3 Malbecs- Because it's cold outside and Malbec helps...

Good evening everyone,

This evening I am writing to you regarding a trio of Mendoza Malbecs I have tried over the past few days.  They represent three separate price points and in fact three styles that I find essential to Argentine wine.  The best things tend to come in threes, so why shou
ldn't Argentine wine follow suit?

I'll distil how I feel about these three wines into very straightforward terms here; the chocolate covered sour cherry; the smoke from the parrilla; the Parker-pointer.

1. Malbec 2011 from Argento-  This is a Malbec which (perhaps inadvertently) harkens back to Argentina's past.  The colour is bright and pretty, not opaque in the slightest but certainly deep.  The aromas are of sour cherries initially and while they hold up, the nose picks up some dusty cocoa and earth along the way.  For me that is Italian all the way.  It reminds me of some lovely Barbera d'Alba. It is delightful and begs for a burger off the grill.  Even a bolognese would suit it just fine.  Its a wonderful wine for a great price.

2. 154 Malbec 2011 from Alberti- I'll go ahead and call it fitting, but there is a remarkable aroma drifting off the glass which makes an impression before I've even properly had a look at the colour.  Smoked pork.  Bacon or sausage or even grilled lamb chops... At any rate it evokes mental images of the grill and coming from a nation so thoroughly entrenched in it's outdoor cooking traditions, this makes perfect sense.  The primary fruit is restrained but the secondary aromas are forward and intriguing.  Smoky and appetising, a glass of this before attacking the Churrasco... there will be nothing left on the plate!

3. Malbec 2011 Primus- This is the Parker wine!  Inky colour introduces a nose of big, bright blackberry and blackcurrant fruit jumping out of the glass alongside some lovely smoky spices.  there is a note of leather but it remains confidently in a supporting role, as the earthiness holds back as well.  After a while the barrel and overt fruit aromas blow off a bit and the wine becomes a bit more Bordelaise in style (or perhaps Cahors would be a better comparison).  It is elegant and balanced and with time a certain gravel driven minerality emerges which even begs a comparison to Graves or Madiran.

All three are exceptional wines for their niches.  They are all undeniably Malbec, but they all fill a separate role in their approach to the variety.  The more I read and learn about Argentine wine and the journey of Malbec, the more I come to love the variety.  I'll leave you with this delightful picture which should remind us all just what Malbec is really for!

Much love,

G

My food photography skills leave something to be desired but this mini-asado was awesome!

My Love Hate Relationship...

Hey Everyone,

Today I am writing about my most conflicted of feelings in the entire world of wine. It is the strange phenomenon of the head versus the heart and the knowledge of the former pitted against the uncompromising nature of the latter. The subject matter: Italy, the dilemma; I know it's good and that I like the styles of wine produced there, yet never will I choose a bottle of Chianti over a Rioja or Barolo over Bordeaux. I wrote a post last year about how much I like the rustic wines from appellations such as Chianti Rufina and Abruzzo, and I really enjoy a good bottle of Barbera with a bowl of pasta or a steak, but I fear that my consumption of Italian wine is somewhat forced.

A friend of mine, the proprietor of St. Andrews Wine Company is planning a dinner with a local restaurant which promises to be a truly inspiring experience with a well considered selection of wines to match each course. At first the theme for wines of the evening was said to be the Rhône Valley and I was ecstatic. I pictured a gorgeous dinner starting with duck liver pate and Condrieu or smoked fish and Chateauneuf-du-Pape blanc followed by a braised beef with a spicy Cornas or Cote-Rotie, all to be washed down with a sweet Muscat Beaumes de Venise. Thats when someone suggested Italian wines and my dreams of a Rhône dinner were dashed.

Thats because interesting Italian wines are exciting for just about everyone except me. For some reason I like Italian wines to be simple and easy, not big and complex. I don't know exactly why, because I want this from every other wine I drink; perhaps it is a realm of refuge from the overly cerebral bottles I usually encounter. When it comes to beer, though I love interesting well crafted ales, I can get tired of 7% hoppy IPAs. It may be that Italian wine fulfills the same role for me that English bitter fulfills in respect to beer. It is an escape. That said I know that top flight Italian wine is amazing stuff and whenever I taste it I am happy to have done so, but I cannot say that I would ever choose it for myself.

For instance, last night in the wine shop, Peter opened a bottle of 2008 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. It was massive, big bright black fruits reminiscent of Napa Cabernet with the alcohol to match. It was excellent stuff, better than most of the wines I've been drinking lately, and perhaps ironically, way better than the Crozes-Hermitage (from the Rhône I love so well) I had two nights ago.

I recognised long ago that loving wine is a growing process, with twists and turns. Where one thing is your passion at the moment and the other your passing fancy, these things may change any moment. There was a time when I wouldn't have even considered buying a bottle of Bordeaux over an American Cabernet, but my tastes have changed and tasting this beautiful Vino Nobile may well have changed my thoughts on what people call 'more interesting' Italian wines.

If there is something you are prejudiced against out there in the wine world, as I admit to myself, make a concerted effort to change your opinion or at least find out exactly why you feel that way. It could be an exciting revelation!

