I’m starting a drinking diary because I just don’t have that many profound thoughts about wine to write proper pieces on themes and hot issues in the wine world, like real wine writers do. But that was the original point of my blogging adventure in the first place, so I might as well give effect to it. Consider me a vinous Chris Gillett, the opera singer who photographed every meal he ate for a whole year and then exhibited his 2000+ photographs in a gallery in Bradford-on-Avon. Except that, sadly, I don’t drink every day, nor do I photograph the bottles. So I’m not really much like Chris Gillett at all. Anyway, this week’s adventures (plus other stuff I’ve drunk so far this year, noted retrospectively):
Friday 4 January 2008
2005 Yves-Boyer Martentot Meursault (£20)
Here’s a stunning wine. Golden. The only way I can describe the flavours that come out is that they form a “perfect score-order release”. That’s a musical term. It’s what an orchestra aims for when it finishes playing a sustained note: high instruments like piccolos stop playing a fraction of a second early, while tubas and double basses cut off last, so that to the listener the finish sounds in proportion. Like a pyramid of tumblers, you want the ones on top to jump off first, otherwise the whole thing collapses. This wine opens with high level delicate flavours – minerals, lemon, dried apples, white flowers, then blossoms into bigger things on the palate – stone fruit, vanilla, toasted marshmallows, integrated oak, and a lovely toasty finish. Highly complex – every mouthful offers something new. Could age for 2-5 years and be even better.
Saturday 5 January 2008
My parents were in town, from Sydney. In Sydney, you can take your own wine to restaurants, so you can actually drink something decent with your meal without paying an extortionate markup. You can’t do that in London (well, not usually), so rather than go out for dinner and keep the bill to a minimum by supping Kelly’s Revenge, I had them over for dinner, where I daresay both the food and wine would be better than anywhere within winter walking distance of my house.
2001 Reinhold Haart Piesporter Goldtropfschen Spätlese Riesling (£12)
Bright light gold, tinge of green. Delightfully aromatic nose of lime, green apples, white flowers and orange. Spritz on the entry, lemonade/sherbet sweetness, a slightly greasy hint, and fine acid on the finish, if not quite enough of it for my total satisfaction.
2001 Delas Marquis de la Tourette Hermitage (£16)
I had the 1999 of this wine a couple of weeks ago when my pupil master took me out for lunch. Mid red, brickish rim. Opulent nose of spicy oak, leather, chocolate, dried fruit, ground coffee, warm bricks, white pepper at times. It evolves in the glass, but always with a brandy/lit Christmas pudding streak. Palate is warm and rich, rounded, with supple tannins. Classic Hermitage. The 2001 is a completely different story. Bright translucent red, its colour is pinot-like. Forward nose, energetic, jammy, with roast meat aromas too. The palate is hyper-savoury, with white pepper and minerals, but quite restrained.
Sunday 6 January 2008
I had some very optimistic Rioja out of a tumbler at my local pub. They do fantastic food there. I’m not going to tell you where it is because then you might go there and ruin it.
Then I went to work for 4 days and didn’t drink at all. It was awful. There was the possibility of going to a Burgundy tasting on Tuesday but I don’t pay to go to wine tastings (only the gullible do that) and the person I was going to go with (the deal being that he would pay for my ticket if I talked him through Burgundy for the evening) apparently forgot, or decided not to go, or something.
Friday 11 January 2008
1999 Chateau Les Coustets Bordeaux Superieur
My cousin Tom gave me this for Christmas. He has worked in a bar so I trusted his judgment and didn’t immediately give it away as gift to someone I don’t like. But I’m afraid I won’t be praising this wine from the rooftops. It’s so pale that I probably could have passed an eye test reading the bottom line of the chart through this wine and still not needed to have my prescription increased. Similarly half-arsed fruit on the nose and a rather dilute palate, finishing with an offensive metallic aftertaste just in case you had any lingering doubts. Still, I only gave him a bottle of margarita mix, so it was a nice thought.
