Nicolas Testard - an unknown "great" in Beaujolais

Nicolas Testard Bons Baisers de Brouilly 2010
12% abv. A really lovely Gamay, quite dark in fruit, almost as if from a warm year with its boisterous and upfront fruit. There is a bit of a strange nuttiness to the scent, too, which is strange since IIRC this is aged in a neutral container. Fun fruit checked by upright structure. A lovely "natural" Beaujolais that IMO deserves to be mentioned alongside Lapierre and Foillard. Are they always this good? If so, why haven't I heard of them before?

Test your French wine geography!

Test your French wine geography!

It's a well made quiz, seemingly with random appellations from all over France, with well known names alongside completely obscure ones. My scores have ranged from 20 000 to 70 000 - I think that shows how truly random the quiz choices are!

Pouilly-Vinzelles & Fleurie

La Soufrandière Pouilly-Vinzelles 2009
14% abv; from 28-50 yo vines. No obvious oak influence on the scent, but it is obviously a warm year wine with lots of fruit that verges on being tropical. But it is still a steely style of Chardonnay. Rich, plump, perhaps a bit lacking in acidity and perhaps a bit too much obvious heat on the finish, but it is still an interesting wine and one that I would love to try in a cooler year.

La Soufrandière Pouilly-Vinzelles "Les Quarts" 2009
14% abv. Very much like the straight Pouilly-Vinzelles except a touch more tropical in its aromas. The palate, however, has better definition: the alcohol is better integrated, the acidity is more bracing and the steely style of the scent is more obvious on the palate, too. Very nice, but I still would prefer to try this in a cooler year.

Domaine Des Cotes de la Moliere (B. Perraud) Fleurie "Nature" 2010
11%; no added sulphur, but I was lucky with this bottle: it was quite simply one of the best Beaujolais I have ever had! It had such wonderful, fragrant, pure Gamay aromatics mixed with just the right amount of funk/wet earth/leaf that I was instantly captivated (though, no doubt, some will find even this amount of funk too much!). Instead of being a light, juicy Fleurie, this was deeply tannic and gravelly and crunchy without losing any of the purity of its fruit. Outstanding.

Bourgueil and Viré-Clessé

Domaine Guion Bourgueil "Cuvée Domaine" 2009
A cheap wine (some places in the US apparently selling this for under 10$!) but serious. Lovely ripe aromas but still obviously Cab Franc, earthy yet savoury. It does show a bit of sweetness associated with a hot year, but the structure is perfect. It's not often that I feel comfortable talking about complexity and seriousness in a wine this price, but I think it might be merited here. Lovely.

Bret Brothers Viré-Clessé Climat "La Verchère" 2009
A powerful wine with 14% abv. There is some oak on opening but it calms down very quickly. Ripe, sunny fruit, some attractive bitterness (Thom's recent comparison of a Gueuze to an aged white Burgundy makes sense to me even in a painfully young example); very full bodied but with wonderful acidity. Not one to drink now, I think, but perhaps not one for the long haul either. Maybe just 3-4 years will do magic? Good, but not as ethereal and fascinating as the barrel sample I recently posted on.

Hungary, Austria, Slovenia, Côtes Catalanes

Termette Kiss Istvan Tokaji Szamorodni 2002
A dry Tokaji from a 0,50 liter bottle. A really love aroma: oxidized and nutty but with lovely honey aromas, too - it is an aroma that one is conditioned to think of as belonging to a sweet wine. So when served blind it was initially a shock to get something fully dry, powerful, astringent and highly acidic. I adjusted to it very quickly, however, and after a couple sips I found it to be an exciting and wonderful wine.


Weingut Familie Prieler Pinot Noir 2005 - Austria, Burgenland
Quite oaky; not showing much Pinosity. But crunchy acidity and better integrated oak make this perfectly drinkable. Just not very memorable. A shame as some of Prieler's wines have been really lovely.


Čotar Teran 2006 - Slovenia, Primorska, Kras
11,5% abv. I haven't tasted this vintage in over a year, so it was good to drink one now. It was lovely then but has become even better! A very earthy aroma with lots of lactic, sour scents. The cherry brightness and sour lactic acid continue on the palate. High acidity and pure and bright fruit make this an outstanding wine for my tastes.


Čotar Teran Črna Penina klasična metoda ekstra brut 2006 - Slovenia, Primorska, Kras
A red sparkler made from Teran (Refosco) that one has to disgorge oneself when opening! Almost purple colour, wonderfully earthy and tangy aroma, cherry fruit, lactic. Elegant mousse; quite high acidity, red fruit; long. Lovely.


