Domaine Treloar Three Peaks 2008

Domaine Treloar Three Peaks 2008 - Côtes du Roussillon
13,5% abv; Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Yummy. Very dark colour. Wonderfully meaty and slightly vegetal aroma that is savoury and sweet like a pomegranate (is that the Mourvèdre? must be since it reminds me a bit of the few Bandols I have had?). Notes on CT mention that this is an oaky wine - but if I don't find new oak aromas, I doubt anyone else will be bothered by the oak. As nice as the aromas is, the palate is even better: crunchy, savoury and light on its feet despite the ripe fruit - it's alive! Refreshing finish. This was my first Treloar, and if the rest of the range is as good, then I am very happy to have 11 more bottles waiting!

Yarden

It being Rosh Hashana, a couple friends and I decided to drink a few wines. And we decided to raise a glass to Rogov's memory also by opening some Israeli wines. At the moment, only Yarden is available in Finland, so we opened a Pinot and a Katzrin.

Yarden Pinot Noir 2006
14,5% abv. A very ripe and dense style - so much so that it isn't really recognizable as Pinot! Thick, sweet but with wonderful acidity; a bit hot on the finish. I don't really care for hot climate Pinot, but this was obviously a well made wine from a climate that I just think doesn't work well with this grape.

Yarden Katzrin 2003
14,5%; mostly Cabernet Sauvignon with a touch of Merlot(?). Much mint once opened, but such Aussie feelings dissipated quickly. It became a very ripe style of Cabernet with ripe berry scents and a bit of wet earth aromas. Rich, a bit on the soft side (I like plenty of tannin in my wines) but with very approachable and easy to like fruit. A very nice wine, if you like a big style of Cabernet.

And then we smoked a couple Bolivar Coronas - hopefully Rogov won't mind us doing so.

Amiot-Servelle Chambolle-Musigny "Les Plantes" 2007

Domaine Amiot-Servelle Chambolle-Musigny Premier Cru "Les Plantes" 2007

51,50€; 13% abv. Quite a letdown at this price; but take Alko's exorbitant pricing out of the picture and this is a fairly nice Burgundy - albeit young.

Tight, bright Pinosity at first, it becomes beetrooty and oaky with air. Crisp, structured, crunchy, sexily bittersweet and moreish but also with a slight toffee character from the oak. Bright, clean finish, free from any oak taint.

I really like the Pinosity in this, but is this a property that is known to handle this amount of oak well with age? There is so much to like in this wine, yet with my quercophobia there is also much to be afraid of.

Little known composer of the day: Eustache du Caurroy

Despite having played and listened to Renaissance music for about a decade, I hadn't heard of Eustache du Caurroy (1549-1609) until today! From these couple clips, he seems to be a very good composer


Eustache du Caurroy: Du profond mes maux de mon âme


Eustache du Caurroy: Cinq fantaisies sur Une jeune filette

A nice little Claret

Château Gressier Grand Poujeaux 2007 - Moulis en Médoc

c.25€; 13% abv. I liked the previous two vintages quite a bit even though I have largely stopped drinking Bordeaux. Like the previous two vintages, this 2007 is a very attractive Claret. Very primary and still a bit oaky, but it also has attractive cedar and cassis aromas. Deliciously savoury and light - like old-style Claret in being a refreshing drink rather than a powerful one. Needs a few years for the oak to settle, but once that happens, I think I will enjoy this very much.

Cock-a-doodle-doo

Hahn Winery GSM 2009 - California, Central Coast, Monterey
21,90€; 14,5% abv; 60% Grenache, 37% Syrah, 3% Mourvèdre. Very dark colour. Sweet, dark fruit, some toffee-like oak aromas (35% sees new French barrels). Some meatiness appears with air. Very rich and ripe, but it does have pretty nice acidity that refreshes the fruit. Quite long finish, fresh rather than cloying despite the sweet fruit, but sadly also rather too alcoholic. A very decent wine if one enjoys a fruit-forward Grenache and if you don't mind a bit of oak and alcohol. But 22€ is just silly for a decent little wine.

