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.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
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)
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)
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Extra-ordinary ordinary Claret at just £3.99
Chateau La Foret
2008
Bottled by Yvon Mau
Booths £3.99
Normally on a Saturday night at this time of the year I'm downloading my brain to a pile of cerebrally-lite TV drivel, usually in the form of X Factor. However tonight I am sacrificing these simple pleasures, in every sense, to tell you very briefly about an amazing discovery on the second shelf down in the French section at Booths in Clitheroe.
Right now, if you follow my instructions and wait for your nearest Booths store store to open at 10am tomorrow, you can get your hands on a gem of an ordinary claret at just £3.99 - on special offer down from £5.99.
This little number from Entre Deux Mers, the southern area of Bordeaux between the highly revered Right and Left Bank territories (respectively home to Cabernet and Merlot). In Claret terms, wines from EDM command far less commentary and observation than they truly deserve which explains why charming, supple numbers like this slip under the oenolgical radar.
Harry and I had this bottle (and yes it has all gone) with a takeaway curry this evening (and yes it has all gone) back at Chateau Blogspot and we both agreed this was an amazing, young, supple and elegant little number with a finely honed balance of Cabernet and Merlot. Yes, it's young and yes it's relatively light. But with this comes a hugely drinkable, pliable wine that is really everything I look for in a so-called ordinary Claret. This isn't even marketed as an ordinary claret, by the way, but it is so cheap and so good to drink that it's a simple and affordable pleasure.
In fact this is so good, I am going back to clear the shelves. OK so it's a blended claret but expertly done by the team at Yvon Mau. It does extactly what it says on the tin.
Clean, young, fresh and hugely enjoyable - comme moi.
Very Decent Wine: 10/10 Outrageously so, for the price
Dinner Party Appeal: 8/10 Lovely with a credit crunch home made beef burger meal with friends
Probability of Buying Again: 10/10 I'll be knocking on the door tomorrow
2008
Bottled by Yvon Mau
Booths £3.99
Normally on a Saturday night at this time of the year I'm downloading my brain to a pile of cerebrally-lite TV drivel, usually in the form of X Factor. However tonight I am sacrificing these simple pleasures, in every sense, to tell you very briefly about an amazing discovery on the second shelf down in the French section at Booths in Clitheroe.
Right now, if you follow my instructions and wait for your nearest Booths store store to open at 10am tomorrow, you can get your hands on a gem of an ordinary claret at just £3.99 - on special offer down from £5.99.
This little number from Entre Deux Mers, the southern area of Bordeaux between the highly revered Right and Left Bank territories (respectively home to Cabernet and Merlot). In Claret terms, wines from EDM command far less commentary and observation than they truly deserve which explains why charming, supple numbers like this slip under the oenolgical radar.
Harry and I had this bottle (and yes it has all gone) with a takeaway curry this evening (and yes it has all gone) back at Chateau Blogspot and we both agreed this was an amazing, young, supple and elegant little number with a finely honed balance of Cabernet and Merlot. Yes, it's young and yes it's relatively light. But with this comes a hugely drinkable, pliable wine that is really everything I look for in a so-called ordinary Claret. This isn't even marketed as an ordinary claret, by the way, but it is so cheap and so good to drink that it's a simple and affordable pleasure.
In fact this is so good, I am going back to clear the shelves. OK so it's a blended claret but expertly done by the team at Yvon Mau. It does extactly what it says on the tin.
Clean, young, fresh and hugely enjoyable - comme moi.
Very Decent Wine: 10/10 Outrageously so, for the price
Dinner Party Appeal: 8/10 Lovely with a credit crunch home made beef burger meal with friends
Probability of Buying Again: 10/10 I'll be knocking on the door tomorrow
Friday, November 27, 2009
Well crafted Dr Loosen - the sweet taste of success
Dr Loosen
Reisling 2008
ASDA £5.48
Make no mistake, Ernst Loosen, the man behind the multi-award winning Dr Loosen brand of wines, is a superlative winemaker who has accumulated an array of glittering prizes. In 1989 he won Reisling of the Year by German wine magazine Feinschmecker; this was followed by an award from Gault-Millau, the prestigious and highly influential French restaurant guide which named him German winemaker of the Year in 2001. And to top it all, he was named as Man of the Year by Decanter Magazine in 2005.
Every Dr Loosen wine you buy is always a 5* sure fire bet. They are beautifully structured, clean and simply elegant. The wine that Harry, Mrs W and I had on Saturday night was all of these things with a mix of pineapple, honey and elderflower coming through on a long clean presentation on the palate.
To me, the sign of a very well made white wine is its ability to deliver its full palate of flavours when severely chilled. Personally, once white wines start to warm up I find them slightly sickly and cloying.
All credit to Ernst Loosen, his very young 2008 Reisling had impeccable manners, an exceptional flowery bouquet and a very subtle effervescence. Reluctant as I am to offer any criticism to this supreme master of wine, my only concern was a possible over-sweetness on the finish. Mrs W would have none of this and adored every mouthful but Harry and I felt that a dryish counterbalance was needed to calm down the swarm of sweet flavours.
In this month's issue of Decanter the recent panel tasting of Alsace white wines came in for heavy criticism for their residual over-sweetness and I just wonder (even though Dr Loosen's wines are over the border on the banks of the Mosel) whether this elegant wine has suffered a similar drift in the same direction. I don't recall my last Dr Loosen Reisling, about two years ago, being quite so sweet.
That said, for Reisling lovers this bottle is a masterclass in outstanding wine craftsmanship and will, I know, continue to thrill many existing and future fans of Dr Loosen. And at its current price in ASDA, this first class example of Reisling elegance is not to be missed.
Thoroughly Decent Wine: 10/10
Dinner Party Appeal: 9/10 (perfect with fish or Asian cuisine)
Probability of Buying Again: 9/10 (it's a sure fire bet - just want to check on the sweetness)
Reisling 2008
ASDA £5.48
Make no mistake, Ernst Loosen, the man behind the multi-award winning Dr Loosen brand of wines, is a superlative winemaker who has accumulated an array of glittering prizes. In 1989 he won Reisling of the Year by German wine magazine Feinschmecker; this was followed by an award from Gault-Millau, the prestigious and highly influential French restaurant guide which named him German winemaker of the Year in 2001. And to top it all, he was named as Man of the Year by Decanter Magazine in 2005.
Every Dr Loosen wine you buy is always a 5* sure fire bet. They are beautifully structured, clean and simply elegant. The wine that Harry, Mrs W and I had on Saturday night was all of these things with a mix of pineapple, honey and elderflower coming through on a long clean presentation on the palate.
To me, the sign of a very well made white wine is its ability to deliver its full palate of flavours when severely chilled. Personally, once white wines start to warm up I find them slightly sickly and cloying.
All credit to Ernst Loosen, his very young 2008 Reisling had impeccable manners, an exceptional flowery bouquet and a very subtle effervescence. Reluctant as I am to offer any criticism to this supreme master of wine, my only concern was a possible over-sweetness on the finish. Mrs W would have none of this and adored every mouthful but Harry and I felt that a dryish counterbalance was needed to calm down the swarm of sweet flavours.
In this month's issue of Decanter the recent panel tasting of Alsace white wines came in for heavy criticism for their residual over-sweetness and I just wonder (even though Dr Loosen's wines are over the border on the banks of the Mosel) whether this elegant wine has suffered a similar drift in the same direction. I don't recall my last Dr Loosen Reisling, about two years ago, being quite so sweet.
That said, for Reisling lovers this bottle is a masterclass in outstanding wine craftsmanship and will, I know, continue to thrill many existing and future fans of Dr Loosen. And at its current price in ASDA, this first class example of Reisling elegance is not to be missed.
Thoroughly Decent Wine: 10/10
Dinner Party Appeal: 9/10 (perfect with fish or Asian cuisine)
Probability of Buying Again: 9/10 (it's a sure fire bet - just want to check on the sweetness)
Saturday, November 21, 2009
One red and three whites - where's the corkscrew
Chateau Caillou les Martin, 2005 - Lussac St Emilion - £7.99 Booths
Vignes de St Pierre, 2005 - Vin de Pays d'Oc - Aldi £3.99
Dr Loosen, Reisling, 2008 - ASDA £5.48
Philippe Michel, Cremant du Jura, 2007, Chardonnay - Aldi £6.99
Here at Chateau Blogspot we've just unloaded the shopping from our Saturday tour de supermarche here in the rain swept North West and amongst all the usual mix of sundries (washing powder, Jammie Dodgers, coffee, shower gel, carrots etc) we have four ace-rated stonkers from the wine racks of Aldi, Asda and Booths.
On the menu tonight, we're defying the great British autumn weather with a warm salad of free range chicken, rocket, peppers, parmesan and Brie de Meaux which will be accompanied by the legendary Dr Loosen Riseling which will be even more enjoyable than usual as it's currently on sale in ASDA at a wallet-loving £5.48. Exactly the same thing elsewhere will knock you back the best part of £8 so get down there and snap some up. Incidentally, talking of bargains, Nescafe Alta Rica (the poshest and strongest of their everyday instant coffees) is on offer at £2 a jar which is why I ended up procuring a double brace of these along with a handful of Dr Loosen.
From Aldi I picked up the double award winning Cremant du Jura sparkling Chardonnay which, like Dr Loosen's Riesling, has been tried before here at Chateau Blogspot and is an absolute humdinger of a drink - one that, in my opinion, is vineyards better than some low entry champagnes. This will, I know, be our seaonsal festive tipple on tap to get us through the so called festive season. Also in the trolley is a Vin de Pays made with Vermintino and Sauvignon Blanc which will accompany a fish dish (kippers or fish fingers) either tomorrow or Monday.
Finally, from Booths (the northern and eminently more friendly version of Waitrose) comes a half price St Emilion which, apart from sailing in half price at £7.99, comes with a medal from the Challenge International du Vin 2008. I can see this doing some nifty accompanying along with a sweaty mature cheese and a slice of my newly made, and mildly impressive home made bread.
Will report back on tastings very soon - in the meantime I'll get the kitchen team at Chateau Blogspot to help me prepare that salad. Yes chef.
Vignes de St Pierre, 2005 - Vin de Pays d'Oc - Aldi £3.99
Dr Loosen, Reisling, 2008 - ASDA £5.48
Philippe Michel, Cremant du Jura, 2007, Chardonnay - Aldi £6.99
Here at Chateau Blogspot we've just unloaded the shopping from our Saturday tour de supermarche here in the rain swept North West and amongst all the usual mix of sundries (washing powder, Jammie Dodgers, coffee, shower gel, carrots etc) we have four ace-rated stonkers from the wine racks of Aldi, Asda and Booths.
