The Boycat

I have just come back from a leadership day that our church had in Tonbridge. It was an early start and a long drive but it was so worth it. It was a very inspiring day. Once home, It was straight into the cellar to get a bottle to start relaxing.

Linda Domas Wines, 'Boycat' Merlot, 2008, McLaren Vale, Australia.

This has a vibrant, perfumed nose; full of juicy, ripe plums, raspberries and violets. There is a big presence of summer fruits here. Silky, smooth texture and big tannins. I think these tannins will mellow quite a big with some bottle age - this wine is still quite young. The big red fruits carry over to the palate and remain dominant. Good balance and length. The aftertaste has a slight smokey, dark chocolate edge to it. This is still quite a tightly wound wine, which will relax with a bit more age. 4/5 (13.5% abv) £8.99 Marks & Spencer.

Friday, Friends and Les Jalets

Pinot Guy and his wife have just moved into a new apartment. So, last night we headed over to their new pad to 'officially' be the first people that they have over for dinner. It was a great night; it was so good see their new place, catch up and unwind after a busy week. We laughed a lot last night! As well as good food, Pinot Guy also pulled out a bottle of 'Les Jalets'.

Paul Jaboulet Aine, 'Les Jalets' Crozes Hermitage, 2006, Tain L'Hermitage, France.

This was a dark, sultry wine. The nose was full of blackcurrant and spicy cherry. There were also elements of brambles, nettles, leather and cigar box.The palate was quite softer. Beautifully smooth with great length. The palate had more brambles and blackcurrant with a dusting of white pepper. 4.2/5 (12.5% abv)

The Crown in Playhatch

Not a wine post tonight but a food one instead. Tonight my wife and I had a great evening out with some friends at The Crown in Playhatch (nr Reading). Visit their website for more information (http://www.thecrown.co.uk). We met with friends that we haven't seen since before Christmas. These are some of our really good friends, who have been in our lives for years. These friends were the ones who introduced us to the Crown many years ago. So it was nice to back to this restaurant together; the weird thing was that they sat us at the same table that we were at the first time we went!

The menu is well put together; offering a good array of gastro pub food.

To start I had the:

Tian of locally smoked salmon, fresh crab, shrimp and crayfish tails - infused with chilli, coriander, ginger and basil.

This was a lovely, well presented started with all the flavours working well together.

For the main course I had (pictured above) the:

Baked Fillet of Cod - served on creamy mashed potato with green pea sauce and crispy prosciutto ham.

This really was a great dish and so well put together. The pea sauce was lovely and a perfect compliment to the cod. The pea sauce did not overpower the fish at all. The fish itself was cooked to perfection. The fillet kept its form and remained meaty but just melted in the mouth.

This was a good dish for me as my wife hates peas, so I don't get them at home (I quite like them!) Our friend's wife hates peas as well - so he had the same main course as me! I must admit that after two courses I did somewhat fail and have to pass on a pudding. The service was excellent. The waitress was very attentive without being overbearing.

I would highly recommend the Crown to anyone. All I have to do now is to find an excuse to plan another trip to go back there!

Hautes Cotes de Nuits

I have had this wine for some time; not that I know what I was keeping it for. So tonight, I decided it was about time I opened it. It was a good wine and a nice pick-up for a midweek tipple.

David Duband, 'Louis Auguste', Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2004, France.

Beautiful light crisp wine. The nose has plenty of apricots, nectarine and stone fruits with hints of tangerine, orchards and some honey. The palate retains the stone fruit and apricot but also has elements of freshly pressed apples. The honeyed characters appear on the palate too. Crisp acidity, nice length and balance. Good dry wine - well poised. Glad I am drinking this now; I can't help but wonder if this could have tasted better if it was a year or so younger. 3.5/5 (12.5% abv)

Nice Relaxing Wine

Paul Jaboulet Aine, Parallele 45, Cotes du Rhone, 2007, Tain L'Hermitage, France.

This wine is a blend of Grenache and Syrah. The nose is full of soft, sweet raspberry and blackcurrant fruit. There is also some bramble fruit and aromas of hedgerows with some hints of olive. The palate is smooth with soft tannins. This is definitely ready to drink now. There is good balance and savouriness to this wine. There are some dustings of white pepper. Nice wine, good for having around the house to relax and watch TV with. 3/5 (14% abv) £8.99 Waitrose Wine.

EQ Syrah

It's quite sad but all afternoon at work I was trying to decide what to open this evening. I fancied something decent. It has been a full on week, so I really wanted to open a good bottle of wine and relax. This wine hit the nail on the head - roll on the weekend.

Matetic, EQ Syrah, 2006, San Antonio, Chile.

