A volcanic plug

This wine was purchased from Toscanaccio, a Winchester retailer who specialises in Italian wines and produce. It’s well worth a visit; the owner, Cat, is a savvy oenophile and I was happy to go with her recommendations. The Cuiri Vino Bianco from Sicily was one of them. The grapes are 85% red (Nerello Mascalese) and the indigenous white Carricante. Another critical factor is the Etna volcanic geology which seems to produce powerful flavours in wines. (13% ABV, btw)

Colours are very pale yellow with green hints. There are shy aromas of lemon acidity, some attractive sourness – both brisk and focussed. The palate showed better – white peach, citrus with an almond (mineral) finish, dry with medium length. the intensity was certainly present which made for a wine of distinct character.

I’d made a salad Nicoise, heavy with anchovy and basil dressing, and this wine stood up very well to it and the tuna fish cakes. Certainly worth buying (£21) again. And if you’re in Winchester, give Cat a visit.

[Richard: if you like the Rhone style of white wine making this will appeal, with stone fruit notes and an attractive bitterness. Interesting and enjoyable.]

‘I can’t believe it’s not champagne…’

We rarely blog cava here. I’ve never liked it much – too many dodgy bottles on holiday in Spain in the eighties – nasty, brutish and short, as a philosopher once said in another context. But the two bottles we have tried have been of interest, especially a very old bottle.

Thus I’m not sure what persuaded me to spend £20 on a bottle (Raventos i Blanc Blanc de Blancs Brut 2016, from WoodWinters) but I’m glad I did. A very interesting wine, all indigenous and typical cava grapes (Xarel-lo, Parellada, Macabeo and Monastrell) but it could easily have passed for champagne, having a richness and complexity – a minimum of 18 months ageing –  that cava usually lacks. Dry with a very small dosage, lively and fruity.

And it’s not even cava as the makers left the Cava DO in 2013 and have started their own appellation.

[Geoff: There are two Cavas that have stood out for me, this one and Juve e Camps Family Reserve. Both were softer than the cheaper varieties and had greater depth of flavour than is normally the case. They’re worth looking out for (MWW had some JeC recently).

The frustration with the geographical indicator (GI) system rears its head again. It’s a slow process to gain recognition and force change; good makers can become very frustrated with the hidebound rules which are no guarantee of quality, just provenance. And not even that in some cases.]

 

Viognier and Condrieu

This is the fifth Condrieu we’ve blogged in five years. (I thank R. for providing the wines) But one a year? We can hardly call ourselves experts, however the reviews have been generally upbeat. The Viognier grape is reputedly best drunk young – apart from when making Condrieu – and this was 2014 vintage. Le Grand Vallon by Francois Villard. Evidently it’s a difficult grape to grow, the right picking time is critical and it’s not easy to make good wine from. Some people like a challenge, fortunately.

Beautifully clear, it looked the colour of urine when the doctor asks “Are you drinking enough water?” Shy, cooked apple with a faint whiff of oxidation, this was intriguing (I was trying it blind). Definitely dry, rich with a long finish, there was a spicy note and the taste of yellow peaches (not apricot, which is the oft-quoted taste). The acidity was low, it was not blowsily perfumed but a wine that was together.

I’ve tried Viogniers from Australia and the Languedoc but, for me, they were quite unremarkable, slightly overblown. This certainly wasn’t – a nice wine.

[Richard, from a mixed case of Rhone whites bought a couple of years ago. Geoff narrowed this down to a Rhone white and then got Viognier. A classy wine with loads of flavours which I enjoyed drinking. Rather surprisingly it was less good on day 2, with perhaps the lack of acidity beginning to show.]

