Tedeschi Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2009

Tedeschi Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2009
16,76€; 12,5% abv. Quite a nice wine. Bright, unforced fruit, a nice mix of red and dark tones, slightly herbaceous. Quite ripe fruit, but still pleasantly light, some nice bitter bite to it, though not very high in acidity. Nice! A couple euros more expensive than most other Valpos here, but also a clear step up in quality.

Suavia Soave 2010

Suavia Soave Classico 2010
Hay, this isn't bad at all! (sorry for the bad pun, but it does rather smell of hay). Fruit-forward rather than a mineral style of Soave, but it does have purity to the fruit and some leesy/nutty character to provide some non-fruit interest. Quite rich (is that the lees aging?), but good acidity, too. Again a fruit and lees dominated palate instead of a mineral or acid driven one, but once again, it remains refreshing and moreish and pure so I don't mind. For the 14-15€ it costs here, this seems like a bargain. I must try another bottle soon since this seems too good to be in Alko's selection.

Lista suomalaisista viiniblogeista

Olen viime päivinä saanut tiedon paristakin uudesta viiniblogista. Tässä nyt tuntemani lista suomalaisista blogeista. On ilahduttavaa nähdä, että täälläkin innostutaan viineistä niin paljon, että halutaan kirjoittaa niistä - vaikka Alko yrittääkin parhaansa tukahduttaa kuluttajien mielenkiinnon viinejä kohtaan. :-)

Varmasti on olemassa blogeja, joita en ole huomannut, joten lähettäkää lisää linkkejä, jos tiedätte niistä!

Aleksi Mehtonen
Elämän pienet ilot
Jokkeri ja pullot
Rypäleistä viis
Viini TV
Viini Ville
Viini Virén
Viinihullun päiväkirja
Viinijano
Viinipiru

Trimbach Pinot Gris Sélection de Grains Nobles 1985

Trimbach Pinot Gris Sélection de Grains Nobles 1985 - 13% abv; 6 g/l acidity; 40 g/l RS
What a beautiful, mature sweetie. Pale orange colour. It smells of honey, spice, crystallized fruits and copper kettles. It is rich and obviously has some sweetness (honestly, I expected more sweetness) but delineated and actually quite racy! Fresh, moderately long finish - refreshing enough that I took a second pour and could have handled a third had there been any left! Quite the perfect time to be drinking this.

I usually prefer sweeties without botrytis because I like the purity of the fruit to shine through without anything else obfuscating the view. But sometimes these rotten wines are just lovely; especially in such examples which still manage to show the grape's character.

Miss World 2010

Domaine de la Sénéchalière (Marc Pesnot) Miss Terre 2010
I loved the 2009 of this - though that was an atypical expression of the grape. And I continue to love this slightly leaner vintage, too - even though this is also a fairly atypical expression of the grape. This is a rich style of Muscadet, but it still manages to be racy and invigorating. I don't sense much leesyness (2009 was weird because one I had was very leesy and another was not at all!). Instead I see a great ripeness of fruit coupled with a delightfully palate-cleansing acidity. Once again, I cannot give this any credit for typicity, but I do love this wine.

Joguet Chinon Les Petites Roches 2007

Charles Joguet Chinon Les Petites Roches 2007
12% abv. Joguet's web site suggests that this is now at the end of its drinking window. My experience was rather different. At first had rather muddled aromatics and was light, watery and insubstantial - weak and too full of empty spaces. But an hour in a decanter did magic to this. The aroma gained focus and started to smell of pretty classical Franc: some earthy, bean-like aromas mixed with a touch of refreshing green (even prasinophobics shouldn't be worried about this amount since it is only refreshing, not under-ripe). The empty spaces on the palate are filled up but there is no gladly no extra flesh. Soft palate. It seems to be to drinking beautifully once it is given a bit of air. I don't sense much aged character to the fruit so I feel this rather at the beginning of its life instead of at its end. A wonderfully refreshing and moreish little wine.

Happy 327th Birthday, JS Bach!

To celebrate the greatest of all composers I tried to find a wine in my local Alko that would smell mineral like a brook. The closest I could come up with was de Ladoucette Pouilly-Fumé 2008. To my astonishment, it wasn't really mineral at all nor did it smell like a mountain stream or brook. Instead it was strikingly aromatic and fruit-driven with a good deal of crunchiness - it actually reminded me more of Riesling than Sauvignon Blanc. How odd. But I'm not complaining.


