Cave de Gortona Vin de Pays du Val de Loire Pinot Noir 2008

Cave de Gortona Vin de Pays du Val de Loire Pinot Noir 2008

9,99€; 12% abv. From Thauvenay-en-Sancerre, 15-20yo vines, hand-picked, ambient yeasts, no oak.

Very light color. Quite a delightful scent: pure Pinosity, nice tart red berries, but ripe and sexy. It also has the slightest touch of funk/sweat - in such amounts that I won't be the only one to enjoy it! Delightfully light with good acidity - lighter than the scent promised, but I don't mind lightness. It gained weight nicely once opened. For 10€ this is a wine I will buy again: it has character and Pinosity. Good wine.

And only 9,99€ in the most expensive wine shop in the world??? Either Alko made a huge mistake in buying this, or I got a positively off bottle.

Wiener Gemischter Satz Nussberg Alte Reben 2008

After yesterday's disappointing Burgundy, tonight was a white guaranteed to have no oak influence. Wieninger Wiener Gemischter Satz Nussberg Alte Reben 2008, a field blend of practically everything grown around Vienna made from c.40yo vines. Gold. Lovely aromas, very mineral, this time showing rather floral with the Muscat and/or Gewurz elements to the fore (whereas in November when this was open at a tasting where it seemed more like Riesling). But despite this mix of such different grapes, this wine, perhaps amazingly, is very pure and anti-messy. Good, refreshing acidity, more rich than I remembered from the tasting, but it is still racy and moreish. Most enjoyable after the oaky Burgundy was that I was now drinking grapes not forests. Lovely.

Bored when I should have a Beauner

Dinner tonight was a Fegato alla Veneziana with saffron risotto. I know that Chianti and liver is the proper pairing, but I felt like some Pinot instead, so I opened a recent(ish) arrival, Domaine Vincent Sauvestre Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru "Les Peuillets" 2006 (21,90€; 13% abv).

30% new wood and in this wine, it is too much for me. I know I shouldn't worry about it since it is a young wine and since the oak doesn't cover the Beaunyness of it. Ripe, strawberry fruit, a bit of undergrowth. It has moderate acidity which props up the fruit nicely. Refreshing finish with some attractive tannic astringency. Maybe I should try this again in a year or so because I think the oak should integrate and the rest of the wine seems perfectly nice.

But maybe I won't. I am just so bored by even the slightest oak aromas these days that I think from now on I won't bother to open wines that aren't aged in a neutral vessel. I don't know why I have suddenly become so averse to this aroma that even such wines as this one, which really shouldn't have bothered me at all, did. I guess even slight oak brings a uniformity to all wines and I've just finally had too many examples of such. So my anti-oak extremism, or Talibanism, has gone up a notch. The Allier and Limousin forests should look out - in my newfound extremism I might start flying paper airplanes into them.

Not your regular Pinots; not your regular Germans

A pot of coq au vin required some Pinot. But these weren't your regular Pinots Noir. Both are Germans, both are awesome and one was a still white.

Shelter Winery Blanc de Noir 2008 is a Baden Pinot Noir vinified white and still and dry. Light as water. With a fairly low 12% abv, it is delightfully light and crisp, unoaked but it still shows some spicy Pinosity and red toned fruit. With such a profile and such a colour, it reminds me a little of Furmint. Delightfully acidic, but not annoyingly astringent - rather it provides a burst of freshness and is bracing. Lovely, but despite the coq au vin made with white wine for a change, the wine was perhaps a little bit light for such a rustic food.

But the red was all I wanted with such a dish. Weingut Becker Landgraf im Felsenkeller Gau-Odernheimer Spätburgunder trocken J² 2007 is a delicious Rheinhessen Pinot, full of sexy Pinosity and with a perfect amount of weight to go with our dinner. Sweet, ripe fruit, but unlike some '07 Rieslings wherein I found the fruit top-heavy and the acid insufficient, here I found a perfect balance of Pinot Sexiness and crispness. Very moreish. Lovely.

