Under the table
Monday, August 16, 2004
La Spinetta Monferrato Rosso 'Pin' 2000
Italy, Piedmont (Uncorked or The Wine Treasury)
Deep saturated blood-red. Nose of leather, red-black fruits (conjured blackberrries but when I sniffed some I had co-incidentally to hand, was quite different so must have been association), hint of chocolate and bittersweet. Suave rich cherry fruit, sweet but delightfully balanced.
Saturday, July 12, 2003
Vincent Giradin, Santenay 1'er Cru, 'La Graviers' 1999
Burgundy (Uncorked)
See-through but intense plum-red. Deep vegetal aromas with red fruit (red currants and raspberries), richer and more organic than a classic Pinot nose. Same fruits on the palate with touches of bitterness, tannins present but balanced by richness and sweetness of fruit. First taste from case of 12, needs a bit more time to soften but no insult to drink now.
Sunday, July 06, 2003
It's July now (obviously as you'll see from the date above) but though the post below is dated 'May 21' it's only today got published. The problems I've been having with Blogger seem to have been resolved by them moving me to the 'new look'. It would be unfair to lay all the lack of submissions at their door however, but with the facility removed to make quick and easy posts, my enthusiasm did wane somewhat.
Now, of course, I no longer have that excuse. So..
Henry's Drive Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2001
Padthaway, Australia (Uncorked 20.95 GBP)
Deep, deep red black. Nose of beetroot, black fruits, cassis. Sumptious and silky in the mouth with a long finish - the wine seems almost to glue itself to the tongue and cheeks. It belies its 14.5% alcohol in fruit and sweetness. That said, for all its pleasingness, there is a feeling of naivety and youth, a lack of distinction that perhaps some bottle age can impart.
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
Gracious! Is it really this long since I had a bottle of wine? I don't think so...
The department of not-so-frequently asked questions:
What happens when you return a bottle of corked wine? Fortunately I haven't had to do this too often. I suppose that cuts both ways. If you believe the statistics I must be drinking a fair amount of spoiled wine - or below best at the least. Part of the problem with single bottles is that 'off' notes are put down to poor wine-making and the label isn't revisited. Adnams credited me the money, no questions asked when one of a pair of bottles (of a French country white) was clearly corked. Somerfield refused to do anything without the wine being returned when their vintage cava proved undrinkable (again one of two). With sparkling wines of course one often pours the whole bottle - what are you expected to do, dribble some back in from the glass? And there's the social circumstance to consider here as well - it's not the best way of starting your celebration dinner party.
Most recently I had cause to take a Chilean Cabernet Franc back to Majestic. It was supposed to be stunning and the first of the pair was, well, lacklustre. The second, tasted a month or two later, was corked and got worse in the glass. Again I had to return some liquid to get my money back, they claimed they needed the bottle to get their money back from the supplier but I wasn't convinced. And when I mentioned the other bottle they weren't interested... In the kitchen there's a bottle of Tesco wine (it's wrapped in a bag - which is another problem, how do you about carting half-filled bottles around with surety?). They haven't sold this for some time and it's going to be interesting when I confront them with it...
What happens when you leave a bottle of wine open, but recorked, for three week? Yes, not best I know and I won't go into the details of its happening but it did. The surprising this was a that it was well, OK. Certainly not ruined. It was a Pirraminna Reserve Shiraz and not the best I've had from this otherwise dependable label, but it didn't seem to have suffered unduly. Perhaps a touch more acid (there was about half-half wine and air in the bottle), sharp fruit to the fore. A bit like the wine originally - I've still a bottle left, I might drink it soon and reflect back.
What happens if you keep a supermarket wine for best part of a decade? The bottle in question was the last of at least a case of Gran Calesa 1990, Closters del Segre - this is in fact Raimat by any other name. This was highly recommended in the Guardian many years ago but I don't think the author (Malcolm Gluck of Superplonk.com had it in mind that it should be kept so long. It has developed through out the time, eventually coming around to a fine summer-pudding fruit filled glass. In fact, this last bottle had a touch more body and tannin - though clearly aged - than the previous two. I have a slightly self-defeating sentimentality about these occasions; keeping 'special' bottles a little too long, for this example however, no damage was done and the wine was enjoyed by all.
Friday, June 21, 2002
Wine Club Tasting - Spain
All from Moreno Wine Importers
Parxet Brut Cava NV
Pale, appley nose, sparkly at first but modest thereafter. Pleasant but undemanding.
Txomin Etxaniz 2001
Guertaria-Chacoli (9.99GBP)
Very pale yellow-green with slight sparkle. Sharp, fruity with green apples and goosberries. More green apples on palate, but with well balanced acidity. Light and refreshing. Somewhat surprising price for obscure region and varietal but a nice wine.
Con Class Vendemia Excepcional 2001
Rueda (4.99)
Bright but very pale. Odd aroma; wetness and damp clothes, 'old fireworks' to me - perhaps something of the gunpowder/cordite of Sauvignon on which it is based (with Viura). Soft, slightly sour with a touch of bitterness in the mouth but superb fruit acids at the tongue-tip. An odd wine to like but worth another look.
Castell del Remei, 'Blanc Panell', 2001
Costers del Segre (5.99)
Pale gold with a touch of green. Fresh, archetypical Sauvignon nose (though actually well mixed with Verdelho). Tropical fruits, lychees with soft slippery mouth-feel, some sherbet fizziness on the finish. Good.
