2008-12-10
Well I Never
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 still has the tannins one would want to accompany roast beast, and is a-swirl with all sorts of interesting flavours – green peppercorn, dried fruit, chocolate, savoury stews – that kept me sniffing for ages. Decidedly excellent, 4.
2008-11-26
Sweet Wine Wednesday #2
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 shiny bauble was a Viña Tondonia Blanco 1987 (excellent). It was the colour of brass, but with beautiful glints of gold through it. The nose was strong - acrid - and very earthy, loads of mushroomy notes, as well as a novel scent for me, of caraway seeds.
It tasted very mellow, gentle, but still with a strong core of citrus acidity. It was lovely.
Interestingly, we had another white Rioja, Finca Allende 2005 (excellent), to compare with the Tondonia. The Allende was only three years old rather than twenty-one, and matured in French oak for rather less than the four years the Tondonia underwent. Yet the similarities were there to see.
Tonight's shiny bauble was a Viña Tondonia Blanco 1987 (excellent). It was the colour of brass, but with beautiful glints of gold through it. The nose was strong - acrid - and very earthy, loads of mushroomy notes, as well as a novel scent for me, of caraway seeds.
It tasted very mellow, gentle, but still with a strong core of citrus acidity. It was lovely.
Interestingly, we had another white Rioja, Finca Allende 2005 (excellent), to compare with the Tondonia. The Allende was only three years old rather than twenty-one, and matured in French oak for rather less than the four years the Tondonia underwent. Yet the similarities were there to see.
2008-11-02
An Old Friend
By chance I happened across a small stash of Hegarty Chamans No3 2003. 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 my goat floating, and I said I would try some at a later stage to see how it was evolving. Of course, being such good wine, it rapidly sold out, before I tucked some away. So unexpectedly finding three bottles was a treat. And it has evolved rather handsomely.
The jumping acidity and powerful herb stink have calmed down rather. The wine seems much darker, and the fruit flavours – bitter cherries, plums, that kind of thing – stand out more. Also, there is a mineral, stony flavour which wasn't evident three years ago. Very rich, with medium grained tannins, at five years old this Minervois is in fine fettle and truly excellent.
I'm not planning to save either of the two remaining bottles. They are the ideal winter warmer for this weekend's family gathering in Moffat. The only problem is, what else can I take that's going to be even half as tasty?
2008-10-29
Novel Organoleptic Joy
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" 2006 is a huge wine. Ultra-concentrated, with a fair oxidative whiff about it, a little bit of white pepper, and some honied notes, the main, powerful scent for me was white chocolate, a completely new experience. I don't even like white chocolate, but this smelt just fab (I know, I know; what on earth was I thinking of, drinking Chassagne 1er when it's not even two years old. Look, it was there, it's Rijckaert, what can I say. It's just another fine wine débacle. Get over it).
The oxidative note is very interesting. Rijckaert, these days, is based in Jura, to the East of Burgundy where the most prestigious wine is Vin Jaune, which sits in barrels for 75 months without topping up. Crazy stuff, like sherry, but bracing, since the Savagnin grape is naturally very acidic. I suppose his Burgundian wines are feeling the Jura influence. The other comparison in my notes is to Bollinger Grand Année, it being rather oxidative in style too. If you like Bolly I guarantee you will love this wine.
So anyway, pay attention here folks. Actual factual "Outstanding" wines don't come along very often. In the 1300 or so tasting notes I have made and indexed over the last year-and-a-half, I have found a scant half-dozen worthy of the name, so I heartily advise you to track down this nectar and just splash the cash (a mere forty squid for a brand new organoleptic experience).
Rijckaert Chassagne-Montrachet Premiere Cru "Saint Jean" 2006 is a huge wine. Ultra-concentrated, with a fair oxidative whiff about it, a little bit of white pepper, and some honied notes, the main, powerful scent for me was white chocolate, a completely new experience. I don't even like white chocolate, but this smelt just fab (I know, I know; what on earth was I thinking of, drinking Chassagne 1er when it's not even two years old. Look, it was there, it's Rijckaert, what can I say. It's just another fine wine débacle. Get over it).
The oxidative note is very interesting. Rijckaert, these days, is based in Jura, to the East of Burgundy where the most prestigious wine is Vin Jaune, which sits in barrels for 75 months without topping up. Crazy stuff, like sherry, but bracing, since the Savagnin grape is naturally very acidic. I suppose his Burgundian wines are feeling the Jura influence. The other comparison in my notes is to Bollinger Grand Année, it being rather oxidative in style too. If you like Bolly I guarantee you will love this wine.
So anyway, pay attention here folks. Actual factual "Outstanding" wines don't come along very often. In the 1300 or so tasting notes I have made and indexed over the last year-and-a-half, I have found a scant half-dozen worthy of the name, so I heartily advise you to track down this nectar and just splash the cash (a mere forty squid for a brand new organoleptic experience).
2008-10-08
Great Wine Defined
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 remembering some of the greatest wines I have tasted, their delicacy or textural subtlety is just as important as intensity of flavour.
Tonight's wine will be added to this mental list of mine. Luciano Sandrone's Nebbiolo d'Alba 03 isn't even his top wine (he makes Barolo in various spots, including Cannubi Boschis, if I remember right). It certainly has intense, and interesting, and surprising flavours - fresh cut flowers, solvents, shit, anchovies, leather, nivea hand cream - but just as important is the near perfect balance on the palate, a kind of tension between softness and tannin, where, in the end, the tannin wins by a nose, which is why the wine is only (only! Ha.) delicious, rather than, say, superb.
Nebbiolo is one of these noble grapes, because it shares with Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon the knack of being simultaneously powerful and graceful. In remembering some of the greatest wines I have tasted, their delicacy or textural subtlety is just as important as intensity of flavour.
Tonight's wine will be added to this mental list of mine. Luciano Sandrone's Nebbiolo d'Alba 03 isn't even his top wine (he makes Barolo in various spots, including Cannubi Boschis, if I remember right). It certainly has intense, and interesting, and surprising flavours - fresh cut flowers, solvents, shit, anchovies, leather, nivea hand cream - but just as important is the near perfect balance on the palate, a kind of tension between softness and tannin, where, in the end, the tannin wins by a nose, which is why the wine is only (only! Ha.) delicious, rather than, say, superb.
2008-09-27
TN: Maycas del Limari Chardonnay '07
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 particular bottle is the strongly oaked version of Limari Chardonnay, and the oak has been nicely done; clean and fresh, giving the wine a mealy or nutty scent, with notes of mandarin oranges or tangerines. It tastes dry, full and lovely, with an excellent mineral or salty endnote. And for once I am persuaded by the rear label, with its mention of 'green apple flavours', although I'd say it is rather riper than that. Concha are too polite to say so themselves, but I do think this wine is aimed squarely at Meursault, and it's pretty much on target. Excellent.
This particular bottle is the strongly oaked version of Limari Chardonnay, and the oak has been nicely done; clean and fresh, giving the wine a mealy or nutty scent, with notes of mandarin oranges or tangerines. It tastes dry, full and lovely, with an excellent mineral or salty endnote. And for once I am persuaded by the rear label, with its mention of 'green apple flavours', although I'd say it is rather riper than that. Concha are too polite to say so themselves, but I do think this wine is aimed squarely at Meursault, and it's pretty much on target. Excellent.
2008-08-27
Château Branon 2000
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 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, but undoubtedly it will be much better ten years down the line. So I rate it as merely excellent.
(Hah, "merely")
2008-08-10
TN: Rubino Vermentino 07
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; a peck of dirt, which as any fule kno, is good for you. Interesting dirtiness, such as you would never find in a supermarket wine. All in all, mighty tasty.
Certainly there is a place for neutral wines, spear carriers. But it's good to find an Italian white which can happily take the leading role.
Certainly there is a place for neutral wines, spear carriers. But it's good to find an Italian white which can happily take the leading role.
2008-07-16
Style, and a little substance
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 fruit, and the tannins are well reined in. I liked the suggestion of leather on the nose, and I found it to be a very good match to smoked cheese. All in all, a very respectable effort.
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 fruit, and the tannins are well reined in. I liked the suggestion of leather on the nose, and I found it to be a very good match to smoked cheese. All in all, a very respectable effort.
2008-05-24
That Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi
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 perhaps a little metallic, but on other occasions it has smelt of lime jelly, as if it were Riesling, or green and grassy like a Sauvignon. Today it tastes very clean, and the white pepper note is very clear. On other occasions the green-ness is to the fore, and on yet others it is off-dry.
I'm sure these particular differences are down to me, since Salomon Undhof are skillful winemakers, and it is bottled under stelvin, but I know I'm not alone in finding interesting variations in the Groovey. It is never quite intense enough to be an out and out great wine, but still, it is an excellent and complex 4.
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 perhaps a little metallic, but on other occasions it has smelt of lime jelly, as if it were Riesling, or green and grassy like a Sauvignon. Today it tastes very clean, and the white pepper note is very clear. On other occasions the green-ness is to the fore, and on yet others it is off-dry.
I'm sure these particular differences are down to me, since Salomon Undhof are skillful winemakers, and it is bottled under stelvin, but I know I'm not alone in finding interesting variations in the Groovey. It is never quite intense enough to be an out and out great wine, but still, it is an excellent and complex 4.
2008-03-11
Condrieu it ain't....
... 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 - but that magical texture never quite materialises...
So, opportunities for grumbling aside, what does the Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Viognier 2006 have to offer? Well, there's an interesting mélange of browned apples and oak smoke on the nose, without an excess of fruit. The palate is tangy, zingy, zesty, dry and full-bodied, very enjoyable to drink, excellent in fact...
But...
So, opportunities for grumbling aside, what does the Fleur du Cap Unfiltered Viognier 2006 have to offer? Well, there's an interesting mélange of browned apples and oak smoke on the nose, without an excess of fruit. The palate is tangy, zingy, zesty, dry and full-bodied, very enjoyable to drink, excellent in fact...
But...
2008-02-26
Oops! I seem to have opened next year's bottle…
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 the thing, with the added advantage of having loads of interesting flavours to it.
When I opened it I wondered if it was faulty, since it seemed to smell of fish food, but then two of my fellow tasters found similar aromas (seaweed, fish). My note also says, "inky", and "octopus", but then it also says "spice", "gingerbread", and "Yeehaw!".
It scores 4+, excellent. If I have the willpower, I expect it might turn into a five-pointer by 02009.
2008-02-09
World Wide Wine - Sauvignon Blanc
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 Sancerre ('06, cork). The nose was quietly green, perhaps peppery, and the palate was full of fantastic lemon, lime and sorbet flavours. Excellent, well worth a 4.
De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc ('06, stelvin) seemed to be a little smoky to me, along with lovely green notes (green beans, definitely). The palate was light - lighter than the Sancerre - with a long sour finish, but without the hint of root ginger I sometimes find in South African Sauvignon. Nevertheless, another excellent, 4+.
The Kiwi candidate was Villa Maria Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc ('07, stelvin). I loved the strong passionfruit nose, and the tropical fruit flavours on the palate. It seemed to me to be softer - less acidic - than either the French or South African wines. Another excellent, 4.
Three very different styles of Sauvignon, and all worth drinking. The Sancerre came out favourite with the World of Wine tasters, but only by a nose, so to speak.
First up was the dry, zingy, lovely, lively Christian Salmon Sancerre ('06, cork). The nose was quietly green, perhaps peppery, and the palate was full of fantastic lemon, lime and sorbet flavours. Excellent, well worth a 4.
De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc ('06, stelvin) seemed to be a little smoky to me, along with lovely green notes (green beans, definitely). The palate was light - lighter than the Sancerre - with a long sour finish, but without the hint of root ginger I sometimes find in South African Sauvignon. Nevertheless, another excellent, 4+.
The Kiwi candidate was Villa Maria Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc ('07, stelvin). I loved the strong passionfruit nose, and the tropical fruit flavours on the palate. It seemed to me to be softer - less acidic - than either the French or South African wines. Another excellent, 4.
Three very different styles of Sauvignon, and all worth drinking. The Sancerre came out favourite with the World of Wine tasters, but only by a nose, so to speak.
2008-01-04
Fruit. What is it good for?
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 was certainly excellent, 4, but I suppose I had been hoping for greatness (ie 5, on a scale of 0-5).
What was really interesting about it, however, was the discussion the wine set off. My Aged Pater, having been alerted to the poshness of the bottle, took pains to try it carefully, but then asked - very politely, mind - "so what is it that's so good about this?"
I didn't want to get defensive about the wine, so I tried to describe it, much as I have done in the first paragraph above. I believe I also said something about the magic of such savoury flavours coming from fruit juice, which prompted the AP to observe that the lack of fruitiness had surprised him. He did remark that the wine was growing on him.
I suppose my conclusion is that there are too many straightforward fruity quaffers, and not enough wine-y wines. What do you think?
What was really interesting about it, however, was the discussion the wine set off. My Aged Pater, having been alerted to the poshness of the bottle, took pains to try it carefully, but then asked - very politely, mind - "so what is it that's so good about this?"
I didn't want to get defensive about the wine, so I tried to describe it, much as I have done in the first paragraph above. I believe I also said something about the magic of such savoury flavours coming from fruit juice, which prompted the AP to observe that the lack of fruitiness had surprised him. He did remark that the wine was growing on him.
I suppose my conclusion is that there are too many straightforward fruity quaffers, and not enough wine-y wines. What do you think?
2008-01-03
New Year's Blow Out
We drank rather a lot of very decent wine over the last couple of days. No tasting notes, just a picture to make me grin (and you, I hope).
It was purely coincidence that all six bottles came from just two years.
It was purely coincidence that all six bottles came from just two years.
2007-11-10
Ageing gracefully
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, and a roaring fire to chase away the winter. Living in Britain requires something like port. If only it could always be something as good as this.
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, and a roaring fire to chase away the winter. Living in Britain requires something like port. If only it could always be something as good as this.
2007-10-31
What will they think of next?
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 it comes from, and laced with aromas of the sweet oak which has held it for two years. At five years old it remains rather sharp, but in a way which nicely complements a dish of garlicky beans in olive oil. Excellent, 4+.
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 it comes from, and laced with aromas of the sweet oak which has held it for two years. At five years old it remains rather sharp, but in a way which nicely complements a dish of garlicky beans in olive oil. Excellent, 4+.
2007-10-05
Petaluma Frostline
Petaluma is one of the leading producers of Eden Valley riesling, and this bottle was a great example. Intensely limey (both fruit and blossom) and quite weighty, verging on oily, it finishes with a big big hit of mineralic, kerosene, petrolly notes, despite being only eighteen months old. Superb.