Gérard Souzay

The more I listen to him, the more I feel that Souzay is one of the most underrated singers. There is such an extreme elegance to what he sings that he even manages to make Reynaldo Hahn (I just don't like his compositions, sugary, syrup that they too often are) re-listenable:

Coopers Creek Cabernet-Merlot Select Vineyards 2005

Coopers Creek Cabernet-Merlot Select Vineyards 2005 - New Zealand, North Island, Hawkes Bay, Gimblett Gravels
18,49€; 13% abv; 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 29% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc. Dark red. Quite a nice, loamy aroma. The oak, though it sees 12-15 months in 60% new French oak, seems to be integrating quite well (though I would like it even less in the background), but it doesn't hide the dark toned, earthy, cassis aromas of the classic Bordeaux blend. Ripe fruit, moderately full bodied, nicely upright tannins and refreshing acidity. Since it is under Stelvin, the only thing wrong I can find is that the oak is still to my tastes too obvious. I think a couple more years, and I would find this a very pretty little wine.

J-M Burgaud "James" 2007 and Prieler Blaufränkisch Johanneshöhe 2006

Jean-Marc Burgaud Morgon Côte du Py "James" 2007
28,80€; 13% abv. Gamay from 50 yo vines from a high area of Côte du Py. This is aged for a year in three times used barrique. On the whole I found this '07 more enjoyable than the '06 (though I would love to try both side by side in five or so years - I think I might very well prefer the '06 with age because of its tough structure). The '06 was tough and not fun; the '07 is still tough but at least it is pleasurably tough. There is a bit of liquorice on the nose - I suppose faint, spicy vestiges of oak can be found even after it has been used thrice - but otherwise it is quite impressive. I might criticize this wine for being perhaps more Burgundian than Morgonian - with its vegetal, masculine, dark fruit style and strong tannins it reminds me of Faiveley. Refreshing, crunchy, gravelly.



Weingut Familie Prieler Blaufränkisch Johanneshöhe 2006 - Neusiedlersee-Hügelland
18,40€; 13% abv.It has been about 1,5 years since I last tried this, so it was high time to retry it. I liked it when it was younger but did find a bit too much reduction and lactic aromas on day one - it was a wine that improved drastically with extended airing. Now, however, I have a big smile on my face just ten minutes after opening. A slightly funky scent, lovely bright berry aromas, peppery like a Syrah. Juicy, fun and gravelly like the best Gamay, it has good grip and is refreshing and moreish. Nice wine!

Though neither wine was Burgundy proper, both were enough in that direction to be perfectly charming with the boeuf bourguignon. So it was a fun evening (unlike, I suspect, tomorrow morning).

100 Years Ago - John McCormack

The 1910s was an exciting decade for opera lovers with many legendary names singing in their primes. A young, Irish tenor, John McCormack, was just launching a promising career then. In 1906 at just 22 years old, he had become the youngest principal tenor at Covent Garden, and his career had only been on the rise since with appearances in major opera houses with such legendary singers as Luisa Tetrazzini. The following year he was to partner Dame Nellie Melba (of Peach Melba fame) on her tour of Australia. But during a visit to America in 1910 he was heard by Calvin Childs of the Victor Record Company, who decided to record him. From January to March 1910 McCormack made a series of recordings for Victor - which IMO just might be the greatest examples of bel canto singing ever captured on record. His voice is still full of youthful vibrancy and beauty but it is matched by a mature elegance of phrasing and unparalleled technique. I have listened to these arias for over a decade yet I still find that these are the performances I always return to. Sometimes the past really was golden.


Donizetti - L'Elisire d'Amore - Una Furtiva Lagrima

Gounod - Faust - Salut demeure, chaste et pure

Puccini - La Bohème - Che Gelida Manina

Verdi - La Traviata - De' miei bollenti spiriti

Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor - Tu che a Dio spiegasti

Donizetti - La Fille du Régiment - Pour me rapprocher de Marie

Fonte do Beco 2007

DFJ Vinhos Fonte do Beco 2007 - Vinho Regional Terras do Sado; 12,5% abv; 100% Castelão; 8,90€
I have fond memories of José Maria da Fonseca's Periquita which is also from the same region and is perhaps the most famous table wine from Setúbal - so famous that the wine's name (Periquita) is now a synonym for the grape Castelão! Periquita however hasn't been available here for some years. But as I wanted a fix of that delightful, cheap, berried and rustic red, I decided to open another cheap VR Terras do Sado Castellão, Fonte do Beco.