Saturday 12 January 2008
2005 Eugene Klipfel Cuvee Louis Klipfel Pinot Gris (£11)
I came across a cute little wine stall at the farmers’ market in Canterbury today, with a small but interesting range. They had the 2006 Loimer Gruner Veltliner there which I’ve been looking for ever since I tried it at Upper Glas (a Swedish restaurant in Islington that I recommend in its own right). It’s got a bright colour, hint of green. Very pure nose showing soft pear, grape and lime. Palate continues through with Tinkerbell delicacy, precise, razor sharp acid and a chalky finish. I think I’ll make this my house white this summer – Gruner has to be the next big thing (although the drinking public still has a lot of catching up to do with the many other “big things” that I have benevolently pointed out, all of which continue to be ignored), and I’ve tried some great ones recently. The 2005 Huber Gruner Veltliner, which you can get at any Oddbins (not usually the greatest advertisement for a wine) has a nose of lime, orange rind, white pepper and a hint of liquorice. Palate is very clean and austere, showing lemon and grapefruit flavours and great length. And the 2004 Loimer Kaferburg Gruner Veltliner is a really serious wine: reluctant nose – hint of minerals, lemon zest, apricot sherbet; peppery palate, really interesting. Anyway, back to my bloke in Canterbury. Since he had the Loimer I trusted his judgment and picked up as many whites as I could carry home (6 as it turns out), including this Pinot Gris, which I opened with dinner. The nose takes time to open up, and shows honey and hay when it does, along with an animalistic sweaty smell. The palate has some nice smoke and pear features, apricot, honeycomb and a bit of weight too. There is some interest here, which is welcome, but it’s not a wine to remember. Still, worth a try.
Sunday 13 January 2008
NV Chapel Down Downland Dry
Neil’s local pub in Canterbury, the Dolphin – a fantastic pub, incidentally – serves this English wine for about £11 a bottle. It’s a blend of Seyval Blanc, Reichensteiner and Muller Thurgau, but before you go turning your nose up at it, it’s a perfectly acceptable pub house wine. The nice thing about it is its crisp, refreshing acidity – such a welcome change to the usual cloy that cheap wine has (or so I’m told). There’s not much else going on – some fresh white fruit flavours, but it’s otherwise pretty forgettable. But I was more interested in other things – the log fire, the free board games, the dishy waiter, the immense length of the guy’s bum crack sitting at the next table (I just couldn’t stop looking at it – it must have had its own gravitational force) – oh, and the delicious prawns on toast with lemon mayonnaise. Delish.
Showing posts with label pinot gris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pinot gris. Show all posts
Sunday, 13 January 2008
Friday, 15 June 2007
Planet of the Grapes post no 1
OK, after a long time typing up my notes from the scores of wines tasted at the Planet of the Grapes tasting last week I am finally ready to release my opinions to the public. Originally my plan was to present my complete and unabridged notes. However I am not a professional taster (if only) and so, after about 40 wines my concentration began to wane (along with my ability to write) and I don’t think that my readers would be greatly assisted by the resultant notes, which consisted of incisive remarks such as “minrmmmly/chooolfm…dog” and “orly +? shiraz?” together with smears of bodily fluids.
So instead of being prolific but boring (like the Etudes of Czerny), I propose to present two smaller batches of hopefully worthwhile notes (like the Etudes of Chopin). The first, contained herein, is called “interesting and different” and comprises notes of those wines that, rather obviously, I either found particularly interesting or were made from different or unusual grape varieties. A further post will follow with my notes of other wines that I simply found to be of high quality or value or otherwise worthy of comment.
And here they are:
2006 Domaine Felines Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet (£9)
I had never tasted a varietal Picpoul before, the grape being known to me only as one of the permitted whites in Chateauneuf du Pape. The guy behind the counter described it as being ‘real peasant’s wine’ (‘peasant’ being a compliment these days in certain circles), so I will start drinking it regularly once I buy a beret and take up backgammon. Austere nose of slate, armpit and grape fruit. Palate shows hay, grape fruit, moderate acid and a lingering sappiness/greenness. Worthwhile.
