As well as their permanent range which has an emphasis on good value bottles for everyday drinking, discount supermarket Lidl also offer limited quantities of slightly more upmarket wines at different points during the year.
22nd February 2016 will see the Ireland launch of their special French wines, only available while stocks last – and some will be so limited that you’ll have to strike up a friendship with someone from Lidl Customer Services!
Here are 5 reds which impressed me, all from Bordeaux:
Château de Francs, Francs-Côtes de Bordeaux 2011 (€12.99)
Of the five I’ve chosen this is perhaps the most traditional in character, coming from a cooler year. However, the producer has obviously gone to great lengths to make a fruit forward wine – blackcurrant, blackberry and plum compete for your palate’s attention, along with classic notes of pencil shavings and cedar wood. Of the wines I’ve picked this has perhaps the most noticeable tannins, so it would shine with a steak!
The label shows 14.0% which is significantly higher than the vast majority of Bordeaux was when I cut my teeth on it in the early 90s – though that’s a story for another day. It does give you an idea of the body and power this wine has – not for shrinking violets!
Fronsac Château de Carles 2008 (€17.99)
Fronsac is close to St-Emilion and while it doesn’t have its neighbour’s cachet it is capable of producing some excellent wines, often priced favourably. 2008 was a good but not great year in general, but is often overlooked as the following 2009 and 2010 vintages were excellent. Predominantly Merlot fruit gives big ripe plum and blackberry flavours; the tannins are very soft making this very drinkable indeed. Would keep for several more years but at its peak now.
Château Cos Fontaine Francs-Côtes de Bordeaux 2010 (€12.99)
Ripe fruit – mainly plum and blackberry – suggest a majority of Merlot in this right bank red. At just over five years of age it is showing some development, so tannins have softened and fruit is settling in. Being from the fantastic 2010 vintage helps to make it seriously drinkable, and a great bargain at that.
Josephine de Boyd Margaux 2009 (€24.99)
Margaux is probably the most celebrated appellations of the Médoc, at its best producing silky feminine reds based on a majority of Cabernet Sauvignon but with a good proportion of Merlot and other minor players. This is the second wine of Château Boyd Cantenac which was awarded Third Growth status in the 1855 Classification – obviously some time ago but still has some relevance today. In a great year like 2009 it makes sense to go for a second wine as there is so much quality fruit on each estate that the second wine gets plenty rather than just whatever is left over after making the Grand Vin.
This is a great example of Margaux, silky and seductive, well structured and classy with a very long finish.
Fleur Quercus Saint-Emilion Grand Cru 2010 (€24.99)
Wow! Another beauty from 2010, but this time a few rungs up the quality scale. Saint-Emilion is a world famous part of Bordeaux (and a lovely little town to visit if you ever get the chance), which means some producers can cash in on the cachet. Not here though, it is fully deserving of the appellation.
Intense black berry fruit is complemented by anise and other spices. It’s soft, seductive and dangerously easy to drink – even at 14.0%.
Money no object, this was my favourite red of the whole tasting!
Also check out my Top 5 Whites from the same tasting.
As well as their permanent range which has an emphasis on good value bottles for everyday drinking, discount supermarket Lidl also offer limited quantities of slightly more upmarket wines at different points during the year.
22nd February 2016 will see the Ireland launch of their special French wines, only available while stocks last – and some will be so limited that you’ll have to strike up a friendship with someone from Lidl Customer Services!
Here are 5 whites which impressed me:
Ernest Wein Alsace Pinot Blanc Pfaffenheim 2014 (€9.99)
An underrated and understated grape; round in the mouth and very pleasant drinking, lovely apple and lemon fruit. Great to drink on its own or with white fish or poultry. A versatile wine that should please nearly everyone – and a steal at a tenner!
Roesslin Alsace Riesling 2014 (€9.99)
If the Pinot Blanc was round then this is spiky – lots of fresh acidity with zippy lemon and lime fruit. It’s not the most intense Riesling I’ve come across, but it’s a great introduction for newbies – and it’s varietally true enough to keep Riesling lovers (such as myself) happy.
P. de Marcilly Chablis 2014 (€12.99)
WOW! One of the best AOP Chablis that I’ve tasted in a long time – it’s an appellation that often disappoints as bulk producers trade on the famous Chablis name, but this really delivers – textbook minerality with citrus fruits, and a little more body than I’d expect. Excellent value for money!
Chablis Premier Cru 2014 (€19.99)
This has all of the above and more – more concentration, more minerality, more body, more fruit…altogether a superior wine – it’s up to you whether you think it’s worth the €7 premium over the baby brother – if possible you need to try both at the same time to arrive at an informed decision.
André Saujot Pouilly-Fumé “Les Grandes Chaumes” 2014 (€14.99)
So now to the Loire, and one of the most celebrated areas for Sauvignon Blanc. Gooseberry, grapefruit and grassiness are the dominant notes, with some stony minerality at the core. It doesn’t have the passionfruit tropical notes of a Marlborough savvy, but it’s tangy and delicious in its own right. A great example of Loire Sauvignon.