(d.) de blanes Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes Muscat Sec 2008
On release I found this 2008 to be a difficult wine with reduction (or something smelling like it) that didn't clear out even with a couple days of air. Now, however, this has turned into something every bit as lovely as the 2010 currently available. Aromatic and grapey, but not over the top. Rich and flavorful but with perfect acid to balance the fruit. Nice!


Kurt Angerer Grüner Veltliner Spies 2008 - Kamptal
14,5% abv. A hugely ripe style with little in the way of minerality showing, instead there is lots of plummy fruit. Rich, fairly low in acidity, though the alcohol isn't annoying, I do feel a bit of heat on the finish. Good but not great; I really do prefer a cooler year character in GV.

Awesome White Burgundy

Bret Brothers Mâcon-Chardonnay Climat "La Roche" 2010
A barrel sample but it seemed like a completely finished wine and a fantastically good one at that! Wonderful purity, aromas of fresh hay; ripe but crunchy and refreshing; endless and moreish. Outstanding. I did't spit this sample out (I must have looked very distinguished at the bookshop with my bass flute hanging from my neck sipping white wine during the lunch hour rush - do I detect a reason for it being a slow day today?).

A Study in Insipidity

Yalumba Y Series Pinot Grigio 2008 - 12,5% abv; 9€.

A forgotten bottle that resurfaced at my girlfriend's work. She was told to take it home and try it out. It was boring. Think of the Kola Superdeep Borehole and you get an idea of the amount of boring in this wine. I can't remember what else I was supposed to write about it.

Apátsági Tramini 2010

Pannonhalmi Apátsági Pincészet Tramini 2010

14,81€; 12,5% abv. From Traminer (i.e. the same as Savagnin in the Jura) from the Széldomb vineyard, but it smells more like an elegant version of Gewürztraminer rather than any Savagnin I have had. Mineral and floral, it smells of rosewater and citrus. Fleshy and grippy from a bit of skin contact (though not so much that this would be an "orange" wine) and adequate acidity make this a moreish wine. Very nice!

A base recorder

My love for Baroque and Renaissance music has taken a scary turn: I got a bass recorder. Poor neighbours.

But Bach and Lassus wasn't the only thing on the menu tonight.

Pierre Gimonnet Cuis 1er Cru
A lovely B de B Champagne, floral, mineral; elegant mousse, quite strong fruit but still a lovely crispness.

Since we were eating at Restaurant Carelia I had their legendary entrecôte and we shared a couple wines:

G. D. Vajra Barbera d'Asti 2006
Also lovely, if showing a bit of a hot year character. Ripe, plump fruit, but lovely tanginess, a bit lower in acid and higher in alcohol than ideal, but it worked perfectly with the food. This isn't one of the over-worked, over-oaked Barberas that sadly seems to be the norm of "serious" examples of the grape; instead I see no oak and nothing to suggest over-working. Lovely.

Taupenot-Merme Gevrey-Chambertin 2008
This one I didn't so much care for as it had rather obvious oak. Otherwise, it seemed like a nice wine with bright Pinosity and some nice sorrel and lingonberry aromas. Good body, nicely tannic, bright acidity. A shame to use so much oak on such nice material.

Prosecco, and Co., Musar & spoof

A good friend was visiting from the UK, so it was time to open some good stuff and a few recent, possibly interesting, arrivals to our monopoly.

Astoria Prosecco Cuvée Tenuta Val de Brun Extra Dry 2010
11,5% abv; 17 g/l RS; 6,5 g/l acidity. Not bad at all. Smells mineral and clean with aromas of white flowers and pear. Crisp despite the sugar - in fact the sugar is perfectly integrated and doesn't stick out at all -, clean and nicely acidic. Good stuff.

&Co Sauvignon Blanc 2009 - Hawkes Bay, NZ
I continue to love the wine and its packaging. Crown cap and a wonderfully plain label. It has a slight hint of botrytis (the winemaker, when visiting here, said that she would love to make a dessert SB with botrytis - I can't wait to try that!), but mostly a very pure and mineral but ripe aroma. Quite full body, but with with wonderful liveliness. For me, outstanding (because it is one of the very few SBs that I not only tolerate but also love).




Chateau Musar Rouge 2003
My best bottle of this so far: it doesn't have the greatness of '91 but it has Musar's soul. And the more it ages, the more the soul seems to come forward. Like most Musars at this stage of evolution, it needs a decade+ for the soul to emerge completely.

Abbotts Minervois Cumulo Nimbus 2007
100% Syrah; 18€; quite a let-down; 14% abv; 10 months in French oak of which 70% is new.

