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16 April 2013

Bordeaux: "under a tenner... mostly."

With the prices of top Bordeaux reds spiralling ever upwards (except for the 2012 vintage perhaps, which the trade and critics are expressing misgivings about quality-wise) making these wines for well-off investors only, it's nice to find a few tasty bottles for under a tenner - and one, the last red featured below, for £15 from M&S though it's very good. The first three tasting-noted here, a red white and rosé trio, are available from the fairly new on-line specialist www.bordeaux-undiscovered.co.uk, picked pretty much at random off their website which looks like it deserves closer inspection. The second two reds are part of Lidl's new upmarket "wine cellar" range (more of those to follow in a separate piece).

Château Ballan-Larquette 2011 Bordeaux blanc (50-50 Sauvignon blanc - Sémillon, 12.5% abv) - intense zesty green fruit, citrus and gooseberry vs oily honeyed rounded texture, quite concentrated with crisp and tasty fruity finish. Lovely dry white. £8.65 Bordeaux Undiscovered.
Château Ballan-Larquette 2011 Bordeaux Clairet (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot; 13% abv) - rich vibrant colour and red fruit cocktail on the nose / palate vs oily creamy flavours and texture, fairly full-bodied with 'sweet' cherry / berry fruit vs crisp fresh bite on the finish. Serious foodie rosé. £8.45 Bordeaux Undiscovered.
Château Puyanché 2005 Cotes de Castillon (80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc; 13.5% abv) - deep colour still for its age, fairly complex nose with developing savoury notes vs 'earthy' cassis and smoky peppery edges even; quite concentrated and lush vs herbal cedary undertones vs fairly meaty and dark, nice firm dry vs ripe tannin combo, thick textured with a bitter twist yet well-balanced. Tasty red with dried cassis fruit and maturing savoury flavours vs funkier 'inky' side; started to oxidize quite quickly a day after opening, so drink now I'd say. Good value at £9.40.
Puisseguin - Saint Emilion 2011, Leroy Chevalier (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc; 13% abv) - a tad mean and firm perhaps (probably a symptom of this not spectacular vintage in the region), but otherwise not a bad example of a Merlot based 'Bordeaux right bank' red at a reasonable price, I suppose. £6.99 Lidl ("Wine Cellar" range so not all stores).
Saint Emilion Grand Cru 2010, Union de Producteurs de Saint Emilion (mostly Merlot, 14% abv) - quite big and blowsy actually showing ripe damson and black cherry/currant fruit layered with toasted coconut and vanilla oak, wilder smoky rustic notes too; chunky tannins and palate weight, quite extracted and dry yet has good depth of fruit vs lightly charred and 'rubbery' oak. The tannins and oak are a little clunky right now, but underneath it's surprisingly lush (2010 was a warm ripe vintage) with dark fruit and that wilder smoky side too. It did actually soften up a little after being open for two days, so 6-12 months in bottle certainly wouldn't do it any harm (if you can keep it that long). £9.99 Lidl ("Wine Cellar" range so not all stores).
Château Saint Paul 2010 Haut-Médoc (50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 48% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot; 14% abv) - rich dark colour and full-on nose of cedary coconut oak vs ripe cassis and plum fruit, pretty serious structured wine with a subtle oak coating adding nice texture to its quite firm dry yet rounded tannins; concentrated and dense with lovely fruit actually, closes up on the finish. Sumptuous wine, drinking ok now (with steak or duck at least) but should keep and improve over a few years. The label's reminiscent of a top estate but I can't remember which one... Marks & Spencer £14.99.

Bordeaux: "under a tenner... mostly."

15 April 2013

South Africa: Grenache

As an enhanced little update to this peppery piece posted last October:
Here are a couple of Cape Grenache reds worth mentioning, discovered at the World Grenache Competition held in the south of France earlier this year... More on that here (overview), here (Roussillon & Chateauneuf), here (Sardinia), here (Spain) and here (Australia).

2012 Waverley Hills Grenache, Tulbagh region (13.5%) - aromatic floral liquorice and pepper on the nose, quite soft and tasty palate with attractive aromatic fruit, touch of tannin adds grip vs nice rounded mouth-feel. Silver Medal winner.
More on Waverley here (goes to South Africa archive page).

2011 Diemersdal Grenache, Durbanville valley (14%) - herby and peppery aromas, quite intense in the mouth with a touch of sweet oak, firm dry mouth-feel vs sweeter wild fruit on the finish.

Roussillon: Jean-Louis Denois, Saint Paul de Fenouillet

UPDATED NOV. 2013 - SEE BELOW.

