Spain: Cava guide

Cava mini-guide: 'Creative Catalan bubbles...'

"I'm not going to over-bore you with the full-monty geographical or technical stuff, as the Cava region is pretty vast and extends beyond Catalunya in fact (although there is some of this in it: a hint of winemaking talk and fascinating export stats). This gradually expanding wee guide, originally published in 2008 and updated a few times a year since, is more about bringing your attention to a few lesser-known sparkling gems and hopefully also encouraging you to explore beyond Barcelona and the region's nice beaches and coastal towns, out into real Cava country... head for those green hills!"

Includes wines from these featured stand-out Cava wineries: Llopart, Carles Andreu, Perelada, Parxet, Raimat, Bach, Lavernoya, Mont Àrac, Blancher, Parató, Loxarel, Enric Nadal, Vallformosa, Chozas Carrascal and many more...

Updated August 2015 - buy this mini-guide for just £1.99 (GBP) - click here for more info and to buy it with PayPal...

Champagne & sparkling wines: festive fizz

Cava - Catalunya
Updated 11 December:
Conde de Caralt Rosado (Trepat, Monastrell, Garnacha) - lightly yeasty nose with milk chocolate biscuit edges, ripe red fruity palate with oily texture vs quite crisp and off-dry. DWS (Belfast) £9.25, Cases Wine Warehouse (Galway) €14.95
Enric Nadal (Torrelavit) 2007 Gran Reserva Brut Nature (Parellada, Macabeu, Xarel-lo, 12% abv) - rich toasted yeast and chocolate cake aromas, maturing nutty savoury flavours with still fresh and fizzy contrast, tangy finish with dry bite vs plenty of lush flavours. Yum. £15 / €25 James Nicholson
Juvé y Camps Brut Nature Gran Reserva 2009 (12%) - same trio of Catalan grapes as above, similar in style although a bit less rich and toasty perhaps, nice nutty honeyed flavours and crisp dry finish. Wasn't hugely fizzy, perhaps it didn't enjoy sitting in the warm duty free shop at Alicante airport and the flight home! €13.50

2010 Mas Miralda Rosado Vintage Brut (Monastrell, Trepat, Garnacha and Pinot Noir; 12%) - one of Asda's own label "extra special" range, nice and red fruity with light biscuit touches and frothy off dry finish. £6 on offer.
Loads more Cava HERE (links to intro to my 12-page mini-guide, now available for £2.50 or free to subscribers).

Prosecco - northeast Italy
La Jara organic rosé (grape variety = Glera, 10.5%) - attractively light and delicate, fruity rosé fizz with nice frothy lively mouth-feel and sweet vs crunchy red fruits, fairly crisp and medium-dry. Swig Wine £10.95 (9.95 if you buy 6).
Col de l'Utia 2012 Prosecco Superiore Valdobbiadene, Spumante Extra Dry (Prosecco grape, 11.5%) - similarly light and refreshing, has background yeasty biscuit notes and light almond and apple flavours, crisp and off-dry finish. Not massively exciting but a good example of elegant easy-drinking Prosecco. Naked Wines £10.99 (Angel's price: see here for more about that).

South Africa
Cape Fairtrade Sparkling Brut Rosé 2009 Du Toitskloof (12.5%) - good value with lots of flavour for the money: quite toasty with chocolate and aromatic ripe red fruits, rounded and easy-going vs fresh bite, nice style. The Co-operative £7.99

From facebook.com/DigbyFineEnglish

England - Sussex, Kent, Hampshire
Although made at this winery in West Sussex, the fruit is sourced from selected growers across southeastern England (not unlike how most Champagne houses operate) by winemaker Dermot Sugrue. Watch out for my in-depth supplement on English sparkling wines, including a fuller profile on Digby.
Digby Fine English 2009 Vintage Rosé Brut, Wiston Estate Winery (80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay; 12% abv) - Delicious mix of ripe strawberry/raspberry vs toasty and chocolate biscuit, lush rounded and fruity vs fresh acid structure, showing depth and class. Yum. £38-£40 from their on-line shop or at Selfridges, Vagabond Wines and Wine Pantry; which is fairly dear, obviously, but no more so than other similar quality English rosé sparklers or rosé Champers for that matter.
Digby 2009 Reserve Brut (two-thirds Chardonnay + the two Pinots; 12%) - Elegant mix of citrus vs buttery fruit vs yeasty oat biscuit flavours vs crisp and refreshing, quite tight and structured still with nice fruit and light toast. A tad drier and crisper than the rosé with apple and citrus vs yeasty notes, good stuff again with a touch of class, more vintage Champagne like. £31.49

Champagne - France

Louis Chaurey NV Brut (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier; 12%) - tried this last year (goes there) on a similar "half price" deal at Marks & Spencer, and it's just as good this year too. Pretty classic non-vintage Champers with nice fizz, a bit of creamy body vs crisp refreshing bite vs yeasty oat cake flavours, quite long. Good for £16, I wouldn't pay £32 though.

Franck Bonville Prestige Grand Cru, Blanc de Blancs Brut (Chardonnay, 12.5% abv) - Made from 100% Chardy grapes from top-rated vineyards in the village of Avize; shows some real class with lovely creamy buttery fruit, delicate mouthwatering length, nice depth of flavour, rounded and toasted oat-y vs structured and quite serious food-demanding style. Marks & Spencer: £28 at the moment, usually £39.