This is a lovely wine. Matetic is one of my favourite Chilean producers and their EQ range is fantastic. The nose is full of sweet cherry, blackcurrant and blueberry. There are hints of blackberry and raspberry - all surrounded in subtle aromas of violet. The nose is really delicate and perfumed. The palate is so structured and carries more of the dark fruit but with a fine, white peppery, spicy edge. There are also some olive flavours emerging with some thick tar like elements too. There are some tight drying tannins here. The palate is more savoury than the nose and has some meaty complexity about it. There is a bit of the Chilean greenness here - but not to much. Definitely a wine to buy some more of. This is a nice wine to relax with - I need more Fridays! 4.6/5 (14% abv) £19.99 Majestic Wine.

Quirky but Good!

Tonight I felt like opening something different. This bottle is exactly that. It is a grape variety I have never tried before, from a producer I don't know. The wine itself was different to anything I have ever tried before.

Fattoria Selvanova, Vigna del Sasso, Aglianico, 2006, Italy.

Really dark, concentrated cherries and focused blackcurrant with violet, lavender and hints of prunes. The nose is a bit medicinal with some earthy aromas leading to gym socks and dare I say it - urinal. It's a strange wine. It almost flirts with you - you smell something, then it goes; only to re-appear later on. The palate is very different to the nose. Big, strong, grippy tannins and a long length. The palate is full of spicy bramble fruit, herbs and old wood - almost like bramble bushes. This is a quirky, bizarre wine but I like it, I like the quirkiness of it. 3.8/5 (14% abv) £11.99 Oddbins.

A Sauvignon Blanc with a bus pass

Tonight, I am not opening any new or 'exciting' bottles of wine. As mentioned in a previous post (Friday 11 September 2009) I have one more bottle of Grove Mill Sauvignon Blanc 2005 from New Zealand. This wine is getting on a bit now (especially in Sauvignon Blanc terms!). So I have decided to open my last remaining bottle of Grove Mill. It is still showing fairly well with a nose full of citrus and gooseberry and some tangerine/mandarin flavours coming through on the palate. This is not as zingy though as younger bottles I have had. While it is still nice this wine is beginning to taste a bit old and has applied for its bus pass! I would rather drink it now than either leave it there to gradually die or heaven forbid - throw it out!

The South African Tasting

Yesterday afternoon a group of friends came over for a small 'South African Tasting'. This is something we have been talking about doing for some time. I was the only non-South African at the tasting; they are determined to get me to really appreciate South African wine. Events like these will definitely help! We tasted some great wines. They are already talking about planning the next one!!

Porcupine Ridge, Shiraz Viognier, 2006, Boekenhoutskloof Franschhoek, South Africa.

This has nice spicy cherry and blackberry on the nose with slight floral aromatics at the end. It smelt slightly sweet. The palate has more spice and black pepper. The fruit was also darker. soft tannins, short length but with good balance. This could be another good bottle to have around the house 'just in case'. 3/5 (14% abv)

Solms, Hegewisch 'Africana' Shiraz, 2007, South Africa.

The nose was full of sweet dark fruit. Blackcurrant was the dominant fruit. There were also elements of smoke, old oak and bramble/hedge rows. The palate has big, bold, drying tannins with spicy fresh black pepper. There were hints of dark chocolate and more smoke. This wine was fairly complex. This wine would be great with big hearty dishes. 4.2/5 (14.5% abv)

Vergelegen, 'Mill Race' Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, 2006, South Africa.

This wine had a lovely nose of summer fruit pudding with sweet plum confit. There were hints of sweet black wine gums too. After a while in the glass you could also get some raspberry and blackcurrant. The palate had tight tannins and lots of big dark fruits with nicely integrated oak. 4/5 (14.5% abv)

The Chocolate Block, 2007, Boekenhoutskloof Franschhoek, South Africa.

This was the star of the afternoon. I was expecting a big, bold, punch you in the face wine. It was the complete opposite. It was refined, delicate and understated. This wine is made from 55% Syrah, 20% Grenache Noir, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cinsault and 4% Viognier. For their 2007 vintage, only 586 barrels were made. The nose was full of sweet blackcurrant and violet aromas at first followed by dates and almonds - then chocolate, deep, dark chocolate. The palate had grippy tannins which receded quickly to reveal a soft, smooth texture. It was a great wine and worth every penny. I have another bottle of the 2007 and 2 bottles of the 2008. This is a wine to keep getting every year! 4.6/5 (14.5% abv)

My opinion of South African wine is definitely changing!

Flagstone Sauvignon Blanc

Still very cold in Reading but the snow is beginning to melt - which is the main thing. So tonight I decided to open something that would remind me of some sun!

Flagstone, 'Free Run' Sauvignon Blanc, 2008, South Africa.

