tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78520852012-01-22T15:36:44.597ZSmell the cork, taste the wine, tell me what you think.rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.comBlogger1341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-40737524532584901692012-01-18T23:28:00.000Z2012-01-22T15:36:44.614Z

Thank you very, very much to the Corkdork for hosting this Wine Blogging Wednesday, on the theme of "The Spark - the wine that got you hooked". In writing this post, it turns out I've managed to make a fair go of summing up everything about me and wine and blogging. To start with the meta: late  - that's me. Congenitally late in more or less everything (starting with having to be forcibly

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-56600368488353706192011-07-09T23:07:00.040+01:002011-09-20T02:34:01.381+01:00

You have to warm to a winemaker whose website opens with a haiku from Basho. The stylish label, with its Böcklin-like lettering, also helps. 97 Parker points rather spoils the party, and the 15.9% ABV doesn't promise greatness. The alcohol is immediately apparent on pouring - this is a very teary wine. It smells fantastic, combining freshness and green notes with more evolved aromas like

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-48633425919450724712011-05-07T02:34:00.002+01:002011-05-07T02:36:13.650+01:00

I'm sitting here enjoying three "whiskies" (lawyer-types: I know, I know, "new make spirit") from the recently re-opened Glenglassaugh distillery, which between them can't even scrape up a single year of ageing. As a grappa fan, I couldn't be happier. They all have that solventy, estery fruity nose found in fresh distillates - lovely. The Clearac is a straightforwardly fresh, plain spirit . It

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-21498395349910348602011-04-18T23:08:00.066+01:002011-04-21T13:05:40.926+01:00

A Helpful Bottle Top I've been occupied with WSET diploma lectures and a jaunt to North Wales, so the Miles From Nowhere Sémillon / Sauvignon Blanc (which arrived in the shop a couple of weeks ago) has had to wait. Resisting the urge to do a full diploma-style tasting note (they are great, but I haven't yet mastered the trick of combining a diploma note with catching the soul of a wine), I

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-6054393571362384362011-03-29T23:00:00.001+01:002011-04-09T21:12:48.224+01:00

Sometimes (not often enough, sad to say) a less expensive bottle really over-delivers. And so it is with the Schiefer Dry Riesling 2007, from Kendermann. It's not really a complex wine, but what it does is expressed so purely that it's a delight to taste. The abiding impression I took from my glass was of pure lime fruit alloyed with delicate mineral oil. Right the way through from first sniff

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-80986132636841223232011-03-17T01:54:00.003Z2011-03-17T15:32:06.528Z

I'm drinking the last glass from the last but one bottle of Château De La Selve Palissaire 2007. I say this because if you are quick (and, I suppose, lucky) you can rattle off to the shop and get the final bottle, and I am feeling well-disposed to the world, and in particular to you, dear reader. You might want to taste this fine drop because it's from an organic, biodynamic, low-yielding

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-12674473025636602812011-02-21T01:19:00.000Z2011-02-21T01:19:26.263Z

Fyne Ales are a wee brewery at the head of Loch Fyne. Set up in 2001, and almost from the start collecting awards, I like their beers because they take a generous approach to hopping. Here's a round up of tasting notes for five of the beers. I should also mention Avalanche, which I have a clear memory of being the best beer of a very good selection in the Guildford Arms in Edinburgh. A clear

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-13650973226981063142011-02-16T23:29:00.001Z2011-03-12T16:01:23.811Z

Tonight's theme was Chardonnay, but as ever there were a couple of ringers thrown in. We started with an elderly fizz, the Sieur d'Arques Cremant de Limoux NV. If it were a person you'd feel the need to qualify "elderly" with "sprightly" or some such. The sparkle didn't last long after pouring, but that didn't matter, because it had a lovely masculine perfume, spicy and woody; and a well

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-22392564448527417212011-02-12T22:23:00.001Z2011-02-14T10:42:16.837Z

Goodness, I've never seen such a dark champagne before. If I didn't know what it was, I'd be guessing Shiraz for the grape, or perhaps a Cabernet - Merlot blend. The Piper-Heidsieck Brut Rosé Sauvage NV is really dark, but when you hold it up to the light you see more of onion-skin than raspberry. And it smells pretty fantastic. It smells, in fact, properly Champagne-like, but with a big blast

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-20357705578924655522011-01-30T02:53:00.004Z2011-01-30T04:16:29.769Z

Lightly peated whiskies are a tricky business. Big bold peated malts are a great style, shouldering their way across your palate with their salt and smoke and earthiness, but at times they can leave you feeling like a crockery salesman in Pamplona. Speysiders or Highlanders would say they have a touch of peat in them (from the water), before changing the subject to honey or sherry or such

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-48510262355032045252011-01-10T22:12:00.051Z2011-02-08T13:15:15.871Z

With a view to synchronising our palates, SF and I (with expert kibitzing provided by TallAsAVan) conducted a tasting of Penderyn whiskies at a distance of four hundred miles, using Skype. This worked really well, except that I found myself rather bellowing. I'm in two minds about what Penderyn do. They have a weird setup which seems to be the bastard offspring of a pot still and a column still.