2006 Nautilus Pinot Gris (Marlborough, NZ) (£14.50)
There is a real dispute as to whether Pinot Gris smells of ‘pork fat’. James Simpson MW thinks it does, and he’s an MW so his opinion is probably valid. I have found it less helpful as a descriptor, but this wine really does have a pork fat/pork scratchings nose, together with the poirewilliam/pear drops more commonly associated with Pinot Gris. Unfortunately I had already lost credibility as a taster with the guy behind the counter because I had described a 2005 Pazo Senorans Albarino (Spain) (£12) as smelling like pork fat and nacho cheese flavour Doritos. So he did not accept my pork fat comment. (You really have to earn respect at ‘public’ tastings. At ‘trade’ tastings they assume you know what you’re talking about – at public tastings it’s quite the opposite, and usually for good reason. Still, it annoys me). He insisted instead that this Pinot Gris had a ginger and lemon tea dimension to the nose, which I’ll allow. In any case the wine has a zesty entry, with green pears, a bit of hay, and a soft lingering finish with even a hint of parsley. Perfect for Chinese food/noodle dishes. (Incidentally the Albarino DID smell of Doritos, at least initially, with hay, chorizo, and olives on the nose. The palate is all lemons and melons with a rather short finish).
2005 Jean Daneel Signature Chenin Blanc (South Africa) (£20)
I’ve already noted this wine elsewhere, but it was showing particularly well today – in fact I would say it was the best white wine of the tasting. Golden yellow – dried apples, pears, caramel and vanilla on the nose. Palate shows honey, caramel, sandalwood. Rich, lots of finesse, no corners. A small percentage of botrytis affected grapes is included in the blend, to great effect. This wine is definitely going in the ‘wines I pull out for wine lovers’ box. (One MUST have interesting things of high quality in reserve for one’s wine loving friends. Interest alone is insufficient – they also have to be good wines. If you start bringing Bulgarian Traminer to tastings you will get a reputation for stinginess that is hard to shed…)
2005 J Lohr ‘Wildflower’ Valdigue (USA) (£10)
Valdigue is pretty common in the Midi, apparently, but the only reason they grow it in the US is that they thought they were growing Gamay for decades before ampelographers told them otherwise. A bit like learning that the ‘original’ Rembrandt on your wall is actually a fake. Still, it shouldn’t matter if the quality of the wine produced is good. The wine has rhubarb, red fruit and boiled lolly characters on the nose, and slightly vegetal hint. There is some Cottee’s strawberry jam on the entry with some sweetness. (For my UK readers, Cottee’s is a very mainstream Australian brand of cordial and jam, one step up from Home Brand products. Only one step up though – still lots of sugar). An interesting one off, but too sugary and confected for my liking.
2004 Cline ‘Small Berry’ Mourvedre (USA) (£21.50)
It is not usual to find an American attempt at a wine that is more subtle than its French equivalent. Usually US wines are a bit like the Canyonero – 12 yards long, two lanes wide, 65 tons of American pride. Loads of coffee, spearmint, eucalypt and anise on the nose. Palate shows loads of black fruit, intense, liquoricy. Supple but firm tannin finish. A big wine, let there be no doubt, but not as black and gothic as some Bandols I’ve had.
2004 Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel (USA) (£25)
A really serious attempt at Zinfandel here. Liquorice, black jelly babies on the nose, with something fruity like fibrous peach or peach stones. Thick, fruity palate, very supple, almost no discernible acid or tannin on the finish. Zin isn’t really my cup of tea, but this is as serious as they come.
So instead of being prolific but boring (like the Etudes of Czerny), I propose to present two smaller batches of hopefully worthwhile notes (like the Etudes of Chopin). The first, contained herein, is called “interesting and different” and comprises notes of those wines that, rather obviously, I either found particularly interesting or were made from different or unusual grape varieties. A further post will follow with my notes of other wines that I simply found to be of high quality or value or otherwise worthy of comment.