Also check out my Top 5 Reds from the same tasting.
Honest 2 Goodness (H2G for short) are a small family wine importers based in Glasnevin, Dublin. They specialise in family owned wineries throughout Europe, and in particular those with an organic, sustainable or biodynamic philosophy.
Here are a few of their wines that I enjoyed at their most recent Organic & Low Sulphite Tasting:
Domaine de Maubet Côtes de Gascogne 2014 (€14.95, 11.5%)
Domaine de Maubet Côtes de Gascogne 2014
Typical South West France blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Colombard, Ugni Blanc and Gros Manseng. Ripe green and red apples, fresh pears. Crisp acidity, light and fruity – so easy to drink on its own, but versatile with food.
Borgo Paglianetto Verdicchio di Matelica 2014 (€18.45, 12.5%)
Borgo Paglianetto Verdicchio di Matelica 2014
Restrained nose; soft but textured on the palate, lemon and grapefruit combined. Tangy, don’t drink too chilled. Marche wines are really coming to the fore at the moment.
A favourite producer that I’ve covered several times. Grapefruit again, though not as juicy. A grown up wine that would excel with food.
Château Canet Minervois Blanc 2014 (€17.95, 13.0%)
Château Canet Minervois Blanc 2014
50% barrel fermented; blend of Roussanne and Bourboulenc, both well known in the Rhône. Tangy, textured, pleasantly sour (Haribo Tangfastics). Plenty of mouthfeel and soft stone fruit. Moreish.
Casa Benasal by Pago Casa Gran Valencia 2012 (€18.95, 14.0%)
Casa Benasal by Pago Casa Gran Valencia 2012
The Spanish equivalent of a GSM blend: Monstrell, Syrah and Garnacha Tintorera. Plum, blackberry, and blueberry on the nose, following through onto the palate. A full-bodied winter wine; lots of fruit with a light dusting of tannins on the finish. Perfect with stew or casserole (depending on where you heat the pot, apparently).
Château Segue Longue Monnier Cru Bourgeois Médoc 2010 (€25.95, 13.5%)
Château Segue Longue Monnier Cru Bourgeois Médoc 2010
A trad Médoc blend of Cab Sauv, Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Very perfumed on the nose, showing black fruits, spice and parma violets. Soft and voluptuous in the mouth – definitely from a warmer vintage. Classy.
After a show of hands at the previous meet, the theme of the most recent DNS Wine Club tasting was FUN! Wine can be a very technical and complicated subject, and as something of a geek that often appeals to me, but at the end of the day the main point of wine is pleasure.
So how do you make a tasting more fun? Play games! But which games? I divided the DNS gang into two teams, opened some fizz and gave them their first task.
I reviewed John Wilson’s book “Wilson On Wine 2015 – The Wines To Drink This Year” hereand refer to it frequently. For each wine reviewed there are lots of details, especially on the background of the wine, along with a fairly short tasting note. As tasting is such a subjective thing (and taste too, but that’s for another day) I wondered how easy it would be to identify wines from their tasting note alone…
Example of a wine featured in the book
Each team was given a sheet with two columns; the first had ten wine names and the second had ten tasting notes taken from John’s book. Two wines were sparkling, four white and four red. Each column was in alphabetical order and the objective was to match the tasting notes to the correct wine.
Wine Name
Tasting Note
1
Bernhard Ott Fass4 Grüner Veltliner 2013
A
A superb, light, elegant wine, with piquant dark cherry and blueberry fruits.
2
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier Latitude Extra Brut NV
B
Almond blossoms on the nose; light, elegant, sophisticated crisp green fruits with excellent Minerality. A perennial favourite.
3
Coca y Fito DO Terra Alta Jaspi Blanc 2012
C
An exuberant, fresh wine bursting with pineapples and tropical fruits.
4
Jeio Prosecco DOCG Valdobiadenne Spumante Brut NV
D
Bracing and herby with an inviting texture and a snappy dry finish.
5
Kasarí Zorah Areni Noir 2012
E
Delectably light and tangy but with rosehips and fresh, piquant red fruits. Great with food.
6
Moric Burgenland Blaufränkish 2012
F
Fresh pear and peach fruits with a good lively citrus edge
7
Pieropan Soave Classico 2013
G
Intriguing, lifted fragrant black cherries with good acidity and a light earthiness, finishing on a smooth note. Different and delicious wine.
8
Quinta Milú Ribera del Duero 2013
H
Pure piquant damson fruits, good acidity and a lightly tannic finish. Delicious.
9
Santa Rita Medalla Real Leyda Valley Chardonnay 2011
I
Restrained peach and apple fruits with subtle toasted nuts and a core of citrus acidity.
10
Thymiopolous Naoussa Xinomavro 2013
J
Succulent ripe fruits cut through with a delicious minerality and great length.