On the menu tonight, we're defying the great British autumn weather with a warm salad of free range chicken, rocket, peppers, parmesan and Brie de Meaux which will be accompanied by the legendary Dr Loosen Riseling which will be even more enjoyable than usual as it's currently on sale in ASDA at a wallet-loving £5.48. Exactly the same thing elsewhere will knock you back the best part of £8 so get down there and snap some up. Incidentally, talking of bargains, Nescafe Alta Rica (the poshest and strongest of their everyday instant coffees) is on offer at £2 a jar which is why I ended up procuring a double brace of these along with a handful of Dr Loosen.
From Aldi I picked up the double award winning Cremant du Jura sparkling Chardonnay which, like Dr Loosen's Riesling, has been tried before here at Chateau Blogspot and is an absolute humdinger of a drink - one that, in my opinion, is vineyards better than some low entry champagnes. This will, I know, be our seaonsal festive tipple on tap to get us through the so called festive season. Also in the trolley is a Vin de Pays made with Vermintino and Sauvignon Blanc which will accompany a fish dish (kippers or fish fingers) either tomorrow or Monday.
Finally, from Booths (the northern and eminently more friendly version of Waitrose) comes a half price St Emilion which, apart from sailing in half price at £7.99, comes with a medal from the Challenge International du Vin 2008. I can see this doing some nifty accompanying along with a sweaty mature cheese and a slice of my newly made, and mildly impressive home made bread.
Will report back on tastings very soon - in the meantime I'll get the kitchen team at Chateau Blogspot to help me prepare that salad. Yes chef.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Let's commiserate with Chateau La Reine Pergason
Medoc
Chateau La Reine Pergason
2006
Aldi - £4.99 (previously £5.99)
As you will have read in my previous blog, we were all on standby on Friday to open a bottle of Chateau Reysson 2005 in the happy event that Harry passed his driving test which he took, somewhat ominously, on Friday 13. Well thanks to a few 'serious' and one or two 'dangerous' errors on his part, largely down to observation (or lack of it), the bottle remains unopened here on the review desk at Chateau Blogspot and will remain so until our next scheduled meeting with our friends from the Driving Standards Agency on December 11.
In the meantime, Harry will practice looking and observing anything that moves in close proximity to his vehicle (when driving at least) and I will continue tasting and observing anything half decent that remains hitertho undisturbed in a wine bottle.
Over the past 48 hours I've had a weekend away in deepest Cumbria on a course to learn the art of bread making. Located on the outskirts of Penrith, the Watermill at Little Salkeld is an absolute gem and well worth a detour if, like me, you enjoy wholesome, natural food sourced and prepared in natural surroundings. Without wishing to sound over-worthy or right on, in a Hoxton-Square, Guardian-Food-Monthly kind of way the place is a truly authentic champion of green enterprise and is absolutely first class in everything it is trying to achieve. It's quirky and unique and is just quietly going about its work in a small but ferociously determined way. Check out http://www.organicmill.co.uk/ to discover this amazing working mill which dates back to 1760 and is still milling flour. Anyway, from bread on to wine.
On the back seat of the car all weekend was a bottle of Medoc from Aldi. I meant to down it with a chunk of the bread I made on the course and some cheese when I returned to the hostel I was staying at in Patterdale. However, things didn't turn out that way and I ended up entertaining myself in a remote pub with a copy of The Times, a pint of beer and a packet of cheese and onion crisps. So, back at Chateau Blogspot it has just turned 5.30pm on a Sunday evening, my shirts are in the washing machine, a pizza is in the oven and I have just poured a glass of this very sound, classic Bordeaux red.
At first I thought the tannic structure was a bit too firm and undeveloped but after a quick excursion to the local garage to get some milk for tomorrow morning's Honey Nut Hoops I returned to find a wine that had opened up to deliver a really dark inky, full palate flavour with a surprisingly spicy floral bouquet. For a wine with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, a 2006 vintage is relatively short space of time in which to achieve silky tannins like these and allow the Merlot to come through in the background. The wine has been blended by famed Bordeaux wine maker Benoit Valerie Calvet whose eccentric website (even more so when translated by a Google toolbar) can be found at http://www.bvcbordeaux.com/
This is an easy drinking Claret which not only shows off M Calvet's expertise in developing such an enjoyable and well structured wine in such a short space of time but shows ALDI's expertise in pulling in serious winemakers to deliver excellent value everyday wines that would give other so-called 'ordinary' clarets from grander supermarkets (did I hear someone say Waitrose) a real run for their money.
Dinner Party Appeal: 7/10 (for an informal cheese and wine or posh burger event)
Probability of Buying Again: 9/10 (this is good, better than ordinary Claret)
Class Act: 9/10 (M Calvet has produced the wine equivalent of cheap chic)
Chateau La Reine Pergason
2006
Aldi - £4.99 (previously £5.99)
As you will have read in my previous blog, we were all on standby on Friday to open a bottle of Chateau Reysson 2005 in the happy event that Harry passed his driving test which he took, somewhat ominously, on Friday 13. Well thanks to a few 'serious' and one or two 'dangerous' errors on his part, largely down to observation (or lack of it), the bottle remains unopened here on the review desk at Chateau Blogspot and will remain so until our next scheduled meeting with our friends from the Driving Standards Agency on December 11.
In the meantime, Harry will practice looking and observing anything that moves in close proximity to his vehicle (when driving at least) and I will continue tasting and observing anything half decent that remains hitertho undisturbed in a wine bottle.
Over the past 48 hours I've had a weekend away in deepest Cumbria on a course to learn the art of bread making. Located on the outskirts of Penrith, the Watermill at Little Salkeld is an absolute gem and well worth a detour if, like me, you enjoy wholesome, natural food sourced and prepared in natural surroundings. Without wishing to sound over-worthy or right on, in a Hoxton-Square, Guardian-Food-Monthly kind of way the place is a truly authentic champion of green enterprise and is absolutely first class in everything it is trying to achieve. It's quirky and unique and is just quietly going about its work in a small but ferociously determined way. Check out http://www.organicmill.co.uk/ to discover this amazing working mill which dates back to 1760 and is still milling flour. Anyway, from bread on to wine.
On the back seat of the car all weekend was a bottle of Medoc from Aldi. I meant to down it with a chunk of the bread I made on the course and some cheese when I returned to the hostel I was staying at in Patterdale. However, things didn't turn out that way and I ended up entertaining myself in a remote pub with a copy of The Times, a pint of beer and a packet of cheese and onion crisps. So, back at Chateau Blogspot it has just turned 5.30pm on a Sunday evening, my shirts are in the washing machine, a pizza is in the oven and I have just poured a glass of this very sound, classic Bordeaux red.
At first I thought the tannic structure was a bit too firm and undeveloped but after a quick excursion to the local garage to get some milk for tomorrow morning's Honey Nut Hoops I returned to find a wine that had opened up to deliver a really dark inky, full palate flavour with a surprisingly spicy floral bouquet. For a wine with 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, a 2006 vintage is relatively short space of time in which to achieve silky tannins like these and allow the Merlot to come through in the background. The wine has been blended by famed Bordeaux wine maker Benoit Valerie Calvet whose eccentric website (even more so when translated by a Google toolbar) can be found at http://www.bvcbordeaux.com/
This is an easy drinking Claret which not only shows off M Calvet's expertise in developing such an enjoyable and well structured wine in such a short space of time but shows ALDI's expertise in pulling in serious winemakers to deliver excellent value everyday wines that would give other so-called 'ordinary' clarets from grander supermarkets (did I hear someone say Waitrose) a real run for their money.
Dinner Party Appeal: 7/10 (for an informal cheese and wine or posh burger event)
Probability of Buying Again: 9/10 (this is good, better than ordinary Claret)
Class Act: 9/10 (M Calvet has produced the wine equivalent of cheap chic)
Thursday, November 12, 2009
If he passes we crack open the Chateau Reysson
Chateau Reyson
Haut Medoc (Cru Bourgeois Superieur)
2005
Tesco £10.99
Sitting on my review desk here at Chateau Blogspot is this hugely tempting little number from the left bank of Bordeaux which is a 50:50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Now as regular and attentive readers of my blog will have come to learn, the basic rule of Bordeaux wines is that Merlot (predominantly grown on the right bank where clay soil dominates) is the full bodied wide boy while the Cabernet Sauvignon, with its greater concentration of tannins, is the more complex and sometimes aloof aristocrat, which prefers dryer, gravelly soil.
So here we have a straight down the middle spilt between Trevor (Merlot) and Tristan (Cab Sauv) but grown on the loftier left bank where Cabernet dominates and where the more complex, longer to age Bordeaux wines emerge, often with huge price tags to match.
What will be interesting to taste is whether the deep berry burst tongue coatings associated with Merlot are calmed down by the loftier Cabernet Sauvignon whose characteristic tannin substructure gives Bordeaux wines their intellectual complexity and texture. With a vintage just four years old we are asking quite a lot from Tristan and his tannins so I'm hoping they have matured enough to give the wine a silky refinement while additing a touch of austerity to Trevor's full on, up for it Merlot-fest.
Anyway, all this is purely a wine tease of the highest order and the answers to my oenological speculations will only be fully known if Harry's passes his driving test tomorrow and Ruth gets a day's home leave on Sunday. I shall keep you posted. Glasses and cork screws at the ready.
In the meantime, the beefy, mouth exploding Roc de Lussac St Emilion (see my blog of 1 November) that I bought at £7.99 is now back to its full price of £13.99. Quel horreur.
Haut Medoc (Cru Bourgeois Superieur)
2005
Tesco £10.99
Sitting on my review desk here at Chateau Blogspot is this hugely tempting little number from the left bank of Bordeaux which is a 50:50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Now as regular and attentive readers of my blog will have come to learn, the basic rule of Bordeaux wines is that Merlot (predominantly grown on the right bank where clay soil dominates) is the full bodied wide boy while the Cabernet Sauvignon, with its greater concentration of tannins, is the more complex and sometimes aloof aristocrat, which prefers dryer, gravelly soil.
So here we have a straight down the middle spilt between Trevor (Merlot) and Tristan (Cab Sauv) but grown on the loftier left bank where Cabernet dominates and where the more complex, longer to age Bordeaux wines emerge, often with huge price tags to match.
What will be interesting to taste is whether the deep berry burst tongue coatings associated with Merlot are calmed down by the loftier Cabernet Sauvignon whose characteristic tannin substructure gives Bordeaux wines their intellectual complexity and texture. With a vintage just four years old we are asking quite a lot from Tristan and his tannins so I'm hoping they have matured enough to give the wine a silky refinement while additing a touch of austerity to Trevor's full on, up for it Merlot-fest.
Anyway, all this is purely a wine tease of the highest order and the answers to my oenological speculations will only be fully known if Harry's passes his driving test tomorrow and Ruth gets a day's home leave on Sunday. I shall keep you posted. Glasses and cork screws at the ready.