There's a lot of talk about "low or no sulphite" wines, and enough examples out there to remind us why most winemakers DON'T go down this more challenging route (sulphur dioxide and related additives are basically used as anti-bacterial agent, anti-oxidant and preservative). Jean-Louis Denois, perhaps better known for his pioneering still, and especially sparkling, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines from Limoux (links to other profile on these vineyards and wines) to the north over the 'border' in the Languedoc (as well as experimental plantings of Riesling and Gewurztraminer in the late 90s, deemed 'illegal' at the time by narrow-minded bureaucrats), takes a pretty rational scientific view of this approach while claiming "there's just no alternative." In 2006, he bought a couple of vineyard plots lost between Saint Paul de Fenouillet and Caudiés de Fenouillet, in the upper Agly valley in the far northwestern corner of the Roussillon, which, like all his vineyards, was converted to organics in 2009. But he began to question whether this was enough: "Producing organically is certainly good for the planet, environment, soils and our water; but shouldn't we go further? 'Sulphite free' is also good for our health." Vintage 2012 was the year of the big experiment...
Jean-Louis is convinced, logically enough, that the only way to make good 'stable' wines without adding sulphites is to get "perfect healthy grapes" by controlling yields and sorting them before and after picking; and, naturally, to make sure of "hygienic conditions in the cellar... critical to eliminate the risk of negative bacteria causing off-flavours sometimes observed in natural wines... Only this protocol is able to guarantee stability for this type of wine." He also stresses this is "very different to the idea of letting 'Nature do it alone'." Well, the proof is in the pudding, as that charmingly curious expression goes. And, yes, the wines are good and free from any obvious 'faults' you might possibly find in other 'natural' wines (especially if you're looking for them). They cost about €10-€11 a bottle in France. More info @ www.jldenois.com.

Mes Vignes de Saint Paul 2012 white (Chardonnay) - attractive floral and fresh, juicy and lively nose with nutty yeasty 'straw' like edges; richer honeyed side on the palate vs zingy appley flavours, crisp 'mineral' and dry with light elegant finish; quite long really for 12% alcohol, nice and mouth-watering making it very drinkable yet there's subtle concentration and character too. After a day or two open: does get more appley and nutty / oxidative yet was still juicy and refreshing with appealing sultana notes too.
Mes Vignes de Saint Paul 2012 red (Syrah, Merlot and Grenache) - not showing a lot of rich fruit flavour at first but again it's elegant and balanced (13.5% abv though) with nice textured dry vs silky tannins, subtle ripeness underneath vs enticing savoury edges; very drinkable now actually, you get more black cherry and blueberry fruit as it opens up with peppery, herby and even eucalyptus hints. After a day or two open: gets more savoury and developed (as you'd expect really) with attractive black olive notes too, yet still structured and reasonably fresh.

Some other wines sourced from Caudiès include:
2011 Saint Louis Syrah (9 months in cask, 14% abv) – light spicy coconut tones with rich damson black cherry and cassis, stewed apple and blackberry notes too vs a savoury and earthy wilder side; lush ripe fruit vs firm dry tannins although palate is rounded and smooth too, that spicy coco grain comes back, powerful and structured but balanced. Lingering dark fruit with subtle oak and tannin texture, lots of peppery vs ripe cherry/berry fruit edged with spicy earthy notes then grip and punch. Second day open – more savoury and rustic edged with liquorice flavours, concentrated and still powerful with sweet fruit and lovely dry/rounded tannins. Good stuff, needs a little more time in bottle perhaps although approachable now.
2007 Saint Louis Syrah pays d'Oc (14%) - a bit 'soupy' / volatile / wild edged, but it's lush and concentrated too, thick dry textured vs ripe and silky tannins, turning to black olive and meaty / leather. Big wine vs rounded and quite mature.
2012 Les Oliviers white Sud de France (blend of mostly Chardonnay plus a little Muscat from the Fenouillèdes and some Chenin from Roquetaillade; 11.8%, organic) - nice aromatic nose, floral and grapey vs peach and citrus, dry crisp and elegant palate with attractive simple tasty fruit and zesty 'chalky' finish. €7

More on JLD's Limoux wines etc. HERE.

13 April 2013

Wine Education Service NI courses & tastings update

April update: Le Tour de France one-day wine workshop has been rescheduled to Saturday 1st June: £80 for the day including lunch, about a dozen wines for tasting, course notes and tuition. More details about this and other workshops here: wine-education-service.co.uk/workshop

And don't forget the hot Wines of Southern France tutored tasting on Tuesday 30 April (£30 or £50 for two) - "Tasting and talking about 8 wines in all colours from across the 'big south' featuring classic styles from e.g. Bordeaux, Cahors, Languedoc, Roussillon, Provence and the southern Rhône Valley."
Full listing of wine tastings and courses running in Belfast city centre to end of June 2013 and on-line booking are here: www.wine-education-service.co.uk/wine-tasting-belfast
Or pay for evening tutored tastings by PayPal:


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Header image: Château de Flandry, Limoux, Languedoc. Background: Vineyard near Terrats in Les Aspres, Roussillon.