Musar Rouge 2002

Château Musar Rouge 2002 might just be the most exciting young Musar I have had. But since it has been a while since this wine has been available (or affordable) in Finland, there is a possibility that my emotions make this seem greater than it really is.

The year started out abnormally cool, but the end of the growing season was hot, but not so hot (or not hot long enough) that the acidity would have plummeted. It is a year with much of everything: fruit, alcohol (14%), acidity, tannins - and amazingly enough with such a combination, nuance and elegance, too. There is nothing raisiny or overripe as there was with the red 2001, yet it has the ripe, sexy, funky, savoury style of the 1991. Wonderful grip. I have previously thought of Musar's structure as more acid than tannin driven, but this has almost Nebbiolo-like palate-cleansing tannins. The wonderful acidity makes this very moreish. I always thought that having much fruit, much alcohol, much acidity and much tannin was a combination that made wine difficult to drink, but this Moose proves me wrong. Lovely stuff.

Musar Blanc 2001

Château Musar Blanc 2001 12,5% abv
2001 was the fourth straight year of abnormally hot temperatures in the Biq'á-valley. But this white doesn't seem to have such hot-year characteristics as the 2001 red - I guess that is because the white vines are planted at some of the highest altitudes I know of, at about 1200 meters.

But it is a fruity wine by Musar Blanc's standards, so much so that the oxidative notes which are there have to be actively searched for! It smells wonderfully like apricots and earth; rich and full bodied despite only 12,5% abv. The acidity for the white tends to be about 4,5-5 g/l, so it is technically a low acid wine, but it is still refreshing. Unending aftertaste, of wonderfully pure, mineral and apricotty fruit. A truly wonderful wine.

Hochar Père & Fils 2003

Château Musar Hochar Père & Fils 2003 13%. I have not usually liked any other than the Château Musar label from this winery, but I have to admit that the 2003 P&F is wonderful.

This Hochar is a single vineyard wine from the village of 'Aná, some 10km or so south of Chtoura (where the famous Ksara winery is). IIRC, 2003 wasn't a heat-wave in the Biq'á-valley, but was a bit cooler than usual. But it was also drier and sunnier than normal, and this weather maybe is the reason why this wine combines both sweetness of fruit and a general "southern", warm feel to brightness and vivacity?

Done supposedly with the same philosophy and grape varieties as the Château wine (though if so, why is it almost always so drearily inferior to it?), the 2003 is one of the few P&Fs that has seemed Musary to me. It doesn't have the concentration or lift of its elder sibling, but this year I do see the family resemblance. Lovely wine.

Shame on you, Alko!

Pecchenino Barolo Le Coste 2004

Advisory: contains much ranting.

A new Barolo became available at our monopoly. Alko's description of it was promising so I decided to try a bottle: it speaks of Slavonian oak barrels instead of barriques so I thought, despite half of the wood being new, that it wouldn't really shine through in such big botti. So I opened it, stuck my nose in the glass and got a massive stench of toffee and overripe, raisiny fruit mixed with some banana aromas (did they use the infamous Lalvin yeast that Duboeuf used to use for Beaujolais?).

Thick, sweet (since when has young Barolo had sweet fruit sensations?), low in acidity (since when has young Barolo felt low in acidity?) and with rather too smooth tannins, so mouthcoating and velvety and powdery that I wonder if they really are tannins (since when...?). It left a strange taste in my mouth, so I went to a mirror and stuck out my tongue at my image. Much to my chagrin I found it laminated in oak. I should pour this wine on my floors as I'm tired of the material there.

So off I went a-Googling and I find out from the producer's website that it not only sees botti but barriques also.

Alko's description of the wine makes it seem like something more traditional with its mention of cherries and strong tannins. I'm assuming whoever made the descriptions for Alko wasn't being malicious in writing such misleading information - I am sure they were only utterly incompetent. Shame on you, Alko, for getting such incompetents who don't know what traditional Barolo tastes like to write up a spoofy example in such traditional terms, and for providing misleading information about the wine. And shame on me for actually trusting anything that was published on Alko's website.

A new vintage of Barbaglio!!!! :)

Cooperative Agricola Santa Barbara Barbaglio 2006 - IGT Salento; 13,20€; 13,5% abv; 80% Negroamaro, 20% Primitivo.
Slight bricking already, though a young wine. Like the previous vintages, this '06 reminds me a bit of Ch. Musar: bright red fruit aromas that are sweet and ripe but very savoury, a bit of funk, lifted but not unpleasantly volatile. Lovely grip, savoury despite some fruit sweetness, A funky and leathery delight. Outstanding value and a lovely wine in its own right.

