Beautiful South African Red

Had a great family lunch today. We currently have some family and our God-children staying with us. Having 13 month old twins in the house is quite exhausting! So tonight, in my attempt to relax I cracked open a bottle of South African red - and I am so glad I did!

Thelema, Mountain Red, 2007, South Africa.

This is an blend of 79% Shiraz and 21% Merlot. Lovely big bramble fruit on the nose. Sweet blackcurrants, blackberry and violet aromas flood from the glass. There is also a bit of plum and fresh black pepper here too. It's a bit vegetal. There is the slightest hint of matchstick reduction. Lovely tightly wound red fruit fill the palate (this will mellow slightly with about 18 more months of bottle age). Firm, grippy tannins help provide some structure. Some softer red fruit makes an appearance, with some violets and some focused cherry flavours . Some spicy plum leave a nice rounded mouth feel. Great length and finish. 4/5 (14.5% abv)

Monday Night Fizz

There has been quite a bit of talk about sparkling wine of late. My father has just done his 'Christmas wine Shopping' - which included some champagne. There has also been some supermarket controversy, with a rumoured champagne price war in the run up to Christmas between Morrisons and Tesco. Morrisons is currently doing a 'better than half price sale' of top name champagne including Bollinger and Moet & Chandon (which started today). What Tesco will do remains to been seen. I have been craving some fizz for a while, so tonight I opened a bottle of Cava. Granted, this is not top name bubbly, but it is fizz. This has filled a gap until Christmas, when the real stuff will be brought out in force!

Freixenet, Excelencia Cava NV, Spain.

Fresh, bright nose with green apple and some bready, doughy aromas. There is a steady stream of fine bubbles. The palate is full of tart green apples and more of the doughy flavours. There is nicely balanced acidity and a pleasant length. There is a nice crispness to the palate. This is not top-notch fizz by any means but it is a nice drop. This would be good as a party wine, chilled down to help the good times roll! 3/5 (11.5% abv)

New Zealand Pinot Noir

To be honest, I haven't had much Pinot Noir lately. I have a friend who is a Pinot Noir nut! So, I usually save most of my Pinot to have with him. He's been away on holiday for the last few week (Cape Town, South Africa). Tonight, I couldn't resist! I have opened a bottle of New Zealand Pinot. I really like New Zealand Pinot Noir; it has the right climate for this variety and makes much more affordable expressions of this grape than Burgundy.

Sherwood Estate, 'Stratum' Pinot Noir, 2008, Marlborough, New Zealand.

Great light ruby red Pinot colour. It's looking good from the start. There is a wildness to this wine - in a good way. Wild strawberry and mild cherry are dominant on the nose. Delicate underpinnings of violet and spices. The nose is quite focused. The palate is really smooth and the tannins soft. The palate has some soft red fruits but with more oaky, peppery spice to it. The palate is also slightly earthy and wild. This is a lovely wine and a good example of Marlborough Pinot. Good value for money. 4/5 (12.5% abv) £8.99 Oddbins.

Another Good Value Shiraz

I seem to be going through a bit if a Shiraz/Syrah phase at the moment......not that I mind at all! Tonight, I am opening another good value Shiraz. It's very different to the one I had last night, which supports the notion of 'terrior' and helps give this wine a sense of place.

Kangarilla Road, Shiraz, 2005, McLaren Vale, Australia.

This is a lovely dark inky wine. The nose is greeted with aromas of really dark fruits and violets. The wine seems a bit sultry and brooding. There is plenty of spice on the nose accompanied by some vanilla oakiness. There is also a mild hint of menthol/eucalyptus. The palate continues with the dark fruit and spice theme. The fresh peppery spice and the dark fruit are well balanced and integrate well together. The tannins are nice and smooth and the wine has a silk texture to it. There is a nice savoury meatiness to this wine which helps give it some presence. This is a really nice wine; typically 'Aussie Shiraz' in it's style (in a good way!). This would be a great wine with a summer BBQ (bit late now I know!). The dark fruit and spice in the wine would stand up quite well to the smokiness of a BBQ. In fact, it went really well with the grilled lamb we had for dinner tonight. 4/5 (14.5% abv) £10.99 Majestic Wine.