You might want to try this at home. Bear the following hints in mind that were given on the night:
As both columns are in alphabetical order it is possible that a wine may still be lined up opposite its true tasting note, though most aren’t.
The longest tasting note belongs to (probably) the most expensive white wine.
The Prosecco note should be very easy to identify as it nearly always tastes of one particular fruit.
One of the wines includes a colour in its name (though not in English) which is included in the corresponding tasting note (in English).
Yes, most of these hints are fairly esoteric / tenuous / difficult – but that’s how I roll!
ROUND 2 – Call My (Wine) Bluff
For those know aren’t familiar with it, Call My Bluff is a long-running UK game show where celebrity contestants on a team take it in turn to give three definitions of an obscure word, only one of which is correct. The other team then tries to choose the correct definition and discard the bluffs.
The wine version has a similar structure, but instead of word definitions the guessing team has to divine which of three tasting notes they are given match the wine in their glass and their mouth!
For five white wines and three red wines, these are the choices which were proffered:
White 1
(A) Famille Bougrier Les Hautes Lieux Vin de France Sauvignon Blanc 2013
(B) José Pareinte Rueda Verdejo 2014
(C) Marqués de Riscal Rueda Sauvignon Blanc 2013
White 2
(A) Jean-Paul Brun Terres Dorées Beaujolais Blanc Chardonnay 2012
(B) Les Auzines Fleur Blanches Vin de Pays d’Oc 2014
(C) Tahbilk Victoria Marsanne 2014
White 4
(A) Dog Point Section 94 2008
(B) Gaia Assyrtiko Wild Ferment 2013
(C) Greywacke Marlborough Wild Sauvignon 2012
White 5
(A) Frantz Saumon Minérale+ Montlouis 2012
(B) Les Auzines Fleur Blanches Vin de Pays d’Oc 2014
(C) Marqués de Riscal Rueda Sauvignon Blanc 2013
Red 1
(A) Atlantico Sur Reserve Tannat 2011
(B) Château Bouscassé Madiran 2007
(C) El Castro de Valtuille Bierzo 2013
Red 2
(A) Aldi Lot 01 Uco Valley Malbec-Cabernet 2013
(B) Château Sainte-Marie Bordeaux Supérieur 2012
(C) Domaine La Sarabande Faugères 2011
Red 3
(A) Château Milhau-Lacugue “Les Truffières” Saint Chinian 2010
(B) Domaine La Sarabande Faugères 2011
(C) Taltarni Heathcote Shiraz 2008
For the guessing team, some of the choices were more difficult if there was a similarity between the choices, e.g. for White 1 there were 2 regions and 2 grapes over 3 wines.
It was actually easiest to bluff when the reader didn’t know if they were giving the note for the correct wine or not! I suppose it is good to know that most people aren’t good liars, even if it’s just for fun.
ROUND 3 – Match the Critic (Encore)
A Book, A Bottle, A Glass
Now the kicker to see if everyone had been paying attention! A double list – similar to that handed out in Round 1 – was given to each team, this time with eight wine names and tasting notes. But these weren’t just any wines taken from John’s book – they were the eight that everyone had tasted in Round 2! So of course, this final round had double points awarded.
Wine Name
Tasting Note
1
Atlantico Sur Reserve Tannat 2011
A
A delicious modern style of Bordeaux with light creamy cassis fruits and a smooth easy finish.
2
Château Sainte-Marie Bordeaux Supérieur 2012
B
A subtle and delectable blend of citrus and green fruits with a touch of honey
3
Domaine La Sarabande Faugères 2011
C
Exhilarating precise acidity with pristine green fruits. Inspiring, thrilling wine.
4
Gaia Assyrtiko Wild Ferment 2013
D
Fresh, tangy, lemon and grapefruit, balanced out by clean green fruits, and a dry finish.
Good, deeply satisfying wine with firm, dark ripe fruits and a dry finish.
6
José Pareinte Rueda Verdejo 2013
F
Light toasted nut aromas, fresh textured pineapples fruits and excellent length. Great wine at a very reasonable price.
7
Les Auzines Fleurs Blanches
G
Lightly toasted notes combined with peaches, almonds and honey. Unusual and perfectly formed.
8
Tahbilk Victoria Marsanne 2014
H
Succulent and ripe, filled with dark cherry fruits dusted with spices
Conclusions
Blind tasting, even single blind, is difficult. Tasting notes are subjective, and, unsurprisingly, it’s much easier to understand someone else’s when you’re tasting the same wine they had. Context is very important so knowing the background to a wine can give you a lot of clues about why it tastes a certain way and where it’s headed.
This is my (long overdue) second submission to the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge (my first was #MWWC6 – Mystery back in January 2014).
If you enjoy a variety of writing styles and subjects, all linked in someway to wine, then follow the central MWWC Blog founded and run by Jeff aka The Drunken Cyclist.
This month’s theme was set by Elizabeth of Travelling Wine Chick who won #MWWC18.