Dawkins vs. the Pope

Excellent speech from Richard Dawkins here:

“…as if a penis were an essential tool for pastoral duties.”

Though, since this is mostly a wine blog, I should point out that Ratzenberger's Rieslings are pretty awesome, so don't start boycotting them!

Carcharodon carcharias

Sergio & Graziano Prà Soave Classico Monte Grande 2008
24€; 13,5% abv; 80% Garganega & 20% Trebbiano di Soave; aged in large casks

This is among the bigger and more powerful Soaves that I have had, but gladly it doesn't seem to achieve that size and power because of oak influence. There is a touch of smokiness in the wine, but nothing else I would associate with oak, but this aroma coupled with a bready aroma makes me think more of lees ageing than oak. If it is oak, it is remarkably deftly applied since I don't mind the aroma. Crystallized lemons and minerals make up the rest of the scent (aromatically it reminds me a bit of Texier's Mâcons). Big and powerful, but it does have quite a bite! Citric, mineral and refreshing finish. Quite endless. Tonight, at least, this felt like a great white.

Meloni Cannonau di Sardegna 2007

Meloni Cannonau di Sardegna 2007
10,05€; 13% abv. A little plasticy and sweaty reductive scent at first; it clears up to become a spicy (though I don't sense overt new oak aromas, gladly), peppery, ripe and sweet wine, but gladly it also slight vegetal aromas. Dry with good tannins, but also some sweetness of fruit as promised by the scent. It delivers for what is a very inexpensive wine by Alko's standards: it isn't complex but it is gastronomically useable, and is very drinkable.

Gueuze & Kriek

3 Fonteinen Oude Gueuze
I love Cantillon, but until now, I haven't seen the other examples of Gueuze that aren't like soda-pop (we've just had super sweet ones available), but now a bar here got Drie Fonteinen's Oude Gueuze which I remember being described as something I should enjoy.

And I did enjoy it. Peace dude! Like ... you know ... whoah! Spliffing stuff! Smells like a Pot of Tea! It smells of Grass. This drink channels the universal, transcendental light, man! Never having tasted cannabis products I can't say if the aromas follow on the palate, but I can say that it is dry, crisp, delightful and moreish, but in no way severely acidic like Cantillon. A friendly style of Gueuze, but still very nice.

Lindemans Cuvée René
I guess even such a commercialized, crappy producer as Lindemans must make the occasional good beer. This is a rare beer, one where Lindemans' undoubtedly talented brewers can actually make beer instead of soft-drinks. Supremely cherried scent, even more so than in Cantillon's Lou Pepe; dry, crisp, moreish, delightfully sour. From what I have sampled, I really couldn't believe Lindemans could make something so good. But I would still rather have Krieks from Cantillon or, recently, De Ranke whose Kriek has IMO become better and better with every batch.

Romance

The cork is so romantic, right? Tonight's victims were Domaine de Souch Jurançon Marie-Kattalin 2005 and Pépière's Granit de Clisson 2007. After these I gave up on wine and opened a wonderful beer from Brasserie de la Senne, Taras Boulba. And that is closed with something that will not destroy the contents.

Steininger Riesling 2009

Steininger Riesling Kamptal DAC 2009
10,78€; 12,5% abv. A very nice Kamptal Riesling - in fact for this price in Alko, it is amazing value. Mineral and pure, but with some pear aromas and more ripeness than in the 2008 - which I preferred for its extra zip and zing. Quite full body, less acidity, more ripeness than the '08, but still all is refreshing enough - it's not an over-ripe wine though it does show some warm year character. Outstanding value and a very good wine in its own right.

Smoothness

Yalumba Hand Picked Shiraz + Viognier 2007
It tastes smooth. And why that is supposed to be a positive thing is something I can't fathom. Give me some grip!

Language issues

Something strange has happened over the past month or so. Most of my readers used to be from the States and the UK, but no longer. Now they are mostly from Finland! But, apologies, I won't be writing in Finnish. It's a difficult language, and though fluent in it, my writing always seems a bit unidiomatic. But I hope the Finns will continue to come back and find this page useful in navigating the treacherous waters of Alko!