In the meantime, the beefy, mouth exploding Roc de Lussac St Emilion (see my blog of 1 November) that I bought at £7.99 is now back to its full price of £13.99. Quel horreur.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
A very fine country wine
Nathalie & Co
Syrah Carignan 2007
Vine de Pays du Gard
Co-op £6.99
In these receessionary times £6.99 is a relatively steep price to pay for what, by French wine classifcation terms, is nothing more than a country wine.
However, Nathalie Estribeau, who is based in Montpelier but has made wines all over the world, hales from a wine-making family in Bordeaux so this wine does come with some very reassuring provenance and the additional cachet of winning a Gold Medal in the Top 100 Vin de Pays wines of France.
After a more fraught than usual Friday evening (balancing hospital vists to Ruth, trying to find a half decent fish and chip shop and then checking Mrs W's soon-to-be 88 year old dad had been put to bed by his carers), we sat down to this unusual bottle of wine with mixed expressions of relief and bewilderment - not so much at the wine, but more at the events of the past three hours.
So, to be fair to Mme Estribeau we were not greeting this excellently crafted wine with the calm reverence it deserved. And I think we'd also made the mistake in not allowing it to sufficiently breathe on this damp and dingy evening. That said, Harry senior's house is not too dissimilar in temperature to a sauna so this should have been no problem.
Anyway, after the tensions of the evening, my first glug was borne purely out of medical need rather than considered appreciation but the second tasting was definitely more reflective and proved to be extremely pleasing. Not having tasted the Carignan grape variety before this was a good opportunity to see how it sat along the more familiar Syrah. The Carignan grape is a bit of a naughty so and so, particularly in the European wine growing industry, as its propensity for producing high yields have given it a less than favourable reputation for contributing to the European wine lake. For all this grief, it's also quite a demanding grape to grow - requiring a hot warm climate, yet remains vulnerable to various forms of mildew as well as grape worms.
Not content with these significant issues, Carignan is also naturally high in acidity, tannins and astringency which means that you wouldn't want to try and produce a single grape wine with this variety and expect to win wine friends and influence wine people. The reason I'm telling you all this is that the bottle that sat before us is a testament to Mme Estribeau's exceptional wine making skills. Choosing a tricky grape as the main player in a Vin de Pays wine like this shows outstanding gallic nerve and determination - however, her confidence and bravado has paid off with a ballsy wine that clearly shows she has got this tricky little beast under control. Drinking this Carignan and Syrah blend over two nights revealed a real complexity and sophistication that you wouldn't ordinarily expect from a standard Vin de Pays. The wine balances its big personality with fine sensibilities; it makes a big entrance but knows how to behave once its made its way in to the room.
That said this is no standard Vin de Pays, it really is a stunning fine wine that could trip up an experienced wine buff in determinining its provenance. In terms of taste it offers layers of deep berry fruit with hints of spice delivered through firm but silky tannins. It's a bold and confident wine that smells old but tastes new and, although I hate to use this word, shows supreme competence.
This is a tough act to pull off with such a feisty old grape and on my third glass (on the second night of drinking) reminded me of my old grape friend Zinfandel. The only down-side was the slightly up-scale price which, while arguably well deserved, puts this ordinary country red into the price band of grander wines. Even so, it was worth £7 (minus a penny) to discover this tricky little Carnignan varietal on a wet November evening.
Decent Wine: 9/10
Probability of Buying Again: 8/10 (just tweak the price by 99p)
Dinner Party Appeal: 9/10 (Great looking bottle and something different to talk about)
Syrah Carignan 2007
Vine de Pays du Gard
Co-op £6.99
In these receessionary times £6.99 is a relatively steep price to pay for what, by French wine classifcation terms, is nothing more than a country wine.
However, Nathalie Estribeau, who is based in Montpelier but has made wines all over the world, hales from a wine-making family in Bordeaux so this wine does come with some very reassuring provenance and the additional cachet of winning a Gold Medal in the Top 100 Vin de Pays wines of France.
After a more fraught than usual Friday evening (balancing hospital vists to Ruth, trying to find a half decent fish and chip shop and then checking Mrs W's soon-to-be 88 year old dad had been put to bed by his carers), we sat down to this unusual bottle of wine with mixed expressions of relief and bewilderment - not so much at the wine, but more at the events of the past three hours.
So, to be fair to Mme Estribeau we were not greeting this excellently crafted wine with the calm reverence it deserved. And I think we'd also made the mistake in not allowing it to sufficiently breathe on this damp and dingy evening. That said, Harry senior's house is not too dissimilar in temperature to a sauna so this should have been no problem.
Anyway, after the tensions of the evening, my first glug was borne purely out of medical need rather than considered appreciation but the second tasting was definitely more reflective and proved to be extremely pleasing. Not having tasted the Carignan grape variety before this was a good opportunity to see how it sat along the more familiar Syrah. The Carignan grape is a bit of a naughty so and so, particularly in the European wine growing industry, as its propensity for producing high yields have given it a less than favourable reputation for contributing to the European wine lake. For all this grief, it's also quite a demanding grape to grow - requiring a hot warm climate, yet remains vulnerable to various forms of mildew as well as grape worms.
Not content with these significant issues, Carignan is also naturally high in acidity, tannins and astringency which means that you wouldn't want to try and produce a single grape wine with this variety and expect to win wine friends and influence wine people. The reason I'm telling you all this is that the bottle that sat before us is a testament to Mme Estribeau's exceptional wine making skills. Choosing a tricky grape as the main player in a Vin de Pays wine like this shows outstanding gallic nerve and determination - however, her confidence and bravado has paid off with a ballsy wine that clearly shows she has got this tricky little beast under control. Drinking this Carignan and Syrah blend over two nights revealed a real complexity and sophistication that you wouldn't ordinarily expect from a standard Vin de Pays. The wine balances its big personality with fine sensibilities; it makes a big entrance but knows how to behave once its made its way in to the room.
That said this is no standard Vin de Pays, it really is a stunning fine wine that could trip up an experienced wine buff in determinining its provenance. In terms of taste it offers layers of deep berry fruit with hints of spice delivered through firm but silky tannins. It's a bold and confident wine that smells old but tastes new and, although I hate to use this word, shows supreme competence.
This is a tough act to pull off with such a feisty old grape and on my third glass (on the second night of drinking) reminded me of my old grape friend Zinfandel. The only down-side was the slightly up-scale price which, while arguably well deserved, puts this ordinary country red into the price band of grander wines. Even so, it was worth £7 (minus a penny) to discover this tricky little Carnignan varietal on a wet November evening.
Decent Wine: 9/10
Probability of Buying Again: 8/10 (just tweak the price by 99p)
Dinner Party Appeal: 9/10 (Great looking bottle and something different to talk about)
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Goodbye Thresher's
Now let's have some exciting LOCAL wine shops on the high street
The news this weekend that the UK wine merchants Threshers has gone into administration must surely come as little surprise to many people who, if they had any sense, found that their whole 3 for 2 concept was not really the bargain it seemed to be. Not only that but surely it was commercially unsustainable when many UK supermarkets were able to offer even more exciting wines at even more exciting prices.
According to the official administrators KPMG, they have been deluged with offers by various companies eager to grab either part of all of Thresher's massive UK estate of wine shops. My only hope is that KPMG adopts an enlightened approach and sees this as the chance to offer up the UK wide network to financially robust wine retailers who can finally bring us something imaginative to the UK high street.
In my dreams I'd like to see a network of UK wine shops that have a very local appeal but also respect the fact that many more people in the UK know about the wines they like than they did 20 or 30 years ago. We're all now far better informed and we all know what we like - so new wine shops need to reflect this - and give us the chance to have tasting sessions or club evenings. After all, where there's a decent wine, there's often a decent conversation.
In my opinion, where Threshers failed was in trying to offer the widest selection of wines from all over the world (which in many small retail spaces simply isn't possible) regardless of location or local demographic. My approach would be to have stores that celebrated new and exciting wines across all price ranges, from the traditional to the very modern, with each store reflecting (or trying to) the social and economic demographic of the area.
Alternatively, I can only hope that in some parts where there currently isn't an Oddbins or a Nicholas, that these start spreading their wings to some of the blank areas of the wine retailing map here in the UK. Let's face it we don't all want to be drinking Turning Leaf and Echo Falls after a hard week in the office.
In my wildest dreams I'd like my local Threshers to be transformed in to an easy going wine warehouse-style outlet offering traditional wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Alscace and Languedoc - along with New World offerings from Aussie, New Zealand, California and South America. The idea would be to give buyers the chance to taste new and exciting wines and buy stuff by the bottle, the crate or the lorry load. In my dreams indeed.
In the meantime, cheers to Thresher's and all their dedicated staff for doing a pretty decent job in local high streets up and down the country.
Times do change so lets hope some of your friendly and helpful staff will be found behind the counters of your successors.
The news this weekend that the UK wine merchants Threshers has gone into administration must surely come as little surprise to many people who, if they had any sense, found that their whole 3 for 2 concept was not really the bargain it seemed to be. Not only that but surely it was commercially unsustainable when many UK supermarkets were able to offer even more exciting wines at even more exciting prices.
According to the official administrators KPMG, they have been deluged with offers by various companies eager to grab either part of all of Thresher's massive UK estate of wine shops. My only hope is that KPMG adopts an enlightened approach and sees this as the chance to offer up the UK wide network to financially robust wine retailers who can finally bring us something imaginative to the UK high street.
In my dreams I'd like to see a network of UK wine shops that have a very local appeal but also respect the fact that many more people in the UK know about the wines they like than they did 20 or 30 years ago. We're all now far better informed and we all know what we like - so new wine shops need to reflect this - and give us the chance to have tasting sessions or club evenings. After all, where there's a decent wine, there's often a decent conversation.
In my opinion, where Threshers failed was in trying to offer the widest selection of wines from all over the world (which in many small retail spaces simply isn't possible) regardless of location or local demographic. My approach would be to have stores that celebrated new and exciting wines across all price ranges, from the traditional to the very modern, with each store reflecting (or trying to) the social and economic demographic of the area.
Alternatively, I can only hope that in some parts where there currently isn't an Oddbins or a Nicholas, that these start spreading their wings to some of the blank areas of the wine retailing map here in the UK. Let's face it we don't all want to be drinking Turning Leaf and Echo Falls after a hard week in the office.
In my wildest dreams I'd like my local Threshers to be transformed in to an easy going wine warehouse-style outlet offering traditional wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Alscace and Languedoc - along with New World offerings from Aussie, New Zealand, California and South America. The idea would be to give buyers the chance to taste new and exciting wines and buy stuff by the bottle, the crate or the lorry load. In my dreams indeed.
In the meantime, cheers to Thresher's and all their dedicated staff for doing a pretty decent job in local high streets up and down the country.
Times do change so lets hope some of your friendly and helpful staff will be found behind the counters of your successors.