Many things have been said about Burgundy, many of which are true, but not all of them are true all of the time.
One that remains a permanent feature of the region is complexity. Burgundy is a veritable minefield, leaving many people – even knowledgeable wine aficionados – somewhat bewildered – there’s so much CHOICE! And given many of the prices, the wrong choice could prove costly and disappointing…
Even more than Bordeaux, Burgundy wines are sold on the strength of their appellation. But with so many producers in each appellation, is this a reliable guide to quality? In a word: no! Because there are so few quality checks to make the grade in each appellation, producers can trade on the name without necessarily concerning themselves with quality. For me, this is the main drawback of the whole AOC system.
But what about upsides? Many wine aficionados regard (especially red) Burgundy as the Holy Grail of wine, something that transcends a mere beverage and becomes life-affirming. I sometimes wonder if mastering the complexity is part of the attraction, whether that’s joy at an achievement or membership of some elitist club (those that getBurgundy).
Question:As it can take a life’s work to become intimately familiar with the area, how else could one navigate a way through the minefield of Burgundy?
Answer:Trust an excellent wine importer or wine merchant to advise you and help you with your choice.
Almost a year ago I was privileged to attend an excellent Burgundy tasting, courtesy of Le Caveau, a wine importer, wholesaler and online retailer based in Kilkenny. I enjoyed every wine I tried, at quite different price points. However, looking back on my notes it is obvious which wines were among the best, as I was almost struck dumb – my tasting notes for some are incredibly short and to the point.
For illustration, here are just a few of the excellent wines I tasted, with Le Caveau’s notes and my own.
Le Caveau: Light intensity on the nose with baked apple, spice, a touch of fudge or caramel. Dry, light bodied, open, fresh acidity, finishes with a really fresh grip of minerality. Med + finish length.
Frankly Wines: Nectar of the gods. What do I need to sell to afford more of this?
Henri et Gilles Buisson Meursault “Les Chevalières” 2011 (€51.25, Le Caveau)
Le Caveau: 60 + year old vines in the lieu-dit of Les Chevalieres. A little muted on the nose at first, but the palate blossoms with ripe, peachy fruit, white flowers, gently toasted bread crusts and grilled almonds. Rounded, slightly buttery and ripe, with a long persistent acidity and finish.
Frankly Wines: Special, on another level from most other white wine.
Maison Ambroise Nuits-St-Georges “Haut Pruliers” 2010 (€46.35, Le Caveau)
Le Caveau: Les Haut Pruliers vineyards are located on a very steep slope, just above Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru ‘Pruliers’, at the top of the Nuits hill and at the limit of the forest. Hauts Pruliers has an enticing nose of lightly spiced, creamy black berries. The multi-layered palate shows great complexity, with flavours of red and black berries mingling with more serious gamey notes.
Frankly Wines: F**k me, that’s what it’s all about!
So as you can see, when it comes to both your trusted merchant and reviewer of fine wine, choiceis very important!
A white for summer barbecues – though to be honest there’s no bad time to drink this tasty, versatile wine. Crisp, dry and fruity, it’s great for quaffing on its own or with lighter food. It has more going on that virtually any other wine you can get for the same price.
Where is Gascogne?
Gascony is in South west France, and is now generally thought of as the area below Bordeaux. As a larger historical region it included Bordeaux’s Medoc peninsula and the Basque Country of the Pyrenees. Culturally, it was the literary home of d’Artagnan (perhaps Dogtanian as well, I’m not sure) and Cyrano de Bergerac.
Map of SW France (from www.winesofsouthwestfrance.com)
Beverage wise its most famous product is Armagnac, the other quality grape brandy which is lesser known than Cognac. But now its undistilled wines are increasingly popular.
Here are a couple I’ve tried and enjoyed recently:
Domaine de Maubet IGP Côtes de Gascogne 2014 (€14.99, Honest 2 Goodness)
Domaine de Maubet IGP Côtes de Gascogne 2014
This is a blend of Colombard, Ugni Blanc, Gros Manseng and Sauvignon Blanc (proportions not given) and weighs in at a very lunch-friendly 11.5% abv. For a Vin de Pays it has remarkable concentration, with lemon and grapefruit keeping it fresh and some tropical notes adding another dimension. There’s no sign of oak – and nor should there be, the fruit is allowed to express itself.
Venturer IGP Côtes de Gascogne 2014 (€6.99, Aldi)
Venturer IGP Côtes de Gascogne 2014
No the price is not a misprint / typo / mistake! Again this is a very fruity, easy-drinking style of wine. It has far more character that you’ve a right to expect for this price tag – and it comes with a handy screwcap so there’s no synthetic cork you normally get with less expensive wine.
The blend is 80% Colombard, 20% Gros Manseng giving citrus and a touch of melon. At this price you can fill your fridge!
Background info
The region’s viticultural borders now align with those of Armagnac, across the three departments of Gers, Landes and Lot-et-Garonne. In the Gers the production volumes are approximately: 91% white, 8% red and 1% rosé wine. This is very atypical for the southwest of France, because in neighbouring departments mainly red wine is produced (e.g. Madiran). Around three quarters of production is exported.