Baga

Caves São João Frei João Reserva 2001 - Bairrada
I think this is the first pure Baga I have had and I really enjoyed it. It seems unspoofy to me: lovely tar and wild berry aromas, floral - almost like a Nebbiolo, in fact. No oak aromas (it sees two years in stainless and one in bottle before release). High tannins and high acidity, and not much fruit sensations that would get in the way of all that loveliness. Though, come to think of it, why would anyone want something so vulgar and obvious as fruit in their wine? Isn't the magic of wine that it transforms something as boring as fruit into something worthy of contemplation? Anyway, I thought this half of the bottle of was lovely; it will take quite a bit of effort for me not to finish the other half tonight as well.

Natural Ferment that Tastes Spoofy

Errázuriz Wild Ferment Pinot Noir 2008 from La Escultura vineyard in the D.O. Valle de Casablanca. Big stuff at 14% abv and expensive at just under 30€. But at least it is under screwcap.

It was raised 9 months in French oak of which half is new. And that seems to destroy whatever naturalness the Wild Fermentation could have brought into the wine. I don't know if this actually is spoofulated but it smells about as natural as some of the Gyaru-fashion from Japan looks. Toasty oak, confected strawberry; harsh acidity, simple un-dimensional fruit.

Can wine be made from the "native yeasts that are naturally present on the grape skins" if the producer's other wines aren't made so? I remember reading (though I couldn't find my source - so I might remember wrong) that the yeasts present in the winery will also be huge influence. So what is the relationship between the natural yeasts on the grape and the strain(s?) in the winery, and will the influence of one negate the other?

And if it turns out that the natural yeast does make a difference in such an environment, is it granted, as the back label further goes on to say, that the natural yeasts "lend more complexity and richness"? Are yeasts and grapes really so co-evolved that a natural yeast would always be preferable to one from a shop? Because with this wine, I could imagine, something much better.

A strange experience with cork taint

Newton Red Label Chardonnay 2005 partly from Napa, partly from Sonoma (IIRC 60% / 40%); a massive 15,5% abv.

Today I experienced something that has only happened to me once before: I preferred the corked wine to the correct one.

That seems like such an outrageous thing to say that I should emphasize one point: I am not very sensitive to cork taint and I didn't get overt corked aromas from the flawed bottle (I was told by others around the table that it was corked).

But the differences were strange. As expected, the flawed bottle wasn't as outrageously over-the-top in the fruit department as was the correct bottle (and for me that was a big positive). It also had clearer citrus aromas and therefore seemed more in character with what I expect and hope to see with this grape than the "good" bottle which was all about massive toffee and buttered popcorn aromas.

Strangely, the cork seemed not only to diminish the sensation of fruit, but also of oak and butter - all aromatic components seemed turned down a notch (and since none of these aromatic components really appeal to me, perhaps it is now more understandable why I preferred the flawed bottle - especially as I didn't sense overt corky, musty aromas?). But I thought cork wasn't supposed to affect other aromas than the fruit? Was I wrong?

The palate of the flawed wine was leaner, more precise, with the structure more obvious. It wasn't as sickly sweet. Oddly enough, even with the loss of fruit, the super high alcohol wasn't accentuated - in both bottles, it was amazingly well concealed.

Well, whether very mildly corked or not, I wouldn't go buying this - it's not really a style I enjoy. But it was a strange experience finding the corked one more palatable. For those who like big, obvious, new world Chardonnay, this was IMO a well made example of the style - and I understand this style does have its fans!

A meh Burgundy and a rather nice Austrian Cab Sauv

Roger Sauvestre Côte-de-Beaune Villages 2007
A cheap Burgundy by our standards at about 15€. And the first sniff I took, I was excited: wonderfully pure, tart, bright Pinosity. Unfortunately, as happens far too often, the more air exposure it got, the nastier it became. I began to see some very off-putting aromas of sea weed and toast and finally googled the specs: 30% new oak. And this just cannot handle that amount. Despite the promising initial 3 minutes where this smelled like wonderful red Burgundy, I ended up quite disliking it. It does have nice, high acidity, but despite my acid-fetish, it wasn't enough to win me over.

Prieler Ungerbergen Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 from Burgenland, Austria. I have enjoyed some of Prieler's lower end wines (like their Johannishöhe Blaufränkisch), so I was interested to try this, though I do tend to prefer the greater Cabernet: the Franc. Despite seeing about a third new oak, it has started to integrate well and the dominant aroma was a lovely aroma of loam and lead and blackcurrant leaves. It's not Bordeaux, though, being in a bit juicier style, but it is attractive (and I can only imagine it becoming even more so once the oak further recedes). Full bodied, nice grip, stronger acidity than I see in most Bx. It is a fairly ripe style of wine so the tannins are softer than I would prefer: I do like palate-cleansing, grippy tannins more than these smooth ones. But it is a nice wine, if one likes the grape.