Rock on (in a quiet kind of way) Roc de Lussac
Roc de Lussac
Lussac St Emilion 2007
Sainsbury's
£6.99
In his eminently readable guide (no Bible) to the wines of Bordeaux, Oz Clarke writes an interesting piece where he declares that his early sobbery towards the area's right bank wines such as St Emilion and Pomerol were, in effect, denying him of the intrinsic pleasure of what wine is all about - enjoying and celebrating life.
For many serious wine buffs, and here I mean seriously serious (dare I say it snobby) wine buffs, pursuing the highly revered left bank wines of the Medoc is the oenological equivalent of Tony Blair ploughing his ambitions and energies into Europe rather than the UK. His ten year obsession with the latter (rowdy, boisterous and full-on) was just a precursor to the more rewarding but arguably considerably more complex, leathery tannined subtlety offered by European politics.
So just to make my analogy finally come to life, left banks wines (Margaux, Paulliac, Haut Medoc etc) are more subtle and complex than their right bank counterparts, and take more time to reach their full potential - and even then they offer a distinct intellectual experience thanks to their predominant use of the lofty, occasionally stand-offish Cabernet Sauvignon grape. By contrast, the right bank wide boys from St Emilion, St Estephe etc prefer to strut their stuff with lavish blinged up Merlot which makes their wines exhuberant, bursting with fruit and melting with flavour.
Just one more analogy I can't resist - for left bank Bordeaux take as stuffy, stand offish merchant banker from stockbroker-belted Esher. For right bank Bordeaux take as cheeky little up start from the free thinking parts of Fulham and Putney - up for it and ready for a night on the vines.
So last night, Halloween, we had a nice little treat with a wine that is often on offer in Sainsbury's at this time of the year - Roc de Lussac, St Emilion - which was indeed a cheeky unbelted number which went well with a seriously hairy chested Le Rustique unpasteurised cambembert, chunks of French bread and a garlic dressed tomato and lettuce salad.
Harry wasn't drinking, thanks to a dodgy pizza in Clitheroe, but Mrs W was which meant we had equal share of a far too drinkable, gutsy, fruit bursting St Emilion. Thanks to the inside temperature of Mrs W's domain (3 degrees cooler than a sauna) the wine was alive in so many different ways with a really confident 'come and sniff me' aroma and a silky, red berry presentation on the palate. There's nothing overly special or indeed mind blowing about this wine, but it was exactly what I look for in a St Emilion, something that makes me feel and want to drink at least three bottles of the stuff in a single sitting. It's a wine that gets you talking about life, not a wine that gets you talking about itself.
It's exactly what I think Oz Clarke means about the difference between left and right. Last night we had a wine for an evening that was all about fun and frivolity - no one takes Halloween seriously at our place, even the token gesture bag of treat size Crunchies were left half abandoned by the door way, with one handed to the district nurse on the way out!
If you want a decent St Emilion that puts you in the mood for celebrating life (or indeed Halloween) this is the one to do it in bucket loads. It's the thinking person's party wine for people who want a good time without their belts on.
Dinner Party Appeal: 8/10 (relaxed dinner party)
Value for Money: 10/10 (at the current discount price this is very good value)
Probability of buying again: 10/10 (while stocks last at this price. normal price of £13.99 is too dear for what you get)
Lussac St Emilion 2007
Sainsbury's
£6.99
In his eminently readable guide (no Bible) to the wines of Bordeaux, Oz Clarke writes an interesting piece where he declares that his early sobbery towards the area's right bank wines such as St Emilion and Pomerol were, in effect, denying him of the intrinsic pleasure of what wine is all about - enjoying and celebrating life.
For many serious wine buffs, and here I mean seriously serious (dare I say it snobby) wine buffs, pursuing the highly revered left bank wines of the Medoc is the oenological equivalent of Tony Blair ploughing his ambitions and energies into Europe rather than the UK. His ten year obsession with the latter (rowdy, boisterous and full-on) was just a precursor to the more rewarding but arguably considerably more complex, leathery tannined subtlety offered by European politics.
So just to make my analogy finally come to life, left banks wines (Margaux, Paulliac, Haut Medoc etc) are more subtle and complex than their right bank counterparts, and take more time to reach their full potential - and even then they offer a distinct intellectual experience thanks to their predominant use of the lofty, occasionally stand-offish Cabernet Sauvignon grape. By contrast, the right bank wide boys from St Emilion, St Estephe etc prefer to strut their stuff with lavish blinged up Merlot which makes their wines exhuberant, bursting with fruit and melting with flavour.
Just one more analogy I can't resist - for left bank Bordeaux take as stuffy, stand offish merchant banker from stockbroker-belted Esher. For right bank Bordeaux take as cheeky little up start from the free thinking parts of Fulham and Putney - up for it and ready for a night on the vines.
So last night, Halloween, we had a nice little treat with a wine that is often on offer in Sainsbury's at this time of the year - Roc de Lussac, St Emilion - which was indeed a cheeky unbelted number which went well with a seriously hairy chested Le Rustique unpasteurised cambembert, chunks of French bread and a garlic dressed tomato and lettuce salad.
Harry wasn't drinking, thanks to a dodgy pizza in Clitheroe, but Mrs W was which meant we had equal share of a far too drinkable, gutsy, fruit bursting St Emilion. Thanks to the inside temperature of Mrs W's domain (3 degrees cooler than a sauna) the wine was alive in so many different ways with a really confident 'come and sniff me' aroma and a silky, red berry presentation on the palate. There's nothing overly special or indeed mind blowing about this wine, but it was exactly what I look for in a St Emilion, something that makes me feel and want to drink at least three bottles of the stuff in a single sitting. It's a wine that gets you talking about life, not a wine that gets you talking about itself.
It's exactly what I think Oz Clarke means about the difference between left and right. Last night we had a wine for an evening that was all about fun and frivolity - no one takes Halloween seriously at our place, even the token gesture bag of treat size Crunchies were left half abandoned by the door way, with one handed to the district nurse on the way out!
If you want a decent St Emilion that puts you in the mood for celebrating life (or indeed Halloween) this is the one to do it in bucket loads. It's the thinking person's party wine for people who want a good time without their belts on.
Dinner Party Appeal: 8/10 (relaxed dinner party)
Value for Money: 10/10 (at the current discount price this is very good value)
Probability of buying again: 10/10 (while stocks last at this price. normal price of £13.99 is too dear for what you get)
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Robert Mondavi - your judgement was right. Premium is best.
Robert Mondavi
Woodbridge
2006
Cabernet Sauvignon
When it comes to the greats of Californian Wine, Robert Mondavi is undoubtedly the brightest star shining in the firmamanent of New World wines, and in particular the constellation to be found hovering over the skies of Napa Valley. Little suprise then that he was named Decanter Magazine's Man of the Year way back in 1989.
Robert Mondavi had a simple belief that wine should be an integral part of every day life and this has, without doubt, been supremely displayed in the staggering array of premium quality wines to have come from the Robert Mondavi winery which he founded in 1966 - incidentally when I was just four years old. When establishing this winery his vision was to create premium quality wines that would stand high and proud against the greatest legends from vineyards in Europe - and this he did supremely well, even collaborating with Baron Rothschild to create the Opus One Winery and some awesome legendary wines in the process.
When I first started getting interested in wine in the early 1980s, Robert Mondavi was the man from California that everyone was talking about, so I was desperate to blow some money from my student grant (not loan in those days) on a bottle. However, I had to wait until I started working to afford this pleasure and remember ordering my first bottle of Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc in 1984 when I took the very young and beautiful Mrs W (then my girlfriend) to Brinkleys Restaurant in Hollywood Road, Fulham. Sade's Diamond Life was playing in the background and we had an astonishing meal for two for the princely (and hugely unaffordable) sum of £40. At the time I was on £5,200 a year. However, it was a fantastic evening made particularly special by a truly wonderful and unique wine which to this day I haven't forgotten.
So when I came home yesterday raving to Harry that I had picked up a Robert Mondavi wine at ASDA reduced from £7.99 to £5 I could hardly contain my enthusiasm and excitement, explaining why Mondavi wines were definitely where it's at when it comes to the very finest in Californian wines.
However, I have to say that my enthusiasm soon waned after tasting what I felt to be a highly capable but unremarkable wine - one for which the Mondavis in recent years have arguably been criticised for producing, at least within its Woodbridge and Coastal brands. Indeed the wine we drank last night is the kind of commercial global wine which came to light in the controversial film Mondovino which looked at how the traditional vineyards of Europe were being globalised by US wineries eager to buy up family vineyards to create a more palatable universal offering regardless of local tastes and 'terrioir'.
What Harry, Ruth and I drank with our pizza and salad last night was highly likeable in the same way that some Broadway or West End musical entertainment show has drawn in a generation of unquestioning yet ecstatically delighted followers. However, it was neither unique nor memorable in the way that bottle of Fume Blanc was back in 1984.
In 2003, Robert Mondavi, speaking in an interview to the New York Times, criticised his sons for driving forward the company's lower priced Coastal and Woodbridge brands in preference to the premium end wines for which the Robert Mondavi brand had become associated. He was clearly unsettled by the fact that his winery had become associated with wines at the more affordable end of the price spectrum, remarking to the New York Times journalist that restaurants no longer offered them on wine lists. ''We've got to get our image back, and that's going to take time,'' he said.
I'm sure Harry and Ruth will readily agree, last night's Cabernet Sauvignon was extremely drinkable and offered a pleasing mix of dark berry flavours with a slight aniseed and chocolate aroma. However, it didn't make a remarkable or distinctive impression on the palate - it was just a very sound wine. But instantly forgettable.
Mr Mondavi - your very sound judgement was right. I am now going in search of a bottle of your famous Fume Blanc. Long live premium quality wines with the personality and price tag to match.
However, this is nevertheless a hugely drinkable, safe bet and won't let you down- and at this price it's a bargain. But a conversation stopper it ain't. Just like my M & S suit. It does what it says on the packet but doesn't turn any eyebrows.
Dinner Party Appeal: 9/10 (highly drinkable, and as sound as a pound)
Value for Money: 9/10 (this is a great bargain at £5)
Probability of Buying Again: 4/10 (I'd rather save my money for the real Mondavi experience with its less easily obtainable premium brand - check out Majestic Wines online)
Woodbridge
2006
Cabernet Sauvignon
When it comes to the greats of Californian Wine, Robert Mondavi is undoubtedly the brightest star shining in the firmamanent of New World wines, and in particular the constellation to be found hovering over the skies of Napa Valley. Little suprise then that he was named Decanter Magazine's Man of the Year way back in 1989.
Robert Mondavi had a simple belief that wine should be an integral part of every day life and this has, without doubt, been supremely displayed in the staggering array of premium quality wines to have come from the Robert Mondavi winery which he founded in 1966 - incidentally when I was just four years old. When establishing this winery his vision was to create premium quality wines that would stand high and proud against the greatest legends from vineyards in Europe - and this he did supremely well, even collaborating with Baron Rothschild to create the Opus One Winery and some awesome legendary wines in the process.
