France: 2009 Patrick Piuze Petit Chablis (Chardonnay, 12.5% alc.) – riper and fruitier (and less expensive) than a still good 2008 Chablis on show (by Domaine des Marronniers), this has nice classic creamy vs quite ‘mineral’ profile, attractive juicy fruit with good bite and zest. £14.99

2010 La Croix Gratiot Roussanne, Domaine Sainte Croix, Languedoc (13.5%) – quite rich with perfumed honey blossom and subtle toasty / yeast lees edges, nice balance of oomph and interesting flavours as the Roussanne grape often delivers. £9.49
South Africa: 2010 Paul Cluver Noble Late Harvest Riesling, Elgin (the most southerly region on the coast, 10.5% alc.) - gorgeous linseed-oily and honeyed tones, rich sweet palate with dried apricot, pineapple, honey and citrus flavour combo vs attractive underlying fresh acidity. £12.49 half-bottle.
Spain: Torres 2009 Waltraud Riesling, Penedès (13%) - Torres must be the only one in Spain to plant Riesling (?), up in the hills northwest of Barcelona (see photo above taken from torres.es), and what a result! Floral 'mineral' style, quite intense and definitely Riesling-like showing hints of ripe citrus and oily development on nose/palate with enticing 'chalky' bite. £9.99
Rosé: Torres 2010 De Casta rosado, Catalunya (13.5%) - much simpler wine than above, and totally different of course, but this typical Catalan rosé is always enjoyable vintage after vintage. Ripe perfumed raspberry and rose petal notes, quite full-on mouth-feel with rounded vs crisp finish. £7.99
Reds
Italy: 2010 Gran Sasso Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (the grape, the region) - tasty chunky red with liquorice tones and hints of coconut, powerful firm palate with well-integrated oak and ripe vs dry finish, good stuff. £9.99
2005 Allegrini La Poja, Verona (100% Corvina variety from a single vineyard, 14.5%) - complex maturing nose with savoury and old-wood tones, has a fair kick and acidity too lending nice bite to its grip, quite fine actually with attractive maturing fruit. £57!
2007 Allegrini Amarone Classico (same area as above, different grapes and winemaking 15.5%) - full-on style with maturing fig, date and liquorice fruit; grippy vs sweet-fruit palate, pretty classic Amarone style, tastes rounder and older than the above, funnily enough. £49
South Africa: 2010 Ernie Els Big Easy, Western Cape (Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Viognier; 14.5%) - some varietal blend that, giving a punchy spicy red with herby minty tones vs dark fruits and liquorice, concentrated solid mouth-feel with 'sweet/savoury' profile and plenty of flavour; very South African but 'modern' if you follow me. £14.99
2008 Glenelly Cabernet Sauvignon, Stellenbosch (14.5%) - hints of coconut oak layered with concentrated 'inky' cassis fruit, quite extracted tannins vs rich liquorice too, big smoky and lush vs tangy finish. Pretty serious stuff, successful SA / Bordeaux combo (the owner was a top chateau owning nob from the latter). £10.99
2008 Glenelly Lady May Stellenbosch (91% Cabernet Sauvignon & 9% Petit Verdot, to be precise! 14.5% alc.) - even more Pauillac leaning, leafy vs spicy new-oak edges, concentrated firm and tight palate vs tasty long finish and lingering 'sweet/savoury' fruit. Wow. I'd perhaps prefer a touch more ripeness / less austere style although classy stuff. £25
2008 Spice Route Mourvèdre (14.5%) - spicy minty nose with a bit of slightly clunky oak, this has good substance though with again those herbal red pepper tones vs punchy dark fruit palate and chocolate oak texture. £9.99

All the wines above were supplied by Nick's Wines (Belfast, on-line) / Harry's Road Fine Wines (wholesale to restaurants).
These reds below are available from Mundus Wine Company (Belfast):
Australia: 2008 Crackerjack Riverbend Shiraz/Viognier, Victoria (14%) - oak spice and black pepper notes plus sweet black cherry and blackberry; rounded mouth-feel with sweet fruit vs oomph and dry grip, aromatic too on the finish and fairly classy in the end. £11.99
2008 Nick Faldo Selection Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra/South Australia (made by Katnook Estate, 13.5%) - cassis and coconut on the nose, quite intense palate with 'sweet/savoury' fruit, attractive tannins and punch vs tasty maturing and subtle too.
2007 O'Leary Walker Pinot Noir, Adelaide Hills/S. Australia (12.5%) - elegant and juicy with typical 'sweet/savoury' perfumed Pinot style, fresh bite and a bit of oomph too, quite fine and long on the finish. £15.99
2003 O'Leary Walker The Ghan Sleeper Reserve Shiraz, Southern Flinders Ranges/S. Aus (15%) - delicious maturing meaty nose with liquorice and spice too, complex and big chewy mouthful, lush and concentrated, powerful yet with soft tannins; tasty foodie red with lots of flavours. £25

And a trio of tantalizing reds from Nouveau Wines (Groomsport):
Argentina: Pascual Toso 2009 Malbec, Mendoza region (14%) - spicy and punchy, hints of oak layered with red and black fruits, rounded tannins and 'sweet/savoury' finish. £10.25
South Africa: Simonsig Pinotage 2008 - smoky maturing complex nose with liquorice notes too, lively tangy mouth-feel vs lusher smoother side, powerful finish with 'earthy'/'tar' characters even! £10.25
Spain: 2008 Carlos Serres Old Vines Tempranillo, Rioja (13%) - light oak tones enhanced by developing savoury meaty and dried fruit, intense concentrated palate with rich maturing finish. Classy. £9.99

France: Chateau de la Ligne, Bordeaux - owned by N. Ireland businessman Terry Cross, more info and stockists @ chateaudelaligne.com - 2008: slightly leafy blackcurranty nose, quite smooth and tasty, fairly light but has substance too for not a great vintage. 2007: also a difficult year in Bordeaux weather-wise, this is a touch richer and firmer with a bit more oak, well-balanced though and more closed up than the 08 actually. £12.99

Finally, back to Spain and a couple of Torres reds:
2009 San Valentín Garnacha (14%) - aromatic ripe Grenache style with juicy cherry fruit and liquorice, soft vs punchy mouth-feel; attractive sweet vs dry texture, powerful yet very drinkable! £7.99
2007 Celeste Crianza, Ribero del Duero (relatively new wine and territory for Torres, this is probably mostly made from Tempranillo in this increasingly trendy region of northern-central Spain; 13.5% alc.) - scented cedar-y aromas with ripe berry and cassis fruit, quite lush and structured yet elegant and stylish, even if a little too Rioja like. £12.99

Anyway, enough of my ramblings: see you there next year. I might think about doing a tutored tasting or something like that, if the organiser is game on. Watch this futuristic space...

Blue Nun: retro chic & Indian food

2011-08-27T13:00:00.006+01:00

"Imagine my surprise" when my companion got a bottle of Blue Nun to take to one of those civilized Indian (or probably north Pakistani / Bangladeshi actually) restaurants that let you take your own - the recommended 'Green Chilli' in Bangor, N.Ireland to be precise. But, hey I thought, things have changed and it's a whole branded range now including reds, pink and fizz too sourced from all over the wine planet. Let's see what it's like nowadays... Reinventing yourself and changing "to suit consumer tastes," as the marketing babblers would no doubt put it, are obviously a good thing.
This Blue Nun, a 2010 Rivaner/Riesling blend (the former a crossbreed of Sylvaner and Riesling, aka Müller-Thurgau, so kinda two-thirds Riesling then I s'pose) from Germany's Rheinhessen region with refreshing 10% alcohol, is zesty floral and citrus edged with some of that Riesling 'mineral' oily thing going on. It's also on the off- to medium-dry side, unlike the dreaded sickly sweet Liebfrau of the past, and, although fairly delicate, did work quite well with a variety of 'Indian' dishes, such as prawn puri, aloo chat, mushroom rice or sag tikka special (all very tasty, nice and spicy but not too powerful). But it was a bit light for the sizzling lamb dish, which probably needed a fruity rosé with a touch more weight although certainly not a red wine, which doesn't generally go with this type of food from my experience (spices and tannin = big flavour clash). Widely available for about a fiver: this bottle £4.89 in Asda I think.

bluenunwines.com

gchilli.com

Photo = Blue Nun Winemaker’s Passion Riesling, not the one I tried but could be worth a go too...

Chile: no way rosé! Part 2...

2011-08-24T15:55:00.005+01:00

Without wishing to get too obsessive about rosado from Chile - refer to my previous post Chile: rosé / rosado to follow my drift - here are a few more that seem worth throwing into the pink wine pot. It is still summer after all, even if August has turned out a little variable (sorry for the boring weather talk)... then again, I enjoy rosé all year round as it's usually very food friendly (making sweeping generalizations). Plus there are so many on offer at the moment, like these three all priced about £4 to £5 a bottle. See blurb on "easy as 1, 2, 3" scores in the right-hand column.

2010 Isla Negra Cabernet Sauvignon rosé reserva (Cono Sur winery, 12.5% alc.) - in the deeper-coloured school with plenty of juicy raspberry and strawberry fruit. 1

2010 Caliterra Shiraz rosé reserva, Colchagua region (13%) - a touch 'finer' in style maybe, less red and a hint more 'salmon' anyway (although still wild Alaskan rather than Scottish!), quite zingy too vs nice and perfumed / fruity. 1

2010 Luis Felipe Edwards Shiraz/Cab Sauv rosé reserva (13%) - deep cherry / psychedelic pink, chewy chunky style with dark berry fruits. 1

Having sung their praises, just to use yet another cliché, they're all very much for drinking now: you should be looking out for 2011 vintage pink (and white) whites from the Southern Hemisphere, much fresher and livelier. Enjoy, in moderation of course...

Spain: Cava

2011-08-05T13:59:00.001+01:00

Perelada Brut Reserva
www.castilloperelada.com

A trio of tasty “fizzes of the moment” have also inspired a timely update to my Cava mini-guide kick-started back in 2006, which I’ve now teleported across from ‘old’ WineWriting.com and carefully stored in a new ‘Spain page’ nestling among the ‘wine words’ archive. Click here to check it out, which will soon be plumped up with other hot Spanish tasting and touring features such as: tripping, sampling and eating in dreamy Castilla - León wine country (experienced first hand and penned in 2009); cutting-edge tasting reports such as ‘new wave’ Spain, Monastrell from Jumilla and ‘Rioja-free zone’; various winemaker snapshots and wine reviews from across the country and more besides…

Back to those three recently test-driven “creative Catalan bubbles,” as I coined the expression at the time as a subtitle to my mini-guide, which have also been added to it…

Codorníu 2009 Vintage Rosado Brut (Monastrell, Garnacha; 12% alc.) – bottle aged on lees for at least 9 months. Quite delicate fizz actually with subtle toasty oat-cake & biscuit edges vs ‘sweet’ red fruit cocktail vs refreshing bite and length. 1+

£6.99 at Tesco, allegedly "half-price" although I never believe the so-called full-price claimed on these offers. Anyone else spotted Tesco's increasingly blatant shelf-positioning of ridiculously over-priced bottles right next to the current "half-price" deals, so you'll notice them and which the following week or month magically become "half-price" themselves? Their way of getting round the law I suppose, allegedly...

Freixenet Excelencia Brut (1/3 each Macabeo, Xarel·lo, Parellada; 11.5%) - light refreshing style with floral and subdued yeasty-bready aromas, attractive baked almond notes and gently oily vs crisp finish. 1

£5.99, also allegedly "half-price" at Winemark/Russell’s Cellars in Northern Ireland. I've also bought bottles of this in Catalunya in the past and enjoyed it just the same, especially as it used to be about €3.50 there!
2008 Clos de Monistrol Vintage Extra Brut (Chardonnay, Macabeo, Xarel·lo, Parellada; 12%) - yet another "half-price" job, I think from memory at Sainsbury's (?), making it a very good £5-£6 bargain anyway. Quite toasty and rich actually with roast almond and oaty edges, hints of honey and oily texture with a little crispness underneath; not very fizzy but fairly fine with off-dry finish. 1+

See blurb in the right-hand column for more on "as easy as 1-2-3 scoring."

And finally, a taster of that much-lauded Cava mini-guide aka "creative Catalan bubbles." Intro: "I'm not going to bore you with the full monty geographical or technical stuff, the Cava region is quite vast and extends beyond Catalunya... This gradually expanding page, originally published in 2008, is more about bringing your attention to a few lesser-known sparkling gems and hopefully also to encourage you to explore beyond Barcelona and the region's nice beaches and coastal towns, out into real Cava country... head for those green hills!" Includes these 10 stand-out Cava wineries: Llopart, Carles Andreu, Perelada, Parxet, Raimat, Bach, Lavernoya, Mont Àrac, Blancher, Parató...

And you'll find more here too (scroll down to Spain): Wines of the moment 2005 - 2010

Belfast Wine Festival, 29 August

2011-08-04T15:40:00.001+01:00

This apparently new wine gig is taking place on Bank Holiday Monday 29th August at the well-known St. Georges Market on the edge of Belfast city centre and sounds like a nice, and educational of course, winey day-out. TV wine taster presenter Olly Smith, and others, will be "live" doing a few tasting workshops throughout the day; and there'll be plenty of walk-around stands featuring local wine merchants and food outlets. Tickets cost £16.50: check out their website for more info belfastwinefestival.co.uk. See you there...

