Spanish Mediterranean Tasting

Thursday 26 July 2012

This was the first of the Theatre of Wine tastings I've been to, but I'll definitely be going back. Excellent tasting - very interesting wines and extremely knowledgeable speaker. So pleased to have such a good wine shop in the local area!

1. Castillo Perelada, Cava Brut Reserva NV
Very appley. Fine and restrained mousse. Fresh, fruity, reasonably intense flavour. Not bad.
Cost: £11.30

2. La Rosita Brut NV (375ml)
A pink sparkly apparently made by a scottish lady who has moved out to Spain. Made from Monastrelle/Matarro. Not bad. Ripe red fruit character. Nothing special.
Cost £10.00 (per half bottle)

3. Jose Pariente, Verdejo 2011, Rueda
Smells quite like a typical sauvignon blanc but tastes a lot more interesting. Some ripe, fleshy character. Almost peachy. Very nice. Surprisingly good.
Cost: £12.30

4. Equipo Navazos, La Bota de Manzanilla no.32
Great nutty intensity. Almond, salty, minerality. Real power and intensity. Lots of yeast autolysis character. Tastes of the ocean - seaweed/umami. Delicious.
Cost: £26.40

5. Equipo Navazos, La Bota de Amontillado no.31
Oxidized, smells a little like a dank cave. Lots of power. Nutty, caramel, almonds, cinnamon. A true "nut cluster bomb". Incredible length. Delicious, but very different to previous.
Cost £52.00

6. Anima Negra, 2008, Mallorca
Surprisingly pale given the smoky, meaty, BBQ nose. Soft and silky tannin. High acid. Something ethereal (reminiscent of a Burgundy). Violets, floral, licquorice. Rich and aromatic. Only negative is it's a little short.
Cost: £34.50

7. Capcanes, Lasendal, Garnatxa Barrica 2008, Montsant
Black fruit, cinnamon. Soft mouthfeel. A little short. Nice, but doesn't stand up to the tapas.
Cost: £9.00

8. Alemany i Corrio, Pas Curtei, 2004, Penedes
This was amazing, and a total bargain at £8.50. Inky, meaty and savoury, but with black fruit overtones. Perfect age - very good now. Violets, vanilla, tobacco. Soft and silky mouthfeel. Well balanced and complex. This is excellent.
Cost: a ludicrously good value £8.50

9. Celler del Pont, Lo Givot 2003, Priorat
Dark colour, but not as inky as the previous wine. High (searing) acidity, but soft tannins (there are plenty of tannins, but not as much as expected). A little out of balance. Quite good now, probably won't improve with age.
Cost: £20.00

10. Bodegas Bentomiz, Ariyanas Dulce, 2007, Malaga (500ml)
Classic muscat. Acidic and grapey.
Cost: 18.40

11. Dolc Mataro 2009, Alta Alella (500ml)
This is from the "mataro", aka mourvedre/monastrell grape. A nice, warm character. Floral notes come through on the palate, less so on the nose. Full bodied, spicy. Spft, ripe and enjoyable. This is good and interesting, but I probably wouldn't pay that price for it.
Cost: £22.30



Random notes from the tasting:
1. Try brown bread with vintage champagne. He says it's a classic combination where the brown bread really enhances the flavours of the Champagne. I've never tried it, must do so soon.
2. Look out for dry Banyuls. I've never come across it before.
3. The salty flavour in sherry - current thinking is that it comes from glutamates (which presumably come from the flor?). Glutamate, like monosodium glutamate, hence umami/salty-seaweed flavour. Sounds possible. And interesting contrast to the salty flavour in Santorini wines (which apparently genuinely does come from the salty sea spray getting on the vines).

World Tour of Pinot Noir

Friday 22 July 2012

After what seems like years of waiting, we finally found a weekend which Ed could do this tasting and it was well worth waiting for. However, we definitely had to wait - Ed got stuck late at work and arrived an hour late, by which time we'd already polished off plenty of Champagne (well that's got Pinot Noir in it too...) So, perhaps not the best way to taste the expensive Burgundies at the end - my notes are a little sparse towards the end considering the pedigree of the wines!

It was really interesting to see PN from around the world and also to try some New World PN with a little bottle age. Some worked particularly well - others less so. The best of the high-end burgundies at the end were amazing, if way too young. However, the more modest burgundies were quite disappointing... And so it goes with this particularly fickle grape.