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-56922328347613129302011-01-06T22:18:00.000Z2011-01-16T00:42:34.739Z

I once attended a tasting presented by Bruce Jack, the endlessly innovative chief winemaker at Flagstone. The conversation came round to the subjects of hygiene, and specifically Brettanomyces. Mr Jack boldly suggested that all wine made in Burgundy is dirty. Fortunately there were no Frenchmen present, but I was reminded of that evening when I tasted this wine.Badia di Morrona I Sodi del

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-8604625462954542352011-01-03T23:06:00.001Z2011-01-10T14:47:16.440Z

I had to go and look it up, and the Oxford Companion to Wine says that Muscat Ottonel is "paler in every way, a relative parvenu".Well, in that case it's probably just as well that M. Gruss isn't growing Muscat Blanc à petits grains, since this bottle was amply aromatic enough to please us, and indeed to stand up very well to the spicy pakora we were having as a starter.The nose was really very

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-68304863016708158032010-12-24T23:25:00.002Z2011-01-10T14:46:27.731Z

That's what makes champagne special. Watching the tiny specks rising slowly up through glass (as plain as possible, please. Crystal just gets in the way) is mesmerising; a gentle, slow, soothing pleasure.Tonight's fizz was a very fine example, with plentiful tiny bubbles continuing to rise even as the glass was emptied.It smelled very fresh, like fresh sea air, followed by the classic champagne

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-85976260552246903122010-12-15T23:35:00.056Z2011-02-14T10:11:32.251Z

I'm sorry to keep banging on about typicity, but I do think it ought to matter. You see, I really rather like this wine, with its dark, burnt earth and licorice flavours, but it just doesn't seem very Grenache-y. Monte La Sarda Garnacha 2009 is a Vino de la Tierra de Bajo Aragon, from near Zaragoza; somewhere in between Rioja territory and the likes of Priorat, in a region where it ought to be

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-65911520352847426482010-12-03T23:56:00.001Z2010-12-06T00:27:01.867Z

A full bodied, oily, rich wine from Boekenhoutskloof, the Porcupine Ridge Viognier / Grenache Blanc 08 only comes over to the UK in limited parcels, which is a bit of a shame, as I do believe I could drink a lot of this.South Africa these days seems to do just as well with Rhône grapes as with the Bordeaux varieties; Marc Kent and Boekenhoutskloof are at the forefront of this trend.There's a

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-60703468918143678202010-11-17T23:21:00.003Z2010-11-25T12:49:35.993Z

Yes indeed, it can only be Beaujolais Nouveau. Not quite the first French wine from the 2010 vintage - that would be something white and primeur from Gascogny, I should think - but the first red, and a lovely, traditional, refreshing, all too drinkable glass it is too.This particular bottling comes from Domaine Brossette, based at Theize, in a district called the Golden Stones. It's a fantastic

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-3174165949612043742010-11-13T23:32:00.001Z2010-11-30T12:00:32.328Z

A lovely afternoon, spent in the Arches, sampling my way around some very fine whiskies. The inaugural Glasgow's Whisky Festival was a great opportunity to taste some obscure, rare, hard to get or, frankly, unaffordable drams (fifty year old Speyside anyone?).As it happens, my favourite whisky of the day was neither old or ridiculously expensive.The Creative Whisky Company's 4-year old

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-14242845756232410192010-10-27T23:21:00.002+01:002010-12-07T03:00:45.311Z

At a WSET blind tasting tonight three of the wines tasted did not seem to have a clear sense of place about them.One of them, the Louis Michel Chablis Premier Cru Montmain 05, seemed so far removed from Burgundy I was reaching for Sicily or Sud-Tirol as a place to park it.For sure, it was a fine glass of wine. A mature nose of vegetal notes, earthy minerality, and a little toffeed sweetness led

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-70378008979005427342010-09-27T23:07:00.002+01:002011-02-05T19:36:13.839Z

All the best bits of Cremola Foam.I'm now going to use another 150 words to justify those seven, but really,I ought to just write them out another 21 times.To start with, I have to deal with the age thing. If you aren't old or Scottish enough to have enjoyed the sharp, pungent fizz and sweet squishy raspberry (ersatz raspberry, I know, but still delicious) of a freshly stirred glass of Cremola on

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-40733074984834848822010-08-29T23:06:00.001+01:002010-11-30T12:18:06.398Z

Another entertaining tasting at the Bothy, this time, a Sunday afternoon whisky school, with some very interesting food matching going on.Dalwhinnie 15yo was rather excellent tasted with honeycomb nougat. Ardbeg 10yo went surprisingly well with a mildish remoulade; the horseradish wasn't overly fiery, and the creamy dressing pulled everything together nicely. But the culinary star of the day was

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-28011695811768665612010-08-12T23:13:00.002+01:002010-08-14T14:39:23.114+01:00

Or what you or I might call a Rhône blend, but to be fair, the quality of the wine is sufficiently high to bear such high-flown winemaker's language.I'm talking about the McHenry Hohnen 3 Amigos Red 2007, a Western Australian blend of Shiraz, Grenache, and Mataro. It smells like fruit leather, or even fruity leather - really concentrated fruit juice, but with something deeper to back it up. The

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-29496711460572453532010-08-01T23:16:00.003+01:002010-08-14T14:39:54.617+01:00

A man who knows about these things suggested to me that Taleggio ought to go well with Grappa. By a handy coincidence, I happened to have both these items to hand.Now, Taleggio, (which I believe must be the Italian word for Athlete's Foot), is a washed rind cheese made in the region of Milan, and as is typical of such cheeses, the aroma is pretty powerful, sharp, and sweaty, while the taste is

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-11927560253042756762010-07-12T23:55:00.001+01:002010-08-14T14:40:18.051+01:00

Well who'd have thought it? Mortlach is a fruity whisky.I tasted this particular bottling (Cadenhead Mortlach 14yo 1992/2006, 46%) blind, and never in a decade would I have picked Mortlach as the source, because, to repeat my initial question, where's the sherry?Actually, no, don't tell me. Leave it in Spain. Mortlach without sherry influence is a lovely dram, all green apples and highland toffee

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-91125917252335285032010-06-13T23:59:00.002+01:002010-11-30T12:18:45.044Z

If you got into wine when the Australians were selling us bottled sunshine for not much money, then this will probably take you back most beautifully. (Apart from the money bit. Sadly the Australians will require fourteen of your Pommie pounds if you care to try this one, although they will give you a penny back)Heggies Chardonnay 2008 is a big buttery whoosh of mushroom cream and lemony zing.