"Wines of the moment" - South Africa & Portugal

2011-07-28T16:43:00.002+01:00

I've been a fan of Chenin Blanc for a long time and the sometimes stimulating white wines the South African climate, vineyards and their winemakers manage to mould from it. Here's a rather good-value one too, on offer at least at Sainsbury's for a Fiver: 2010 "Taste the Difference" Fairtrade Chenin Blanc from Wellington region (13.5% alc.). It earns its "white of the mo" status thanks to enticing and quite rich honey and melon fruit, juicy zesty vs rounded and towards weighty texture finishing with nice crisp dry bite. Try with fishcakes, fish and chips, prawn risotto and might even stand up to mackerel or goats' cheese, maybe...

And my coveted "rosé of the mo" award goes to... drum roll... another wine on offer, inevitably perhaps (was £4.50 in Asda stores, usually £5.98): Portugal's Tagus Creek 2010 rosé made from Shiraz and Touriga Nacional by the Falua winery (Tejo region, 13% alc.). This one is definitely in the deep-coloured and quite chunky rosé school with lush berry fruits, boiled sweet tones and rounded almost oily mouth-feel with off-dry finish. Good all-rounder on the food front. taguscreek.com

Wines of Lebanon in London

2011-07-14T14:13:00.003+01:00

Wines of Lebanon had an impressive and suitably Mediterranean presence, for this blog and its vague themery (enhanced by a Middle Eastern twist of course), at this year's London International Wine Fair. The result: several new winery "profiles" & updates with nearly 50 wine reviews featuring Musar, Karam, Ixsir, Ksara, St. Thomas, Coteaux du Liban, Tourelles and Wardy... Read on (goes to Lebanon page in "more wine words").

I've also brought everything else Lebanese together on this page previously published on 'old' WineWriting.com (but not yet dead...), including:
Winery snapshot: Heritage... latest vintages reviewed March 2008.
Wine touring in Lebanon November 2005: Beirut, Baalbek and Bekaa.
Lebanese food by John Salvi MW.

Photo = Cedar and moon, copyright Jim Budd

Australia: Grenache

2011-06-19T19:03:00.004+01:00

In keeping with my self-confessed ‘Mediterranean’ theme, and confronted with an enormous amount of Australian wines up for tasting at the London International Wine Fair last month, I decided to seek out that seductive favourite, Grenache. I tend to disagree, by the way, with those who insist on calling Grenache and associated grapes “Rhone varieties.” Okay, Syrah, yes; and there is a lot of Grenache planted in the southern Rhone Valley. But let’s not forget it’s a Spanish variety, Garnacha, and very Med in origin. Ditto Mourvèdre / Monastrell / Mataro, which definitely isn’t a Rhone variety although did, of course, also migrate further north in Europe and overseas.

Back to Australia and Grenache, there’s some history here with a handful of producers who can boast plantings of some really old vines. As you’ll see from the first wine below, Barossa-based Yalumba uses a labelling charter to classify that rather vague term ‘old-vine,’ which is being adopted by other wineries in the region. So, “Old Vine” = 35+ years of age, “Survivor Vine” = 70+ years, “Centurion Vine” = 100+ and “Ancestor Vine” = over 125 years old! All of the Grenache and Grenache blends I found on show come from Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale in South Australia, which is probably part history and part climate/soils.

It’s believed the first vines were planted in or near Barossa in 1842 and, fittingly for my theme here, the word comes from the Barrosa Ridge in Andalusia, Spain; although these winegrowing settlers weren’t Spanish but German (from Silesia) and English. This area is still phylloxera-free hence how plots have survived as knotted old bush vines on their own roots. However, there’s only about 700 hectares (1750 acres) of Grenache in Barossa vs almost 6000 Shiraz, which has accelerated dramatically in the last 20 years. And there's about 400 ha of Grenache in McLaren, which was established around the same time and is a smaller region than Barossa. Grenache champions such as Chester Osborn (pictured top) of the d’Arenberg family winery have been restoring abandoned vineyards and have some 100+ year-old Grenache.

I say blends as, in general, the best/most successful wines (and the majority) I tried were in fact Grenache with Syrah/Shiraz and/or Mourvèdre or sometimes other combos such as Tempranillo, Carignan, Cinsault. Which reflects the French, Spanish or Californian experience, except for the occasional sensational 100% Grenache you discover here and there; but that’s not usually the norm. It’s a tidy balancing act to create something that’s rich, full of sunshine, rounded yet chunky without being too big, heady or ‘jammy’. Either way, straight or blended, in the right spot and the right hands, Grenache certainly can be transformed into exciting red wines. Here’s a couple of dozen from Australia… and there’s one rosé too...

2009 Yalumba Bush Vine Grenache, Barossa “certified old vine” (14.5% alc.) – not much nose, lightly peppery and sweet fruit, almost a bit ‘dusty’ (?); punchy mouth-feel vs soft tannins; lacks a bit of depth though vs alcohol. 1

2006 Yalumba Single Site Grenache; Moppa, Barossa (14%) – touch of vanilla oak vs maturing spicy liquorice notes, more savoury on the finish; powerful vs soft and mature texture, a tad more elegant although stills lacks a bit of concentration. 1

2006 Yalumba Single Site Grenache; Vine Vale, Barossa (14%) – a touch richer and chunkier with firmer structure vs nice ‘sweet/savoury’ fruit, again it’s maturing and soft with better integrated alcohol. 2

2009 Chapel Hill Bush Vine Grenache, McLaren Vale (15%) – perfumed and spicy, soft-ish with meaty edges and liquorice / coffee notes, touch of firm structure and punch to finish. 1

2009 Chapel Hill Mourvèdre, McLaren Vale (15%) – aromatic dark cherry and black olive, spicy and punchy with grippier palate; still quite tight and fresh/firm on the finish vs attractive sweet blackberry fruit. 2

2008 Paxton AAA Shiraz/Grenache, McLaren (14.5%) – 70% of the former: herbal minty dark cherry with sweeter lusher liquorice side, powerful yet has nice soft texture vs a touch of grip. 1-2 (£14)

2009 McGuigan The Shortlist Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvèdre (GSM); Lyndoch, Barossa (14%) – rich and spicy black-fruit cocktail with liquorice and dark olive tones, nice grip vs ‘sweet/savoury’ fruit; well-made blend. 2 (£15 Majestic)

2009 Willunga 100 The Tithing Grenache, McLaren (14.5%) – has more Grenache character with sweet and juicy fruit vs chunkier firmer side, liquorice vs peppery with subtle oak backdrop, rich soft finish vs dry coating. 2 (Liberty Wines)

2010 Willunga 100 Grenache, McLaren (14.5%) – shows more oak adding chocolate and blackberry, nice fruit vs grip with lively finish. 1-2 (Liberty Wines)

2009 Peter Lehmann Shiraz/Grenache, Barossa (14.5%) – rich dark berry and pepper, savoury side too vs minty and wilder tones, attractive tannins vs sweet black fruit. 2

2009 Peter Lehmann Layers (Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Tempranillo), Barossa (14.5%) – more herbal berry on the nose, firmer mouth-feel vs enticing ‘sweet/savoury’ fruit and peppery punchy side; maturing vs spicy finish, quite long and powerful. 2

2008 Peter Lehmann Barossa Brunette (75% Grenache, 25 Shiraz; 14.5% alc.) – attractive sweet fruit with savoury edges, punchy and fairly firm vs lush fruit and tannins; showing a nice touch of age and interesting style. 2-3

2009 d’Arenberg The Stump Jump (GSM), McLaren (14%) – nice sweet berry and spice on the nose, quite soft vs a hint of grip, lacks a bit of depth though. 1 (slurp.com)

2008 d’Arenberg The Custodian Grenache, McLaren (14.5%) – fuller style, nice savoury edges and sweet maturing berry with liquorice and raisin notes, oomph to finish. 1-2 (Majestic)

2008 d’Arenberg The Cadenzia (Grenache, Shiraz, Mourvèdre, Tempranillo, Cinsault), McLaren (14.5%) – livelier berry fruit, peppery too and quite subtle actually with appealing grip vs sweet tannins, enticing savoury coffee notes on the finish that wears the 14.5 well. 2 (slurp.com)

2007 d’Arenberg The Ironstone Pressings (GSM), McLaren (15%) – more obvious oak to start but it’s set on a sweet black fruit and ‘tar’ background; concentrated and peppery, still youthful actually with tight vs tasty maturing finish, again that 15% is well-integrated. 2-3 (Waitrose)

2009 Rosemount Grenache/Shiraz, SE Australia (13.5%) – nice juicy fruity blackberry style with touches of olive and savoury meaty too, soft vs dry finish; attractive easy going wine. 1

2009 Jacob’s Creek Grenache/Shiraz, SE Australia (14%) – appealing sweet liquorice fruit style, soft tannins, attractive and tasty now. £7.59

2009 S.C. Pannell Grenache, McLaren (14.5%) – rich spicy nose with meaty leather tones, concentrated and ‘oxidative’ style, still firm vs developing ‘sweet/savoury’ fruit. 2-3 (Liberty Wines)

2010 Charles Melton Rose of Virginia, Barossa (50% Grenache + Cab Sauv and others, 13% alc.) – deep colour and chunky fruit, vibrant and juicy vs creamy cherry; crisper finish, nice Med style rosé. 1+ (Liberty Wines)

2008 John Duval Wines Plexus (SGM), Barossa (14.5%) – hint of sweet oak vs vibrant black cherry, wilder spicier side too with liquorice and ‘tar’ vs savoury maturing fruit, punchy structured finish still. 2-3 (Liberty Wines)

2009 Torbreck Cuvée Juveniles GSM, Barossa (14.5%) – lovely maturing and pure sweet berry nose with hints of ‘tar’ and meaty edges, spicy berries vs ‘sweet/savoury’ profile then a touch of grip and bite to finish. 2

2008 Torbreck The Steading GSM, Barossa (15%) – again has that attractive ripe sweet side vs more structured palate, the alcohol’s a bit punchy vs maturing fruit finish. 1

Lots more Australia in the archive (top Chardy, Riesling & Shiraz etc.) and click here to view several hot Oz winemaker profiles: Yabby, Wakefield, St Hallett, Pirie, Mitchelton, Knappstein, Greenstone, Clonakilla, Paxton, Petaluma, Lehmann and more...

‘Natural wine’

2011-06-06T15:06:00.001+01:00

The first ‘natural’ wine fair (NWF) was held in London last month, and I’m certainly not the first person to go on about it or ask the inevitable question: what exactly is ‘natural’ wine? And do we need to define and label it anyway, when there already are systems and rules in place for those winegrowers/makers who want to go that extra kilometre (or ten) and get themselves certified as an organic or biodynamic producer. The NWF catalogue included a ‘Charter of Quality’ giving a few definitions:

“All grapes are, at a minimum, organic. All grapes are hand-harvested. No added yeasts. No added sugar. No rectified acidity. Basically none of the dozens of additives often found in wine, except perhaps a little sulphite (a preservative among other uses) added during fermentation or at bottling*. Some of the wines won’t have anything added at all.”

So, all sounds perfectly fair enough and commendable but nothing more than what many/most organic and all biodynamic producers already adhere to. That * clause about sulphites is perhaps one of the key things here, certainly in terms of ‘controlling’ winemaking (there’s a subtle difference between keeping the upper hand on the process and swamping a wine with technology). “A little” isn’t very specific or scientific for sure; they quantify this by adding: “For us, low sulphite levels means that the grower is ultimately aiming to add little or no SO2 (sulphur dioxide) at all… dependant (sic.) on the year.”

Tom Lubbe of Domaine Matassa in the Roussillon sets a more technical level for this at “less than 20 milligrams per litre total SO2 in bottle,” which is readily measurable in a lab and about one-fifth to one-tenth of what might be in a ‘normal’ wine (and permitted). It's worth adding that all wine contains some sulphites, even if no SO2 is added, as a natural by-product of fermentation etc. Tom also talked about copper based treatments, the traditional ‘natural’ choice for combating e.g. a particular type of mildew, as copper (present in the human organism in minute quantities but toxic at higher levels) can hang around and pollute rivers. “In a well-run organic or biodynamic vineyard (i.e. not using synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, working the soil in the old-fashioned way etc.), you don’t see a build up of copper… or a desert effect…” as a living soil manages to diffuse these solutions. And something else missing from the NWF’s manifesto is sulphur itself, which is also a mainstay of organic viticulture in a ‘natural’ form.