 

ABC … anything but Chardonnay

The start of the alphabet has been fortuitous for Chardonnay-phobes and Chardonnay-philes alike. The latter group use the phrase A Beautiful Chardonnay when enjoying their white Burgundy or champagne. Our language is so versatile

The white wine I tasted blind on Friday had me stumped. It had the acidity of a Sauvignon and the acidity and slight depth of an Albarino. It certainly did not taste like a Chardonnay – but that’s what it was. And, even more remarkably, it was from the North Downs near Canterbury, Simpson’s 2018 Chardonnay (12.5% ABV). 2018 produced a bumper harvest for the UK wine growers – 14 million bottles as opposed to our average of 6 – and this wine showed their quality too.

Very pale, lemon-green with a shy but fresh nose (which reminded me of SB), the wine showed some viscosity as it moved in the glass. This richness came out on the palate, as did grapefruit acidity and a pleasant, easy-drinking sweetness. This is a well-made wine, one that reminded me (eventually) of a good Petit Chablis.

It was from Waitrose, evidently about £13, and worth buying. So, to this blind taster, it was ABC – anything but Chardonnay – and from anywhere but Canterbury. There’s another Tale.

[Richard: we visited a new, very good, Birmingham restaurant last night – Craft Dining Rooms – which has an extensive English wine list, so when I saw the above wine at Waitrose in Lichfield the following day I took a punt. Pretty good, if not especially chardonnay typical which drank well the following day.]

Z is for…?

After lots of wine tasted and 600-odd posts I must have picked up a few things because I was able to identify a Zweigelt (Johanneshof Reinisch) blind, this being a grape I’d never heard of five years ago. Purple with a fruity strawberry nose, peppery taste with some sourness – in a good way. Enjoyable, easy drinking.

[Geoff: I’ve developed a liking for these easy drinking, slightly chillable reds. They’re fresh, attractively tannic, fruit forward and, if chilled, refreshing. This was from Vin Neuf in Stratford and was an uncomplicated summer’s day drink. Thermenregion is just south of Vienna with a warm to hot climate.]

Otago-a-go-go

Two Pinot Noirs from Central Otago, tasted a day apart, neither blind.

Geoff provided a 2017 made by Kelly Washington in Gibbston, Central Otago. This seemed unfiltered (their website doesn’t say) and was slightly hazy in the glass, with a dark red fruit appearance. A balanced persistent taste with good PN characteristics, more old world than new. Some bitterness on the end palate with a loss of fruit. Nevertheless, very enjoyable.

Next was Mud House 2018 PN from Waitrose (£11 but often reduced). Same area but a very different wine and a definite step down. Simple, ordinary, dull, unremarkable. Take your pick. A ‘soft, fruity red’, nothing more.

[Geoff: Central Otago’s short but intense summer and cold nights seems ideal for the delicate Pinot grape. High alcohol is quite the norm but there is a danger, especially in Gibbston, of a lack of full ripening. This research confirmed what we found in the KW, the bitterness that R alluded to. It seemed slightly ‘green’ at the finish – but still a wine full of interest. MWW stock it at about £19; it’s worth a try. The Mud House was a boring wine, bland, slightly sweet and with no expression of place.]

Poor wine – what do you do?

Waitrose were discounting this claret by a third, £30 down to £20, therefore R. thought it worth trying. Ch. Laroque 2012 is a Grand Cru St. Emilion, right bank wine so Merlot-dominated with 10% Cab Franc and a 2% splash of Cab Sav. It’s ABV is 13.5%. 2012 was a ‘challenging year’, a euphemism for a poor vintage, with rain at the end of September and a wet October. The problem seems to have been lack of fruit and this was certainly true with this wine.

Intensely red coloured with high fresh notes and the smell of unripe damsons/plums, it didn’t bode well. There was a lack of tannins and it was unripe, short, tart and undeveloped – and it wasn’t going to get better. As R. said “no wonder it was being sold off”.