Simčič Modri Pinot Selekcija 2008

Salko & Marjan Simčič Modri Pinot Selekcija 2008
This is grown in the hot area of Goriška Brda in Slovenia and spends 22 months in oak. I generally hate oak and hot climate Pinots and I like Pinosity, so it is a bit of a mystery to me why I so enjoyed this wine.

It had dark toned, savoury and sexy fruit, quite a bit more oak than what I usually tolerate and no Pinosity at all. But it had wonderful energy on the palate. I don't know how Simčič managed to make such a crunchy, lively, grippy and moreish wine from this grape in such a hot area.

So: a great wine as long as I don't think I'm drinking Pinot Noir.

Cantillon Zwanze 2011

Cantillon Zwanze 2011

This year's Zwanze might be of interest even for winos because it was made with the Pineau d'Aunis grape (from Olivier Lemasson). And quite a lovely drop it was: very typical Cantillon in being a forcefully dry beer with lovely bitterness, but it had lovely pepper and red berry aromas from the grape, too. Lovely, as always. But it seemed so like their St. Lamvinus that I would like to try the two side by side.

But that won't be possible because this 2011 edition of Zwanze won't be available for sale outside of these 17 pubs around the world because Cantillon apparently became fed up with them fetching outrageous prices on eBay. The cask in Finland lasted a whole two hours and I did my best to drink as much as I could (so I managed two glasses).

More over on Cantillon's site: here!

RIP Joe Dressner

RIP Joe Dressner. Though I don't live in the US I always enjoyed his writing, his sentiments on wine (always delightfully provocative) and the wines he imported.

"Those who enjoy spoof often create a straw man argument that anti-spoofers are intellectuals who don't enjoy fruit driven and hedonistic wines. Whenever I taste these "fruit driven, hedonistic" wines that I read about in the wine press, I always have to wonder which fruits people have in mind. Certainly, nothing that grows in nature, nothing that comes from the ground. Most of these fruit bombs taste more like cherry cough syrup than any fruit I've put in my mouth. I never find it hedonistic to drink wines made in this style, a style that reminds me of the type of flavored medications my mother used to make me take when I was a child with assurances that "its good for you." Snapple based on fermented grapes is not my notion of wine hedonism."

-From the essay Spoof or Die

Chenu and Riberach

Louis Chenu Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru Les Lavières 2007
12,5% abv; a very light colour and a very pretty aroma, somewhat marred by more oak than I noticed on my previous taste - but if I'm not overly bothered by the oak, I doubt many others will be. Light, perhaps, but more than makes up for it with its intensity and liveliness. Lovely, I would imagine, but not a very good time to open it.

Riberach Thèse 2007 - Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes
Not quite as lovely as the 2006, but still a very nice wine for Grenache! This is slightly animal and well structured like the '06, but unlike the '06 this is darker toned and veers slightly toward jamminess (not too much though). Sweet and ripe, but lively despite obviously a warm year style. The label says 15% abv, but it seems less (one of the few times I've said that!).

Bad Archaeology

No wine news today, but instead some archaeology stuff for the more skeptically minded. I'm sure we've all heard of the fanciful stories purporting to be real research by such quacks as Erich von Däniken and Zecharia Sitchin who claim that ancient civilizations had extraterrestrial origins. Well, the Bad Archaeology -blog does some great debunking of this silliness. And they also debunk less obviously wrong archaeology and do a great job of tackling the stream of bad history that fills bookshops' shelves with inanity.

Seriously good shite from Slovenia, J-P Brun and (d.) de blanes

Verus Vineyards Muskateller 2009 - Štajerska, Slovenia
12% abv. A really lovely, squeaky clean aroma, very obviously Muscat but with mineral and savouriness. Slightly spritzy, clean, nicely acidic for the grape, mineral; perhaps has slight RS but it doesn't matter since it doesn't detract from the purity and delineation. Very good Muskateller!

Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Beaujolais Blanc "Chardonnay Classic" 2010
12% abv. Served too warm (nearly room temperature) but that didn't seem to matter. It had some malo aromas initially, but these were superceded by citric and mineral aromas. Unoaked. Ripe but racy, wonderful acidity. A breathtakingly pure example of Chardonnay!

Domaine des Terres Dorées (Jean-Paul Brun) Pinot Noir Bourgogne Rouge 2009
A really lovely aroma of pure Pinosity, but it does show a bit of warm year character (perhaps good for most people since this is usually in a rather tart style in most years). If the aromas are darker toned and sweeter than usual, the palate seems its usual self: light, well structured, pure and moreish - but lacking the plush, sexy fruit so many seem to want with this grape. I, however, love this style of Burgundy. Lovely.

(d.) de blanes Le Clot 2010 - Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes
13,5% abv; 100% Syrah. A bit difficult when opened: much yoghurt aromas, not much else. But it did begin to open nicely to get some pure, but ripe Syrah gamyness. Quite sweet and warm year style - more so than I remembered from previous vintages - but it is still well structured and finishes fresh. Still moreish and very nice.

The Return of the João

Caves São João Frei João Reserva Bairrada 2001

The Baga's back! I wrote about this wine about a year ago and now it's here again - though with 4€ added to the price and a couple new grapes in the mix! Way to go Alko! Last time this was 100% Baga, now it's 80% Baga, 15% Camarate and 5% Touriga Nacional - go figure. But, and here I have to say lål, Alko's description of it still describes this as "oaky". It doesn't see any oak.

So Alko, as usual is clueless and/or goofy, but the wine is just as outstanding as I remembered! Wonderfully bright aromas that smell like rustic Nebbiolo. Deep and tannic palate, extraordinary focus and delineation and nothing vulgar like sweet fruit coming in the way of pure masochistic pleasure. I love such palate-cleansingly tannic wines but I think most people would prefer more age on this.

This wine belongs to that hallowed category of Fuck-me-this-is-good -wines! Though I hope no Finns are influenced by this note so that I'll have time to buy myself a few (dozen? hundred?) more.

A terroir scam

Undurraga Syrah T.H. 2009 - Leyda Valley, Chile

The T.H. stands for Terroir Hunter, a project in which Undurraga searches for small plots of land, under 5ha, "in areas with strongly defined character". The rule seems to be that the more the marketing talks about terroir, the less anything like it can be sensed because it will be covered by aromas from wine-making. And, indeed, this smells of generic dark fruit that smells of blueberry concentrate and therefore lacks anything identifiable as any particular grape: it smells of cranberry juice and blueberry jam just like many Chilean Cabernets, Syrahs, Carmenères and even Pinot Noirs. It tastes thick and clunky and sweet though here I do notice a slight difference to the norm: slightly higher acidity and slightly less oak. But can such uniformity across geographical areas and grapes come from anything else than over-ripe grapes and a common yeast or some other wine-making choice? I have no idea, but the dull uniformity of so much Chilean wine continues in this wine, too. My rule still stands.

Hipster Wine

Bodegas Arúspide Tempranillo Pura Sangre 2010 - Spain, Castilla-La Mancha, Vino de la Tierra de Castilla
14% abv. Alko's first "natural" wine - and as typical for Alko, they follow the trends a little bit late and always go for an underperformer. So first the positive stuff: I don't smell oak (it is aged for a short time in big barrels) and there is some really attractive tannin and liveliness on the palate.

And then the negative stuff: it smells so sweet as to be raisiny and confected; and though attractively tannic and lively on the palate, it still ends up feeling a rather too fruit forward and heavy and clunky.

The best natural wines - even those on the cheaper end of the spectrum - have ethereal grace and lightness of touch and are energetic and refreshing drinks. This one seems sweet and confected, and despite some "natural" elements it seems heavy and graceless and pedestrian. Certainly among the safest of the "natural" wines I have had. This is a true hipster wine: too mainstream already.

Funky Wine's tasting!