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-43284808103374494962010-05-16T22:00:00.001+01:002010-05-17T12:58:53.885+01:00

I organised a tasting last month for some folks who wanted a selection of "interesting" wines, rather than any regional or grape theme. We had a great discussion about wine in general, and afterwards one of them sent me a bottle from a producer I haven't tried. So I tried it, purely for the purpose of assessing the wine, of course, no actual hedonistic drinking involved.The Bradgate Syrah 2007 is

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-83022688343323126752010-05-07T23:52:00.002+01:002010-05-17T11:35:59.759+01:00

...for a charity fundraising whisky tasting. The six whiskies were all donated, so there was no theme, but some interesting contrasts arose anyway.Tullibardine was mothballed in 1995 and did not produce whisky again until 2003, when they became independent. They have approached the problem of this gap in production (which leaves them unable to offer a ten year old whisky until 2013) and made a

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-34667310568644756252010-04-22T23:31:00.002+01:002010-12-07T03:17:20.294Z

Tasting the delicious Cuvée Amandine Chablis 08 my first thought was – well actually, my first thought was, “Mmm, this is intense, in an iodic, salty, fish stock way.” And my second thought was, “Ooh, there's an interesting flowery perfume in there, and that iodic element is almost verging on ammoniacal”.My third thought was, “despite the dry fullish body, and long savoury aftertaste, this wine

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-18281517110934637622010-04-21T23:30:00.001+01:002010-04-30T17:51:20.233+01:00

Somehow Eric Steen persuaded everybody that his idea for a Beer Project ought to be part of the Glasgow International Festival of Visual Arts, which is how I found myself at the Market Gallery on Duke Street, sampling some fine Alloa ales.Williams Brothers work out of Alloa making a fine range of beers, including some historical oddities like Fraoch (Heather Ale), Ebulum (Elderberry), and Grozet,

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-53253088826938773632010-04-17T23:55:00.004+01:002011-01-20T02:04:27.057Z

Palo Cortado is a bit of a rarity in sherry. Generally, once the solera master has set each wine on its course, towards fino or oloroso, that's it.But occasionally a fino will up and change in some mysterious fashion. The layer of flor which keeps oxygen out and allows the fino to retain all of its initial fresh delicacy dies, and the wine begins to age oxidatively, like an oloroso. If all goes

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-8557838503432727582010-04-11T23:44:00.000+01:002010-05-05T00:16:38.269+01:00

Le Z de l'Arjolle is a mere table wine, not permitted to display its vintage date, obliged to skirt around the edges of Appellation Controllee rules, for it is a Zinfandel (officially Primitivo **ahem** (you have to ask, why, if all the vines are planted on American rootstocks, is it so wrong to have actual American vines?)).So, Primitivo, from vines sourced from Italy, unofficially the 2007

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-38398986109322351572010-04-06T23:49:00.000+01:002010-04-09T10:15:07.814+01:00

There really is quite a lot of wine out there. You can't track every wine through every vintage. Sometimes this throws up surprises.It's two years, and two vintages, since I have tasted d'Arenberg's Feral Fox Pinot Noir, and I was really rather surprised by the way it has changed. It is much, much lighter than in the past. I followed this wine from the 2002 to 2006 vintage without seeing any

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-52329830691806560862010-04-01T02:31:00.001+01:002010-04-09T03:26:20.781+01:00

... there's pleasure.In this case, it was the second half of a bottle of d'Orschwihr Bollenberg Riesling '08 which I had left in the fridge for a couple of days. The life in it was expressed as a lovely tension, a pull back and forth between sweet and dry, from lime-splashed minerality to soft honey, an excellent 4.On the following night the wine was still there, if quieter, but very refreshing,

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-28781478212600505252010-03-26T00:08:00.004Z2010-04-01T01:02:24.674+01:00

... but it's even tastier when it's actually tequila which manages to smell of dill, and popcorn, and bubblegum, and grappa.At a Bibendum tasting a very persuasive chap called Will was holding forth in barnstorming fashion about "the best tequila in the world". I was enjoying a senescent champagne (Bruno Paillard Blanc de Blancs 95), but so persuasive was he that I tried the El Tesoro Silver,

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-25276479309526454852010-03-19T23:30:00.000Z2010-04-25T10:46:45.866+01:00

As I may have mentioned, TallAsAVan is no longer Malbecista-in-Chief. These days, it seems, he takes a wider view, if the bottles he left with us on his last visit are a guide.And so to England, in the shape of Chapel Down Vintage Reserve English Rose (although I Swear I couldn't see a vintage date anywhere on the bottle)It's a very pretty wine, pale salmon pink, with a slightly sweet nose which

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-90467359736877828402010-03-17T23:33:00.001Z2010-04-01T01:03:17.178+01:00

It's a malt whisky - except it ain't, yet. Abhainn Dearg, one of the new breed of craft distlleries (trans: small, hand-made, local), have just released a limited quantity of spirit. Legally, it won't be whisky until late in 2011.I tasted it at McSorley's, straight from a 30 litre oloroso sherry cask. "Spirit of Lewis" is a complex malt, with an interesting back and forth of flavours. The texture

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-43964556387067703162010-02-08T23:16:00.004Z2010-05-13T11:55:45.972+01:00

Winemakers do some odd things, but occasionally you taste the result and wonder why everyone isn't doing likewise.Larry Brooks at Marmesa Vineyards in the Central Coast region of California decided that, ahead of the main harvest, he would go through the Pinot Noir picking the botrytised grapes and then make them into a sweet wine.Marmesa Red Harvest Dessert Pinot Noir 2006 is a beautiful dusky

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-35310267279391947572010-01-29T23:03:00.003Z2010-04-01T01:04:06.023+01:00

Off to a formal tasting for a very knowledgeable group, in the grand surroundings of the Royal Northern and Clyde Yacht Club.It became apparent early on that they were really quite traditional in their tastes, falling into two camps, Classic French and Beefy Oz, with only one kindly soul declaring themselves in favour of the Terra Andina Carmenère Rosé, which is a shame, for it is a lovely wine

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-70421417096818308372010-01-27T23:55:00.001Z2010-04-01T01:29:24.670+01:00

...another World of Wine. With a very enthusiastic group of tasters this time, and the relaxed surroundings of McPhabbs (comfy chairs already) really helps.Tonight's star turn was the Ribbonwood Pinot Noir from Marlborough, New Zealand - everybody liked it. A soft, medium bodied wine with a nicely rounded array of cherryish fruit flavours and an interesting to and fro between savoury and sweet.