Impromptu SA Syrah

Last night we had a quick impromptu dinner over at the in-laws. I finished teaching my piano students and we were straight out the door. As we were heading out I picked up a bottle to take over with us. My wife's parents aren't really wine drinkers; but the mother-in-law does like the odd drop every now and then. It is my mission to convert them - one glass at a time! The bottle I took over was not an expensive bottle but it was a delight and a pleasant surprise at just how good it was.

Porcupine Ridge, Syrah, 2007, Boekenhoutskloof Franschoek, South Africa.

There is some lovely dark cherry here with some plum and red berry fruit. There is some nice black pepper and cedar which comes across on the nose. The pepper continues on the palate with some darker fruits - predominantly blackberry and bramble. The palate also has some meatiness to it, showing a nice mix between old world and new world styles. There is a smooth texture and smooth tannins. There is a slight dark chocolate aftertaste. Good length. This is a good bottle of wine which vastly out performs it's price point. 3.8/5 (14.5% abv) £6.99 Waitrose Wine.

Cracking Syrah & New Glasses

I have been wanting to try this wine for some time. So, I thought what better way to try it than to try it three times in three different glasses. Tonight I am not just opening a cracking Syrah but also conducting my 'glass experiment' (prompted by my recent purchase of some Riedel 'O' Range Syrah/Shiraz glasses). Does Riedel's claim of specifically shaping glasses to enhance the aromas/flavours of the wine actually work? Granted, the 'findings of this experiment' are not conclusive - it's just a bit of fun (wine geek fun!). I just wanted to try it for myself.

Casa Marin, Miramar Vineyard Syrah, 2006, San Antonio Valley, Chile.

The wine smells 'classy' (if that's possible). Rich but refined fruit aromas. Clean cut, focused red fruit aromas, with plenty of raspberry. The edges of the wine are full of other aromas to pick up. There is a slightly smoke edge, some wood, pepper and bramble fruits. After being in the glass for a while, some dark fruits begin to emerge. Some blackberry joins the raspberry in the forefront. The palate is silky smooth with soft refined tannins. There is a slightly smokey wood flavour coming through with plenty more bramble fruit. There is some really defined white pepper on the palate, which again points to the brilliance of this wine; delicate pepper flavour rather than hot, harsh spice. The wine is so refined and elegant. I am really impressed. So glad I opened this wine. I have another bottle of this which I will leave for a while - this wine will definitely get better with age. 4.8/5 (12.5% abv) £19.99 Majestic Wine.

The Glasses.

The standard wine glass showed off the wine well. I felt that I was able to really appreciate what the wine had to offer. (Maybe it's because I am used to using these glasses).

The Riedel glass was strange to use at first, due to the fact that there is no stem. I have never used wine glasses without stems before. The swirling motion in the glass is very easy to get going and it allows the wine plenty of room. The base is shaped well for your hand and the rim of the glass shaped well for the nose/mouth - angled enough to get the aromas while still giving you enough room to have a good sniff. The rim is really thin. I was conscious about not breaking them when I cleaned them before using them but I think this actually helps with tasting the wine. I think I will get some of the Riedel Pinot Noir glasses next. It will be interesting to put some Pinot Noir and some Shiraz in a Pinot glass and see if the Pinot Noir wine tastes better being drunk from the Pinot glass.

The ISO glasses felt clumsy and restrictive. The rim is not really wide enough to get a good sniff but due to the narrowness at the top of the glass it does focus and concentrate the aromas. I felt like I wasn't able to get the best out of the wine.

The Riedel glasses impressed me (as I said - Pinot Noir glasses next!) Maybe it's just me but the stemless 'O' range do seem to be a bit more 'social'. I can see myself sitting back and relaxing with friends and enjoying wine from these glasses.

Bright & Zesty Sauvignon Blanc

It has been a down right miserable day today in Reading. It has been dark and grey and very, very wet. So , I decided to open a bright and zesty Sauvignon Blanc.

Villa Maria, Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc, 2006, Marlborough, New Zealand.