Funky Wine Imports kindly asked me to attend their tasting this morning (groan - I prefer to sleep in the morning...). Their wines are usually so to my taste that I did wake up early and go and taste some wines before opening up the bookshop at 11 am. That these wines tasted so outstandingly good before so early in the morning must say something about them!

Chouteau-Potaire Touraine L'ABulle NV - label
This was quite fascinating bubbly! A rosé sparkler from the Loire from Côt and Gamay with no added sulfur. And the scent was ethereally pure, very Gamay and strawberry and mineral. Crisp but with sexier fruit and more Pinosity than what these grapes should make! Ripe and joyous but crisp and electric. Lovely.

J-P Brun FRV100 NV
Officially NV, but this is the newest release, all of the 2010 vintage IIRC. Lovely, mineral purity; the Aristotelian essence of Gamay; sweet (in actual RS), crisp, savoury all at once. Irresistible. Lovely.

Peter Jacob Kühn Stock & Stein Riesling 2010 - label
A really nice, cheapish Riesling; organic, but uncertified. Pure and ripe; crunchy and crisp; true to the grape. This would be well under 15€ here and at that price I would be hugely excited!

Becker-Landgraf Riesling 2010 - label
A ripe but crunchy enough Riesling; I preferred the steelier style of the Kühn above, but I certainly won't say no to this one!

Naudin-Ferrand Aligoté "Le Clou 34" 2009 - label
Unlike the "Aligoté ... 007" whose vines were planted in 1902, this is from relatively young vines. They were planted in 1934. A strange and delightfully stinky and yeasty nose. Rich and ripe for Aligoté but with electric structure. Aligoté in its neutral manifestation might be difficult for many due to its acidity and elegant but neutral aromas; but I suspect that this sort of old vine, funky, leesy Aligoté will be even more difficult. I, however, loved it.

Becker-Landgraf J2 Weissburgunder "Muschelkalk" 2009
Smells of new oak. Ripe and rich. Hmmmm. I have enjoyed many from this producer, but I did not enjoy this as I couldn't see anything past the oak.

Domaine de Montesquiou Jurançon Amistat
- label
IIRC 100% Petit Manseng. A lovely mineral and slightly honeyed aroma, but very tangy and savoury, instead just sweet. Crisp, honeyed and very light on its feet for a sweetie. Tangy. Lovely.


Muhr - van der Niepoort Carnuntum 2008 - label
IIRC completely Blaufränkisch. If I remember wrong, at least it smells of the lesser oaked examples of the grape I have had (and loved) before: a ripe red fruited aroma, cherry pits mixed with Pinot Noir's sexiness. Good body, good acidity, good tannins, good everything.

Henri Naudin-Ferrand Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune "Orchis Mascula" 2009
Lovely. I had tried a bottle of this before which seemed very like what the specs would say it would: with 80% new wood it only smelled of Barrique. Yet having tasted several years of this before, I knew it shouldn't have. This has in every year been one of the few wines where I haven't been annoyed by the great amount of new oak.

This bottle proved that my first bottle was, indeed, off in some very un-obvious way. This smelled of pure Pinosity of a very elegant style, sorrel, beetroot, minerals and all such nice things with no over-ripeness expected in such a hot year. Crisp, light but supremely intense and sexy palate.

When the Orchis Mascula performs well, it is one of the most awe-inspiring Burgundies I know of. Which might seem a strange for me, since it sees so much new oak, but most of the time, the massive amount of new oak is amazingly well hidden - this is one of the very few wines where I say that. So, on second try, I think the 2009 is awesome.

Becker-Landgraf Spätburgunder "Muschelkalk" 2009
An oaky aroma; lovely tang and savouryness on the palate despite the oak. This has a reputation for being as good a Pinot Noir as the Friedrich Beckers. But if as oak-allergic as me, stick to the basic Spätburgunder from this property (that is awesome!).

Frank Cornelissen Munjebel Rosso 6
i.e. the blend of 2008 and 2009. Very sweet and sexy and "natural" aromas. Red berried but very sweet fun. Tangy. Great stuff.