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-37316318671985445822010-01-04T02:23:00.003Z2010-04-01T01:05:53.806+01:00

After discovering, last time, that my memory of the year's best wines didn't quite match up to how I had scored them, I cast my net a little wider, paid less attention to scores, and came up with a list of about sixty wines from nine hundred tasting notes.It is a fairly diverse selection, weighted towards France and Australia (the Oddbins bias, I suppose). So, passing by the Domaine d'Ardhuy Clos

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-63133611118636426572009-12-01T02:20:00.003Z2010-05-14T11:40:35.617+01:00

What exactly is that smell you find in expensive red wine which seems to be some kind of animal crap? And why is it so lovely?Mont Thabor Châteauneuf-du-Pape '06 was promising from the outset, long before the odour of poop raised its ugly yet curiously attractive head. Smelling intensely of very expensive leather, this evolved through spice, cherry, and a whiff of pampered pets into the

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-71397593358309531072009-11-28T23:56:00.003Z2010-08-03T11:23:37.179+01:00

Two spiffing Spaniards provoked me into a flurry of exclamation points today.First off was the Torresilo Ribera del Duero 06, an intense wine which immediately seduces with sweet soft spice aromas under a distictive gunpowder note and velvet licorice (I know, I know, pseuds corner. I don't care). The palate is soft sweet juicy licorice, followed by long lasting expensive sizzled herb butter.

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-44248297120743160252009-10-14T22:46:00.049+01:002011-02-21T00:19:32.385Z

Then the lucciola, the fire-fly of Tuscany, was seen to flash its sudden sparks among the foliage, while the cicala, with its shrill note became more clamorous then even during the noon-day heat, loving best the hour when the English beetle, with less offensive sound, winds his small but sullen horn. The Mysteries of Udolpho, Anne Radcliffe Lucciolaio is a super-Tuscan from mid-level Chianti

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-56156723835709015972009-09-13T03:22:00.005+01:002010-04-01T01:30:52.248+01:00

Comparisons to fruit, vegetables, animals, minerals or what have you are all very well, but it's illuminating to compare more directly, so as to see what is really going on.This thought was triggered by a glass of Trimbach Gewürztraminer '06 (truly excellent wine, 4+), since it bore a strong scent of rose petals and lychees, along with an interesting mealy, cooked grain character which for me is

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-61416168589815395172009-08-14T03:01:00.005+01:002010-04-01T01:31:37.015+01:00

The other night someone remarked, "this smells like a good cheap wine - the sort of thing you give people and tell them to rush out and buy some". I'm not going to say what that wine was, since it cost £9. Instead let me tell you about a different, eight quid, wine which you really should rush out and buy.Les Tourelles de Sipian 2004 smells, well, wonderful. It has that aroma of posh about it

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-964418372152940342009-07-07T23:04:00.001+01:002010-04-01T01:04:33.736+01:00

Last year it was all split labels. Before that it was Animals on your label. Some wineries managed split labels with pictures of animals and an animal name.I believe I have spotted the beginning of the latest trend in wine labelling: intertextuality. In evidence let me point to Fox Gordon's Princess Fiano (buy it before it gets lawyered out of existence) and tonight's tasty little drop, Lanterna

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-46441716440265533912009-05-07T00:32:00.004+01:002010-04-01T01:04:52.503+01:00

I've never been much persuaded by the fruit-salad approach to wine descriptions. I sometimes like to taste fruit alongside the wine it's compared to, just to see what's what (For example, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, which is often said to taste of passionfruit, lacks a certain earthy, leafmold character I find in the fruit itself).The wine I tried today only made me more suspicious of those wine

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-69295690663894418112009-04-18T23:45:00.001+01:002010-04-01T01:32:11.904+01:00

The best, most enjoyable wine experiences, say I, are the ineffable ones. The tasting where your notes are non-existent, or contradictory, or mainly consist of splash marks, but you have an urgent memory of a delicious, complicated something which makes you grin as you recall it.So it is with the Verget Saint-Véran 'Terroirs de Davayé' 06. There are better white Burgundies, but Verget has long

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-23323473396838122902009-04-15T23:09:00.004+01:002010-04-27T11:44:45.194+01:00

After our Rieslingfest last time, we opted for a mixed bag - very mixed, as it turned out; we finished the evening with a curious basil flavoured sweet white wine called Longo Maï!, which did indeed, as promised, go very well with Crème Brulée.But I'm getting ahead of myself. Tonight's ampeloleptic treat, courtesy of the Tall Guy, was a blend of Merwah and Obaideh, but it might as well have been

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-10205929172265077412009-04-02T13:05:00.004+01:002010-04-01T01:06:27.985+01:00

As I may have mentioned before, Carignan is nectar to me, so I was excited to see this bottle. The Terra Andina Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc have gone down well with customers, and I rather rate them myself. High expectations then.The first thing that hits your nostrils is intense blackcurrant, so much so that one is looking for Cabernet on the label, but then comes a herbaceous note, not the

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-62034631324451972392009-03-28T23:22:00.003Z2010-04-09T03:29:51.472+01:00

