Repository of Useless Information

1997 Spoof-fest of Tuscan Zombies

2012-01-26T23:45:00.000+02:00

A friend of mine kindly invited a small group to try out a dozen 1997 Tuscans. Sadly few were to my taste and most had not aged well.

Castello di Fonterutoli Chianti Classico 1997 (label) was pretty well dead with a meaty, rye-bread aroma; hollow, tannic and lifeless.

Frescobaldi Motesodi 1997 (label) was pretty similar to the Fonterutoli except the flesh hadn't completely decayed from the bones yet.

Antinori CC Riserva Badia a Passignano 1997 (label) was alive! And this was actually pretty good. A nice, lively red fruited aroma, a very ripe style of Sangiovese but recognizable as the grape. Fleshy and obviously a warm year style but this has aged well and had a lovely tannins, though was a bit low in acidity, so it was refreshing despite all the ripeness. Good stuff.

Villa Cafaggio San Martino 1997 (label) was a dead, hollow, tannic shell.

Isole e Olena Cepparello 1997 (label) was pretty similar to the Cafaggio in seeming dull and lifeless aromatically; the palate did have a bit of flesh clinging to it, however. Still pretty well zombified.

Felsina Fontalloro 1997 (label) was a fleshy, red fruited wine that has aged well (but I wouldn't keep it any longer). A ripe style, sweet, low acid, good tannins. Not great, but certainly not something to spit away in disgust. Decent wine.

After a corked Vigorello we moved onto Antinori Tignanello 1997 (label) which was alive! And a perfectly decent wine where the new oak has integrated. But it is a big, fleshy, ripe wine. Rich and sweet. Nice enough; this was the only wine which I felt could use more age.

Ruffino Cabreo il Borgo 1997 (label) was alive and was a very dark toned, fleshy beast. Rather too candied and vulgar and slutty for my tastes.

Frescobaldi Lamaione 1997 (label) was a dark, inky, slightly hollow wine. Some thought it was a bit corked.

Frescobaldi Mormoreto 1997 (label) was alive and kicking. Sweet aromas, candied but with a Cab lift. Too much toffee. Too slutty.

Fontodi Syrah Case Via 1997 (label) was a smoky, dark Syrah, but despite much oak and toffee it had some nice meaty aromas. But still not really to my taste: too thick, sweet and slutty.

Then cleaning up, we had some real wines!

Fanny Sabre Bourgogne Rouge 2010 (label) was beautiful. Bright, red, elegant, pure fruit; delightfully light and nervous. Lovely. I hadn't heard of this Domaine before, but I must more of her wines.

Montaribaldi Barolo Borzoni 2006 (label) was pretty nice. Served blind I thought it was a Montepulciano since it had that nutty, red fruit aroma; even when revealed I didn't find it particularly Barolo-like. An easy going, approachable, cheap Barolo.

Podere le Boncie CC "Le Trame" 2008 (label) was its usual lovely self. Wonderful purity and grace and elegance; palate-cleansing structure; outstandingly moreish. Lovely.

A very fat sheep

2012-01-25T13:06:00.002+02:00

Domaine de la Pépière (Marc Ollivier) Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Les Gras Moutons 2009
12% abv. Usually a wine I love but I'm not entirely convinced by the 2009. Immediately after opening it was absurdly aromatic for a Muscadet - with its crystallized lime aromas and pungency it seemed more like Riesling than Muscadet. It did calm down quickly and become more typical of the grape with its positively neutral aromas. But in addition to this positive neutrality, it never gained that lovely leesy, mineral aroma that I especially love. Instead it became rather bland and smelled of pears. Rather generic, unoaked wine in other words, with no special, defining character. The palate, also, was a bit bland, lacking nervousness and character. Soft and easy is what this wine is. It's perfectly fine to drink, it doesn't offend, it doesn't make me feel elated, but it does lack the character I usually find with Pépière. I'll blame it all on the hot year.

Tedeschi Amarone 2007

2012-01-23T22:07:00.001+02:00

Tedeschi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2007
19,05€ / 0,375; 16% abv; 30% Corvina, 30% Corvinone, 30% Rondinella, the rest Molinara, Rossignola, Oseleta, Negrara, Dindarella. I don't drink much Amarone, but this was among the more interesting examples I have had. It didn't only smell of raisins and dark, bitter chocolate, it had a lovely if rather harsh iron/blood aroma and even some jalopeño-like chili aromas. A weird scent, indeed, when coupled with the dark, raisiny fruit - but I think these harsh aromas are necessary to make such a sweet scent sniffable. I have to admit that though I usually dislike this style of wine and though it is a rather strange and harsh aroma, I really liked it! The palate shows much dried fruit (not much of a surprise there!), it is very concentrated, but it has such quantities of tannins and acids that it is actually palate cleansing. But the strangest comes last: I can't taste the super-high alcohol. Maybe a really old chunk of Parmigiano is what made this work so well? The first Amarone I have actually liked enough that I want to try it again! And wonderful that such an intense, high alcohol wine is available in halves!