Much Love,

G.

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Growers Champagnes- Ode to the Recoltant!

Hey Everyone,

We are currently experiencing an explosive boom in the beer industry and thousands of small scale, independent microbreweries are cropping up everywhere in the UK from St. Austell's to St. Andrews, making for a very exciting time to be a beer drinker. When was the last time we saw such a revolutionary expansion in the wine world? When Australia broke onto the scene? When the Californians won the 1976 Paris Tasting? Believe it or not, a revolution is now upon us. All we have to do is look beyond the labels of some of the most resonant names in the wine world. Thereby we may be shocked by the potential excitement being generated by what may be the world's most familiar yet beguiling wine region, if we only let it enthral us as much as it should.

Several hours northwest of Paris, situated in and around the towns of Épernay, Bouzy, Dizy and Cumières, there is the historic and magnificent region of Champagne. With grand, palatial mansions and some of the most beautiful vineyard vistas you could imagine, Champagne is quite possibly the beating heart of the wine world. A stroll down the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay, is like a review of the red carpet of wine. Perrier-Jouet, Moet & Chandon, Pol Roger and so many others escort you to the centre of town and in their houses stand like behemoths facing one another, each at the centre of an intricate web of growers and wine producers.

But it is beyond these massive companies and their branding that one looks for the next great source of excitement in wine. Those lower down on the ladder. Those farmers and their personal wineries which make up most of Champagne's vineyard space are the ones pushing the limits of Champagne consumption beyond the traditional occasions. These so-called 'Grower's Champagnes' are very much akin to the Microbrewery in the beer world. They are largely independent, they pay close attention to detail and their wines are often excellent value. They worry less about their image and more about the product, which must speak for itself in lieu of mass-market advertising.

When you pay for a bottle of Joseph Perrier champagne, which may be about twenty-eight pounds, you are paying for the professionally designed boxes, the research team which maps out product placement, the payment for placement and so on. With such an army of research, management and executive individuals, very little comes down to the actual wine. Compare that to Guy de Chassey, an independent grower situated on 9 hectares near the town of Louvois. Made entirely of Premier Cru and Grand Cru grapes, the basic Champagne is comparable in quality to Pol Roger and Bollinger, and without a doubt superior to many priced well above it's modest price tag of 20 pounds! It is fresh on the nose with plenty of bright fruit, hints, but no more of creamy richness, but lots of cherry and gooseberry, showing great quality from the Pinot Noir used in the blend. That's another thing; Guy de Chassey uses 75% Pinot Noir, generally a more expensive grape, and yet here it is in a high proportion, with great execution and at a lower price. Anyone tasting Guy de Chassey will quickly realise the quality and that branding is non-essential for a great bottle of wine.

The best part of these small growers, is that they are just about endless. An enthusiastic traveller to the region would require years to visit each independent grower and try the wines they have to offer. You could quite feasibly go through a different Champagne each week for over a decade and not taste the same bottle twice. They offer value that makes their enjoyment a relatively affordable experience, so you don't need to wait for an occasion like a birthday or New Year to open a great bottle of Champagne. Now, the great bottle of Champagne can be a regular occasion in itself; one of life's small but regular pleasures. After all, that is how the Champenois live. Just as we might spend 20 pounds on a lovely bottle of wine to treat ourselves and our friends or family to a nice experience, the residents of Champagne will do so with their local wine. Now that more and more growers are finding their way onto the shelves of our wine shops and online merchants, it is becoming more and more possible to enjoy a beautiful bottle of Champagne without spending more than 20 pounds (or a bit more for a really cracking bottle!) for a priceless experience.

Of the small proportion of growers represented on the UK market, some of them can be presented as an alternative to a more famous and more expensive house. For example, Le Mesnil shares vineyards with the formidable Krug, Veuve Fourny also bears similarities to the same. Pierre Peters reminds me of Pol Roger and Chassey has something of Bollinger's power behind it. Another point is that the independent growers of Champagne still offer great value compared with comparable wines from English producers and until we see such good value low cost English bubbly on the market, they are a great value.

Sure, there is something to be said for the fact that they can be hard to find consistently. One week it may be tough to get a hold of the Chassey or the Le Mesnil, but then the drinker can go for something different. When it comes to great wine, why not seek out new experiences? Change is the spice of life and just as craft beer drinkers seek out beers they've never had, perhaps Champagne drinkers should do the same and try as many different producers as they can rather than sticking to one for life. I know many wine drinkers who have placed themselves in a camp and stayed there. Whether you're a Bollinger guy who always liked James Bond and anything James Bond likes, or Ace of Spades because you'll do whatever Jay-Z says, you may actually find yourself gaining more pleasure in the drinking experience if you ditch the big names and spring for the independents. Its like the difference between Tesco and the local butcher. Which one will care more about your enjoyment?

Champagne is a great wine. While there are good, bad and middling Champagnes out there, the style and the region is undoubtedly one of the world's finest, with a strong claim to the top spot. It is not often that an established and reliable institution comes along and presents the world with a whole new bag of tricks and says, "Oh by the way, I also have all this fun stuff!" so I think we can call ourselves lucky to have a bevy of novel Champagnes to look forward to.