And finally some Bach played by the great flautist Wilbert Hazelzet: Solo Flute Partita

And on a modern instrument:

Achával-Ferrer Malbec Finca Bella Vista 2009

Achával-Ferrer Malbec Finca Bella Vista 2009

Vineyard at 3100ft altitude; 90+ yo vines; 13,5% abv; 50+

This still isn't a style of wine that I'd like to fill my cellar with, but finally I find an Argentine Malbec that I won't mind having a glass of if someone else is paying. There is some obvious oak, but if it is this little noticeable in a young wine I would imagine a few more years will make it pretty much unnoticeable. It has a delightfully savoury aroma, dark fruit but refreshing.

The palate isn't harshly extracted in the manner of the other high-end Malbecs that have been available here, instead it is high in acidity and racy. Unfortunately the oak is more apparent on the palate than on the aroma, but even on the palate it is more a textural thing than an actual taste, since it brings a creamy mouthfeel that is somewhat at odds with the other elements of the wine. Refreshing finish.

This might not make me a fan of Argentine Malbec but I do now understand why Achaval Ferrer has its fans. Or was I just having an off day and this is actually just as spoofy as the others we have had here?

Tabalí Pinot Noir Talinay Salala 2009

Tabalí Pinot Noir Talinay Salala Vineyard 2009 - Limarí
c.20€; 14%. I was persuaded to buy this because of Jamie Goode's glowing review on his blog. Though I usually enjoy Goode's writing I do sometimes find wines that he reviews favorably are not to my taste. With this in mind I now wonder why I did buy this - I should have known better. With one single exception, Clos Ouvert, I have simply found Chileans so far from my preferences that I find it safer not to use my own money on trying them (I'll happily try them at tastings - I do try to keep an open mind, though not so open that my brains fall out). "Beautifully fine, earthy, chalky mineral nose with some red cherry fruit," writes JG. Yeah, sniffing my glass I can see why he writes that. "The palate has tight cherry fruit with real concentration and high acidity. Savoury, mineral and structured, this is a serious wine," he continues. And I can still see why writes that.

And this is a great problem of wine writing: though these are all descriptions that make me think I will like the wine, they don't really describe the whole experience. And neither will probably my coda: though high in acid and from a cool climate of Chile, this still lacks the brightness and raciness that I would expect from a cool climate. It seems too concentrated in a fruit-skewed direction despite the high acidity. And for my tastes, I can't imagine the unbalanced nature really fixing itself over time. At least not enough that I would spend my money on another bottle.

Alko fucks up Piemonte again!

Whoever is in charge of the Piemontese purchases in Alko has a perverted image of what Nebbiolo should be like. Apart from a rather nice Travaglini Gattinara and a fair Fenocchio we have only seen offensive, spoofulated crap from this lovely grape. For a change, can we PLEASE finally have a Nebbiolo without any oak-taint? Without unnatural softness? Without completely fake aromatics but instead with honest, Nebbiolo aromatics? That's not too much to ask! Finnish drinkers are now given a completely skewed view of what this grape is like. Imposing your own fucked up ideas of what the grape is supposed to be like is a gross abuse of the monopoly position.


The most recent, oak-tainted, fake smelling Barolos that are imposed upon us:

Poderi Luigi Einaudi Barolo Terlo 2006
Immediately upon opening the wine smelled fairly traditional with savoury, red fruit. Unfortunately the longer it was open the more the oak aromas began to dominate (I have no idea what percentage new oak this sees, but it's too much for me). Nice enough grip, but the oak once again destroys my experience.

Revello Barolo 2007
15% abv; 24 months in French barrels of which 20% are new. Dark fruit, warm year style with very sweet and accessible fruit; soft and creamy textured for the grape. Though not as modern and oaky as the producer's reputation led me to believe, I'm still not convinced. Gets worse with air and starts smelling like whisky.