Carelia

Carelia is not only Helsinki's most wine friendly restaurant but is also one of the more interesting importers here, now that they started an importing business a few years ago. They kindly invited me to try some of their new products today:


whites
Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs Brut 2007 is its usual Champagne-like self: lovely crispness, pure Blanc de Blancs aromas of white flowers and minerals, bready; crisp, rich, flavorful but so Champagne-like that when served blind I sure we were in France.

Domaine Louis Moreau Chablis Domaine de Bieville 2010 was a pretty decent Chablis: sea shell aromas; quite fruity palate but with good zing. I wouldn't mind drinking this again.

Vincent Pinard Sancerre "Nuance" 2009 was weird. This is their Sancerre that sees a bit of oak, but I didn't so much sense new oak as great ripeness and marmalade aromas that made me think of botrytis! Is that possible? It was really rather sweet in a sugary rather than just a ripe way. Good acidity though. Weird.

Ferraton Père & Fils Condrieu "Le Mandouls" 2009 had pretty aromas and not of the fireworks kind. It had pretty good grip: not high in acid (is Condrieu ever?) but refreshing enough; and the grape's exuberant nature doesn't become too obvious. From the small (probably unrepresentative) sample of Condrieus I have had, this was among the more elegant and drinkable (the others have been varying degrees of cloying).

Schloss Lieser (Thomas Haag) Riesling Trocken 2010 was pretty good for a Mosel trocken (not a style usually to my liking): crisp and mineral with pure Riesling aromas.

Schloss Lieser (Thomas Haag) Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett 2010 was quite lovely. A very pure aroma, very strongly mineral; slightly sweet, seems of actual Kabinett weight than Spätlese for a change (or then my palate is getting used to the new Prädikat-system where everything is +1!); wonderfully tangy and savoury finish despite the obvious sugar. Lovely.

Josef Jamek Ried Klaus Riesling Federspiel 2009 was a nice, pure, dry, forceful Riesling, typical Wachau and in no way over the top. I don't really appreciate the super-large Smaragd style where the alcohol goes to 14,5-15%; this 12,5% was so nice as it really tasted dry! Very nice.

Joseph Scharsch Riesling Grand Cru Altenberg de Wolxheim 2008 was a nice, truly dry style, but it did have a strange aroma I hadn't noticed in the usually extremely pure Scharsch's style: orange peel as if there were some botrytis here? Is that possible? Crisp, honestly dry, but rich. Good stuff, but somewhat atypical in my experience for Scharsch.

Joseph Scharsch Gewurztraminer 2010 was lovely. I don't usually like the boisterous nature of the grape, but in some hands it makes wines I like. Scharsch has usually been one and this new vintage doesn't disappoint: rose water aromas but not super-sweet or cloying, instead it is very mineral. Moderate in richness, balanced by grip and acid and minerality. Long. Really nice - especially since it doesn't cost much!


reds
Domaine Taupenot-Merme Nuits-St.-Georges 1er Cru "Les Pruliers" 2002 was lovely. A tart cherry style of Pinosity, very classic unlike some other Taupenot-Mermes I have had (albeit when relatively younger) which were rather too marked by oak. Wonderfully bracing fruit. Thirst-quenching and moreish. Lovely.

Ferraton Côtes-du-Rhône Villages "Plan de Dieu" 2009 was ok, very sweet fruit; much tannin; correct aromas. If both the fruit and tannin both disappear at a similar rate, then I can imagine enjoying this in a few years.

Ferraton Cornas "Les Grands Mûriers" 2008 was a wonderfully scented but rich style: it smells of game bird's blood and ripe fruit; it tastes of ripe fruit and though it has adequate structure, it seems a little bit tame. An easy, un-rustic style of Cornas.

Quinta do Crasto "Crasto Superior" 2009 smelled of berry jam and oak. Smooth. Not really my thing.