This is a bright, zesty wine; full of zing! The nose is full of fresh gooseberry, passionfruit, mango, pineapple and tropicalness. The glass just smells of a bright summers day - perfect on a miserable dark day like today. The palate is fresh and vibrant. While the palate maintains the tropical flavours from the nose, there is also a citrus touch with edges of mandarin. The acid is balanced and awakens the palate. The length is ongoing. This is a typical Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc - and does what is says on the tin......or bottle as the case may be! 4/5 (13.5 abv) Widely Available.

In store tasting at Majestic Wine

Last night I attended an in store tasting at Majestic Wine (Sonning). It was a whirlwind tour as I had something else on last night as well, but I managed to work my way around the tasting and as always enjoyed what Majestic had on show. It was a very well organised event. The store was short staffed when I arrived but remained calm and attentively helpful while they were waiting for reinforcements to come in. They managed to create a relaxed, social atmosphere in the place - it made tasting much easier and stimulated banter between the customers. What also helped was how they arranged the wines around the store in a certain way so that as you went around their 'circuit' the wines increased in strength - rather than going from aged Bordeaux to Sancerre and not picking that much up! The selection of wines they had on show was quite good. They had a rep from Lanson at the store as well. I had never tasted Lanson Champagne before - so having the rep there allowed us to taste 2 different styles and have a good chat about their wines. One thing I must point out is how great the manager of Majestic Wine in Sonning is. She is very knowledgeable and helpful; her customer service is fantastic. (This is not just based on this event but other occasions I have shopped at this store).

Here is the list of the wines that we had on tasting:

Lindauer Special Reserve, NV, New Zealand.

Lanson, Black Label, Brut Champagne, France.

Lanson, Rose Label, Brut Rose Champagne, France.

Wiengarten Weissenkirchen, Gruner Veltliner, 2008, Wachau Valley, Austria.

Chateau de Sancerre, Sancerre, 2007.

The Ned, Sauvignon Blanc, 2008, Marlborough, New Zealand.

Domaine Cordier, Pouilly-Fuisse, 2007, France.

Te Tera, Pinot Noir, 2008, Martinborough, New Zealand.

Winemaker's Lot, Merlot, 2008, Cachapoal Valley, Chile.

Paul Mas Estate, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008, Vin de Pays d'Oc, France.

Paul Jaboulet, Les Jalets, Crozes-Hermitage, 2006, France.

Chateau Laroze, Bordeaux St Emilion Grand Cru, 2001, France.

Taylor's 10 Ten Year Old, Tawny Port, Portugal.

The three stars of the evening for me were the Te Tera Pinot Noir (I have recently bought some of this, so it was good to try it and find out I like it!), Paul Jaboulet 'Les Jalets' this is a great wine and I always make sure I buy some when it is on this crazy offer and finally the rich and warming Taylor's Tawny Port.

I wish I could have stayed a bit longer last night at the tasting and really taken my time. However it was a good evening none the less. Another Majestic win!

Turkey on the Butcher's Block

What a miserable day it has been - the weather has definitely decided it is now wintertime. Tonight I was hoping that the wine I chose would cheer me up a bit - at least more than last night's wine did! This wine did not disappoint.

Turkey Flat, Butcher's Block, Shiraz Grenache Mourvedre, 2006, Barossa Valley, Australia.

This is a big, ripe fruity wine. Huge, punch you in the face aromas of juicy, sweet plum and blackcurrant jam; there is also some strawberry in here too. Hints of cinnamon (even the spice is smelling sweet!). Silky, smooth texture and balanced structured tannins. The palate has darker bramble fruit and more spice. The palate has more pepper and clove. Beautiful, long length to this wine. This is the wine I should have had last night. It definitely cheered me up tonight. I have wanted to try Turkey Flat's wines for a while. They have a good reputation. This did not disappoint. I can't remember how much I paid for this but I now have my sights on the Turkey Flat Shiraz (about £20). 4/5 (14.5% abv)

Carmenere-Shiraz

Been a busy day in work today. The weather has taken a turn towards winter (well, I suppose it is almost the middle of November!). So tonight I fancied something to cheer me up. Granted this is a nice wine and would be good with a BBQ but I wouldn't go as far as saying that it cheered me up (maybe tomorrow's wine will be better) but it was a nice wine.