When I first started getting interested in wine in the early 1980s, Robert Mondavi was the man from California that everyone was talking about, so I was desperate to blow some money from my student grant (not loan in those days) on a bottle. However, I had to wait until I started working to afford this pleasure and remember ordering my first bottle of Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc in 1984 when I took the very young and beautiful Mrs W (then my girlfriend) to Brinkleys Restaurant in Hollywood Road, Fulham. Sade's Diamond Life was playing in the background and we had an astonishing meal for two for the princely (and hugely unaffordable) sum of £40. At the time I was on £5,200 a year. However, it was a fantastic evening made particularly special by a truly wonderful and unique wine which to this day I haven't forgotten.
So when I came home yesterday raving to Harry that I had picked up a Robert Mondavi wine at ASDA reduced from £7.99 to £5 I could hardly contain my enthusiasm and excitement, explaining why Mondavi wines were definitely where it's at when it comes to the very finest in Californian wines.
However, I have to say that my enthusiasm soon waned after tasting what I felt to be a highly capable but unremarkable wine - one for which the Mondavis in recent years have arguably been criticised for producing, at least within its Woodbridge and Coastal brands. Indeed the wine we drank last night is the kind of commercial global wine which came to light in the controversial film Mondovino which looked at how the traditional vineyards of Europe were being globalised by US wineries eager to buy up family vineyards to create a more palatable universal offering regardless of local tastes and 'terrioir'.
What Harry, Ruth and I drank with our pizza and salad last night was highly likeable in the same way that some Broadway or West End musical entertainment show has drawn in a generation of unquestioning yet ecstatically delighted followers. However, it was neither unique nor memorable in the way that bottle of Fume Blanc was back in 1984.
In 2003, Robert Mondavi, speaking in an interview to the New York Times, criticised his sons for driving forward the company's lower priced Coastal and Woodbridge brands in preference to the premium end wines for which the Robert Mondavi brand had become associated. He was clearly unsettled by the fact that his winery had become associated with wines at the more affordable end of the price spectrum, remarking to the New York Times journalist that restaurants no longer offered them on wine lists. ''We've got to get our image back, and that's going to take time,'' he said.
I'm sure Harry and Ruth will readily agree, last night's Cabernet Sauvignon was extremely drinkable and offered a pleasing mix of dark berry flavours with a slight aniseed and chocolate aroma. However, it didn't make a remarkable or distinctive impression on the palate - it was just a very sound wine. But instantly forgettable.
Mr Mondavi - your very sound judgement was right. I am now going in search of a bottle of your famous Fume Blanc. Long live premium quality wines with the personality and price tag to match.
However, this is nevertheless a hugely drinkable, safe bet and won't let you down- and at this price it's a bargain. But a conversation stopper it ain't. Just like my M & S suit. It does what it says on the packet but doesn't turn any eyebrows.
Dinner Party Appeal: 9/10 (highly drinkable, and as sound as a pound)
Value for Money: 9/10 (this is a great bargain at £5)
Probability of Buying Again: 4/10 (I'd rather save my money for the real Mondavi experience with its less easily obtainable premium brand - check out Majestic Wines online)
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
I can feel an award ceremony coming on
Award winning wines from Aldi
Well you know it's nearly Christmas when the lights go up in your local high street during October half term, mince pies are stacked higher than santa's grotto in your local Tesco and, yes, all of a sudden there's a whole plethora (that's a large amount to you and me) of award ceremonies on TV. You know the kind of thing, Soap of the Year, TV personality of the year, non-entity of the year and all that.
Well my wine blog has been going for less than a month but it's come to my attention that an award ceremony is well over due. So, for the rest of October and all of November I've decided that I am only going to review wines that, for some reason or other, have won an accolade from a notable and trustworthy source.
So coming this week I'll be looking at Champagnes and sparkling wines from a store who claims to have Award winning wines from just £2.99. Even our highly respected guru Mr Oz Clarke has a very pleasant word or two to say about their Cremant de Jura, £5.99, so we'll be cracking open a bottle or three this weekend to see if this really is better than some Champagnes.
I'll also be checking out Aldi's Bushland Reserve Australian Shiraz which has already wowed Oz Clarke back in 2007 and should wow him even more with a price tag of just £3.99.
And I'll also be comparing these with some pricier numbers from other stores to see if price doesn't always guarantee perfection.
Well you know it's nearly Christmas when the lights go up in your local high street during October half term, mince pies are stacked higher than santa's grotto in your local Tesco and, yes, all of a sudden there's a whole plethora (that's a large amount to you and me) of award ceremonies on TV. You know the kind of thing, Soap of the Year, TV personality of the year, non-entity of the year and all that.
Well my wine blog has been going for less than a month but it's come to my attention that an award ceremony is well over due. So, for the rest of October and all of November I've decided that I am only going to review wines that, for some reason or other, have won an accolade from a notable and trustworthy source.
So coming this week I'll be looking at Champagnes and sparkling wines from a store who claims to have Award winning wines from just £2.99. Even our highly respected guru Mr Oz Clarke has a very pleasant word or two to say about their Cremant de Jura, £5.99, so we'll be cracking open a bottle or three this weekend to see if this really is better than some Champagnes.
I'll also be checking out Aldi's Bushland Reserve Australian Shiraz which has already wowed Oz Clarke back in 2007 and should wow him even more with a price tag of just £3.99.
And I'll also be comparing these with some pricier numbers from other stores to see if price doesn't always guarantee perfection.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
A country wine with a touch of city refinement
Vin de Pays de Cotes de Gascogne
The Co-op
£3.79 (price to be confirmed)
I'm not quite sure how I managed to miss this bottle of white lurking on the bottom shelf of our fridge but I came across it this evening while looking for, of all things, a new pack of butter. Sadly, our butter supplies are completely depleted but in its place sat this simple, unassuming Vin de Pays.
I don't recall buying it so I'm presuming it was procured by Sally & Bill (sister and brother in law) who have taken a serious, life long vow only to ever drink white French wine. It's a noble cause but one that I cannot subscribe to as it would require me to (a) avoid drinking wine that was red and (b) devouring wines from Bordeaux, which regular readers of this blog (all two of you) will know is one of my unavoidable (and equally unaffordable) obsessions.
Anyway, this chance encounter on the bottom shelf of the fridge with this country number from South West France provided me, Harry and Ruth with the excuse for a pre-dinner aperitif before we sat down to a truly exceptional Spagehetti Bologneise crafted by my son and heir. The young man was waxing lyrical about his Italian creation so I decided to calm him down with a pre-dinner glass of white wine which we drank alongside some left over cheese in the fridge.
Under the French wine classification system, a Vin de Pays wine is essentially a country wine - effectively better than a Vin de Table (plonk to you and me) but with not quite the reassuring provenance offered by a Vin de Pays D'Oc (which basically means that the origin of the wine comes from a designated territory).
So before us this evening stood, metaphorically speaking, a rough country lad in a green bottle with about as much pedigree as Kerry Katona's freezer and with all the doubts and misconceptions that this inevitably brings. However, my first, second and third glugs proved me wrong (not about Kerry Katona's freezer) but about the unexpected delights offered by this crisp, clean and refreshing wine which is made up of three grape varieties - Columbard, Ugni Blanc and Gros Manseng. I have to admit that I've only heard of the first of these grape varieties but I can also happily say that they all work well together to create a wine that has lemony citrus notes with a light clean vanilly taste.
The whole thing sits nicely on the palate and as the wine begins to lose some of its fridge temperature it becomes quite fragrant in a freshia (not freezer) and melony kind of way.
Emminently drinkable and with a smoother than expected composition, this is a highly acceptable and highly affordable aperitif - perfect for pre-dinner drinks with nice folk from the city or equally nice folk from the country. Who cares precisely where it has come from, it's nice to have found its way into my glass this evening.
On a more general note, and no disrespect to the glowing reference I've given this bottle, white wines do tend to get on my nerves after the second glass in a way that reds never do - unless they're truly atrocious. So even though I find it highly agreeable, I'd be moving on to something with more guts for the main course - and it would probably, no definitely, be red.
Dinner Party Appeal: 8/10 (more as an aperitif than the main centre of attention)
Value for Money: 9/10 (laughable price for the quality)
Probability of Buying Again: 8/10 (as a standby for drinks with nibbles I'd be daft not to)
The Co-op
£3.79 (price to be confirmed)
I'm not quite sure how I managed to miss this bottle of white lurking on the bottom shelf of our fridge but I came across it this evening while looking for, of all things, a new pack of butter. Sadly, our butter supplies are completely depleted but in its place sat this simple, unassuming Vin de Pays.
I don't recall buying it so I'm presuming it was procured by Sally & Bill (sister and brother in law) who have taken a serious, life long vow only to ever drink white French wine. It's a noble cause but one that I cannot subscribe to as it would require me to (a) avoid drinking wine that was red and (b) devouring wines from Bordeaux, which regular readers of this blog (all two of you) will know is one of my unavoidable (and equally unaffordable) obsessions.
Anyway, this chance encounter on the bottom shelf of the fridge with this country number from South West France provided me, Harry and Ruth with the excuse for a pre-dinner aperitif before we sat down to a truly exceptional Spagehetti Bologneise crafted by my son and heir. The young man was waxing lyrical about his Italian creation so I decided to calm him down with a pre-dinner glass of white wine which we drank alongside some left over cheese in the fridge.
Under the French wine classification system, a Vin de Pays wine is essentially a country wine - effectively better than a Vin de Table (plonk to you and me) but with not quite the reassuring provenance offered by a Vin de Pays D'Oc (which basically means that the origin of the wine comes from a designated territory).
So before us this evening stood, metaphorically speaking, a rough country lad in a green bottle with about as much pedigree as Kerry Katona's freezer and with all the doubts and misconceptions that this inevitably brings. However, my first, second and third glugs proved me wrong (not about Kerry Katona's freezer) but about the unexpected delights offered by this crisp, clean and refreshing wine which is made up of three grape varieties - Columbard, Ugni Blanc and Gros Manseng. I have to admit that I've only heard of the first of these grape varieties but I can also happily say that they all work well together to create a wine that has lemony citrus notes with a light clean vanilly taste.
The whole thing sits nicely on the palate and as the wine begins to lose some of its fridge temperature it becomes quite fragrant in a freshia (not freezer) and melony kind of way.
Emminently drinkable and with a smoother than expected composition, this is a highly acceptable and highly affordable aperitif - perfect for pre-dinner drinks with nice folk from the city or equally nice folk from the country. Who cares precisely where it has come from, it's nice to have found its way into my glass this evening.
On a more general note, and no disrespect to the glowing reference I've given this bottle, white wines do tend to get on my nerves after the second glass in a way that reds never do - unless they're truly atrocious. So even though I find it highly agreeable, I'd be moving on to something with more guts for the main course - and it would probably, no definitely, be red.