1. Glen Carlou, Pinot Noir, 2007 (Paarl, SA)
Primary red fruit character, but overlaid with aromas of the forest. Note that this wine is 5 years old, quite interesting to try a "new world" PN with a few years age. Soft mouthfeel. Good, juicy fruit and acid. This wine has the acid of a cold-climate but the fruit of a warm climate. Not bad. Unlikely to improve with further age though.

2. Errazuriz "Wild Ferment" Pinot Noir 2010 (Casablanca, Chile)
Weird funky smell. Some forest-floor aromas. Very acidic. Decent length. Very pale. I really don't like the initial smell of this, but once you get past it, the taste is actually surprisingly nice.

3. Weingut Okonomierat Rebholz Spatburgunder trocken, 2004 (Pfalz, Germany)
Ed warned us that German Pinot Noir can be an odd beast as apparently they often try to make it in a style to which it is not suited. For example, it's often overly extracted and sometimes even has residual sugar (eh?!). It's always expensive regardless of the style (as a result of the dearth of red wine in Germany). However, this is one of the good examples.

Complex aromas, spice, savoury-meaty, red fruit. Too light on the palate though - perhaps done in by age? Very pale, very low tannin. I doubt anyone (apart from Ed?) still has any of this wine, but if they do it should be drunk asap.

4. Paul Cluver Pinot Noir, 2006 (Elgin, SA)
The old VB favourite... but from an older vintage! (The old, old favourite..?) I must admit that the age confused me here as I didn't recognise this. Having had the Paul Cluver PN on so many occasions, the BV crew have got a bit of a downer on it. However, I enjoyed this. It seems to improve with age, but the taste fades very quickly once swallowed.

5. Robert Mondavi Carneros PN, 2008 (Napa Valley, USA)
A bit of a shock to the system. The fruit here is almost sweet and jammy. Too much of a hot climate style. Dark colour, not a typical PN. Can see why some people like it, but it's not my style.

6. Bergacker Cuvee 1999
This was a weird one that Ed threw in for fun. It's a Spatburgunder / Cabernet Sauvignon blend! Dark colour (presumably from the Cabernet). Surprisingly good. Full bodied. It is aging really well - I would not have thought it was that old. More cabernet in character than PN. This showed well... perhaps just because it really stood out from the other wines.

7. Furst Cengraferberg Spatburgunder trocken, 2005 (Franken, Germany)
Rich and ripe. Surprisingly concentrated. Don't really have many notes for this, but remember enjoying it.

8. Wine Society Exhibition Martinborough PN, 2004 (Made by Craggy Range)
Excellent wine - one of the most enjoyable for drinking now of the entire tasting (which is impressive given the competition!). Great, complex aromas. Silky mouthfeel. Juicy acidity. Ethereal nose - definitely more burgundian in style than new world.

9. Sylvain Debord Cote de Nuits Village, 2008 (An M&S award winner)
Fruit is red berry in character. Faded very quickly and lacked complexity. OK, but probably very expensive for what it is. Hard to imagine the low quality of the competition if this won an award?

10. Domaine Jean Chauvnet, Nuit-St-George, 2005
No notes. Must have been getting a little drunk by this point!

11. Domaine de la Salle Beaune, Champimonts, 1er Cru, 2008
Elegant and classy initial attack. Sadly fades too quickly. Nice, but a little dim.

12. Morey-Saint-Denis, Domaine Dujac, 2008
Sadly this wine was not showing its best. Very uninspiring. Opens up a little in the glass, but still nothing amazing.

13. Pommard "les Rugiens", Domaine Lejeune, 2007
Powerful, but also with a soft, silky texture. High acid. Lots of red fruit. Fairly powerful. Not as amazing as I'd have hoped though. Hopefully just needs time.

14. Vosne Romanee, Domaine Sylvain Cathiard et Fils, 2008
Quite a pale colour. High acidity, but well balanced with the refined and elegant fruit. Good structure, good length. Still very much on the primary fruit side of things. This is a very good wine, but needs time to show its best.

15. Mazis-Chamberin Grand Cru, Domaine Philippe Naddef, 2006
Not a producer I'd come across before - this was awesome. Lots and lots of power. This hints strongly at future greatness, but it still tastes so young it's hard to know (plus we'd had a lot of wine by this point - probably not optimal conditions to taste it!). Lots of fruit, powerful palate. Total infanticide!