The Frostline is an experimental bottling by South African innovators Bruce Jack and Graham Knox, using grapes from a vineyard at some 1200 metres above sea level. Here vitis vinifera struggles to ripen, but the resulting flavours are absolutely worth it. Light, delicate floral notes, fresh intense acidity, and great minerality in the finish, but without any of the petrol notes found in the Petaluma. Frostline seems to me to be much closer in style to Germany. I think we drank this one too young, so it wasn't quite up to the superb standard of the Petaluma, but still excellent.
2007-05-02
Remember the Alamo Berrio?
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 End Cape Agulhas Sauvignon Blanc ('06, stelvin) is the new contender for the title of Best Sauvignon of the Year. Apparently it gets better with a little bottle age, which is promising, since right now it's a blooming 4+, truly excellent.
The nose is green, clean and sour, with sherbety hints. It tastes, well, truly excellent. Mouth watering sour green-ness, beans or capsicums, and sherbety-stony. It doesn't quite have the gingery warmth in the finish that I really enjoy from sauvignon, preferring instead to gently fade out on a long lemon-lime sherbet note. Green, green, green. If you had taste/sight synaesthesia, then this wine would taste the colour of brand new just unfurled beech leaves.
Elim, the John O' Groats of South Africa, where both this wine and The Berrio come from, might just be the next Marlborough, the next Leyda Valley. All my extremities are crossed.
The Lands End Cape Agulhas Sauvignon Blanc ('06, stelvin) is the new contender for the title of Best Sauvignon of the Year. Apparently it gets better with a little bottle age, which is promising, since right now it's a blooming 4+, truly excellent.
The nose is green, clean and sour, with sherbety hints. It tastes, well, truly excellent. Mouth watering sour green-ness, beans or capsicums, and sherbety-stony. It doesn't quite have the gingery warmth in the finish that I really enjoy from sauvignon, preferring instead to gently fade out on a long lemon-lime sherbet note. Green, green, green. If you had taste/sight synaesthesia, then this wine would taste the colour of brand new just unfurled beech leaves.
Elim, the John O' Groats of South Africa, where both this wine and The Berrio come from, might just be the next Marlborough, the next Leyda Valley. All my extremities are crossed.
2007-04-23
Do I know The Kangarooster? No, but if you hum it I'll try to join in the chorus...
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 vintage of the century'. Ever so fresh and fruity, light and easy to drink. If Georges Duboeuf uppped sticks and settled in Entre-Deux-Mers (where Mirambeau are based, although the wine is classed as AC Bordeaux, since Entre-Deux-Mers is a white wine appellation) he would likely be very pleased to make this sort of wine.
The Chateau Coucy '02, from a Saint Emilion satellite, seemed rather less complex than last year, and perhaps a little sweeter, but still very good value at £11.
Ch Troplong-Mondot '99, Saint Emilion Grand Cru, was very fine. A slightly sweet sandalwood perfume-y nose, just exactly as it should be, then on the palate a poised dry medium-bodied savoury red wine. For claret it is markedly stand-alone, as opposed to being a food wine.
l'Arrivet Haut-Brion '99 is a wonderful example of wine which expresses place. There is a distinct mineral stony element to the palate, just as one would hope for in a Pessac-Leognan.
Ch Brillette (bottle 2) ((bottle 1 was actually Ch Old Socks)) is a cracking bargain. £16 for a rounded, mellow, chocolate and plums style of claret. It's a mere Cru Bourgeois Superior, but that's only because the 1855 classification moves more slowly than Lord Kelvin's Pitch and Cork Experiment.
l'Ermitage de Chasse-Spleen (second wine of Ch Chasse-Spleen) was very well liked by most everyone else at the tasting, but I took against it because the wine had a whiff of brimstone or maybe cabbage when opened.
Wine #7 was tonight's shiny bauble: Ch Leoville-las-Cases, Saint-Julien 2eme Cru. Even with five hours of airing it remained dark and tight. I could find hints of the mocha and unlit cigar aromas that top notch Bordeaux can provide, but mainly the Little Genie was saying, 'let me sleep for another five years, or ten'. Perhaps I'll have made my million by then.
Tour de Pez, like Brillette, is a Cru Bourgeois which deserves higher ranking. Spicy and a little sour on the nose (but in a good way. Not volatile acidity or any such malarky), the palate seemed rather closed to me. not ready yet, or in need of lengthy decanting.
To sum up. l'Arrivet is the one to drink right now. If the France vs Australia tussle were a rugby match, then l'Arrivet is the Rooster the Gauls would release onto the pitch to strut about crowing, leaving the poor kangaroo hopping sadly in its wake, dropping oak staves from its pouch and dripping the juice of squished currants from its boxing gloves.
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 vintage of the century'. Ever so fresh and fruity, light and easy to drink. If Georges Duboeuf uppped sticks and settled in Entre-Deux-Mers (where Mirambeau are based, although the wine is classed as AC Bordeaux, since Entre-Deux-Mers is a white wine appellation) he would likely be very pleased to make this sort of wine.
The Chateau Coucy '02, from a Saint Emilion satellite, seemed rather less complex than last year, and perhaps a little sweeter, but still very good value at £11.
Ch Troplong-Mondot '99, Saint Emilion Grand Cru, was very fine. A slightly sweet sandalwood perfume-y nose, just exactly as it should be, then on the palate a poised dry medium-bodied savoury red wine. For claret it is markedly stand-alone, as opposed to being a food wine.
l'Arrivet Haut-Brion '99 is a wonderful example of wine which expresses place. There is a distinct mineral stony element to the palate, just as one would hope for in a Pessac-Leognan.
Ch Brillette (bottle 2) ((bottle 1 was actually Ch Old Socks)) is a cracking bargain. £16 for a rounded, mellow, chocolate and plums style of claret. It's a mere Cru Bourgeois Superior, but that's only because the 1855 classification moves more slowly than Lord Kelvin's Pitch and Cork Experiment.
l'Ermitage de Chasse-Spleen (second wine of Ch Chasse-Spleen) was very well liked by most everyone else at the tasting, but I took against it because the wine had a whiff of brimstone or maybe cabbage when opened.
Wine #7 was tonight's shiny bauble: Ch Leoville-las-Cases, Saint-Julien 2eme Cru. Even with five hours of airing it remained dark and tight. I could find hints of the mocha and unlit cigar aromas that top notch Bordeaux can provide, but mainly the Little Genie was saying, 'let me sleep for another five years, or ten'. Perhaps I'll have made my million by then.
Tour de Pez, like Brillette, is a Cru Bourgeois which deserves higher ranking. Spicy and a little sour on the nose (but in a good way. Not volatile acidity or any such malarky), the palate seemed rather closed to me. not ready yet, or in need of lengthy decanting.
To sum up. l'Arrivet is the one to drink right now. If the France vs Australia tussle were a rugby match, then l'Arrivet is the Rooster the Gauls would release onto the pitch to strut about crowing, leaving the poor kangaroo hopping sadly in its wake, dropping oak staves from its pouch and dripping the juice of squished currants from its boxing gloves.
2007-03-21
Tonight's Tasting Brought to you by the Letter B
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 I was clad two layers lighter than usual saying to myself from within my cereal glow, "uisge beatha truly is the water of life" - I really have to tell you, whisky fires you up and gets you going, it fires and inspires me, all hail the acrospire!
Whoops... slightly carried away there. For your convenience: acrospire defined. Things not any clearer? Just ask SIB, for he is the Man Who Knows.
The whiskies:
Bruichladdich 1993 recioto cask finish versus Balvenie 1993 Port wood
I liked the nosefeel of the Laddie - kinda velvety - but the Balvenie won this bout, by virtue of its relaxed mellowtude and digestive biscuit finish.
Port Charlotte 5 year old versus Balvenie 14 year old roasted malt
I suppose the malt one might imagine regularly sipping, of all tonight's offerings, would be this Balvenie, for its easy character, and especially for the hint of honey-dipped cigars it occasionally offers. Yet the winner here was the PC5. Freshness, that full on Islay Wow! character that first drew me to malt whisky, or just the complexity in the glass. Or all three...
the Brora 30 year old scored highest for the night (4 - 5: excellent - astonishing) and brought me a new organoleptic experience : the scent of lilies. Only once, and fleetingly, but lilies. From malt whisky. There were other things, perhaps less desirable. Cowbyres. Sunwarmed animals. Seabirds. Leaves - mouldering ones. Caboc (also know as 'Here, this butter is past the sell by date. I know! Let's repackage it as cheese')
A great night. Thanks, SIB. Thanks, 'B'.
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 I was clad two layers lighter than usual saying to myself from within my cereal glow, "uisge beatha truly is the water of life" - I really have to tell you, whisky fires you up and gets you going, it fires and inspires me, all hail the acrospire!
Whoops... slightly carried away there. For your convenience: acrospire defined. Things not any clearer? Just ask SIB, for he is the Man Who Knows.
The whiskies:
Bruichladdich 1993 recioto cask finish versus Balvenie 1993 Port wood
I liked the nosefeel of the Laddie - kinda velvety - but the Balvenie won this bout, by virtue of its relaxed mellowtude and digestive biscuit finish.
Port Charlotte 5 year old versus Balvenie 14 year old roasted malt
I suppose the malt one might imagine regularly sipping, of all tonight's offerings, would be this Balvenie, for its easy character, and especially for the hint of honey-dipped cigars it occasionally offers. Yet the winner here was the PC5. Freshness, that full on Islay Wow! character that first drew me to malt whisky, or just the complexity in the glass. Or all three...
the Brora 30 year old scored highest for the night (4 - 5: excellent - astonishing) and brought me a new organoleptic experience : the scent of lilies. Only once, and fleetingly, but lilies. From malt whisky. There were other things, perhaps less desirable. Cowbyres. Sunwarmed animals. Seabirds. Leaves - mouldering ones. Caboc (also know as 'Here, this butter is past the sell by date. I know! Let's repackage it as cheese')
A great night. Thanks, SIB. Thanks, 'B'.
2007-03-14
Chalk and Cheese
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 white of the night, from quite the wrong angle.
Chalk Hill The Procrastinator Sauvignon Blanc (02006, stelvin) is bang on target if you think of it as an Italian aperitif wine. As an Ozzy SB it sucks. It's fairly neutral, you see, rather than being green grass and wet pebbles. I should have been nibbling the tasty cheeses along with this one. As it was, cheeseless winegeek that I am, I made a face and scored it as 1-2 (crap - ordinaire). Sorry SIB, I promise to try it again, this time with a selection of antipasti.
The Italian Red varietals, on the other hand, were absolutely top notch. The Barbera in particular is well worth trying. For £12.99 you get an excellent glassful, with a complex nose, full of earthy, olive-y and green pepper notes. The palate is mellow, smooth and savoury, with remarkably good balance for such a strong wine - 15.5%. Chalk Hill Barbera (02005, stelvin): 4 (excellent).
Chalk Hill sponsor the Glossy Black Cockatoo Project, to the tune of 12 acres of drooping sheoaks every year. I wonder if they ever pause to consider the effects of the Australian-led move from corks to screwtops on the habitat of birds like the Iberian Eagle.
Chalk Hill The Procrastinator Sauvignon Blanc (02006, stelvin) is bang on target if you think of it as an Italian aperitif wine. As an Ozzy SB it sucks. It's fairly neutral, you see, rather than being green grass and wet pebbles. I should have been nibbling the tasty cheeses along with this one. As it was, cheeseless winegeek that I am, I made a face and scored it as 1-2 (crap - ordinaire). Sorry SIB, I promise to try it again, this time with a selection of antipasti.
The Italian Red varietals, on the other hand, were absolutely top notch. The Barbera in particular is well worth trying. For £12.99 you get an excellent glassful, with a complex nose, full of earthy, olive-y and green pepper notes. The palate is mellow, smooth and savoury, with remarkably good balance for such a strong wine - 15.5%. Chalk Hill Barbera (02005, stelvin): 4 (excellent).
Chalk Hill sponsor the Glossy Black Cockatoo Project, to the tune of 12 acres of drooping sheoaks every year. I wonder if they ever pause to consider the effects of the Australian-led move from corks to screwtops on the habitat of birds like the Iberian Eagle.
2007-03-08
Brilliant. Bonkers, but Brilliant.
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 accurately priced, but reaching the Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc (02005, cork) was something of a two or three level power-up.
As the Big Egg says, the Blanc is bonkers. A blend of Viognier, Chenin, Chardonnay, Manseng, with other varietals for seasoning, this one utterly bamboozled me. Here's my initial tasting note.
Over the evening it evolved into a brilliant full viognier dominated blend, although without the wonderful downy billowing texture of Condrieu. Rather there was a soft oiliness, like good white Chateauneuf. Whatever that note means, the wine certainly deserves its score of 5 (astonishing).
The Mas de Daumas Gassac Rouge ('04, '03, '02, cork) were all very good to excellent (score 3-4), complex and fascinating. The technical note says they are currently in their 'Period of Youth'. I should very much like to try them when they have reached their Period of Plenitude, aged between 14 and 21 years. Fingers crossed. Anyway, here is - just to persuade you to rush out and buy some - my tasting note for the Rouge '03.
Ahhh! Lovely.
The Small Egg raised a very interesting point. Can a wine which varies so much over three consecutive vintages be said to have its own character? He asserted that all great and/or unique wines have their own recognisable character. Can one say this of Mas de Daumas Gassac? I don't know. After all, 02003 was an odd year, and '04 was kind of the rebound from that, in terms of vine growth / production, so you might argue that these three vintages are not a typical vertical tasting.
Update: a bit of rummaging has resulted in this partial list of grape varieties used at Daumas: Clairette, Sauvignon Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Chenin, Chardonnay, Viognier, Petit Manseng, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo, Petit Verdot, Muscat de Alexandria, Sercial, and Cabernet Franc. Nineteen, which is some way short of the promised forty-five. Any information you might have would be very useful as a comment.
There were several lesser wines, all very tasty and pretty much accurately priced, but reaching the Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc (02005, cork) was something of a two or three level power-up.
As the Big Egg says, the Blanc is bonkers. A blend of Viognier, Chenin, Chardonnay, Manseng, with other varietals for seasoning, this one utterly bamboozled me. Here's my initial tasting note.
"over-ripe fruit, fish, smoke, animals, bananas, more smoke, Lagavulin, sherry fish. Then green. celery juice, then nutty."
Over the evening it evolved into a brilliant full viognier dominated blend, although without the wonderful downy billowing texture of Condrieu. Rather there was a soft oiliness, like good white Chateauneuf. Whatever that note means, the wine certainly deserves its score of 5 (astonishing).
