In honour of the Champagne Report...

In honour of the champagne study that has been issued (see previous post) I have opened a bottle of Champagne........you couldn't not open a bottle really (I know, I know any excuse!) Midweek Champagne tastes so good!

Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, NV, Reims, Champagne, France.

This is a great Champagne from a prestigious Champagne house (it's one of my favourites).

The nose is full of bready, doughy aromas, crisp green apples and a hint of pear. The palate is overflowing with more doughy, bready, toasty flavours, it's lovely. The acidity is very well balanced. The acidity leaves your mouth feeling clean. There is quite a nice length too. As in the study that was issued there is a steady stream of active bubbles which are contributing to the taste of the Champagne and the aromas it is producing. The bubbles dance across the tongue. This is a great champagne. 4.9/5 (12% abv) About £39 widely available.

The Importance of Bubbles in Bubbly!

Champagne has been in the wine news quite a bit over the last few days. This time it seems to be all about the bubbles! Champagne's bubbles serve a bigger purpose than just looking pretty – they contain up to 30 times more flavour than the wine itself, scientists have now discovered.

A study of Champagne and high-quality sparkling wines has revealed that the wine in a glass of Champagne and the bubbles themselves have very different chemical fingerprints. Reported in the US scientific journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the research discovered that Champagne's distinctive ‘mousse’ acts as a kind of flavour delivery system or 'paternoster lift'. Report co-author Dr Gérard Liger-Belair, of the University of Reims, used ultra high-resolution mass spectrometry to pinpoint hundreds of different active compounds present in Champagne. He discovered that many aromatic compounds were more likely to be present in the bubbles than in the wine itself.

These findings go to support the widely held belief among wine experts that Champagne with a fine and persistent ‘mousse’ or stream of bubbles, is of a higher quality.

Three's Company..

Thankfully my sense of smell and taste has come back - and not a moment too soon! So tonight, to make up for some lost time I am opening three bottles.

Villa Maria, Cellar Selection Riesling, 2005, Marlborough, New Zealand.

Big nose of fresh waxy limes, floral aromas with hints of petrol. There is almost a slight scent of hay and white pear. There is nice acidity and balance to the palate. The limes continue to be the dominant characteristic with some tart tropical flavours on the palate. The length is really nice. This is a good Riesling that has some restraint. 4.2/5 (12.5% abv)

Marco de Pegoes, Vinho Regional, 2007, Terras do Sado, Pogoes, Portugal.

This is such an interesting wine; made mainly with Castelao with a bit of Syrah. Lovely ripe, dark cherries, raspberries and fleshy plums on the nose. Rustic, woody, smokiness to the palate with edges of dark chocolate. This would be an excellent wine with a BBQ and some steak. The tannins don't seem too heavy but they are definately there, grippy acidity and good length. 4/5 (13.5% abv) £6.24 Majestic Wines.

Piccini, Selezione Oro, Chianti Riserva, 2004, Italy.

Ripe dark fruits with delicate violet edges. Slight earthiness to this wine (in a good way). Sweet red and dark cherries. The dark fruit continues on the palate with tight grippy tannins, nice acidity. 3.5/5 (13.5% abv) £7.99 Tesco (I think!)

Radio Silence....

There has been some radio silence over the last few days, not because I have run out of wine....God forbid! I have a blocked nose! It's not man flu....just a blocked nose. A blocked nose or a common cold is one of the worse things for a wine geek. Your sense of smell and therefore your sense of taste is seriously impaired; so discussing wine and finding its nuances becomes increasingly difficult. I am itching to get back to some decent wine, so as soon as I feel that I am able to smell and taste properly then there will be some more wine review posts on the blog. Hopefully it will be soon.

Burgundy 2009 – Not Quite 2005!

After all the initial excitement, Burgundy producers are still predicting that 2009 will be a great vintage, just not quite the ‘classic’ that 2005 was. Winemakers across Burgundy have been pleased the high levels of ripeness, the health of the grapes, and the promising acidity and balance that the 2009 vintage is showing. The grapes are reported to have lower levels of acidity compared to 2005, but high sugar and more intense flavours

At the same time however, they are adding a disclaimer that unlike 2005, ripeness was not uniform; some grapes may have been picked a little early with the risk of not achieving phenolic ripeness. 'It has been a vintage of false appearances,' said Christophe Chauvel, a viticulture director for Albert Bichot in Beaune. 'You could not rely on visual evidence to pick the grapes, and some people may have picked too early.' Chauvel said the grapes looked so ripe on 15 August he had 'almost wanted to harvest’. However Chauvel went on to say that the ripening was uneven: '2005 was a much easier vintage because the ripening process was more uniform'. Others agreed. Cote d'Or producer Alex Gambal in Beaune said, 'Deciding when to pick was the tricky part [in 2009]. Each parcel had to be picked separately; there was no uniformity.'