At the end of the day, there were many exciting wines and wineries on tasting at the show, which was obviously the point. Due to lack of time, I stuck to sampling producers from the Languedoc & Roussillon, some I knew and some I didn’t, and wasn’t disappointed. But I also overheard several people who attended comment on certain wines, which were just plain ‘bad’ in the sense of very faulty, which, as Isabelle Legeron MW said - one of the event organisers along with importers Caves de Pyrene, Dynamic Vines, Aubert & Mascoli and Yapp Brothers - is always the danger. “Producing natural wine is like walking on a tight rope without a safety net. Great natural wine producers are brave men and women who dare to go against the grain of the modern wine world…”

Totally ‘natural’ wines, e.g. SO2 free, can easily include all the undesirable stuff too, the stuff that makes wine behave, look, smell or taste odd, unstable or ‘off’; such as wild spoilage yeasts, uninhibited oxidation or excessive acetic bacteria. You could argue whether it really matters if a natural product contains these things that come with nature; but, if left unchecked, it’s about the difference between a wine tasting good, complex, wholesome or even quirky and teetering over the edge into not nice. A common character I’ve noticed on ‘natural’ white wines is a kind of ‘real-cider’ aroma/flavour, which can be attractive if not over the top (i.e. verging on cider vinegar). But I don’t think it suits a red wine. Like balancing those sometimes complex, wild, smoky or almost leather/‘animal’ notes vs a red that smells of farm compost.

Profiles and notes on these sampled estates to follow on my other blog (where you'll find this same post, as it applies to all wines and winemakers of course) over the coming weeks: Matassa, Enfants Sauvages, Vinci, Ferrer-Ribiere, Clos Perdus, Ledogar, Clos Fantine, Les Eminades, Clos Gravillas, d’Aupilhac, Sénat, Alain Chabanon, Daumas Gassac, Mas Bruguiere.

Bordeaux: “Roederer Masterclass”

2011-06-01T17:52:00.007+01:00

No, they don’t just do Champagne (Port, California…): this was the slightly serious title coined for a special tasting of Louis Roederer’s Bordeaux estates organised by the Circle of Wine Writers on 17 May 2011. We were served two flights: one of the 2007 vintage across five labels and the second an enlightening vertical of Château de Pez. The latter is considered a rising star of Saint-Estephe in the northern Haut-Médoc region and sits alongside their other Château here, Haut-Beauséjour (they’re both located on the western side of the S-E appellation). And heading south, there’s Château Bernadotte, which lies just within the Haut-Médoc AOC bordering Pauillac and a few kilometres west of Roederer’s star estate, Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande (to give it its full name) purchased in 2006. Found just up the road from comparatively dour looking Latour, Pichon Lalande really does look the part as the full monty ‘f-o’ Château with its glorious pointy tours and imperial splendour (pic.).

The odd titbit of info on vintage conditions or winemaking has been included in my notes on the wines, paraphrased from what Sylvie Cazes or Mark Bingley MW told us: MDs of Roederer’s properties in Bordeaux and UK agent MMD respectively, who led the tasting. I’ve again used my ‘new-fangled’ simplified scoring system of one, two or three ‘ticks’ (good, very good, fabulous); or just plain 1 to 3 for the wines below.

2007 vintage

The Roederer team ended up taking four weeks to pick everything at all their estates in 2007, as September turned on the sunshine again after a wet August and generally cool summer. So it paid to wait this year, as it often does in Bordeaux. The problem was the top châteaux were on such a roll of good vintages, high demand and hence corresponding prices; that a lot of people had to pay through the nose for these wines, if they wanted to secure some on release. The traditional trade is now backing them as a pleasant surprise and an attractive elegant vintage for drinking now or within a couple of years or so. Well, they’re probably right, but this doesn’t really stack up against the kind of prices that suggest all the wines should be nothing but sublime (call me old-fashioned)…

Château Bernadotte 2007 (55% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot) – unusually high proportion of Merlot this vintage. Perfumed cedar-y aromas with light damson, morello cherry and dried blackcurrants, maturing savoury notes too vs leafy edges; similar palate with subtle grainy tannins, turning meatier vs underlying berry fruit, medium weight; attractive enough mature fruit vs light grip vs a touch of freshness and elegance, a tad stalky perhaps and fairly short although nice now; ages quite quickly in the glass. 1. About £20.

Château Haut-Beauséjour 2007 (59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot) – showing more toasted coconut oak vs richer cassis fruit, again it’s aromatic and forward with leafy vs savoury notes; has more weight and power with firmer texture vs more substance, a bit longer too and again quite mature now. 1+. £20-£25.

Château de Pez 2007 (60% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc) – 40% new oak. Deeper more purple colour, coconut tones; quite concentrated, firm and structured vs riper plum characters; a little more closed up too with coated tannins vs nice fruit, power vs elegance meaning fairly good balance; needs a couple of years still. 1-2. About £35.

Reserve de la Comtesse 2007 (46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot, 13% Cabernet Franc) – 30% new oak for 12 months. Vanilla and coconut dominate the nose/palate then turning a bit leafy, grainy texture with the oak rather carrying the wine while adding texture; over-extracted and a tad hard on the finish. Hmm. This is the only ‘second wine’ from Pichon, which is sometimes sold off if they’re not happy. I’ll say no more. At least £35.

Château Pichon Lalande 2007 (58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot, 2% Cabernet Franc) – 60% new oak for 18 months. Richer colour and nose, leafy edges vs fairly dense blackcurrant fruit, still firm and quite tight actually with oak and extraction much better integrated; yet there are still hints of not-so-ripe vs underlying maturing towards ‘sweet’ fruit, solid but not hard tannins; fair length, classier and attractive now although probably needs 3+ years. 2. About £80.

Château de Pez vertical

2006 (46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot) – delicious maturing cassis plum and liquorice even vs lightly leafy tones, quite dense actually and fairly structured, firm yet attractive coating of tannins; tightens up with well-integrated oak texture and good balance in the end, has much more substance than the 07 although not a ‘huge’ wine, just pretty classic. 2+

2005 (45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 44% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot) – more savoury vs herbal red pepper notes vs meatier with quite rich fruit, broodier than the 06 in a way although smokier and more rustic/wilder too, showing a fair bit of development considering it’s only a year older; still dense yet with quite rounded tannins although does have a slight biter twist, concentrated with complex maturing flavours; ‘bigger’ wine than the 06 but less classy perhaps, drinking quite well now. 2

2004 (43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 47% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot) – a dry but not very hot vintage, picking took place from 25 September to 10 October. More savoury still and ‘sweeter’ vs intriguing herby berry notes, leafier too with cedary oak notes in the background; has fair power although less substance, tannins are less attractive too although not harsh with nice acidity underneath lending a touch of elegance; it’s longer than you first think, but the oak and alcohol do perhaps rather carry it through. 1(+)

2001 (47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot) – a small crop this year and a vintage initially overshadowed by 2000. Intense depth of colour, blacker even yet with browner rim; enticing smoky maturing nose with ‘sweet/savoury’ fruit, still firm with attractive fresh side too vs subtle lush fruit and nice tannins; drinking quite well although has a firmer drier finish well-balanced by complex sweet vs savoury development. 2-3

2000 (45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 49% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petit Verdot) – picked from 22/09 to 8/10. Similar colour, a touch older looking and much older on the nose and palate; pretty meaty savoury and ageing fast, dry vs sweet tannins, almost beginning to dry out although it’s complex on the finish, punchier too and less well balanced. Drink now. 1-2

‘Mystery’ vintage of Pichon Lalande (revealed afterwards as 1986) – complex herbal vs liquorice vs smoky leather, still alive with very appealing nose; quite mature and meaty vs leafy side vs chocolate, dry tannins with a bit of oomph vs some fresh acidity still; a touch out of balance now but very attractive and looks very interesting alongside the 2000! Quite chuffed with myself as I guessed 1988. 2-3

UK stockists include: Villeneuve Wine (Scotland), Amps Fine Wine (Peterborough), Wholefoods Market (London, Glasgow), the Good Wine Shop (London), Henderson Wines (Edinburgh), Portland Wine Company (Manchester/Macclesfield), Penistone Court Wine Cellars (S. Yorks), Aitken Wines (Dundee), the Wine Cellars (Isle of Man), Harvey Nichols (London), Noble Green Wines (London), Partridges of Sloane Square, Laytons (London), Goedhuis & Co. (London, Suffolk), Selfridges, Four Vintners (London), Upton Wines (Worcester), Francis Fine Wines (Leicester), Planet of the Grapes (London). See their websites (links at the top) for US importers.

New Zealand: Nobilo

2011-05-31T13:47:00.002+01:00

Nobilo vineyard was founded in 1943 by Nikola Nobilo (pic), a Croatian emigre with a family-winemaking background, and is now part of the giant global Constellation group, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing looking at these two tasty wines. They’re part of the winery’s ‘Regional Collection’ range sourced from different vineyards around New Zealand; in this case Gisborne, billed as “the Chardonnay capital” on the back-label (I wouldn’t entirely disagree, from memory, although other NZ regions might) and Hawke’s Bay, celebrated for Merlot, both on North Island’s east coast. A refreshing change too to buy Southern Hemisphere wines with a bit of aged character, although that could just be as the retailer has old stock to clear! They were both £5.99 on offer at Wine Mark / Russell’s Cellars in Northern Ireland. nobilo.co.nz

Hawke’s Bay Merlot 2008 (13.5%) - dark plum and blueberry with soy sauce/liquorice vs leafy/red pepper edges, nice ‘sweet vs savoury’ development, quite complex; attractive lush vs tangy palate, ripe sweet vs light bitter twist of tannins/acidity, fair weight and roundness vs dry bite, maturing vs still quite chunky finish. Good with Aberdeen Angus chilli burger (from the Cooperative). 2

Gisborne Chardonnay 2009 (13.5%) – enticing buttery oat and lees notes vs pineapple and citrus, quite rich with maturing nutty side vs a bit of crispness underneath; rounded and milky with medium weight, well balanced with subtle finish. Drinking nicely now although beginning to fade out a little. Kinda South Hem Chablis but smoother. 1+

Chile: Leyda

2011-05-27T17:18:00.026+01:00

I remember tasting wines from Viña Leyda, the winery, back when nobody had heard of the Leyda Valley and people had just started talking about Chile's new cooler climate coastal regions lying, in this case, to the west of Santiago (and just south of the perhaps better known Casablanca valley), let alone other new areas further north e.g. Limarí, Elquí. Leyda was set up in 1997 and was the driving force behind creating a name-sake sub-region in 2002 (this could get confusing...). They've been busy since then too, as the estate now comes to nearly 250 hectares (towards 700 acres) of mostly 'cool' varieties as per my tasting notes below.

Anyway, those lingering positive impressions from almost ten years ago were more than bolstered when I sampled Leyda's award-winning wines at the London International Wine Fair recently. Their varietal whites and rosé (made from Pinot Noir) are great and deserve all this attention; and the Pinot reds are all quite different and sumptuously good in their own ways. Glad I bumped into Leyda again. All wines tasted below are from their vineyards in the Leyda Valley unless stated, i.e. one of their Syrahs from somewhere else. I’ve used my ‘new’ scoring system of one, two or three ‘ticks’ (good, very good, fabulous); or just plain 1 to 3 here. UK stockists include Great Western Wine, see £ retail prices below; their US importer is Winebow: winebow.com

Loica Pinot Noir Rosé
from leyda.cl

Single Vineyard ‘Loica’ 2009 Pinot Noir rosé – tight fresh structured style vs creamy and subtle red fruit cocktail, concentrated even with steely finish; lovely. Winner of “Best Rosé” trophy in the 2011 Wines of Chile Awards. 2 (£10.95)

Single Vineyard ‘Neblina’ 2009 Riesling – aromatic with oily “kerosene” tones, mineral notes on the palate with tight crisp length, turning oilier and more complex on the finish. Gold medal winner & “best other whites” trophy. 2 (£10.95)

Single Vineyard ‘Garuma’ 2010 Sauvignon Blanc – fresh piercing asparagus and grapefruit, zesty crisp and mineral, very long. “Best value white & best Sauvignon.” 2 (£10.95)

‘Lot 5’ 2009 Chardonnay – toasty buttery notes/flavours vs again steely tight and structured mouth-feel, ending up quite fine showing rich vs greener fruit and long flavours. Gold medal. 2-3 (£15.50)

‘Reserva’ 2010 Pinot Noir – delicious PN style with attractive ‘sweet/savoury’ mix, lively vs silky texture. 1-2 (£9.95)

‘Cahuil Vineyard’ 2010 Pinot Noir – spicy vs silky perfumed style, nice lively crunchy fruit with tight fresh finish. 2 (£14.45)

‘Las Brisas’ 2010 Pinot Noir – tasty tangy berry vs perfumed floral fruit, concentrated ‘sweet/sour/savoury’ palate combo, quite intense and tasty finish. 2-3 (£12.75)

‘Lot 21’ 2010 Pinot Noir – rich and intense floral berry fruit, very tight and fresh mouth-feel with lovely panache. 2-3 (£22.50)

‘Reserva’ 2010 Syrah (Colchagua Valley) – pure spicy herbal notes vs hints of chocolate, tight vs textured with lively dark cherry fruit. Needs a couple of years. 2

‘Canelo Vineyard’ 2008 Syrah – very different wine with meaty ‘animal’ edges vs spicy pure black fruits, grainier coconut texture with punchy vs tight finish and wilder touches on its great length. 2-3

Rioja: Bodegas Alvarez Alfaro

2011-05-27T14:01:00.006+01:00

Pablo Alvarez Alfaro set up cellar and vineyards in Aldeanueva de Ebro in rugged Rioja country at the end of the 19th Century, as the story goes, and the winery is still family run today. They have over 60 hetares (150 acres) of their own vineyards, where all the grapes are sourced from for three different wines. Their Viña Vieja is 100% old-vine Tempranillo and aged for eight months in new French oak, and the Crianza at least one year in American and French oak. These three reds were tasted in May 2011. More info on the winery, prices and where they export to follow. I’ve used my ‘new’ scoring system of one, two or three ‘ticks’ (good, very good, fabulous); or just plain 1 to 3 here.