My first impression is that it is a more "international", slightly oaky, less rustic example of the same base-material as the Periquita of my memories. But with air, the toffee aromas of the oak pretty much disappear and the slightly rustic loveliness I remember appears. It smells of raspberries and earth. Medium bodied with lively acidity and a fair bit of refreshing tannins that provide some lovely astringency to the sweet fruit, but still it seems a bit more polished and a bit less rustic than my mnemonic. Still, I got my fix. Fun little wine.

Elephant Hill Cabernet Franc 2009

Elephant Hill Cabernet Franc 2009 - Hawkes Bay, New Zealand; 24,90€; 90% CF, 10% Merlot; 15% abv; 7,2 g/l acidity; under Stelvin

The very first sniff just after opening did seem like Cabernet Franc. But the more air it came into contact with, the more oaky it became. It never became an over the top blueberry milkshake, but rather it smelled like a Bordeaux that straddles the fine line between a traditional and a modern style: it smells of loam and earth and general savoriness rather than boisterous, in-your-face fruit yet it still shows a marked oak character that subdues the grape's character to some degree. Full bodied, nicely bright acidity and nicely refreshing tannins. Amazingly the supremely high alcohol isn't noticeable nor does it manifest itself as over-ripeness as I feared. I can very well see the appeal in this as the semi-modern style of Bordeaux seems to have its fans, but I will not be buying it.

Good VdPd'Oc and Lovely Cava

Collovray & Terrier Vin de Pays d'Oc La Closerie des Lys Les Fruitières 2008
This was fun wine, about half Merlot, the rest Cab Sauv and Syrah. Only 10€. I first tried this about a year ago and found it almost Beajolais-like; it has gained weight and lost some red fruited brightness and now seems more like the Southern wine it is. Nice darker fruit, sweet yet savoury; good grip, fun fruit. Amazingly for a wine of this price in Finland, this is real wine and doesn't taste like it was made in a laboratory. Though nothing profound and certainly not worth meditating upon, it is really nice. Must buy more for weekday drop.

Tutusaus Cava Vall Dolina Brut Nature
c.15€; 11,5% abv. No vintage on the label, but IIRC this is always a single vintage wine and this bottle was my first taste of the 2006. Less elegantly understated than the '05, but it is a lovely, mineral, appley wine with sweeter and more forward aromas. But just like the previous vintage, this is wonderfully racy, crisp and bracing, but the finish once again shows a more pronounced fruit presence. This is once again a wonderful Cava.

Loimer Riesling Kamptal 2008

Loimer Riesling Kamptal 2008 - 12% abv; ~15€
Very pure aroma, mineral and citric. Classically proportioned Kamptal, dry and quite powerful but neither austere nor fat. Seems to be a cooler year for a change, which is nice for those of us who like a healthy dose of acid in our wines. Wonderfully mineral and extremely moreish. Fantastic for what is supposed to be a "basic" Riesling in their line-up!

I haven't paid much attention to recent reports on Austria, preferring to taste for myself. But now that I've had a handful of them, mostly Kamptals, is my initial impression correct that we have finally a slightly cooler year, one with lots of minerality and brightness and crunch instead of a fat year like so many other recent years have been?

Martinborough, Navarra, Vienna

I attended a quick tasting with two interesting wines. First up was Julicher Sauvignon Blanc 2008 from Martinborough, NZ. Oddly enough this was pleasantly restrained and even elegant, despite the high abv (14%) on the label which made me expect a hugely ripe, even tropical wine. Nicely mineral, yellow fruit. The back label's mention of having used oak to create "mid-palate richness" was also a bit scary, but once again I was pleasantly surprised: crisp acidity, nice ripeness to the fruit without being in any way over the top. This isn't the stereotypical NZ SB of cat's piss and gooseberry. And it felt moreish enough that I wouldn't have said no to a second glass!

Next was Azul y Garanza "Seis" 2008 a 60/40 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. This is a big wine, purple in the glass - and yet I enjoyed it. I must be going to the dark side! But I didn't sense new oak aromas. Instead I see a purity of fruit despite its size: nice blackcurrant + its leaf -aromas. Some loam and tobacco. Big palate, pure in its fruit, deliciously and palate-cleansingly tannic (but not annoyingly tight as the 2007 of this is). Extremely primary, but enormous fun anyway! I very rarely find anything but boredom from Navarra, but this winery does some very nice things (at least at the lower end of the range where oak is sparingly used if at all).