Guelbenzu Azul, Blue Label Tinto, 1999
Navarra (7.49)
Purple with some graininess towards the rim. Plums, sweet tobacco nose, a touch of green. Soft, tannic, damson, jammy. Very good with the Spanish medium hard cheese. Good value.
Pago de Carraovejas, Tinto Crianza, 1998
Ribera del Duero (16.00)
Some lightening towards the rim but solid red/black. Warm plums with hints of cedar and hardwood. Chewy, plummy with a blackberry tang. Lovely.
Masia Barril, Tinto Classico 1995
Priorato (cost unknown)
Travelled appallingly - particulate and like soup. Very alcoholic, off putting to all but a few with predominate ether aromas, fruit - some cherries - struggling to get through. Likewise on the palate. After settling for 30 mins a bit more appoachable but still spirit-like; sweet cherry liquer. Lead taster suggested chocolate and licquorice - maybe our bottle was just too bad to tell (though clearly not corked - more like premature ageing - cooked through bad storage?).
Friday, June 07, 2002
Palmela 1994 - Pegos Claros V.Q.P.R.D.
Tesco 4.99?
Still quite red but losing some colour at the rim. Boiled sweet flavours, quite reticent - a bit like cough lozenges.
This is an inexpensive wine but I've had it years and keeping it this long was a bit of an accident. I can't properly remember what it was like originally but my abiding memory of it is an accident we had with a bottle. We were staying over with friends and selected a pair of wines as hospitality presents, the Palmela being one. We were on the motorbike at the time and Jean had them in a small rucksack. Well the zips worked loose about a mile after the supermarket and we lost both bottles. Being responsible we parked on the central reservation and went back to the push the glass out of the road. As soon as we removed helmets the waft of wine aroma was amazing - mainly this Portugese - even about fifty yards away (though downwind I guess). It certainly didn't have that pungency last night.
I had done a bit of a trawl through the back of the cellar and had uncovered this, drunk last week,
Cote du Ventoux 1990 - Vidal Fleurie
Majestic 4.99?
Also about five years old. This was very much faded and had thrown a lot of sediment. Though with some fresh red fruit aromas I feel it has lost a lot of its strength and depth but had some nice fresh flavours in spite of all that.
Capitel Monte Olmi Amarone 1996 - Tedeschi
Majestic 9.99?
Also in the same strata of the cellar but this was glorious. Sweet black cherry on the nose with a touch of firmness without being 'bitter Italian'. Long, plum and cherry fruit, got better as the evening progressed.
Earlier this week,
Valdivieso Barrel Selection Merlot 1998
Marvelous merlot - plums and overcoats. Chewy tannins and balancing acids. I doubt this vintage is still about but worth looking out for the new invocations - and possibly worth keeping them a year or so but I guess no-one really bothers with humble Chileans...
Domaine Richeaume 1999 - Cuvee Tradition - AC Cotes du Provence
Adnams 5.95
Classy - deep red colour, nice nose of straw and earth with cassis underneath. Black fruits on the palate. Punches well above its weight.
Wednesday, June 05, 2002
The Jubilee weekend tippling...
Le Pigeoulet des Bruniers, VdP de Vaucluse, 1999
Coming to the end of these but still drinking very well. Bright colour and bright red currant and strawberry fruit. Nose has gradually got richer; more straw and earth. Still tamed by food (so tannins still holding up) to slightly softer with those strawberry flavours coming through.
JJ Hahn, Nineteen Fourteen Shiraz, 1999 - Barossa
Light but intense red-black though still transparent, smoky and sweet smelling, superb mouthfuls of blackberries with a hint of red fruits.
Michael Schafer 1991 Kabinett - Burg Layer Schlosberg, Nahe
Near classic Reisling; petrol and high octane perfume bouquet, rush of fresh citrus and finish of pears. Later in the glass citrus zest too - Marvelous, all on 7.5% alc.
Propriedad H. Remondo 1999 Rioja
Light colours but sweet berried vanilla before dark fruit aromas. Modern style but with restraint. Delicious.
Vitiano 99 Falesco Umbria
Classic easy access Italian great with tomato and spicy sauces; black bitter cherry fruits, fresh 'red' nose.
Friday, May 24, 2002
Bonny Doon Viognier - 2000?
Restaurant - 'The English Garden'
Very good; marvelous pale gold colour, honeyed, apricot nose with fresh fruit yielding to kernel notes. Fresh fruit - even more apricots - on the palate. Wonderful accompaniment to fresh crab starter which brought out the sweeteness in both food and wine. Rare grilled sea trout with other strong flavours (fennel, olives) switched the wine over to its nuttier characteristics.
Also at the meal (which was very good all round and included the finest sugar snap peas I have ever tasted - from Guardian recommendation) we had glasses of a dessert wine that - and you can what a time we had - I just can't remember. Or even enough of the name for wine-searcher or any other to find. I'll keep looking though - that too would be worth finding again.
Wednesday, May 22, 2002
Juniper Crossing - Margaret River Shiraz 2000
Adnams, 5.99
Very nice; fruity and fresh, much enlivened by food (mushroom wholemeal pasta). Bright colour, medium intensity. Easy access, red fruits.