And I don't particularly mean that the wine smells tannic. Rather it has the fragrance of tea, some sort of dark leafiness. Then there is some more leafiness, of the tobacco sort, and then interestingly, braised red cabbage, and then finally a bit of smoke.By contrast the palate has lots of bright fruit, and indeed it isn't all that tannic. It's fresh and medium bodied (viz, that means light for

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-33567951485379969612009-03-11T23:40:00.002Z2010-04-27T11:45:02.075+01:00

Another SWW, another new flavour. This time it was dill (the herb, not the dog), found in a very lively eighteen-year old Riesling from the Pfalz region of Germany, the delicious (delicious = 5, before I forget) Dr Bürklin-Wolf Wachenheimer Rechbächel Riesling Auslese '90. But dill was only one of the flavours. There was a ton-load of buttery goodness, another herbaceous note which I think was

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-24791051391214989742009-03-10T22:14:00.002Z2010-04-09T03:32:42.015+01:00

Hugh Johnson uses the term 'Plain Wine' in describing Gaillac in his 1983 Companion to Wine. I don't supppose he meant to compliment the wine, but here I am drinking a Gaillac Blanc Sec and finding that Plain Wine sums it up very well, and that plain wine suits me very nicely please-and-thank-you.Lions Lamartine Gaillac Blanc Sec 07 is made with Mauzac and Loin de l'Oeil, grape varieties found

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-50654527367592245552009-02-18T23:07:00.001Z2010-04-09T03:30:26.674+01:00

I'm lost in thought, drinking Cos d'Estournel'99, from a magnum. It's like being in a conservatory full of fresh cut flowers. A sunny conservatory, where the warmth has made the earth in all the pots come alive and breathe, so that the air is full of leafy foliage scents intermixed with a powerful whiff of humus, maybe with mushrooms in there somewhere, a crazy mix of freshness and mouldering

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-14951537476807020962009-01-29T23:15:00.002Z2010-04-09T03:33:39.673+01:00

To kick off SWW3, Puddleglum, a fellow singularly obsessed, provided us with a very fine Very Old Reserve Sherry (officially, it is designated VFVORS... all right, that's a lie, but it ought to be true).As ever, it begged the question of why such fine wine is not more popular. My notes on the Sacristia de Romate VORS Oloroso are full of question marks - always the mark of a good wine - but the

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-56095613727202499262009-01-26T23:21:00.003Z2010-04-09T03:34:17.765+01:00

Fashions run through wine, as through everything. In antiquity, the Romans drank wine saturated with honey and diluted with seawater (I offered this, or something like it, to a history-themed tasting. Nobody liked it save one taster, who compared it to a dirty martini). Dry champagne swept across Britain late in the nineteenth century, and so far shows no sign of leaving. More recently, there has

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-3623339294209048982009-01-21T23:03:00.003Z2010-04-09T03:35:24.524+01:00

Tastings often throw up surprises. Once at a (red) Burgundy tasting, two people independantly suggested that one of the (red... RED) wines smelt like Sauvignon Blanc.Tonight's oddity was Shelmerdine Chardonnay 05.The Tall Guy immediately wondered if the wine was matured in American oak. Then another taster asked if it had been in ex-Sherry or -Bourbon casks, à la whisky, and another chimed in

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-26077315914190254562009-01-19T00:31:00.005Z2010-04-09T03:36:00.619+01:00

Château Lauduc is a forty hectare property just to the east of the city of Bordeaux, in Entre-Deux-Mers. Confusingly, one of their reserve wines is called Château La Roche (perhaps it alludes to some historical whatnot?). La Roche comes from just one hectare of the vineyard, and rather unusually for Bordeaux these days, it is half Malbec, half Merlot.It's a tasty , light, juicy mouthful, not too

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-74066870989141880842009-01-14T23:50:00.004Z2010-04-09T03:36:59.096+01:00

Tonight's tasting was looking at the differences that terroir make to a grape variety but for me the similarities were much stronger.There was a common thread of high-toned fresh foliage in the three wines, a much stronger similarity than the more obvious ones like chocolate or black pepper.I liked the Paul Jaboulet Ainé Hermitage 'La Chapelle' ('01, cork) best, probably because I'm a Francophile

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-45387220744275313722009-01-09T11:11:00.004Z2010-04-27T11:50:04.352+01:00

...for four lovely wines. The Mendel is mentioned elsewhere. The Ollieux Romanis Corbières, was a fresh, bright carbonically macerated wine, delicious, and for early drinking, so it only needed a very temporary stopper. The Mandolás, from a bottle of Oremus Dry Tokaji, probably isn't meant to last, but still they gave it first rate cork, presumably because they are proud of their lovely steely,

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-72803211516844614482008-12-31T11:59:00.001Z2010-04-09T10:18:58.796+01:00

So it seemed like an idea to do a best of 2008 list. But I inspected my notebooks, and discovered that there are actually two lists - the best wines, and those which gave me the most pleasure. Which leaves me wondering what best really means.Leaving that tricky problem aside, I here present, in no particular order, my top six, extracted from the 1008 listed in my notebooks.Murdoch James '

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-30399129928611371132008-12-11T23:57:00.003Z2010-04-27T11:43:03.318+01:00

... Carignan / Syrah / Grenache / Cabernet / Merlot.Oh yes, and semi-carbonic maceration.But it definitely works: the wine is a very dark purple, very fresh looking. On the nose is a hint of coffee or chocolate, but sadly none of the herbaceousness I enjoy in Carignan.The palate, on the other hand, is herby. It's a relaxed, rounded, mellow, gentle, balanced wine with a warm finish.On the second

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-80183219108445193072008-12-10T23:54:00.002Z2010-04-27T11:43:31.222+01:00

Mendel Malbec ('06, under a rather decent cork), was a revelation. My mental shorthand for Malbec says “beefy bruiser”, but these guys have taken it to places entirely new to me. Light in body (all things are relative, of course: for an Argentinian Malbec it seems light to me, but on an absolute scale of Moscato d'Asti to freshly fermented Madiran, it is up there with the garagiste Bordelais), it