Any suspicions that I was going over to the dark side were dispelled with the next wine. Wieninger Pinot Noir Select 2004, from Vienna, Austria. When the bottle whizzed past me I didn't catch the vintage, but when I sniffed my glass I realized I could do an easy experiment to find out. I cut a cross section of the wine and counted its tree rings and determined it was 2004. What a shame as Wieninger's whites can be amazingly good.

Oliver Haag of Fritz Haag visits Finland

Oliver Haag of the legendary Mosel property was in Finland so we had a small tasting of his wines! Oliver was in genial spirits and eager to talk about everything vinous. I especially liked his comments about not wanting to make powerful wines and that the much heralded view of low yields and old vines might not be a good way of achieving the desired elegance.


We started with a couple Trockener. First was the basic, estate wine, Riesling Trocken 2008, which was really rather nice! Pure, lemon aromas; crisp but fruity enough to be a friendly wine.

Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Trocken 2008 is from Spätlese (approaching Auslese) weight, but Oliver decided not to put the Prädikat on the label as that would be confusing (IMO, making it even more confusing...). But the wine was very nice for a Mosel trocken (remember, I'm not really a fan of the style): concentrated, elegant, mineral and fruity enough that it isn't as charmless as most Mosel trockener I have had.

Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett 2007, 8,5% abv, was very open and expressive, ripe and sweet. Quite soft for a Kabinett - 2007 really doesn't seem to have the acid cut that I read it should have. But it is a joyful wine with enough acidity to keep it from being cloying. A pleasant Spätlese.

Brauneberger Riesling Kabinett 2008 was quite an awesome Kabinett - and it really did seem like a Kab rather than a Spätlese with Kab on the label. Lovely, refreshing, crisp, citric fruit. Racy and deliciously sweet, immensely refreshing and satisfying. Lovely.


Next was a flight of Spätlesen:

Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 2008 was in a crisp, greener style, aromatically a little closed (Oliver felt, towards the end of the flight, that it might be a touch corked - I didn't notice that, I just felt it was a little closed). But the palate was really lovely, racy and high in acidity, sweet but refreshing and certainly not cloying. Too fruity IMO to be corked. I liked it very much.

Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 2007 was also one that Oliver felt might be a bit corked. At first I got classic Mosel aromas, though not as ripe and forward as many '07s are. But with air, I also found a little mustiness.

Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese Auction 2005 was very nice, ripe and concentrated as most from this vintage are, but also lively and the sugar is beginning to integrate. But it isn't a racy or nervous wine, rather it is a fat wine. But a very good, fat wine.

Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese 2003 was strange: lighter colour than the younger wines and it smelled of mulberries. Also, it wasn't as concentrated as the '05 and '07 were and was a lighter style. I wonder, did Oliver's father go specifically for a lighter style? Or what is the reason that this vintage which should have been massive, was fairly light in comparison to the two more recent warm years? Quite pleasant for an '03, but I still preferred the others.


Next were eight Auslesen, first two "normal" and then six Goldkapsels.

Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 2004, light, bright and a bit closed aromatically, but wonderful palate. Electric, racy, lively, thirst quenching despite the sugar. Lovely.

Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 2005 was of course richer than the '04 but I was pleasantly surprised at how racy it was for an '05. It didn't seem to have as much excess fat as so many other '05s. Lovely.

Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel Erste Lage 2008 was clear, clean, racy and seemed to have more botrytis than most of the other Auslesen (the '06 excepted). Electric, great sweetness but impeccably balanced. Lovely.

Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 2007 was a fairly heavy style, sweet, forward, rich, fat and perhaps a bit low in acidity (where did the myth arise that this vintage was crisp in acidity?). It will be fun to try this again in a few years when the fat fades and the structure (hopefully) will be more forward.

Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 2006 was simply massive. Enormous amounts of botrytis, heavy, very sweet, more like a Beerenauslese than an Auslese. But it is pretty good BA, it just seemed out of place among other wines that really did seem like Auslesen.

Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 2005 was clean and pure despite being very rich. Good acidity for the year - the fat seems to have disappeared well as this seems more balanced that it did in our tasting 1,5 years ago where the sugar and sheer weight made it seem rather too heavy. Very good.

Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 2003 was, just like the '03 Spätlese, strangely light coloured and light in texture when compared to the others in this tasting. It also smelled strangely of mulberries. It was clean but soft, not as over-ripe as I feared - in fact, both '03s tonight showed as much more pleasant wines that I expected.

Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel 2002 was simply awesome! This had the sweetness and weight I expect of Auslese, but if there had been fat earlier (maybe such a "classic" year didn't when young?), it has completed a successful diet. Lovely, crystalline purity; racy and electric palate. Excellent.

What an enjoyable way to spend a Monday evening!

Lesser known Jean-Paul Bruns

Over the weekend I got to try a few samples of some new and rare stuff from a favourite Beaujolais producer, J-P Brun.

Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) FRV 100 Rosé NV - 7,5% abv; close-up of the bling label so you can read it
A Méthode Ancestrale-bubbly from Gamay. Pink, slightly sweet and as the pun on the label indicates, effervescent. Lovely earthy aromas. Good acidity to keep it dangerously drinkable. Very refreshing despite the sugar. Lovely. And incredible fun.

Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Crémant de Bourgogne Charme Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs NV - 12% abv; label
Very light gold. Amazing purity on the nose: mineral, clean aromas of white flowers and green apples. It reminds me of Pierre Peters's Extra Brut (except this is less rich and leesy) in its purity, focus, (c)lean charm and sheer elegance and energy. Elegant, small and persistent mousse. Lovely crispness, but it also has some fruit so it isn't an aggressive style of Extra Brut. Amazing focus and purity; endless aftertaste. Excellent.

Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Vin de Table Français Roussanne 2008 - 12% abv; label
A very mineral nose, herbaceous, nutty though unoaked, a bit like an oolong tea. Rich but with stronger acidity than I expected from this grape. Endless aftertaste. Quite a wonderful wine. Though the back label states (if I understood the French correctly?) that one should drink quickly after opening because of very little added sulfur, I found this more expressive on day two.

Ag. Franco Terpin Sauvignon delle Venezie IGT 2006

Az. Ag. Franco Terpin Sauvignon delle Venezie IGT 2006

14% abv. I don't have much information on this wine, but IIRC, this is raised like the other Terpins: one year in wood, one in steel and one in bottle before release. Deep orange. It is oxidative and smells of apricot marmalade and dust, but it does also have a herbaceous lift that does remind me - albeit slightly - of the grape. Quite the most ferociously tannic white I have ever had - drink with red meat! Full bodied but also strongly acidic so the result is very light on its feet. The high alcohol is well hidden. This follows a different paradigm so enjoyment requires an open mind - but by the second glass I found much to like.

Terpin Ribolla Gialla 2004

Az. Ag. Franco Terpin Ribolla Gialla 2004 - Collio

13% abv; c.14€. This is a really wonderful "orange" wine! It smells earthy and is perhaps a touch oxidative. It also has vivid aromatics of sweet yet vibrantly acidic fruits like oranges and apricots - in short, it reminds me of white Musar. A deep palate with layer upon layer of flavour and complexity: crisp acidity, fairly strong tannins even by "orange wine" standards, but wonderfully refreshing fruit. The sensation is very much like biting into a ripe apricot with wonderfully sweet fruit but it is invigorating rather than cloying in its sweetness. Persistent finish. Wonderful wine!

Terpin Stamas Rosso 2004

Az. Ag. Franco Terpin Collio Stamas Rosso 2004

80% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon; 14% abv; 20yo vines; 1 year in French oak, 1 year in steel & 1 year in bottle before release; c.14€. I wish Bordeaux were more often like this. A lovely aroma of dark fruit, loam and baked beans, it seems a bit like the '88, '90 (yes, yes, I know no one else likes this vintage), '96 and '00 of Pichon Lalande. Good, ripe fruit, but lovely, high acidity and firm tannins, Refreshing finish. Quite a delightful wine - I get what I so love in Pichon Lalande but for a tenth of the price. Awesome wine!

Töövi!!!

A Finnish friend and wino, Asko Kassinen, has a nice project going on at Crushpad. He kindly invited me to taste some new releases today!