The white grapes of Côtes de Gascogne are:
Colombard is the mainstay of the area, sometimes seen in cheaper blends from California, South Africa and Australia, but at its best here
Ugni Blanc is used for Armagnac production, and even more so for Cognac production (the other side of Bordeaux). It also features in Italy under the name Trebbiano (yuck!)
Petit and Gros Manseng are traditional grapes of SW France, particularly Saint-Mont and Jurancon.
Muscadelle, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc are of course the three white grapes permitted in white Bordeaux wine.
Len de l’El (aka Cavalier, prominent in AC Gaillac) is a rarity.
My article in thelatest edition of The Taste gives some of my recommendations from the WineMason portfolio tasting I attended many weeks back. Here are a few more fresh whites which I loved but didn’t have room for on The Taste:
A step up from an entry level summer style of Grüner, this has more weight, more flavour and more interest. The nose gets you first – nectarine and peach – followed by a fruit explosion in your mouth. This wine has sweet fruit but isn’t sugary, as linear acidity provides something for it to lean on.
If you’ve only tried junior Grüners then you owe it to yourself to try this style!
Whereas its younger brother had dessert apples, this is a desert island wine, just spectacular. It’s far from cheap, but it offers great value. Auslese means “selected harvest”, so you know the grapes were picked when perfectly ripe. In the Mosel, this means they will still have refreshing acidity and lots of flavour. Now almost ten years on from harvest, this specially selected cask still has freshness but has developed more mature notes such as marmalade, peach and apricot. Lip-smackingly good!
Thanks again to Ben, Barbara and the WineMason team for an excellent tasting!
And of course, the title above was partially inspired by this favourite from the 80s:
New Trafford: De Trafford & Sijnn Winemaker’s Dinner @ Stanley’s, Dublin
Last month I had the pleasure to attend a fantastic Winemaker’s dinner at Stanley’s Restaurant in Dublin. Regular readers may remember a previous dinner event I attended there with Yves Cuilleron and his wines. On this occasion it was the wines of David Trafford, co-hosted by importer/distributor Dr Eilis Cryan, the lady behind Kinnegar Wines of Galway.
David was originally an architect – with a few clues in the names and designs of his wines – but felt compelled to make wine in such an amazing land as Stellenbosch. Many years later, he set up Sijnn in a hamlet down near the coast.
This tasting featured wines from both wineries, plus a starter from another Kinnegar producer:
Aperitif Thelema Méthode Cap Classique Blanc de Blancs 2011
Thelema Méthode Cap Classique Blanc de Blancs 2011
For those not familiar with the term, Méthode Cap Classique (or MCC for short) is a traditional-method sparkling wine from South Africa. Thelema are much better known for their excellent still wines, particularly their reds, but this is a serious effort.
As the Blanc de Blancs name suggests this is 100% Chardonnay. Fulfilling the same requirements as vintage Champagne, it was (second) bottle fermented and left on the lees for three years. It was disgorged in Sept/Oct 2014 and given an “extra-brut” dosage of 3.2 g/l.
It’s a lovely fresh, citrus style, perfect as an aperitif at this time in its life. With a few more years it should mellow out so that more mature fruit develop and the acidity softens a little to let the bready characters from time on the lees show through.
Amuse Bouche
Crab and radish amuse bouche
One of the things that great chefs can do is challenge your preconceptions. The amuse bouche had radish which I don’t particularly care for, but with crab it was just heavenly.
Marinated scallops, cucumber, bergamot, fois gras butter
Marinated scallops starter
I love scallops, but I’m no fan of cucumber – I’ll pick it out of salads and send back a G&T that someone has stupidly infected with cucumber. However, I have now become a convert of cucumber and mint soup – it was served in a mini tea cup on the side and was just divine!
De Trafford Chenin Blanc 2012 & Sijnn White 2012
De Trafford Chenin Blanc 2012Sijnn White 2012
Chenin Blanc is a versatile grape, capable of playing several different roles, though always with its trademark high acidity. Personally, I prefer it when it has either (1) a bit of oak, (2) a bit of age or (3) a bit of sugar; without these it can be too simple or too harsh for my taste.
David Trafford has been making Chenin for twenty years. As with all his wines only wild yeast is used for his De Trafford Chenin, and then around 15% is matured in new oak barrels. Bingo! The oak adds a bit of roundness and texture, but it’s not an overtly oaky wine – it’s still fresh. Malolactic fermentation is blocked by adding a dash of sulphur and the low cellar temperature.
The Sijnn White is also Chenin based, but as well as 20% oak maturation, it also has another trick up its sleeve: Viognier! Around 16% of the blend is Viognier which gives stunning aromatics and a tempting texture. I now have to add a fourthtype of Chenin to my list!