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-82717081488203235002008-11-26T23:14:00.003Z2010-04-27T11:44:28.264+01:00

Old Wines are rare beasts. As Sillynote has it, "drink now through teatime". Something like 95% of wine bought in this country is drunk the same day. Most wine, of course, is made for now & won't benefit from bottle age (although I find that some new world wines are better if given time to get over their initial tartaric-induced tartness). So there's a special gloss on an old bottle.Tonight's

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-68397896573430154582008-11-02T22:08:00.003Z2010-04-27T11:45:48.790+01:00

By chance I happened across a small stash of Hegarty Chamans No3 ('03, cork). 2003 was their first vintage, made in an unfinished winery, which had to be sold as Vin de Table, presumably because they didn't manage to deal with the bureaucracy in time.At the time I was very excited about Hegarty, because they use a fair whack of Carignan, making the sort of funky, herbaceous wine that really gets

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-29954120044240122402008-10-29T22:58:00.001Z2010-04-27T11:46:37.601+01:00

You would suppose that the frequency of finding a completely new taste in wine must lessen as one tastes more of the stuff. This ought to make me glum, but the wine which sent me off along this thoughtway is so very excellent that I'm not glum, in fact I'm verr verr happy.Rijckaert Chassagne-Montrachet Premiere Cru "Saint Jean" ('06, stelvin) is a huge wine. Ultra-concentrated, with a fair

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-86990869252288895672008-10-08T23:05:00.002+01:002010-04-27T11:47:24.779+01:00

The greatest bottles of wine are a kind of intersection or coming together of a good year, on a good vineyard site, in the hands of a skilled winemaker. And of course the best of the best are made from one of the handful of noble grape varieties.Nebbiolo is one of these noble grapes, because it shares with Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon the knack of being simultaneously powerful and graceful. In

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-41246226293798224422008-09-27T23:39:00.001+01:002010-04-27T11:47:46.292+01:00

Maycas del Limari is a modishly styled offshoot of Concha y Toro, a venture aimed at premium (how I hate that word. It reeks of marketroids doing their well-oiled duty) - a venture aimed at making posh wine in the far North of Chile. The Limari valley is hard by the Atacama desert, which means fewer pests or diseases to attack the grapes, and vast quantities of sunshine for ripening.This

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-89209093034784127232008-08-27T23:37:00.002+01:002010-04-27T11:48:35.502+01:00

One night expect a garagiste wine made by both Jean-Luc Thunevin and Michel Rolland to be be fairly approachable after eight years, but the Château Branon '00 (cork) was decidedly not for playing. There were hints of the possibilities - a whiff of fresh cut flowers, plenty of shiny oak - but my abiding impression of the wine was of dark, dark fruitiness and endless tannins. Immensely enjoyable,

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-47550088643023667252008-08-10T23:12:00.002+01:002010-04-27T11:51:16.174+01:00

Tenute Rubino Vermentino 07 is that somewhat rare beast, an Italian white wine with character. Rather than the neutral-foil-to-great-tasting-food style, there's tons going on here. A biscuity nose, but not sweet biscuits, the savoury sort, and probably with paté spread in them, seafood paté to be precise, and then the palate is sour and refreshing, with just the tiniest hint of dirtiness about it

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-67585148416891752972008-07-16T23:39:00.002+01:002010-04-27T11:51:47.066+01:00

From the Estremadura, the region which includes Lisboa, here's a neatly packaged table wine made from the principal Port grape.Point West Touriga Nacional '05 has a Giacometti-like figure pointing off into the distance, which I suppose is a reference to Lisboa being a setting-off point for many of the great voyages of exploration of the fourteen hundreds.It's very modern in style, with lots of

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-65992039213448848772008-05-24T23:50:00.001+01:002010-04-27T11:52:16.518+01:00

If you are going to pick a wine to drink regularly, it ought to offer the promise of continuing interest. Variability is more desirable than unvarying high quality (that's my clumsy rewording of Trollope - I do apologise).So it a definite bonus to find that Salomon Groovey Grüner Veltliner 07 is both changeable and tasty. This time around it smells mealy, like cooked rice or barley, and then

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-37501601333986761192008-03-11T23:17:00.002Z2010-04-27T11:53:06.458+01:00

... is pretty much my observation on every Viognier I taste. Fashion dictates that everybody wants to make a Viognier, and some of them are really rather tasty, but none of them has the astonishing silky mouth-filling lightness of good Condrieu. Quite a lot of them achieve a decent peachiness, and one or two have a decadent, almost cloying perfume - I'm thinking now of the Doña Paula Naked Pulp -

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-79381395255855808802008-02-26T23:16:00.004Z2010-04-27T11:54:09.492+01:00

The theme for tonight's World of Wine tasting was balance, so of course we had to have some wines which are out of wack somehow or other. An easy call is a young wine from tannic grapes, especially one which is super-extracted: the kind of bottle which still needs a few months or a couple of years to let the tannins calm down. The Sur de los Andes Winemaker's Selection Malbec ('05, cork) is just

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-74877382600814921152008-02-09T23:48:00.001Z2010-04-27T11:55:14.851+01:00

By good luck, I am hosting a series of six tastings with the aim of whizzing round the main grapes / countries / regions / styles of wine. So it seemed to me that a good start would be with Sauvignon Blanc from France, New Zealand, and South Africa: strongly contrasting styles, a very distinctive flavour, and all sure to be good wines.First up was the dry, zingy, lovely, lively Christian Salmon

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-42773678461027601772008-01-04T14:09:00.001Z2010-04-27T11:56:20.887+01:00