And, no surprise, from such a figure, this is very much oak dominated. The liquorous, sweet and over-ripe fruit vies with the oak for dominance. Sweet, concentrated, liquorous, oaky, plump, confected but with good acidity. The Australian owners seem to have recreated a Barossa clone in the Minervois! If S. Austrian fruit bombs are what you like, this is actually great quality for a very fair price. I prefer to drink something else, however. And so did my Musar-loving guests...

Blinds

(d.) de blanes Impressions Blanc 2009 - Languedoc Roussillon, Vin de Pays d'Oc

A blend of Grenache blanc and Macabeu; 13% abv. A really love wine: very pure and mineral aroma, citric and like a slightly bruised green apple. Focused and with wonderful acidity, ripe but not rich. Refreshing finish. Lovely.

Roblet-Monnot Volnay-Santenots 1er Cru 2006 - label
Young, very smooth and fruit forward, slick. Good structure and not obviously oaky but very concentrated. Good stuff and with enough typicity, but still not my favourite style of Burgundy.

Le Cinciole Chianti Classico 2007 - label
A strange wine in that this is supposedly a "natural" wine with natural yeasts and no new oak. Yet it smells like a stereotype of Chilean Cabernet with its cranberry jam aromas. Full bodied, but at least it has strong acidity and good tannins. Unfortunately the acidity seems to stick out like a sore thumb: apparently "natural" isn't always good. This wasn't so bad that I wouldn't drink it, but neither was it really to my taste. Despite its "natural" credentials, it tasted spoofy to me.

Podere le Boncie (Giovanna Morganti) Chianti Classico Le Trame 2007 - label
This was a fun blind taste. When I last tasted this, not many months ago, I thought it was the epitome of Chianti. Now, blind, it smelled more like a great aged Burgundy: sous bois, bright cherry fruit, earth and outstanding complexity. The palate was tight and structured and not aged at all, but very pleasant in its tannic, acidic and primary fruit. Impeccable balance. Lovely wine.

Domaine Denis Bachelet Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Corbeaux Vieilles Vignes 1998 - label
As all tonight, this was served blind. It smelled of a great Musar: very ripe cherry fruit, slight funk. Full body, sweet and sunny. Lovely stuff - if it were Musar. But even when revealed, I saw no signs at all of Pinot Noir. Good wine, but certainly not because of typicity. Run away if Burgundy is what you're after!

Fattoria di Bacchereto Carmignano Terre a Mano 2007 - Tuscany, Carmignano, label
Deep, dark, dense. But pure cherry aromas, too (Carmignano has a long tradition of blending Cab to Sangiovese - far longer than Super Tuscans...). Rich, pure, but huge. I think this will be great fun to drink in a year or two (judging by the 2006 which is already a delight) but for now, despite all its admirable qualities, this was just too much.

Catherine et Pierre Breton Bourgueil Clos Sénéchal 2005 - Loire Valley, Touraine, Bourgueil, label
Served blind I can't sense much Cab Franc character. But it is a nice drink: a lovely savoury character married to great ripeness - it is almost raisiny, but gladly doesn't cross that boundary. Lovely structure: grip and palate cleansing tannins, joyful acidity. Sadly that is slightly marred by such a concentration of fruit that I don't especially care for. But I will happily drink this for all the qualities I do enjoy.

Crasto 2009

Quinta do Crasto Douro "Crasto" 2009 - 12,21€; 14,5% abv; Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Barroca
Purple. Very primary, smells like very ripe and sweet strawberry or raspberry, floral. Full body, dark, sweet and ripe fruit, no oak, pleasant tannins though a bit soft already and fairly low acidity - but it has enough structure to keep it all together, but not enough that I would feel comfortable ageing it for more than a year or two. Despite a slight touch of heat on the finish this is a pleasant example of a fruit-forward wine. And nice to see something affordable in this usually outrageously expensive country.

One more blog on natural wine

Wicker Parker has a blog on natural wine that I hadn't noticed before. New material doesn't seem to be written very often - I don't even know if this is an active blog anymore - but what I have read seems very good indeed. Certainly worth taking a look.

Love and do what you want!

This weekend I had a lovely "Bordeaux" from David Poutays, Clos de Mounissens Vin de Table Français Aime et fais ce que tu veux!, officially NV because of the VdT appellation, but unofficially 2008. A "natural" wine, but I still didn't understand why it wasn't allowed some other appellation.

Really lovely aromas: no oak that I can see, plenty of dark and ripe fruit but of a leafy kind with teasing touches of sweetness from the ripeness. Quite full bodied, savoury yet sweet, lively and refreshing. Lovely. And very obviously Bordeaux.