Okay, so the wine wasn’t very good. The deeper questions are interesting. As an unhappy consumer, what do you do? Take it back? I’m sure Waitrose will refund but there is also an assumption there. If you are not a regular wine drinker or don’t drink red wine very often or it was gifted to you, would you complain? Or would you assume that’s how red wine normally tastes and be thankful you only like NZ Sauvignon or Lambrini? How do you, as an occasional drinker, know that the wine is not up to snuff? These experiences will only convince you that red wine is not your thing – way too dry, tart and to be poured down the plughole. Are we too accepting of poor wine? £30 is not a cheap wine, and neither is £20. I wonder how many people have got the wrong ideas about certain wines because of a poor bottle – I reckon more than a few. Most people are not confident/not knowledgeable enough to know something is not right. Thoughts, anyone?

[Richard, open for 24h when Geoff tasted and it had improved, albeit from as low base. We don’t drink much claret (and we didn’t think much of the last one) so this was especially disappointing, especially as I recalled a newspaper wine critic commenting favourably on the chateau. Hard and dry on day one, ordinary on day two. Overpriced, even with the reduction.]

Mongrana, IGT Tuscany 2015

This wine is from Maremma on Tuscany’s Etruscan coast, to the west of the (in)famous Chianti region. The grapes used are the inevitable Sangiovese (50%) with Merlot and Cab Sav. in equal proportions. The vineyards cover 32 acres in what appears to be clay dominated soil. If so, clay will help make the wines fuller. It was 13.5%ABV.

The appearance is a surprisingly low intensity red/ruby whilst the aromas are attractive – floral and perfumed. The initial taste was sweet, red fruit which quickly developed into a more refreshing, lifted flavour, gently tannic. The savoury strawberry notes were very moreish.

This was a good wine, distinctive and certainly showing the characteristics of the area, which were identifiable. It was a lot better than many anonymous Chiantis I’ve tried. From Hay Wines in Ledbury – well worth a visit if you’re in the area.

[Richard: Hay Wines are Italian specialists and this wine was a good advert for their purchasing skills, at around £17. Easy to drink with enough complexity to be interesting.]

 

Blowing hot and cold

On Thursday we did a comparative tasting of Cabernet Franc wines, one from the Loire and the other from the Gard, an IGP around Nimes in the south of France. A cool climate vs. a warm climate wine. Domaine Mas Barrau 2018 is an organic wine made from grapes grown on a limestone-rich soil in the hot south. The vines face south, therefore the grapes enjoy even more heat. Domaine de la Roche Honneur 2017, also organic, is made from vines grown on sandy gravel between the Loire and Vienne rivers. R. tasted the wines blind.

Appearance: MB – deep red, slight purple. RH – lighter red, slight purple

Nose: MB – blackberry, spice, jam. RH – green stalks, grass, shy, red fruit

Taste – MB – rich, sour/savoury, tannic, R “characterless”. RH rich, tannic, slight farmyard, stalks, red fruit.

The biggest differences were the red/black fruit profiles and the green/unripe flavours of the northern wine. To be frank, neither were particularly good. The Loire, which I expected to enjoy more, seemed hollow and I note that it was made exclusively from young vines, which may be the reason for its style. The Gard was ok but just anonymous.

[Richard: yes, tasted blind but not difficult to spot both the difference and the source. Is southern France too hot for Cabernet Franc? Certainly the grassy, slightly underripe style of Loire wines – much of the appeal of the grape –  went missing in the Barrau, although, as Geoff says, neither were great adverts for the grape.]

 

Right grape, wrong continent…

Green yellow in appearance, obviously Chardonnay on the nose (Ataraxia Chardonnay 2015 Hemel-En-Aarde) which was lemony, intriguing and inviting. Broad and rich on the palate with a big hit of flavour – definitely not linear – complex and with a decent length. A very nice example of the grape which clearly wasn’t French. I thought it might be new-wave Australian, rather than South African.

[Geoff: From Majestic, this was the second of two and I don’t think there’s any more. More European than Australian in style with lifting and balancing acidity despite being quite broad. I think it’s important to decant these fuller whites, it just opens them up and shows their layered flavours. Needs to be cool, but not cold, and really good with pork. If there was more I’d buy.]