A Taste of Greece

Vivat Bacchus, 23 July 2012

1. Domaine Gerovassiliou, Malagousia 2011 (Epanomi) Nice - crisp and clean. Mostly stainless steel, although 10% new oak (which I wouldn't have noticed without being told - subtly done). Stone fruit and crisp, refreshing acid.

2. Gaia, "Wild Ferment", Assyrtiko, 2011 (Santorini) I love Assyrtiko from Santorini and this is an excellent example so I very much enjoyed this. I also learnt some good trivia:
- Assyrtiko originally came from Assyria
- Santorini vineyards are some of the oldest in the world. They are phylloxera-free and the vines are not ripped up and replanted. Rather they just take cuttings and replant in the same vineyard.
- No real rain in the vineyards during the growing season. However, there is no irrigation either. All the water during the growing season comes from sea mists depositing moisture on the vines.

This wine had so much volcanic minerality it had a smoky character. An excellent expression of the volcanic terroir of the island. Full flavoured, complex, well balanced. Salty, umami aftertaste. This has seen oak, as well as barrels made from another type of wood (the details of which I now forget).

3. Estate Biblia Chora, "Ovilos" 2010 (Kavala) This was 50% Semillon, 50% Assyrtiko. The wine was aged on its lees so has a little of the yeasty, creamy mouthfeel (cheesy leesy) this can sometimes impart. Slight spice, full bodied, complex. Floral finish. Very elegant, but also powerful. Very good.

4. Gaia, "Notios" Agiorgitiko 2011 (Peloponnese) This wine is from Nemea. It's a light, fruity, juicy and refreshing wine. Not really my style of red wine, but a good example of the type, and actually quite a pleasant style to drink on such a warm day. This has an oak spice finish, but is not oaky in character. Mostly red fruit on the palate.

5. Domaine Gerovassiliou, "Avaton", 2006 (Epanomi) This is quite a rustic wine. More black fruit in character than the previous wine. Also something animal (maybe brett?) Herby, soft tannin. Interesting. This would be great if cheap - no idea of the retail cost.

6. Alpha Estate, Old Vine Xinomavro 2008 (Amyndeo) This has spent 1 year in French oak. Quite red fruit in character - sour cherries in particular. This is very juicy and surprisingly refreshing given that it has plenty of dusty tannin. Definitely a food wine. This, combined with the pale colour, makes me think of an Italian red, perhaps a cross between barolo and lagrein. Apparently, this region is "cool climate", which sounds a little unlikely in Greece.

7. Gaia Estate, Agiorgitiko 2006 (Nemea) This is far more serious than the previous Agiorgitiko - hard to imagine that they are the same producer from the same region and grape. Apparently, this comes from mountain vineyards and this is what gives rise to the difference. The fruit flavour is still more towards the red end of the spectrum. This is juicy but complex. Lots of pepper, wood, savoury spice.. High and dusty tannin. Complex and intense. It's well balanced now but would be improved by pairing with meat or by age (very youthful now despite having 6 years). This will age well - excellent and delicious stuff!

Mas de Daumas Gassac

Monday 19 March

An interesting tasting. The 09 was very pleasant but it felt worryingly as if it had been "modernified". My worry is that this will end up losing the character and idiosyncratic ageing profile from vintages a few years ago. Let's hope not!

1. Rose Frizant
This is a sparkly rose made from Cabernet Sauvignon - and surprised me by being quite nice despite that! Lots of cherry and strawberry. Fine mousse and good acid. A little syrupy perhaps on the finish. Not made from methode Champenois. All things considered, this was pretty good. Not the type of wine I'm likely to buy though.

2. Reserve de Gassac Blanc 2010
90% Viognier, 10% Marsanne
I don't think I would have guessed viognier; however, it seems very believable after I've been told. Floral and with the fruit spectrum closer to stone fruit than anything else. Full bodied, low acid, medium length. Not bad, but not amazing.

3. Mas de Daumas Gassac Blacn 2010
A mix of Viognier, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc. I didn't note the percentages.
A huge step up from wine #2. Concentrated, ripe fruit. This almost feels sweet it's so rich and full bodied. Lots of spice. No oak. Very, very good and will age well for many years.

4. Mas de Daumas Gassac Rouge 2009
Very high, very fine tannin. Herbal overtones on the nose. Otherwise, typical young red wine smell. On the palate it is well balanced. Plenty of fruit, with some liquorice. Intense, long but still mostly primary character. Very good. Would expect it to improve. Although it tastes like it's been aimed more at the younger drinking style. This is not how I remember young Daumas Gassac from many years ago. Could this just be vintage variation, or has the winemaking style changed to produce a younger drinking wine..?