Rioja Crianza 2007 (80% Tempranillo + Mazuelo, Garnacha, Graciano; 13.5% alc.) – still quite coconutty/cedary on nose and palate but it’s concentrated with vibrant blueberry/plum fruit vs liquorice and pepper edges vs savoury tones; firm and tight structure, nice tannins and fresh bite, balanced and elegant too; grainy finish vs berry fruit vs dry/sweet coating. Next day: gets tastier and less oaky with airing, attractive berry and spice vs sweet/dry tannins, more savoury finish. 2

Rioja Crianza 2008 (80% Tempranillo, Mazuelo, Garnacha, Graciano; 14% alc.) – cedary and ‘inky’ tones vs rich berry fruit vs vanilla oak; quite punchy and tight at the moment, refreshing undercurrent vs dark fruit with savoury hints vs cedar and coconut; hasn’t come together yet but it’s promising. 2

Alvarez Alfaro Viña Vieja Tempranillo 2010 (14%) – ‘reductive’ herbal hints layered with a fair bit of vanilla, lively alcohol/acidity combo on the palate vs lots of berry fruit, intense and chunky finish; needs a couple of years to settle down, something a bit different. 1-2

bodegasalvarezalfaro.com

Chile: rosé / rosado

2011-05-26T15:18:00.006+01:00

Loica Pinot Noir Rosé
from leyda.cl

You’d be right in thinking the latter term should be the one on the bottle, coming from a Spanish speaking country, but virtually all of the 15 pink wines below are labelled as ‘rosé’. The message from Chilean winemakers, whose ‘rosados’ I tried at the London International Wine Fair last week, was the same though. Outside of Chile, people don’t really get the Spanish word for rosé (until they see the wine’s colour, presumably!). I’ve noticed this too on some Italian, formerly ‘rosato’ wines; so it looks like the French have won the day in terms of what we prefer to call pink wine, even if we’re not necessarily buying French rosé as our first choice. Maybe simply because there aren’t as many deals in the supermarkets, and e.g. Provence rosé producers don’t see any point in exporting their wine at silly prices when they can sell it to tourists at, well, silly prices?

Anyway, I had this theory, based on what’s widely available in the UK on the pink front, which I did a test-run on last week. In general, beyond France and Spain (and I’ve sampled a couple of good ones from Hungary recently), I’ve been a bit disappointed by rosés from the so-called ‘New World’ although found the Chilean ones among the best of the crop. My mini-tasting below is hardly set-in-stone conclusive, as I only tried rosés from Chile hence not comparative at all. But it wasn’t difficult to pick out a handful of attractive pink wines here, and lots of different styles as well. Is it the climate, winemaking know-how or that Spanish cultural twist perhaps? As for grape varieties, most Chilean rosé is made from ‘Bordeaux’ varieties, so not in the Mediterranean tradition although some are now using e.g. Syrah, Cinsault in the blends. Then again, I don’t think there’s much or any Grenache planted in Chile. Or should that be Garnacha…

Viña La Rosa ‘La Palma’ 2011 Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon – very lively vs creamy style with yeast-lees edges, tangy red berries with crisp gummy mouth-feel then nice fruity finish.

Indomita 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon – creamy vs redcurrant fruity, quite oily / oxidising already (could’ve been a tank sample like most of the 2011 rosés here).

Emiliana 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah – strange dusty/yeasty touches (ditto above), crisp tight palate with gentle fruit coming back. Needs to settle.

Cono Sur 2010 Merlot – attractive creamy style, quite rich vs cranberry fruit, ripe strawberry vs crisp and zesty vs quite big mouthful.

La Fonda ‘Fairtrade’ 2010 Merlot – tighter crisper style, leesy edges then ‘sweeter’ finish, oily touches vs still zingy.

Isla Negra Brut sparkling rosé – quite crisp and steely vs lightly toasty edges, not showing much although it was very cold, then nice ‘sweet’ raspberry fruit on the finish.

De Martino 2011 Cinsault (from old vines in Hata Valley in the south) – elegant crisp and tight style (more Provence-leaning), very young still, could be good in a few months time.

De Martino 2011 Carmenère – similar tank-sample notes, but this is again a nice steely tight style with subtle length. Check it out in a couple of months or so.

Apaltagna ‘gran Verano’ 2010 Carmenère – herby red pepper touches, creamier fruit on the palate, very different from the above, still tight and crisp.

Calcu ‘Reserva’ 2010 Malbec/Syrah/Petit Verdot – herby berry style, crunchy mouth-feel with attractive lighter and slightly ‘sweeter’ finish.

Viña Maquis 2010 (4 months in barrel) – structured rounded style although still has crisp bite vs those vanilla oak touches. Not for everybody but different anyway.

Morandé ‘Pionero’ 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah – oily maturing red fruits vs light and crisp mouth-feel, nice balance and style.

Santa Rita ‘120’ 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon – richer fruity style, quite big actually with some bite although perhaps looking a bit old now.

San Pedro ‘Gato Negro’ 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon – see previous post.

Leyda ‘Single Vineyard Loica’ 2009 Pinot Noir – tight fresh structured style vs creamy and subtle red fruit cocktail, concentrated even with steely finish; lovely. Winner of “Best Rosé” trophy in the 2011 Wines of Chile Awards. Profile on Leyda here.

Mayu 2010 Carmenere/Syrah (14%) - tasty full-bodied style mixing up rich red fruits and fresh acidity well, has a bit of oomph too so definitely a foodie rosé. On offer at Asda for £5.

Other UK/US prices and stockists to follow, where available.

Black cats and black grapes

2011-05-19T13:47:00.002+01:00

Black grapes refers to a lively little Italian rosé - sorry, Sicilian: 2010 Nero d'Avola made by Cantine Settesoli. Weighing in at 12.5% alc. and £4.99 a bottle at Tesco, this zingy vs creamy fruity rosé delivers plenty of redcurrant and raspberry with crisp finish; and is fairly versatile as a foodie wine (venison & red onion burgers from M&S, fish & chips, prawn Balti...).

From http://snickrt.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/gato-negro1.jpg

As for black cats, the Gato Negro range from Vina San Pedro in Chile's Central Valley is an all-round crowd-pleaser with attractive, well-made and easy-drinking wines; especially at Wine Mark / Russell's Cellars in Belfast where you get a '2 for £9' deal. On the red front, try the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon (13.5%) or the quirkier purple-black 2010 Carmenere (13.5%); and for whites, there's a zesty dry grapefruity 2010 Sauvignon Blanc (12%) or peachy citrus-edged 2010 Chardy. And not forgetting their almost delicious creamy red fruity vs crisp 2010 Cab Sauv rosé. Mini-feature on Chilean rosés / rosados here.
More @ gatonegro.cl

Loadsa Languedoc

2011-05-15T17:31:00.000+01:00

New pieces on "French Catalonia & Oc Wine," my exclusive Roussillon & Languedoc blog:

Faugères focus: "A load of old schist..?" Photo by Bernard VIDAL

Cabardès reds: "...wacky mix of Med, Rhone and Southwest grapes..." (temporarily removed by Blogger due to techno issues: if they don't put it back, I'll redo it...)
Pézenas: "...claim to fame as one-time hang-out for playwright Molière..."
Saint-Chinian Berlou & Roquebrun: "... who's really getting behind these 'where on earth is that' mini-appellations..?"
Corbières & Boutenac: "...one of those new-fangled Languedoc subzones..." Plus my pick of straight 2010, 2009, 2008 Corbières red, white and rosé: "...hard work... disappointing line-up..."
Limoux: "...lavish whites and fizz..."
Domaine de l'Hortus, Pic Saint Loup

Pic Saint Loup: "... brings out the cynic in me..."

Picpoul de Pinet 2010: "What can I say..?"

La Clape: "...done that 'joke' to death... the whites had real character and class..."

Clos Bagatelle, Saint-Chinian

Domaine La Croix Chaptal, Terrasses du Larzac

Wine of the mo: Ancien Comté white Grenache

Saint-Chinian 2010 vintage

Domaine de Cébène, Faugères

In the pipeline: Minervois Muscats...

Roussillon & Languedoc: "wine, food, people, places..." New blog by Richard M James

2011-03-31T15:12:00.001+01:00

French Catalonia & Oc Wine

This new blog (takes you to it, new window) will include all my Roussillon & Languedoc themed material previously published on WineWriting.com (work in progress...), plus the latest stuff, of course, posted as and when from now on. The idea is to create a lively stand-alone site dedicated to this wild wine region featuring:
Roussillon diaries: "My slowly mushrooming winemaker guide to French Catalonia stretching from Maury to Rivesaltes, Perpignan to Collioure and Banyuls-sur-mer via Les Aspres (that's the bit in the middle). 100+ winery blurbs and 950 wines tasted..." Click here for A to Z list of featured producers.
Languedoc profiles: "A logical step to give these 100+ sampled estates their very own fifteen minutes of Languedoc fame... with 700+ wine reviews..." Originally split up into bite-size chunks like this: Coteaux du Languedoc "zones" - Corbières & Fitou - Faugères, Saint-Chinian & Minervois - Limoux, Cabardès & Malepère - Vins de Pays Oc etc. - Sommières & Nîmes. Click here for A to Z list of featured producers.
Wine tasting & travel features: new / archive articles and posts originally published on WineWriting.com or in Decanter and various other magazines and websites. As well as, to help enhance the French Catalan - Occitan - Mediterranean flavouring, any hot or quirky news items worth sharing, south of France restaurant and food tips, my Roussillon & Languedoc "wines of the moment" and all that jazz...

White of the mo: Santamaria, Corsica

2011-03-30T14:45:00.002+01:00

Domaine Santamaria 2010 white from Patrimonio (main variety: Vermentino, 13% alc.) - enticing milky lees notes vs appley then peachier fruit, lightly creamy palate vs zesty with refreshing bite vs rounder finish. Also tried their rosé and red, which were okay but their white’s the star.

Elegant but not arrogant Frog

2011-03-11T14:56:00.002Z

The Arrogant Frog label, made by "the Humble Winemaker" aka Jean-Claude Mas of Domaines Paul Mas based near Pézenas in the Languedoc, has been around for a while and now adds up to quite a range of whites, reds and rosés from the wild south. I picked up a bottle of 2010 Elegant Frog Viognier the other day on offer at Sainsbury's for £5.99, which I guess is a branch-off, exclusive label kinda thing. I've tasted Mas' straight Viognier, and blends with Chardy or other varieties, over many vintages and this 2010 confirms they know how to make this not-everyone's-cup-of-tea grape sing nicely. Its slightly exotic perfumed side gives you enticing up-front apricot, peach and sweet-spice notes, which is countered by a zesty and white peppery edge; quite full and rounded too at 13.5% alcohol yet has an underlying lively zing to it. Try with Chinese dishes - e.g. something stir-fried with ginger or spicy duck even - or a "medium strength" prawn curry. More info @ arrogantfrog.fr or arrogantfrog.fr/blog.

Darting Estate Riesling vs Rhone Villages "Terre des Garrigues"

2011-02-19T17:10:00.001Z

They've nothing in common, actually, apart from both being 2009 vintage (good year in both regions, it seems) and both picked as a couple of my random "wines of the moment." Darting's Dürkheimer Michelsberg (luckily absolutely nothing to do with Piesporter Michelsberg "wines" of old - Darting is in Bad Dürkheim in the Pfalz, different region for a start) Riesling Kabinett trocken (13% alc.) is a lovely example of "new Germany" with plenty of charming zingy peachy citrus fruit and ripe lime / kiwi / melon edges, fairly rounded mouth-feel at first actually, for Riesling, with zesty mineral streak / subtle acidity lending class and off-dry finish. £8.49 at M&S. Nice with prawn risotto made with spicy, but not hot, Thai green curry paste.

Whereas this sumptuous Cotes du Rhone red is made from Grenache and Syrah (13.5% alc.) by the Compagnie de l'Hermitage (aka "SCA Les Coteaux") in Visan in the southern Rhone Valley. Still a bit young and definitely more attractive after being left open for a day, this combines food-friendly (lamb steak or lean mince in a garlic tomato sauce perhaps) solid dry yet nicely coated / coating tannins with a very light touch of underlying oak (?), chunky peppery black fruits and savoury hints too. €5.38 at Leclerc supermarket, Bayeux, France. Oh, it was "unfiltered" too in that fashionable word on the label way. Roll your own Rhone maybe?

Photo from darting.de

Roussillon Dessert Trophy European final

2011-02-16T17:20:00.002Z

And the winner is... Michelin-starred Formel B restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark. The sweet-toothed taste-off took place last month in north Catalan "Vin Doux" capital Perpignan during their biennial "Rencontres Muscat" business convention. Each of the European winners in their own country had to battle it out again to see who would take the supreme trophy. Pâtissier Daniel Kruse and sommelier Jacob Christiansen at Formel B were deemed worthy champions for their verbose dessert "Citrus fruits in all their glory, a homage to the flavours of Roussillon," (pic.) which was served with a 2009 Muscat de Rivesaltes from leading Maury-based estate Domaine Pouderoux.