In regards to growing conditions, there is no doubt that the weather was fantastic, almost providing producers with the opportunity to pick when they wanted. Gambal said that in his 18th season in Burgundy, he does not 'remember weather that has been this good for this long.' At William Fevre in Chablis, managing director Stephane Follin-Arbelet said the outlook for 2009 was 'very promising….the grapes are superb, with yields slightly lower than normal.'

Orange Wednesdays

Tonight I am opening a great find from Majestic Wines. It is made by famed Chateauneuf du Pape producer Domaine de la Janasse. Plus, this wine is a fraction of the price! I have just come back from Majestic (Sonning), where I used my voucher from the wine uncorked session on a load of South African wine. I really need to get my head around this region. With so many South African friends, not knowing much about their wines doesn't go down too well. This is a lush complex wine that was a perfect end to a busy day.

Domaine de la Janasse, Terre de Bussiere, Vin de Pays de la Principaute d'Orange, 2005, Rhone, France.

This is a blend of 55% Merlot, 25% Syrah, 10% Grenache and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a lush wine, with sweet dark cherry, plum, sweet blackcurrant, vanilla and an herb edge. This wine has a great purity of fruit with raspberry and strawberry also on the nose. There are also hints of oak. You can really get some of the pepper coming through too. The pepper comes across well on the palate. The ripe fruit, dark cherry and plum are also present. Lovely complexity and spice. Smooth silky tannins. The finish is long and soft. The wine is well balanced. 4.7/5 (14.5% abv) £8.99 Majestic Wines.

An Italian in Argentina....

Just finished teaching for the evening so I thought I would open something I haven't had for a long time.

Masi, Passo Doble, Malbec Corvina, 2005, Tupungato Valley, Argentina.

This wine is from the Masi venture in the Tupungato Valley in Argentina. 'Passo Doble' literally means 'double time'. It refers to the double fermentation of the Malbec grapes, with a percentage of lightly dried Corvina grapes. It's a kind of Argentine version of Masi's ripasso method used on the Campofiorin from Verona. The result is a rich and lush wine with spicy dark flavours that are suggestive of an Amarone. The nose is full of dark cherry, plum and edges of violet. There are also aromas of sweet blackcurrant, cedar and liquorice with mild edges of cinnamon, mint and vanilla. The palate is full and spicy with the dark fruit continuing. Tight grippy tannins with great length and finish. 4.5/5 (13.5% abv) £10.99 Oddbins.

Cab Week Part 3.....

Tonight I am opening another Cab as the closing installment to Cab week.

d'Arenberg Estate, The High Trellis, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006, McLaren Vale, Australia.

Beautiful rich, dark juicy fruit, lots of ripe fruit aromas with hints of raspberry and cinnamon. There are also hints of leather, tobacco and bramble. There is a huge full mouth feel to this wine. Your mouth initially feels like it is on fire. Big drying tannins and great length. 4/5(14.5% abv) £9.99 Oddbins.

Lunchtime Chardonnay

As I have said before, I love Australian wine. The first wineries I visited were in Australia. Tyrrells was the first winery I ever visited - so I have a particular soft spot for Tyrrell's wines.

I remember trying their Tawny Port at the cellar door - it was amazing! The Vat 1 Semillon was breath taking. Last year, my 'birthday wine' was Tyrrell's Rufus Stone, Longbow, 2000 (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot). It was one of the best wines I have tasted. So this afternoon I opened a bottle of unoaked Chardonnay. It was a lovely warm afternoon which created a perfect setting for this wine.

Tyrrells Wines, Lost Block, Unwooded Chardonnay, 2005, Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia.

Lovely citrus and almost tropical aromas, hints of banana, pear and pineapple. There is almost an edge of petrol to the wine as well. There is a very full feeling to the mouth. The citrus really comes through on the palate. This wines has fresh sharp acidity and great strong length. 4.2/5 (13.5% abv).

Cab Week Part 2....

This is the second wine on Cab week. Tonight I am trying a wine from a country that I don't know much about - USA. I don't have that much experience with American wine, so I was looking forward to this one.

Waterstone, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004, Napa Valley, California, USA.

Deep dark blackcurrant and blackberry, hints of cherry, sweet French oak. Aromas of mocha and chocolate. Huge full bodied wine, thick drying tannins. This wine tastes like it is still quite young but it will mellow over time. At the moment the wine is too big to allow the flavours and aromas to work in tune; some of the flavours are still a bit raw and untamed. I think this wines should be ready in about 3 years. (14.5% abv) 4/5 (could change when I taste it in a few years time) £14.99 Majestic Wines.