The Mas de Daumas Gassac Rouge ('04, '03, '02, cork) were all very good to excellent (score 3-4), complex and fascinating. The technical note says they are currently in their 'Period of Youth'. I should very much like to try them when they have reached their Period of Plenitude, aged between 14 and 21 years. Fingers crossed. Anyway, here is - just to persuade you to rush out and buy some - my tasting note for the Rouge '03.
"strong cow poo and warm fur. chocolate melted on the hands of a toddler who urgently needs changed. chocolate bananas"
Ahhh! Lovely.
The Small Egg raised a very interesting point. Can a wine which varies so much over three consecutive vintages be said to have its own character? He asserted that all great and/or unique wines have their own recognisable character. Can one say this of Mas de Daumas Gassac? I don't know. After all, 02003 was an odd year, and '04 was kind of the rebound from that, in terms of vine growth / production, so you might argue that these three vintages are not a typical vertical tasting.
Update: a bit of rummaging has resulted in this partial list of grape varieties used at Daumas: Clairette, Sauvignon Blanc, Grenache Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Chenin, Chardonnay, Viognier, Petit Manseng, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Nebbiolo, Petit Verdot, Muscat de Alexandria, Sercial, and Cabernet Franc. Nineteen, which is some way short of the promised forty-five. Any information you might have would be very useful as a comment.
2007-02-23
A Wee Australian Sweetie
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 with a touch of air.
We were a little concerned about the colour of the wine - as a dark as a well-sherried malt whisky - but the first sniff chased that concern away like a gentle spring breeze clearing out the chilly remnants of winter.
Fresh and leafy, and somehow the air in my glass was cleaner than the surrounding air, with perhaps a touch of salt, as if there were ozone or sea air to it. Then marmalade, and later, a hint of soy or five spice powder. Lovely!
The palate was crisp lime marmalade, with a buttery feel. The finish was very, very sticky. An excellent 4++.
Day two was where it really got interesting. The nose now had added a very fleeting floral perfume, and perhaps a wee earthy note, but as to the palate and mouthfeel...
Ka-Wow...
If you could shrink-wrap a lime around a gooseberry, spray it with barley sugar crystals and then make it spin on the back of your tongue, you would get a notion of what the Little Genie in the Bottle was doing to me with this wine. Rarely have I tasted a wine which seemed so alive, tingling, moving. It didn't last long, perhaps only half a minute or so, but this is what the whole blooming wine thing is all about, these moments of pure sensory pleasure.
Re-reading this post, I'd be inclined to rate the wine as a 5, but my tasting notes say 4-5. Probably just churlishness.
(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 with a touch of air.
We were a little concerned about the colour of the wine - as a dark as a well-sherried malt whisky - but the first sniff chased that concern away like a gentle spring breeze clearing out the chilly remnants of winter.
Fresh and leafy, and somehow the air in my glass was cleaner than the surrounding air, with perhaps a touch of salt, as if there were ozone or sea air to it. Then marmalade, and later, a hint of soy or five spice powder. Lovely!
The palate was crisp lime marmalade, with a buttery feel. The finish was very, very sticky. An excellent 4++.
Day two was where it really got interesting. The nose now had added a very fleeting floral perfume, and perhaps a wee earthy note, but as to the palate and mouthfeel...
Ka-Wow...
If you could shrink-wrap a lime around a gooseberry, spray it with barley sugar crystals and then make it spin on the back of your tongue, you would get a notion of what the Little Genie in the Bottle was doing to me with this wine. Rarely have I tasted a wine which seemed so alive, tingling, moving. It didn't last long, perhaps only half a minute or so, but this is what the whole blooming wine thing is all about, these moments of pure sensory pleasure.
Re-reading this post, I'd be inclined to rate the wine as a 5, but my tasting notes say 4-5. Probably just churlishness.
2006-11-10
Minervois (Again) (What's your point caller? Minervois pure dead rules!)
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 this time, not Vin de Table.
It's a very dark purple-to-black carignan/syrah/grenache blend, and (heh heh) it's a stinky wine. Earthy, farmyard-y, big, herbaceous. The carignan has been so skillfully vinified. It shines. The palate is rather softer than the previous vintage, perhaps a little less funky, but oh so tasty. Prunes, sweet-perfumed smokiness, perhaps a little chocolate, some bitter apple pip notes. One day carignan will rule the world {Thppt! That for your malbec sirrah!}, and it's this sort of wine that will be in charge of the Department of Keeping the People Happy.
Pointy scoring thing: 4 - 5 (compares with 15/20 last time, which is roughly (3-)4 ).
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 this time, not Vin de Table.
It's a very dark purple-to-black carignan/syrah/grenache blend, and (heh heh) it's a stinky wine. Earthy, farmyard-y, big, herbaceous. The carignan has been so skillfully vinified. It shines. The palate is rather softer than the previous vintage, perhaps a little less funky, but oh so tasty. Prunes, sweet-perfumed smokiness, perhaps a little chocolate, some bitter apple pip notes. One day carignan will rule the world {Thppt! That for your malbec sirrah!}, and it's this sort of wine that will be in charge of the Department of Keeping the People Happy.
Pointy scoring thing: 4 - 5 (compares with 15/20 last time, which is roughly (3-)4 ).
2006-11-06
Hmmn. Didn't anticipate that
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 said goodbye, I turned away, then he shouted after me (corporate venue / noisy / crap acoustics), "Smell my cork!, Smell the Cork!".
I could see people on all sides edging away.
Ah well. Lovely wine, too.
I could see people on all sides edging away.
Ah well. Lovely wine, too.
2006-09-09
Tongue-velvet, and it gets you loaded
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, cork), and by golly it's mighty stuff.
We weren't even going to open the bottle, but Smiley's finger accidently pressed the enter key and I went into a sort of de-corking trance, which only ended when I smelt something which made me think of nothing so much as a very youthful Penfold's Grange, all vanilla custard and dark chocolate. But then it evolved through a whole series of tasty treats: fruity blackcurrants, sweet oakiness, meaty savoury notes, smoke and then into more chocolate and a great walloping punnet of blackcurranty juiciness. When I finally stopped pleasuring my nose and tasted the stuff, I found the familiar Glaetzer ultra-smooth tannins, mellower than a stoner Gong fan at a Winter Solstice celebration gig, full of sweet dark fruit and delicate smoky notes, all backed up by a full-bodied deeply satisfying texture.
Big Bad Bob rated the '03 vintage Amon-Ra so highly as to cause an unseemly ruckus amongst his followers, yea unto the point of price hikes, hoarding, and general snapping up of all available stock before a reasonable man might gather his wits enough to find a bottle. I didn't taste the '03, but if it's better than this, I may have to do a deal with Anubis, or someone equally shady, to obtain some (Sorry. I've been reading Goethe. It warps a person. I'd never sell my soul for a mere bottle of wine. Honest). Meanwhile, if I were you, I'd grab some of this before it vanishes. It's a genuine five-pointer. Glaetzer Amon-Ra Shiraz '04: 5 (= Good Lord! Astonishing!).
We weren't even going to open the bottle, but Smiley's finger accidently pressed the enter key and I went into a sort of de-corking trance, which only ended when I smelt something which made me think of nothing so much as a very youthful Penfold's Grange, all vanilla custard and dark chocolate. But then it evolved through a whole series of tasty treats: fruity blackcurrants, sweet oakiness, meaty savoury notes, smoke and then into more chocolate and a great walloping punnet of blackcurranty juiciness. When I finally stopped pleasuring my nose and tasted the stuff, I found the familiar Glaetzer ultra-smooth tannins, mellower than a stoner Gong fan at a Winter Solstice celebration gig, full of sweet dark fruit and delicate smoky notes, all backed up by a full-bodied deeply satisfying texture.
Big Bad Bob rated the '03 vintage Amon-Ra so highly as to cause an unseemly ruckus amongst his followers, yea unto the point of price hikes, hoarding, and general snapping up of all available stock before a reasonable man might gather his wits enough to find a bottle. I didn't taste the '03, but if it's better than this, I may have to do a deal with Anubis, or someone equally shady, to obtain some (Sorry. I've been reading Goethe. It warps a person. I'd never sell my soul for a mere bottle of wine. Honest). Meanwhile, if I were you, I'd grab some of this before it vanishes. It's a genuine five-pointer. Glaetzer Amon-Ra Shiraz '04: 5 (= Good Lord! Astonishing!).
2006-08-25
Boroli Barolo By Golly
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, you could spend an hour teasing out the different elements, and still not be half done. I found molasses, aniseed, chocolate, a softly floral note, and some medicinal high tones, all laid over a solid dark fruitiness. As a result of lingering over the wonderful bouquet, I rather glugged it, but I can say that it has a medium body, still with loads of tannins despite being seven years old, and very tasty in a dark fruit way. Superb (= 5).
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, you could spend an hour teasing out the different elements, and still not be half done. I found molasses, aniseed, chocolate, a softly floral note, and some medicinal high tones, all laid over a solid dark fruitiness. As a result of lingering over the wonderful bouquet, I rather glugged it, but I can say that it has a medium body, still with loads of tannins despite being seven years old, and very tasty in a dark fruit way. Superb (= 5).
2006-07-24
Green! And Verr Verr Tasty
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, the worse the better, if you see what I mean, and what's more, I liked this wine, really rather a lot.
It's a blend of 70% Riesling and 30% Chardonnay (picked early, according to my notes - not quite sure what that means, but probably refers to the Chardy), and it is lovely.
Floral and green, with lime-y notes on the nose, the palate is soft, smooth, delicate, easy (you get the idea), but the finish - ah the finish! - is sublime. Long, and delicately growing ever more sherbety on the centre of my tongue. If only Liebfraumilch had been like this, the Australians would have given up and gone home back in, oh, 1982, I should think. Excellent, perhaps even Superb (= 4 - 5 ).
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, the worse the better, if you see what I mean, and what's more, I liked this wine, really rather a lot.
It's a blend of 70% Riesling and 30% Chardonnay (picked early, according to my notes - not quite sure what that means, but probably refers to the Chardy), and it is lovely.
Floral and green, with lime-y notes on the nose, the palate is soft, smooth, delicate, easy (you get the idea), but the finish - ah the finish! - is sublime. Long, and delicately growing ever more sherbety on the centre of my tongue. If only Liebfraumilch had been like this, the Australians would have given up and gone home back in, oh, 1982, I should think. Excellent, perhaps even Superb (= 4 - 5 ).
2006-07-23
TN: Borie de Maurel Cuvée Sylla
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 palate fulfils those promises in a manner which allows me at last to use the adjective 'saturnine'. Strong and smooth and dark, with loads of acid, fruit and tannin, this is a big wine, which will go on being big for years. Go and read 'Snow Crash', if you haven't already, then come back and taste this stuff and see if you find yourself agreeing when I say that if this wine weren't called Sylla it would be called Raven.
We tasted the '03 vintage (cork closure) and I scored it 4-5. (New scoring system! More details to follow. Runs from 0 (faulty) to 5 (Astonishing) with a theoretical possibility of 6 for such marvels as d'Yquem, Observatory, Mouton-Rothschild.)
Link to Borie de Maurel website.
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 palate fulfils those promises in a manner which allows me at last to use the adjective 'saturnine'. Strong and smooth and dark, with loads of acid, fruit and tannin, this is a big wine, which will go on being big for years. Go and read 'Snow Crash', if you haven't already, then come back and taste this stuff and see if you find yourself agreeing when I say that if this wine weren't called Sylla it would be called Raven.
We tasted the '03 vintage (cork closure) and I scored it 4-5. (New scoring system! More details to follow. Runs from 0 (faulty) to 5 (Astonishing) with a theoretical possibility of 6 for such marvels as d'Yquem, Observatory, Mouton-Rothschild.)
Link to Borie de Maurel website.
2006-04-05
"Peers an Happel"
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 still fairly purple, not really aged looking at all, and boy did it show well tonight. Last time I tasted this we opened a second bottle, so dull was the first, and the second bottle only confirmed our opinion of the first. But tonight's bottle was full of wild flavours and aromas - my notes include "spaghetti hoops on very buttery toast, talcy perfume, bananas, ?toothpaste". Yeeeeha! (Also a very strong 16+/20).
I must also mention the Satinela Semi Dulce ('05, cork), which possesses one of the dodgiest labels on any sweet wine anywhere. Don't be put off as I was for so long - try this one soon. It's very, very pale, only just green; mildly aromatic, fruity and very clean; and has a lovely sweet vinous palate. This late harvest Viura scores 15/20.
The most interesting wine of the evening was the Gran Reserva 1995 (cork). It was still fairly purple, not really aged looking at all, and boy did it show well tonight. Last time I tasted this we opened a second bottle, so dull was the first, and the second bottle only confirmed our opinion of the first. But tonight's bottle was full of wild flavours and aromas - my notes include "spaghetti hoops on very buttery toast, talcy perfume, bananas, ?toothpaste". Yeeeeha! (Also a very strong 16+/20).
I must also mention the Satinela Semi Dulce ('05, cork), which possesses one of the dodgiest labels on any sweet wine anywhere. Don't be put off as I was for so long - try this one soon. It's very, very pale, only just green; mildly aromatic, fruity and very clean; and has a lovely sweet vinous palate. This late harvest Viura scores 15/20.
2006-04-02
More Minervois
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, "...it can only be Southern France", but then I thought about how it rather reminds me of the Observatory Carignan/Syrah, from South Africa, so I intend to keep that assertion in reserve until I can test it against my precious last bottle of that finest of nectars.
The No.3 is very youthful looking - bright purple - and has a powerful nose, with a complex mix of herbs, burning green twigs, molasses, licorice, soy sauce and five-spice powder. There is also a fair whack of bright fruit, I'm told, but I was too distracted by all the savoury elements to pay any attention to that. The palate is strong, dry, somehow bitter and sweet at the same time, with fairly rough tannins and a long finish with a sharp little twist to it.
Despite all these good things I'm saying about it, I only rate the wine as 15/20. It falls into the same category as the de Bortoli Gulf Station Pinot Noir (blogged here); interesting but not satisfying. I think it's just not knitted together yet. I'll try it again in six months or a year and tell you how it is evolving.
In truth, the label would make you think this wine was Australian, but one sniff tells you otherwise. I originally wrote, "...it can only be Southern France", but then I thought about how it rather reminds me of the Observatory Carignan/Syrah, from South Africa, so I intend to keep that assertion in reserve until I can test it against my precious last bottle of that finest of nectars.
The No.3 is very youthful looking - bright purple - and has a powerful nose, with a complex mix of herbs, burning green twigs, molasses, licorice, soy sauce and five-spice powder. There is also a fair whack of bright fruit, I'm told, but I was too distracted by all the savoury elements to pay any attention to that. The palate is strong, dry, somehow bitter and sweet at the same time, with fairly rough tannins and a long finish with a sharp little twist to it.
