Welcome back - after a six year break

Hello Everyone,

Well, after a six year break away from this blog, and a tumultuous series of life changing experiences, I've decided to return to writing about wine.

While I've been away much has happened to my immediate and wider world, but wine and all its array of enjoyments (and occasional disappointments) has remained a constant presence in all aspects of my life - from family dinners and drinks with friends, to emotional final farewells and welcoming new arrivals.

In an age where technology has brought us closer together, for better and for worse, the pleasures of a drink that has centuries of tradition and craft making behind it makes the pursuit of finding decent  wine all the more appealing.

My annual forays to France remind me that, whether you like the country and its people or not (I'm an apologetic dyed in the wool Francophile), they have got their priorities right, even if it means the health of the national economy takes a back seat.  Wine, food, family and friends always take precedence, which is how it should be.

So here's to your good health and stand by for the first wine review tomorrow.

Now where did I put that cork screw.

Tom

 

Coming soon - Chateau Bernadotte 1999 - Haut Medoc

Chateau Bernadotte

Cru Bourgeois 1999

Selfridges £16.99

Alright then, I admit it - I was browsing in the wine department of an upmarket designer store when I fell for a bottle of wine that sits outside the self imposed £10 limit of this wine blog.

However, when I found that I was face to face with a relatively bargain-priced wine from the highly revered Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande I felt I had to open my wallet and make the investment. As you know, this one man wine tasting team at Chateau Blogspot is on fairly restricted means, which is why a bottle that gives £3.01 change from a £20 note commands significant deliberation.

But with the added reassurance (?) of 86 points from Robert Parker, I'm just curious to see how fine this 11 year old wine can be. Hold on to your wine corks until March and I'll let you know.

Pierre Lurton - the man behind Yquem creates a fine M & S stunner

Lurton La Chapelle

Grand Vin de Bordeaux

2006

Marks & Spencer £9.99

First of all I must apologise to my minscule audience about the low level of wine blogging at the start of 2010. I do hope you will forgive me. Part of the reason why I haven't laid bashed away at the keyboard is largely due to the fact that most of the wines that I drank in January were repeat experiences of wines that I had been buying in the run up to Christmas. So, if there was a perfect example of a wine critic believing in his own recommendations, this must surely be it.

Two wines which continued to impress second time around were the 2006 Roc de Lussac from Sainsbury's (of which I bought several), which washed down an exceptional provencal chicken dish prepared by Mrs W, and the Cremant de Jura from ALDI, which made an outstanding partner to a pre New Year Chinese meal here at Chateau Blogspot.

Today's blog will actually be my only wine review for February for the simple reason that I am taking a month off all alcohol - arguably a bad move given that the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter occurs this month. However, as I am unable to attend this year it will be mo major sacrifice. I also want to give my palate a mid winter refurb and I think it's no bad thing to give my liver a mini holiday too.

So the bottle of Lurton La Chappelle (M & S) was actually drunk back in January and it still sticks in my mind as being a truly memorable wine. Created by the man behind the iconic Sauternes Chateau Yquem, Pierre Lurton (in partnership with winemaker Pascal Poussevin) this modern take on a Bordeaux wine is remarkable for the simple fact that it bombards your palate with a heady mix of flavours and delivers a really intriquing bouquet.

Harry thought I was being my usual pretentious self when I said I could detect chocolate and lavender, but soon agreed that this wasn't far off the mark. As for taste, we all sensed a heady mix of plums and blackcurrants and agreed that this was a wine with a distinctive personality. For a modern Bordeaux I think the main challenge is to create a wine that has the drinkability of some of the more accomplished New World offerings without losing the sense of 'terroir' that Bordeaux wines must continue to exhibit, if only for integrity's sake.

To my mind, this wine more than pulls it off - there is a very strong sense of modernity about what has been achieved here but I am confident that, in a blind tasting, this would easily be attributed to Bordeaux thanks to the supporting struture provided by the Cabernet Sauvignon.

We had this wine with a mix of cheeses that came our way from that eminent purveyor of fromages, none other than Paxton & Whitfield. We worked our way through some serious unpasteurised offerings from various parts of France and England and this wine really did make the whole experience all the more enjoyable. It didn't get in the way of some strong cheese personalities yet stood its ground as a young modern wine with something to say for itself.

An excellent present from H and R - and a hugely dependable, modern young wine to take to a dinner. A bit like turning up in a Ben Sherman suit with a Gieves & Hawkes shirt.