Guinea fowl, green asparagus, black bacon, carbonara jus
Guinea fowl main course
There were no weird surprises here as I’m a fan of guinea fowl. It was tasty and succulent, with lots of additional interesting flavours from the accompaniments. Asparagus and green beans provided a contrast against the richness of the meat.
De Trafford Elevation 393 2010 & Sijnn 2010
De Trafford Elevation 393 2010Sijnn Red 2010
For many attendees I expect this was the main (vinous) event of the evening.
Elevation is De Trafford’s flagship red. As the 2010 is such an approachable, ripe style it has been released ahead of the 2009 which needs more time to mellow out. This is partially due to the blend of the 2010 which was a third each of Cab Sauv, Merlot and Shiraz – there is usually a higher proportion of Cabernet in the blend which makes it a little more austere.
Although definitely fruity, the Elevation had more of a savoury aspect than many Australian Cabernet blends, for example. South Africa really does straddle the boundaries of Old and New World.
The Sijnn Red was an altogether different blend, mainly a cross between the Rhône and the Douro: Syrah 41%; Touriga Nacional 27%; Mourvèdre 18%; Trincadeira 10%; Cabernet Sauvignon 4%. And funnily enough, both of these influences were apparent in the finished blend – the spice, blackberry and blueberry of the Rhône were joined by the plum and prune of the Douro. It’s quite a big wine, but totally delicious.
A fantastic wine geek fact that David gave us was that Mourvèdre needs more vine age than most other varieties before it begins producing quality fruit in reasonable quantities.
Rooibos tea custard tart, guava sorbet
Rooibos tea custard tart dessert
This was so tasty that I barely managed to take a snap before wolfing it down! You may recognise rooibos as a South African speciality – it’s a herbal tea, though often taken with milk and sugar down there.
De Trafford Straw Wine 2006
De Trafford Straw Wine 2006
This might be something of a mystery for many – a straw wine? The name is a translation of Vin de Paille – pronounced “van de pie” – which is the French term for this style of dessert wine.
It starts as 100% Chenin Blanc grapes, picked at normal ripeness. The grapes are then dried outside on mats for three weeks, partially in the shade and partially in the sun. The must takes a whole year to ferment, followed by two years maturation in 225L barriques (60% French and 40% American).
The finished product has a high 230 g/L of residual sugar, but with a streak of Chenin acidity it remains balanced and far from cloying.
Thanks to David, Eilis, Morgan, Stephen, Patrick and all the staff at Stanley’s for a wonderful evening!
In April I was delighted to be invited to lunch at Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel to meet Miguel Angel Bocos from Pesquera, one of the foremost producers in Spain’s Ribero del Duero. Along with a tasty lunch Miguel took us through five of the Pesquera Group’s current releases. But first, a bit of background to set the scene…
Disclosure:food and wine were covered by generous hosts James Nicholson Wine Merchant; opinions are mine alone.
Origins and Development of Pesquera
Quite simply Pesquera exists due to one man, Alejandro Fernández, and one place, the Ribero del Duero in northern Spain. Raised in a traditional small-holding family, Alejandro had a burning desire to create his own Bodega. He chose the Ribero del Duero region which, at that time, was barely known apart from the very grand Vega Sicilia. After 10 years of hard work, he restored a modest 16th century stone-built bodega in the village of Pesquera and began to bottle his wine.
Barrel hall
Compared to the well-established Vega Sicilia, which included Bordeaux grapes Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Merlot in their blends, Alejandro produced wines which were 100% Tinto Fino – the local name for Tempranillo. Whereas some Rioja wines can be on the light side, when it comes to Tempranillo fruit, and so can need beefing up, well grown Tinto Fino vines in the Ribero produce thicker skinned grapes and hence darker, deeper coloured wines. There may well be some clonal differences between the two regions, but essentially it’s the sharper differences between day and night temperatures plus poor soil which turbocharge Ribero’s grapes.
Sunset
After years of success, Alejandro gradually expanded the group. Firstly, Condado de Haza was also established in the Ribero del Duero, though with a subtly different microclimate and soil profile. Later he expanded further west with Dehesa La Granja and further south in La Mancha with El Vínculo.
Condado De Haza Crianza DO Ribero del Duero 2011 (RRP €23)
100% Tempranillo, 14.0%, 18 months in American oak barrels then 6 months in bottle
Condado De Haza Crianza DO Ribero del Duero 2011
Although in the same region as Tinto Pesquera, the climate, aspect and soil are different for this sister winery. The powerful fruit is able to take significant oak, and thus spent 18 months in 100% new 225 litre American oak barrels. Condado de Haza is a south-facing slope along one kilometre of the Duero River, planted from 1989 onwards.
This is the real crowd pleaser of the range; this is the wine that Miguel would open to suit a variety of tastes and dishes. It obviously has structure and opulent fruit so will age for many years, but it’s just so balanced, approachable and lovely to drink right now. Ripe plum, juicy black cherry and blackcurrant compete for your palate’s attention. The oak is very much in evidence but it is well integrated and serves as the custard on a fruits of the forest pudding.