A couple '09 Burgundies

2012-01-22T18:01:00.001+02:00

Charles Francois & Fils Beaune 1er Cru Les Epenottes 2009
Nice, open aroma, some oak perhaps, very full-on Pinosity. Very ripe and very aromatic; this isn't bad at all for a ripe style.

René Bouvier Marsannay La Morisotte 2009
24,60€; 13% abv. 10% new oak and sadly even such an amount shows. But apart from that, this is a pretty nice expression of Pinot (I haven't tasted enough Marsannay to know if this is in any way representative of the terroir) if you don't mind a big, rugged wine lacking in finesse. And I really don't mean that in a bad way! This somehow reminds me of those old Camille Girouds. Thick palate, much ripeness, much ruggedness, yet good structure. I'm not sure whether or not I like it. But I suspect I might find it a rustic delight in 5-10 years.

Musar 2003

2012-01-20T22:48:00.000+02:00

Château Musar 2003
14% abv. 2003 may not have been an exceptional heat wave in the Bekaa like it was in Europe, but this is still a sunny, warm vintage type of Musar. A more typically Musarish aroma than a couple years ago when I tasted this on release: back then it seemed dark and inky; now it seems more like the red toned Musar I am familiar with - though in a very ripe and less volatile fashion. But despite lacking some of the lift that I so like with Musar, this still can't be mistaken for anything else. Rich, sweet, sunny palate, quite a bit of tannin still and fair acidity. This has everything in spades, but large though all the components are, they seem to be in harmonious proportions relative to each other. Too primary at the moment (though even now I won't turn down a glass), but I think will turn out fine if left to rest. A decade will only do this good.

A new grape acquaintance, Neuburger

2012-01-18T22:20:00.000+02:00

A grape I am unfamiliar with, but it turned out to be a lovely wine and great value too. But with Wikipedia down, tell me more about the grape!

Domäne Wachau Neuburger Federspiel Terrassen 2010
12% abv; 13,48€; under Stelvin. This was a touch reductive at first and needed an hour of air to show itself. "Neuburger is known for its hazelnut aroma," says the back label. I don't find such nutty aromas, this being an intensely floral wine instead with nice minerality. The fruit veers toward tropical flavours. Quite rich palate despite only 12% abv; fruit forward but with good, citrus acidity and a long, mineral finish. A wine of genuine interest - if this is what the grape can do, it is time for a renaissance of the variety.

Riberach Antithèse 2006

2012-01-17T20:42:00.000+02:00

Riberach Antithèse 2006 - Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes

13,5% abv. About two years ago I tried this in a tasting and felt it needed a couple more years. It still needs that couple years! It is quite a rugged style of Syrah at present: nice game aromas but tight despite sweet fruit. No sign of the strong reduction it had in 2010. What is more obvious than in early 2010 is the quality. I must revise my drinking estimate further into the future, but I do think this will end up being a very nice southern Syrah.

Prieler Leithaberg

2012-01-16T23:55:00.001+02:00

Weingut Familie Prieler Leithaberg 2005 - Burgenland, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland
13% abv; 80% Blaufränkisch, the rest Pinot Noir and St. Laurent. With these high-end Austrian reds I always worry - usually perfectly correctly - that fine material is wasted by massive oaking. But with this Leithaberg I shouldn't have worried. It does see oak, but it is a combination of used barriques and bigger barrels. The only noticeable remnant of oak aging is a slight initial smokiness. But this gives way to delicious dark, cherry aromas and loam. Juicy, grippy fruit; clean, crisp and clear fruit; long and vivacious. Quite delicious. Drinking well but I wouldn't mind more aged character, so let it rest if you have some!

Orange Sauvignon - Čotar again!

2012-01-15T18:08:00.000+02:00

Čotar Sauvignon Blanc 2005 - Slovenia, Primorska, Kras
A really nice orange wine that smells slightly of dill but otherwise has no connotations that could be thought of as Sauvignon. Instead it smells of ripe oranges. The palate is also quite sweet and fairly low in acid compared to the previous year, but it is still refreshing and grippy and moreish. Lovely, though not varietally typical.

A wine presumably made by Sumolian terroirists

2012-01-14T11:55:00.001+02:00

2009 Can Ràfols dels Caus Sumoll - Spain, Catalunya, Penedès
12,5% abv. Sumoll is an authochthonous Catalan variety grown now by only a few wineries; this wine is aged in chestnut barrels. When I last tasted this about a year ago it seemed a bit on the austere side with bright red fruit and cherry dominant; now it seems to have gained body and it smells rather of Calvados minus the strong alcohol. Dry, tangy, light bodied but intense palate with delightfully savoury and strong tannins; wonderfully grippy, interminable aftertaste. Lovely.