Australia
McGuigan Black Label Premium Release Sparkling Shiraz (13.5%) - Just for fun and oddity factor, sparkling reds like this take a bit of getting used too (some won't), with lots of spicy ripe berry fruit, tannin and alcohol; has a more refreshing side though with ripe dark fruity finish. Try with chocolate desserts or mature cheeses. Wine World / Wine Flair £9.89

I've added / might add more good fizz to this post before the end of December. In the meantime, here are some links to even more fizzy posts HERE.

New Zealand: TerraVin, Lay of the Land, Rod Easthope

TerraVin

TerraVin was acquired by a partnership of "Pinot enthusiasts," as their blurb puts it, in 2011 including "several British businessmen." They humbly describe themselves as a "boutique Marlborough winery with a dedicated focus on growing and making world-class hillside Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc." My notes would suggest they're on the right track, by the way...

Languedoc: Jean-Louis Denois, Roquetaillade

I posted comments and info back in April about Jean-Louis Denois' 'no added sulphite' wines from his northern Roussillon vineyards HERE, including a little background on the man, how these wines came about and what attracted him to the St-Paul and Caudiès de Fenouillet area.

Beers of the moment: Whitewater vs Whitechapel

Or Dobbin vs Porter, Kilkeel vs Kent, Ireland vs England if you like... Described as a "ruby porter style beer," which does pretty much sum up Clotworthy Dobbin (5.0% abv, £1.79 a bottle I think in Asda Northern Ireland stores and widely available elsewhere over here) brewed by the Whitewater Brewery found a little inland from Kilkeel in the southern Co. Down countryside. Not quite as rich and dark as a full-on stout but definitely in that malty 'porter' ilk, smoother perhaps too. Surprisingly nice with curry actually. I also like that short and sweet ingredient list - malt, barley, hops, water, yeast - i.e no unnecessary rubbish in it for a change. Whitewater produces a good range of various beer styles overall from Belfast Lager to this one to maltier still.

Well-known, and probably much larger Kent brewer Shepherd Neame makes ASDA's 'Extra Special' Whitechapel Porter Ale (5.2% abv, £1.80), which is lush and chocolatey with attractive bitter-sweet finish. More quaffable than say Guinness, and more interesting perhaps with a different array of flavours. Just about works with (dark) chocolate, this is a tasty slow-sipping by-the-radiator ale that would go well with winter stews.

Champagne & Sparkling wine tasting Dec 3 Belfast

WineWriting.com Richard Mark James' wine blog: Champagne & Sparkling wine tasting Dec 3 Belfast: "Don't miss the bubbling-with-excitement Wine Education Service NI Champagne & Sparkling wine tutored tasting..." CLICK ABOVE to view details. Will probably include a fine sparkling Limoux among others...

Champagne & Sparkling wine tasting Dec 3 Belfast

From www.champagne.fr

Don't miss the bubbling-with-excitement Wine Education Service NI Champagne & Sparkling wine tutored tasting evening, rolling out and upwards on Tuesday December 3 (7 to 9 pm) at the Ramada Encore in Belfast City Centre. Your fizzed up host RMJ will take you on "...a fizzy world tour through France with classic Champagne and other fine sparklers, then comparing with the ever popular Cava (something different and better than usual though...), Italian 'new kid on the block' Prosecco, passing through the southern hemisphere e.g. Australia, New Zealand, and ending up in England..." (you'll be surprised if you haven't tried top English fizz). Tickets are just £30 per person and can be booked via the link on this page: wine-education-service.co.uk/wine-tasting-belfast, where you'll also find the detailed program for the first half of next year. Or pay by PayPal using the button below (and for other tastings next year too). And if you're a regular user of Local Wine Events.com, you can get in touch with me from this page: www.localwineevents.com.

Select tasting:

Dec 3 Champagne & Sparkling £30.00 GBP 27 March Wines of France £25.00 GBP 8 May Australia New Zealand £25.00 GBP 5 June Syrah/Shiraz Viognier £25.00 GBP

Next year's scheduled WES NI courses and events include: Essential Wine Tasting five-week course and Grape to Glass one-day workshop (Feb 2014), Tour de France tasting (March), Wines of Italy Sat. workshop (April), Aus & New Zealand tasting (May) and Syrah/Shiraz tasting (June). More info: wine-education-service.co.uk/wine-tasting-belfast.

More Roussillon winery updates

On these three 'out there' one-man band estates (more or less):

Domaine des Balmettes (Cases-de-Pène) featuring Lucien "Lulu" Salani's (pic.) intense 2011 Les Figuiers Syrah...

Domaine Rivaton (Latour-de-France) with Fred Rivaton's Rage against the Machine white...

Domaine des Trois Orris (Tarérach) by Joep Graler - know anyone else who does a Chenanson aged in acacia and chestnut barrels?!

Buy my 'Roussillon wild wine country' book (2020/21): updated, rewritten, restructured and repackaged; available as an e-book or print-on-demand paperback.

Roussillon: Domaine Modat, Cassagnes

Overseen/run by father/son Henri and Philippe Modat, who are originally from the Roussillon and "came back to the old country and took over some old family vines," after various high-profile legal and business careers in Paris. The estate was thus established in 2007, which comes to 20-something hectares (50+acres) in the Cassagnes area (circled by the villages of Montner, Latour, Rasiguères and Bélesta) lying on a "200 to 300 metre altitude plateau."