Funnily enough, Pouderoux's Muscat was also matched with the UK-winner's pud combo created by sommelier Andrea Briccarello and pastry chef Daniel Fancett at Galvin La Chapelle in London back in October: Lemon bavarois with citrus fruit salad and basil sorbet (yum sounding that one). The other runners up were:

Germany – pâtissier Holger Stehr and sommelier Martina Kraemer from Hotel Krone Assmannshausen in Rüdesheim.

Belgium – pâtissier Olivier Monbailliu and sommelier Charlotte Vanhaecke from La Tâche in Brugge.

The Netherlands – pâtissier Martijn Weststeijn and sommelier Leroy Pechler from De Zwethheul in Schipluiden.

Spain – head pâtissier Montse Estruch and sommelier Fernando Riquelme from El Cingle in Vaccarisses.

Oh, there was an intriguingly curious footnote in the press release: "Unfortunately France were (sic) forced to withdraw due to unforeseen circumstances." Hmm, tell me more... Maybe the French team's soufflé collapsed irredeemably?!

More info @ vinsduroussillon.com

"White of the mo" = Moramari Fiano

2011-02-03T18:17:00.002Z

Moramari 2009 Fiano from Sicily: £4 on promo at Asda supermarkets a couple of weeks ago (and arguably worth paying more for if no longer on offer, about 6 quid I think?). I can't get enough of white wines like this, and Sicily is good at them made from several exciting indigenous varieties like this one, Fiano. I like that combo of oily and ripe-fruit flavour/texture with seductive nutty and zesty edges. Just has so much more character than many New World whites (except Rieslings perhaps) and omnipresent Chardy blends you see around.

Not sure who the producer is - the MGM/Mondo del Vino group perhaps? - but the brand is part of this UK importing dynamic duo's portfolio: offpistewines.com, where I copied the bottle photo from.
More tasty Sicilian white wines can be found in my "island of mystery" feature on WineWriting.com: click on the highlighted link on the right-hand column underneath my intro blurb, or further down under "articles."

"Red of the mo" = Porcupine Ridge Cab

2011-01-20T18:48:00.000Z

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon from the Coastal Region in South Africa (14.5%): it's been a while since I had a slurp of a wine from this range created by Marc Kent's Boekenhoutskloof winery, and I wasn't disappointed. If Cab Sauv ever tasted like blackcurrants, or cassis as I sometimes say (not to be pretentious but to evoke a riper sweeter sort of blackcurrant flavour), then this one does. In a tasty, surprisingly savoury even, and yet certainly tangy way; it's quite concentrated, powerful and solid too with nice dry tannins in the background, but always wrapped in attractive berry and plum fruit with light liquorice and spice hints perhaps. I think it was on offer at Sainbury's for a fiver but usually about £7?

Pic copied from boekenhoutskloof.co.za

Dow's 2003 LBV

2010-12-28T13:36:00.001Z

On a pre-festive hunt around the deepest crevices of my parents' drinks' cupboard, I was pleased to find a neglected bottle of 2003 Late Bottled Vintage Port (bottled in 2008 in fact) made by Dow's, part of the mighty Symington family group. So, a tad uber-traditional perhaps, out came the cork and on came the cheeses on Christmas Day. This 03 LBV is looking good, starting to show some enticing maturing savoury / dried fruit edges; yet still pretty solid, peppery and powerful on the palate (its 20% alc. has blended in nicely actually) vs rich, sweet and tasty finish. Went best with an aged cheddar or Ossau Iraty even (French Basque ewes' milk cheese), and less well with Stilton as I've always found - sweet and/or fortified white wines usually work better with Britain's most famous blue cheese and allegedly a good match for red Port.

"Sweetie of the moment" - Monbazillac

2010-12-27T16:20:00.003Z

2006 Monbazillac by Château Haute-Fonrousse / Géraud et Fils (Sémillion, Sauvignon blanc & Muscadelle 13.5%) - pretty classic "noble rot" sweetie style with attractive golden colour, exotic dried apricot and complex spicy / mushroomy botrytis notes; lush, honeyed, textured and sweet with nice marmalade and orange peel edges; a touch of refreshing acidtiy lying underneath, fairly mature and drinkable already although will be fine for another 3 years or so. From south of Bergerac in the Dordogne, southwest France. UK: Budgens / Allday £9.99.

La Haute Fonrousse, 24240 Monbazillac. Tel: (+33) 05 53 58 30 28. Photo from chateau-haute-fonrousse.fr

Cherbourg resto tip (vegetarians don't read on)

2010-12-22T17:23:00.001Z

I recently found myself 'between ferries' (as you do) in Cherbourg, north coast of France, and came across a nice little trad eatery called Le Pantagruel, which specialises in "grilling meat over a wood fire" in that 'watch the chef cook it in front of your eyes' fashion. A simple classic melted goats' cheese salad (€6) was accompanied by a glass of nondescript although harmless Chardonnay(€2.50: I didn't note a vintage or where from but probably the south somewhere). Followed by a wee glass of much better St-Nicolas de Bourgueil red, from the Loire Valley (€3.20: again no vintage stated and I've forgotten which domaine now), probably 2008 or 2009 I'd guess from its youthful fruitiness; which went well with a delicious "magret de canard" (duck breast fillet) and wood-baked potato (€13). And to finish off - nearly finished me off actually - their "Gers cup" homemade prune ice cream with a hefty glug of Armagnac poured over it (€6).

43 Rue Tour Carrée, Cherbourg. Tel: 02 33 03 08 31.
Picture copied from:
http://ts4.mm.bing.net/images/thumbnail.aspx?q=404604780691&id=96823a796a0eb9612b38b39e55fb6f2a&url=http%3a%2f%2fupload.wikimedia.org%2fwikipedia%2fcommons%2fc%2fca%2fFeu_de_bois.jpg

Youthful chunky "red of the mo" - Madiran

2010-12-11T15:46:00.000Z

2009 Domaine de Peyret, Madiran red from the Cave de Crouseilles (mostly from the Tannat variety, 13.5% alc.) - this "modern-style" drink-now Madiran (although will easily soften out a little more over the next year or two), made by the region's main co-op winery despite its estate name, is a nice example of what you can get nowadays from this formerly obscure wine area lost in the southwest corner of France; skirting the edges of the Pyrenees, Atlantic facing rather than Med. It tastes like it's got a bit of Merlot and/or other varieties adding attractive plummy fleshy character to its deep purple black aura; spicy wild blackberry/currant fruit with savoury soy sauce edges, quite full and rounded with nice dry vs smooth tannins filling out the finish. A roast dinner kinda red and great value too at €4 (in French supermarkets).

Couple of Cavas

2010-11-28T17:40:00.002Z

Both of these excellent value (well, in Spain at least) trad-method (bottle-fermented) sparklers were acquired and enjoyed following a little raid across the border:
Freixenet Excelencia Brut Nature (11.5% alc. Grapes: Macabeu, Xarel.lo, Parellada) - not sure if this Freixenet label makes it out of the country? Dry crisp style with elegant almond biscuit nuances, floral vs oily touches and light refreshing finish. €3-€4

Bach Rosé Brut (12%, Monastrell/Garnacha/Pinot Noir) - very attractive red-fruity profile with bready chocolatey edges, rounded and off-dry but still quite crisp and lively though. €3.50

Roussillon "red of the mo" by La Balmière

2010-11-21T12:45:00.000Z

2006 Espoir Côtes du Roussillon Villages

Domaine de la Balmière, Latour de France.

Attractive maturing style: quite smoky, rustic-edged even, although has enticing dried black fruit profile and peppery vs "sweet/savoury" finish; still fairly solid yet rounded tannins, drinking well now. Probably a blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Grenache. About €6.

More Balmière wines and a few words on winewriting.com.

Photo = Laurent Marquier from domainedelabalmiere.com.

"Primeur" and "nouveau"... wine or chemistry experiment?

2010-11-14T16:56:00.000Z

With Beaujolais Nouveau 2010 lurking ominously around the corner, and after recently reading some blatantly one-sided pro-wine business propaganda telling everyone to go out and buy a new "primeur wine" (French websites / magazines Terre des Vins and Vitisphere, just to get myself threatened with legal action...); I thought it might be worth asking if anyone else has found some of these wines virtually undrinkable? Admittedly, some are nice enough, such as the 2010 Colombelle white I tried recently by Producteurs Plaimont in Gascony: in a mega aromatic boiled-sweet bubble-gummy estery zingy zesty crisp fruity kind of way (although, at €4 to €4.50 in France, not exactly a bargain). But most of these autumn "new wines" I've tasted over the years just taste like a winemaking / chemistry experiment and don't come together at all like, well, wine. Unless you left them for six months, so what's the point?! Well, great cash flow for the producer for a start... sold and banked before Christmas of the same year. OK, so maybe I'll buy one red and one rosé primeur/nouveau 2010 vintage to substantiate my rantings. Watch this space, if I can be bothered...

Rioja duet

2010-11-08T12:19:00.001Z

Lagunilla is a well-known and widely distributed Rioja brand, but I recently retried their Crianza 2007 and Reserva 2005 reds and found them both attractive, warming (in that good with hearty food in early winter way) and good value. Based on blends of the Tempranillo (mostly) and Garnacha (=Grenache) varieties, the Crianza (red and black label) is medium-bodied and smooth-textured with that distinctive traditional Rioja character of sweet vs crunchy berry fruit, a hint of vanilla oak and a bit of that nice "cheesy" savoury maturing side. The Reserva (blue and black label) is a shade richer and smokier, and more "volatile" too (acetic acid notes, which can make a wine more complex or ruin it if not properly handled). Both are about 13% alcohol, and were €4 and €5.50 respectively bought on promotion in Spain - and in one of those discount border-town type supermarkets, so usually more expensive than that no doubt.

Organic half-truths

2010-11-08T11:32:00.001Z

You might've noticed a slight organic slant on these pages and on WineWriting.com. But I'm getting a bit fed up with reading organic winery websites and brochures, or people writing about organic winegrowing even, claiming they "don't use any chemicals." Let's just stop misleading wine enthusiasts about what organic winegrowing is and isn't (admittedly I did recently read one site using the more accurate terms "no pesticides or herbicides," which implies artificial and nasty). Copper and sulphur based "products" might be considered "natural chemicals" - they are elements found in nature and the human organism in tiny amounts - but let's not forget they are also rather toxic if you use too much, for people and the earth. Potions such as copper sulphate solution are sanctioned under organic farming regulations (read on for more on that), so please start communicating the message better to those interested and explain what you use and why. Even so-called "natural" winemakers do use these, although certain people experiment with e.g. SO2 (sulphur dioxide)-free winemaking, some more successfully than others. Ever had one of those wines where the overriding smell / flavour is like real cider, even a red? Or that initially enticing rustic character is perhaps just a little too developed (invaded by brettanomyces, a wild "spoilage" yeast)?

Anyway, it's perhaps worth rehashing, to add a little detail, something I wrote after Millésime Bio organic wine show in 2006 (and I've been going every year since: see this blurb on my other site with links to profiles on two dozen hot organic producers), which still holds true enough:

"Organic: what and why? A few facts and thoughts... Organic doesn't necessarily mean guaranteed or better quality, but overall wine quality is now much higher than say ten years ago. Organic growers rightly claim it's more about a whole way of life, and there's little doubt that this philosophy, coupled with fussy attention in the vineyard, can produce superb grapes. Here are a few facts about certified organic status (said to be more strictly controlled than for "conventional" appellation regs) to highlight the main points: The conversion period is three years so commitment and dedication are required, especially as the vines are probably more vulnerable during this transition stage. No synthetic or systemic (which penetrate into the plant's organism and deep into the soil) chemicals or fertilisers are used in the vineyard, but "natural chemical" substances such as copper sulphate solution (against mildew) and sulphur dioxide (a preservative among other uses) are permitted. However, max levels of SO2 in winemaking are sometimes half that for non-organic (although not always). The idea is to foster living soil, biodiversity in the vineyard and hence naturally healthy vines. It goes without saying that genetically engineered vines and winemaking products, such as GM yeast, are not tolerated. Some organic winemakers might use standard commercial yeasts if necessary; but e.g. full-Monty biodynamic growers wouldn't normally add them, as indigenous yeasts on the grapes are considered part of the terroir. The whole philosophy should carry through down the line, in terms of managing winery waste, water supply, carbon emissions, packaging etc. At the end of the day, it doesn't make a lot of sense to go on about the importance of your terroir, yet systematically destroy it with potent chemicals!" There, I got that off my chest...

2009 Château Cazeaux, "red of the moment"

2010-11-04T13:14:00.000Z

This not exactly "classic" Bordeaux red, although probably a typical 2009 and certainly none the worse for it, is surprisingly lush and full-bodied (14%) with enticing black cherry, damson and cassis - and liquorice notes even - yet still underpinned by lightly cedar-y and "inky" edges. Nice fruity and rounded mouth-feel vs quite thick and firm tannins, which are also ripe and attractively textured; it's drinking OK now although best left for a year or two to let it open up. From this property in the Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux appellation, and a blend of 70% Merlot and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. About €6 from memory in Carrefour's recent "wine fair" promotion. Photo = Château Cazeaux from chateau-cazeaux.com.