Dona Dominga, Carmenere-Shiraz Reserva, 2004, Colchagua Valley, Chile.

Ultra ripe sweet plums, cherry, red berry fruit and crushed raspberry. There are some soft wine gum, pastel fruits with the slightest hints of eucalyptus and spice on the nose. The palate is a lot 'greener' with more spice and oaky characters too. You still get some red berries and cherry but with some woody backbone. There is almost some sort of stalky flavour too. There is a nice length to this wine and some soft tannins with a smooth texture. I have another bottle of this which I think I need to use up - soon! I think this wine is peaking. 3.5/5 (14.5% abv) Waitrose Wine.

New Corkscrew

Tonight I used a new corkscrew that I picked up at the Wine Gang Christmas Wine Fair. It is a double action waiter's friend. The one I used previously was a very cheap and cheerful single action waiter's friend - It was a no frills corkscrew! The new corkscrew feels so much better. The lever action is smoother and the double action movement makes getting the cork out so much quicker and easier. The grip is a lot more comfortable. The foil cutter (blade) is serrated which means that it is very easy to get a rough edge on the top of the foil - maybe I just need to get better at using it! I am glad I picked it up. It's a much better corkscrew and it will definitely be replacing my previous one. The new corkscrew is made by www.waitersfriend.com

The Wine Gang's Christmas Wine Fair

Yesterday, I attended the Wine Gang's Christmas Wine Fair at Vinopolis in London. This was a consumer wine tasting - very few of this style tasting exist. So firstly a huge thank you to The Wine Gang (http://www.thewinegang.com) for putting it on in the first place.

It was a great day. The atmosphere at the place was buzzing. The place was bright and airy and very well laid out (see photo 1). Each importer/merchant/retailer that was represented had a table and various wines from their range on show. To be honest, this was my first 'proper' wine tasting event, so I was very interested to find out what actually goes on at events like these! There was a very social atmosphere and plenty of banter going on between the participants. There was also loads of spittoons around - which made going from one wine to the next faster and easier. The unpleasant and unsocial act of spitting was accepted by all those who attended and no one battered an eyelid when you leant in front of them looking like you were going to spit on their shoes! There was no way that you could drink all the samples of each wine you tried - well, not without being carried out on a stretcher at the end! I soon conquered my phobia of spitting - my concern was over not spitting properly! As I don't spit out of habit, I was concerned about spitting into the spittoon in one attempt, rather than dribbling into the spittoon with half of the wine running down my chin! Out of the 600+ wines on show I think I worked my way through about 150 - at the end of the session my palate was well and truly exhausted. I have never tasted so much wine in one session before. In all the tasting I did, I learnt a very valuable lesson: Don't take too much sparkling wine in your mouth at a tasting! When you 'chew' the wine and suck in air - the wine releases a lot of gas very quickly - a few times through out the tasting I thought that my cheeks were not going to hold in the wine, from the pressure build up!

I made a point of visiting 'bloggers corner'. It's important to share the blogger love! This area helped to showcase some of the fantastic work being done by food & wine bloggers in UK. One blog to make a note of was by Mathilde Delville (http://www.mathildescuisine.wordpress.com). She has a great blog on food and wine pairing; believing that to truly appreciate food or wine they have to be enjoyed together. I also managed to finally meet Robert McIntosh (aka Thirstforwine). Robert is THE Rioja guy - the man's a legend! Robert has been very helpful in my first few months of blogging with useful hints and advice (I have only been doing this for about 3 months!). Check out Robert's killer blog at http://www.wineconversation.com. As well as meeting fellow bloggers and sampling many wines, the Wine Gang also organised free 'wine walks'. All you had to do was book onto a walk with an expert of your choice and they would walk you through so me of their favourite wines at the event. I booked myself onto Olly Smith and Tim Atkin's wine walks. They were very informative. It was also interesting to see which wines the experts thought were good and which wines they enjoyed. Olly is just as bonkers in real life as he is on the TV. I love it that what you see is what you get. He came across as being a very genuine, down to earth sort of guy (as did Tim Atkin). Muchas respect for both of them.