Dinner Party Appeal: 8/10 (more as an aperitif than the main centre of attention)
Value for Money: 9/10 (laughable price for the quality)
Probability of Buying Again: 8/10 (as a standby for drinks with nibbles I'd be daft not to)
Monday, October 12, 2009
Heritage Road - a wine that says G'day and means it
Heritage Road
2008 Reserve
Merlot South Eastern Australia
Price to be confirmed - reckon 3 for 2 at Tesco, £5 a bottle
In my opinion, food on a Monday night should fall somewhere between nursery fare and school dinners. Let's face it, the first day back on a new working week really doesn't warrant any major culinary celebration at the dining table, especially in these increasingly dark and gloomy autumn nights. Basically, on a night like this all I want is something quick, tasty and comforting - maybe with a drop of wine left over from the weekend.
This evening's meal was some old Portobello mushrooms fried in butter and plonked on a slice of rustic wholemeal toast. It was washed down with a deservedly rugged glass of Merlot from Heritage Wines - a brand developed, according to its website, by Lisa McGuigan, the daughter of Brian McGuigan of McGuigan Wines. A former winemaker at the highly regarded Barossa Valley-based Penfolds Winery, Mr McGuigan and his daughter certainly know their craft and can bring to the table some really punchy numbers.
The bottle accompanying my mushrooms on toast was in fact a present from my brother in law who told me he wanted to buy me something French - he knows me too well. However, this little number 12,000 miles south is considerably better than equally priced Gallic offerings and is a very capable, drinkable Merlot - particularly so given its youth (2008).
On first tasting, I did wonder whether it was a touch on the watery side but three glugs later it started to show some body and a bit of flexibility. The intensity of flavour is not as strong as its deep ruby colour nor its seductive red berry bouqet suggests - "but come off it mate", as they might say in Aussie, "the stuff is younger than a marsupial's first birthday so what do you expect". And quite right too.
Handsomely presented and competitively priced, this is a respectable young up start from Down Under and one that I would certainly put on the table for a night of washing down pizzas, french bread and cheese or a wintery caserole. This is the kind of Aussie wine that says G'day to you and lets you get on with it, rather than tries southern hemisphere gentility by putting on a fake English accent.
Very Decent Wine: 7/10 (it's honest - and therefore decent for being so)
Dinner Party Appeal: 7/10 (probably feels more at home on the barbie)
Probability of buying again: 8/10 (why not, it's a well crafted wine and nicely priced)
Value for Money: 9/10 (current supermarket deals suggest this is a blinder mate)
2008 Reserve
Merlot South Eastern Australia
Price to be confirmed - reckon 3 for 2 at Tesco, £5 a bottle
In my opinion, food on a Monday night should fall somewhere between nursery fare and school dinners. Let's face it, the first day back on a new working week really doesn't warrant any major culinary celebration at the dining table, especially in these increasingly dark and gloomy autumn nights. Basically, on a night like this all I want is something quick, tasty and comforting - maybe with a drop of wine left over from the weekend.
This evening's meal was some old Portobello mushrooms fried in butter and plonked on a slice of rustic wholemeal toast. It was washed down with a deservedly rugged glass of Merlot from Heritage Wines - a brand developed, according to its website, by Lisa McGuigan, the daughter of Brian McGuigan of McGuigan Wines. A former winemaker at the highly regarded Barossa Valley-based Penfolds Winery, Mr McGuigan and his daughter certainly know their craft and can bring to the table some really punchy numbers.
The bottle accompanying my mushrooms on toast was in fact a present from my brother in law who told me he wanted to buy me something French - he knows me too well. However, this little number 12,000 miles south is considerably better than equally priced Gallic offerings and is a very capable, drinkable Merlot - particularly so given its youth (2008).
On first tasting, I did wonder whether it was a touch on the watery side but three glugs later it started to show some body and a bit of flexibility. The intensity of flavour is not as strong as its deep ruby colour nor its seductive red berry bouqet suggests - "but come off it mate", as they might say in Aussie, "the stuff is younger than a marsupial's first birthday so what do you expect". And quite right too.
Handsomely presented and competitively priced, this is a respectable young up start from Down Under and one that I would certainly put on the table for a night of washing down pizzas, french bread and cheese or a wintery caserole. This is the kind of Aussie wine that says G'day to you and lets you get on with it, rather than tries southern hemisphere gentility by putting on a fake English accent.
Very Decent Wine: 7/10 (it's honest - and therefore decent for being so)
Dinner Party Appeal: 7/10 (probably feels more at home on the barbie)
Probability of buying again: 8/10 (why not, it's a well crafted wine and nicely priced)
Value for Money: 9/10 (current supermarket deals suggest this is a blinder mate)
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Close Encounter with La Closerie de Malescasse
La Closerie de Malescasse
Haut Medoc
2003
Aldi Stores £9.99
Last week saw three momentous events - I became 47, Harry failed his second driving test and Ruth made a good enough recovery to start coming home for visits from hospital.
Even with Harry's disappointment, I felt that the best way to celebrate and commiserate in equal measure was to crack open a bottle that had been in the rack for, ooh, all of 24 hours. The bottle in question was a Grand Vin de Bordeaux Claret from Aldi's Premium Wine selection and I'm pleased to say that this little number lived up to its premium position on the shelves. However, just to temper my enthusiasm slightly I found this particular wine not quite as intense nor as well rounded as the previous bombshell from Aldi the Chateau Grand Pey Lescours, 2004, see further down the blog for my entry on 2 October, which was an absolute 5* delight.
This may be partly due to the fact that La Closerie de Malescasse is, in fact, the second label (and therefore in classification terms the lesser) of the Chateau Malescasse which is a Cru Bourgois Superieur. By the way, for those of you who have yet to get your heads around the complex classification of Bordeaux wines fear not as copious help is at hand with what I believe to be the definitive and only truly readable guide to the whole subject written by none other than Oz Clarke. The book, unsurprisingly titled 'Bordeaux', is published by Time Warner Books and remains one of the best bed time reads of the last decade, particularly if you like Bordeaux wines and even more so if you like Mr Clarke's emminently readable style. The man's a genius.
Anyway, back to this little number which, even though its classification effectively makes it a poorer cousin against its grander brother, is a perfect example of a light and supple claret which is a true pleasure to drink. Thanks to its ripe tannins and smooth flavours of red berries the wine had enough personality to stand up for itself against a very gutsy French meal of ratatouille and a cheese board of hairy chested Camberbert and Brie. In fact, the wine very much came in to its own alongside all these rapidly devoured food items.
Where it was a tad disappointing was with its lack of length on the palate and a certain shallowness in intensity. It all slipped down far too easily without making a full flavour close encounter on the palate. Even so, despite its lightness of touch, I enjoyed it very much.
All in all a very good example of a well made, well contructed Claret that would please many different palates. However, it didn't quite deserve the detailed consideration I thought I would need to give a wine of this provenance - and because of this it lost a few points. However, it's a sure fire bet for poise and elegance, if less of a winner on the big flavours I was looking for.
Very Decent Wine: 7/10
Dinner Party Appeal: 6/10 (others might steal the show)
Probability of buying again: 6/10
Value for Money: 5/10 (another £1 buys you a very different wine altogether - Chateau Grand Pey Lescours, also from Aldi)
Haut Medoc
2003
Aldi Stores £9.99
Last week saw three momentous events - I became 47, Harry failed his second driving test and Ruth made a good enough recovery to start coming home for visits from hospital.
Even with Harry's disappointment, I felt that the best way to celebrate and commiserate in equal measure was to crack open a bottle that had been in the rack for, ooh, all of 24 hours. The bottle in question was a Grand Vin de Bordeaux Claret from Aldi's Premium Wine selection and I'm pleased to say that this little number lived up to its premium position on the shelves. However, just to temper my enthusiasm slightly I found this particular wine not quite as intense nor as well rounded as the previous bombshell from Aldi the Chateau Grand Pey Lescours, 2004, see further down the blog for my entry on 2 October, which was an absolute 5* delight.
This may be partly due to the fact that La Closerie de Malescasse is, in fact, the second label (and therefore in classification terms the lesser) of the Chateau Malescasse which is a Cru Bourgois Superieur. By the way, for those of you who have yet to get your heads around the complex classification of Bordeaux wines fear not as copious help is at hand with what I believe to be the definitive and only truly readable guide to the whole subject written by none other than Oz Clarke. The book, unsurprisingly titled 'Bordeaux', is published by Time Warner Books and remains one of the best bed time reads of the last decade, particularly if you like Bordeaux wines and even more so if you like Mr Clarke's emminently readable style. The man's a genius.
Anyway, back to this little number which, even though its classification effectively makes it a poorer cousin against its grander brother, is a perfect example of a light and supple claret which is a true pleasure to drink. Thanks to its ripe tannins and smooth flavours of red berries the wine had enough personality to stand up for itself against a very gutsy French meal of ratatouille and a cheese board of hairy chested Camberbert and Brie. In fact, the wine very much came in to its own alongside all these rapidly devoured food items.
Where it was a tad disappointing was with its lack of length on the palate and a certain shallowness in intensity. It all slipped down far too easily without making a full flavour close encounter on the palate. Even so, despite its lightness of touch, I enjoyed it very much.
All in all a very good example of a well made, well contructed Claret that would please many different palates. However, it didn't quite deserve the detailed consideration I thought I would need to give a wine of this provenance - and because of this it lost a few points. However, it's a sure fire bet for poise and elegance, if less of a winner on the big flavours I was looking for.
Very Decent Wine: 7/10
Dinner Party Appeal: 6/10 (others might steal the show)
Probability of buying again: 6/10
Value for Money: 5/10 (another £1 buys you a very different wine altogether - Chateau Grand Pey Lescours, also from Aldi)
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Lovely Jubbly Chablis
Chablis
2007
Vin de Bourgogne
Lidl Stores £6.98
One week into my wine blog and we bump into our first bottle of white wine, and a fairly decent one it is too.
My sister and her husband have dropped in for the week to help out while Ruth is in hospital and the first evening's meal could only really be accompanied by white wine, for the simple reason that Sally and Bill are white wine drinkers. They're big on Muscadets and anything from Burgundy, and also like Pouilly Fuisse and Poully Fume. In other words, they like a decent bottle of French white that is simple and easy to drink and ideally comes with a bit of class.
On a limited budget you don't get a lot for your money in the Burgundy white section of any supermarket which is why I thought I'd try and kid them with a handsome bottle sitting on the shelves of Lidl. As I later explained to my sister (a very loyal Waitrose shopper and very regular visitor to its uber-smart store in genteel Lymington), Lidl is an even cheaper version of ALDI which is rapidly becoming quite a respectable shopping venue in its own right. Lidl however is still quite a raw, bare fluorescent tube-lit, in your face shopping experience and not for the feint hearted. Unless you're a hard core bargain hunter like me.