The first was Töövi Alder Springs Chardonnay 2009 from a cool climate, high altitude vineyard in IIRC Mendocino, California. This was only bottled two weeks ago, so I was a bit worried that it might be completely in pieces. But it was actually really nice! This sees no oak at all, which I am of course very happy about, and the scent is therefore very pure and unadulterated. Mineral and lime aromas - nothing tropical here, just elegant, cool fruit. Good acidity and a general sense of grip, focused fruit. Really rather Chablisesque - except for a bit of heat on the finish. Apparently this is about 14% abv, and it sadly shows a little (but could it be that this a bit disjointed simply because it was opened so soon after bottling? might we see the alcohol hide itself with a bit of age?). Really nice wine otherwise.

The next wine was even better because of better integrated alcohol. The Töövi Alder Springs Marsanne/Roussanne 2009 is a 50/50 blend, and also about 14% abv, but it is better hidden than in the Chardonnay. This is also raised in steel, and sees no oak (which, again, is nice! ). It has lovely aromas, reminiscent of e.g. the Texier white Rhones that I have had, but I always find it hard to describe these aromas. They seem nutty, but since that is a descriptor so often used for oak, it isn't applicable here since this wine obviously isn't oaky. I'll just skip the scent and go to the structure, which is also very well done: restrained richness. Oily texture yet also delightfully acidic for these grapes. Fascinating stuff.

And finally, over dinner, I opened a Töövi Pinot Noir Hein Vineyard 2008 from the Anderson Valley, California. The oak for this wine has been once and twice used, but, I'm sorry to say, I still found a bit more of it than is ideal for my tastes. But the good thing is that I think it might just be a case where the wine needs more age: the oak didn't obfuscate the pure Pinosity of the wine at all. And the Pinosity is a very lovely Pinosity indeed: bright fruit, some vegetal aromas, racy. Good acidity, sexy fruit (but not in the overblown way of the stereotype of New World Pinot Noir), racy, nervous. I think I might like this very much in a year or so once the oak goes more to the background.

I think Asko is making some really good wine in California: these new releases were leaning more toward an old world, elegant style than the stereotypical Californicated style. And I'm not the only one to like his wines - Restaurant Carelia, the wine Mecca of Helsinki, now serves some of them! Congratulations Asko!

Seriously Good Shite!

I needed something to cleanse my palate after making a failed attempt at drinking the Mordorée Lirac, so I opened up a basic Burgundy that was some seriously good shite!

Domaine Henri Naudin-Ferrand Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2007 - from the lieu-dit "En Daisey" in Magny lès Villers; 12% abv; c.15€; close-up of label

Very light colour. Wonderful scent of tart, red berries and shite. Light body, crisp acidity, very little in the way of fruity sweetness. It manages to mix a lovely dose of rustic funk to breathtaking purity of Pinosity. What more could one possibly hope for from a wine? Probably too dirty and fruitless for anyone but me, but my goodness how I love it! I've managed to drink more of this in an hour than I did of the Mordorée in two days.

Domaine de la Mordorée Lirac "La Reine des Bois" 2007

Domaine de la Mordorée Lirac "La Reine des Bois" 2007 14,5% abv; c.15€

A third each of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre from c.40yo vines.

This is a famous property that I had never before tried, so when I managed to get one for this price, I decided to educate myself.

I was quite frightened on first sniff: it seemed to have quite a bit of wood. I thought their Lirac wasn't supposed to be their woody cuvée? A few hours decanting seems to make the wood go so thoroughly into hiding that I start to wonder if I were hallucinating earlier on.

But even after a few hours, this is an angry wine. Full of aggressive, dark fruit aromas and camphor rather than garrigue. It is inky, raw and alcoholic. It has low acidity and a resulting flatness and lack of liveliness on the palate. The black, brooding, inky stench made me expect a massively extracted wine and indeed there is a wall of tannin. Harshly alcoholic throughout the palate and hot on the finish. Very unbalanced.

I think I disliked it for three reasons: it is too young, it is the victim of a hot vintage and it seemed so inky and bitterly tannic as to be over extracted (and remember: I love tannins! I have no problem drinking young Nebbiolo.).

I was under the impression that as long as one stayed away from Mordorée's "super-cuvées", even those with my preferences should like the wines? So what did I do wrong? Get the wrong year? Or is this, though only a "humble" Lirac, actually one of their super-cuvées?