Very Decent Wine: 8.5/10

Probability of Buying Again: 8/10 (I do wonder if £9.99 is a wee bit steep - but otherwise yes)

Dinner Party Appeal: 10/10 (not quite steak au poivre territory but great with cheese and meaty caseroles)

Chateau Barryres 2006 - a taste of what a really fine wine might have to offer

Chateau Barrryres

Haut Medoc

Cru Bourgois 2006

In 1986 when I was earning just £6,200 a year in a very modest job in the City (just round the corner from St Paul's) I treated myself to the most expensive shoes I have ever bought - a pair of hand finished brogues from Church & Co. They cost me £108 (1/4 of my salary in those days) and I still have the receipt to prove it. Wearing them I felt that I was something much bigger than I really was in the City. I loved the squeak they made, the way they hugged my feet and they way they shone - and got better with every polish. However, in shoe making terms Church's shoes, while truly exquisite and an investment purchase in anyone's books, offer just a taste of what true craftsman-made shoes can offer. They are fine but not as fine as the ultimate English shoemaking experience offered by John Lobb which must surely be the pinnacle of shoemaking heaven, as adorned by Kings, Prime Ministers, Heads of State, Lords and so on.

And this is exactly what I felt about this wonderful entry level experience of a fine wine offered by this cheeky, elegant little number that I found hiding on the shelves in Sainsbury's in Barkingside of all places, one of several capitals of Chav Heaven in a county know more for its bling than it bon biveur.

In the hierarchy of Haut Medoc classifications, Cru Bourgeois wines, which have now been removed as a designation (pending the outcome of various legal wrangling) is essentially the bottom end of the fine wine ladder. However, to descibe this wine as 'bottom end' or an 'entry level fine wine' is to do it a severe injuustice, not least of all because I do think that this is a truly elegant and exquisite number that offers all the things that the boys and girls on the fine wine tasting panels are looking for. And at £9.99 what you get in this particular bottle is a supple, silky wine that clearly has enormous potential to develop greater complexity in coming years.

A well crafted balance between Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, the latter has clearly made its presence felt by offering some well rounded tannins and a tempered woodiness, while the overall mix of the two grapes fuses together to create a licorice and lavender bouquet which is simply magical. I drank this in nearly one sitting nibbling bits of French cheese left over from Christmas. Mrs W agreed that there was a strong hint of licorice but didn't quite get the lavender. However, she did agree that it was a finely made wine and wanted to know its retail provenance - for fear that I had sneaked into some horrendlously well heeled wine purveyor in the City. 'Well actually, I bought it in Essex in Sainsbury's', came my reply - 'and I shall be buying some more, if not to drink now to lay down for Christmas 2010, 11 and beyond', I hastily added.

To counterbalance my enthusiasm, I have to confess that elegant though it is, this is a lighter, dare I say feminine Claret which may lose its way alongside some overpowering steak or game dishes. However, it is none the less a fine bottle of wine for it and I shall be venturing back to Sainsbury's, if not to Essex, to grab a few more at this implausible cheap price of £9.99.

And referring back to my analogy over a pair of shoes, I do feel that this is the sort of wine that really could get you imagining just what it might be like to taste a Chateau Lafite, Chateau Haut Brion, Chateau Beychevelle - wearing a pair of John Lobb brogues.

Very Decent Wine: 8/10

Dinner Party Appeal: 9/10 (this one has legs

Probability of Buying Again: 10/10

Happy New Year - pop goes the Cremant du Jura

Philippe Michel

Cremant du Jura

Aldi £6.99

If you could choose a brand new car for around £20k, what would you have in your post Christmas New Year stocking? A bottom of the range C Class Merc with no extra bits and pieces or a top of the range Skoda Superb, for exactly the same price, but with all the refinements and bits and pieces that make it truly special. Superb even.

This is a similar dilemma to one that many people face when it comes to buying bubbly for that special occasion such as New Year, or a wedding, or a major birthday etc. When it comes to buying bubbly, for some reason everyone seems to want to buy in to the 'Champagne' experience at whatever price, often falling for the very lowest entry point possible.

This is a shame because I am almost certain that if they were presented with a sparkling wine alternative, dressed up as Champagne, 9 people out of 10 wouldn't be able to tell the difference. And quite literally, 9 people out of every 10 are all the poorer for this.

All I can say is that, for £6.99, Aldi's Cremant de Jura is the most convincing Champagne alternative I have had the pleasure of quaffing in sufficient quantities for years. And I'm not alone in thinking this - the wine has won a mantelpiece of awards including:

* Which? Best Buy for Sparkling Wine, December 2009
* Best in Class, International Wine & Spirit Competition 2009
* Quality Drink Awards 2006, 2008, 2009

Made from 100% Chardonnay, this very classy sparkler more than proves that you can have the champagne experience for half the price of an entry level 'real champagne' and probably a quarter of the price of a big name luxury non vintage brand such as Veuve Cliquot or Moet et Chandon. And what's more, you're buying a sparkling wine that is made in a very similar way to Champagne, with the second fermentation taking place in the bottle - the process that gives it al those highly coveted bubbles.