Despite all these good things I'm saying about it, I only rate the wine as 15/20. It falls into the same category as the de Bortoli Gulf Station Pinot Noir (blogged here); interesting but not satisfying. I think it's just not knitted together yet. I'll try it again in six months or a year and tell you how it is evolving.
2006-04-01
'42 Cuvées'
... 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 the 2001 vintage, under cork , so obviously they are keen to clear it, but it certainly isn't past it.
It is still a youthful looking purple. The nose is strong and clean, with notes of pepper and cherry jam (or maybe pie filling). There are more cherries on the palate, which is full, dry and rich, with a spicy peppery finish.
A solid 15/20. Grab some before I complete my tour of Coops of the West of Scotland - once I've finished there won't be any left.
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 the 2001 vintage, under cork , so obviously they are keen to clear it, but it certainly isn't past it.
It is still a youthful looking purple. The nose is strong and clean, with notes of pepper and cherry jam (or maybe pie filling). There are more cherries on the palate, which is full, dry and rich, with a spicy peppery finish.
A solid 15/20. Grab some before I complete my tour of Coops of the West of Scotland - once I've finished there won't be any left.
2006-03-28
Shurely Shome Mishtake, Vicar
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 people - at two different tables - said that one wine smelt like Sauvignon Blanc (this flavour/scent was not on the list).
I don't really have anything to say about this, I just want to share my bamboozlement with you.
Imagine my surprise when three people - at two different tables - said that one wine smelt like Sauvignon Blanc (this flavour/scent was not on the list).
I don't really have anything to say about this, I just want to share my bamboozlement with you.
2006-03-14
Exploding Plums and Chocolate Shrapnel
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 seems complex, too (my tasting note mentions herbs, barley sugar and blackcurrants), and has a long finish. A very good 16++(?17)/20.
There are two points to note here. My first impression of the wine was, "Whoah! Fruit bomb! Hee-hee!", but that's such a tired description, hence this blog's title, which conveys something of the attention-grabbing nature of the wine, and also tells you a little about the flavours. There was an anonymous comment on the previous post about how we describe wines, but I did detect the hand of TallAsAVan, who once characterised a poor Argentinian Malbec as being "like the dissonant clatter of a filing cabinet falling down some stairs". Perhaps he might think of Colomé Estate as an October storm rushing through a beech copse high on the Downs; powerful, exhilarating, exciting.
Second point: scoring. What exactly does 16++(?17) mean? Mainly it reflects my inability to settle on a single number, but that isn't very satisfactory. This year I am resolved to improve my wine scoring system. Along the way I may well try out Parker-style scoring, a star rating, or anything else which is suggested to me. In the meantime, have a look at this radical new scoring system.
There are two points to note here. My first impression of the wine was, "Whoah! Fruit bomb! Hee-hee!", but that's such a tired description, hence this blog's title, which conveys something of the attention-grabbing nature of the wine, and also tells you a little about the flavours. There was an anonymous comment on the previous post about how we describe wines, but I did detect the hand of TallAsAVan, who once characterised a poor Argentinian Malbec as being "like the dissonant clatter of a filing cabinet falling down some stairs". Perhaps he might think of Colomé Estate as an October storm rushing through a beech copse high on the Downs; powerful, exhilarating, exciting.
Second point: scoring. What exactly does 16++(?17) mean? Mainly it reflects my inability to settle on a single number, but that isn't very satisfactory. This year I am resolved to improve my wine scoring system. Along the way I may well try out Parker-style scoring, a star rating, or anything else which is suggested to me. In the meantime, have a look at this radical new scoring system.
2006-03-06
Plum jam and old iron
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 doing away with the Communists, rather than the rich, fresh - FRESH! - confection that Bob whizzed up from Mrs O's glut last autumn I'm inviting a nomination to Pseud's Corner.
It's interesting, this challenge we face of trying to translate our impressions of a wine from the personal to the universal. For me, it's a fair proportion of the pleasure I find in wine.
"This is all very well", I hear you say, "but should I shell out £9 for a bottle?". Hmmn. Probably not. It's a decent wine, interesting, does show varietal character a little, but it's not all that satisfying to drink. In truth, I think it's too young. So, buy it and keep for a year or two, or nod wisely and move on. Despite which, I do think it rates 14/20. Interesting but not satisfying.
It's interesting, this challenge we face of trying to translate our impressions of a wine from the personal to the universal. For me, it's a fair proportion of the pleasure I find in wine.
"This is all very well", I hear you say, "but should I shell out £9 for a bottle?". Hmmn. Probably not. It's a decent wine, interesting, does show varietal character a little, but it's not all that satisfying to drink. In truth, I think it's too young. So, buy it and keep for a year or two, or nod wisely and move on. Despite which, I do think it rates 14/20. Interesting but not satisfying.
2006-01-09
TN: Lamura Grillo '04
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 which is full, savoury and long, veering into a refreshing touch of bitterness at the finish.
Grillo is the Sicilian grape variety traditionally used to make Marsala, but here modern techniques have produced a very decent dry quaffer. A solid 14/20.
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 which is full, savoury and long, veering into a refreshing touch of bitterness at the finish.
Grillo is the Sicilian grape variety traditionally used to make Marsala, but here modern techniques have produced a very decent dry quaffer. A solid 14/20.
2005-12-14
Whisky! Arrrr!
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, you can't buy it, because they have pretty much run out. So why am I writing about it? To annoy you, of course. No, no, no, I don't mean that. That would be bad. I have to talk about it because it is such a good product. And Ardbeg might make something of its ilk again - y'never know. If ever you hear someone saying,"this is just like Kildalton 1981", bloomin grab it while you can.
Imagine, if you will, a gentle Ardbeg - yes, yes, yes, noisy boys at the back, I know, oxymoron, military intelligence, etc, etc, but that is what it is. The nose is gentle, sweet, a powerful blast of chocolate coated cherries, then becoming very mealy, with the salt finally coming through, and then more chocolate. The texture of the nose (nose feel?) reminded me of Port Ellen 24 y.o.
On the palate it is salty AND sweet, very mellow for an Ardbeg, with the charred wood / smoke character coming in on the long gentle finish. 17/20 (No really)
Having started with such a good whisky it was a little tricky to give the others a fair go. The Ardbeg 17yo was very stinky - fishy, in fact - at first, but then the smokiness came in, followed by dried fruit, saltiness, perhaps a hint of chocolate, and just a wee further touch of salt at the end. 16+/20
I was very taken, too, by the Uigeadail. This is blended from 10yo, 13yo, and some 1975 fino sherry cask, and the complex nose reflects this. It starts off metallic and seaside-y, there is a wee burning nip to it, then the fruity aromas, the smoke, more of the metallic character and a strong mealy note come through. These elements swirl round, first one then another coming to the fore, never settling on a single note. 16/20
A very fine tasting. I'm only sorry I missed some of it, since Stuart Thomson very evidently knows his stuff, and can talk about it most entertainingly.
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, you can't buy it, because they have pretty much run out. So why am I writing about it? To annoy you, of course. No, no, no, I don't mean that. That would be bad. I have to talk about it because it is such a good product. And Ardbeg might make something of its ilk again - y'never know. If ever you hear someone saying,"this is just like Kildalton 1981", bloomin grab it while you can.
Imagine, if you will, a gentle Ardbeg - yes, yes, yes, noisy boys at the back, I know, oxymoron, military intelligence, etc, etc, but that is what it is. The nose is gentle, sweet, a powerful blast of chocolate coated cherries, then becoming very mealy, with the salt finally coming through, and then more chocolate. The texture of the nose (nose feel?) reminded me of Port Ellen 24 y.o.
On the palate it is salty AND sweet, very mellow for an Ardbeg, with the charred wood / smoke character coming in on the long gentle finish. 17/20 (No really)
Having started with such a good whisky it was a little tricky to give the others a fair go. The Ardbeg 17yo was very stinky - fishy, in fact - at first, but then the smokiness came in, followed by dried fruit, saltiness, perhaps a hint of chocolate, and just a wee further touch of salt at the end. 16+/20
I was very taken, too, by the Uigeadail. This is blended from 10yo, 13yo, and some 1975 fino sherry cask, and the complex nose reflects this. It starts off metallic and seaside-y, there is a wee burning nip to it, then the fruity aromas, the smoke, more of the metallic character and a strong mealy note come through. These elements swirl round, first one then another coming to the fore, never settling on a single note. 16/20
A very fine tasting. I'm only sorry I missed some of it, since Stuart Thomson very evidently knows his stuff, and can talk about it most entertainingly.
2005-12-02
Gosh! Isn't it dusty around here!
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 indeed hint at raspberries, and it did go very well with spicy food. In this case, a bean and vegetable stew with fresh green chillies. This is the perfect £5 quaffer to take if you are going to a mate's for supper. A solid 14 pointer.
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 indeed hint at raspberries, and it did go very well with spicy food. In this case, a bean and vegetable stew with fresh green chillies. This is the perfect £5 quaffer to take if you are going to a mate's for supper. A solid 14 pointer.
2005-08-02
History in a Glass - Ancient History...
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 very thin chianti and a wholly atypical muscadet later, here is the rest of last Thursday.
Château de la Garde `La Tulipe` Rosé ('04, cork) is a deep dark merlot based rosé, drier and more flavoursome than most. I served it up chilled, but since I was rashly asserting that it can be compared to what was called 'clairet' in the dim and distant past (say around 1400AD), maybe it should have been room temperature. My favourite rosé wine this year - 15/20.
Carillon Mercurey rouge ('02, under cork). The Carillon family have been making burgundy since 1520, and I like to imagine that this one is very similar to the glass you would have been offered 500 years ago. It's dark, earthy, a rather rough and ready wine, and should you happen to have some big flat mushrooms, or better yet, some random wild fungi, then flash fry them in olive oil and butter (for forty-five seconds) pile them on toast, and eat accompanied by a glass of this. Bliss. Bliss to the tune of 16+/20.
Ducru-Beaucaillou ('97, cork). "Not a good year". "For early drinking". Pshaw! This is a fantastic wine. Savoury, concentrated blackcurrant juice, meaty and dense, with notes of coffee, even mocha, and a gentle woody spiciness. In the 1855 classification Ducru was classed as a second growth, but these days the consensus seems to be that it rivals the first growths. Certainly the consensus amongst Thursday night's tasters was that it was equal first wine of the night. The consensus amongst me was 17/20, just for the bouquet.
The disappointment of the evening was Masi Costasera Amarone ('01, cork), although of course it did have to follow on from the Ducru. Very rich, like chocolate-dipped cherries which have lain cheek by jowl with crystallised figs, but for a twenty quid wine I would expect flavours that lingered rather longer. Sad to say, only 14/20. Made from partly dried grapes, the Recioto wines of the Veneto date back to the fifth century...
...whereas the last red of the evening, Glaetzer Bishop shiraz ('01, cork) only just dates back to the twentieth. It is the vinous equivalent of a fruit smoothie: powerful, fully fruity Barossa shiraz, but with tannins more akin to butterflies kisses than rasping lions tongues. This is the kind of red wine that converts white wine drinkers, and Thursday's tasters ranked it top alongside the Ducru. 16/20.
And finally, a dessert wine. In the seventeenth century tokaji was the wine of kings. It's a style of wine that could never develop today, given that two kinds of microbes insinuate themselves into to the winemaking cycle, and both contribute to the unique flavour of tokaji. We sampled Disznókő Tokaji Aszu 5 Putts ('95, cork). This one definitely divided us: some of us were put off by the somewhat sherried character (I wasn't one of them! I love sherry, In fact, I 'm just going to go and have a glass right now) whereas others loved the rich complexity of it. 15+/20.
We rounded off the evening with a couple of historical oddities. Take white wine, honey and seawater, mix them thoroughly, and you have a delicacy of the Roman Empire. One person compared it to a dirty martini. Most of the commentary was less kind. Our other experiment was sour, unhopped beer - just as a reminder of what booze was probably like for the majority of the inhabitants of Britain for much of the country's history (and prehistory!). Not surprisingly, the vote was Three Cheers For Wine.
Château de la Garde `La Tulipe` Rosé ('04, cork) is a deep dark merlot based rosé, drier and more flavoursome than most. I served it up chilled, but since I was rashly asserting that it can be compared to what was called 'clairet' in the dim and distant past (say around 1400AD), maybe it should have been room temperature. My favourite rosé wine this year - 15/20.
Carillon Mercurey rouge ('02, under cork). The Carillon family have been making burgundy since 1520, and I like to imagine that this one is very similar to the glass you would have been offered 500 years ago. It's dark, earthy, a rather rough and ready wine, and should you happen to have some big flat mushrooms, or better yet, some random wild fungi, then flash fry them in olive oil and butter (for forty-five seconds) pile them on toast, and eat accompanied by a glass of this. Bliss. Bliss to the tune of 16+/20.
Ducru-Beaucaillou ('97, cork). "Not a good year". "For early drinking". Pshaw! This is a fantastic wine. Savoury, concentrated blackcurrant juice, meaty and dense, with notes of coffee, even mocha, and a gentle woody spiciness. In the 1855 classification Ducru was classed as a second growth, but these days the consensus seems to be that it rivals the first growths. Certainly the consensus amongst Thursday night's tasters was that it was equal first wine of the night. The consensus amongst me was 17/20, just for the bouquet.
The disappointment of the evening was Masi Costasera Amarone ('01, cork), although of course it did have to follow on from the Ducru. Very rich, like chocolate-dipped cherries which have lain cheek by jowl with crystallised figs, but for a twenty quid wine I would expect flavours that lingered rather longer. Sad to say, only 14/20. Made from partly dried grapes, the Recioto wines of the Veneto date back to the fifth century...
...whereas the last red of the evening, Glaetzer Bishop shiraz ('01, cork) only just dates back to the twentieth. It is the vinous equivalent of a fruit smoothie: powerful, fully fruity Barossa shiraz, but with tannins more akin to butterflies kisses than rasping lions tongues. This is the kind of red wine that converts white wine drinkers, and Thursday's tasters ranked it top alongside the Ducru. 16/20.
And finally, a dessert wine. In the seventeenth century tokaji was the wine of kings. It's a style of wine that could never develop today, given that two kinds of microbes insinuate themselves into to the winemaking cycle, and both contribute to the unique flavour of tokaji. We sampled Disznókő Tokaji Aszu 5 Putts ('95, cork). This one definitely divided us: some of us were put off by the somewhat sherried character (I wasn't one of them! I love sherry, In fact, I 'm just going to go and have a glass right now) whereas others loved the rich complexity of it. 15+/20.