Over Christmas I tried several rather posh bottles from my stash. The one from which I was expecting the best was Chapoutier Hermitage "La Sizeranne" ('99, cork). Fairly mellow, and very savoury, with lots of mineral and salty notes as well as a strong whiff of white pepper, perhaps even meaty or gravy-ish, there was nothing fruity about it at all. I absolutely love drinking this kind of wine. It

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-44859402815543851932007-11-10T23:30:00.005Z2010-03-27T12:41:55.219Z

Puddleglum very kindly offered me a glass of Smith Woodhouse '85, which I accepted with alacrity bordering on haste. I have such a weakness for old wine.It was quite sherried, but still very rich and fruity, with a hint of salty pungency about it. To taste, it was fairly tannic, and of course rich and sweet. It reminded me why Christmas Eve is so much fun, with spicy food, rich warming drinks,

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-6749350105034105462007-10-31T23:07:00.001Z2010-03-27T12:22:09.839Z

I mean really, Pinot Noir in Sicily? Yes I know they have mountains and all, but still, think of the sunshine.But then, looking at their web page, they really are very high up, and it says it's a Vineyard of Cold Terrain, so that's all right then.And the wine, Maurigi Terre di Ottavia Pinot Noir 02, is indeed excellent. Clean fresh raspberry juice, which still smells faintly of the flinty earth

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-52766415534909253422007-05-02T22:28:00.001+01:002010-04-27T11:57:57.384+01:00

I mean the '02 vintage of the Berrio, the first. Ever since the altogether mellower Berrio '03 appeared I've been looking for another sauvignon blanc with that mix of rasping acidity and intense green-ness; capsicums, green beans and sherbet all intertwangling on the tongue to wake up your hind brain and set it dancing the Fandango of Vinous Tastitude. Well, it might just have arrived.The Lands

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-7351081946546163892007-04-23T01:10:00.001+01:002010-04-27T11:59:53.535+01:00

Truth is, there's no such beastie, which is why you need to go to Bordeaux rather than Australia for a truly elegant, balanced Cabernet / Merlot blend (I know that doesn't make sense, but bear with me).At this tasting, "Cabernet/Merlot blends of Aquitaine", we had eight such wines.First up was the Tour de Mirambeau '05, bringing early news of the good things to come from what is said to be 'the

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-10198306016143111912007-03-21T23:14:00.001Z2010-04-27T12:01:36.754+01:00

Small Island Boy was up to his tricks again, this time with some brilliant whisky. He gave us two Balvenies versus two Bruichladdichs (kind of) and then finished off with that ne plus ultra for whisky-twitchers, a bottling from a deceased distillery.It was a hellish cold night in Partick, but after the tasting I found myself to be quite comfortable sans jacket. More to the point, all the next day

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-69988432992569648822007-03-14T23:12:00.001Z2010-04-27T12:02:43.284+01:00

SmallIslandBoy hosted a tasting of wines from the Chalk Hill winery in McLaren Vale, South Australia - not to be confused with the other Chalk Hill. SIB is very keen on having a relaxed atmosphere for his tastings - this one featured an interesting variant on the Australian Philosophers Rules ("Rule 1: No Not Drinking") - and I fear I relaxed too much because I came at the first wine, the only

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-62795342468572906592007-03-08T14:18:00.001Z2010-04-27T12:03:43.582+01:00

To the rather posh Hotel du Vin for a tasting of Mas de Daumas Gassac, presented - by Samuel Guibert - very informatively, and with almost no smoke or mirrors. He told us we would have had the product of forty five varieties of grape by the evening's end. This in itself excited my inner list-ticker, and I was not disappointed. There were several lesser wines, all very tasty and pretty much

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-38989378288391562582007-02-23T09:45:00.001Z2010-04-27T12:04:23.284+01:00

Ha! Gotcha.(Sorry. just trying to bring more traffic here by sucking in the Kylie fans. My bad. But hey!, now that you're here, stay for a bit. The Dots are very restful)I've had some delightful Sweet Wine Saturdays, but this time SmallFierceGlasses had the genius idea of Sweet Wine SundayMonday: tasting de Bortoli Noble One Botrytised Semillon (02001, cork) over two days, to see how it evolves

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-1163120782800178822006-11-10T00:22:00.001Z2010-04-27T12:13:54.572+01:00

Doing a tasting of crowd pleaser wines tonight, I threw in the Hegarty No3 (02004, cork), laughing all the while. There were one or two down-drawn lips, but it drew a reaction from everyone, and nearly all good.Last time I tried this, I figured I could cellar some and give an updated report, so natch the whole lot disappeared straight away. Tonight's was the new vintage - also, it's AC Minervois

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-1163118127089891942006-11-06T00:07:00.001Z2010-04-27T12:14:24.592+01:00

Time for a change of plan, perhaps. At the Oddbins Wine Fair in Edinburgh, someone (nameless, so far, but that may change, depending on what mileage can be extracted) recognised me from the little picture that sits in the top left corner of this blog. All well and good, I hear you say, everyone likes egoboo. Except that what happened was this. We said hello, he poured me some wine, I drank it, we

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-1158106283619756052006-09-09T23:30:00.001+01:002010-04-27T12:15:28.883+01:00

Ben Glaetzer is some kind of wine-making demon. He does very fine work for the Heartland label, runs a contract operation which produces hundreds of different wines, and yet he still has time to produce some amazing bottles under his own name. I've mentioned the Glaetzer Bishop before, and have greatly enjoyed the Wallace and the Glaetzer Shiraz. Now I've had a sniff at the Amon-Ra Shiraz (02004,

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-1159670435274687482006-08-25T03:11:00.001+01:002010-04-27T12:16:11.612+01:00

Heh heh heh heh. I get to taste this twice in the space of a fortnight, and I haven't done a good deed in, oh, weeks and months. The world has gone awry, but the slope is all towards me, so that's OK.Boroli Barolo (1999, cork), was offered to us as 'basic' Barolo (translation: cheap, and thus perhaps crap), but I am pleased to say it is the very antithesis of basic. It has such a complex nose,