And here they are:
2006 Domaine Felines Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet (£9)
I had never tasted a varietal Picpoul before, the grape being known to me only as one of the permitted whites in Chateauneuf du Pape. The guy behind the counter described it as being ‘real peasant’s wine’ (‘peasant’ being a compliment these days in certain circles), so I will start drinking it regularly once I buy a beret and take up backgammon. Austere nose of slate, armpit and grape fruit. Palate shows hay, grape fruit, moderate acid and a lingering sappiness/greenness. Worthwhile.
2006 Nautilus Pinot Gris (Marlborough, NZ) (£14.50)
There is a real dispute as to whether Pinot Gris smells of ‘pork fat’. James Simpson MW thinks it does, and he’s an MW so his opinion is probably valid. I have found it less helpful as a descriptor, but this wine really does have a pork fat/pork scratchings nose, together with the poirewilliam/pear drops more commonly associated with Pinot Gris. Unfortunately I had already lost credibility as a taster with the guy behind the counter because I had described a 2005 Pazo Senorans Albarino (Spain) (£12) as smelling like pork fat and nacho cheese flavour Doritos. So he did not accept my pork fat comment. (You really have to earn respect at ‘public’ tastings. At ‘trade’ tastings they assume you know what you’re talking about – at public tastings it’s quite the opposite, and usually for good reason. Still, it annoys me). He insisted instead that this Pinot Gris had a ginger and lemon tea dimension to the nose, which I’ll allow. In any case the wine has a zesty entry, with green pears, a bit of hay, and a soft lingering finish with even a hint of parsley. Perfect for Chinese food/noodle dishes. (Incidentally the Albarino DID smell of Doritos, at least initially, with hay, chorizo, and olives on the nose. The palate is all lemons and melons with a rather short finish).
2005 Jean Daneel Signature Chenin Blanc (South Africa) (£20)
I’ve already noted this wine elsewhere, but it was showing particularly well today – in fact I would say it was the best white wine of the tasting. Golden yellow – dried apples, pears, caramel and vanilla on the nose. Palate shows honey, caramel, sandalwood. Rich, lots of finesse, no corners. A small percentage of botrytis affected grapes is included in the blend, to great effect. This wine is definitely going in the ‘wines I pull out for wine lovers’ box. (One MUST have interesting things of high quality in reserve for one’s wine loving friends. Interest alone is insufficient – they also have to be good wines. If you start bringing Bulgarian Traminer to tastings you will get a reputation for stinginess that is hard to shed…)
2005 J Lohr ‘Wildflower’ Valdigue (USA) (£10)
Valdigue is pretty common in the Midi, apparently, but the only reason they grow it in the US is that they thought they were growing Gamay for decades before ampelographers told them otherwise. A bit like learning that the ‘original’ Rembrandt on your wall is actually a fake. Still, it shouldn’t matter if the quality of the wine produced is good. The wine has rhubarb, red fruit and boiled lolly characters on the nose, and slightly vegetal hint. There is some Cottee’s strawberry jam on the entry with some sweetness. (For my UK readers, Cottee’s is a very mainstream Australian brand of cordial and jam, one step up from Home Brand products. Only one step up though – still lots of sugar). An interesting one off, but too sugary and confected for my liking.
2004 Cline ‘Small Berry’ Mourvedre (USA) (£21.50)
It is not usual to find an American attempt at a wine that is more subtle than its French equivalent. Usually US wines are a bit like the Canyonero – 12 yards long, two lanes wide, 65 tons of American pride. Loads of coffee, spearmint, eucalypt and anise on the nose. Palate shows loads of black fruit, intense, liquoricy. Supple but firm tannin finish. A big wine, let there be no doubt, but not as black and gothic as some Bandols I’ve had.
2004 Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel (USA) (£25)
A really serious attempt at Zinfandel here. Liquorice, black jelly babies on the nose, with something fruity like fibrous peach or peach stones. Thick, fruity palate, very supple, almost no discernible acid or tannin on the finish. Zin isn’t really my cup of tea, but this is as serious as they come.
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