Obviously I am not going to review all the 150 wines that I tried while at the Wine Fair. However, I am going to mention some of my highlights from the day.

The table of Find Wine has some great wines on it:

Mocen, Verdejo, 2008, Spain - was exquisite. Great clarity and purity of fruit. (4.7/5)

Sideral, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, 2002, Chile - If I had tasted this blind I would have said that it was French. This Chilean Bordeaux blend actually tastes like a French St Emilion - It didn't taste of Chile at all. It was a big but smooth wine, with good depth and complexity. (4.7/5)

Check out the Find Wine website - http://www.findwine.co.uk

Table 9 had the Wines of Colasanti. I could have stayed at this table for most of the day, their wines were exceptional. The staff were knowledgeable, helpful, insightful, compelling and most of all passionate.

Cantina Chiori, Sangiovese IGT, 2008, Umbria, Italy - This was a lovely, young, fresh wine. This would make a great house red as it provides a lovely alternative to Cabernet and Shiraz. (4.5/5)

Cascina Bongiovanni Barolo DOCG, 2003, Piemonte, Italy - Beautifully structured wine. This wine has super drying tannins - the inside of my mouth literally stuck to my teeth! In a few years this wine will develop into a great wine. (4.7/5)

Piantate Lunghe Conero DOCG "Rossini", 2005, Le Marche, Italy - (See photo 2). This wine was simply Fantastic. It was structured and complex with ripe juicy fruit. This is a wine that you could open with friends and watch it evolve in the glass as the night progressed. (5/5)

Check out Colasanti's wines at: http://www.colasanti.co.uk

ViniPortugal put on a superb show. They displayed a wide variety of Portuguese wines. Portugal is quickly becoming a favourite region of mine - It is definitely one to keep on track with.

Monte de Peceguina, Tinto, 2008, Alentejo, Portugal - Beautiful complex wine full of dark fruits; ripe, lush berries and a silky smooth texture. (4.7/5)

Next I went on to Madeira. I will confess that before this event I was a Madeira virgin! However, after the event, I am completely sold on the stuff. D'Oliveiras were showing three vintage Madeiras (see photo 4).

D'Oliveiras Colheita Sercial, 1989, Madeira, Portugal. (4.7/5)

D'Oliveiras Colheita Malvasia, 1987, Madeira, Portugal. (4.8/5)

D'Oliveiras Reserva Boal, 1978, Madeira, Portugal. (5/5)

All of these Madeiras offered something different. The 1978 is the same age as me! (I must admit I was a very good vintage!) They were all so complex, smooth and long lasting, however the 1978 did just come out on top over the others. It was like drinking liquid gold.

Check out the ViniPortugal wines at: http://www.viniportugal.co.uk

Maisons Marques et Domaines had some lovely wines. The stand out wine for me was:

Mount Nelson, Sauvignon Blanc, 2008, Marlborough, New Zealand - This was a lovely example of Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc. Delicate but with great clarity of fruit, Good balance and acidity. (4.6/5)

Check out http://www.mmdltd.co.uk

Clos Cantenac, St Emilion, Grand Cru, 2007, Bordeaux, France (See photo 3) was a great find. This wine is a new Bordeaux wine and was being showcased at the Wine Fair. We were some of the first people in the world to try this wine, and what a wine it was. It is not everyday you are exposed to a new Bordeaux, so we were very privileged to try this wine. It was a fantastic wine, great structure, dark berries, cinnamon, vanilla, ripe plums but with some smokey and spicy characters too. If you can keep your hands off this for a few years it will be a wonderful wine. (4.8/5)

Check out: http://www.closcantenac.com

Finally some sweet stuff. Waitrose (http://www.waitrosewine.com/) had a delightful sweet wine on show.