We rounded off the evening with a couple of historical oddities. Take white wine, honey and seawater, mix them thoroughly, and you have a delicacy of the Roman Empire. One person compared it to a dirty martini. Most of the commentary was less kind. Our other experiment was sour, unhopped beer - just as a reminder of what booze was probably like for the majority of the inhabitants of Britain for much of the country's history (and prehistory!). Not surprisingly, the vote was Three Cheers For Wine.
2005-07-29
History in a Glass
Last night I hosted a tasting which looked at eight wines and the accidents of history which gave us them. It was great fun to discuss, not just the wines, but also their stories.
First off was Gaia Ritinis Nobilis ('04, under cork), a modern twist on retsina, a style of wine which is at least three thousand years old. Light and aromatic - pine! of course - this would make a good aperitif, or else the clean pungency of the pine would very nicely contrast spicy or oily foods. But not many of the tasters liked it: I suppose it's too far out of the mainstream of modern taste. I rated it at 13/20, but I guess the consensus was more like 11/20.
Jumping forward almost the whole three thousand years, we had Wither Hills sauvignon blanc ('04, screwcap). Just about the purest, greenest, freshest expression of sauvignon I know, it is a canonical example of the World's newest Classic Wine Style. Imagine, less than thirty years ago there was no such thing as Marlborough Sauvignon. And now you can get this 15+/20 beaut from Oddbins for £8.99.
Yikes! Fishtank emergency! I'll finish this post later - come back and look again tomorrow.
First off was Gaia Ritinis Nobilis ('04, under cork), a modern twist on retsina, a style of wine which is at least three thousand years old. Light and aromatic - pine! of course - this would make a good aperitif, or else the clean pungency of the pine would very nicely contrast spicy or oily foods. But not many of the tasters liked it: I suppose it's too far out of the mainstream of modern taste. I rated it at 13/20, but I guess the consensus was more like 11/20.
Jumping forward almost the whole three thousand years, we had Wither Hills sauvignon blanc ('04, screwcap). Just about the purest, greenest, freshest expression of sauvignon I know, it is a canonical example of the World's newest Classic Wine Style. Imagine, less than thirty years ago there was no such thing as Marlborough Sauvignon. And now you can get this 15+/20 beaut from Oddbins for £8.99.
Yikes! Fishtank emergency! I'll finish this post later - come back and look again tomorrow.
2005-07-10
Summertime, dum-dee-dum-dum-dee-deeeeee-dum
What a glorious day. Ideal weather for sitting outside, enjoying a glass of fizz and some asparagus tips & hollandaise. So we did.
Asparagus needs no garnish. Sizzled butter or perhaps - the decadence of it! - truffle oil would be the height of luxury, but classic dishes exert a kind of gravity. To do otherwise goes against a law of nature.
The Champenois assert that champagne will pair any food. Certainly our bottle of Canard-Duchêne brut (non-vintage, under cork) was a fair match, the dryness and acidity of the wine contrasting with the rich sauce, but other wines would better match the flavour of the asparagus.
Canard-Duchêne has just a hint of pinkness in the depths. The nose is wet gravel (translation: classic champagne style minerality; aka fish tanks), and on the palate I find the same mineral quality. It is very dry, full bodied, and showing just a touch of richness. No real toastiness, tho, which is a little disappointing. I have found it better previously. 13(+)/20.
Asparagus needs no garnish. Sizzled butter or perhaps - the decadence of it! - truffle oil would be the height of luxury, but classic dishes exert a kind of gravity. To do otherwise goes against a law of nature.
The Champenois assert that champagne will pair any food. Certainly our bottle of Canard-Duchêne brut (non-vintage, under cork) was a fair match, the dryness and acidity of the wine contrasting with the rich sauce, but other wines would better match the flavour of the asparagus.
Canard-Duchêne has just a hint of pinkness in the depths. The nose is wet gravel (translation: classic champagne style minerality; aka fish tanks), and on the palate I find the same mineral quality. It is very dry, full bodied, and showing just a touch of richness. No real toastiness, tho, which is a little disappointing. I have found it better previously. 13(+)/20.
2005-07-07
Swiss wine, by golly!
Yup, courtesy of the Big Egg, a bottle of Jean-René Germanier Dôle Balavaud Grand Cru '03, under cork. Never tasted Swiss wine before, hey-hey. Apparently they keep it all for themselves. This stuff is good. It puts me in mind of bojo, or passetoutgrains, which isn't a great surprise, since the grape blend is pretty much the same; pinot noir and gamay.
Dark red, the nose is still developing - it's a good balance of bright fruitiness and a more mature savoury (maybe potato?) character. On the palate the wine is dry, light-bodied, and markedly spicy, with perhaps a hint of licorice. It's distinctly warming.
I want to be drinking this wine somewhere in France, with a chunk of Tomme des Pyrénées, one of those skinny baguettes they call a flute, and the sun on my back. Thank you, your Eggness.
Whoops, the score... (14)-15/20.
Dark red, the nose is still developing - it's a good balance of bright fruitiness and a more mature savoury (maybe potato?) character. On the palate the wine is dry, light-bodied, and markedly spicy, with perhaps a hint of licorice. It's distinctly warming.
I want to be drinking this wine somewhere in France, with a chunk of Tomme des Pyrénées, one of those skinny baguettes they call a flute, and the sun on my back. Thank you, your Eggness.
Whoops, the score... (14)-15/20.
2005-07-06
Wine Bloggin' W*****day #11 - "Off Dry"
"Off Dry". Hmmn... tricky, that. In these days of mass-produced wine juice, the boundaries of dry have rather spread sugar-wards. Aha!, here's something which certainly isn't dry, but wouldn't (I reckon), make a good dessert wine. Is that a good definition for off-dry, do you think?
Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Kabinett 02004, under cork, comes in a lovely old fashioned blue flute. It's a light wine from the banks of the Saar, a (very!) cool-climate region tucked into the corner of Germany next to Luxembourg and France.
At only 8.5% alcohol, and palest green, this would make a fine mid-afternoon refresher. It's ever so slightly pétillant, with a fresh mixed salad leaves nose. On the palate it has fairly high apparent acidity, and a moderate degree of sweetness. It is very lime-y, and very-very-very refreshing. The finish is clean but not long. A solid 15/20.
NB 1: I say apparent acidity because I suspect that this is one of those clever German wines which skilfully balances very high acidity against very high residual sugar.
NB 2: Reichsgraf von Kesselstat is the producer (website: www.kesselstatt.de), Ockfener Bockstein is the vineyard, Riesling is the grape variety, and Kabinett is the quality level.
NB 3: I daren't mention W*****days in case it sparks off another fine wine débacle.
NB 4: I bought this in the Co-op. As far as they could tell it didn't exist, so they sold it to me (after much conferring) for £3.99. I reckon it's more like six quid, so if you like the sound of it get in there quick.
NB 5: Thanks to Beau of Basic Juice for hosting Wine Blogging Wed***day no 11.
Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Kabinett 02004, under cork, comes in a lovely old fashioned blue flute. It's a light wine from the banks of the Saar, a (very!) cool-climate region tucked into the corner of Germany next to Luxembourg and France.
At only 8.5% alcohol, and palest green, this would make a fine mid-afternoon refresher. It's ever so slightly pétillant, with a fresh mixed salad leaves nose. On the palate it has fairly high apparent acidity, and a moderate degree of sweetness. It is very lime-y, and very-very-very refreshing. The finish is clean but not long. A solid 15/20.
NB 1: I say apparent acidity because I suspect that this is one of those clever German wines which skilfully balances very high acidity against very high residual sugar.
NB 2: Reichsgraf von Kesselstat is the producer (website: www.kesselstatt.de), Ockfener Bockstein is the vineyard, Riesling is the grape variety, and Kabinett is the quality level.
NB 3: I daren't mention W*****days in case it sparks off another fine wine débacle.
NB 4: I bought this in the Co-op. As far as they could tell it didn't exist, so they sold it to me (after much conferring) for £3.99. I reckon it's more like six quid, so if you like the sound of it get in there quick.
NB 5: Thanks to Beau of Basic Juice for hosting Wine Blogging Wed***day no 11.
2005-06-24
TN: The Boulders Petite Syrah '03
Stelvin closure, produced by McManis Family Vineyards.
Appearance: very dark, opaque purple.
Nose: strong and well developed, fruity and alcoholic. ?!vinegar? Something green. Wet privet hedge?
Palate: dry and fairly soft, full bodied with some velvety tannin. Dark berries. A long finish of fruit acid and Spangles, with a vegetal quality.
Conclusion: a good mid-quality wine, drinking now or keeping for a year or two or three. (14)-15/20.
Appearance: very dark, opaque purple.
Nose: strong and well developed, fruity and alcoholic. ?!vinegar? Something green. Wet privet hedge?
Palate: dry and fairly soft, full bodied with some velvety tannin. Dark berries. A long finish of fruit acid and Spangles, with a vegetal quality.
Conclusion: a good mid-quality wine, drinking now or keeping for a year or two or three. (14)-15/20.
2005-06-23
Rully in a hot year
Les Champs-Lins, vielles vignes AC Rully. Vinifié, élevé et mis en bouteille par Vincent Girardin à Meursault, Côte d'Or, under cork.
In other words, full on chardonnay from one of the top producers, but not necessarily all his own grapes. Rully is in the Côte Chalonnais, the disparate here and there vineyards between the Côte de Beaune and the Mâcon region.
Rully has for long been a favourite wine appellation, a little bit more expensive than the Mâcon which I usually go for, but with a worthwhile steeliness. This bottle is distinctly richer than other Rullys I have tasted. There's oilcloth, hot toasted wood, even a mild allspice character to the nose, surely all signs of the extreme nature of the '03 growing season. The palate is immediately rewarding, full and ever so slightly sweet, then with the steeliness coming through. The finish gets a slightly bitter twist in, and lasts for ages. Woohoo, top white bourgogne for not quite top prices. Actually, I don't know the price of this un, but I'm still giving it 16/20.
In other words, full on chardonnay from one of the top producers, but not necessarily all his own grapes. Rully is in the Côte Chalonnais, the disparate here and there vineyards between the Côte de Beaune and the Mâcon region.
Rully has for long been a favourite wine appellation, a little bit more expensive than the Mâcon which I usually go for, but with a worthwhile steeliness. This bottle is distinctly richer than other Rullys I have tasted. There's oilcloth, hot toasted wood, even a mild allspice character to the nose, surely all signs of the extreme nature of the '03 growing season. The palate is immediately rewarding, full and ever so slightly sweet, then with the steeliness coming through. The finish gets a slightly bitter twist in, and lasts for ages. Woohoo, top white bourgogne for not quite top prices. Actually, I don't know the price of this un, but I'm still giving it 16/20.
2005-06-20
Hallucinatory grass and home made lemonade
Hey, it looks very green... Oh no, hang on, that's the bottle, it's actually fairly yellow, albeit going watery at the rim. And the nose is big, aromatic, but I'm over the sauvignon blanc-a-like notion I had about this wine last year, so it's becoming clear that any grassiness is psychosomatic grassiness. So what is that nose? TallAsAVan does bang on about white pepper, but that isn't quite it, or it isn't all of it. Never mind, let's taste it and come back to the nose.
Watery, medium bodied, very very refreshing. Like home made lemonade - icy-fresh-water-&-lemon-juice-refreshing. But by golly, there is a wee bit of white pepper in there, especially in the finish, which is long and very satisfying. This is a good one. Back to the nose. It remains hard to pin down. Maybe a touch of caramelised sugar. It's a good un. Salomon Groovey gruner veltliner 02004, under cork, 15/20, from the Kremstal region of Austria to you via Oddbins for £6.49.
PS after a full glass of this the pepperiness comes through more clearly. Nice one, TallAsAVan.
Watery, medium bodied, very very refreshing. Like home made lemonade - icy-fresh-water-&-lemon-juice-refreshing. But by golly, there is a wee bit of white pepper in there, especially in the finish, which is long and very satisfying. This is a good one. Back to the nose. It remains hard to pin down. Maybe a touch of caramelised sugar. It's a good un. Salomon Groovey gruner veltliner 02004, under cork, 15/20, from the Kremstal region of Austria to you via Oddbins for £6.49.
PS after a full glass of this the pepperiness comes through more clearly. Nice one, TallAsAVan.
2005-06-08
PG Tips
- drink it well chilled
- goes nicely with various pasta dishes
- very good party wine, as it is medium in all respects, hence has wide appeal
- perfect for summer evenings
We have evolved a mildly complicated system for eating pasta here. In the past some of us have had strong prejudices against certain pasta sauces and in favour of certain others. Owing to stubbornness, or habit, and despite losing those prejudices, we continue to have our pasta in at least four different finishes whenever we do eat pasta. Whilst not entirely convenient, it does allow me to report that Prima Gusto pinot grigio / trebbiano 02004(synthetic closure) goes fairly well with a blue cheese and sweet pepper sauce, rather better with a basic olive oil, black pepper and parmesan, better again with a tomato and green olive (but mainly tomato, the olives are a token presence) sauce, and is only passable against strong cheddar / white sauce. All sauces were served over penne (thank goodness we don't have any more than four hobs on the cooker).
The Prima Gusto is a light to medium bodied dry white wine, with a lime-y, citrussy nose,and wet-pebbles, minerally palate, from the north east of Italy, and is mainly made from pinot grigio, which is called pinot gris in France, grauburgunder or ruländer in Germany, malvoisie in Switzerland (also in parts of France, although that hardly counts since the French also use malvoisie as a synonym for maccabéo, bourboulenc, clairette, torbato, and vermentino), pinot beurot in Burgundy, szürkebarát in Hungary,
Aaaanyway, to get back to the wine, it was a good match for the food, but really it went best with the beautiful summer evening. In fact I think it got an extra point because of it. Prima Gusto: 14-15/20.
This is my contribution to Wine Blogging Wednesday #10. You can read all about it here, thanks to Alice of My Adventures in the Breadbox.
2005-05-08
There's a whole world of sweet wines out there,
and we aim to try them all, seeing as a continuous diet of Yquem would doubtless prove tedious. As Trollope says, "It may be said that nothing in the world is charming unless it be achieved at some trouble. If it rained '64 Leoville - which I regard as the most divine of nectars - I feel sure that I should never raise it to my lips."
So to the Texas High Plains, the somewhat implausible source of Two Sisters late harvest Chardonnay (01998, technical cork) from the Fredricksburg Winery.
It looked wonderful, an intense greenish gold, like old brass lying on a sunlit streambed, but thereafter, ah me.