Big, crisp, fresh, zingy nose. The nose is full of green pepper - like a salad bowl in a glass! There is some lime coming through too. The green pepper is also dominant on the palate along with some lovely herby notes. Nice crisp acidity and good length. This does what it says on the label - its nice South African Sauvignon Blanc; to be honest it does deliver above its price point. This would be a good inexpensive 'back-up bottle' to always have in the house - just in case! 3.5/5 (12.5% abv) £5.99 Majestic Wine.

Tamaron Tasting

Tonight we tried something different. I have had a few bottle of Altos de Tamaron in the cellar; a few different vintages and a reserva. So tonight we had a sort of mini Tamaron Tasting. It was really good to see how the vintages differed and how the reserva differed from their 'normal' wines.

Altos de Tamaron, 2004, Ribera del Duero, Spain.

This wine won the silver medal at the 2005 Decanter world wine awards. This wine is still fresh with ripe rounded sweet plum and cherry aromas. Lovely scents of blackcurrant jam. Hints of red liquorice. Lovely soft palate, nice earthy complexity to this wine, bits of spice coming though too. Still get loads of ripe fruit on the palate. Some soft tannins, bits of cedar coming through at the end. Really pleased at how well this wine has kept for an inexpensive wine. It has well integrated oak unlike many oak heavy Spanish reds. This could be a good house red - affordable, good with a BBQ in the summer, good with food. 4.3/5 (13% abv)

Altos de Tamaron, 2007, Ribera del Duero, Spain.

This wine won the gold medal at the Berlin Trophy. Soft, ripe blackcurrant, younger, fresher nose. Great contrast to the 2004 vintage. The 2007 has more violets and perfume. The palate is vibrant and alive with black fruits with some raspberry and cherry thrown in for fun. The tannins are a bit more present but still a good wine with well integrated oak. Balanced, nice length. Light touches of pepper and leather. I think that this wine will improve. Still a good wine and still a candidate for a house red. 4.2/5 (13% abv)

Altos de Tamaron, Reserva 2002, Ribera del Duero, Spain.

Now we are talking! Deep, dark brooding wine. The nose is full of mocha, freshly ground espresso, leather and tobacco - Amazing. You can smell beautiful old country oak. Dark, ripe blackcurrant and blackberry bring some sweetness to the rest of the nose; underpinned with some blueberry. It is almost like the fruit is wrapped in a blanket of oak and leather and cigars. The palate is soft and smooth. The oak comes across more but it is fitting for this wine and doesn't overpower. (This wine has been aged for 24 months in American and French oak before being left for 12 months in bottle before release). As well as the oak, mocha and black fruit you get on the palate there is also some violet and hints of liquorice. Lovely complex wine - I have one bottle left. I may see what this tastes like in 2012 at 10 yrs old - If I can wait that long! 4.5/5 (13.5% abv)

Loosen Kabinett

Tonight I fancied something different from the big reds I have had recently. This hit the spot perfectly. I love Loosen Riesling. Loosen gave me my first experience of Riesling...and I have never looked back!

Dr. Loosen, Graacher Himmelreich, Riesling Kabinett, 2007, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany.

This is a really good wine. The nose is full of freshly cut limes with beautiful oily petrol aromas. There are also some aromas of green apples and honey. This wine is so fresh, crisp and clean. The palate has soft and balanced acidity. The palate is sweeter than the nose. There are more apple juice and honey flavours coming through. This is so refreshing; this would be great to drink chilled right down in the garden in the summer. Another lovely Loosen Riesling. 4.5/5 (8% abv)

Pinotage?

Keeping with the South African theme; tonight we opened a bottle of Pinotage. Most of my experience of Pinotage has not been too good. It always leaves me a bit disappointed. This one however is pretty good and could help change my mind about Pinotage.

Zalze, Pinotage, 2008, South Africa.

Loads of blackberry, cherry and strawberry are immediately apparent on the nose. There are elements of dusty dried fruit and some earthy, herby and grass like aromas. The palate is soft and smooth but their is a bit of alcohol burn. The tannins are firm but not too tight. The dark elements of the fruit are present on the palate and has good length. There is some spiciness to the palate - clove is the most distinct. Nice wine, better than many Pinotages that I have previously tried. 4/5 (14% abv)

South African Cab

Yesterday was a very interesting day. Due to the fact that Reading is still covered in snow I still couldn't get my car off the drive so I managed to get to work using public transport (there were still no buses or trains running in our area - so it was a very long cold walk to the first buses stop in use!). I got home quite late - cold and exhausted. When I arrived home Pinot Guy (who is currently staying with us) had opened a bottle of wine that he had just brought back from South Africa. He is determined to change my mind on South African wine. Most of the wines I have tasted from South Africa have not really impressed me. This wine however could definitely begin to change my mind.