Dehesa La Granja Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León 2007 (RRP €20)
100% Tempranillo, 14.0%, 24 months in American oak barrels then 12 months in bottle
Dehesa La Granja Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León 2007
Heading west from Ribero, past Toro, around 50km from the Portuguese border we reach the town of Zamora. Here lies the 800 hectare Dehesa La Granja vineyard, stretching magnificently along the banks of the River Guareña. The climate is quite Continental and the soil is Clay, giving extra power to the wines. The estate is self-sufficiently Organic; they even have the animals on the property to make the natural fertilizer they need
This is still a powerful wine, but it also has elegance. There are layers of fine tannins which add interest when the wine in young, but are entirely in keeping with the fruit. I would be very interested to see how this continues to develop.
El Vínculo Crianza DO La Mancha 2010 (RRP €22)
100% Tempranillo, 14.0%, 18 months in American oak
El Vínculo Crianza DO La Mancha 2010
My Spanish is the remnants of two terms at night school back in the early nineties, but I do remember a couple of important points: the accent on a Spanish word tells you which syllable is to be stressed, and the letter V is pronounced almost the same as a B. These two facts are important when saying the name of this wine to a Spanish speaker as they might otherwise think you are talking about their bottom.
Yields in La Mancha are often twice the national Average of Spain, mainly because of bulk produced grapes which will end up in a distillery for brandy. However, for Pesquera’s vines here the yield is around a quarter of the Spanish average, so this is a different beast from the usual industrial juice. La Mancha is very dry: it is baking hot in summer, yet cold in winter (often below freezing) with low levels of precipitation.
Although quality wine is still a rarity here, Pesquera believe that it has the potential to be the best appellation in Spain. For a group based in Ribero del Duero, that’s quite a bold statement!
This 2010 example showed leather and liquorice plus hints of spice and stewed black fruits. The leather suggests a cooler climate whereas the stewed fruit suggests a warmer climate – quite a conundrum.
Oh yes, the name – it’s the Spanish word for “link”, as the estate represents the link between tradition and innovation.
Tinto Pesquera Crianza DO Ribero del Duero 2012 (RRP €26 to €30)
100% Tempranillo, 13.5%, 18 months in American oak barrels
Tinto Pesquera Crianza DO Ribero del Duero 2012
So now we’re onto the original Pesquera, the real deal. At 1050m it is possibly the highest vineyard in Spain.
Whereas the previous three wines had a certain playful side to them, this is a serious, grown up wine. Although it’s unmistakably Spanish, I hope the folks at Pesquera will excuse me for saying it has a certain French sensibility about it. It’s not trying to ape French wine, but it has a certain polish and class that left bank Bordeaux often brings to the table. It’s ironic that Alejandro declined to use Bordeaux grapes but has created something with a Bordeaux feel that doesn’t need those varieties.
Black cherry and black berries are surrounded by vanilla on the nose, with just a hint of smoke. The fruit expand out into your mouth when tasting, but with a side order of tannin – not big heavy gum-stripping tannins, but fine-grained savoury tannins. It’s lighter in style than the previous three, probably due to the vineyard’s elevation, so perhaps less obvious, but this obviously has the fruit and the structure to age for at least another decade.
Tinto Pesquera Reserva DO Ribero del Duero 2011 (RRP €37 to €42)
100% Tempranillo, 13.5%, 24 months in American oak barrels
Tinto Pesquera Reserva DO Ribero del Duero 2011
The Reserva does all that the Crianza does, but more so. Going from junior to senior is like listening to a favourite song that suddenly switches from mono to stereo – it’s not necessarily louder, it just seems more alive and more real…it makes more sense. The same components are there, just in higher fidelity. The fruit is more intense and rich, there’s more toast and smoke and spicy vanilla from the barrels, but it all hangs together. With a few more years there will be harmony to add to the melody.
Dublin isn’t overwhelmed with BYO restaurants, particularly those that don’t charge corkage, but of those that do let you bring in your own wine, many are southern and/or eastern Mediterranean-themed. Of course this makes sense when those areas have high numbers of practising Muslims who don’t drink alcohol, and don’t want to profit from selling it, but are happy for you to drink with their food.
Among the best of those BYOs is Keshk Café Restaurant, just by the Canal on Dublin’s southside. So what better place for five like-minded wine bloggers to meet up for food, drinks and a natter!
Keshk Café
The food was lovely and may have been inadvertently on the healthy side, with fresh salads and grilled meat. I will leave further description of the food to others, but below are the wines we tasted. As co-ordinator I suggested two criteria for each diner’s choice of wine:
1) A retail price of between €20 and €30 (after a few years of duty rises this is now the sweetspot for wine in Ireland)
2) The wine should be a favourite or something the person fancied trying (all grapes and all regions allowed!)