Banyuls & Maury: sweet seductive red Roussillon

2010-11-03T13:26:00.138Z

New wine tasting & touring feature published here and on WineWriting.com (where you'll find all the missing links in the text below, as Blogger is just a pain in the **** having to redo all of these!); demijohn photo from vinsduroussillon.com: "My pick of some (25) of these red (and a few white) Vins Doux Naturels or vins mutés, as they're called in French: literally "natural sweet wines" or fortified wines, tasted in early October on a whirlwind tour of leading estates in north and south Roussillon. Plus words on how these delicious Grenache based wines are made and their different styles." Featured wineries: Amiel, Coume Mas, La Rectorie, Serrelongue, Soulanes, Tour Vieille, Vinci, Coume Majou, Mudigliza; and a new-release Maury from Mont Tauch. Read on...

Much as I like Port in its differing forms, what gives Banyuls and Maury (also named after the places they come from) the edge, for my palate at least, is the simple fact that they're a touch less alcoholic: 16%-17% (sometimes a bit more such as La Tour Vieille's sublime "Meditation Wine" reviewed below) as opposed to around 20% for Port. And it's difficult to resist the charm that seductive Grenache somehow brings to these Vins Doux Naturels (VDNs) or vins mutés: "natural sweet wines" or fortified wines. Anyway, as for a few educational words about these sumptuous stonking reds (mostly): I wrote the following paragraph previously in a blurb on La Coume du Roy, who produce pretty much all imaginable styles of Maury from "modern" to extremely old, which attempts to summarise the differences in grape handling, winemaking and maturation.

"There are essentially two styles of Maury, on a basic level; in reality, there are almost as many as any producer wishes to make! (Ed: same principle for Banyuls, although clearly a different climate by the sea unlike Maury further north, inland and in a valley). Both use mainly the same variety: "black" Grenache as the French call it; and Macabeu, Grenache blanc and/or Grenache gris for the rarer white. The more (or less depending on the cuvée, release date etc.) oxidised aged one, where (for red) the grapes undergo a 4-5 day maceration on skins (or less even) and short fermentation to obtain some colour and desired sugar level; then are pressed and the juice fortified with spirit (leaving about 100 grams/litre residual sugar on average). The other style is said to date from around the mid 1980s: muté sur grains, meaning the entire must with the crushed berries still macerating in it is fortified, stopping fermentation with around 80-85 g/l RS; followed by 2 to 4 weeks maceration on the skins before pressing (avoiding contact with oxygen), which gives much richer colour and tannins. This type of "modern" Banyuls/Maury is usually bottled relatively soon, depending on the specific (sub)style you want - after a period in vat or filled-up barriques - and sometimes aged a little longer in bottle before release (so, technically similar to Vintage and Late Bottled Vintage Port, or Ruby for lower-priced blends), depending on if and how long in barrel. Whereas, the traditional approach is to mature the wine in large old casks and/or vats, and not usually topped up, or even glass demijohns outside, to promote oxidation; like e.g. Banyuls 'Grand Cru' or Tawny Port styles."

Pierre Parcé at La Rectorie in Banyuls-sur-mer (pic. after a freak snowstorm in early March 2010: photo from banyuls-sur-mer.com) shed some interesting light on how the Parcé brothers, after taking on the family vineyards in the 1980s, came to influence the launch of those "new-wave" Banyuls VDNs. Paraphrasing his words: firstly, by understanding some of the reasons why the traditional oxidised styles continued to be made and history behind them. Part of the reason was the totally isolated nature of many of the area's vineyards at that time with no access roads. This often dictated having to pick all the grapes in one spot in one go and loading them up in a cart under the hot sun, while everything was picked; as it was just too awkward to go back and forth to the cellar several times to unload. Hence, when the grapes did finally arrive, they weren't exactly in the best health; so the skins were discarded quickly by pressing off the must after a short time fermenting, if at all, and fortifying it as soon as possible. The resultant low-colour wines were then aged for long periods of time, in big old casks that weren't topped up and/or outside in demijohns even to promote oxidative ageing, to compensate for any faults and create complex flavours from the maturation process itself (as long as not left too long...)

The "new thinking" already gathering more momentum in the 80s went along the lines of "what if..." Given that grapes could now be delivered to the cellar as and when you wanted them, coupled with much better equipment and technical winemaking know-how; meaning the skins are in perfect condition and can be fermented with the must, like making a regular red wine, to extract colour and tannins. This must is then "muté sur grains", i.e. the fortifying spirit added onto the fermenting berries before pressing. This has an added advantage, as alcohol actually promotes greater extraction while the must is left to macerate. After pressing, the juice is typically, depending on the desired style, protected from oxygen by transfer into inert tanks before bottling or into barrels that are kept filled to the brim. These wines are thus similar to vintage or late bottled vintage Ports, for example, rather than the long cask-aged, oxidised styles that are closer to Tawnies.

Another simply commercial reason for developing young fruity "muté sur grains" Banyuls wines, was to be able to sell them much sooner. As the Parcé's were pretty much starting from scratch, they had no old maturing stocks like the big co-ops have always had (and some of their wines are very good, it has to be said); and it obviously takes a lot of time and investment to store VDN wines for as long as it takes before they get really interesting. After starting the ball rolling, and extending the above-mentioned winemaking logic to those old-fashioned Banyuls styles (and, as I said, sometimes just plain too old); what if they made a deliberately oxidised, complex wine using grapes that were in perfect condition to begin with? The result: La Rectorie's extraordinary L'Oublée (see note below)...

WINES

To start, a word about wine "scores." You'll notice a departure from the usual "100-point" system proliferated across the site, as I just got plain bored of the latter narrow, although admittedly widely recognised, way of "assessing" wines. So, I've continued the schoolteacher theme here that I dreamed up a few months ago for a feature on the Ardèche, which uses a simpler scheme with one to three ticks, as below, echoing those already popular "star" ratings you see around. Still best to actually read my notes and comments at the end of the day, if that's not too dull. And, inevitably, I ended up giving some half-marks as well represented by a tick in brackets! These wines were sampled in October 2010 (unless stated otherwise) at the winery or at home.

√ = good √ √ = very good √ √ √ = fabulous

MAURY

White

Domaine des Soulanes 2009 Maury (Grenache blanc/gris with 90 grams/litre residual sugar (RS)) - enticing "mineral" vs sweet profile, could be interesting after a bit of time in bottle. √ €9 £11.75

Mas Amiel 2008 Maury (Grenache gris 110g/l RS, 15.5% alc.) - enticing mix of juicy, "mineral/stoney" and sweet aromas/flavours; fairly crisp and fresh underneath vs rich white/yellow fruits, a bit closed up but should turn into a very nice pudding or cheese wine. √ €15+

Domaine Serrelongue 2010 Maury (Grenache gris/Grenache blanc: from cask and not ready yet, obviously!) - lots of aromatic pear fruit, turning rich in the mouth with tasty honey notes vs refreshing acidity and cut; long finish with enticing zesty citrus vs sweetness (about 100g/l residual sugar). Should be good. √

Red

Domaine des Soulanes

2009 Maury (Grenache) - lovely wild-fruit nose with blackberry and liquorice; good balance of sugar, dry tannins and cut of alcohol. √ €11 $24.99 £11.75

Maury "Hors d'Age" (Grenache blend of wines from 1992, 1993 & 1994) - complex toffeed ageing notes on the nose with lush liquorice coating in the mouth; very long and caramelised vs lovely savoury richness. √ √ $41.99

More Soulanes wines here with US and UK stockists.

Mas Amiel

2006 Vintage Reserve Maury (Grenache) - seductively rich with savoury edges and light oak texture; again shows good balance of grip, lush black fruits and sugar; quite complex too. √ €20

L09 Vintage Privilege (Grenache passerillé = dried on the vine) - OK, so it's not technically Maury but... very raisin-ed and intense, intriguing and addictive too; pure blackberry and syrup aromas/flavours vs attractive dry tannins vs complex earthy tones. Wow, a one-off. √ √

Maury Prestige 15 Ans d'Age (Years Old on average) - beautiful "old Tawny" nose with molasses/treacle notes and cooked plums; meaty oxidised profile vs dark chocolate vs bite and cut vs intense "sweet/savoury" finish, roasted coffee and nuts too. √ √ √ €23

Click here for more Mas Amiel reviews and background including their superlative 1980 and 1969 vintages.

Domaine Serrelongue 2008 Maury (Grenache 80-90 RS) - lots of sweet black fruits underpinned by light wood texture, has nice freshness and tight tannins too making it quite restrained in style. €10 √

More Serrelongue here.

Domaine Vinci 2008 Inferno (Grenache 5 RS) - another non-Maury (and not even sweet, although it almost should be) sneaked into this feature, as "you know it makes sense." Very ripe and powerful nose, peppery and Port-y almost; crazy wine, punchy and rich with lots of liquorice and pepper plus a touch of underlying wood grain. Wow: very popular with the Brits, I'm told! A bit OTT on its own but worth a go, has plenty of flavour for sure in a dry Maury way! √ √ About €20 or £25

Lots more Vinci wines here.

Cave Mont Tauch 2001 Réserve Maury (Grenache 16%) - treacle toffee liquorice and prune vs quirky "gassy" oxidised maturing nose with Bovril gravy, toasted coffee beans and leather tones; sweet smooth palate with a bit of kick (but not OTT) then more savoury finish with some lingering dry tannins. 2nd tasting (this wine kept quite well for a week, and the last drop was used for a very nice sauce): less "quirky" and "cheesy" with more toffee and raspberry cordial vs savoury/leather edges; smooth and sweet still with that light kick and touch of tannin, nice "sweet/savoury" finish. √ UK: £7.49 37.5cl at Morrison's. More Mont Tauch here.

Coume Majou 2008 Jolo Maury (98 y-o Grenache 17% alc.) - lovely dark fruits, damson and blackberry, beginning to turn tobacco-y; attractive bite and solid tannins, not very sweet actually with lively mouth-feel; a bit fiery at the moment but it's a delicious concentrated "vintage" style Maury. Tasted in March 2010. √ √

More DCM here.

Mas Mudigliza (tasted summer 2010)

2008 Maury - delicious ripe black cherry fruit with savoury leather edges; tannins softening up nicely although still has good bite vs sweetness (75-80 g/l residual sugar = less than many Maurys), youthful fiery finish vs lovely balance of "sweet/savoury" fruit. √ √

2009 Maury (from tank) - very black cherry and liquorice, more intense and lush with nice peppery touches; tasty sweet vs dry finish, promising.

More Mudigliza here with US importer info.

BANYULS

White

Domaine La Tour Vieille 2008 Banyuls (Grenache blanc & gris) - nutty and honeyed with integrated wood grain tones; attractive fruit and texture vs punchy alcohol, sweet vs "mineral" finish. Promising. √ €10 50cl

Domaine La Rectorie L'Oublée (Grenache gris 16.5%): pressed straightaway, fermented then fortified, 10+ years ageing in large tuns then barriques outside before bottling. Quite brownish/red in colour, very different nose with nutty (walnut/pecan) vs dried raspberry/apricot/sultana profile; nutty tangy vs sweet raisin and sultana flavours, delicious complex and lingering finish. √ √ √

Red

Domaine La Tour Vieille

2006 Banyuls Vendanges (mostly Grenache) - lightly oxidised with meaty edges vs damson and liquorice; plum jam flavours vs savoury and quite mature finish. √ €10 50cl

2006 Banyuls Rimage mise tardive (three and a half years in casks filled up to the top) - spicier with more coconut oak apparent vs rich "sweet/savoury" fruit; grippier more powerful mouth-feel then quite tight on the finish actually, surprising young still and impressive. √ √ €15

Banyuls Reserva (4-5 years ageing) - more caramelised nose with cooked raspberry jam aromas, kind of Madeira/Tawny cross springs to mind; big tannins still vs rich fruit, complex tasty and savoury finish although it's pretty sweet though too. √ √ (√) €13

Cuvée Francis Cantié - roasted coffee beans and strawberry jam on the nose, pretty intense in the mouth with nuttier characters then a bit more of a kick too; but that attractive "sweet/savoury" thing takes over and it's surprisingly subtle in the end. √ √ €15 50cl

Vin de Méditation (Solera-style, 18%) - amazingly intricate "red Madeira" nose, very intense and nutty; sweet raspberry and pecan nut flavours, finishing with very different profile to that initial nose as new aromas/flavours keep rolling across your tongue. Wow. √ √ √ €50 50cl

More LTV wines and profile here.