The nose was very strong, cloying, heavy, old. It smelt of cloves. The palate was clean, very sweet, and empty. Sad to say, the wine was gone: the little genie had fled the bottle. This wine could not be scored. But there will be others. Onwards and upwards!
So to the Texas High Plains, the somewhat implausible source of Two Sisters late harvest Chardonnay (01998, technical cork) from the Fredricksburg Winery.
It looked wonderful, an intense greenish gold, like old brass lying on a sunlit streambed, but thereafter, ah me.
The nose was very strong, cloying, heavy, old. It smelt of cloves. The palate was clean, very sweet, and empty. Sad to say, the wine was gone: the little genie had fled the bottle. This wine could not be scored. But there will be others. Onwards and upwards!
2005-05-05
Gavi Bricco Battistina
B was in Edinburgh yesterday, and the call of Valvona and Crolla was irresistable. In amongst the other tasties was a bottle of Gavi Bricco Battistina, from Araldica Vini Piemontesi. (02003, cork)
A very shiny pale gold, the wine had a mature nose faintly reminiscent of champagne - stony, watery, slightly spicy. The palate was dry and full, very satisfying and with a good bitter finish. The flavours were, initially, green apple, then stoniness and something woody or stalky. I caught a hint of oxidation or sherrying, so I certainly wouldn't want to keep this one. But then, it's a fifteen pointer right now, so I'll just go and polish off the last of it. Chin chin...
(15/20)
A very shiny pale gold, the wine had a mature nose faintly reminiscent of champagne - stony, watery, slightly spicy. The palate was dry and full, very satisfying and with a good bitter finish. The flavours were, initially, green apple, then stoniness and something woody or stalky. I caught a hint of oxidation or sherrying, so I certainly wouldn't want to keep this one. But then, it's a fifteen pointer right now, so I'll just go and polish off the last of it. Chin chin...
(15/20)
2005-04-28
What is it about Wednesdays and fine wine?
Not that I'm complaining, mind. This time it was Pelorus and Rijckaert Saint Veran.
Pelorus, the fizz from Cloudy Bay (02002, cork), seems not to command the same sort of premium that the sauvignon blanc gets. Which fact is utterly confusing to me, since while I do think that calling it 'the Krug of the Southern Hemisphere' is possibly slightly over the top, charging only sixteen pounds a bottle is an act of daylight charity.
So what is it then? Hah! It is the taste of your very own fresh made bread straight from the oven, smeared with honey and cunningly wrapped up in a light mousse to dance across your tongue leaving a memory of lemon and a huge grin on your face, that's what it is. It is a cunning balancing act of finesse and power. It is... 16/20.
The Rijckaert (02002, cork) is, by his standards, very restrained. Classy, balanced, complex, with none of the wilder funky things to be found in his Arbois. The nose is not particularly strong, (it gets stronger over the course of the evening). It's all green privet and oakiness. The palate is full and dry, slightly savoury and also slightly honeyed. I did briefly get struck flint, such as seems to turn up in Pouilly-Fuisse. This is big, for a St Veran, big, and powerful, and excellent value for money. Not one to keep tho, I would suggest, since the acidity is only middling. But, hey, there are at least thirty more Wednesdays before the year is out, so this probably isn't going to be problematic. Good lord, the bottle's empty already...
(aoop!, the score, the score: 16++/20)
Pelorus, the fizz from Cloudy Bay (02002, cork), seems not to command the same sort of premium that the sauvignon blanc gets. Which fact is utterly confusing to me, since while I do think that calling it 'the Krug of the Southern Hemisphere' is possibly slightly over the top, charging only sixteen pounds a bottle is an act of daylight charity.
So what is it then? Hah! It is the taste of your very own fresh made bread straight from the oven, smeared with honey and cunningly wrapped up in a light mousse to dance across your tongue leaving a memory of lemon and a huge grin on your face, that's what it is. It is a cunning balancing act of finesse and power. It is... 16/20.
The Rijckaert (02002, cork) is, by his standards, very restrained. Classy, balanced, complex, with none of the wilder funky things to be found in his Arbois. The nose is not particularly strong, (it gets stronger over the course of the evening). It's all green privet and oakiness. The palate is full and dry, slightly savoury and also slightly honeyed. I did briefly get struck flint, such as seems to turn up in Pouilly-Fuisse. This is big, for a St Veran, big, and powerful, and excellent value for money. Not one to keep tho, I would suggest, since the acidity is only middling. But, hey, there are at least thirty more Wednesdays before the year is out, so this probably isn't going to be problematic. Good lord, the bottle's empty already...
(aoop!, the score, the score: 16++/20)
2005-04-14
Ken Forrester Petit Pinotage
Buying wine in Asda is generally a rather dispiriting experience, so I was chuffed to discover Ken Forrester petit pinotage (02004 vintage, synthetic closure). I've enjoyed his petit chenin on several occasions, and since the label design of this pinotage suggests it is the red counterpart to the chenin, I'm guessing this will be a bright, fresh wine for drinking right now.
It is a very dark wine, black cored with a purple rim. The nose is wonderful, very strong and fresh, fruity and smoky. So smoky, in fact, that it reminds me of Islay whisky - Laphroaig to be precise - before evolving into the smell of a smoked ham hough in lentil soup as my Mum used to make it. After I poured the first taste I let it stand while I and I went outside to play swingball in the dark. I mention this because on pouring the second taste both B and I noticed quite a pong about the wine - I thought sulphur, B said fertiliser. I suspect a lack of oxygen in the bottle. Not to worry, for the whiff soon cleared.
The palate is clean, slightly sweet and very fruity, but rather flabby. The label says the wine is soft, but that is too kind. More honestly, the lack of acid is a let down. There is a tasty savoury finish, with a wee core of peppery warmth, then a slightly metallic aftertaste. On balance, then, a fourteen pointer, but all for the nose. One to drink very soon, with spicy food. 14/20.
It is a very dark wine, black cored with a purple rim. The nose is wonderful, very strong and fresh, fruity and smoky. So smoky, in fact, that it reminds me of Islay whisky - Laphroaig to be precise - before evolving into the smell of a smoked ham hough in lentil soup as my Mum used to make it. After I poured the first taste I let it stand while I and I went outside to play swingball in the dark. I mention this because on pouring the second taste both B and I noticed quite a pong about the wine - I thought sulphur, B said fertiliser. I suspect a lack of oxygen in the bottle. Not to worry, for the whiff soon cleared.
The palate is clean, slightly sweet and very fruity, but rather flabby. The label says the wine is soft, but that is too kind. More honestly, the lack of acid is a let down. There is a tasty savoury finish, with a wee core of peppery warmth, then a slightly metallic aftertaste. On balance, then, a fourteen pointer, but all for the nose. One to drink very soon, with spicy food. 14/20.
2005-04-01
Excuses! Excuses?
Who needs an excuse to drink Observatory carignan / syrah? (02002, under cork) It was a Wednesday, OK? I would have been all right if I hadn't mentioned it in passing during the last wineblogging Wednesday.
However it happened, we found ourselves confronted by a bright purple, fresh-looking glassful - remember folks, this wine is three years old now, and didn't start out with the highest allocation of tannins in the first place - and still with that startling, powerful, zingy fresh herbs and dung nose. It doesn't sound appealing when I put it like that, but believe me, it is unutterably lovely.
On the palate it is just off-dry, but this is countered by that powerful fresh acidity, and the concentrated flavour of currants (maybe blaeberries?). We managed to save some til the next night, so that the acidity has calmed down enough to reveal that there is a reasonable streak of medium tannin in there. I hope I have the willpower to keep some of this til it's ten or twenty years old, but that is going to be hard, since it scores 18/20 right now.
However it happened, we found ourselves confronted by a bright purple, fresh-looking glassful - remember folks, this wine is three years old now, and didn't start out with the highest allocation of tannins in the first place - and still with that startling, powerful, zingy fresh herbs and dung nose. It doesn't sound appealing when I put it like that, but believe me, it is unutterably lovely.
On the palate it is just off-dry, but this is countered by that powerful fresh acidity, and the concentrated flavour of currants (maybe blaeberries?). We managed to save some til the next night, so that the acidity has calmed down enough to reveal that there is a reasonable streak of medium tannin in there. I hope I have the willpower to keep some of this til it's ten or twenty years old, but that is going to be hard, since it scores 18/20 right now.
2005-03-16
H!h!h!h!h!h!h!h!h!
It's odd, really, that there should be such a gulf between speech, and text, and the various sensations that these media are used to try to communicate, one human to another, when humans are so alike, one to another. Yet the differences seem to outweigh the similarities.
And so we resort to such devices as h!h!h! to convey the delightful sensation that comes from sipping Vignes des Deux Soleils Les Mattes 02001, under cork. Four years old, but darkly purple and still zingily acid, still tannic. It has developed an overtone of chocolate to complement the strong savoury nose, and when you taste it it really does make you go "h!h!h!h!h!".
If the onomatopoeia isn't working, listen to the live version of Machine Gun (on, for example, 'Voodoo Child' disc 2). At 9:04 to 9:14 minutes through the song you'll hear the sound of someone who has just tasted Les Mattes. Or you could go and buy some and utter the h!h!h!h!h! yourself, although I rather suspect you would need to settle for a later vintage and then go and hide it away for a couple of years. Les Mattes, under cork, 16/20.
And so we resort to such devices as h!h!h! to convey the delightful sensation that comes from sipping Vignes des Deux Soleils Les Mattes 02001, under cork. Four years old, but darkly purple and still zingily acid, still tannic. It has developed an overtone of chocolate to complement the strong savoury nose, and when you taste it it really does make you go "h!h!h!h!h!".
If the onomatopoeia isn't working, listen to the live version of Machine Gun (on, for example, 'Voodoo Child' disc 2). At 9:04 to 9:14 minutes through the song you'll hear the sound of someone who has just tasted Les Mattes. Or you could go and buy some and utter the h!h!h!h!h! yourself, although I rather suspect you would need to settle for a later vintage and then go and hide it away for a couple of years. Les Mattes, under cork, 16/20.
2005-03-09
Ha! Recherché is my middle name.
Or perhaps I mean Ricercare. Hmmmn. Anyway, thanks to my very good friend SF, I have found Wine Blogging Wednesdays just in time for number 7, Obscure Red Grape Varieties.
Salivating briefly at the prospect of tasting the blessed Observatory carignan/syrah again (previous tasting) , skipping lightly past dornfelder, chambourcin, and marzemino, I lingered over lacrima di morro d'alba and blaufränkisch, before settling on a blend of aragonez, trincadeira, and perequita, in the very fine form of Cortes de Cima 1999, under cork. It's a dark purple - five years old and no signs of ageing - with a big, big nose; figs to coffee to something green and woody (which I'll come back to) to ?saute potatoes? to faint hints of pepper. The palate feels silky, but also full bodied, with loads of berries and maybe cherries, and the finish is long. Also metallic, but, somehow, in a good way. A solid 16/20, and... oh blarst, aragonez is tempranillo. Curse these wayward Iberians with their eccentric grape taxonomies! Gosh, now I'll have to go and drink more wine...
In particular, Co-op big Baga 02001, under cork, to be precise. The nose is not atall strong - and there's that green woody note again. The palate is dry and very tannic, a bit thin, but refreshingly sour on the finish. Not much fruit mind you, but it would make a fantastic pizza wine. Still, only 12-13/20, and it is definitely an obscure grape variety.
I've tasted four Portugese reds over the last week, all different blends. They all showed the green/woody/privet hedge note on the nose. I wonder if this is the Portugese signature, in a similar way to the sun-baked clay I find in so many Spanish reds?
Salivating briefly at the prospect of tasting the blessed Observatory carignan/syrah again (previous tasting) , skipping lightly past dornfelder, chambourcin, and marzemino, I lingered over lacrima di morro d'alba and blaufränkisch, before settling on a blend of aragonez, trincadeira, and perequita, in the very fine form of Cortes de Cima 1999, under cork. It's a dark purple - five years old and no signs of ageing - with a big, big nose; figs to coffee to something green and woody (which I'll come back to) to ?saute potatoes? to faint hints of pepper. The palate feels silky, but also full bodied, with loads of berries and maybe cherries, and the finish is long. Also metallic, but, somehow, in a good way. A solid 16/20, and... oh blarst, aragonez is tempranillo. Curse these wayward Iberians with their eccentric grape taxonomies! Gosh, now I'll have to go and drink more wine...
In particular, Co-op big Baga 02001, under cork, to be precise. The nose is not atall strong - and there's that green woody note again. The palate is dry and very tannic, a bit thin, but refreshingly sour on the finish. Not much fruit mind you, but it would make a fantastic pizza wine. Still, only 12-13/20, and it is definitely an obscure grape variety.
I've tasted four Portugese reds over the last week, all different blends. They all showed the green/woody/privet hedge note on the nose. I wonder if this is the Portugese signature, in a similar way to the sun-baked clay I find in so many Spanish reds?
2005-02-12
Outfoxed by a cunning Sicilian
A new wine to try, and blind (yipee). It is overchilled to start with, so the nose is rather reticent, but a touch of sweet vanilla oak comes through, and maybe sizzled butter. Let it warm in my hand and I get apricot or peach, then almond, so I'm starting to wonder if it might be a viognier. But the palate is only slightly oily, and there isn't really any bitter peach-pit. The style is distinctly Australian, but the wine ain't nearly big enough. By now I'm fairly sure of myself. It's a Chilean chardonnay, or just maybe a Pays d'Oc chardonnay.
Ha! Inycon fiano (IGT Sicilia) 02002. It's a distinctly modern style, which doesn't seem, well, Italian to me (says the man who has never tasted fiano before). I wonder, do you think it is reasonable to go from those flavours to chardonnay?
15/20 (just: marked up slightly for being blind, and interesting)
Ha! Inycon fiano (IGT Sicilia) 02002. It's a distinctly modern style, which doesn't seem, well, Italian to me (says the man who has never tasted fiano before). I wonder, do you think it is reasonable to go from those flavours to chardonnay?
15/20 (just: marked up slightly for being blind, and interesting)
2005-02-05
A Rosé in Winter
Ack thptt! The poisonous tabloidese continues to infect this blog, but I can't stop. What I can do is grovel, especially if you bring me fine wine to grovel with.