Codorniú Anna Blanc de Noirs NV (€10, Madrid Airport)
Cordoniu Anna Blanc de Noirs NV
Along with Frexinet, Cordoniu is one of two big Cava houses who dominate sales volumes. Every year they pump out hectolitres of ordinary fizz, which is exactly the sort of thing that I avoid. You know the stuff I mean – and it’s undercut in the UK and Ireland by even less expensive supermarket own-label pap. This race to compete on cost and not quality has done significant damage to the Cava brand, so obtaining a fair price for a well-made one is difficult.
Thankfully a few well-made ones do find their way over here, even if it’s just a chance purchase at Madrid Airport. This is a 100% Blanc de Noirs made from Pinot Noir, one of the two main black grapes of Champagne. Of course being a DO Cava it is made in the traditional method, though the regulations for Cava are not as strict as those for the Champenois.
Given its constituent variety there was no surprise to find lovely red fruit, primarily strawberry and raspberry, but there was also stone fruit such as apricot, and even lees characters which confirm that this is a level above everyday Cava.
Anna is very well put together and something I will look out for in future.
The alcohol of 11.0% gives you a good clue as to the style of this Groovy – light quaffing material. The wino who brought this is a big fan of the variety, especially after attending a 100% varietal tasting last year (which I covered here). It’s not the type of wine to win lots of Parker Points or Wines Of The Year Awards but it’s just very pleasant to drink.
I have a feeling this will be seeing a lot more glasses in the summer months.
Jean Chartron AOP Rully “Montmorin” 2012 (€30 down to €20, The Corkscrew)
Jean Chartron AOP Rully “Montmorin” 2012
Well that’s one way of hitting both ends of the suggested price range! Rully is one of the better communes on the Côte Chalonnaise, the section of Burgundy in between The Côte d’Or and the Mâconnais. This was amazing complexity for such a young wine. To be honest if I’d tasted that blind I’d have guessed at something north of €40 from the Côte de Beaune.
The producer Jean Charton is based in Puligny-Montrachet but also produces whites in Chassagne-Montrachet, Saint-Aubin, Rully and the generic Burgundy appellation.
There was a definite vanilla and toast influence from oak, but not the full butterscotch sauce experience. I’m guessing that quite a bit of the creaminess came from lees stirring rather than extended ageing in barrel. Monsieur Colm from the Corkscrew says they have experienced a little more bottle variation than normal, but most of them ZING!
Meyer-Fonné AOP Alsace Gewurztraminer Réserve 2013 (€22.95, The Corkscrew)
This is one of my favourite Alsace producers with a fantastic range. My lubricated French came out with the term “correct” which is a handy shorthand for a wine that accurately reflects its ingredients and origins, and is well made, but is somewhat prosaic, nothing that makes you go “Wow”.
Yours truly in the tasting room at Meyer-Fonné
This Gewurz was off dry, with the variety’s typical lychees and flowers, plus some spicy ginger. It would probably have shone more with spicier food; given where we were eating there was a good chance of some heat, but I think we made conservative food choices when it actually came to ordering so we’d be able to give all the wines an even chance.
Château Musar Bekaa Valley 2003
Château Musar Bekaa Valley 2003
In a Mediterranean restaurant, what would be more fitting than a true Mediterranean wine? From the some-time war zone of the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon comes a wine which is full of contradictions:
It’s an alcoholic product from a country with a good number of Muslims.
It’s made with Bordeaux’s flagship grape Cabernet Sauvignon and the southern Rhône’s Cinsault, Carignan, Mourvèdre and Grenache. The proportions change from vintage to vintage.
On the nose there’s a big whiff of nail polish remover, a sign of Volatile Acidity which is considered a major fault in wine.
After that there’s a fair dose of farmyard, to be polite, or horseshit, to be less polite. This is another fault caused by the pernicious strain of yeast Brettanomyces, called Brett for short.
Yet it works! And boy does it work!
This bottle had been double decanted which gave it a real chance to shine. At 12 years from vintage it’s still a callow youth, with plenty of years ahead of it.
Domaine Coursodon AOP Saint Joseph “L’Olivaie” 2012 (€40, Wine Workshop)
Domaine Coursodon AOP Saint Joseph “L’Olivaie”
For this cuvée maturation is shared between demi-muids (20% new) and pièces (0% new). Although not specifically parcellaire, the components of this cuvée come mainly from St Jean de Muzols and the vines average over 60 years in age.
A lovely wine showing poise and potential but not yet unfurling its wings. Brooding dark black fruit and a twist of black pepper meet on the palate. Saint Joseph is rapidly becoming my go-to appellation in the northern Rhône
A couple of hours decanting would have shown it at its current best. I’d love to try this again with more sympathetic treatment (and earlier in the evening!)
Carlo Gentili Chianti DOCG Riserva 2010
Carlo Gentili Chianti DOCG Riserva 2010
Just a random Chianti which I had lying around at home. It was the seventh bottle of the evening. It had great aromas of Chianti which followed through to the palate – fantastic Chianti flavour. For further info have a look here.