Game

2012-01-13T23:54:00.002+02:00

Berry Bros has a fun little game online to test your wine knowledge. Put the wines in their right bins!

87% on first try for me! :)

So pretty...

2012-01-13T11:56:00.000+02:00

I recently bought a couple wines from David Clark - a former Formula engineer who bought some land in Morey-St-Denis. They are from old vines, are organically grown and are aged in old oak. And more importantly they were all delicious.

2009 Domaine David Clark Bourgogne Passetoutgrains
13% abv; 2/3 Gamay, 1/3 PN. Fuck me this is good. Crunchy, gravelly Gamay sensations, palate cleansing, savoury, grippy; outstanding.

2009 Domaine David Clark Côte de Nuits Villages
13% abv. Wonderful, pure Pinosity though a warm year. It is sweet and ripe, but the structure is perfect: light on its feet despite the fruit; delineated and racy. Wonderful.

2009 Domaine David Clark Bourgogne Au Pelson
13% abv. This is so pretty! A very pure, slightly stemmy Pinosity (it is 100% whole cluster), sweet, sexy and primary. Sweet palate but with enough bite; the fruit is still very primary so 2-3 years I think are needed. I think this will be lovely.

Loew Pinot Noir

2012-01-12T22:11:00.000+02:00

2008 Domaine Loew Pinot Noir Westhoffen - France, Alsace, Bas-Rhin, Alsace AOC
12% abv. This has initially a rather sweet, candied aroma but that blows off quickly and it becomes instead an intense, cool, red-fruited wine with obvious beetrooty, forest-floor Pinosity. It is light but it is intense enough and is Pure and Racy and Moreish. Enchanting stuff and, I suspect, drinking at its peak now. I haven't tasted many successful Alsace Pinots but Loew's seems to be a lovely little wine every year.

Kühn Riesling Amphore 2009

2012-01-12T22:08:00.000+02:00

2009 Peter Jakob Kühn Riesling Amphore - Germany, Rheingau
12,5% abv. It smells of pure cloudberry. It is wonderfully moreish and the evaporation rate is alarmingly high; high but friendly acidity, wonderful grip. When served blind I cannot understand why this is so divisive - it is intense but not freaky. Outstanding stuff. It's the sort of stuff that transcends analysis.

Hat and what? ... too much Hassle

2012-01-11T00:43:00.003+02:00

Georg Müller Stiftung Hattenheimer Hassel Riesling Erstes Gewächs 2009 - Rheingau
24,60€; 13% abv; 10g/l RS; 7,6g/l acidity. A spicy style of Riesling, it smells very ripe and floral. Rich. It only has 10 g/l RS but it seems higher. It has plenty of acid for a warm year wine but still feels heavy, inelegant and oddly un-refreshing and un-bracing for Riesling. Odd. Not undrinkable but uninspiring.

Töövi Roussanne

2012-01-10T13:28:00.000+02:00

Crushpad Roussanne Töövi Saralee's Vineyard 2010 - County, Russian River Valley
14,5% abv. A nice Roussanne aroma of apricot, oolong tea and minerals; a bit citric. Nice racy palate, rich but taut. Good acidity, wonderful balance. Very good. Perhaps the Marsanne 2010 was a bit more to my taste, but this certainly counts as one of the best Töövis!

Poggerino Chianti Classico 2005

2012-01-10T13:27:00.001+02:00

Fattoria Poggerino Chianti Classico 2005
Strong sweet berry aromas - this is very much the aroma one sees in Finnish forests with lots of dark berries growing in it. Plus, sadly, vanilla oak. Dark berry fruit and leather palate. Nice long finish with more acidity showing than on the palate. Needs time still.

Riesling!

2012-01-09T02:04:00.001+02:00

Pewsey Vale "The Contours" Riesling 1998
An absurdly strong aroma of lime and petrol. Dry but fleshy. I like this, but I can understand why some feel that Ozzie Riesling can be a bit one-dimensional. But that one dimension of this wine is one that I like very much!

Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese 1999
Quite unlike most Zillikens I have had since it was a bit flabby and fruit-heavy. The aromas were lovely and pure, however. Perhaps the acid spine will emerge with time?

Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Spätlese 1993
Lovely, lively, high acid wine, more typical Saar than the 1999 above, it started to smell of green peas with air; lovely balance of sweetness, steel, acid and purity. Lovely.

Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese 1993
Sweeter, of course, than the Spätlese, but still with that lovely green pea aroma; steely, lively, deliciously sugary yet savoury. Lovely.

Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling Auselse 1988
This was somehow off: it smelled of lime and urine. No fruit. Not obviously corked, but some such flaw that stripped it of its fruit.

Grünhäuser Herrenberg Riesling Auselse Fuder 153 1988
Lovely. Darker colour than the straight Auslese. Honey and steel aromas to the pure Riesling fruit. Drying a bit on the palate so it is just perfect! Racy, steely, lively, aged yet not tired.

