The brothers Gonon

St Joseph is an AC in the northern Rhone, 88% of the production being red wines made from the Syrah grape. Two other permitted grapes are white , namely Marsanne and Roussane, the latter being a particularly difficult grape to nurture. The AC’s climate is bordering both Continental (cool) and Mediterranean (warm). Hence there are lots of  influences on the wine produced – a fascinating wine is the result.

The Gornon brother’s Les Oliviers 2009 white St Joseph (80% Marsanne, 20% Roussane) was Richard’s Sunday night wine and the quality was apparent immediately. A rich, honeyed but almost oxidised aroma with subtle acidity followed a yellow/gold colour with no green notes (low acidity and/or age).

The palate was “layered, saline, sweet then dry” (Richard). The complexities and richness were very attractive, as were the big flavours and, again, that slightly oxidised note which reminded me of an old white Rioja (I’d surmised Lopez’s Vina Tondona). The difference was the stone fruit flavours which came to the fore.

This was a quality wine, interesting and full of character which would stand up to some big food flavours. It confirmed my liking for Rhone whites.

[Richard: as it happened I’d enjoyed a red St Joseph 2009 (the excellent Clos de Caminaille) a few days before so thought this would be an interesting bottle to open. And so it proved. I can’t improve on the description given by Geoff. A very intriguing wine with lots of complexity and one which showed the benefits of ageing Rhone whites. I thought I’d had this bottle for years but it came from a Gonon case of three (the others are 2010, 2011) purchased a year ago. From the WS who say ‘drink this year’. About £27 which I think is reasonable given the bottle age and the maker.]

Chianti?

I struggled with this one (Waitrose IPW Chianti Classico Riserva, 2013, £12). Having suggested Italy I couldn’t get enough Sangiovese characteristics to consider Chianti, which it was.

Rather faint nose with some fruit, quite pale and light with a lean mouthfeel, dry savoury tannic to taste but no giveaway cherry flavours that I could detect. Not bad for the money but I think a classico with some bottle age should offer more complexity and/or generosity.

[Geoff: I’m generally sceptical of Chianti but I have to disagree with my fellow taster. No, it wasn’t what immediately comes to mind when thinking of Chianti but it was five years old. It had matured gracefully and went very well with roast beef. Not fresh but a deeper taste and, I would imagine, great with Tuscan sausages and a rich sauce. I liked it, and I didn’t think I’d say that about Chianti. A good value wine.]

Sheltered (Cobijado 2014 Barbadillo/Carvajal)

Apparently ‘cobijado’ means sheltered in Spanish. The wine’s name refers to a kind of burka which used to be worn by the women of Vejer de la Frontera, where the winemaker’s mother came from. This is a 15% Vino de la Tierra de Cádiz, Tempranillo 35%, Merlot 25%, Syrah 15%, Tintilla de Rota 15%, Cabernet 10%. Dark red, a powerful an enticing nose led on to a very full bodied wine with some fruit and spice and gentle tannin. Very good and another classy wine from the Cadiz region. Purchased from the duty-free at Jerez Airport, about €18.

Horizontal and tasting

The wine trade term ‘horizontal tasting’ is not meant to describe the effects of too much wine drinking rather than the tasting of wines, usually from different growers in a specified area, of the same vintage. Richard and I decided to undertake arguably the most exacting of this tasting by sampling the 2018 Beaujolais Nouveau. It is difficult because the wines are very similar having only been made in 6 – 8 weeks since the harvest. The release date is November 15th each year, this date had been fixed relatively recently in 1985.

The two producers were (A) Pardon et Fils from Majestic WW and (B) Signe Vigneron from Waitrose. Both bottles were very slightly chilled and had just been opened.

Very similar in their dark cherry colours – A slightly darker – and viscosity, their aromas were marginally different. A had a muted raspberry/strawberry bouquet whilst B, although even less fruity, gave off more of a cooked, jammy smell. But we are talking of marginal differences. That position was reversed on the palate where B showed more fruit whilst A was fuller but less fruity. The lighter B was less ‘aggressive’ in the mouth. Both wines showed refreshing tannins. Typical of Nouveau, they were ‘one-note’ wines and benefitted from chilling.

It was a relief to not smell the ‘banana’ notes (coming from yeast 71B, evidently) of recent years. I wouldn’t go so far as the Japanese and bathe in it (they import 7 million bottles of the 25 million produced) but it is interesting to try…and a massive cash boost for the region.

[Richard: I always enjoy a glass or two of BN as winter approaches, although in recent years it has become harder to find stockists – on the 15th Waitrose in Lichfield had only been allocated 12 bottles, albeit with more promised. These two wines were very similar, especially as they developed. My memory is that I’ve had better examples in the past, in 2015, for example. However this isn’t a wine that is meant to carry a great weight of analysis. Enjoy it while it lasts.]

 

 

 

It’s all down to the white clay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chablis is a well-known – and much imitated – wine. I remember selling Spanish Chablis in the 1970s, whilst Californian Chablis was also a misused handle. The regional name is now protected but the wine’s style and quality is hugely variable from the anonymous ‘dry-white-world-Chardonnay’ taste to the terroir of a specific vineyard.