Barbaglio 2007

Cooperativa Agricola Santa Barbara Barbaglio Salento IGT 2007
14€; 13,5% abv; 80% Negroamaro, 20% Primitivo. Once again, the new vintage of this old favourite is just lovely. Dark fruit, perhaps a bit more warm year in style than the 2006 but less bright anyhow, a slight touch of funk as usual for this wine (but no way near the levels that it could be called a fault). Good grip and crunch on the palate despite showing obviously sunny fruit. A lovely wine in its own right and made even more lovely by being so fairly priced.

Domaine des Croix Beaune 1er Cru Grèves 2008

Domaine des Croix Beaune 1er Cru Grèves 2008
Lovely bright pinosity with a strong sorrel scent. Pleasantly tart and racy but not at all lacking the grape's sexiness. Shows a bit of oak once it sees air, but it doesn't become overpowering. Classy. But then it should be since it costs 50€.

Domaine des Croix Beaune 2009

Domaine des Croix Beaune 2009
Ripe, dark Pinosity, sweet, lacking somewhat in refreshing character, or, in other words, showing a bit too much warm year character. But nice enough (i.e. I don't mind owning one more bottle). Quite full bodied, good structure, too. More refreshing than the aroma (i.e. I really don't mind owning one more bottle, and frankly wouldn't mind owning two!).

ViiniExpo 2012

It was an odd ViiniExpo this year. I just briefly walked around the small hall and ended up spending the entire day at Viinitie's stand! Someone knows what they're doing. :)


Luigi Di Tuccio of Antica Enotria

Antica Enotria continues to please me. They are lovely, bright, unforced, refreshing wines. Apart from the ones I've previously posted on (Senzazolfo, Dieci Ottobre, Nero di Troia) his new releases of Primitivo and Negroamaro were both lovely. The Primitivo was notable for not being heavy, unstructured and soupy but actually being refreshing and drinkable despite obvious sunny sweetness. The Negroamaro was not black and bitter - well, it was, but only in the positive senses. It also had the most refreshing palate. It is amazing how graceful these wines are and how cool-climate they seem.



David Sampedro Gil


DSG's project in the Saar: an oak aged Riesling. But the toffeed aroma just didn't work with the grape IMO. DSG's Spanish wines were however really, really good. Originally from Rioja, he makes wines in various regions of Spain. The first I tried was a nice, dark toned but refreshing Bobal, La Malkerida 2010, from Utiel-Requena, really quite interesting for a grape usually gets only negative comments. Then I tried a rather complex Garnacha from Navarra, Pasolasmonjas 2007 which had a nice mix of sweet and savoury on the nose, the palate had lovely tannins and was refreshing and lively. A very positive experience - and this comes from one who has enormous trouble liking this grape!

I also tried a grape I had never heard of before, Rufete, in their wine El Cuento 2010 from Sierra de Salamanca. It had lovely apple and cherry aromas, seemed quite like Sumoll to me!

He had two Riojas to show, one Alta one Alavesa. The Londoño 2007 was the Alta, The Phincas DSG 2007 the Alavesa. Both were nice, neither was over-oaked, both had good structure, but my preference wasfor the Londoño because of its bright acidity compared to the more round character of the Phincas.

Marko Zanetti had some Venetos on show. First a Piccolo Pazzo 2009 which seemed like a Cab Franc with sunnier fruit. The I tried the Chateau Punk 2009(?) which is made from the authochthonous Marzemino grape. And what a great wine that was! Lovely cherry aromas, good bite and structure. I usually avoid wines with cutesy or provocative of pseudo-funny names, but I'm glad I tried this. I liked enough that I must find a bottle to drink with dinner some time as a hurried tasting like this is never the ideal way to try such grapes that I have no previous reference points with.

Hurlevent Heida 2010

2010 Les Fils de Charles Favre Hurlevent Heida - Switzerland, Valais, Sion
13,5% abv; 29€. Heida is the local name for Savagnin (or a closely related grape - apparently there is some reason to believe that it is not identical to Savagnin). A nutty, leesy aroma which is nice, but then it also has some not so nice aromas like banana and pear drops. Rich, slightly sweet and unctuous feel to the palate despite noticeable acidity. Quite underwhelming - especially for the price.