Before the rosé there was Domaines Virginie Marsanne 02003, under cork. A very tasty 14+/20 drop for the price, if lacking the weight that defines good marsanne. Made in the modern fashion to emphasise the fruit, and showing no signs of the oxidation (which I might not necessarily object to) that this variety is supposedly prone to. (Last night Bob and I tried the other good Rhône white grape, but in the form of d'Arenberg Money Spider Rousanne 02003, screwcapped. Now that's the business: oily, aromatic, d'Arenberg bigness - 15/20. Yum)
The pinky drinky was Antipodean Sangiovese 02004, screwcapped (Ha! Random Ozzy grape choice. Again). All very well, dry enough, plenty of strawberries once you get past the bubblegum - even some cherries, but I'm still not a rosé drinker. I know, it's a character flaw. This stuff gets 14/20, which is as high as I've ever rated any rosé.
Before the rosé there was Domaines Virginie Marsanne 02003, under cork. A very tasty 14+/20 drop for the price, if lacking the weight that defines good marsanne. Made in the modern fashion to emphasise the fruit, and showing no signs of the oxidation (which I might not necessarily object to) that this variety is supposedly prone to. (Last night Bob and I tried the other good Rhône white grape, but in the form of d'Arenberg Money Spider Rousanne 02003, screwcapped. Now that's the business: oily, aromatic, d'Arenberg bigness - 15/20. Yum)
The pinky drinky was Antipodean Sangiovese 02004, screwcapped (Ha! Random Ozzy grape choice. Again). All very well, dry enough, plenty of strawberries once you get past the bubblegum - even some cherries, but I'm still not a rosé drinker. I know, it's a character flaw. This stuff gets 14/20, which is as high as I've ever rated any rosé.
2005-01-15
Hugel Tokay
I was going to start by saying that this addiction to sweet wine has gone too far, but in fact the interesting thing about many such wines is that the sweetness is overshadowed by the other characteristics. Tonight's little beaut is a fine case in point. We thank you, SmallFierceGlasses.
Hugel "Hommage à Jean Hugel" Tokay Pinot Gris 1997 is a lovely, exemplary Alsatian PG, with a bitter orange note to it, and a wee hint of ginger in the finish. Slightly watery, seeming slightly sweet, and low acid, the balance was ideal. I don't think it would age much further - lack of acid, you see, and the fruit is fading rather - but right now it was spot on. 15-16/20
Hugel "Hommage à Jean Hugel" Tokay Pinot Gris 1997 is a lovely, exemplary Alsatian PG, with a bitter orange note to it, and a wee hint of ginger in the finish. Slightly watery, seeming slightly sweet, and low acid, the balance was ideal. I don't think it would age much further - lack of acid, you see, and the fruit is fading rather - but right now it was spot on. 15-16/20
2004-12-20
The Feast of Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker
should always be marked by the drinking of prosecco and South African pinot. (in that order, not together... probably).
The non-vintage prosecco in this case being a nicely off-dry frizzante style IGT from Cazzano di Tramigna. A very pleasant 13-14/20 (and 5/5 for value).
Steenberg pinot noir 2000 (which is not listed in Steenberg's wines) was a tasty lightweight wine. Medium red, showing no signs of age, the delicate nose had hints of coffee underlying the dominant smoky strawberries character. On the palate there was the looked-for gamey note, and a long finish which became rather bitter. 14/20
The non-vintage prosecco in this case being a nicely off-dry frizzante style IGT from Cazzano di Tramigna. A very pleasant 13-14/20 (and 5/5 for value).
Steenberg pinot noir 2000 (which is not listed in Steenberg's wines) was a tasty lightweight wine. Medium red, showing no signs of age, the delicate nose had hints of coffee underlying the dominant smoky strawberries character. On the palate there was the looked-for gamey note, and a long finish which became rather bitter. 14/20
2004-12-09
Hoorah for the birthday ELF
The ELF's birthday, so now he's officially forty-two, same as me. After going to see "The Incredibles" we came home and drank some very credible wines.
d'Arenberg The Hermit Crab marsanne/viognier 02003, screwcapped (boo), is aromatic, oily, and weighty. A lovely aperitif. Bob's wine of the year. 15/20
Glaetzer Bishop shiraz 02001, cork. Very polished. (stop that childish sniggering at the back there) A smoooooth shiraz, but also full on. One to convert those who don't like red wine, the ELF himself being such a one. After he tasted this he requested that I seek out some for him. The tannins are very very muted, the wine is in perfect balance. Mellow. 15-16/20
Outsider shiraz 02002, cork. Much bolder than the Bishop. Higher acidity, more tannic, fresher fruit. ELF didn't like it as much - it's not so mellow you see. 16+/20
Gonzales Byass Apostoles Palo Cortado Muy Viejo. Non vintage, but aged thirty years in cask. Palo Cortado is something which you hardly ever see, because it only rarely happens that the freshly fermented wine has the correct characteristics for ageing into this style. Intense nutty christmas cake nose, not strongly sherried character. Not sweet, but medium. 16/20
d'Arenberg The Hermit Crab marsanne/viognier 02003, screwcapped (boo), is aromatic, oily, and weighty. A lovely aperitif. Bob's wine of the year. 15/20
Glaetzer Bishop shiraz 02001, cork. Very polished. (stop that childish sniggering at the back there) A smoooooth shiraz, but also full on. One to convert those who don't like red wine, the ELF himself being such a one. After he tasted this he requested that I seek out some for him. The tannins are very very muted, the wine is in perfect balance. Mellow. 15-16/20
Outsider shiraz 02002, cork. Much bolder than the Bishop. Higher acidity, more tannic, fresher fruit. ELF didn't like it as much - it's not so mellow you see. 16+/20
Gonzales Byass Apostoles Palo Cortado Muy Viejo. Non vintage, but aged thirty years in cask. Palo Cortado is something which you hardly ever see, because it only rarely happens that the freshly fermented wine has the correct characteristics for ageing into this style. Intense nutty christmas cake nose, not strongly sherried character. Not sweet, but medium. 16/20
2004-11-24
I did mention the Mouton? Well in that case,
what about Cape Mentelle semillon / sauvignon blanc, under cork? A very clean fresh mouthfeel, and fruity rather than green. It seems rather weightier than,say, the Brookland Verse 1 sem-sauv, which inclines me to mark it down slightly (for no very good reason) but still, 14/20.
We gave much more attention to The Outsider shiraz 02002 (under cork). I suspect this is at least partly because of the sordid horsetrading
that went on over the last few available bottles. There was very little
made, which must be at least partly because the ancient vines produce
"lentil sized grapes", but the flavours are consequently rich and very
concentrated. Watch out for this one next year, or blackmail someone.
TallAsAVan reckons it's not really a keeper, seeing as the ripe
fruitiness is so good now. 15-16/20.
We gave much more attention to The Outsider shiraz 02002 (under cork). I suspect this is at least partly because of the sordid horsetrading
that went on over the last few available bottles. There was very little
made, which must be at least partly because the ancient vines produce
"lentil sized grapes", but the flavours are consequently rich and very
concentrated. Watch out for this one next year, or blackmail someone.
TallAsAVan reckons it's not really a keeper, seeing as the ripe
fruitiness is so good now. 15-16/20.
2004-10-08
Did I mention the Mouton?
Inevitably when you taste a series of wines, you judge them against each other, as well as on an absolute scale. Thus it is that I have arrived at a new concept: quaffing Mouton. Oh yes. Ridiculous though it may seem, when measured against its older siblings, the '99 (scored at a solid 16/20), cried out from the depths of its concentrated juicy goodness to be glugged, gulped, necked, walloped (whoah, there's a radical notion: wassailing Mouton; mulled Mouton I didn't say that!. Don't tell anyone I said that!). But enough of such nonsense.
The Big Egg had six fairly recent Mouton-Rothschild for our delectation. Starting with the quaffer and working back to the '88. Equal top were the 96 and 95, the rest crowding in behind, and the 98 really rather disappointing.
What all six wines share is a concentrated character, a very strong bouquet and palate with every element of the wine balanced against the others. The flavours are complex: it takes time to tease out the strands of mocha coffee, green peppers, candy floss, paprika, the little hints of violets, occasional savoury bursts of aubergine and mushroom. But I can't think of a better way to pass two hours.
The scores: '95 = a solid 18; '96 = 18?; '88 = 17-18; 97 = 17+(18?); '99 = 16; '98 = 14.
The Big Egg had six fairly recent Mouton-Rothschild for our delectation. Starting with the quaffer and working back to the '88. Equal top were the 96 and 95, the rest crowding in behind, and the 98 really rather disappointing.
What all six wines share is a concentrated character, a very strong bouquet and palate with every element of the wine balanced against the others. The flavours are complex: it takes time to tease out the strands of mocha coffee, green peppers, candy floss, paprika, the little hints of violets, occasional savoury bursts of aubergine and mushroom. But I can't think of a better way to pass two hours.
The scores: '95 = a solid 18; '96 = 18?; '88 = 17-18; 97 = 17+(18?); '99 = 16; '98 = 14.
2004-10-07
d'Yquem and Roquefort, again. (I wish)
From (approximately) "Monseigneur le Vin", a guide published in 1927 by Les Etablissements Nicolas, who these days are, you might know it, found at www.nicolas.com:
The author's preferred wine is not Sauternes, but I know what he means.
...the flavour of a vintage red wine blending with the taste of a paste of fermented milk ripe for the eating is the very key to paradise.
The author's preferred wine is not Sauternes, but I know what he means.
2004-10-03
Just say Noé (and Please, and Thank You Very Very Much)
All hail The Big Egg, for he has found treasure. More to the point, he has shared it with us.
Gonzalez Byass Noé Pedro Ximénez Muy Viejo is quite the wrong colour for wine. In fact, it has no colour, being black. And not see-through. It coats the glass, then waits a couple of minutes, then consents to send down slow legs for the next few minutes.
The nose is very strong, treacle-ish, boozy, headily sherried, then after a while almost briney. Smiley got figs, too.
On the palate it is a thick as cough mixture, and as strong and sweet. It is a luscious, chocolate-y, molasses drink, not remotely boozy or wine-y, with an absurdly long finish which, strangely, did not die away, but built up somewhat, with an increasing spiciness (like five-spice powder). 17+/20.
The Big Egg reckons he paid 0.67GBP for each year of aging of the Noé. Your only response to this act of charity on the part of Gonzalez Byass should be to go and buy some. Oh, and remember to get toothpaste.
Gonzalez Byass Noé Pedro Ximénez Muy Viejo is quite the wrong colour for wine. In fact, it has no colour, being black. And not see-through. It coats the glass, then waits a couple of minutes, then consents to send down slow legs for the next few minutes.
The nose is very strong, treacle-ish, boozy, headily sherried, then after a while almost briney. Smiley got figs, too.
On the palate it is a thick as cough mixture, and as strong and sweet. It is a luscious, chocolate-y, molasses drink, not remotely boozy or wine-y, with an absurdly long finish which, strangely, did not die away, but built up somewhat, with an increasing spiciness (like five-spice powder). 17+/20.
The Big Egg reckons he paid 0.67GBP for each year of aging of the Noé. Your only response to this act of charity on the part of Gonzalez Byass should be to go and buy some. Oh, and remember to get toothpaste.
2004-09-26
Got the sauternes bleues
Or bleues sauternais, peut-être?
After the d'Yquem glory of last week, it seemed the obvious next step was Château de Rayne Vigneau 1988.
In the glass the wine was glowing, luminous gold, brighter than any wine I can think of. On the nose it was powerful bitter oranges, with an earthy leaf-mold undertone. On the palate there was marmalade, intense sweetness and acidity, beautifully balanced. The finish was very very long, and as fresh as grape juice (sixteen year old wine, egad). A solid 16/20.
But it wasn't d'Yquem. Hand on heart, I do really have to say, it is worth paying the ridiculous, horrendous price, in order to experience the intensity of d'Yquem.
After the d'Yquem glory of last week, it seemed the obvious next step was Château de Rayne Vigneau 1988.
In the glass the wine was glowing, luminous gold, brighter than any wine I can think of. On the nose it was powerful bitter oranges, with an earthy leaf-mold undertone. On the palate there was marmalade, intense sweetness and acidity, beautifully balanced. The finish was very very long, and as fresh as grape juice (sixteen year old wine, egad). A solid 16/20.
But it wasn't d'Yquem. Hand on heart, I do really have to say, it is worth paying the ridiculous, horrendous price, in order to experience the intensity of d'Yquem.
2004-09-19
Easy Quem, easy go
Mwahahahahahahahaa! I have seen the future, and it is skint. But I don't care, for I have tasted the nectar of the gods. Also, the ambrosia. And when I say ambrosia, I do not mean rice. Oh no. d'Yquem and roquefort for tea, that's me.
I'm sorry to say that I have got in with a bad crowd. I don't know who started it, The Big Egg or SmallFierceGlasses, but once the idea was floated, there was a certain unavoidable Juggernautiness about it. ThisYear'sTallAustralian was simply rolled over. I feel slightly bad about that, but only ever so slightly, for I have supped of the sap of the lotos, the blessed fluid that goes by the earthly name of Chateau d'Yquem '96.
A rich dark gold in colour, and with an intense aroma of seville orange marmalade - but with an underlying hint of earthiness, the wine (wine! There should be another word for such a superior substance as this) was sweet, powerfully acid, almost smoky-seeming, the flavour of marmalade being joined by a hint of butteriness. But so fresh. Eight years old, it might have been vinified only this month.
We drank it, in part, on bended knee, and on reflection, we ought to have sent out for hats, in order that we might doff them.
Chateau d'Yquem '96 18+/20.
I'm sorry to say that I have got in with a bad crowd. I don't know who started it, The Big Egg or SmallFierceGlasses, but once the idea was floated, there was a certain unavoidable Juggernautiness about it. ThisYear'sTallAustralian was simply rolled over. I feel slightly bad about that, but only ever so slightly, for I have supped of the sap of the lotos, the blessed fluid that goes by the earthly name of Chateau d'Yquem '96.
A rich dark gold in colour, and with an intense aroma of seville orange marmalade - but with an underlying hint of earthiness, the wine (wine! There should be another word for such a superior substance as this) was sweet, powerfully acid, almost smoky-seeming, the flavour of marmalade being joined by a hint of butteriness. But so fresh. Eight years old, it might have been vinified only this month.
We drank it, in part, on bended knee, and on reflection, we ought to have sent out for hats, in order that we might doff them.
Chateau d'Yquem '96 18+/20.
2004-09-10
Smiley's South African Tasting
I know I shouldn't blog when I'm drunk, but sometimes wine gets you so fired up that you just have to talk about it. The Observatory Carignan/Syrah is such. Yes, I mentioned it only last month, but this is the stuff that dreams are made on. There were other wines. It says so here. I hardly remember.
Oh yes, we started with The Berrio '03. The finest sauvignon of the year. I have tasted better sauvignons, but, not this year, and not at that price. Certainly the best non-Loire sauvignon. A rock solid 16/20, despite the acidity having mellowed slightly. I can hardly wait for the '04.