Viinitie's tasting: Priorat & Montsant

Franck Massard Terra Alta Más Amor 2010 - Spain, Catalunya, Tarragona, Terra Alta
13% abv; Carignan & Garnacha. Quite deep colour for rosé. Very sweet aromas of strawberry. Despite plentiful structure and concentration the fruit is rather too sweet and I feel that this would be better in a less concentrated, more refreshing version. But I know that some prefer their rosé in a meaty, thick style and this will work for them.

Franck Massard Priorat Humilitat 2009 - Spain, Catalunya, Priorat
14,5% abv; 60% Garnacha, 40% Cariñena. It's not often that I can say that I like a Priorat, but I did quite enjoy this one! The first great positive was that I didn't smell any oak (only 30% of the wine is aged in oak, and only a small bit of that 30% is new oak); the second positive was that though obviously ripe, I didn't smell any over-ripeness or raisiny character. Instead it had ripe dark berries and minerality and wet earth on the nose. The palate was, of course, big and sweetly fruity, but it wasn't oversized and it had perfectly adequate acidity and grip to keep the wine moreish. Very nice.



Dit Celler Montsant Cabirol Negre 2009 - Spain, Catalunya, Tarragona, Montsant
14,5% abv. Smells of new French oak in its toffee incarnation. Tastes of ripe, dark fruit and hot chocolate. I'll pass.

Viinitie's tasting: Can Ràfols dels Caus, or can't it?

2007 Can Ràfols dels Caus Penedès Pairal - Spain, Catalunya, Penedès (9/2/2011)
13,5% abv; from Xarel.lo-vines c.60yo; aged in chestnut barrels. The scent is slightly oxidative but very appley and floral and a bit yeasty - a bit like flor! Quite rich, but steely and focused. Deliciously bitter on the finish. Perhaps not an easy wine but a fascinating one and I think I love it (must try more than a tasting sample to make sure, though!).

2008 Can Ràfols dels Caus Penedès Vinya la Calma - Spain, Catalunya, Penedès (9/2/2011)
14% abv; 100% Chenin Blanc. Rich, opulent, chalky aromas, a bit oaky. Concentrated, pretty massive but also well structured. I'm not entirely sure about this wine: it is full of fascinating aromas but none of the aromas are recognizable as Chenin. And the oak is perhaps a bit too forward.

2005 Can Camps Penedès Pedradura - Spain, Catalunya, Penedès (9/2/2011)
13,5%; from the Marselan-grape, a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache. Can Camps is IIRC owned by Can Ràfols dels Caus, but I'm not entirely sure what the exact relationship is. A concentrated, ripe wine with lots of sweet dark fruit. Amazingly fresh on the palate, there is none of that almost-overripeness of the scent on the palate. Moreish despite all the sweet fruit thanks to healthy levels of acidity. Quite tannic still, needs a bit of time.

2009 Can Ràfols dels Caus Sumoll Penedès - Spain, Catalunya, Penedès (9/2/2011)
12,5%; from the Sumoll-grape, an authochthonous Catalan variety; aged in chestnut barrels. A really lovely aroma of bright red fruits, cherry pit. The cherry pit tartness continues on the palate, lovely bright acidity and crunchy tannins. I loved this, but I think many will find the structure on the hard side and fruit on the lean side.

2001 Can Ràfols dels Caus Penedès Caus Lubis - Spain, Catalunya, Penedès (9/2/2011)
14% abv; 100% Merlot. I usually don't get along well with Merlot, but if I must drink it, this would be my choice. Dark fruit, ripe and still a bit oaky despite 10 years age; wonderfully complex aromas of ripe fruit mixed with refreshing leafiness. Full bodied and sweet but also energetic and structured enough to be refreshing. A very well balanced wine that can handle the ripeness and ends up being very light on its feet.

Viinitie's tasting: Antica Enotria, Puglia

I have practically no experience with Apulian wines, so had only a vague idea of what to expect from these wines. I thought that it was a hot area so I expected much fruit and alcohol - I am happy to say my ideas were completely wrong with this producer! These were instead mostly wines of freshness and character and structure and no new oak, i.e. just how I like my wines!