Anthemis, Muscat of Samos, 2002, Greece. This was an absolute cracker and one that Olly Smith included on his wine walk. This would be a fab wine to have over Christmas. (4.8/5)

Liberty Wines (http://www.libertywines.co.uk/) had a Pink Moscato on show. This was soon referred to as 'The Party Wine' on the day and everyone was whispering about it.

Innocent Bystander, Pink Moscato, 2009, Yarra Valley, Australia. This wine would again be perfect for Christmas or a hot summer's day. On drinking it I immediately thought that my wife would love this wine. It was full of light summer fruits. It really lived up to the hype - It really is a party wine. (4.6/5)

Well, this is a long post, but it was a great day and I had a lot to say about it! Apparently, based on the success of this event, The Wine Gang are planning to have another one next year. It was a great day out and really confirmed why I love wine. I tried wines that I would never have had the opportunity to try anywhere else. I even managed to try stuff that I have wanted to try for some time, as well as some styles I have never tried before. If you have not joined the Wine Gang, then log onto their website (http://www.thewinegang.com) and sign up.

Thanks a lot for yesterday Wine Gang. Roll on the Wine Fair 2010.

A Great Douro

I really like this wine. It is a wine I have had before. It is almost a staple wine at our house. It has been an exceedingly hectic week - and the weekend is fully booked too! So, I thought I would open a nice bottle of Douro wine. This is a comforting wine. Even though the weekend is busy it does also include the Wine Gang's Christmas Fair at Vinopolis. I can't wait for this event. (There will be a full review of the event on the blog). Anyway, back to matters at hand....

Churchill Estates, Douro, 2005, Douro Valley, Portugal.

The nose is full of lovely dark cherry and lush dark fruits. There are clear aromas of blackcurrant, liquorice and cedar. There are also some hints of soft violet & dark chocolate. The violet & blackcurrant really come across on the palate. There is also some nice meatiness here too. This wine has a smooth, silky texture with supple tannins, great length and balance. There is also a warming spiciness on the palate. This is a lovely wine and perfect on such a miserable and gloomy day. This has really put me in the mood for the Wine Gang's Christmas Fair tomorrow - I just need to keep remembering to spit while I am there! 4.5/5 (13% abv) £8.99 Majestic Wine.

Organic Viognier

It has been a busy week at work this week with plenty of overtime hours galore. I have just come back from a meal with clients. I thought I would open something refreshing as I try to unwind and de-stress before going to bed. So, I reached for some Viognier. The fact that this is organic surely means that it is better for you....or at least that is what I keep telling myself!

Yalumba, Organic Viognier, 2008, South Australia, Australia.

The nose is full of white musk, stone fruit and fresh zingy lemon and lime aromas. There is some conference pear here as well with hints of mandarin. There is citrus fruit but also some citrus pith too. There is also a bit of honey. When I smell this wine I get an image of sunny summer meadows and sunflowers! (Random, I know!) The fresh mouth watering acidity really awakens the palate. The citrus is abundant on the palate. The white musk and honey also carry over. There is a lovely balance with this wine, with good poise and length. 3.6/5 (14.5% abv) Waitrose.

Random Rhone

In a very random mood today, so I just chose the first bottle that came to hand!

Delas, Coteaux du Tricastin, 2006, Rhone Valley, France.

Loads of soft rounded aromas of plum, red berry fruits and dark cherry. After a bit of air a slightly darker more sultry side emerges accompanied by some spicy oaky flavours. The palate is more meaty with hints of smoked bacon. Soft tannins, good length helps to give this wine some presence. The palate has soft red berry fruit similar to the nose but you do get more small lighter notes of cherry. This is a nice wine with good balance across its flavours. 3.7/5 (13.5% abv).

Loire Pinot

La Grille, Pinot Noir, 2005, Loire Valley, France.

Good Pinot Noir colour. Lots of sweet cherry, plum and redcurrant. This is quite a delicate wine. None of the flavours are too in your face. Very soft and smooth palate. The wine does feel quite watery and some of the flavours a bit diluted. You get more of the redcurrant on the palate and mild hints of white pepper. This is a very delicate, soft expression of Pinot Noir. 2.8/5 (12% abv) £5.99 Majestic Wine.