The Observatory '02. Opened at nine in the morning, poured into glasses at five, this was still evolving when we came to taste it at half-eight, it has such jumping-fresh acidity and fruit flavours. This time I also detected a shiny metallic edge to it. Two medics at the tasting likened this to the tang of blood. But that wild herb nose! Honestly, if you care about wine at all, go and get a bottle of this stuff, lock yourself away for two hours and contemplate the magic. 17-18/20
Oh yes, we started with The Berrio '03. The finest sauvignon of the year. I have tasted better sauvignons, but, not this year, and not at that price. Certainly the best non-Loire sauvignon. A rock solid 16/20, despite the acidity having mellowed slightly. I can hardly wait for the '04.
The Observatory '02. Opened at nine in the morning, poured into glasses at five, this was still evolving when we came to taste it at half-eight, it has such jumping-fresh acidity and fruit flavours. This time I also detected a shiny metallic edge to it. Two medics at the tasting likened this to the tang of blood. But that wild herb nose! Honestly, if you care about wine at all, go and get a bottle of this stuff, lock yourself away for two hours and contemplate the magic. 17-18/20
2004-09-05
St Hallett blends
Barossa screw-topped wines for early drinking - but actually pretty decent for the money.
The Poacher's Blend '03 is half semillon, then riesling, colombard, sauvignon blanc. It has a pleasant perfumed touch on the nose. The palate is medium-full bodied, with a touch of lime. 12/20.
Gamekeeper's Reserve '03. An interesting twist on the Rhône blend, there is a small proportion of touriga in here. Big and full bodied, with hints of coffee developing, this is really rather delicious. 14/20.
The Poacher's Blend '03 is half semillon, then riesling, colombard, sauvignon blanc. It has a pleasant perfumed touch on the nose. The palate is medium-full bodied, with a touch of lime. 12/20.
Gamekeeper's Reserve '03. An interesting twist on the Rhône blend, there is a small proportion of touriga in here. Big and full bodied, with hints of coffee developing, this is really rather delicious. 14/20.
2004-09-03
Top whack St Emilion and Pomerol.
Following on the very next night after the Ardbeg vertical, and an ill defined quantity of very fine grappa, my palate was not at its sharpest, but bravely soldiering on I can bring you this report.
Chateau Grand Pontet '97. The Big Egg was obviously starting off on a low key, so as to work up to the good stuff at the end. Considering the price, this was really very ordinary. A decently made, clean claret, but frankly thin and short. 11/20
Chateau La Pointe '00 was tricky to pin down. Slightly rubbery at first, it developed a lovely candyfloss sweetness and a perfume-y edge. Final score 14/20, YMMV.
La Gomerie '97 was reticent to begin with, albeit showing a complex palate which lingered. The green privet hedge (The Small Egg calls it green tea) coffee-ish character did evolve, so it scored 15/20 in the end.
L'Eglise-Clinet had a similar green character, but greater complexity on the nose. It also showed a very appealing marzipan touch on the palate. 15/20
La Gomerie '98 ended up being my favourite of the night. This might have been cuz it was more impressive on the palate than the nose. There was a consensus amongst the tasters that these wines offered more to the nose than the palate: for me, La Gomerie was the counterexample. The nose was not strong and seemed to consist of barley sugar and washing up liquid. But the palate was concentrated, tannic, verging on full-bodied, hinting at marzipan, and ending long and tannic. Yum 15-16/20
Le Bon Pasteur. This was SmallFierceGlasses's favourite, and other tasters made favourable comments. I think I marked it down cuz the initial nose was somewhat burny, like hot green tea. The palate was medium bodied, very tannic, with white pepper. 14+/20
Saved the best fer last, huh? That would work, except that I was operating on only two hours sleep, and waaaay too much grappa. Aaaanyways.
Cheval Blanc '89. An iconic wine, but not a great year. Yikes. The wine looked well aged, showing dark brown. The nose was reticent, clean and sweet, like boilings. On the palate it was sweet, light to medium bodied, with a vegetal character, perhaps of green peppers. The finish seemed reminiscent of hot menthol. Everything about this wine was balanced, together, integrated, but..., but..., it just didn't excite me. Perhaps it is beginning to become a little ethereal, ghostly. 15/20
Cheval Blanc '97. Distinctly green on the nose. Medium bodied and tannic, with a long sweet finish. In the glass, the wine developed hints of marzipan. 15/20
Chateau Grand Pontet '97. The Big Egg was obviously starting off on a low key, so as to work up to the good stuff at the end. Considering the price, this was really very ordinary. A decently made, clean claret, but frankly thin and short. 11/20
Chateau La Pointe '00 was tricky to pin down. Slightly rubbery at first, it developed a lovely candyfloss sweetness and a perfume-y edge. Final score 14/20, YMMV.
La Gomerie '97 was reticent to begin with, albeit showing a complex palate which lingered. The green privet hedge (The Small Egg calls it green tea) coffee-ish character did evolve, so it scored 15/20 in the end.
L'Eglise-Clinet had a similar green character, but greater complexity on the nose. It also showed a very appealing marzipan touch on the palate. 15/20
La Gomerie '98 ended up being my favourite of the night. This might have been cuz it was more impressive on the palate than the nose. There was a consensus amongst the tasters that these wines offered more to the nose than the palate: for me, La Gomerie was the counterexample. The nose was not strong and seemed to consist of barley sugar and washing up liquid. But the palate was concentrated, tannic, verging on full-bodied, hinting at marzipan, and ending long and tannic. Yum 15-16/20
Le Bon Pasteur. This was SmallFierceGlasses's favourite, and other tasters made favourable comments. I think I marked it down cuz the initial nose was somewhat burny, like hot green tea. The palate was medium bodied, very tannic, with white pepper. 14+/20
Saved the best fer last, huh? That would work, except that I was operating on only two hours sleep, and waaaay too much grappa. Aaaanyways.
Cheval Blanc '89. An iconic wine, but not a great year. Yikes. The wine looked well aged, showing dark brown. The nose was reticent, clean and sweet, like boilings. On the palate it was sweet, light to medium bodied, with a vegetal character, perhaps of green peppers. The finish seemed reminiscent of hot menthol. Everything about this wine was balanced, together, integrated, but..., but..., it just didn't excite me. Perhaps it is beginning to become a little ethereal, ghostly. 15/20
Cheval Blanc '97. Distinctly green on the nose. Medium bodied and tannic, with a long sweet finish. In the glass, the wine developed hints of marzipan. 15/20
2004-09-02
Small Island Boy's Ardbeg vertical tasting
Ok already, it says somewhere wine and corks, but what the heck, this was a cracking tasting, so wheesht.
Ardbeg has had a slightly wobbly time over the last few years, but that has gone away now, and the present trend seems to be all good. Current owners, Glenmorangie PLC, have spent a fair bit on doing the place up, and the first fruits of their labours are now available.
We didn't taste the whiskies strictly in age order, since the 6yo and the Uigeadail are cask strength, and the new make spirit is stronger still.
The ten year old, which in the past has always seemed very integrated and classically Islay to me, tonight was rather loose and unfocused. "Rather rough at the edges", my tasting notes have it, with smoke, bitter almonds, grass, mealiness and spicy-ness. 13/20
We tasted the 17 year old and the twenty-five, which Ardbeg calls Lord of the Isles, together. The 17 year old is all sweet mellow smokiness. Mellow, or perhaps refined. Next up was Lord of the Isles. Now this is a whisky to contemplate. We had a lengthy discussion about the relative value of LOTI vs 17 yo. Ginja reckons that it ain't worth twice the price, as does the Big Egg and Small Island Boy, but I , contrarian to the core, find there is so much in the bouquet of the LOTI that I would pay the difference, and then not drink the whisky, but just sit and nose it all night. It is warm dustiness, sunshine on old pine, smooth mellow caramel, leading to light smokiness and then a salty tang. I found the palate to have a sweeter attack than the younger bottlings, whilst offering up the same fine elements as the nose. All the same, it only gets 15/20.
That is probably harsh, but the Ardbeg six year old is so very exciting (I apologise for being a sensationalist) that it slightly overshadowed the LOTI. It is full - nay overflowing - with fresh fruit flavours, soapy apples to be precise, plus smokiness, and a zing that the older bottlings can't match. 16/20
The Uigeadail is another fruity one, but without the snap of the 6yo. The burny sensation seemed stronger too. It seemed rather like cognac. 14/20
Small Island Boy also threw in a blind taster, just to stir the pot. I got caramel and a distinct burniness on the nose, and a lengthy salty finish. I guessed Talisker initially, then moved off in the wrong direction entirely, heading Speywards, when in fact it was Springbank 10yo. I didn't give it a rating, but retrospectively I would guess 13-14/20.
We also had a nose at Ardbeg new make spirit - 70% proof. It's foul stuff. Sweet sweet oily fruitiness, overpowering and artificial seeming. Also, you can't actually taste anything, since your tastebuds are instantly numbed by the alcohol. To think that most whisky used to be sold and consumed this way. Not rated.
Ardbeg has had a slightly wobbly time over the last few years, but that has gone away now, and the present trend seems to be all good. Current owners, Glenmorangie PLC, have spent a fair bit on doing the place up, and the first fruits of their labours are now available.
We didn't taste the whiskies strictly in age order, since the 6yo and the Uigeadail are cask strength, and the new make spirit is stronger still.
The ten year old, which in the past has always seemed very integrated and classically Islay to me, tonight was rather loose and unfocused. "Rather rough at the edges", my tasting notes have it, with smoke, bitter almonds, grass, mealiness and spicy-ness. 13/20
We tasted the 17 year old and the twenty-five, which Ardbeg calls Lord of the Isles, together. The 17 year old is all sweet mellow smokiness. Mellow, or perhaps refined. Next up was Lord of the Isles. Now this is a whisky to contemplate. We had a lengthy discussion about the relative value of LOTI vs 17 yo. Ginja reckons that it ain't worth twice the price, as does the Big Egg and Small Island Boy, but I , contrarian to the core, find there is so much in the bouquet of the LOTI that I would pay the difference, and then not drink the whisky, but just sit and nose it all night. It is warm dustiness, sunshine on old pine, smooth mellow caramel, leading to light smokiness and then a salty tang. I found the palate to have a sweeter attack than the younger bottlings, whilst offering up the same fine elements as the nose. All the same, it only gets 15/20.
That is probably harsh, but the Ardbeg six year old is so very exciting (I apologise for being a sensationalist) that it slightly overshadowed the LOTI. It is full - nay overflowing - with fresh fruit flavours, soapy apples to be precise, plus smokiness, and a zing that the older bottlings can't match. 16/20
The Uigeadail is another fruity one, but without the snap of the 6yo. The burny sensation seemed stronger too. It seemed rather like cognac. 14/20
Small Island Boy also threw in a blind taster, just to stir the pot. I got caramel and a distinct burniness on the nose, and a lengthy salty finish. I guessed Talisker initially, then moved off in the wrong direction entirely, heading Speywards, when in fact it was Springbank 10yo. I didn't give it a rating, but retrospectively I would guess 13-14/20.
We also had a nose at Ardbeg new make spirit - 70% proof. It's foul stuff. Sweet sweet oily fruitiness, overpowering and artificial seeming. Also, you can't actually taste anything, since your tastebuds are instantly numbed by the alcohol. To think that most whisky used to be sold and consumed this way. Not rated.
2004-08-26
Why corks? Why a cork blog?
I like wine. I really like wine a lot. But some aspects of the industry nark me. The whole cursed cork vs plastic vs stelvin (=screwcap) debate narks me more than most. It comes down to this. There are problems with traditional cork closures. But the advantages of tackling these problems have been ignored in favour of blunderingly obvious alternatives which I think show the worst sort of short term outlook.
The dumb alternative, plastics, are just so much misapplied quick technofix. Plastic is wasted oil, and then it becomes landfill. Cork will rot (eventually. Judging by my compost heap, it's decades rather than months) or be fuel (woohoo, burn things, fun!). Plastics are canonical late capitalism. Any costs which are external to your own operation can be ignored. Plastics are dumb.
Stelvins, on the other hand, are smart. They do a better job than cork of keeping Drink-Youngest-Available whites fresh. Stelvins are being developed, so I hear, which allow a controlled rate of air flow into a bottle, so that wines can be aged just as if they were under cork. Soon there may be a stelvin available for every kind of wine, from muscadet to premier cru claret. Which is not to say that stelvins don't have disadvantages. A case of stelvin-sealed wine which is stacked upside down can easily spring a few dribblesome bottles.
But on the whole, stelvins are smart.
There are disadvantages to corks. There is cork taint, or TCA. This is perhaps less of a problem than some noisy writers might lead you to think, but it has been a problem. (Lately tho it seems the cork industry has come up with some prospective solutions to this problem.) Random bottle variation is another problem. But instead of saying, there is a problem with the raw material for corks, how can we deal with that, people have set about replacing cork, giving no thought to any external consequences. The biggest cost of non-cork closures is loss of a unique, fragile habitat and extinction of species. This is without doubt a bad thing. Biodiversity, genetic diversity, whatever you call it, we need it if the planet is going to remain livable.
The dumb alternative, plastics, are just so much misapplied quick technofix. Plastic is wasted oil, and then it becomes landfill. Cork will rot (eventually. Judging by my compost heap, it's decades rather than months) or be fuel (woohoo, burn things, fun!). Plastics are canonical late capitalism. Any costs which are external to your own operation can be ignored. Plastics are dumb.
Stelvins, on the other hand, are smart. They do a better job than cork of keeping Drink-Youngest-Available whites fresh. Stelvins are being developed, so I hear, which allow a controlled rate of air flow into a bottle, so that wines can be aged just as if they were under cork. Soon there may be a stelvin available for every kind of wine, from muscadet to premier cru claret. Which is not to say that stelvins don't have disadvantages. A case of stelvin-sealed wine which is stacked upside down can easily spring a few dribblesome bottles.
But on the whole, stelvins are smart.
There are disadvantages to corks. There is cork taint, or TCA. This is perhaps less of a problem than some noisy writers might lead you to think, but it has been a problem. (Lately tho it seems the cork industry has come up with some prospective solutions to this problem.) Random bottle variation is another problem. But instead of saying, there is a problem with the raw material for corks, how can we deal with that, people have set about replacing cork, giving no thought to any external consequences. The biggest cost of non-cork closures is loss of a unique, fragile habitat and extinction of species. This is without doubt a bad thing. Biodiversity, genetic diversity, whatever you call it, we need it if the planet is going to remain livable.
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