2010 Antica Enotria Falanghina Daunia IGT - Italy, Puglia, Daunia IGT
12,5% abv; Biodynamic. An interesting wine and IIRC the first Falanghina I've had. It has a floral and mineral aroma - refreshing and seemingly light: certainly not anything heavy like I was expecting from the South! The palate does have quite a bit of weight but it is balanced by plentiful acidity, so this is a very refreshing wine despite its density. Very nice. Must try more of this grape if this is what it can make!

2009 Antica Enotria Puglia Rosso Puglia IGT - Italy, Puglia, Puglia IGT; label
13% abv; Biodynamic; a blend of Montepulciano & Sangiovese. A wonderfully loamy aroma with some cherry tartness. Tannic but juicy, refreshing but dense. Characterful and very enjoyable.

2008 Antica Enotria Nero di Troia Puglia IGT - Italy, Puglia, Puglia IGT; label
13,5% abv. Dark fruit, but no oak that I can see, instead a wonderful savoury, tang-promising freshness. Big, plenty of grip, a dense mass of tannin, quite high acidity - it doesn't sound like a pleasurable wine, but it is! Like the best Nebbiolos, all this structure is palate-cleansing and joyful. Lovely.

2007 Antica Enotria DieciOttobre Puglia IGT - Italy, Puglia, Puglia IGT; label
13,5% abv; a blend of Nero di Troia and Aglianico. A very ripe wine, not as enjoyable IMO as the varietal Nero di Troia since here the fruit becomes raisiny and pruney. But despite the desiccated fruit character on the scent, the palate is actually pleasantly refreshingly structured and the fruit just seems sweet and fresh, not dried. Certainly very drinkable and even enjoyable, but not as full of personality as the varietal example.

2009 Antica Enotria Senzasolfo Puglia IGT - Italy, Puglia, Puglia IGT; label
12,5% abv; a blend of Montepulciano and Nero di Troia. A lovely "natural" aroma, slightly stinky but in such amounts that I enjoy it very much. Mostly, however, the aroma is all about pure, dark fruit, ripe but not raisiny. This wine is very light on its feet - no doubt helped by the relatively low alcohol -, it is racy despite being fully ripe and having upfront fruit. Very nice.

Viinitie's tasting: Three from Friedrich Becker

Fr. Becker seems to have a cult status for his Pinot Noirs, but I thought these whites were very good. I wasn't so keen on the Pinot, however. Does he make a Pinot that isn't heavy on the oak?

2010 Friedrich Becker Weissburgunder - Germany, Pfalz
12,5% abv. A very attractive Pinot Blanc: an aroma of white flowers, apples and minerals. Lovely, energetic palate, dry yet with crunchy fruit. Refreshing. Nice!

2007 Friedrich Becker Schweigener Sonnenberg Riesling Großes Gewächs - Germany, Pfalz
12,5% abv. I'm not usually a great fan of Trockener styles from most of Germany, but the Palatinate ones often do work. This had pure Riesling aromas of a quite ripe style; steely despite the friendly, upfront fruit (for a Trocken, that is), decently structured and energetic, though a warm year style. Very nice.

2008 Friedrich Becker Pinot Noir "B" - Germany, Pfalz
13% abv. A lovely, pure Pinosity can be seen - but, alas, not very clearly because it is encased in layers of oak. Sexy, sweet and savoury palate with plenty of acidic energy zinging about. Possibly nice in a few years once the oak lets the Pinosity out but right now it seems rather too Californicated. From this wine I'm having trouble understanding Becker's superstar status as a Pinot Noir maker.

Viinitie's tasting: Austria

2009 Sattlerhof Welschriesling - Südsteiermark
Aromas of pear-drops; crisp and clean. Not very memorable.

2010 Sattlerhof Sauvignon Blanc Steirische Klassik - Südsteiermark
A bold and rich style of Sauvignon but the scent is still recognizable as the grape despite its tropical, ripe, passionfruit aromas. Very rich, the body more like that of Chardonnay than SB, only fair acidity so the finish shows more fruit and sweetness that I would prefer. Still, it is an interesting and unique style of SB!