Argentina: Cabernet & Tempranillo (plus a sparkling wine)

"'Malbec from Argentina' is hogging the fashion limelight nowadays, and a good deal of this sizeable country's vineyard area on the simplest level; and Syrah has also now invaded the varietal catwalk here. But we shouldn't forget another better-known mainstay red variety, and often more successful in quality, consistency and style terms; good old Cabernet Sauvignon..."

Read the full-works HERE on my amalgamated Argentina wine words and reports page, including wines from and comments on: Zuccardi, Trapiche, Schroeder, Toso, Fournier, Bosca, Lurton, Alpamanta, Bousquet, Dona Paula, Catena, Andeluna; and Alta Vista, Salentein, Callia, Sophenia, La Riojana, Torino, Sta Anna, Trivento, Masi, Sta Julia, Viñalta, Las Moras also featured in recent articles on Malbec and Torrontés as well.

Roussillon: Domaine de l'Encantade, Trévillach

The view's not bad too, from www.encantade.com

Antonin and Laure Moisan describe themselves as making "natural wines" from organic "country" or "peasant" farming, in the old 'positive' sense of the word (paysanne in French) rather than in a nob-y condescending way, going back to how it used to be done growing fruit and veg as well as grapes and producing honey too. They started "four or five years ago" with some hillside vineyards lying at 500 metres above sea level, being fully converted to organics as we speak (his white vines already are 'certified'), in the back of north-central Roussillon beyond between Montalba-le-Chateau and Sournia, which were supplemented by a few plots purchased in early 2012. The wines were being made at not-so-far-away neighbour Trois Orris' cellar in Tarerach (click on that link to see profile and wines, which will be updated soon) while the finishing touches were put to their new winery/warehouse cum honey factory going operational end of last year. Antonin commented: "I've enough (fruit) now to start up my own label... The idea is to be able to make wine as naturally as possible using simple equipment, minimal electricity and healthy materials..." The results so far are promising with better things to come perhaps.

2012 Songe d'Auguste white (Macabeu, Muscat) - aromatic grapey peachy nose, juicy and zingy vs a touch of roundness too, nice style. €9

2012 Rosé (Carignan) - quite elegant and crisp with light red fruit flavours, dry crisp finish, nice enough rosé. €7

2011 Tram'Montagne (Syrah) - ripe dark black cherry with minty spicy notes, lively and rich with grippy 'chalky' tannins, tasty with tight long finish. €11

2012 Roc d'en Manas (I think? This was a new wine, and I can't read my scribbled notes too well, a barrel sample made from Grenache, Syrah, Carignan...) - Firmer drier mouth-feel vs subtle dark and peppery fruit; was a little closed up and awkward when I tried it (not a finished wine) but looks promising. €15

Roussillon: Domaine La Bòria, Trilla

Stoned in the Fenouillèdes
from laboria.fr

Vincent Balansa set sail on this “participative estate” project – there are several 'partners' or 'investors' who also muck in in vineyard, winery and beyond apparently – in 2009 when some old co-op vineyards in the Trilla, Caramany and Trévillach area, due to be ripped up or abandoned as the local co-operative had sadly closed down, came up for sale as a take-it-or-leave-it opportunity.

Spain: a couple of Riojas of the moment

Further to A trio of Rioja posted a few months ago, and mucho mas outlined on the Spain archive page here, my terminal fascination with one of the world's favourite red wines continues featuring a couple of Riojas available in the UK in Co-op and Lidl stores (the ones equipped with their 'wine cellar' range, so not all of them). By coincidence, they're both 2008 vintage, which is 'officially' rated as 'very good' and with a touch of elegance too by my reckoning...

Soligamar Reserva 2008 Ortega Ezquerro (80% Tempranillo with Garnacha and Mazuelo from two 600 metre altitude vineyards, 24 months in new French oak; 14% abv) - smoky vanilla notes with sweet berry and cassis fruits, intricate maturing savoury touches vs still quite solid and firm, concentrated and rich vs nice dry texture, fairly big mouthful vs a certain freshness and elegance. The second day open saw more savoury, balsamic and 'cheesy' notes developing, smoother too with attractive sweet fruit/oak combo, still structured and alive as well. Very nice Rioja. £9.99 Lidl

Marqués de Válido Reserva 2008 Bodegas Muriel (Tempranillo, 13% abv) - similar in some ways to above with its smoked vanilla oak notes (although less oaky) and maturing sweet berry fruits, a touch lighter perhaps (maybe it doesn't have any Garnacha in it...) though has subtle concentration and balance, pretty classic style with mature savoury balsamic finish layered with sweet vs smoky fruit/oak. Surprisingly good with the chilli beef & veg stew thing I made (up as I went along), thanks to those generally soft tannins, smooth texture and sweet/smoky taste combo. Real bargain at the moment at the Co-op - £5.49 instead of 'usual' price of £10.99!

Roussillon: Sylvain Respaut, Montner

Grape treading party from facebook.com/DomaineRespaut

Sylvain Respaut describes himself as an "Agly valley apiqueron," which, for those of you who can't find this word in their handy Collins Robert or Larousse dic, is naturally a play on two French words, "apiculteur" and "vigneron" i.e. beekeeper and winegrower combined. Since that's what he does: the honey farm (the Roussillon is also well-known for artisan honey production), called Cara'miel, is found near the village of Caramany in deepest Fenouillèdes country and was started in 2007 "with 200 hives mainly populated with a local bee variety called the 'black bee'." (If they're the same ones I'm thinking of, which I used to get buzzing around my lavender plant on my terrace when I lived in the region, they're enormous... Ed.) Organic farming was introduced in 2009, and Sylvain caught the grape bug in 2011 with the purchase of 4 ha of vines in the Montner area. More about bees, honey and his wines on caramiel.fr or check out his FB page link under the photo.