Hans Wirsching Iphöfer Kalb Silvaner Spätlese trocken 2010

Hans Wirsching Iphöfer Kalb Silvaner Spätlese trocken 2010 - 12,5% abv; c.20€; 5 g/l RS; 7 g/l acidity
This is a strange wine. It has very ripe aromas, almost tropical, yet somehow neutral (in this it follows the Alsace Sylvaner of Loew which I am more familiar with than Frankens). The surprise is the palate. It is massively concentrated. It has the fruit and weight of a hot year. But ultimately it is a Franken Frankenstein since it is a life-enforcing wine so electric that galvanism happens in my mouth's muscles. Rarely have I had such concentration and such raciness in a single wine.

Yet I am not entirely sure about the balance of the parts. I wonder if this is one of the de-acidified wines of the vintage? And one where the de-acidification didn't quite work as wanted? But anyhow, it's close enough, and it certainly kept my attention and interest through half a bottle.

Concha y Toro Chardonnay "Amelia" 2010

Concha y Toro Chardonnay "Amelia" 2010 - Chile, Casablanca Valley; 14,5% abv; 35€

Grange des Pères 2007

Grange des Pères 2007
According to my notes I have only ever tried the 1995 of this before. I remember liking that very much in 2008. But I was a bit surprised to like the 2007 also despite it having much less bottle age and despite it being a hot year (or at least having some obvious hot year character).

Quite dark fruit and very sweet with a slight dried fig aroma - it seems the fruit was a bit over-ripe. Yet oddly, that doesn't bother me so much this time since it has a lovely freshness and slight animal character in addition to that slight over-ripeness. Rich, sweet and sunny palate, but once again there is enough structure and freshness to make all the sweetness and ripeness perfectly palatable and moreish. The 20-30% new oak (a quick search on the Internet gives varying results; anyone know how much new oak they use?) is surprisingly well hidden even in such a young wine.

Needs age. In 2008 I still felt that the 1995 could ideally use more age, too. So when should one start opening these?

Nice wine, but not nice enough for me to buy one for myself. Perhaps I might like it enough in a cooler year to actually purchase some? This certainly caught my interest and I won't pass this by if it again comes by in a tasting.

Hewitson Mad Hatter Shiraz 2009

Hewitson Shiraz The Mad Hatter 2009
34,90€; 14% abv. For a wine that spends 22 months in new French oak this shows remarkable freshness. Lingonberry jam and mulberry aromas; some tar; much oak though not as much as I expected from such a long ageing in new wood. Thick wine, and despite having more fresh fruit than jam flavors and high acidity, it still seems a bit cloying. I am not a fan though it is a slightly more elegant style than the usual South Australians we see here.

Two Fourrier 2009s

Domaine Fourrier Gevrey-Chambertin Vieille Vigne 2009
13% abv. I am so glad I was persuaded to open this since it turned out to be one of the most satisfying experiences I have had with young Burgundy. Lovely cherry aromas, pure Pinosity of a freshness and crunch that I only expect in cooler years. Bright, racy, elegant, moreish. It was quite reductive at first and really required a couple hours open, but once it had had enough air this was outstandingly pure and invigorating, palate-cleansing and refreshing. Lovely.

Domaine Fourrier Morey St. Denis Clos Solon Vieille Vigne 2009
Compared to the GC VV '09 this seems both a bit more rustic in style and more typical of what I expected of a ripe vintage. This has obvious and pure Pinosity, too, but it is of a darker fruit character; this has nice, racy structure but the wine is in a more fruit dominated, rounder style. It is refreshing and moreish but unlike the GC VV it obviously does come from a warm year. So, yes, it is a nice wine and I am happy to have one more bottle for the future, though I did prefer the Gevrey-Chambertin now.

Lustau Manzanilla Pasada

Emilio Lustau (Almacenista) Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Manzanilla Pasada de Sanlucar 1/80 Manuel Cuevas Jurado
17%. Manzanilla Pasada is a style of Manzanilla aged longer and therefore slightly veering toward an Amontillado stylistically. A really lovely aroma of sea-breeze and olives. Smooth (why is it that Lustau always seems to lack the bite I want in Sherry?), but otherwise attractive palate with salty characteristics mixed with round and sweetish ones (sweetish must be read within the context of Manzanilla, of course). Friendly but intense. I like this, but ideally I like my sherries intense but without that friendly roundness!