Kesselstatt Graacher Josephshöfer Auslese 1983
Deep, honeyed, floral and copper kettle aromas; rich, sweet, honeyed palate - none of that steely character I usually find with Saar and Ruwer. Rich, but lovely.

Louis Guntrum Niersteiner Rosenberg Auslese 1976
A Rheinhessen. Very clean and pure Riesling aroma but very, VERY ripe and rich. The colour, smell and palate is that of a much younger wine, but there is a balance between the roundness and the dried character so this is, to my tastes, a perfect time to drink it.

Grünhäuser Abstberg Spätlese 1973
A lovely aroma of bruised apple and honey; dryish already with little indication that there is generous sugar in the wine, perfectly balanced, delightfully high acid. Lovely, though supposedly from a weak vintage.

Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr feine Auslese 1966
Before the modern system there were Auslese, feine Auslese, feinste Auslese and still some further category that I can't remember the name of. These have now become Auslese, GK and Lange GK Auslese. So this is what would now be GK Auslese. Orange colour. A lovely aroma of copper kettles and bruised apple - though obviously oxidative, this is incredibly lively and doesn't seem tired at all. It seems dry and racy on the palate, the sugar has vanished, it is steely and racy and there is nothing soft about it. Lovely.

Prinz von Hessen Johannisberger Klaus Beerenauslese 2003
Very intense crystallized fruit aromas; very sweet but much better acidity than I thought this year would have. The finish is actually refreshing! One more example of why those of us who disliked 2003 initially must in some instances say positives: the structure has surfaced from the fathoms of fruit.

Landgräflich Hessiches Weingut Johannisberger Klaus Beerenauslese 1975
This is the same producer and vineyard as above, just the name has changed. A super-intense copper aroma; dry but sweet paradox on the palate, grippy; lovely.

Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Beerenauslese 1992
9,5% abv. Lovely passionfruit intensity; super acidity. I just don't see how the complexity strengthens with the prädikat!

Trimbach Cuvée Fr. Emile SGN 1983
12,5% and it shows after these 7-8% abv wines. But the aroma is lovely: very pure Riesling, floral and steely. Slightly sweet, super acidity, mineral, intense, interminable aftertaste. Outstanding. But could do with a bit more age...

To finish, we opened up a Champagne: Fr. Boulard Les Murgiers. A brut nature, Pinot dominant wine, with lovely crisp, citric and red fruit, floral aromas; crisp yet friendly, elegant mousse, racy, interminable finish. Lovely.

Matrot Blagny La Pièce-sous-le-Bois 2009

2012-01-07T10:28:00.003+02:00

Domaine Matrot Blagny 1er Cru La Pièce-sous-le-Bois 2009
13% abv. A rather lovely wine, though very primary. It has a bit of oak still showing but I'm not worried about it since it is only 10-20% new and the pure, ripe (but not over-ripe to my tastes), sexy Pinosity is the foremost aroma. The palate is also fruitforward at the moment but there is lovely acidity for a hot year wine and some proper grip there too. I think this will turn into a beauty. In fact, it already is a beauty.

Is there anything Sexier...

2012-01-03T12:11:00.001+02:00

...than Texier?

2010 Éric Texier Opâle
A Viognier from Condrieu that is made with Mosel Kabinett as its stylistic ideal. It is only 7% abv and has 70g/l RS and it is like biting into an apple: crunchy, sweet and deliciously acidic. Outstanding.

2008 Éric Texier St. Joseph Vieilles Vignes "La Croix"
12% abv. This is a wine of such purity and grace that I was almost reduced to tears before its ethereal nature. Though I am not a Platonist this seemed to be the Platonic ideal of Syrah with its pepper and game aromas and dark but un-sweet fruit. Dry but fleshy, deliciously sour and structured. Interminable. Lovely now, I hope I can find more to see what this will turn into.

2009 Éric Texier Châteauneuf-du-Pape
14,5% abv. Very primary, being mostly sweet, dark fruit but it does have some savoury garrigue and leather character already. Rich, sweet and luscious but it has a bite of acidity and lightness of touch that distinguishes it from most other CdPs. Seems promising enough that I must find myself a couple bottles to cellar.

Arbitrariness

2012-01-02T12:13:00.001+02:00

Happy arbitrary day in the time continuum, at an interval defined by the orbit of one small planet in the universe since the last similar arbitrary day!

Fürst Pod Stolpom 2010

2011-12-31T19:03:00.000+02:00

2010 Conrad Fürst & Söhne Pod Stolpom - Slovenia, Podravje, Jeruzalem-Ormoz
Šipon (aka Furmint), Sauvignon blanc and Pinot blanc. Under Stelvin. A really nice, fresh white; unoaked but with a distinct and attractive if vague red spiciness to the aroma. Very mineral and citric. Lively, refreshing, acidic yet with a lingering richness to the steeliness. Very enjoyable.