Coume del Mas

2007 Galateo Banyuls (Grenache, 16% & 100g RS) - lovely black fruits with meaty edges; attractive fruity "winey" flavours and texture, still firm and powerful softened by cherry liqueur notes and sweetness. Available in 6cl or 10cl flasks. √ €15 50cl

2007 Quintessence Banyuls (Grenache, 16.5% & 80g RS) - richer, more complex and a touch oakier with more savoury / oxidised edges; more oomph and extracted lush fruit vs big tannins adding dry bite, closes up on the finish. √ √ (√) €26 50cl

2009 Quintessence Banyuls (Grenache low-yielding 70-80 year-old vines, barrel sample) - deep purple/black colour, still showing a bit of toasty chocolate oak vs very rich "Black Forest Gateau" fruit; solid firm mouth-feel, almost "fresh" despite its sweet finish balanced by grippy tannins. Lovely. √ √

More wines and words on CdM here. Pic. = Philippe Gard from http://www.coumedelmas.com/

Domaine La Rectorie

2008 Banyuls Rimage "mise précoce" (Grenache 16.5%) - which means early bottling: after fortifying "sur grains," this had a further 2-week maceration on skins then pressed, held in vats briefly then bottled. Delicious dark chocolate and black cherry with violet aromas too; rich and sweet vs firm and spicy, nice lush vs tight and grippy finish. √ €11 50cl

2007 Cuvée Léon Parcé Banyuls (Grenache 16.5%) - initially same winemaking as above but then goes into (full) casks for 18 months. Similar fruit profile but meatier / more savoury; chunkier tannins too somehow although rounder as well, nice sweet vs structured mouth-feel with chocolate undercurrent. √ √

More La Rectorie here.

Related features on WineWriting the site:

St-Bacchus Awards 2009 including a trio of star Banyuls/Maury co-operative wines: "Camille Descossy" Le Dominicain, "Mise Tardive" Cornet & Cie, "Vieille Réserve" Vignerons de Maury.

Other recommended Banyuls and Maury producers on my "Roussillon - French Catalonia" pages: Berta-Maillol, Mas Blanc, Calvet-Thunevin, Fontanel, Mas Lavail, Clos Paulilles, Piétri-Géraud, Pouderoux, La Préceptorie, Saint-Roch, Schistes, Traginer.

A few more sexy red VDN stylists under the Rivesaltes appellation: Caladroy, Casenove, Cazes, Comelade, Hylari, Puig-Parahÿ, Rossignol, Rouaud, Sarda Malet, Valmy, Vaquer.

Chunky winter rosé: Tavel

2010-10-22T13:57:00.003+01:00

I appreciate it's allegedly still autumn, despite the cold-ish snap, but this chunky rosé would be good any time of year really, although best with food as it's quite powerful. In typical Tavel style (southern Rhone) with 13.5% alcohol giving plenty of body, Château Castelfont's 2009 rosé is well made though: nice perfumed ripe red-fruit cocktail on the nose, with rounded "oily" palate and quite weighty vs crisp and dry finish. Pretty good with wild smoked salmon too, not always easy to match. Varieties = Grenache, Syrah, Bourboulenc, Mourvèdre. €5 at Carrefour's autumn "foire aux vins" (wine fair). Logo from tavel.tm.fr

Wines of the moment: France, Hungary, Chile

2010-10-10T12:28:00.006+01:00

2009 rosé from France (organic): Domaine Saint-Julien Les Vignes, Coteaux d'Aix-en-Provence - nice classic style Provence rosé with pale pink/orange colour and fresh floral, red fruit aromas/flavours; understated yet lively and juicy with crisp dry and elegant finish. About €9 for a half-bottle in Hippopotamus restaurant, Chartres.
2009 white from the Roussillon: Dom Ici Chardonnay/Macabeu vin de pays Cotes Catalanes, Dom Brial/Vignerons de Baixas (13%) - well made "modern" unoaked style with appealing mix of white peach and citrus fruit, floral almond edges vs lightly lees/buttery texture; medium bodied and rounded vs zesty and crisp/bitter finish. €3.80

2003 Szamorodni (sweetie) from Tokaji in Hungary: Dániel, István Szepsy (13.5%) - caramel, demerara, raisins, dried apricot and honey with spicy citrus undertones; luscious dried fruits vs lemon, weighty and rounded with super sweet caramel flavours vs some cutting acidity; developing very nicely although lacks a bit of real zest. And here's what I said about this Szamorodni four years ago (from a trip to the region: much more on that here): 1 year new Hungarian oak. Voluptuous tropical honey, vibrant pure and concentrated; very light chocolate oak tones, subtle freshness v lovely fruit; drinking nicely now, maybe lacks a bit of bite.

2009 red from Chile: Casa Mayor Carmenère Single Vineyard Reserve, Bodegas Santo Domingo in Colchagua Valley - quirky mix of roasted vegetables, soy sauce and herbal red pepper (touch reduced even?) vs dark burnt/smoky damsons, peppery and punchy too; similar on the mouth with those wild herby notes coming through vs lush almost "tar" like texture, contrast of crunchy vs dried fruits giving attractive "sweet/savoury" flavours; a touch of grip and acidity add bite, quite powerful too (the label says 14% alc. but I'd say it's higher). Next day: still quirky although attractive with it, with a combo of bitter chocolate & roasted coffee beans vs ripe almost stewed fruit lending raisin and prune flavours vs tarter finish. It works though somehow! About €6.

Photos from coteauxaixenprovence.com and tokaj.hu

Vinolodge, camping it up in style

2010-10-03T19:38:00.008+01:00

This original, sleep in the vineyards, wine tourism under the stars project, billed as "eco-friendly," is due to be launched next year. Your intrepid reporter went over to Domaine Virgile Joly, in Saint-Saturnin in the Languedoc highlands, to check it out in mid September, where they did a test-drive for these posh tents pitched in a secluded spot alongside his vines. The accommodation itself is surprisingly plush, with nice king-size bed, small "bathroom" with electric shower and proper toilet, fridge, aircon (for wimps) etc; and sturdy too with a parquet-type floor raised off the ground on stilts, being based on military-grade tent technology developed by Vinolodge's parent company. Each unit is also fitted out with right-on bits such as a water recycling system and solar power panels; the latter are sufficient for lighting, shower, plug sockets et al although not the aircon, which obviously isn't so eco-friendly. But you can see why it's there, when you could be spending some hot nights in July or August.

All in all, it looks like a fun and back-to-nature "concept" for wine enthusiasts with a few three-star luxuries: mind you, at €200 a night, there should be! This does include breakfast and a tutored wine tasting though, and there's a dining tent with on-site caterers for breakfast and dinner too depending on the package you'd go for. The idea is to erect these designer tents on demand in the vineyard from late spring to early autumn 2011, as part of a wine tour programme planned by Joly and other participating estates. They claim they don't damage the environment and are dismantled leaving no lasting trace. Vinolodges might well appeal to wineries looking to develop their tourism income that don't have the means or desire to build a permanent structure on the estate.

If successful, we could see vinolodges being "rolled out," as the marketing speak would have it, across the Languedoc and beyond... More info here: vinolodge.com. Notes on Domaine Virgile Joly and his wines here (goes to winewriting the site).
Photo by Claude Cruells.

Riesling of the moment: Juilen Frey

2010-09-27T12:43:00.003+01:00

The Freys are organic winegrowers in Dambach la Ville, Alsace: I came across this towards sublime bottle in my local supermarket recently and thought it worth sharing, so to speak (none left now though).

2008 Julien Frey Riesling "Prestige" (12%) - enticing "chalky" lime aromas mingle with maturing linseed oil tones; subtle and quite soft palate with citrus vs celery profile, gets tighter and fresher on its elegant finish. €7.75

More Alsace Rieslings here:

winewriting.com/organicAlsace
And 2 dozen racy German Rieslings here: winewriting.com/RRR

Picture = the Frey family from vinsfreybio.com

Corbières day-tripper

2010-09-27T11:00:00.002+01:00

Three profiles/updates on new and established wine estates in the northern Roussillon, southern Corbières and Fitou "highlands" areas have been beamed up to sister ship winewriting.com onto my Languedoc winery guides page 2:
Domaine Bertrand-Bergé, Domaine Jones and Domaine du Grand Arc are in the limelight - follow those links for words and wine reviews.
Image = "Queen of Quéribus Castle: Katie Jone's Maury vineyard" taken from domainejones.com

International Grenache Day

2010-09-22T12:20:00.001+01:00

It's this Friday apparently, September 24th. I wouldn't want to start counting how many Grenache-based wines are talked about and reviewed on this blog or sister site WineWriting.com. From full-on lush reds to lavish Port-like "vins doux naturels" both from "black" Grenache (noir) or Garnacha / Garnatxa, to exotic whites crafted from white Grenache (blanc) / Garnacha blanca and/or Grenache gris, a pinkish skinned relative that can also work for "grey" style rosés; to fruity rounded rosé / rosado / rosat itself made from the "black" version (and sparkling too...)

Still with me? Here are just a few, off the top of my head, that I've particularly enjoyed (sensibly of course) over the last couple of months (mostly from southern France and Spain although Grenache certainly can excel in Australia, California...):

2008 Mas Mudigliza Maury (see post below this one)

2007 Domaine La Fourmente Les Vieux Grenache des Garrigues, Visan (southern Rhone)

2005 Domaine du Chapitre (Ardèche)

2007 Llopart Rosé Cava

2005 Château des Estanilles Faugères Prestige

2007 Domaine Bertrand-Bergé Rivesaltes Tuilé Ma-ga

2009 La Chevalière Grenache

2008 Domaine de Fenouillet Faugères

2006 Mitchelton Crescent, Victoria

2009 Domaine Jones Grenache

2008 Domaine Treloar One Block red

2007 Les Manyes Terroir al Límit, Priorat

2006 Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape "cuvée Cadette"

2007 Inferno Domaine Vinci, Roussillon

1980 Millésime Maury Mas Amiel, Roussillon...

And some links to features / guides / profiles including these and many more Grenache wines:

http://winewriting.com/Maury.htm "Relentless Roussillon: strange goings-on in Maury..."

http://winewriting.com/WineWriting%20subspages.htm#RWS (Roussillon guide)

http://www.winewriting.com/Ardeche.htm

http://www.winewriting.com/cava.htm

http://www.winewriting.com/WineWriting%20subspages.htm#LWS (Languedoc guide)

http://www.winewriting.com/WineWriting%20subspages.htm#JJMLC (Jean Jean)

http://www.winewriting.com/Winery%20snapshots7.htm (Rhône valley & Provence)

http://winewriting.com/Languedoc2009.htm

http://winewriting.com/Winery%20snapshots6.htm (Aus profiles)

http://winewriting.com/Winery%20snapshots4.htm (Spain)

Photo = Grenache from vins-rhone.com

Mas Mudigliza

2010-09-20T20:44:00.001+01:00

Update on WW.com: "This slightly curiously named estate is Dimitri Glipa and Muriel Samson's fairly new operation based in St-Paul-de-Fenouillet..." Featuring their 2009 CaudaLouis white, 2007 & 2008 Symbiosis red Côtes du Roussillon and 2008 & 2009 Maury. Click here for latest notes on these wines:

winewriting.com/WinerysnapshotsRouss2#Mudigliza

Picture of a "casot" from masmudigliza.fr

Château des Estanilles

2010-09-15T18:21:00.000+01:00

New Languedoc "profile" on winewriting.com: Château des Estanilles in Faugères, taken over by Julien Seydoux last year, with seven wine reviews. Click here to go there!

"Sud de France" now in London

2010-09-14T12:17:00.005+01:00

Nothing to do with climate change, but a couple of "South of France" wine & food events coming up this weekend. First, there's a Sud de France market this Friday 17th September in Cavendish Square (London W1) in front of the Maison de la Région Languedoc-Roussillon, where you can taste a nice variety of wines from the region and sample olive oils, savoury snacks and biscuits. Wines worth checking out include sparkling Limoux from Sieur d'Arques in the seafood bar, Gérard Bertrand, Skalli, Sainte Cécile du Parc, Mont Tauch (all Languedoc), Domaine du Traginer, Château de Péna and La Coume du Roy (Roussillon). If you miss that, there's another market on Saturday 18th in Duke of York Square, Chelsea. Both part of the "SdF" festival running until 30th September around London: more info @ festival-suddefrance.com. Photo from traginer.fr: profile on JF Deu (bottom right on his mobile!) here, and why not taste his wines at the festival...

Fizz of the moment: Royal Seyssel Brut

2010-09-09T13:56:00.006+01:00

Obscure fizz of the moment perhaps: I had to do a google search to get the low-down on this bottle, lonely and neglected as it was on my local supermarket's dusty bottom shelf. Made by Varichon & Clerc from the Altesse variety in the not very well-known (!) Seyssel wine appellation nestling on the Rhone on the way up to the Alps in the Savoy region, this 2004 vintage has 12% alc. and was about €7.50 (latest vintages are dearer). What a find: vintage Champers, eat your heart out. This stuff was tasty and complex with lovely balance of toasty oat-cakey richness, maturing oily texture and refreshingly clean lively and elegant finish. Another quick search on the net also revealed plenty of stockists in the UK and US. Some useful info on this fizz brand can be found on Wink Lorch's blog here, a semi-resident Savoy wine (and Jura actually) knowledgeable person, and @ lambert-de-seyssel.com (the brand owner) where I pinched the picture from.

