Fading fast…

A third chance to try a bottle of Geoff’s auction purchase from six years ago. Tasted blind but it was obviously (very) old pinot. A slightly murky reddish brown – the cork broke – with a cherry nose with hints of wood smoke. The mouthfeel was still rich and savoury with the tastes mirroring the nose and some tertiary notes. A privilege to taste.

(Savigny les Beaune, Hospices de Beaune, Patriarche, 1985)

[Geoff: Yes, now fading but still lovely. We’ve enjoyed these wines which show how a PN, in a good vintage, can last. Its dignity is maintained in a slow decline into its dotage even though it’s just a village-level Burgundy. Some trawling around the Internet indicates a price of around £80/bottle currently, my cost at auction was £20.]

Chalk and cheese…

A wedding anniversary provided an opportunity to blind taste these two champagnes, although we knew what they were. In fact the differences were obvious and it was clear which was which.

A: (white sticker) pale yellow, delicate, small, lively mousse, muted nose, recognisably champagne, fresh apple, good flavour presence on the palate, some richness, sweet/sour, well balanced, refreshing.

B: darker yellow, even smaller mousse, cooked apple, richer, more complex nose than A with a herby note, palate was heavier, more cooked apple, shorter than A, saline/sour, hard/bitter finish, rather inelegant.

A was Champagne Olivier Père et Fils Cuvée Origine Brut NV, from a mixed WS ‘grower’ case, still available individually at £27 a bottle, which is excellent value.

B was Champagne Boizel Grand Vintage Brut 2008, purchased from TWS in 2017 at around £31, nla. A wine we have previously been disappointed in with our comments now being similar to those 2019. None of the complexity ageing normally brings to champagne.

{Geoff: Yet again disappointed in the vintage Boizel, as are others on tasting sites. Some say it’s too young but I think it lacks freshness. At the moment it seems to lack ‘excitement’, a bit of a ‘plodder’. Disgorged in 2017, it is a 50/50 PN/Chard blend. Olivier is more enjoyable, blend is 80% P.Meunier, 10% PN, 10% Chard from plots in the Marne valley.

Back to Bacchus…

A pale yellow wine, the nose held faint hints of sauvignon blanc – possibly elderflower and cat’s pee. The palate was also floral, quite sweet, albeit with a balancing acidity, simple, rather short. Easy to drink and a good wine for a hot day (it wasn’t). I guessed it was English but didn’t get the grape – Bacchus – one we rarely taste, the last time being three years ago so I’ve reused the headline.

[Geoff: The vineyard is close to Wells in Somerset. It was first planted in 2011 (Bacchus) and later Ortega and Pinot Noir. I bought this bottle (£18.50) from James Cumming who, with is wife Gill, is the owner and creator of the site. I recommend a visit to the web-site just to see how the vineyard was created. And, of course, if you’re visiting Somerset they’d be sure to welcome you. The wine is well-made, a blend of acidity and some pleasing floral note. Attractive to drink and, I’m sure, popular though stocks of Bacchus are limited to 500 bottles.]

Allez Alberti…

This was a crémant Geoff bought back from Beaune, not tasted blind.

Pale yellow with a well defined mousse – the fine bubbles giving it a more refined – champagne like – appearance than many. The nose was rich, floral moreish, with a hint of lemon. Richness also on the palate, more lemon (it is a Chardonnay/Aligoté 80/20 blend), clean, rather short and a touch sweet for me. One of the better crémants we have experienced recently.

(Vitteaut-Alberti Blanc de Blanc Brut, nv.)

[Geoff: Family owned wine-maker, founded 1951, who specialises in cremants. They’re based in Rully with 22 ha of vineyards in the Haut Cotes de Beaune and Chalonnais. I bought this (16.60 eu.) and the more expensive Agnes, 100% chardonnay, from Vinotech in Beaune. Slight honey sweetness to balance the acidity, and with flavours that can often go missing in cremants. Interesting that VA only produce cremants.]