So, if you really can put all your preconceptions to one side (including the low budget interior) Lidl is well worth a visit for some extremely decent looking wines, including this little number at £6.98. For £9.99 I could have opted for the Chablis Premier Cru but I really wanted to give my taste buds the entry level experience, and also see if I really could pull the wool over the discerning palates of my sister and brother in law. How;s that for mixed metaphors.
Anyway, I'm delighted to say that with a good 2 hours chilling in the fridge, the entry level Chablis received lots of very positive noises from my guests who were aghast at the thrifty price and the really pleasing construction of this wine. The Chardonnay grape, which I have to admit is not my favourite, was soft and understated for the price and gave out lemon and pineapple flavours in a smooth and elegant presentation.
Personally, I need to drink a few more Chablis to make a fair and considered assessment of this wine so will return very soon to upgrade to the £9.99 Premier Cru. However, it pleased two people who drink more white wine than I could ever think about and I certainly liked the way this little number held its own on the table against an equally striking Muscadet.
I'd call this wine an elegant little run around. Young, fresh, easy going but good enough to be taken seriously and a sure fire bet for any white Burgundy fans who want something that does exactly what it says on the tin, or in this case label.
Very Decent Wine: 8/10 (good all rounder)
Value for Money: 10/10 (try and find cheaper)
Dinner Party Appeal: 8/10 (lovely label)
Probability of buying again 8/10 (I'll be getting more for Christmas)
2007
Vin de Bourgogne
Lidl Stores £6.98
One week into my wine blog and we bump into our first bottle of white wine, and a fairly decent one it is too.
My sister and her husband have dropped in for the week to help out while Ruth is in hospital and the first evening's meal could only really be accompanied by white wine, for the simple reason that Sally and Bill are white wine drinkers. They're big on Muscadets and anything from Burgundy, and also like Pouilly Fuisse and Poully Fume. In other words, they like a decent bottle of French white that is simple and easy to drink and ideally comes with a bit of class.
On a limited budget you don't get a lot for your money in the Burgundy white section of any supermarket which is why I thought I'd try and kid them with a handsome bottle sitting on the shelves of Lidl. As I later explained to my sister (a very loyal Waitrose shopper and very regular visitor to its uber-smart store in genteel Lymington), Lidl is an even cheaper version of ALDI which is rapidly becoming quite a respectable shopping venue in its own right. Lidl however is still quite a raw, bare fluorescent tube-lit, in your face shopping experience and not for the feint hearted. Unless you're a hard core bargain hunter like me.
So, if you really can put all your preconceptions to one side (including the low budget interior) Lidl is well worth a visit for some extremely decent looking wines, including this little number at £6.98. For £9.99 I could have opted for the Chablis Premier Cru but I really wanted to give my taste buds the entry level experience, and also see if I really could pull the wool over the discerning palates of my sister and brother in law. How;s that for mixed metaphors.
Anyway, I'm delighted to say that with a good 2 hours chilling in the fridge, the entry level Chablis received lots of very positive noises from my guests who were aghast at the thrifty price and the really pleasing construction of this wine. The Chardonnay grape, which I have to admit is not my favourite, was soft and understated for the price and gave out lemon and pineapple flavours in a smooth and elegant presentation.
Personally, I need to drink a few more Chablis to make a fair and considered assessment of this wine so will return very soon to upgrade to the £9.99 Premier Cru. However, it pleased two people who drink more white wine than I could ever think about and I certainly liked the way this little number held its own on the table against an equally striking Muscadet.
I'd call this wine an elegant little run around. Young, fresh, easy going but good enough to be taken seriously and a sure fire bet for any white Burgundy fans who want something that does exactly what it says on the tin, or in this case label.
Very Decent Wine: 8/10 (good all rounder)
Value for Money: 10/10 (try and find cheaper)
Dinner Party Appeal: 8/10 (lovely label)
Probability of buying again 8/10 (I'll be getting more for Christmas)
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Grace Falls - but do we want to pick her up?
Grace Falls
2008 Shiraz California
Bottled for PUB Wines Ltd by W1507 @ NR10 4BG UK
Sainsbury's £5.00
Many of my very honest friends tell me very honestly that my obsession with French wine is all to do with the pretentious side of my nature which often comes to the fore when I have a decent bottle of something from Bordeaux or Burgundy in my hand.
Nothing could be further from the truth as I genuinely have huge admiration for what the Californians, Argentinians, Chileans, Aussies and Kiwis have done, and continue to do, with their innovative winemaking and love drinking decent wines from any of these regions and continents.
However, what irritates the hell out of me is coming across a bottle of wine such as this little number from California, which we glugged while watching X Factor - a suitably populist 'culture' event to accompany a wine which, for all intents and purposes, is aimed at the undiscerning masses. On this occasion, X Factor was by far the more enjoyable experience.
What irritates me about wines like these is that they are carefully marketed through their design and name to appear to have a decent provenance. With a name like Grace Falls you imagine a quaint family-run winery somewhere in California's Napa Valley where the production of every bottle is painstakingly and lovingly cared for at every stage. But you'd be wrong, as far as I can discern from numerous Google searches Grace Falls doesn't actually exist. And close inspection of the label, as you'll see from the top of this blog, reveals that this is a wine created for the pub trade and bottled by that great wine personality W1507 (I know him well) @ NR10 4BG (that equally highly reverred postcode vineyard in North London).
Quite how it found its way on to a shelf in Sainsbury's, I really can't say - nor do I actually care. And for many people may be this isn't an issue - after all this is completely drinkable, wholly unoffensive wine that I suspect many people will actually enjoy. But why is this? Precisely because W1507 @ NR10 4BG is aiming to do exactly that - create a wine that is as memorable as most of the sub standard acts on X Factor - lacking in originality, talent or personality. Quite frankly if this bottle was up before the judging panel, it would deserve to get four Xs for being an imposter.
For me, a wine has to be more than just drinkable to be a decent wine. I don't want the wine equivalent of a 1980s Ford Sierra. I want a wine that may even have some faults or indiscrepancies, but one that at least shows some personality along the way. And one where I know where it has come from.
Personally the £5 I spent on Grace Falls would have been better invested on five national lottery tickets on the offchance of winning a fortune and buying my own real vineyard in California.
In future wine blogs I'll tell you why I believe the French wine labelling system is probably the best consumer-friendly (albeit sometimes confusing) means of telling you exactly where your wine has come from. Nothing like this post code nonsense.
Very Decent Wine: 1/10
Dinner Party Appeal: 2/10 (Lucozade is more honest)
Value for Money: 6/10 (but what exactly are you buying?)
Probability of buying again: 0/10
Top of the class or back of the class: Don't even bother turning up to school
2008 Shiraz California
Bottled for PUB Wines Ltd by W1507 @ NR10 4BG UK
Sainsbury's £5.00
Many of my very honest friends tell me very honestly that my obsession with French wine is all to do with the pretentious side of my nature which often comes to the fore when I have a decent bottle of something from Bordeaux or Burgundy in my hand.
Nothing could be further from the truth as I genuinely have huge admiration for what the Californians, Argentinians, Chileans, Aussies and Kiwis have done, and continue to do, with their innovative winemaking and love drinking decent wines from any of these regions and continents.
However, what irritates the hell out of me is coming across a bottle of wine such as this little number from California, which we glugged while watching X Factor - a suitably populist 'culture' event to accompany a wine which, for all intents and purposes, is aimed at the undiscerning masses. On this occasion, X Factor was by far the more enjoyable experience.
What irritates me about wines like these is that they are carefully marketed through their design and name to appear to have a decent provenance. With a name like Grace Falls you imagine a quaint family-run winery somewhere in California's Napa Valley where the production of every bottle is painstakingly and lovingly cared for at every stage. But you'd be wrong, as far as I can discern from numerous Google searches Grace Falls doesn't actually exist. And close inspection of the label, as you'll see from the top of this blog, reveals that this is a wine created for the pub trade and bottled by that great wine personality W1507 (I know him well) @ NR10 4BG (that equally highly reverred postcode vineyard in North London).
Quite how it found its way on to a shelf in Sainsbury's, I really can't say - nor do I actually care. And for many people may be this isn't an issue - after all this is completely drinkable, wholly unoffensive wine that I suspect many people will actually enjoy. But why is this? Precisely because W1507 @ NR10 4BG is aiming to do exactly that - create a wine that is as memorable as most of the sub standard acts on X Factor - lacking in originality, talent or personality. Quite frankly if this bottle was up before the judging panel, it would deserve to get four Xs for being an imposter.
For me, a wine has to be more than just drinkable to be a decent wine. I don't want the wine equivalent of a 1980s Ford Sierra. I want a wine that may even have some faults or indiscrepancies, but one that at least shows some personality along the way. And one where I know where it has come from.
Personally the £5 I spent on Grace Falls would have been better invested on five national lottery tickets on the offchance of winning a fortune and buying my own real vineyard in California.
In future wine blogs I'll tell you why I believe the French wine labelling system is probably the best consumer-friendly (albeit sometimes confusing) means of telling you exactly where your wine has come from. Nothing like this post code nonsense.
Very Decent Wine: 1/10
Dinner Party Appeal: 2/10 (Lucozade is more honest)
Value for Money: 6/10 (but what exactly are you buying?)
Probability of buying again: 0/10
Top of the class or back of the class: Don't even bother turning up to school
Friday, October 2, 2009
Classsy Claret. Ding Dong - Bring it on
Chateau Grand Pey Lescours
St Emilion Grand Cru
2004
Aldi Stores UK £9.99
Two bottles into my wine blog and I'm amazed at my, so far, uncanny knack of picking two consecutive TDWs (thoroughly decent wines) at what I believe to be TIPs (thoroughly indecent prices).
Today's offering, which slipped down faster than a D list celebrity on a soaking wet red carpet, is an amazing find for anyone who likes a decent posh Claret but can't afford the posh Claret prices that most wine merchants feel the need to charge here in the UK. How ALDI does it I will never know. Although their huge buying power is probably half the answer. Long may that power last.
Unfortunately, today's offering will probably never find its way into the fine and dandy homes of power wives living in the leafy suburbs of Surrey, Hampshire and Cheshire, all of whom would rather miss a session of Botox treatments or cancel their subscriptions to Homes & Gardens than allow their Gucci loafers to bless the floors of an Aldi store.
Which is sad, because if they did re-program their SAT NAV-enabled Waitrose trolleys to head in a new direction they would allow themselves to win favour with their Claret drinking, Maserati-driving power hubbies, all of whom who would simply drool over such an outstanding wine. Quite simply this is a wine which ticks so many boxes for me, and no doubt them - clean, elegant and fruity in a quietly assured way with the added cachet of exceptional dinner table appeal - with manners to match. Make no mistake, this is a wine that tastes as good and as classy as it looks. No surprise really given that the family behind this little number have been doing their stuff since since 1924.