Corkscrews

I will grant you that this post is heading towards wine geekness, but I thought I would post it anyway. The sparkling Moscato I opened last night was obviously pressurised (you can tell by the way the cork flares at the base in the picture above). However, unlike Champagne, Cava and Prosecco which have mushroom tops to the cork, which can be easily opened by hand; this wine had the cork leveled to the flat top of the bottle - like still wine. I have previously tried to open this wine with a 'waiters friend' corkscrew (the one on the left). This was full of problems. It was hard to get the cork moving in the the first place, and the lever action of the corkscrew put too much stress on the cork and it began to break. As my wife really likes this wine, I have opened quite a few bottles of this in the past! I have found that the corkscrew in the right of the picture tends to work best. The action of pulling the cork directly up, seems to not only get the cork moving easier but also puts the cork under less stress. I also feel like I have more control over the cork as it is coming out too. Plus, you still get that thrilling pop at the end as the pressure from inside the bottle is released. My advice - use the 'winged' corkscrew (on the right) when opening pressurised wines where the cork is level with the top of the bottle!

Cab Week

I thought that this week I would do something a little bit different. I have decided that this week the main focus is going to be Cabernet Sauvignon. So, in Cab week, what's the obvious choice to help us get started..... sparkling Moscato!

Gemma, Moscato, 2006, Vigna Fiorita, Piedmonte, Italy.

Lovely rich honeyed, grapey, aroma. Light delicate bubbles, hints of apricot. The palate is nice and sweet with even more honey. Great length and finish. 4.2/5 (5.5% abv) £6.99 Oddbins.

Penalolen, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006, Vina Quebrada de Macul, Maipo Valley, Chile.

Sweet blackcurrant and blackberry, soft dark and summer fruits. Hints of smokey wood, roasted meat edges, mocha and tobacco. Thick palate where the charcuterie continues. Heavy tannins. I think this wine is tired and is past it's best and should be drunk younger (could score higher if it was younger). 3.7/5 (14.9% abv) £9.99 Oddbins.

Coonawarra & Marlborough

Tonight I decided to open two bottles, one red and one white. One is from Coonawarra in Australia. The other wine is a Sauvignon Blanc with a bit of bottle age.

Grove Mill, Sauvignon Blanc, 2005, Marlborough, New Zealand.

Normally Sauvignon Blanc is made to be drunk young (about 1-2 years); this however has 4 years of bottle age, which means that this is sort of old (in Sauvignon Blanc terms!) This is still vibrant and fresh. It is not as zingy as the 2007 Grove Mill I reviewed in August. This is still full of citrus and gooseberry aromas, but the bottle age seems to have brought out a slight tangerine edge to the wine. Citrus and grapefruit appear on the palate. It still has nice acidity and a slightly herbaceous aftertaste. The finish is nice and the length is good. This wine is still showing well but I think I need to use up the other two bottles I have within the next 6 months. 4/5 (13.5% abv) £8.99 Oddbins.

Majella, The Musician, Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz, 2007, Coonawarra, South Australia.

I love Australian wine. The first vineyards I ever visited were in the Hunter Valley (NSW) when we were living in Sydney from 2002-2003. This is 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Shiraz. This wine has a lovely aroma of sweet dark, violety fruit with rich blackberry and blackcurrant. There is however a softness to the fruit at the same time. It also has aromas of strawberries, coconut and vanilla. There is a beautiful sweet soft rounded berry perfume to the wine. There is a nice full feeling to the palate and you can really feel the spice of the shiraz coming through. The palate is not overpowering and has some restraint. Good length and finish. This has some good complexity considering it's youth. 4.5/5 (14.5% abv) £9.99 Oddbins.

G&T Fridays

There is just something special about coming home on a Friday evening after a busy week at work and having a G&T. You cant really call it Friday without a G&T. It's a fun way to start the weekend. Not much to say really, just a good G&T is great; there are few things like it!

'Wine Uncorked' at Majestic Wine

Tonight, a mate and I attended one of the 'Wine Uncorked' sessions at Majestic Wine in Reading. The website says "Our relaxed 2 hour introduction and tasting session will provide you with a great understanding of wine, from grape to glass" and what's more the whole thing is free! To be honest the course did live up to the hype. The manager (Mark) was very knowledgeable and able to communicate the information clearly. We were greeted at the door with Cava and then went into the introduction and tasting. There were only six of us in total which made the atmosphere quite intimate.

Here are the wines we tasted:

Cordorniu Seleccion Ravenos NV, Cava, Spain.

Domaine Paul Chevrier & Fils, Veilles Vignes, Sancerre, 2008 Loire Valley, France.

Domaine Vocoret & Fils, Chablis, 2008, Chablis, France.

Montes Alpha, Chardonnay, 2006, Casablanca Valley, Chile.

Canard Duchene, Champagne, Champagne, France.

Montana, Reserve Pinot Noir, 2006, Marlborough, New Zealand.

Chateau Caronnes Ste-Gemme, Bordeaux Haut Medoc, 2004, Bordeaux, France.