2007 Sattlerhof Sauvignon Blanc Erste STK Lage Sernauberg - Südsteiermark
Rich, less obviously SB than the "basic" SB - instead this has very sweet and concentrated aromas, honeyed and seemingly slightly botrytised! Rich but racy palate, some sweetness even - quite like marmalade: sweet yet with wonderful bite. No points for typicity as it doesn't seem at all like SB, but a nice wine anyway!

2007 Sattlerhof Sauvignon Blanc Grosse STK Lage Kranachberg - Südsteiermark
A colossal wine, but more majestic in its aloofness than the open and forward Sernauberg. But the same style continues: such ripeness and richness that the grape doesn't come through at all; yet also such energy and nervosity that it is easy to drink despite its size. Once again no points for typicity but I still enjoyed my glass for its complexity, minerality and uniqueness.

2010 Veyder-Malberg Grüner Veltliner Kreutles - Wachau
Biodynamic; 12% abv. Very fresh aroma, quite ripe (was 2010 a hot year in Wachau?) but still with some of the attractive greenness and pepper of the grape noticeable. Wonderfully energetic palate: dry but with sweet and ripe fruit, lively and cruchy and moreish. Very nice!

2010 Veyder-Malberg Grüner Veltliner Hochrain - Wachau
This is a step up from the Kreutles, but similar style: ripe but pure GV aromas. Energetic, electric and lively palate with lovely cruch and purity of fruit.

2010 Veyder-Malberg Riesling Bruck - Wachau
Crystallized fruits, clean and pure, elegant aromas - perhaps slightly closed or too cold? But promising anyhow. Good body, powerful without being overbearing, dry but still light on its feet. Very nice.

2005 Fred Loimer Riesling Loimer Langenlois Terrassen - Kamptal
This has opened up nicely in the two years since I last tried it. Upfront aromas of pure, ripe, even sexy Rieslingness. Dry but rich, sweet fruit. Easy to like though not perhaps hugely complex.

2008 Loimer Pinot Noir Terrassen - Kamptal
A bit plasticky and reductive; quite simple and berryish aroma though true enough to the grape. Clean and light, not complex and not very memorable but perfectly drinkable.

Viinitie's tasting: Fizz

The Cava and the Saracco are old favourites of mine, but Philipponnat hasn't been available in Finland before, so it was nice to try that. I think I like the style: seems quite rich but has focus to match. I hope my initial impressions will hold once I try more than a small sample of them!

N.V. Masia Can Tutusaus Cava Vall Dolina Brut Nature
NV on the label but is from 2008 according to the importer. Really wonderful Cava, citric, bready and very strongly mineral. Good fruit but still extremely pure and crisp and wonderfully high in acidity as befits a Brut Nature. Still the best Cava I have tasted.

N.V. Philipponnat Champagne Royale Réserve Brut
Officially NV, but IIRC completely from 2007. A very Pinot dominated aroma but elegantly and minerally so: bread and apples and flowers. Good body, fairly crisp acidity, elegant mousse and long finish. Very nice!

N.V. Philipponnat Champagne Royale Réserve Non Dosé
Also NV officially and also IIRC from 2007. A more precise and focused aroma than the non-non dosé version of this, but also a wonderfully mineral and Pinot-dominated aroma. Wonderful focus and delineation without becoming as sharp as a razor blade. Very good.

N.V. Philipponnat Champagne Réserve Rosée
Elegant rosé rather than a meaty, rich style. Mineral and pure aromas, very bready. Good body but crisp and delineated. Nice!

2010 Saracco Moscato d'Asti
Wonderful Moscato: very true to the grape but with a stronger minerality and grassy aroma than most others which brings in the needed freshness to the aroma. Very sweet (seems sweeter than the 2007 that I last tasted) but finishes fresh. Nice!