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-1159668201898561262006-07-24T02:30:00.001+01:002010-04-27T12:17:04.127+01:00

Frog's Leap Vineyard in the Napa Valley, California, are a forward thinking outfit who make their wines with a strong regard for their environment. Using biodynamic principles, and dry farming, they have been in production for about a quarter century now.They also approach their work with a light heart, as is evidenced by the name of this one, Leapfrögmilch (2004, synthetic closure). I like a pun

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-1153870749121085132006-07-23T00:05:00.001+01:002010-04-27T12:17:56.974+01:00

At a tasting of syrah / shiraz from around the world, this was the wine for me. I am a Francophile, but even setting that aside, this was a skelper.A powerful nose of very ripe dark fruit (?cherries?), strangely mixed with what I took for apricot, and the near-suffocating perfume of strongly scented flowers such as lilies makes wild promises that this will be a bold, sensual, sexy wine, and the

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-1145318378092297722006-04-05T23:56:00.001+01:002010-04-27T12:18:58.262+01:00

To a presentation of some of the wines of Marqués de Cáceres by Florent Thibaut, their Export Sales manager. He spoke most knowledgeably and entertainingly, and, I must add, with a wonderful accent - "peers an happel" are the fruit flavours to be found in the Blanco Crianza '03 (cork) which scored a solid 14/20.The most interesting wine of the evening was the Gran Reserva 1995 (cork). It was

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-1143941972771129632006-04-02T02:04:00.001+01:002010-04-27T12:20:05.664+01:00

Last time it was an AC wine - La Cuvée Mythique - for only £3.49. Tonight I'm drinking a Vin de Table which costs twice that. Yup, it's Hegarty Chamans No.3, under cork (£6.99 from Oddbins). The way the wine is labelled though, it's clear that it is from the 02003 vintage.In truth, the label would make you think this wine was Australian, but one sniff tells you otherwise. I originally wrote, "...

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-1143852649588514692006-04-01T01:21:00.001+01:002010-04-27T12:20:54.733+01:00

... it says on the label - obviously this wine is the ultimate answer. The question must have been, "What bargain wine should rodbod buy this week?"The more different wines I taste, the more I like them all. But if I do have a weakness, it has to be for Minervois, the first cheap-yet-decent red wine I came across. So to find the Coop doing La Cuvée Mythique for only £3.49 gladdened my heart. It's

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-1143502761246519082006-03-28T00:25:00.001+01:002010-04-27T12:21:22.307+01:00

I was preparing to present some Pinot Noirs at a tasting last week, and also thinking about how we describe wine. I found a very long list of scents and flavours which were said to have been noted in Pinot. I wrote some of them out, but dismissed a fair number as implausible, and then read out the list at the start of the tasting just to get people in the mood.Imagine my surprise when three

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-1142335990409129032006-03-14T10:11:00.001Z2010-04-27T12:22:22.293+01:00

This time it's Colomé Estate ('04, cork). A big, dark, plummy blend of two thirds Malbec, a fifth Cabernet Sauvignon, and some Tannat from the Salta province of Northern Argentina. I was impressed by its claim to be from "The highest vineyard in the World", but Puddleglum assures me that all Argentinian wines have this on the label. The wine is very concentrated, dry, warming, and satisfying. It

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-1141693475344950292006-03-06T23:49:00.001Z2010-04-27T12:10:14.595+01:00

I'm drinking de Bortoli Yarra Valley Gulf Station Pinot Noir (2004, stelvin) and wondering how to describe it. I don't really hold with the fruit-salad-throw-lots-of-adjectives-and-something'll-stick approach, but I can't just leave it at 'plum jam and old iron'. Then again, if I say that I mean the sort of cheap Polish plum jam Safeway used to sell long ago, before Solidarity got started on

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-1136770104495566722006-01-09T00:52:00.000Z2010-04-29T01:12:53.649+01:00

January is a month for belt-tightening, underspending, and general parsimony, so you will be pleased to hear about Lamura Grillo ('04, terrible little spongy doo-dad), one of the extensive range of wines from Casa Girelli.For only £4.49 (from Oddbins) you get a very decent glass indeed. A strong mainly savoury nose, but with interesting hints of herbs and grass, leads onto a dry clean palate

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-1134522135608842402005-12-14T00:21:00.001Z2010-06-18T10:44:56.686+01:00

An Ardbeg tasting, hosted by Stuart Thomson, distillery manager.Having braved the gauntlet which is First Rail, I managed to arrive at more or less the critical point in this tasting, Ardbeg Kildalton 1981. This astonishing whisky made me laugh out loud, a reaction which few whiskies (or wines for that matter) engender. Kildalton, to explain, is a more or less unpeated Ardbeg (!). What's more,

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-1133486894201007642005-12-02T01:01:00.000Z2005-12-02T01:31:25.833Z

Four months since my last post. Which means I failed to tell you about Amayna Pinot Noir, Bonnefond Côte Rôtie, Cirsion, Cline small berry Mourvèdre, Château Talbot, and a load of other goodies. Ah well.It' s not often that I find myself in complete agreement with what a label says about a wine, but here's one now. La Otra Vida Tempranillo ('04, cork) from the Mendoza region of Argentina did

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7852085.post-1123033191298478862005-08-02T22:55:00.000+01:002005-08-03T02:39:51.350+01:00

As I was saying, one fishtank emergency, one unexpected visit from the ELF (featuring cremant du Jura, prosecco, much beer, and amaretto), one trip to Edinburgh (featuring a wine tasting, a three hour lunch, Greyfriars Bobby, and the Scott monument, as viewed from the top), one visit to A&E, one car service, one two-cousin sleepover with pizza and four part harmony, one broadband installation, a

rodbodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00367022736620887918noreply@blogger.com0