Jean-Philippe Fichet Bourgogne Blanc VV 2008

2011-12-30T12:55:00.000+02:00

Jean-Philippe Fichet Bourgogne Blanc Vieilles Vignes 2008
13,5% abv. "Forty-year-old vines in a parcel across the road from Meursault-Charmes, this wine has more Meursault character than the vast majority of Meursault villages wines." This is a quote I see on almost every web page dealing with Fichet - if anyone knows the original source, I would be happy to hear of it! Toast and a touch of bitterness from the oak, citrus and pineapple on the fruit end of the scent; and a good deal of steeliness and some butter. Crisp but rich palate, a nice balance of raciness and freshness. Yes, this is complex for a Bourgogne blanc, but I still don't understand the adulation of the unsourced quote.

Hudelot-Noëllat Bourgogne 2009

2011-12-28T21:59:00.000+02:00

Alain Hudelot-Noëllat Bourgogne 2009
12% abv. A wonderful aroma of bright red fruit and sorrel. It had a bit of oak aromas, but these cleared with air. Pleasant bite and sweet, sexy Pinosity; shows no overripeness. Very nice. Ideally would rest a couple years more but it was fun now, too.

Anne Gros in the Languedoc

2011-12-27T22:17:00.002+02:00

2008 Domaine Anne Gros & Jean-Paul Tollot Minervois "La Ciaude" - Languedoc, Minervois
14% abv; a blend of old vine Carignan, Syrah and young vine Grenache. The scent is already very nice: it is within the dark fruit/olive/tapenade spectrum of aromas but it does still have a touch of oak (I don't know how much and what age oak this sees but there is really such a small amount showing that even I don't mind it all that much).

The palate is - and this is rare in my experience - more interesting at the moment than the scent. The youthful flesh is starting to calm down and the structure is just calmed enough that it is still wonderfully palate-cleansing, invigorating and deeply tannic but not at all rough or rugged. I love this type of freshness of structure in Southern wines.

I wonder is this sort of structure that can be achieved with old vine Carignan? It certainly seems very like the Riberach Hypothèse which is from c.100yo Carignan vines. Already an interesting wine but I think in a couple more years this will be lovely.

Tue-Boeuf (Puzelat) Le Buisson Pouilleux 2010

2011-12-26T13:53:00.002+02:00

Clos du Tue-Boeuf (Thierry Puzelat) Touraine Le Buisson Pouilleux 2010
12,5% abv. A 100% Sauvignon Blanc yet I lack the skill to describe this. It smells of something like slightly unripe yellow plums. The palate is fleshy but with plenty of cut. There is a slight touch of very good vinegar on the finish but in this context the vinegar is not a fault. Lovely.

Texier Vaison La Romaine 2007

2011-12-26T13:51:00.001+02:00

Éric Texier Côtes du Rhône Villages Vaison La Romaine 2007
13% abv. Two years has done this much good, but this still needs time. It is a dark, meaty wine for a pure Grenache. It has dark, savoury fruit aromas. Lovely structure, refreshing and palate cleansing tannins that provide a great counterpoint to the sweet fruit. Well structured and lovable. Drinkable and very enjoyable now but ideally could use a few more years.

Blanes Cami de la Berne 2006

2011-12-23T18:40:00.001+02:00

Domaine de Blanes Côtes du Roussillon "Cami de la Berne" 2006
14% abv; c.90% Syrah and the rest Grenache. It obviously spends time in new oak. But the obvious oak doesn't manage to hide the wonderful Syrah fruit. It is slightly gamy with ripe, juicy dark fruit. It is a sweet scent but refreshing, too. Very ripe and sweet attack, but generous quantity of tannins give the insides of my mouth a proper beating. Refreshing finish, though not very acidic. I think this will turn out to be a very nice expression of Southern Syrah, but should not be opened now unless you enjoy such levels of tannins that I like! (

Karl Schafer Wachenheimer Gerümpel Riesling trocken 2010

2011-12-23T18:30:00.001+02:00

Karl Schaefer Wachenheimer Gerümpel Riesling trocken 2010 - Pfalz
11,5% abv. A wonderfully pure example of Riesling. It smells of minerals and citrus - it isn't very open even after two days open. The palate is also not giving much and is coiled up in a tight spring. But is so grippy that it almost seems tannic, it has outstanding purity of fruit and high acidity. This is an austere wine, but though I fault most German trockener for being too austere, this type of austerity I do appreciate: there is so much substance and so much purity and it is all so evident despite being young and closed. This is the sort of austerity I find in young Alsace Rieslings and I don't complain about those! This is one of the few German trockener that I have been impressed by. Probably will turn out excellent but it does need more time.

Rosé from Yannick Amirault

2011-12-22T20:51:00.001+02:00

Yannick Amirault Bourgueil Rosé d'Equinoxe 2010
100% Cab Franc. A very pale rosé. A wonderfully elegant and mineral rosé; electric palate, lovely high levels of citrus acidity, more fleshy on the finish. Wonderfully high evaporation rate.