A trying Terroir…

Another region we rarely taste, partly because the wines are not easy to find – TWS only stock three. High (up to 800m), steep slopes and a large diurnal temperature range make winemaking difficult. Everything at the above winery is done by hand, apart from the use of mules. The website homepage has a striking picture of the terrain. A blend of 50/50 Carignan and Grenache. I thought the latter was overly dominant on day 1 but the wine was beautifully integrated on day 2. Plenty of rich black and red fruit and no oak made for an easy to drink wine with plenty of character and a nice acidity. Recommended. (Terroir Al Límit Terra de Cuques Negre, Priorat 2019, TWS, £24).

Two found in Waitrose…

I don’t buy much Prosecco/Cava/Cremant etc but the Passerina looked interesting and I don’t think we have tried the grape – another obscure Italian variety. From the Lost and Found range, shy nose, decent mousse and the label sums up the taste quite well – delicate jasmine and citrus. Easy drinking and I preferred it to most Proseccos we have tried.

It’s harder to be enthusiastic about the Sciaccarellu – another Lost and Found rare grape, this time from Corsica. Usually blended and I can see why because, on its own, it’s not very interesting. Pale, ‘rosé’ nose, short, slightly sweet. Lacking in character. Both around the £8 mark when purchased.

Musar month…(2)

Just as 2010 was a very hot vintage, 2011 was very wet. From the website:

‘The harvest of 2011 posed one of the most challenging experiences in winemaking at Chateau Musar over the last 20 years, as it was one of the most untypical years in Lebanese history.’ Lots of spring rain meant everything was late and ‘the harvest was finally completed on the 13th October, which with the exception of our 1983 vintage, was the latest in our company’s history.’ (The 1983 vintage was disrupted by the Israel Lebanon conflict.)

This was an unmistakeable Musar. Loads of dark fruit on the nose and palate, intense, savoury, long with a lovely rasping finish. Moreish and it is very easy to polish off a glass despite it being 14%. I preferred it to the 2010. From TWS in a mixed case of Lebanese wine, about £25. Still available elsewhere at around £60.

A white Crozes…

A very bright, pale yellow wine, lemony but not much else on the nose, the taste started sour with some earth complexity (sherry-like in style), mouthwatering and a rich, slightly sweet finish with hints of stone fruit. I got to northern Rhone but couldn’t identify the grape which was a blend of Marsanne and Roussanne. A good example of a style we rarely taste – this is our third in 10 years. (Crozes-Hermitage Les Jalets, Paul Jaboulet Aîné 2021).

[Geoff: Jaboulet Aine was sold to the Frey Group (owners of Ch. La Lagune and others) in 2006 and the estate is now run by Caroline Frey. The jewel in the crown is Hermitage La Chapelle 1961 which is classed as one of the “12 mythical wines of the 20th century.” Our wine costs much less than the £2,000 that La Chapelle commands, in fact it was £19.50 TWS. I found the intial taste – pears, stone fruits – a touch too sweet but it dried in the middle palate. Good with food, particularly seafood paella.]

A fine fino…

I knew what this was when tasting but it was unmistakeably sherry, albeit in a different style to the Pedro from Waitrose, tried recently, which tasted older and more rounded. This was pale yellow, a pungent sherry nose, biggish taste with some complexity, sourness and richness. Some character as well. Very enjoyable. A shame the label is so naff and uninviting. (M&S Fino, currently on offer at a bargain £7.50).

[Geoff: There is very little information about this particular sherry. It’s made at the Williams & Humbert bodega which has been owned by the Medina family since 2013 although the bodega has been around for about 130 years. This is a ‘go to’ fino for me – plenty of lemon notes, some salt and superb with green olives. Great value.]

And another…

Another re-taste – this wine has now been blogged four times. An interesting exercise since it illustrates a trajectory all wines goes through. The was day-glo yellow, bright and clear. The nose was shy with notes of dust and earth. Sour and short on the palate, albeit mouth filling with some tangy bitterness on the finish. When last tasted this wine in 2021 I remarked that it seemed ‘impervious to age’. If only. Clearly on the downhill slope, going but not quite gone. But still drinkable and an interesting experience. (2002 Louis Latour Saint-Aubin).

[Geoff: … and then there were none. It’s been a lovely journey through the 21 year old wine which has been consistently good but is now in its dotage. LL’s web-site suggest a cellar ageing of 2- 3 years. It had lost its fruit notes and, as R. stated was more earthy. One to remember.]