Williams & Humbert Amontillado VORS Jalifa

Williams & Humbert Rare Old Dry Amontillado Solera Especial VORS 30yo Jalifa

c.26€; 19,5% abv. Brown/orange. A lovely scent of rancio and nuts, some citrus, nicely lifted and chalky, incredibly complex. Dry but rich and racy. Awesome! Does what it says on the tin.

J-P Brun (Terres Dorées) Chardonnay Beaujolais 2008

Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Chardonnay Classic Beaujolais 2008

12% abv; sadly at 18,90€ not the bargain here that it seems to be elsewhere. But it is a delightful, unoaked wine! The scent is very pure and mineral with some apple and white flower aromas. Though I enjoyed the '07, I think the '08 is better because the buttery, malolactic aromas aren't as strong so the purity of the grape is more obvious. Paradoxically both light as a feather and substantial at the same time. Refreshing, crisp and balanced palate: all the parts are so well integrated to each other that there is no point in distancing the fruit from the structure as is the norm with the TN genre. One of the highest evaporation rates I have experienced.

Pulenta's Tomero and Vistalba Corte B + Geppetti Morellino

Finca y Bodega Carlos Pulenta Malbec Tomero 2005

14% abv. When I last tasted this I noticed too much vanillary oak - a year more has pretty well made that disappear (which I am very glad about). It is almost jammy in sweetness but does have some savoury/meaty/damp earth scent to counter it. As sweet on the palate as I expected from the scent, but it also has fair structure - but the structure is more like a frame that keeps the fruit within certain parameters than a backbone that would actually keep it upright. A big social event in a stuffy room, so the wine was too warm and hence showed a bit of alcohol. Decent QPR and very good interest level for such a foodless, cocktailish event - I don't think I would open one at home.

Finca y Bodega Carlos Pulenta Corte B Vistalba 2004

14,5% abv; 20,20€; 57% Malbec; 30% Cab Sauvignon; 13% Bonarda; 12 months in 100% new French oak. Purple, undeveloped colour. The scent is meaty and very jammy - amazingly the oak isn't what bothers me in this wine though I am usually oversensitive to it. Rather it is the sheer ripeness and jammyness that result in such a thickness that it is difficult to drink despite some savoury character that theoretically should counter the sweetness. Sweet and rich, with decent acidity and tannins, but still it seems ponderous. Rather alcoholic on the finish. I can very well see why many like this, but it was a bit much for me.

Fattoria Le Pupille (Elisabetta Geppetti) Morellino di Scansano 2006

13,5% abv; Sangiovese with a bit of Alicante and Malvasia Nera. A very enjoyable wine! The only thing I didn't like about it was the plastic stopper instead of some better seal like a screwcap - i.e. no point ageing this though I thought from this bottle that it might age very well over the next couple years. But to the wine itself: a bright, cherry aroma, lifted and savoury despite showing the ripeness of the warm region within Tuscany. This has crunchy tannins and juicy acidity and ripe fruit - but gladly no oak or over-ripeness that I can see. Refreshing finish. Moreish and very nice!

Oink-oink, röh-röh, boo-boo, hrgu-hrgu, nöff-nöff

I rarely eat pork. I don't know why. I made a fillet that I marinated in the remains of yesterday's Tulloch Semillon, onion and cinnamon. Once again I am reminded how well "brown" spices go with Riesling - the Chivite became even more overtly oaky with the dish but the Riesling, despite its sweetness, was just right.



Bodegas Julián Chivite Navarra Reserva Coleccion 125 1999 Navarra; 20€; 13,5% abv; 68% Tempranillo, 30% Merlot, 2% Cab Sauv.

The scent has some lovely, lifted aromas a little reminiscent of old style Rioja - but sadly the leafiness of the Bordeaux varieties and the still strong oak obfuscate the scents that I liked. Perhaps just more age is needed though the fruit seems mature? The palate has sweet red fruit, moderately high acidity, noticeable but resolved tannins, A very refreshing and lifted finish. Oddly enough, our pork dish accentuated the oak so I actually found more to enjoy without food (first time this has happened!). Some aspects, like the fruit and tannins, make this seem like a wine ready to drink; but the oak seems to need more time to integrate. I liked some parts, but was not convinced by the whole.


Schloss Saarstein Serriger Schloss Saarsteiner Riesling Spätlese 2003 Saar; 17,89€; 8,5% abv; 65 g/l RS; 6,6 g/l acidity.

Though a year of such over-ripeness that I don't normally seek them out, we have seen so few non-trocken Germans that I had to try one. It's not bad but it is obviously from a hot year. The scent is pure Riesling but veers toward tropical fruits rather than the bittersweet fruit I prefer. It has some of the steeliness I expect of the Saar. Strong fruit, sugary with adequate but not high acidity. It doesn't seem quite flabby to me but I would like it much more with higher acidity and less tropical fruit. So it is noticeably a 2003 - but it is also noticeably Saar. Good, but perhaps a bit too marked by the vintage that I would pay this amount again.