Franck Massard Priorat Humilitat 2009

2011-12-21T01:41:00.001+02:00

Franck Massard Priorat "Humilitat" 2009
14,9% abv; 60% Garnacha, 40% Cariñena. A very enjoyable, though young, wine from an area I usually dislike. The first thing that strikes me is how there is none of that toffeed oak character or over-ripeness of fruit that is so characteristic of most Priorats I have had. A quick search on the internet suggests that only 30% of the wine sees oak, and of that 30% only half is new oak. Reading the label I was expecting a huge wine, but by Priorat standards this is elegant. The alcohol doesn't show except as slight warmth on the finish. This isn't harshly extracted but instead seems very light on its feet. It has enough acidity and tannin to make the very sweet and ripe fruit seem very fresh and refreshing. If all Priorat were like this, I would be a fan of the area.

Fleur de l'Europe

2011-12-20T00:48:00.000+02:00

Fleury Pere & Fils Champagne Fleur de l'Europe NV
12,5% abv, Pinot Noir 90% and Chardonnay 10%; 35€; certified organic. This was aged 7 years in bottle before release for sale in Finland. And the aromas are starting to be pleasantly aged: a touch oxidative (but so little that no one really should be bothered by it) and ever so slightly mushroomy; but it is also vibrantly fruity in its ripe red apple aromas. Turns very floral and very obviously Pinot with air. Elegant mousse; the fruit is quite rich but is kept in check by very bright and appley acidity. Long finish that is mineral and so refreshing and grippy that the sensations are reminiscent of tannins! Very nice!

Čotar Vitovska

2011-12-17T13:19:00.002+02:00

Čotar Vitovska 2007 - Slovenia, Primorska, Kras
12% abv. An "orange" wine in the sense that this sees skin contact. Yet the colour is just gold and not really like the usual skin contact wines. The aromas are lovely: a mix of preserved limes and oranges. It is a lovely perfumed aroma but with plenty of mineral and typical "orange" wine character. Tannic and quite hard for a white wine, but with a lovely purity of fruit. There is a squeeze of lime acidity on the finish. Lovely. Very much alive, and it is wonderful how in a single sip the wine goes through such different stages and characters.

On the futility of wine writing

2011-12-15T01:28:00.000+02:00

"Many of the people who came to us were of the kind who would be a nuisance anywhere but have special opportunities in a bookshop." Among bookshop keepers this is the most famous George Orwell quote, much more so than those Animal Farm or 1984 ones that are commonly mentioned. But those of us who survive in the business longer than Orwell did, survive largely because we not only see the nastiest (and smelliest!) customers on the planet; we see the nicest, most warmhearted ones, too.

I have one regular customer who doesn't talk much but he buys and sells good books and seems like an uncommonly sweet personality. I even give him a 10% discount these days. Somehow he found out that I like wine, so now, before going north for Christmas, he came to our shop for the last time this year and gave me a bottle of wine for Christmas.

Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 - Napa Valley; 14,5% abv
What surprised me most is how after such circumstances my critical faculties completely failed. This smelled and tasted lovely with a chunk of bloody lamb. But without this feeling of being appreciated so much that a regular customer will give me such an expensive bottle, I am sure I would not have enjoyed such a minty, oaky, chocolatey, sweet, candied yet extracted wine as this. Yet I honestly did enjoy it. And this is why all wine writing is futile. And since I'm unable to lie about overcoming such feelings, this is why I'll never be a pro in wine writing! [Big Grin] Today, this is awesome. I suspect that tomorrow I would call it spoofy and say nasty things about it.

Carelia!

2011-12-12T12:01:00.003+02:00

Yesterday was a fun day. Theresa Regli, wino, foodie and music lover, was visiting so we first went to hear the grand old men of Finnish jazz, Juhani Aaltonen and Heikki Sarmanto, and then we were off to the Mecca of Finnish wine lovers, Restaurant Carelia.

With a starter of mildly smoked eel we had a curious "Muscadet":

2009 Domaine de la Sénéchalière (Marc Pesnot) Vin de Table Français Nuitage - Vin de Table Français
100% Melon de Bourgogne. This undergoes an overnight carbonic maceration - not something I have heard of with Muscadet before! But the results are very good if very atypical to what Muscadet has in my experience been. Usually I have liked Muscadet with long lees ageing, but I don't sense much leesiness here. Instead it smells very ripe - like ripe apples or pears with even a bit of honey and hay. A sunny wine for sure. The palate has tremendous energy and electricity and is quite full bodied for Muscadet. No points for typicity, but this is a lovely, lovely wine!