Talking of age, with this being a 2004 vintage, this is a wine whose blackcurrant velvety-ness has matured enough to ensure it stays longer on the palate than the aforementioned D list celebrity would prefer to remain recumbant on that carpet. This is a serious, exceptionally well made Claret that has a very precise and controlled feel to its taste and structure but with personality too. The tannins, always more prominent in Clarets than New World wines, are subtle and not too stiff which lend this wine its posh drinkability.
And at £9.99 this is the kind of wine that people who have no qualms about having the Aldi name appear on their bank statements deserve to own, cherish and drink in abundance.
Everyone round Tom's tasting table loved this wine in every way - it brought a smile to our faces and reminded us that you can still get a decent Claret at less than a tenner without crying over your Steak au Poivre, which is what we should have been eating last night - but we spent the money on the wine instead.
Aldi's marketing slogan 'Spend a Little, Live a lot' is perfectly encapsulated in this classy number.
Thoroughly Decent Wine 9.5/10
Value for Money 10/10
Dinner Party Appeal 11/10
Top of the Class or Back of the Class? Teacher's pet
St Emilion Grand Cru
2004
Aldi Stores UK £9.99
Two bottles into my wine blog and I'm amazed at my, so far, uncanny knack of picking two consecutive TDWs (thoroughly decent wines) at what I believe to be TIPs (thoroughly indecent prices).
Today's offering, which slipped down faster than a D list celebrity on a soaking wet red carpet, is an amazing find for anyone who likes a decent posh Claret but can't afford the posh Claret prices that most wine merchants feel the need to charge here in the UK. How ALDI does it I will never know. Although their huge buying power is probably half the answer. Long may that power last.
Unfortunately, today's offering will probably never find its way into the fine and dandy homes of power wives living in the leafy suburbs of Surrey, Hampshire and Cheshire, all of whom would rather miss a session of Botox treatments or cancel their subscriptions to Homes & Gardens than allow their Gucci loafers to bless the floors of an Aldi store.
Which is sad, because if they did re-program their SAT NAV-enabled Waitrose trolleys to head in a new direction they would allow themselves to win favour with their Claret drinking, Maserati-driving power hubbies, all of whom who would simply drool over such an outstanding wine. Quite simply this is a wine which ticks so many boxes for me, and no doubt them - clean, elegant and fruity in a quietly assured way with the added cachet of exceptional dinner table appeal - with manners to match. Make no mistake, this is a wine that tastes as good and as classy as it looks. No surprise really given that the family behind this little number have been doing their stuff since since 1924.
Talking of age, with this being a 2004 vintage, this is a wine whose blackcurrant velvety-ness has matured enough to ensure it stays longer on the palate than the aforementioned D list celebrity would prefer to remain recumbant on that carpet. This is a serious, exceptionally well made Claret that has a very precise and controlled feel to its taste and structure but with personality too. The tannins, always more prominent in Clarets than New World wines, are subtle and not too stiff which lend this wine its posh drinkability.
And at £9.99 this is the kind of wine that people who have no qualms about having the Aldi name appear on their bank statements deserve to own, cherish and drink in abundance.
Everyone round Tom's tasting table loved this wine in every way - it brought a smile to our faces and reminded us that you can still get a decent Claret at less than a tenner without crying over your Steak au Poivre, which is what we should have been eating last night - but we spent the money on the wine instead.
Aldi's marketing slogan 'Spend a Little, Live a lot' is perfectly encapsulated in this classy number.
Thoroughly Decent Wine 9.5/10
Value for Money 10/10
Dinner Party Appeal 11/10
Top of the Class or Back of the Class? Teacher's pet
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Chile Chilli
Paola Reserva, Chile, 2008
D. O. Maule Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Syrah
Sainsbury's £5.00 - reduced from £6.99
It was only half way through drinking this charming bottle that I realised the unwitting coincidence of my choice of wine for my opening blog tasting - A Chilean wine for a chilli. OK, so we're not talking geographical coincidence here - I'm well aware of the Mexican provenance of this evening's dish but the serendipity of the words was momentarily pleasing. Words aside, lets give this evening's first tasting a bit of context. Here's how we arrived at glugging a very decent first bottle.
Back at home Harry, my 22 year old son, was making a chilli so I decided to go for something gutsy to wash what I knew would be a fairly powerful combination of mince beef, peppers, chilli and other ingredients he felt compelled to throw in to the the mix. After four years at Uni in London, Harry has perfected this and many other student dishes so I knew when I got back in we'd be in for a decent nosh up.
Ruth, his twin sister, is unfortunately in hospital at the moment so evening meals are definitely on the hoof and alcohol (of the red wine variety) is part of the recovery process back at home.
As expected the chilli was spot on and the wine was a perfect choice and a star performer. At £5 a throw (albeit with a £2.99 discount) this was punching way above its weight. Its deep plummy nose reminded me of the eccentric Zinfandel of which I'm a great fan - although a decent one from a US vineyard such as Ravenswood can set you back nearly a tenner. This however had a bit more of a balanced bouquet which stayed in the glass after the thing had been repeatedly wrung bone dry.
Harry loved its big full flavour of berries and blackurrants and I was deeply impressed by its ability to stand out from a fire eating chilli and maintain a confident poised presence on the palate. Ruth would have loved its smooth velvety flavour and Mrs W, their mum (another fan of the original Zin) would rave about it too. I'll see if I can save a glass for tomorrow. Likely story.
All in all, a thoroughly decent wine at an indecently well behaved price. This is not just a mid week, Wednesday evening bottle of wine, it's a class act that actually deserves to be drunk alongside, dare I say it, a more sophisticated culinary offering. It's also the kind of wine you'd be more than happy to take to a dinner party and be confident that your host or fellow guests would make some very positive noises about. A robust, highly capable little beast.
No doubt, we shall stop off on the hospital and get some reserve supplies to celebrate Ruth's eventual discharge which will be a few weeks yet.
What a fantastic start with some fantastic first night scores. They can't all be this good.
Value 9/10 (even at its non discounted price of £6.99)
Decent honest wine 9/10
Probability of buying more 10/10
Dinner party appeal 9/10
A Class act or Bottom of the Class? A definite Class Act
D. O. Maule Valley
Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Syrah
Sainsbury's £5.00 - reduced from £6.99
It was only half way through drinking this charming bottle that I realised the unwitting coincidence of my choice of wine for my opening blog tasting - A Chilean wine for a chilli. OK, so we're not talking geographical coincidence here - I'm well aware of the Mexican provenance of this evening's dish but the serendipity of the words was momentarily pleasing. Words aside, lets give this evening's first tasting a bit of context. Here's how we arrived at glugging a very decent first bottle.
Back at home Harry, my 22 year old son, was making a chilli so I decided to go for something gutsy to wash what I knew would be a fairly powerful combination of mince beef, peppers, chilli and other ingredients he felt compelled to throw in to the the mix. After four years at Uni in London, Harry has perfected this and many other student dishes so I knew when I got back in we'd be in for a decent nosh up.
Ruth, his twin sister, is unfortunately in hospital at the moment so evening meals are definitely on the hoof and alcohol (of the red wine variety) is part of the recovery process back at home.
As expected the chilli was spot on and the wine was a perfect choice and a star performer. At £5 a throw (albeit with a £2.99 discount) this was punching way above its weight. Its deep plummy nose reminded me of the eccentric Zinfandel of which I'm a great fan - although a decent one from a US vineyard such as Ravenswood can set you back nearly a tenner. This however had a bit more of a balanced bouquet which stayed in the glass after the thing had been repeatedly wrung bone dry.
Harry loved its big full flavour of berries and blackurrants and I was deeply impressed by its ability to stand out from a fire eating chilli and maintain a confident poised presence on the palate. Ruth would have loved its smooth velvety flavour and Mrs W, their mum (another fan of the original Zin) would rave about it too. I'll see if I can save a glass for tomorrow. Likely story.
All in all, a thoroughly decent wine at an indecently well behaved price. This is not just a mid week, Wednesday evening bottle of wine, it's a class act that actually deserves to be drunk alongside, dare I say it, a more sophisticated culinary offering. It's also the kind of wine you'd be more than happy to take to a dinner party and be confident that your host or fellow guests would make some very positive noises about. A robust, highly capable little beast.
No doubt, we shall stop off on the hospital and get some reserve supplies to celebrate Ruth's eventual discharge which will be a few weeks yet.
What a fantastic start with some fantastic first night scores. They can't all be this good.
Value 9/10 (even at its non discounted price of £6.99)
Decent honest wine 9/10
Probability of buying more 10/10
Dinner party appeal 9/10
A Class act or Bottom of the Class? A definite Class Act
A thoroughly decent start
Hello and welcome to my blog about decent wine.
Just to put this 'decent wine' thing into perspective, what I mean by decent wine is essentially the very best that I can afford on a fairly limited budget.
Like many people in 2009 I am juggling a collection of consumer debts and rising fuel and accommodation costs with trying to find some solace in the occasional bottle of interesting and memorable wine.
As I, and I suspect many of you, are not in the position of being able to open a bottle of Chateau Latour '49 every evening after a hard day at the office I wanted to find a way of telling people about the thrifty good wines I find on my travels.
I live near Clitheroe in Lancashire, home to Byrne's Wine Shop which is a mecca for all serious wine drinkers with a cellar load of thoroughly decent Clarent, Burgundys and Reislings from France as well as case loads of brave new stuff from the US, Argentina, Chile, Aussie and South Africa.
Apart from Byrne's in Clitheroe I am also 5 miles from my nearest Aldi which is fast becoming a very shrewd place to find some seriously decent Clarets at seriously indecent prices.
Anyway, I'm just about to open my very first bottle exclusively for this blog and will tell you how I go on.
Cheers
Tom
Just to put this 'decent wine' thing into perspective, what I mean by decent wine is essentially the very best that I can afford on a fairly limited budget.
Like many people in 2009 I am juggling a collection of consumer debts and rising fuel and accommodation costs with trying to find some solace in the occasional bottle of interesting and memorable wine.
As I, and I suspect many of you, are not in the position of being able to open a bottle of Chateau Latour '49 every evening after a hard day at the office I wanted to find a way of telling people about the thrifty good wines I find on my travels.
I live near Clitheroe in Lancashire, home to Byrne's Wine Shop which is a mecca for all serious wine drinkers with a cellar load of thoroughly decent Clarent, Burgundys and Reislings from France as well as case loads of brave new stuff from the US, Argentina, Chile, Aussie and South Africa.
Apart from Byrne's in Clitheroe I am also 5 miles from my nearest Aldi which is fast becoming a very shrewd place to find some seriously decent Clarets at seriously indecent prices.
Anyway, I'm just about to open my very first bottle exclusively for this blog and will tell you how I go on.
Cheers
Tom
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