2011 was the first vintage, so we could see these wines developing more depth and character with time, hopefully, although they're attractive drinking now. Sylvain also makes a white called 'Zumo' from old Grenache gris in addition to the three wines I tasted, which are simply labelled as 'Vin de France' and subjected to, or rather not, 'natural' winemaking such as wild yeast fermentation etc.

2012 Tangerine (Chardonnay) - citrus and orange peel notes, quite crisp and 'mineral' on the palate vs nice peachy fruit.

2011 Plein Les Ceps (Grenache made by 'carbonic maceration') - fairly light and elegant for Grenache, perfumed fruit with a riper more liquorice side, soft and easygoing finish.

2011 Gorgorlou (Grenache and 100 year-old Carignan) - richer and funkier, chunky fruity palate, quite soft; again lacks a bit of depth but it's nice now. 

'Essential Wine Tasting' course Belfast Oct-Nov.

New dates: the next Wine Education Service NI Essential Wine Tasting course is now scheduled on Tuesday evenings from 15 October to 12 November 2013. More info on this five evening course here: wine-education-service.co.uk/introductory - cost £125 for 5 sessions: book here.

Wines of South America tasting - Belfast 3 October

Wine Education Service NI event hosted by RMJ: Wines of South America tutored tasting on Thursday evening 3rd October. "We'll taste and talk about eight premium wines from 'el Sur Grande', focusing mainly on Chile and Argentina - featuring well- and lesser-known grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenere, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc and Torrontés. But we'll also be venturing into more uncharted waters such as sampling a big Tannat red from Uruguay..." At the Ramada Encore Hotel - St Anne's Square, Belfast. Tickets - £27.50 or Buy 2 for £50. More info and booking here. Pay by Paypal here.

Argentina: Malbec

"Argentina and Malbec apparently go together like, erm, bucket and spade, Chablis and Chardonnay or Cahors and Malbec even, while I'm on the 'M' subject. Let's get the geeky stats stuff out of the way first off: almost one-third of the country's vineyard surface area is planted with Malbec, or 83,684 acres (about 34,000 hectares) to be precise, most of it in the Mendoza region (see winesofargentina.org for more info, where I slyly teleported the photo above from).

Languedoc: Clos Bagatelle update

A tasty little 'Saint-Chinian pronto-post' suddenly seemed appropriate, since I did a wine tasting recently featuring Clos Bagatelle's La Gloire de Mon Père 2000 vintage (selected blend of Syrah, Mourvèdre and Grenache - £19.95 Terroir Languedoc, UK), which showed very well that certain Languedoc reds can age beautifully.

Cahors: special wine touring report now available

Château du Cayrou

You can get my special Cahors wine touring supplement as part of a massive French wine e-magazine - as an Amazon eBook or an emailed PDF file with pics - featuring all three parts of my Malbec road trip (goes to summary of part 1)trilogy published on French Mediterranean Wine earlier this year, plus bonus winery profiles from this exciting region of southwest France. Yours for only £1.99 (GBP). Or subscribe to my blog for just £25 a year and get it free! Also includes other in-depth specials originally produced in a separate format, such as my detailed Saint Chinian wine touring report.

Pick your PayPal buttons HERE and HERE to pay by card or with your own PP account.

Chablis: special focus report now available

You can now get a massive PDF supplement mini-mag or Amazon eBook featuring all three parts of my (updated December 2014) Chablis wine touring series, with bonus pieces on a Chablis Grand Cru tasting and spotlight on M&S Chablis penned last year. It's included in a full-works French wine e-magazine, either emailed to you for just £1.99 (GBP) or downloadable eBook from Amazon. Snap it up quick with PayPal using a card or your own PP account: all the details are HERE.

As soon as PayPal confirms receipt of payment, I'll email the PDF file to you pronto! General T&C referring to PayPal payments by bank/credit card, your privacy etc. can be found here.
More on Chablis here.

Roussillon: Domaine de Sabbat, Latour de France

Sylvain Lejeune (pic. taken from www.domainedesabbat.fr) founded his own 10 ha (25 acre) estate in 2008, having worked at several wineries in France from Bordeaux to Burgundy to Provence. The vineyards lie in different spots on very varied terrain - schist, marl and clay-chalk soils - near the brooding villages of Maury, Tautavel and Vingrau across the wildly pretty Agly Valley; Sylvain's winery/cellar and home are in nearby Latour de France though. He claims to follow organic regulations but isn't certified (time yet to put on that straight-jacket), and he makes a red Rivesaltes Grenat VDN style and a rosé too. The 'Spring 1900' label refers to a small plot of senior citizen LLadoner Pelut, a Catalan variety closely related to black Grenache, used for this particular red blend. And let's not forget helping-hand Pilou the dog, aka 'Doudou', who's apparently "priceless when it comes to making decisions..." € prices are online for delivery in France.