One last thing; these growers are not new. Some are centuries old, and their heritage goes back well beyond the currently fashionable big brands. They have been growing the grapes for ages while the Négociants have been taking the credit. There are two little letters on each bottle of Champagne that can tell you whether the producer bought in grapes and ready-made wine or grew their own grapes and made their own stuff. 'RM' for Recoltant Manipulant and 'NM' for Négociant Manipulant. Time to give the Récoltant his credit where credit is due!

Much Love,

G

 

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Classic Merlot! Thelema Mountain Vineyards Merlot 2009

Hey Everyone,

Today's wine to try is, in my opinion, an excellent bottle of one of my favourite grapes. Despite the bad press given to Merlot, I believe that it can produce some of the most delightful wines on the market. What is best about Merlot is that it does not have to be expensive to be good, but there are a few examples of world class Merlot that deserve a tip of the hat.

Just a bit of background, Merlot is the principal grape in some of the most important wines in the world, and when vinified to it's full potential, it produces the tannin and acidity needed for long ageing. Important wineries, including Le Pin, Cheval Blanc (where it is heavily blended with Cabernet Franc) and Petrus make the finest examples of Merlot and the best vintages can fetch astronomical prices.

Tonight's bottle is a Merlot from South Africa, in particular from the Stellenbosch region which produces a great proportion of South Africa's best wines. As one of my earlier posts on South Africa's wine industry makes clear, I firmly believe that this remote wine producing nation is very much an old soul in the new world. This Merlot, with its characteristics of the terroir and tannin, is very much an old world style of wine.

The wine is deep in colour with an opaque colouring. Three years on from vintage, you would expect a new world Merlot to fade a little bit, but this one is really quite inky in colour. The glass, as I swirl, is coated with thick, slow running legs, hinting at the high alcohol levels inherent in the wine.

The nose, after a bit of breathing is full of all kinds of wonderful things essential to a good Merlot. There is black berry, rasberry, hints of brambe and cassis, all proped up by rich roasted coffee and dark chocolate. There is a chalky element coming through which I believe hints at the soil of the vineyards, indicating that this wine was made with the intention that it reflect it's sense of place in the fashion of an old world wine maker.

The palate is rich and velvety with few flaws. The tannins are big and pleasing, with a chunkiness that I desire from a full-bodied wine. There are bitter elements reminiscent of the feeling left in the mouth after swallowing some 85% dark chocolate. If anything, the mineral could be more pronounced and the tannin a bit more forward. Basically, I feel that this wine has the markings of a very skilled winemaker who may be holding back for his more premium labels.

I would be very interested to try a more special Thelema bottling. I would be looking for a more bold style, with bigger tannins, more forward acidity, a greater emphasis on the terroir and overall a more Bordelais style. I feel that is what Thelema wants to produce.

All in all, I loved today's wine. I think that, as a daily drinking wine, it is a cracking bottle and for the price of just over fifteen pounds, it is a great value bottle. For those looking for a silky, chocolatey merlot executed with an esteem for class and the goal of producing an elegant Merlot, this is the bottle!

Much Love,

G

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Rioja- Blind Tasting

This week's wine to try is a bit different; in that it is four wines, tried blind by the St. Andrews Tasting Team.  Of course, the purpose of blind tasting is to contemplate the values of a wine without the prejudice brought on by labels, regions or varieties, and pass even judgement based upon your own tastes.  Alongside that aim, there is also the element of competition; trying to make a guess at what the wine is and where it comes from, which can make a blind tasting a thrilling experience.

Wines tasted included a 2007 Crianza by Marqués de Vitoria, La Vendimia 2010, a 2008 Crianza from Dinastía Vivanco, and a surprisingly youthful 1996 Gran Reserva, also by Marqués de Vitoria.  While I believe all the wines present had their merits, and all were well made, the star of the four seemed to be the cheapest; the 2008 Dinastía Vivanco.  It was oaky, fruity with a bit of spice and some rich, but soft tannins.

It was acidic enough to match with a rich meat dish, like a lamb steak or game, but also so pleasant I would happily drink it on its own.  Some of the other wines were not so fruity and friendly as this one, but with the exception of the first 2007 Crianza, all were enjoyable.

The Vendimia didn't hold up too well after having been open for very long; it became acidic and lost its fruity vibrancy, whereas the oldest of the four was surprisingly punchy with its fruit and had an overall balanced and pleasing character.

I think Rioja, while a spotty source for wines, is capable of producing wines of great value and character and the Dinastía Vivanco, despite it's slightly gimmicky bottle shape, is a testament to that potential.  At a mere £10 per bottle, its a classic, young, spicy Rioja displaying plenty of those tried and true Tempranillo characteristics.  It is oaky, but not overly so, and is just ever so pleasing.

Other wines to check out from Rioja will definitely include the 2005 Banda Roja and Banda Azul by Monte Haro, 2005 Viña Cubillo by R. Lopez, the 2001 Viña Tondonia for those looking to splash out a bit, and the Tondonia Rosé.

Hasta Luego,
George