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...
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12 November 2013
Champagne & Sparkling wine tasting Dec 3 Belfast
Labels:
Belfast,
Champagne,
French sparkling wine,
Limoux,
wine course,
wine tasting
Champagne & Sparkling wine tasting Dec 3 Belfast
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From www.champagne.fr |
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.
Labels:
Belfast,
Champagne,
sparkling wine,
wine course,
wine tasting
08 November 2013
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.
Labels:
Roussillon
07 November 2013
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."
Labels:
Cassagnes,
Côtes du Roussillon Villages,
Roussillon
05 November 2013
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.
Labels:
Argentina,
Cabernet Sauvignon,
Tempranillo
05 October 2013
Roussillon: Domaine de l'Encantade, Trévillach
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The view's not bad too, from www.encantade.com |
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
Labels:
Roussillon,
Trévillach
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