2011 white Côtes du Roussillon (mostly Grenache gris, Grenache blanc & Macabeu; fermented and aged in cask for 12 months) - fairly toasty yet has exotic fruit too, rounded nutty palate, quite rich and juicy with creamier side then an elegant 'mineral' touch to finish. €14

2010 red Côtes du Roussillon Villages (80% old-vine Carignan, 20% Syrah; aged in cask for 8 months plus six in tank) - nice dark 'tar' and liquorice vs crunchy berry, fresh and lively mouth-feel with light grip and a little power too. Attractive style drinking now. €12

2010 Printemps 1900 Côtes du Roussillon Villages (2/3 Grenache & LLadoner Pelut, Syrah & Carignan; 12 months in cask + 6 in tank) - more blackberry/cherry, dark and peppery; chunkier lusher and firmer too, concentrated with attractive tannins; closes up on its promising finish. €16

2009 Printemps '1900' - savoury hints with wild herby/floral character vs dried black fruits, a touch more chocolate oak texture, more powerful; still quite firm and tight with similar concentration. Typical 09 perhaps, less obvious. €16

Argentina: Torrontés

A swift blast of Google-ing resulted in the discovery that "... three Torrontés varieties exist in Argentina," says Wikipedia (goes there, for the more curious among you); and these aren't genetically related to the Torrontés you find in Galicia, northwest Spain, as I'd assumed, but are apparently a crossing of Alexandrian Muscat and another variety (Mission or something else depending on which one). Ah ha, so that would account for the refreshing aromatic grapey / citrus peel Muscat-esque styling you often get from these fairly addictive dry whites (if you like that kind of thing); but you also find characters (and higher alcohol too) more akin to Viognier or Gewurztraminer even: more exotic, full-on and sometimes spicy-yellow flowery...
To read this report on Torrontés - plus recent articles on Cabernet, Tempranillo, Malbec etc. (and any of my other in-depth features) - get my full-size special Argentina varietal supplement, including all my recommended wines and wineries and the usual frank commentary! CLICK HERE.

Tulum Valley, San Juan - from www.fincalasmoras.com

Features on Malbec HERE and Cabernet/Tempranillo HERE...
Some other reds from Argentina HERE.

Roussillon: Domaine des Soulanes update

Fooled you - IT'S HERE actually...

Some of those Soulanes = south-facing hillside
Taken by Vi Erickson

Sicily: Bosco Falconeria

This Sicilian estate winery's full title is Bosco Falconeria Azienda biologica Simeti Taylor (goes to their Facebook page, where I pinched the photo from), hence the "Simeti Taylor organic farm." Found near Partinico a good trek to the west of Palermo "in the hills overlooking the Gulf of Castellammare", farm is very much the right word; as you can see from the fresh mulberries below, they grow a variety of fruit, veg and nuts here as well as wine grapes, and have done organically for almost 25 years.

This old family property was resurrected in the 1970s as a holiday home initially, then brought back into production in the 80s by Antonio Simeti, an agricultural specialist, and his American wife Mary Taylor. The estate is now managed by Natalia Simeti and her husband Rami Salo, a Finnish Tai Chi Chuan instructor - that should come in handy for handling the stress at harvest time! They also run courses and seminars in this ancient Chinese body and mind art, by the way. And there's a market on the first Sunday of the month... this place sounds interesting, will have to go there some day... Anyway, here's what I said about three of their wines:

2011 Catarratto white - nutty with crisp appley notes, pretty fresh on the palate layered with nice nutty richness & intensity.
2011 Falco Peregrino white (Catarratto fermented on the skins, no added sulphur dioxide) - more exotic and perfumed, light bitter apricot character then softer finish, again refreshing acidity with good depth of fruit and more nutty flavours on the finish. Good stuff, unusual.
2011 Nero d'Avola red - it was a little 'baked' when I tried it (could have been open too long / too warm) with rather firm tannins. Not sure, would like to try it again sometime...
More info @ boscofalconeria.it

And more Sicilian and Italian wineries and wines HERE.

Roussillon: Domaine Rousselin update

There's a 'virtual and tasty' update on Laurence and Pascal Rousselin's wee estate winery HERE (added to the original 2009 post), tucked away as they are in the pretty hilltop village of Lesquerde in deepest southern Fenouillèdes country...

Languedoc: Château Maris - Minervois La Livinière

from chateaumaris.com

Robert Eden, "bio-dynamic wine maker" as he describes himself on their website, has been working in the Languedoc for many years now and set up Château Maris 15 years ago, backed by Kevin Parker of Green Partners. They're obviously very committed to environmentally friendly wine production - Demeter certified since 2008, Biodyvins in 2004 (both for biodynamics), Ecocert in 2002 and the National Organic Program - and there's a fair amount of detail on this on their site: click on web link under the photo (Robert with one of their vineyard horses). But to try and go 'all the way' organically, in terms of carbon emissions, water and energy sustainability etc., they also built "the world’s first hemp cellar." Before you spliff-heads out there get too excited, this means they used hemp and lime bricks, which apparently continue absorbing CO2 for many years "as the lime solidifies into limestone," and a lot of raw wood from sustainably managed forests. They claim these materials also provide excellent natural insulation, while being able "to breathe" at the same time...

The € prices quoted are from online retailer The Languedoc Wineshop. Their wines are well distributed in the US, e.g. Verity Wine Partners NY or Kimberly Jones in California, and in Canada (see website for more info); and through Armit Wines in London (£ prices from their online store).