Apart from the price, what really delights me about this wine is its balanced flavour - erring on the fashionable side of dry rather than heading in the direction of a sweet chestnutty presentation. Given the current vogue for sparkling wines, and champage in particular, to lean towards a drier, less sticky sweet demeanour, this classy little number is very much on trend - crisp, refreshing and citrussy. And just like that top of the range Skoda model I was talking about, truly Superb.

Dinner Party Appeal: 10/10 (classy for those in the know)

Value for Money: 11/10 (low entry Champagne looks a poor deal in comparison)

Probablility of Buying Again: 15/10 (Have already bought another half dozen)

Happy Thrifty Christmas - here's my 'must have' bargain wines for Christmas

With UK government borrowing at jaw dropping record levels, the economy on a precarious knive edge and City bankers pondering the impact of the bonus tax on their wine investments, now is surely not the time to be drinking to excess. So instead, let's look back on a disastrous year for the economy (and look forward to the same for a few years to come) and console ourselves with some truly thrifty wines that are sure to bring a smile to your face and a sigh of relief to your wallet.

Chianti Superiore, 2004, Villa Malizia - ALDI £3.99

Here at Chateau Blogspot we're knocking back Chianti Superiore, 2004, Villa Malizia which is currently on offer at ALDI for a mightily affordable £3.99 - down from an previously affordable £4.99. Already 5 years in the bottle, Italian red is elegantly constructed with a palate hugging mix of berry fruits rounded off by 1 years patient mulling around in oak casks. Given my well documented preference for Clarets, this handsomely made Chianti was a pleasant surprise.

Cono Sur - full on flavour but don't fall off your bike

Cono Sur Reserva

Pinot Noir

Casablanca Valley

Chile 2008

Firstly, I can't believe that I've got to the middle of December without blogging about some of the wines I've been drinking during the run up to Christmas. However, one of the occupational hazards of my day job in the charity world is that December is a month like no other. Everything spins towards the end of the year in a mad rush towards Christmas Day - with each 24 hours running into the other.

Last week, at the start of what turned out to be an 18 hour day (which included an evening reception with colleagues at 11 Downing Street), I attended one of our business breakfasts in Leeds where our guest speaker Stephanie Davies, from her own company Laughology, explained how she went about her job advising companies on how to use humour in the workplace to overcome problems, improve staff morale and to generally look at the serious side of business in a different way.

I can't help but think that she could also do a pretty good job advising wine critics to lighten up when it comes to talking about this wonderful concoction we call wine. I was reading the hugely informative Decanter on the train down to London the other week, particularly on the latest panel tastings from Bordeaux and felt, just on far too many occasions, that people had become over-serious and considered about what they were drinking. Which is why I smiled at the simple, humorous philosophy on the side of this bottle from the Chilean winemaker Adolfo Hurtado.

Quite simply he regards his winemaking as being similar to a bicycle - essential, relaxed and joyful. Well, I have to say that my recent Sunday ride with Ruth on our bikes up the freezing hills of Lancashire was none of these, least of all joyful. But we had a good time, of sorts, and I can see where Snr Hurtado is coming from. And I like his sense of humour wrapped up as philosophy.

I also like this wine which will be making a regular appearance on the table here at Chateau Blogspot. Firstly the bouquet from this young Pinot Noir is a stunning heady fill of dark cherry with a touch of woody leather. Not only does it have fathoms of depth, but it also has a mature flavour which I hadn't quite prepared myself for given its very youthful vintage.

As the wine opens up it produces a meaty, jammie mix of berries and blackcurrant with a slightly woody edge. The sensation is a mix of the very smooth with a slight woodiness. Generally, the overall feeling is a of a wine that has been crafted to produce something with a strong, full on personality coupled with a modicum of control. For me it falls slightly short of a full blown affair with a deep berry Californian Zinfandel or a Merlot-fuelled St Emilion Cru Classe, but I like its ambition and I love its earthy, ballsy sense of making you think 'game on' after the second or third generous glug.

Mind you with an alcohol content of 14% I too would share the same philosophical viewpoint as a bicycle - but wouldn't be able to guarantee being able to stay on it.

This is an exceptional, hearty yet stylish Chilean wide boy of a wine that should bring a smile to your face and open the heart of even the most austere panel taster chewing their way through high end first class growth clarets. And on special offer at Tesco at just £5.99 (reduced from £8.99) I'll be back on my philosophical bike to buy some more.

Very Decent Wine: 9/10

Dinner Party Appearl: 9/10 (great with steak, chilli, sweaty French cheeses)

Probability of Buying Again: 10/10 (I'm on my bike already)

Value for Money: 10/10 (a class act for the price)