Uitkyk Estate, 'Carlonet' Cabernet Sauvignon, 2006, Simonsberg, Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Big, ripe, dark fruits. Thick bramble fruit aromas, plenty of strong oak. Beautiful deep aromas of leather and sultry tobacco. The palate is brooding with good length and balance. Firm tannins with good complexity. After some air the palate has more stewed bramble fruits with hints of prunes. Lovely wine, good purity of fruit and complexity. 4.5/5 (14% abv)

Segla Margaux

My friend the Pinot guy came back from South Africa today. So to celebrate his safe return and the fact that he managed to get back to Reading from South Africa with the current weather conditions we opened a bottle of Margaux (his other favourite besides Pinot Noir). Thankfully I got my sense of smell back today!

Segla, Margaux, 2004, Bordeaux, France.

This is the second wine of second growth Chateau Rauzan-Segla. Lovely ripe fruit. Delicate, opulent nose on this wine. On the nose you get red cherry structured with cedar and edges of leather and tobacco. There are also elements of blackcurrant jam. Beautiful perfumed wine. Super soft palate, silky texture. The soft fruit continues on the palate met by soft supple tannins. Good length and balance. Nice and fairly complex. This is not an in your face wine; nothing about it is loud and brash. The flavours and aromas are quite understated but work well together. 4.3/5 (13% abv) £19.99 Majestic Wine.

No Wine at the Moment!

No wine is being consumed at the moment; not because I am on a New Year detox like some other people but because I have a blasted cold and can not smell or taste anything (not very conducive to a wine tasting environment!). I will hopefully be back up and running by Friday. 'Pinot Guy' comes back from South Africa this week and we should be opening a bottle of Margaux (on Friday); So I have to get better fast!

De Martino Carmenere

De Martino, Legada Reserva Carmenere, 2005, Maipo Valley, Chile.

De Martino was awarded the title of Chilean Wine producer of the year 2005. I went to a De Martino tasting a few years back. It was interesting to taste through the De Martino range with the wine maker. This is exactly the wine I was after tonight. Big, ripe, juicy aromas of soft plum and red cherry. There are some medicinal aromas coming through here too. Nice smooth tannins, silky texture, god length and finish. There is more red fruit on the palate and some of the Chilean greenness too. Nice TV wine. 4/5 (14.5% abv)

Another New Year Port

Today was the usual big family New Year's Day meal. We all piled over to a friends house and spent the afternoon and evening there eating, drinking and laughing. We were fed to bursting. After food, our friend decided to open a bottle of Tawny Port. This was a bottle produced by one of my favourite Australian wineries - Tyrrell's. This was a bottle that our friend had aged for 8 years. She bought this directly from Tyrrells in the Hunter Valley while she was visiting us in 2002. It was a great wine and a fantastic example of how good Aussie Port can be. After a very loud and animated game of Taboo we then moved to an impromptu cocktail making session. The aim was to perfect the Bajan Smile (picture 2). The Bajan Smile is a cocktail we all had while on a big family holiday to Barbados a few years back. This cocktail was the official holiday drink (along the Tiger Malt!). We did a pretty good job of re-creating not only the drink but the memories that went with it. It was a great day filled with great people, huge belly laughs and numerous delights for the palate!

Tyrrell's Wines, Special Aged Tawny Port, Hunter Valley, Australia.

This was a delicious sweet honeyed Port. Full of candied apricots and fresh wild honey aromas. There was some sweet oak and hints of vanilla. There were some dark muscovado sugar themes going on in this Port. There was a super silky smooth palate. The palate also had hints of oranges and mandarin. There was a sweet spicy complexity with some cinnamon coming through. Beautifully warming, rich, complex and smooth. This was a really great Tawny Port. 4.7/5 (18% abv)

New Year's Eve Highlight!

As it is New Year's Day this will only be a quick post - before I get accused of being a complete wine geek! Last night we had a few friends over to celebrate New Year. One of our friends is a Port addict. He's had this bottle for a while and was waiting for the perfect opportunity to drink it....well actually he opened it the night before as he couldn't wait any longer! But as a true friend he saved back a third of the bottle and brought it over with him for me to try. We drank the remaining third hidden away from everyone else like naughty school boys. This was by far my New Year's highlight.

Fonseca, Guimaraens Vintage Port, 1988, Porto, Portugal.

This was a beautiful wine. Rich , concentrated red and dark fruits. There is a bit of leathery, herby spice to this Port. This is wonderfully complex and aromatic. It is drinking so well now. This wine had perfectly integrated oak. The palate was rich and sweet with hints of oak and nuts. There was almost a hint of spiced pear hidden in the sweetness. There is an earthiness to this wine. This port has aged really well. There is still so much life in this wine. It still has good precision on the palate. Great length and so well balanced. 4.2/5 (20.5% abv)