2011 Maris Organic Minervois (mostly Syrah, Grenache) - lovely pure spicy violet and black cherry aromas, tasty fruit with fairly easy-going tannins, nice ripe vs peppery finish. €7.80, £59.94 for six.

2010 La Touge Minervois La Livinière (85% Syrah, Grenache, Carignan) - similar pure spicy Syrah style fruit on the nose, punchier and more structured though, attractive dry tannin vs sweet fruit texture, fresh bite and good length. €12.40, £89.94 for six.

2010 Continuité de Nature La Livinière (90% Carignan, Grenache) - jammy blue fruits lined with fresh acidity yet powerful too, concentrated and tight palate, very different from the above wine considering it's the same vintage, leaner and longer; probably more versatile with food though. €21.60, £119.94 for six.

2009 Nouvelles Fraiches Grenache - 'oily' sweet liquorice notes on the nose, ripe and rounded mouth-feel, quite punchy, fades a little in the end. €16.60

Pink Port and Amarone: a couple of "headbangers of the moment"

I don't usually recommend wines based purely on alcohol content - and I'm not really going to this time either - yet the alcohol is an intrinsic part of these two totally different wines (but 'still only' 19.5% and 16% abv respectively, so we're not talking schnapps/eau de vie here). Besides, a Sun-style headline doesn't do any harm every now and then, and helps bring a 'little theme' nicely together...

So, over to Croft Pink Port then: I first tried it over five years ago when just launched, in Barcelona of all places (links to feature on the 2008 Wine & Climate Change conference; not sure what this wine has to do with that, but maybe Croft was a sponsor...); and again in 2010 in the line-up of a special Douro Valley 'masterclass' tasting (links to post about this). If you can be bothered clicking on that, you'll see that I was trying to like it but was "... struggling... too techno... boiled sweets and bubble gum in that ester-y chemistry lab kinda way..." Well, I've sampled it again a few times recently, on its own and with different things; and I think I was being a bit mean before. I doubt the wine's changed much, if at all, winemaking or style-wise, so I must have. It was still a touch ester-y and 'nouveau' at first, but got more interesting in an ultra-fruity sweet rosé way with intriguing earthy kirsch aromas/flavours, nice zing and kick too (without being overpowering) to counteract the quite high residual sugar. Serve well chilled as a summer dessert or milk chocolate wine, or with/on fresh red berry fruits. Or a few sips with salty crisps or peanuts is also strangely quite nice... And Croft is keen on promoting it in trendy bars as a cocktail base: check out croftpink.com for some ideas, there are quite a few. I like the look of simply mixing it with Champagne, especially their 'Decadent' recipe including Pink Port, Champers, tea, lemon juice and "Absinthe soaked sugar lump." Mind you, I'd dispense with the sugar though! Anyway, in the UK, it's £11.99 for 75cl at the Co-Op, selected branches of Majestic and Selfridges, which might sound a tad dear, but this would do you for a week or so kept in the fridge and poured half a glass a go.
Back to the Amarone red finally, obviously no similarity whatsoever as a wine; though, as I said, with 16% (natural rather than added like Port) abv, it certainly 'packs a punch'. This one's full title is Tenuta Pule 2008 Amarone della Valpolicella Classico and is new to Lidl's 'wine cellar' range (£19.99 UK). The raised alcohol content comes from the grapes being dried out before fermentation, which concentrates the sugar in them while water evaporates; then they make it like a regular dry red wine (with cask ageing in this case). So, you get plenty of rich earthy cherry and damson flavours with balsamic and toasted almond (!) touches, big powerful and rounded mouth-feel with lush dark berry and spice fruit vs attractive meaty leather edges; turns gamier and more savoury after opening for a day or two, yet still retains that nice wild kirsch fruit. Went well with South African style chunky sausage (a version of Boerewors made by my local butcher with beef pork and coriander) and a slightly wacky spiced red cabbage risotto I made up as I went along!

Languedoc: Domaine Turner Pageot, Gabian

Frenchman Emmanuel Pageot and Australian Karen Turner almost strike you as an uber-qualified and experienced couple, with an impressive international wine world background between them. Karen studied winemaking at Adelaide Uni, and Emmanuel's CV takes in France's Université du Vin, sommelier training, UK trade qualifications and learning the biodynamic way from certain distinguished mentors; and, before doing their own thing, they both worked for some well-known names in Aus, UK, elsewhere in France, South Africa, Italy and Portugal.

Spain: Loxarel - Catalunya

Based at their Can Mayol estate near Vilobí del Penedès in the hills just to the north of Vilafranca (about 40-50 km west of Barcelona), the Mitjans family produces, following organic and biodynamic techniques, an interesting mix of 'local vs international' whites and reds, in addition to a variety of different rosés. From classic Catalan rosat (even if containing a large splash of Pinot) to an "extreme" style made from high-altitude late-picked Merlot; and a quirky barrel-fermented one from Xarel.lo vermell, a virtually extinct red-skinned version of this indigenous variety, which I wasn't that keen on though. And let's not forget the great range of traditional method sparklers (I won't call them Cava, as they've dropped that term...), most of them made in the Brut Nature style, i.e. no dosage added (= unsweetened). Check out their wild '109' at the bottom; hard to find fizz with much more flavour and complexity, except Bolly RD perhaps! € prices quoted are cellar door/online: click on the web link below the photo for more info.