With a lovely main dish of grilled secreto of Iberico pork we had a nice, young N. Rhône:

1995 Domaine Jamet Côte-Rôtie
Still seems young to my tastes, but this is a lovely youngster! Lots of meaty aromas, something floral, too, though I'm not sure it was lavender (like I was told Jamet should smell like!) and a delicious hint of funk. After the sweet and boisterous aroma the palate was a bit of a surprise in being a bit on the austere side (this is a plus for me - after the scent I was worried I would find this a bit cloying) with still strong structure that suggests that there is no hurry at all with this wine. But neither did I find it criminal to open now! Lovely.

After this, the sommelier gave us a taste of 2008 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre, which was very generous of him. But sadly this was something I wasn't very keen on. It smells so strongly of oak that I can't sense anything beyond. The palate is better with lovely zip but also a strange yoghurt/lactic note that was actually quite off-putting. Not my style of Chablis at all.

For dessert I had a small glass of 2009 Domaine de Montesquiou Jurançon Grappe d'Or.
My first impression was very positive with lovely bittersweet character and I seem to sense a bit of honeyed and apricotty botrytis as well (but maybe my senses were being deceived - IIRC Jurançons don't usually get botrytis?). Rich and sweet but racy and deliciously bittersweet and high in acid. Sadly the longer it was open the more dominant the oak became.

And finally we descended into the cellars of the restaurant to try the newest Contadino.

2010 Frank Cornelissen Contadino 8 - Sicily, Etna DOC
13,5% abv. A strangely vivid red colour. Wonderful, pure fruit on the nose and a bit of something savoury. It seems darker and sweeter in its fruit tones than the Contadino 7. Deliciously tannic, pure fruit, bittersweet. It smells and tastes just like pomegranate. Lovely.

Spoof and how to deal with it

2011-12-08T17:49:00.001+02:00

Elderton Shiraz 2008 - Australia, Barossa
14,5% abv. A pretty generic Barossa Shiraz: lots of oak, lots of ripe, dark fruit. Sweet, ripe, lacking depth and also lacking softness: this has spiky acidity. I then checked the tech specs and it says 7,5g/l acidity. How so high in what I believe is a warm year for the already hot area?

Luigi Bosca Cabernet Franc Reserva Single Vineyard 2008 - Argentina, Mendoza, Lujan de Cuyo
14,5% abv. 14 months in new French oak. A scent of dark fruit and bittersweet oak aromas. Thick palate, lacking in freshness despite fairly high acidity and plentiful, soft tannins. Overoaked and lacking all varietal character. Anonymous. Since it is Glühwein season I poured a bit of alcohol-free Glühwein into my glass. It really improved the drinking experience: it lessened the alcohol and it masked the oaky bitterness. I must remember this trick in the future. I wish I had thought of this with the Elderton!

Töövi Marsanne Saralee's Vineyard 2010

2011-12-07T20:36:00.003+02:00

Töövi Marsanne Saralee's Vineyard 2010 - Russian River Valley, California

14,5% abv. A fairly dark colour for a young wine. It smells of very ripe red apple, minerality and a little spice though unoaked. This had absolutely delicious purity of fruit. Quite rich and oily but well structured with a pretty good level of acidity. Long refreshing finish, sweet and plummy but still supported by perfectly adequate acidity. A very nice wine from this thick and oily grape!

I think this is the best wine that Asko Kassinen has made.

Randomness in wine perception

2011-12-07T12:01:00.002+02:00

The physicist Leonard Mlodinow has a very interesting article in the Wall Street Journal, 20th October 2009. It may be an old article and it may be familiar to many already, but it is, I think, an exceptionally well written essay on something we winos rarely want to talk about: we rate wines haphazardly and randomly and with very little or no consistency. So it of course means that competitions and medals are worth pretty much nothing (we all knew that already).

But is this research applicable to normal drinking during a meal? I have a hunch that it is: I certainly have often in some state of mind been more forgiving of wines that I dislike very much again when drinking shortly after! This can be annoying if I've bought some initially that I then end up disliking, but mostly I think the mutability of my perceptions of a single wine is exciting. What is puzzling is that my thoughts on some other wines, however, are remarkably fixed and unchanging - perhaps most notoriously with Musar, where I simply fail to see the great variation that everyone else claims to notice. But the great thing about not being a professional is that I only need to drink and write for one person's pleasure - my own. So vive le changement, or something like that.

Montlouis-sur-Loire, Pfalz and Sauternes

2011-12-02T15:19:00.003+02:00

Le Rocher des Violettes Montlouis-sur-Loire Cuvée la Negrette 2007
100% Chenin, but too much oak. Lovely acidity, however, but still so much oak that there is no sense of grape or place. Pass.

Weingut Jürgen Leiner Kalmit Riesling 2009 - Germany, Pfalz
13% abv. A lovely, strongly mineral aroma, lovely Riesling bitterness - when served blind it seemed like a very pure example of a trocken Riesling so I was surprised to hear that apparently this is partly aged in new oak! I wish I could confirm that, but my German skills are negligible so I wasn't able to navigate the producer's website to make sure. The palate is also lovely: very dense and concentrated, lovely citric character and much more acidity than I would have expected of such a warm year. Lovely.