Tulloch Hunter Valley Semillon 2008

I have long been intrigued by Hunter Valley Semillons. Sadly, few have been available here, but what has been has been much to my taste. So now that one more became available, I of course had to try it. I did end up enjoying this very much even though it wasn't as great as the Mt. Pleasant or the Tulloch Julias I had previously tried (but this is also half the price of those...).

J. Y. Tulloch Semillon 2008 - Australia, New South Wales, Hunter Valley

10% abv; 6g/l RS; 6,9g/l acidity;10,05€; under Stelvin. Very light yellow. From the limited number of Hunter Valley Semillons I have had before, I think this follows the pattern. A strong scent of lime, lemongrass, green peas - generally a savoury scent of green aromas. Crisp, dry, unoaked, mineral and pure. It has a hard core of structure but it isn't a hard-core wine - rather it is very drinkable already, though I guess even these cheap, basic HV Semillons can take a few years of age? I liked this very much.

Boutari Santorini 2007 (Assyrtiko)

Boutari Santorini 2007 Appellation of Origin of High Quality Dry White Wine (yes, it says this on the bottle in English); 13,5% abv; 13,15€ from the special order selection, so has to be cheaper elsewhere in the world! 100% Assyrtiko, unoaked.

Quite a deep yellow. The scent is really rather charming: ripe and forward, seems much like a warm climate wine except it has wonderful citrus aromas to bring balance to the fruit - it reminds me a bit of Albariño in this mix of the exotic and the crisp (though aromatically they do have a bit different profile). On the palate, it is rich and full bodied but wonderfully racy. Despite the fruit profile being that of a warm climate, the acidity is still pretty high - apparently a feature of this grape (if one can trust the Wikipedia article on it) is that it can retain high acidity despite great ripeness. I thought this was both great fun, stood up well to a chunk of tuna with capers and tomatoes and everything one shouldn't have with wine and was worthy of a little contemplation. Nice!

Martin, Dagueneau, Carême, Stentz, Ganevat, Vissoux, Tissot, Aydie, Cèdre, Souch

I was invited to taste some wines imported by Vinature - a company that has imported to Finland only organic and "natural" wines. Generally I find their range very interesting, though inevitably they do have some that I am not too keen on.

We started with a flight of whites:

Domaine Yves Martin Sancerre Chavignol 2008 - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Sancerre
A very attractive Sancerre, mineral and grassy, an elegant style. Good body and freshness, has both ripeness and crispness. Balanced and complete. I liked it.

Didier Dagueneau Blanc Fumé de Pouilly 2005 - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Pouilly-Fumé
Once again, I fail to understand the hype attached to this producer. A perfectly adequate, grapefruit scent, a bit shy despite having a few years' age, so I was expecting something more forward. Good acidity, good body, but I was bored by it.

Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Pur Sang 2006 - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Pouilly-Fumé
A producer that perplexes me: everyone seems to praise them, but I find them boring and/or too oaky. This was too oaky. I thought the nice green aromas that the grape can have clash horribly with oak, so I found this quite off-putting.

Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Silex 2005 - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Pouilly-Fumé
Still not my favoured style of Sauvignon Blanc, but far better balanced than the Pur Sang '06 beside it. The oak was more to the background, it was more mineral and showed the grape more obviously. Full body, good acidity, more oak on the palate than on the scent. Here I see what the fuss is about though I still don't enjoy the style.

Vincent Carême Vouvray Tendre Le Peu Morier 2006 - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray
This was a nice wine! The scent was a bit closed, but it seemed perfectly typical of the grape with some quince aromas. Slightly sweet and weighty but with good enough acidity that it should work very well on the table - it isn't too heavy. Good!

André Stentz Riesling Rosenberg 2007 - France, Alsace, Alsace AOC
A forward scent, perhaps a touch of botrytis?, pure Riesling aromas. Forceful and dry (or almost so - it might have a touch of RS), but rich and racy. Nice stuff!

Domaine Ganevat Côtes du Jura Chardonnay Les Grands Teppes Vieilles Vignes 2004 - France, Jura, Côtes du Jura



13% abv. It's been about two years since I last tasted this. Back then I noted that it was otherwise fine except that the oak was a bit too obvious. It seemed rather oaky on opening but a few hours open did wonders. It is a pure Chardonnay aroma, very citrussy and bright. Very crisp, good acidity, persistent and true to the grape. The oak is still showing on the palate, though. If the oak continues to disappear like this, I might give unreserved praise in a few years. It isn't as filled with personality as Stéphane Tissot's Chardonnays, so they continue to be my favoured Chardonnay in the Jura.

