Languedoc: Château La Roque update

The 2011 vintage is the first "officially" organic at this now quite famous Pic-Saint-Loup estate: click here to view profile (written a few years ago), those latest 2011 white, red and rosé wines sampled and reviewed, plus links to previous stuff featuring older vintages too...

A couple of Champagnes "of the moment" (and a classy Oz one...)

Updated Feb 2013.
"You may already have cracked open some Champers over Christmas with all the usual seasonal special offers floating around; and if you're looking for some last-minute New Year Eve's sparkling pleasure, here are a couple I've enjoyed recently, which are widely available in the UK (and Ireland for the first one). Mind you, there are some good deals on e.g. vintage Cava and other sparklers from around the globe too that look equally / more tempting perhaps (just don't buy the cheapest one as that's what you'll get). Or look to Australia for a touch of surprising class (see below)..."

Premier Cru Champagne Tesco Finest (12.5%) - made by leading co-op winery Union Champagne selected from their Premier Cru vineyards (classified as higher quality) with around 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir, based on 2007 vintage wine although a non-vintage blend plus nearly one-third 'reserve' wines (small batches held back from other vintages and blended in to maintain the house style and quality). Quite fine fizz actually showing attractive aged toasted yeasty nutty aromas and flavours, nice fresh bite vs richer and rounder with bready cake-y notes on the finish. About £15 / €29, half-bottle on offer on-line for £9.99.

Champagne Louis Chaurey Brut M&S (12%) - fairly classy blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier resulting in an attractive subtle mix of lively and fruity vs toasted yeasty baked bread notes, not too dry (nor too sweet like some of them) but has nice crisp appley touches vs richer toastier oaty flavours. Good buy at £15 (supposedly half-price although I don't think I'd pay £30 for it), but this offer might well end today!

Added Feb 2013:
Croser Sparkling Wine 2007 Adelaide Hills, South Australia - came across a neglected note on this lovely wine sampled last year, one of Australia's finest sparklers (along with e.g. Pirie from Tasmania), which could be thrown up against the two Champers above and comfortably hold its own. A blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with a fair amount of bottle age, this has toasty honeyed almond biscuit notes, quite rich on the palate vs crisp tight refreshing finish, classy and delicious. €20+ in Ireland (imported by Gilbeys in Dublin), $31.50 in Aus.

More Champagne & other sparkling wine HERE.

Roussillon winery updates

I've finally updated several of my existing Roussillon winegrower profiles with latest vintages and news, including these hot estates (click on the highlighted link):

Domaine du Traginer, Banyuls-sur-mer (Jean-François Deu, pic. below, hard at it in the field, taken from www.traginer.fr).
Domaine Laguerre, St. Martin de Fenouillet (Eric & Corine Laguerre).
Olivier Pithon, Calce.
Domaine Puig-Parahÿ, Passa (Georges Puig).

Domaine Gardiès, Espira/Vingrau (Jean Gardiès).
Plus a few 'new' ones too: Ch. de Gaure, Dom. Joliette, Dom. Cayrol, Les Conques...

Germany: St. Urbans-Hof, Mosel & Saar

2011 vintage Riesling tasting with Nik Weis

Owner - winemaker Nik Weis (right with cellar manager Rudi Hoffmann left) was in London back in the summer with his UK importer The Wine Barn to preview their 2011 vintage Rieslings from most of their middle-Mosel estate vineyards. These prized plots - some dramatically sloping up from the Mosel in picture-postcard paint-strokes (see photo of Piesporter Goldtröpfchen below), others rising more gently and flattening out a little - are found in six disparate sites with three of them on or near the Saar river (a tributary of the big 'M') up to 40 km away...

Roussillon: Domaine Nivet-Galinier, Ponteilla

nivet-galinier.over-blog.com

Domaine Nivet-Galinier

David, Lydie and son Boris Nivet tend seven hectares (17 acres) of treasured old vines (some of their Carignan has been around for over 100 years) - split into two distinctly different plots in the central Roussillon flatlands - taking a naturally laid-back grass-roots biodynamic farming view of life (they've been 'Demeter' certified since 2001). You'll find their vineyards, cellar and home off the back-road between Ponteilla and Le Soler in the heart of Les Aspres country, a few kilometres from Perpignan or Thuir (it's signposted). This unashamedly 'natural' approach results in quirky complex or elusive wines even that are perhaps a little on the wild side for some overly technical people. But their intense aged white wines, for instance, do last surprisingly well as testimony. The earthy Nivet-Galinier team sells most of their wines in France, but does export some to Japan too, I was told. These reds and whites were tasted with Boris and David at the Millésime Bio organic wine fair in Montpellier on two occasions, in 2010 and 2012. They also make some interesting cask-matured Rivesaltes Vins Doux Naturels as well as honey, growing spuds, milling maize...

2008 Macabeu white, Côtes Catalanes - attractive 'oxidative' style showing nutty vs honey and banana notes; quite rich mouth-feel actually vs appley and mineral bite, crisp length too. 89

2008 Macabeu tasted two years later: nutty 'Fino' tinged nose and palate, rich and intense vs dry and mineral, still alive and tasty. Wow, very good: see what I mean!

2008 Macabeu/Grenache gris white, Côtes Catalanes - similar although showing more yeast-lees notes and perhaps fuller too; rounded mouth-feel vs again has nice bite and length. 89

2005 Les Aspres Côtes du Roussillon (Carignan, Syrah, Grenache) - lovely maturing savoury tobacco-tinged nose with underlying 'sweet' liquorice; firm and peppery palate with dry coating of tannins vs lush dark fruit. 89+

2006 Les Aspres Côtes du Roussillon (Carignan, Syrah, Grenache) - smokier and more rustic ('bretty' even); 'inky' vs rich and dark with meaty undertones, pity about that 'farmyard' side, as it's got natural intensity. 86+

2006 Les Aspres two years later: 'soupy' rustic and lush, again it's intense with grip vs ripe maturing fruit, power and 'sweet/savoury' flavour combo on the finish; still quite structured actually vs more elegant maturing side.

2006 Côtes du Roussillon (similar blend with more Syrah) - spicier dark cherry aromas, same kind of lush liquorice and 'tar' styling; smoky but not too, grippy mouth-feel although quite well-balanced. 87+

2007 Les Aspres – has more vibrant fruit with meaty edges, (more) powerful and concentrated too with attractive solid vs 'sweet/savoury' finish. Good stuff.

2007 Côtes du Roussillon – a little baked on the nose vs enticing minty character too, has less substance than the above perhaps although still quite intense and long.