Goat pruning method - from loxarel.com

2012 Xarel.lo (fermented in amphorae, 13% abv) - nutty 'mineral' nose, crisp and steely palate with light yeast-lees and pear notes, intense mineral bite vs lightly oily texture and bruised pear fruit; elegant and long. €12

2012 Petit Arnau rosat (Pinot noir, Merlot; 13% abv) - lively cherry fruit, full and creamy mouth-feel with fair weight vs crisp dry and tight with attractive raspberry and cranberry fruit. Nice dry rosé style. €6.40

2011 Gal Gran Arnau rosat (Merlot, 14.5% abv) - described as "extreme rosé", this has earthy, smoky even, raspberry and black cherry fruit, ripe vs crisp with a touch of grip on the palate, big mouthful; unusual! €12.50
2011 Eos Syrah (from a single vineyard in the upper Penedès at 600 metres altitude farmed organically, eight months in new Hungarian oak 500 litre barrels; 14.5% abv) - pure spicy/floral black cherry Syrah style, nice sweet fruit vs grippy texture, fairly intense finish; attractive "modern" red. €10.70
2008 '790' Reserva (single estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% abv) - maturing savoury 'oily' notes vs peppery cassis with cedary edges; quite smooth palate with enticing 'sweet/savoury' finish vs still a little firmness too; developed a bit of complexity as well. €13.80

2008 Cava Reserva Vintage Brut Nature (now labelled as D.O Penedès, old-vine Xarel.lo & Chardonnay; 12% abv) - light bready oat cake notes, crisp and dry mouth-feel vs rich and classy, long fresh finish with subtle toasted flavours. Very nice fizz, great value at €7.40.
2002 'Cent Nou' Gran Reserva Brut Nature (95% old-vine Xarel.lo: 'new' sparkling D.O Penedès style which isn't disgorged, i.e. fine lees sediment left in the bottle. Cent Nou = 109 in Catalan, as in 109 months bottle-ageing on the yeast lees!) Full-on rich nose, oat biscuit and chocolate with more exotic fruit too (dried apricot!) vs very yeasty, freshly baked bread notes; very intense flavour with nutty toasty finish vs lean mineral bite. Wow, not tried anything like that before! €64

Plenty more from Spain, Catalunya and Cava HERE.

Roussillon: Coume del Mas update

Further to the latest blurb on partner vineyard Mas Christine below (or click there), I've been following Philippe Gard's Coume del Mas estate for a few years now: click on that bold link for previous words and lots of wines reviewed on trips to the winery from 2007 to 2010. Winegrowing-making associate and resident Englishman Andy Cook was on hand earlier this year for a pan-European group tasting (yours truly plus winos from Poland, Germany, Denmark, Norway) of their, at the time, rather closed-up 2011s (this vintage is tighter and more elegant than 2010 or 2009), and a few older ones.

Roussillon: Mas Christine update

There's some background and previous vintages HERE on/of Mas Christine, serenely overlooking the seaside town of Argelès-sur-mer, and the (ad)venture called Tramontane Wines set up by Philippe Gard, owner of highly-rated Roussillon estate winery Coume del Mas (also updated), resident English winemaker Andy Cook and other partners, who leased this pretty, originally early 19th Century vineyard in 2006 and have since created a new range of wines.

Sud de France Festival London 31 August

Or "Languedoc‐Roussillon Joie de Vivre in the heart of London (on the Southbank)..." as their PR blurb says; sounds tempting, non? All you need to know here: festival-suddefrance.com with updates on Facebook SuddeFranceFestivalUK and Twitter @Suddefranceuk / #suddefrance.

A few people showing their south of France wines and food include Bemywine, Hourlier, Majestic, Roberson, Sanglier, Borough Wines, Château Cabezac, Gerard Bertrand, Laurent Miquel, Paul Mas, Elliots, Le Marché du Quartier, RAW, Saveur du Sud and Summer Fruit...

France: Alsace - Domaine Martin Schaetzel

The Martin Schaetzel wine estate spreads over 20 hectares (50 acres) of vineyards in the Ammerschwihr area, including several highly rated Grand Cru sites, and has been certified organic since 1998 as well as Demeter, the fearsome biodynamic controlling body. Their Kaefferkopf vineyard lies on a hillside to the south and west of the village made up of "granite, chalk and sandstone..." from the top down roughly. Eichberg ("oak mountain") and Pfersigberg ("peach tree mountain") are found to the southwest of Colmar and both enjoy a well-exposed warm microclimate. The family head is Jean Schaetzel these days, with his righthand man winery and export manager Michel Vié.

From www.martin-schaetzel.com

2011 Riesling Kaefferkopf Grand Cru - apple and almond notes, turning quite rich and limey on the palate vs creamy rounded character, very crisp and mineral though with linear bite on the finish vs that oily textured/flavoured backdrop. Different. €16 cellar door.

2011 Riesling Eichberg Grand Cru - ripe lime fruit with exotic peachy edges, again crisp and mineral mouth-feel with very long piercing bite vs lightly oily and nutty side too; tight dry finish, needs time. Wow. €16

2011 Pinot Gris Eichberg Grand Cru - juicy honeyed fruit with spicy notes, pretty full-on powerful style with oily nutty texture/flavours vs underlying crisp bite too. Definitely a foodie (Chinese, Thai, Indian even...). €15.50

2010 Gewurztraminer Kaefferkopf "Catherine" - classic lychee aromas with pineapple, honey and dried fruits too; even more lychee on the palate, powerful yet with mineral bite, still very perfumed vs enticing maturing oily side. Good stuff. €19

2011 Gewurztraminer Pfersigberg Grand Cru - relatively subdued nose vs explosion of fresh lychee and kiwi on the palate, quite big ripe and punchy, less dry perhaps than the above, pretty powerful flavour and weight vs attractive bitter twist. €16

2008 Pinot Gris vendanges tardives (late picked) - complex developing nose, honeyed and 'musky'; sweet dried fruits on the palate vs lively acidity, tight and very long finish, still tasting young with a few years ahead of it yet.