Then followed a set of reds:
2007 Domaine du Vissoux / Pierre-Marie Chermette Moulin-à-Vent Les Trois Roches - France, Burgundy, Beaujolais, Moulin-à-Vent (9/10/2009)





Strangely for a 2007 Gamay, I felt this needs more time. All others I have had have been absolutely wonderful even in this infant stage, but this was lactic and grumpy. It had lovely raspberry fruit and some gravelly savouryness. Dense and chewy palate, quite tannic for Gamay. The finish is pleasantly light and lifted but otherwise it seems rather grumpy and doesn't want to wake up. I think I like this - perhaps even very much - but I caught it in an inexpressive moment.

Domaine Tissot (André & Mireille now Stéphane) Côtes du Jura En Barberon 2006 - France, Jura, Côtes du Jura


12,5% abv. Though I usually prefer other grapes in the Jura, I found this PN very attractive. The scent was of pure Pinosity in an elegant yet sexy and spicy style. Medium body, good acidity, quite strong tannins for the grape (but I don't mind that). Clean and refreshing finish. Lovely!

Château d'Aydie Madiran 2005 - France, Southwest France, Madiran
The scent was a bit reductive and plastic. It had dark fruit and a general savoury character. Quite full body, soft but plentiful tannins, the very high alcohol (14,5% abv) was amazingly well integrated. Hard and not giving much when given so little air. All the pieces seemed to be there so it would have been nice to try this with a bit of air.

Château du Cèdre Cahors Le Cèdre 2002 - France, Southwest France, Cahors
A rather oaky and anonymous scent of dark fruit; nicely meaty palate but still a bit anonymous. It seems that Cahors is going the Bordeaux route and making everything taste alike, spoofulated and boring?

And finally a lonely sweetie:
Domaine de Souch Jurançon Marie-Kattalin 2004 - France, Southwest France, Jurançon
18 months in Barriques! Well, it is a spicy wine smelling of oranges and exotic fruit. Full bodied and sweet, spicy. Fun in small amounts!

Medici Ermete i Querciola Reggiano Lambrusco Secco NV

I finally saw a Lambrusco at Alko that wasn't Riunite-soda-pop, so I had to try it!

Medici Ermete i Querciola Reggiano Lambrusco Secco NV DOC; 11% abv; 8 g/l RS; 7,8 g/l acidity; lot 18/09; 11€.

Deep, deep red, almost purple colour. It smells of raspberry, violets and earth - almost like a good Cru Beaujolais. Elegant mousse, not as carbonated as Champagne IMO but more than just pétillant (no exact figures, sorry). Deeply tannic, almost rich palate with refreshingly high acidity.

Very satisfying, though I can see that some people will find a fizzy red with such structure too much of a shock to the system! I have no idea if this is considered one of the better producers (I haven't seen any mention of it), but I enjoyed it. I'm hoping to get more experience of this dry, "serious", Lambrusco - but who are the good producers of it?

Maycas del Limarí Chardonnay Reserva 2007

Maycas del Limarí (Concha y Toro) Chardonnay Reserva 2007 D.O. Limarí Valley; Stelvinned; 14% abv; 16,12€.

Limarí is in northern Chile but is a fairly cool climate. Marcelo Papa, C y T's chief wine maker, believes Limarí to be the best area in Chile for Chardonnay (what chief wine maker doesn't think so of their newest area to market?). I haven't usually enjoyed Chilean wines and I usually find Chardonnay soporific so I did not approach this with an open mind.

So, it is all the more shocking that I found it perfectly drinkable. Golden-green, unevolved colour. The scent is full of lime and gooseberry and a general green fruitiness that is suggestive of crispness on the palate. It seems to be full bodied but the acidity is strong enough (7,7g/l !) that it is very light on its feet. Crisp, citric and quite persistent on the finish.

New world? This? But where's the oak?* Apparently only 20% sees oak and even that is in 400 liter barrels that are twice and thrice used. There is a subtle smokiness on some sniffs, but the oak influence is so small that even I am not disturbed by it - it is so quiet that I had to listen hard to find the noise, and even then I lost it quickly.

Good stuff. Nice to see Chardonnay made in an invigorating (pertaining to both its acidity and its lack of soporific elements) style with little oak. Since even a giant of the mass-market wine like C y T is making one in this style, is there a general trend in making Chardonnay drinkable again?*


* Yes, yes, my prejudices are showing here, I know. FWIW, I have tasted some very nice unoaked Chardonnays recently (Clos Pepe and Marimar Torres).

Four beers from De Glazen Toren

De Glazen Toren Jan de Lichte 7% abv



A wheat beer - one of Belgium's strongest? A refreshing and obviously wheaty and citrussy aroma that doesn't have any of that estery banana/bubblegum aroma that the German wheat beers tend to have. It is dry and crisp. The only minus for me is slight heat on the finish. Despite that, I think this was very nice.