I recently tried Brocard’s 2012 Butteaux, a premier cru wine from an area to the south-west of the region; it can  also be labelled under the Montmain premier cru name.  2012’s crop was slightly lower than average and there were concerns about excessive heat after earlier frosts but generally the wines are classed as good.

The wine was a rich yellow colour with no hint of green that tells of acidity. The forward aroma had hints of cream and cooked apple fruit which heralded a big wine. The palate was surprising, big flavours of fruit with some acidity but the overriding impression was one of power rather than refinement. There was none of the austere but refreshing chalky leanness that might have relieved the full fruit flavour. It was a lovely dry, long wine but not in a refined style.

A quote in Jasper Morris’ fantastic book on Burgundy wines is apposite when describing Butteaux ” …. a broad based that delivers flavour on the palate – a substantial wine, calling for a meat dish rather than something fishy.” It’s all because of the white clay of Butteaux, evidently.

 

Humble pie

How many times has this blog criticised Chateauneuf du Pape for being too alcoholic, uninteresting, jammy, one-dimensional etc. etc. well, it’s our turn to eat a large slice of humble pie. Which I wouldn’t mind if the pie is accompanied by Clos des Pape ’08 by Paul and Vincent Avril. This was a very enjoyable blend of GSM (65/10/20%) plus a few other grapes. It wore its 15% well.

08 was not a good year for CdP (rain, hail but some Sept and Oct sun) which possibly accounted for its paleness and early maturing brick rim. There was a subtle perfumed – someone said lavender – quality on the nose but also a savoury farmyard-ripeness which made the experience very complex. The palate had great intensity and length but what was striking was the silk texture and tannic structure. Liquorice also came through in the taste as well as a sweetness, but no jam. It finished dry. This wine still has some years in it, I’d like to try it in 3 to 5 years time. Excellent – thanks, Richard.

[Richard: Yes, no fans of CdP here but this was really good. A top producer of course and expensive – it cost £40 when I bought in in 2012. But it had matured beautifully into a subtle and expressive drink which was very hard to identify as southern Rhone, the usual telltale bullying effect of the Grenache grape being completely tamed and integrated.]

A (very) pleasant Pinot

This (2005 Savigny-Les-Beaune Camus-Bruchon) was a fine example of mature pinot noir. Pale red, light brown rim, an appealing nose which said ‘drink me’, fruity, still quite tannic, some length and complexity. In the glass it became deeper and darker with an attractive cherry note. A pleasure to drink and a reminder that there is nothing quite like a French pinot noir with some bottle age.

[Geoff: If last Sunday’s wines were disappointing, this Sunday’s were a joy. Both French, both classic regions and both red. And they were drunk in the right order! This was a lovely Pinot – even agreed by Pinotphobe Richard -which later went beautifully with pork chops. Very generous, gentle and, although a generic Beaune, it developed character as it breathed. I can’t remember where it came from, but there’s no more alas.]

Cote Rotie Ampodium Rostaing 2010

We have blogged this wine before and been very impressed with its quality. Without knowing this fact I tasted the wine blind, approaching it objectively. My notes are below.

Appearance: Dull red, some viscosity, low intensity of colour.

Nose: Perfumed, cooked cranberry, some sweet spice.

Taste: Dry, long, complexity, perfume notes, pure, some gaminess, delicate, needs some bass notes.

My immediate reaction was to claim an organic wine because of its purity and lack of power as well as its rather uninviting, dull appearance. I did identify southern French Syrah but was certainly surprised when the wine was revealed, especially given my previous eulogising.

Awkward teenager? Poor bottle? Over the hill? Whatever it was it wasn’t up to our previous experiences.

[Richard: we’ve blogged this wine in 2014 (absolutely loved it), in 2016 (not quite as keen) and last weekend – even less keen. I had a bottle in 2017 which showed really well. This time: not as elegant, less of a wow factor. No idea why but there are two bottles left so we’ll see.]

Something wrong?

We don’t taste many wines made from the Semillon grape and I never recognise it when we do. And so it proved on Sunday, despite me knowing in advance the wine was from Australia (Lehmann 2010 Margaret Semillon), where the grape is widely planted. There was a rather generic bouquet and the wine was very dry and acidic, without the richness and complexity you might expect from an eight year old wine. In addition there was a peculiar taste in evidence, rather like sour milk which made me wonder if the wine was faulty. Over to Geoff.

[Geoff: One of my often fruitless searches is Semillon. It’s not stocked, as a mono-varietal, in many outlets but can be found blended with Sauv. Blanc. As a single grape it needs time, probably ten years, before it starts developing the richer, lanolin notes that I, and others, find attractive. This was a part-bottle left from a wine tasting two days earlier and had been vacuumed.

When young Semillon is almost unpleasantly acidic that is why Lehmann will not release the wine until it’s had five years’ ageing in bottle (it never sees oak) and they recommend it can go for another ten years i.e. fifteen years from vintage. The ABV is only 11% so we can assume that the high acidity is critical to its ageing well.

This wine was still way too young but was just beginning to show lemon curd i.e. creamy lemon notes (Richard’s ‘sour milk’ perhaps) and needed more time. I quite liked it but it wasn’t at its best, by any means. I’ve got some older vintages of the grape as well as other winemakers, notably Mitchells from the Clare Valley and Elizabeth from the Hunter Valley. We’ll open those in a few years time and report back.]