Pink of the moment: M&S Cape rosé

2010-08-26T21:59:00.000+01:00

2009 Cape rosé from Breedekloof region, South Africa, made by Nicolaas Rust (14%) - quite full-on style with rounded oily mouth-feel and underlying "sweet" red berry and cherry fruit; smooth and fairly easy (with food anyway, a bit punchy on its own perhaps) with attractive and off-dry finish. £4.29 Marks & Spencer.

Beer of the moment: Fischer

2010-08-20T21:35:00.002+01:00

The summer usually dictates less red and more white / rosé hues, round these parts anyway, and occasionally a smidgeon of refreshingly chilled beer. Many of my favourite French beers come from Alsace - and I don't mean that well-known monster brand I won't bother naming - and one in particular, Fischer, always hits the spot. Miles, or rather kilometres, better than most Brit-type "lager" or US-style "lite" stuff, perhaps not as characterful as certain Belgian beers or quite as incisively Pils-y in that German or Czech way; but consistently tasty and palate-cleansing while still quite "full-bodied" (6% alc. I think). About €1.50 for a big (66cl) bottle in most French supermarkets.

Argentina: Malbec & Cabernet Sauvignon

2010-08-18T16:20:00.000+01:00

Malbec and Cabernet at a glance: my notes and ratings, for your pure pleasure, of twenty diverse reds made from arguably Argentina's forte on the variety front - varietals or blends of the two (or sometimes with a third grape such as Merlot)... Highlights: 90-pointers from Septima, Piedras Pura Vid, Calle, Vistalba/Fabre. Tango tango! Picture from winesofargentina.org (a bit of a cliché, I know). Click here to find out more (takes you to WineWriting.com).

Fizz of the moment: Bach Cava

2010-08-18T15:44:00.009+01:00

Bach Extrísimo Cava Brut Nature (varieties: Macabeu, Xarel.lo, Parellada. 11.5% alc.) - not the greatest "Brut Natural" style Cava (very dry, no added dosage) but one of the most consistently brilliant value: I've tried it several times before and recently bought a bottle in Spain on offer for under €3! Attractive combo of floral bready and light oat-biscuit notes, with hints of honeyed almond flavours too; followed by refreshingly appley, crisp and dry finish. Good with light summer food or very easy quaffing as an "apero." Bach also makes a delicious dry still rosé ("rosat" or "rosado") and is part of codorniu.com. Lots more Cavas on WineWriting.com here. Photo from bach.es.

eastern Slovenia: "taking on New Zealand..."

2010-08-15T20:43:00.000+01:00

"Yet another catchy-titled tutored tasting... featuring wines from eastern Slovenia, which threw up several lively and/or unusual aromatic white wines... Slovenia has perhaps grabbed a bit of attention for certain intense styles of "macerated" and "natural" whites from the west... bordering northwest Italy and trendy regions such as Collio..." Expect Renski Riesling, Laški Rizling, Šipon, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurz... Favourite wineries include Protner, Valcl, Kupljen, Steyer and Simčič... Read this feature on WineWriting.com.
Picture from vino-kupljen.com.

Douro, Alentejo, Algarve and beyond...

2010-08-12T10:44:00.001+01:00

New on WineWriting.com! Focus on Portugal with over 50 smouldering Atlantic wines reviewed including a "Douro masterclass" and eight featured producers from the Douro, Alentejo, Algarve and Vinho Verde... My best wines at a glance: Crasto, Favaios, Graham's, Duorum, Lagos, Outeiro Mouro, São Miguel, Quevedo, Dona Matilde. Also have a look at "winery snapshots page 9" for more detailed Portuguese "profiles"...

Photo = storks from herdadesaomiguel.com

Red of the moment: "Cellar Reserve" Fitou

2010-08-04T11:46:00.002+01:00

2008 Mont Tauch Fitou Vieilles Vignes "Terroir d'Altitude" (old-vine Carignan, Grenache, Syrah) - smoky and spicy with tobacco and leather edges; chunky palate with quite rich blue/black berry fruits, fair grip and bite vs lightly coconut texture, nice peppery finish too.

Available in the UK at Morrison’s for £7.99.

More Mont Tauch wines and profile here:

winewriting.com/Winery%20snapshots%20Corbieres.htm#Tauch

Some posh old Bordeaux

2010-07-31T15:50:00.004+01:00

Tasted, savoured and gently quaffed at the Circle of Wine Writers' 50th anniversary dinner at the National Café, London WC2, on May 17th 2010 ("Flaunt it baby, flaunt it," as Zero Mostel said in "The Producers"): my notes got a bit lost in a pile of paper until now...

These three reds served with rack of spring lamb or wild mushroom risotto:

1996 Château Lynch-Bages Pauillac Grand Cru Classé - smoky maturing nose with savoury tobacco vs liquorice even; rich mouth-feel and depth vs still quite firm tannins, although I like its seductive chewy roundness; complex maturing finish with "sweet/savoury" and tobacco tones again vs underlying grip indicating there's still life in it yet. 92-94

1998 Château Branaire-Ducru Saint-Julien Grand Cru Classé - leafy cedary blackcurrant aromas vs maturing savoury edges; lighter palate with fresher acidity, attractive crunchy cassis fruit vs sweeter/savoury texture; gets richer and more open with air, probably very good for this tricky vintage. 88-90

2001 Château Canon La Gaffeliere Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé - ripe black fruits even with quite rustic smoky profile, intricate and "cheesy" (like old Rioja) too; still showing a touch of dry grip vs "sweet" texture and oomph (13.5% ?); lush, seductive and soupier too (bretty even?) but difficult not to like it! Tastes older than the other two. 90-92
With apple tarte tatin:
2002 Château Guiraud Sauternes Premier Cru Classé - delicious actually, even if not very rich and exotic; shows classy spicy nose with dried fruits, honey and marmalade; fine cut and bite vs oily texture, lovely balance. 88-90
Oh, we also enjoyed a wee glass of Louis Roederer Brut Premier Champers with nibbles beforehand to set the scene nicely. Afterwards, back to reality to catch a late tube. Ho hum. Picture from www.lynchbages.com

Hot southern French winey summer, part 3: unknown Rhone

2010-07-25T16:55:00.003+01:00

The southern Ardeche to be precise, or "Ardèche méridionale" in French which has a "sexier south" ring to it somehow. It's difficult not to be wowed by the stunningly varied and wild countryside in the southern chunk of this huge "département," which spans out from the Rhone river itself (the eastern flank stretches along almost the entire length of those more familiar northern to southern Rhone valley wine areas) way out west into the Cévennes hills on the edge of the Massif Central mountain range; marked by the winding Ardeche river and those spectacular gorges it's carved out over time and dotted with myriad hilltop villages teetering with history.
Wine producers, along with the tourist board, restaurant & hotel owners, museums & sites etc. have really got their act together in this neck of the woods. There's a comprehensive programme of winey and other things to do on this site: lesvinsdardeche.com. And a resumé below of my findings and feelings gleaned from a flying visit to the area last month. Update: a full-monty wine travel feature on the Ardeche has now been published here on winewriting.com, packed with nice wineries to check out (40 reds, whites and rosés recommended) and places to go, eat & stay. A taster:
"One of a handful of emerging Rhone valley wine areas but still not well known outside of France, the southern Ardeche is nurturing some surprising good, and great value, fruity peppery Grenache and Syrah based reds and rosés, as well as tasty contemporary whites (made from Viognier, Marsanne, Grenache blanc in particular)." There are three distinct wine appellations:

Cotes du Rhone and CdR Villages around Bourg-Saint-Andéol in the southeast corner (northwest of Orange) - a few recommended estates here (generally, the southern Ardeche is dominated by sometimes well-run, now amalgamated co-op cellars) include Domaine de Couron, Mas de Libian, Domaine Nicolas Croze, Domaine du Chapitre (his sublime 1999 CdRV shows how well some of the reds can age), Domaine Coulange and the St-Just St-Marcel co-op.
Heading to the west and north: Cotes du Vivarais - names to look out for include Clos de L'Abbé Dubois, Vignerons Ardechois, Domaine Notre Dame de Cousignac, Mas de Bagnols and Cave d'Orgnac l'Aven. This region is also home to the fragrant Lavender Museum surrounded by rolling lavender fields, where they still produce their own addictive lavender oils and other products.
Keep going west and north: vins de pays des Coteaux de l'Ardeche and the new IGP ("indication géographique protégée") Ardeche zone - very good value varietals and blends from e.g. Domaine de Peyrebrune, Domaine du Colombier, Domaine de Cassagnole, Cave d'Alba La Romaine, Domaine de Pecoulas, Domaine du Grangeon. And not forgetting Cave Co-op La Cévenole, "passionate defenders" of (drum roll)... the Chatus variety! An obscure local red grape, which seems capable of making long-lived structured reds and is being gradually replanted on certain terraced hillside sites...

My full article on WW.com also features a couple of restaurant and hotel recommendations; and, in addition to the Ardeche gorges being canoeing heaven by the way, there are several well-organised "wine routes" and some of the producers mentioned above lay on tailor-made mini-tours and tastings for small groups, as well as offering holiday gite or B&B accommodation. Another wine event to pencil in in the meantime: Sunday 8th August, the Fête des Vignerons Ardéchois in Ruoms with entertainment, tastings and live music.

Picture = "Chèvre chaud rôti aux amandes et à la farine de châtaigne" (baked goats' cheese with almonds and chestnut flour (chestnuts, in many different guises, are a huge local speciality) with a nice white wine from www.lesvinsdardeche.com

sweet Cadillac not pink

2010-07-23T13:37:00.001+01:00

Carrying on the "French winey summer" wine travel theme started below, there's plenty going on in "sweet Bordeaux" country at the moment to boost your blood sugar levels. Apart from art exhibitions at a few chateaux in Sauternes (1chateaupour1artiste.org), why not head for the more evocatively named village and appellation of Cadillac (and often less expensive wines too), where less arty discovery tours are being organised throughout July and August, called "Routes, vins et patrimoine." You'll find details @ the handsome Maison des vins de Cadillac, open Monday-Friday (avoid lunchtime) plus special summer tasting sessions with the winemakers at the weekend. It's on Rue Cazeaux-Cazalet, 33410 Cadillac. 05 57 98 19 20, maisondesvins@closiere.com. Photo: Tour Maudan 2005 taken from vinconnexion.free.fr (Sweet Bordeaux Collection summer 2010).

Long hot southern French winey summer

2010-07-21T13:43:00.003+01:00

A few wine & food goings-on in the Languedoc & Roussillon, and further afield, that have come my way and might be worth checking out if you're in French wine country this (rather hot) summer:

12th "salon des vins" in Aniane (northwest of Montpellier) this Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 July: all you need to know @ salondesvinsdaniane.com (Mas Daumas Gassac country among others e.g. Domaine Coston. More on them here).

Maury (northern Roussillon): 21 July (tonight!) "apéritif de terroir, tapas and Swing manouche" (Will Trio, a band presumably); 17 August "Nuit des étoiles et dégustation," (night under the stars tasting) from 8pm; 19 August another "apéritif de terroir, tapas and music" night. More info from the tourist office at the "Maison du Terroir" avenue Jean JAURES, 66460 Maury. Tel: 04 68 50 08 54, maisonduterroir@hotmail.com or maury-village.com

Until September: the tourist offices in 19 towns and villages throughout the Roussillon = Pyrénées Orientales or number "66" (as in the "département" system not an extra from the Prisoner) will also be offering an "aperitif du terroir" - once you get your pass and tasting glass, it's €3 for a wine & food tasting in the company of some of the local producers. More on the tourismedeterroir.fr website or at 19 avenue de Grande-Bretagne, 66006 Perpignan, 04 68 51 59 99.

Also showing "in a cinema near you soon" in the Roussillon (well, in a wine cellar or vineyard to be exact): "une Cave, un Jour, un Soir…" throughout July and August. Choose either an organised picnic lunch with wine tasting and vine tour (€15) or the full monty evening BBQ with the winegrower including coach transport from different pick-up points (€29). Book @ Cars verts Voyages: 10 rue Jeanne d’Arc, 66001 Perpignan Cedex, 04 68 51 19 47; or contact as per the Perpignan address/number above or see vins-du-roussillon.com

More summer wine events will be posted here shortly, in the southern Ardeche and Bordeaux among other places (see latest posts in fact).
And for regular wine tourism updates, check out Wink Lorch's blog:
blog.winetravelguides.com

Quirky Languedoc "sweetie of the moment"

2010-07-18T13:27:00.001+01:00

Further to my post below about "Signature Bio" and wine competitions, I discovered this little gem while judging at this year's "Concours des Grands Vins du Languedoc Roussillon." Our table tasted a line-up of varied/varying white wines (blends from memory: oaked and unoaked, dry and sweet); this one was easily my favourite and considered the best of a mixed bunch by the other judges, which we awarded a silver medal.

2006 "La Soulenque" Domaine la Croix Belle vin de pays Cotes de Thongue Doux (14.5%) - nice spicy and exotic "botrytis-like" nose with rich marmalade and honey; lush mouth-feel vs orange peel twist, quite good balance of sugar vs bite; probably needs a touch more acidity to cut through the finish, but this is a very attractive sweetie. Made from Muscat and Sauvignon with 85g/l residual sugar (natural). Price approx. €15.

La Croix Belle is found not far north of Béziers and west of Pézenas, if you're ever in that neck of the woods. More @ croix-belle.com