De Glazen Toren Ondineke 8,5% abv



A tripel. Some rather nice maltiness, but very perfumed and flowery. Despite some savoury edges, the scent did seem to promise much, much sweetness. Gladly the palate was dry compared to what I expected. Full bodied, nicely hoppy, a very enjoyable grapefruit finish.

De Glazen Toren Saison d'Erpe-Mere 6,9 abv



Once again, a bit too floral, honeyed and perfumed for my taste, but nicely dry and hoppy. I still find the Dupont a modern Saison more to my taste, but this was a nice alternative. Also quite full bodied but dry, very hoppy and crisp. Nice stuff!

De Glazen Toren Cuvée Angelique 8,3% abv



The dubbel. I have found the dubbel the most difficult style of beer to get into, and I still don't think I like it. I find them too often sweet and simple and without enough refreshing notes. Well, on the scent, this was a rather usual dubbel except not so syrupy. But the palate, as with the whole range, was drier than expected and I liked that. It was full bodied, decently hoppy and with better balance than most dubbels I have had. Good. But not good enough to make me convinced of this style when at the same price I can try so many better beers!


Overall impressions: It seems a good brewer though I hadn't heard of it before. I like how the palate always is dry and crisp with these beers - but I do find it a bit of a shock after the sweet scents! There seems to be a discontinuity between the scent and the taste. So, very good beers, but not the best I have experienced from Belgium.

Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese 1993

Forstmeister Geltz Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese 1993

7,5% abv; A.P. 3 551 083-5-94; c.28€

Excellent level despite fully soaked cork (overfilled?). Light gold - only slight signs of age. The scent is really lovely: crystallized limes, elegantly honeyed and herbal. Not very sweet anymore nor high in acidity either which was a bit of a surprise as I didn't think this was a vintage known for lowish acidity! But despite having softened out, the almost steely finish fans out like a peacock's tail. Rather excellent balance despite its surprisingly low acidity. Lovely. Drink and hold.

Siegrist Pinot Noir 2006 (Pfalz)

Weingut Siegrist Pinot Noir (sic!) Trocken 2006 Pfalz,

19,20€; 13% abv; 5,3g/l acidity. Siegrist, says the blurb on our monopoly's web-site, was one of the pioneers of oak use in the Pfalz. This spends 16 months in used oak from Alliers. With so much on the blurb about oak, I was expecting something unpleasant, but actually the oak isn't really very evident at all. It starts out with a very, very sweet scent of strawberries. It is pure Pinosity but of a rather ripe kind. There is also a slight balsamic touch so one can see it has seen oak, but there is nothing obviously oaky about the wine (gladly!). Medium-light body, sweet and ripe fruit, decent structure to cope with the fruit but it does come across a product of a warm year. Clean finish with some of the cherry tartness I like to see in PN that was sadly missing otherwise. Nice stuff, though not as interesting as the Aostan Pinot!

Forward a couple hours: sadly the oak did become overpowering over time. It never did become a toffeed, cherry Cola PN, but rather it started to smell malty and seaweedy like the beers aged in whisky barrels (like Harviestoun's Ola Dubh range). After a promising start, it lost its Pinosity.

Les Crêtes Pinot Noir Valle d'Aosta 2007

Società Agricola Les Crêtes Pinot Noir Valle d'Aosta DOC 2007

14% abv; 5,3 g/l acidity; 6g/l RS; 19,70€

A pleasantly light colour. The scent starts out with a candied/confected aspect. But it was in the glass only a short while until the forest berries and the mineral purity of Pinosity asserted themselves: it is a scent of restrained wildness. The fruit is ripe, but it never seems like it is a wine with 14% abv. Rather it is mineral and racy on the palate. Mouthwatering and no oak. Good stuff!

Leyda Carmenère Single Vineyard Talhuén 2006

Leyda Carmenère Single Vineyard Talhuén 2006 Colchagua Valley, Chile; 14% abv; 17,05€


12 months in American and French oak - no mention of the size or age of the barrels. Obviously Chilean from the first sniff - a mix of Szechuan pepper and ripe, almost jammy dark fruit. But there are features that differentiate this from the masses of lookalikes that we usually from Chile: the scent is actually rather leafy and cool despite the rather opposite effect created by the ripe, jammy fruit, and it doesn't really show much oak at all (I guess the oak, therefore, must be used but I welcome any confirmation of that). Quite full bodied, a bit on the obvious and sweet side for my taste, but still with admirable acidity and even some obvious tannins. A welcome change from the usual Chilean stuff we see, but still not quite within my aesthetic ideals. I would like to see something still less obvious, less harsh and less in-your-face.