5. Mas de Daumas Gassac Rouge 1995
This smells completely unrecognisable as the same wine. It's very hard to believe that the previous wine will age into this. This smells like a mature Bordeaux. Lots of tertiary flavours. Very acidic. Still plenty of tannin. Lots of flavour concentration. Perfect now. yum yum!

French Harvest Report

Monday 19 Sept 2010
A truly excellent tasting. The format was to compare the same wine from two very close vintages. The vintage variation was fascinating. All the wines made for excellent comparisons. So much so that I'll even overlook the fact that 25% of this tasting was Beaujolais!

1st pair. Chignin Jacquere Gilles Berlioz, Savoie
2009 vs 2010
This was an entirely new area and grape variety to me. Apparently, Savoie is close to Switzerland. The grape variety is Jacquere and is pretty much confined to the region. This was pretty good.
2010 was floral, zesty apple. High acid, crisp and refreshing. Good minerality. Slightly odd finish. The producer prefers this vintage. I preferred the 2009. The 2009 was a darker colour than the 2010. A more noticeable bready character (was this age, or just vintage variation?). Fuller body and more pleasant for drinking now.

2nd pair. Leon Boesch, "Luss" Riesling, Alsace
2008 vs 2009
This is a riesling which has undergone mallolactic fermentation... pretty unusual stuff! Both wines are pretty good. The 2008 was extremely acidic and floral. More of a food wine than the 2009. The 2009 was hotter and riper with more residual sugar. I preferred the more austere 2008.

3rd pair. Daniel Bouland, Chiroubles, Beaujolais
2009 vs 2010
I'm not a fan of Beaujolais so my opinions here will be somewhat biased. The 2010 was pretty rubbish. (ie Watery, fairly typical Beaujolais.) The 2009 definitely surprised to the upside. Deep colour, brambly and earthy.

4th pair. Domaine de Ferrand, Chateauneuf du Pape
2006 vs 2008
2008 was a rainy vintage which might have contributed to this wine having a restrained nose. It pales in comparison with the 2006 which was, quite frankly, fantastic. The 2006 was deep coloured, ripe, rich and full bodied. Made from 95% old-vine grenache this was powerful and elegant. Yum yum!

Oxford University Grand Cru Tasting

The first Oxford University Wine Society tasting I've been to in about 3 years. And what a cracking wine list!

1. Champagne Salon, 1997
Rich aroma. Oaky, nutty and creamy on the nose. Quite powerful on the palate. Crisp acidity and great length (extremely long for a champagne). The overall character is power rather than elegance… this is one of the most powerful champagnes I’ve had (if we ignore the late disgorgement styles). This opens up quite considerably in the glass. In many ways like a good white burgundy that happens to be sparkling. Very good, and I’m glad I’ve finally tasted it. However, it’s overpriced (£195) so this wine is much better if someone else is paying.

2. Domaine Leflaive, Puligny-Montrachet Les Folatieres, Premier Cru 1999
Very prominent oak on the nose – particularly considering it is around 12 years old. Palate is fantastic though. This wine has both power and elegance. Whilst it still smells quite young, the palate has plenty on offer. Also, once the wine opened up in the glass it became more forward on the nose too. Superb.
£120

3. Domaine Comtes des Lafon, Meursault Clos de la Barre 2004
Much less noticeable oak on the nose than the previous wine. Lemon, apple and a little nuttiness on the palate. Intense fresh fruit character… this is still a baby. Once it opens up some apricot flavours appear. Noticeable oak tannin on this one, but the oak feels very well integrated. This will improve significantly, but I’m very much enjoying it now. This is a serious rival to the previous wine and slightly edges it for me. I really enjoyed this wine.
£120

4. Domaine Rene Engel, Grands-Echezeaux, Grand Cru, 2004
Serious complexity on the nose, especially considering it’s only from 2004. Extremely pale colour. The nose gives different notes every time I go to it: sometimes floral, sometimes vegetal, sometimes fruit and sometimes savoury. Long, balanced and complex. Excellent now, but feels like it might be aging rather fast. Best drink it soon if you have any just to be on the safe side.
£145

5. Domaine Jean Grivot, Clos de Vougeot, Grand Cru 1996
The first thing which needs mentioning here is the serious bottle variation this wine appears to be showing. One bottle was marginally corked. The bottle we had was quite disappointing. The other bottle I tried a little bit from and it was better, but still not stellar. I wonder how much of the disappointment here was caused by my extremely high expectations. One of the best bottles of wine I’ve ever had was a Clos de Vougeot (in the very first ever Bacchus Grand Cru tasting!) and I was probably judging this extra-harshly in comparison to that memory. That being said, here are my notes:
The initial impression on the nose is meat. Definitely a savoury character to the wine. There is some fruit coming through, but not enough. It feels as though it’s drying out already. The tannin is dusty and out of balance. I would have been extremely upset if I had paid £100 for this myself.