Kangarilla Road, Shiraz, 2006, McLaren Vale, Australia.

Robertson Winery, Limited Release Almond Grove, Noble Late Harvest, 2007, South Africa.

After we had completed the tasting, which included discussion over how wine is made, how champagne is made, cool climate and warm climate wines, what to look for in a wine, corked wines (of which we were given an example to smell), we went on to food and wine pairing. We looked at:

Apples - oaked Chardonnay Vs Sancerre

Salmon - Bordeaux Vs Chablis

Cheddar Cheese - Bordeaux

Tortilla Chips - Shiraz

Chocolate - Shiraz Vs Dessert wine.

We were then free to go back and re-taste any of the wines we had tried over the course of the evening. It was a great event, and one that I would thoroughly recommend to others. To top off a great night of good wine and free champagne, we were then given a £10 voucher off our next purchase (valid until the end of October) as a thank you for coming to the session! With the minimum purchase quantity now reduced from 12 bottles to 6, the voucher means picking up 6 six bottles will be very affordable. There is no excuse not to pop in and choose something I have never tried before. The whole evening proved to be a big win for Majestic. Make sure you book your place on a course that is taking place at a Majestic Wine Warehouse near you!

A spot of midweek Sherry.

It's early evening, midweek and I have just finished teaching. I had a glass of the white Burgundy I opened on Monday. It was still showing really well, refreshing and vibrant. However, the real focus of the evening was the Lustau Sherry.

Lustau, Solera Reserva, Rich Oloroso, Sherry, Spain.

This is one of my favourite things in the world. To me, this just says Christmas. This is a blend of Oloroso and Pedro Ximerez. The nose is just full of juicy raisins and sultanas. There is the distinct aroma of Christmas pudding, along with fruit cake, caramel and orange rind. The palate is beautifully warming. The sweetness, caramel, fruit cake and orange rind continue on the palate. The palate really imitates the nose. The palate feels nice and full, with a lovely length and finish. (20% abv) 5/5 £10.99 Oddbins

Refreshing Chardonnay

It's Monday evening and it's been a busy start to the week. So, I decided to open a bottle of white Burgundy. This is a nice fresh example which has been chilled done lightly.

Cave de Lugny, Macon-Villages, 2008, Burgundy, France.

This is a lovely unoaked chardonnay from Cave de Lugny, one of the top performing co-operatives in Burgundy. This wine is a good introduction into the wines of this region. The nose is immediately clean, crisp, bright and fresh. There are aromas of peach, citrus and conference pears on the nose. This wine really awakens the palate. the citrus follows on from the nose with precise, tight acidity, steely minerality and a good finish. (13% abv) 4/5

Last of the summer steak.

I am having a hard time accepting that the summer is over. So, in my defiance I started up the BBQ. We grilled some lovely big steaks which were a perfect match to the Malbec we opened at the same time. Malbec is most famously made in Argentina but this wine is made in Chile by the award winning De Martino.

De Martino, Single Estate Malbec, 2005, Maule Valley, Chile.

De Martino was voted the Chilean wine producer of the year 2005 at the International Wine & Spirit Competition. It's a huge inky wine with a purple hue. It has a lovely huge fruity nose, with masses of violet aromas, red berry fruits - especially raspberry. Violet is by far the dominant characteristic on the nose. There is a bit of sweetness & roundedness to the nose, similar to red liquorice. It has a beautiful, firm structured palate, lovely drying tannins. There is a bit more hedge row fruit coming through on the palate accompanied by some cedar; you do still get some violet on the back of the palate. Lovely length to the finish. (14.5% abv) 4.5/5 £11.99 Oddbins.

Friday Night Shiraz

Just come back from the gym, so I thought I would open up a bottle of d'Arenberg - I just hope this doesn't undo all the good work I have done at the gym!

d'Arenberg Estate, The Footbolt Shiraz, 2006, McLaren Vale, South Australia.

Lovely velvety swell of berries on the nose. Blackberry, blackcurrant with hints of blueberry and red summer fruits. Bramble and smokey black pepper come out after some air. Dark spicy fruit dominates the palate with a bit more of the bramble. Solid tannins and nice length (14.5% abv) 4.2/5 £10.99 - Oddbins.

Tuesday Night Riesling

Tonight I am drinking a lovely crisp cool climate Aussie Riesling.

Arrowfield Estate, Show Reserve Riesling 2004, Hunter Valley, Australia.

This wine has a light straw colour. It has aromas of petrol, fresh limes, grapefruit and almost an elderflower/floral scent. It smells a bit buttery, with creamy buttery light oak. The palate is full of exhuberant fresh lime flavours carried over from the nose, citrus pith with hints of orange. This has some stoney minerality, tight crisp acidity and nice length. (12.5% abv) 4/5