Oodles more on Alsace HERE (goes to archive page).

Rhône: "reds of the moment" (and a Beaujolais)

Here's a handful of blockbuster reds (and a more elegant one) worth talking about that have crossed my dinner table (well, four-legged brasserie style zinc and chrome structure) in recent times, in gratuitous celebration of Grenache perhaps. Picked from the shelves of Lidl ('wine cellar' range, so not in all stores), Marks & Spencer and independent merchant Hercules Wine Warehouse.

There's something in the stones
you know: from rasteau.com

2011 Ortas Tradition Cave de Rasteau (Grenache 70%, Syrah 20%, Mourvèdre 10% - 14.5% abv) - nice aromatic sweet Grenache fruit, liquorice and violet too; relatively 'light'/elegant for hot Rasteau country (vintage 2011) yet still has plenty of oomph, as you'd expect, with a touch of bite/grip vs attractive perfumed fruit and an earthier black olive side; ripe/spicy liquorice flavours with weighty yet tight finish and light bitter twist of tannin. €7.70 cellar door, £9.50 Hercules Wine Warehouse Kent (for the 2010).

2011 Vacqueyras (13.5% abv) - attractive ripe Grenache fruit on the nose, sweet berry and liquorice vs spicy earthy edges; firm yet rounded and powerful mouth-feel although tighter and less full-on on the finish than you'd expect perhaps (again 11 vintage, no bad thing though); well-balanced too with dry vs sweet profile and that smooth fruit hiding the alcohol. Maybe not the most super-dooper example, but fairly good value for £7.99 at Lidl.

2010 Domaine de la Curnière Vacqueyras Vignerons de Caractère (Grenache, Syrah - 15% abv) - the nose was a tad 'dirty' when I first opened it, but this smell had gone when I tried it again the second day. Bags of ripe sweet Grenache fruit for sure, spices and liquorice, earthy and savoury too and very punchy; the alcohol's a bit out of balance making the wine somewhat clunky and clumsy in the end, shame as it's got character, just like the winemakers! £11.99 M&S (I got it for less than a tenner though on offer about six months ago).
2011 Fleurie - appealing violet and grapey/cherry fruit, has a hint of grip vs soft fruit and refreshing acidity too; firm-ish and fresh palate vs soft sweet berry fruit, has fair depth too. Nice style, proper Beaujolais! £6.99 Lidl

Cahors: Malbec crush

From a Cahors wine touring trip last year -
click here to find out more!

Italy: whites and reds "of the moment", south & north

Three Sicilian whites, a red from Puglia and one from Trentino to be precise, all hot off the shelf from Marks, Lidl and Asda. I've mentioned a certain fondness for white wines from Sicily before (okay, reds too), especially made from the exciting native variety Grillo. New to both M&S (who now stock more Sicilian wines than any other large retailer I'd guess) and Lidl too, both 2012 vintage and labelled under the sweeping 'Terre Siciliane IGP' zone. Here's my verdict:

2012 Grillo (12.5% abv) - a hint of SO2 on the nose, which goes with airing, delicate yeasty notes vs rich peach and apricot, honeyed and rounded vs crisp and zingy, fat texture vs dry bite, full-bodied vs refreshing. Rounded palate with lingering yeast-lees/SO2 notes, dried apricot, peach and almost toasted/honey-coated almond flavours yet quite steely and 'mineral' really; nice wine in the end. Lidl £5.99

2012 Grillo (13% abv) - hints of Viognier in style with that sweet apricot and honey fruit, but more white peppery and fresher with zesty pear edges, quite crisp acidity vs ripe sunny and rounded. Good stuff. £6.99

And Asda has been promoting the 2012 vintage of its Fiano dry white from Sicily, which I recommended last summer and continue enjoying it every time I buy it, for a fiver I think (as they do: don't know what the 'usual' price is, as I only get it when on promo like the rest of the world!)

Moving east to the other side of southern Italy to the Puglia region, Marks has also taken on a 2012 Negroamaro red (another indigenous variety) at £6.99 (13.5% abv): Nice and fruity with jammy damson and black cherry, spicy earthy edges, ripe rounded and warming with liquorice flavours vs dark chocolate twist.

Heading about as far north north as you can go in Italy, towards the border with Austria, Lidl has taken the fairly brave step of listing a Teroldego Rotaliano from Trentino (you only find this variety there), a 2010 Riserva red (12.5% abv) for £6.99 as well (price-point of the moment obviously): Surprisingly dense with a coating of coco-choc oak (these reds are often on the lighter side and un-oaked), fruity and spicy though with nice smooth tannins giving attractive dry vs ripe profile, peppery and earthy with hints of toasty coconut grain vs dark cherry/berry fruit; quite structured and serious yet drinking nicely now. Developed more liquorice and spice the following day with sweet/savoury fruit, wilder edges vs fairly smooth texture.