6. Domaine Armand Rousseau, Chames-Chambertin, Grand Cru, 1997
Extremely high acid, plenty of red fruit. Quite a lot of power, yet very elegant. Relatively soft mouthfeel with quite low tannin. Opens up wonderfully with more complex aromas coming through. A very serious wine - well balanced, complex flavours and good length.
NB This turned out to be my favourite red wine of the evening.
£135

7. Mascarello Guiseppe e Figlio, Barolo Monprivato, 1996
Extremely tannic and acidic – mouth-puckering on both fronts! On the nose it’s more floral than tar, but definitely getting both. Quite deep colour for a nebbiolo. A very serious wine, but would be much improved by food or age. Not quite balanced yet, but plenty of intensity and complexity and very long. I'd love to have several bottles of this so I could track its development over time. I suspect it will be sublime given long enough.
£90

8. Chateau de Beaucastel, Chateauneuf du Pape, 1995
Yum, yum. This is drinking very well now. More aromatic than the Barolo but lighter in character (although not really "light" on any absolute scale). Lots of cooked black fruit. Quite soft mouthfeel. Perfumed and appealing. Drink soon.
£65

9. Equipo Navazos, 22. La Bota Manzanilla “Navazos”
Intense salty aroma. Also ripe green apple and yeast. This is made in quite a young and fruity style. I liked this a lot whereas Ed did not so it’s perhaps a little polarizing… even for sherry lovers! Complex almond finish. Intense, well balanced and complex. I like this sort of thing a lot. Very very good.
A bargain at £25.

10. Equipo Navazos, 24. La Bota Fino Amontillado “Montilla”
Crisp and refreshing. A little hint of marzipan. Less intense palate than the previous sherry, but good length. The Fino Amontillado seems to fall between two stools… it would have been better as one or the other. Also, some weird chemical aroma lingers after drinking it. Worth trying, but not superb for me.
£38

11. Joh. Jos. Prum, Graacher Himmelreich, Riesling Auslese, Goldkapsel, 2000
Lovely toffee/treacle aroma and some kerosene. Cooked apple flavour on the palate. Feels a lot lighter than I would have expected for a Auslese Goldkapsel. It’s well balanced, but too short. Quite a poor showing for such a high-profile producer. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed it but it’s not a contemplation wine in the way that you would expect.
£110

12. Graham’s Port, 1977
Dried fruit, Christmas pudding, spice. The wine has a fine sediment in suspension, but it’s not noticeable on the palate. Quite an intense nose. Sweet, but balanced. Complex and very pleasant to drink now. Not the best-showing Graham’s-77 I’ve ever had, but I’ll never complain about drinking one.

Tim Wildman Spain & Portugal Tasting

Wine Wisdom Class 7
Vivat Bacchus
Italy

1. Manzanilla "Las Medallas" Herederos de Argueso
DO - Manzanilla Sanlucar de Barrameda, Andalucia
Yummy, salty and nutty.

2. Bodegas Ametzoi, Pais Vasco, Txacoli di Getaria 2009
Basque Country
Very pale. Floral and apple nose. Some petillance on the palate. Refreshing, acidic. Good length. Good and simple. Easy to drink but a little overpriced at £12ish.

3. Martin Codax, Albarino 2008
DO - Rias Baixas, Galicia
Very floral with crisp, refreshing acidity. Perfect with seafood.

4. Bodegas Urbina, Rioja Crianza 2004
Ripe red fruit. Noticeable oak and tobacco on nose. Smooth mouthfeel - apart from oaky, textured finish. Good acid.

5. Mencia "Petalos" 2008
Bierzo, Castilla y Leon
Floral, aromatic and perfumed. Lots of red fruit and more complex flavours - like a meaty stew. Good length, dusty texture. Very good.

6. Warres "Otima" 10-year old tawny port
Douro Valley, Portugal
Nuts, almonds, marzipan, red fruit. Sweet. Served chilled.