Rousset-Peyraguey Cuvée Ducasse 2007 - Sauternes
14% abv. Cloudy orange colour. Very unvinous aroma, but a lovely aroma: oolong tea, peach, some VA, apple jam and cinnamon. Wonderful sweetness and vivacity so it is fresh and refreshing rather than cloying despite some body. Lovely, though I'm sure some will object to the VA and the cloudiness.

Mushrooms and Chablis

2011-12-01T00:39:00.004+02:00

Craterellus tubaeformis about to go into the oven! The last of this year's mushrooms were wonderful. We made a simple but tasty pie: boil 1dl+ water and two tablespoons of butter. Add half a teaspoon salt and quickly add 1,5dl flour. Mix it all quickly and let cool. Then take about half a kilo of mushrooms and one leek. Fry on a pan until excess water is gone. Add salt and pepper. Take the cool dough and mix an egg into it and add a touch of flour; then spread it into a pan and add the mushrooms and leek mixture. Put parsley and two eggs mixed with water or milk on top. Then add as much parmigiano as possible and then add a little more parmigiano. Bake c.25mins in c.225° C.

The wine we had with our last batch of mushrooms wasn't bad either. J. Moreau Chablis 1er Cru Mont de Milieu 2008. 24,90€; 13% abv. A very pleasant, though perhaps not top notch Chablis. The scent is a bit closed but does have nice purity, lots of citrus and plentiful minerality. The palate is pleasantly dry and austere on the attack, but fleshes out well toward the end. Lovely lemony intensity. Mineral, but perhaps a touch short finish. A very pleasant wine.

Two Languedocs from Mas de Martin

2011-11-29T14:28:00.001+02:00

Domaine Mas de Martin Côteaux du Languedoc 2007
14% abv. A ripe, fairly dark toned aroma - pleasant enough but quite simple and sweet. The palate is more interesting with some attractive grip to balance the copious, ripe fruit. Even when cool the alcohol does show a bit. Decent, but not great.

Domaine Mas de Martin Côteaux du Languedoc Cuvée Ultreia 2007
Grès de Montpellier; 14,5% abv. c. 50% Syrah, c. 30% Grenache, c.20% Mourvèdre; c.15 months in 100% new French oak. These are details for newer vintages; I don't know if the 2007 was like this. It certainly doesn't seem as oaky as these numbers would suggest. Still black colour. The scent has still quite a bit of oak needing to integrate; but also much pleasant dark fruit with enough savoury character to keep this interesting. Wonderfully savoury, very rich but refreshing also. Too primary to say for sure whether this will be to my taste or not. But it certainly has enough interesting components for me to keep an eye on this property.

Jürgen Leiner - a new Palatinate name to keep in mind

2011-11-27T23:30:00.003+02:00

The wine importer from above our bookshop came to ask my opinion a producer he has been thinking of importing. Basing an opinion on tasting just two wines is perhaps silly, but these two were really, really good and I would love to see them in Finland. I don't know much about them except that they are certified lunatics ... sorry, certified Biodynamic. That's not a slight, btw, as by definition adherents of Biodynamics cannot mind being called lunatic.

Weingut Jürgen Leiner Riesling QbA trocken 2010 - Germany, Pfalz
12% abv, comes in a 1 liter bottle. A very floral aroma, pure grapeyness and so akin to Muscat except there is no such sweetness to this wine's aroma. Wonderfully mineral and bracing palate, very citric and refreshing. Moreish. But still quite tight - though a "basic" wine in their range, it could do with more age.

Weingut Jürgen Leiner Grauer Burgunder "Handwerk" 2010 - Germany, Pfalz
12,5% abv. Quite unaromatic at first, it needed several hours for there to be any scent. But when it did start opening up, the aromas were very pure and loveable Pinot Gris aromas of spice and glue and yellow fruits but in a very elegant and mineral way. Crisp and racy but there is also some of the oiliness that I often sense with this grape - but it never becomes heavy. This is a grape I rarely enjoy, but this bottle was outstanding.

Klinec acacia wines

2011-11-25T14:09:00.001+02:00

Klinec Malvazia 2007 - Slovenia, Primorje, Goriška Brda, Medana; label
13,5% abv. Aged in acacia barrels for one year. Orange colour; a skin contact white. Smells rather woody and peppery and somehow sharp, but it is still a fascinating aroma, quite unlike anything else I have had. There is also a wonderful, grapey aroma slightly reminiscent of Muscat except much more subtle and more savoury. Dry, powerful, masculine, moderately tannic by orange wine standards. Drying finish. I find this fascinating and don't find the acacia ageing annoying - but I am also aware that if all wines were aged in acacia, I would not be so forgiving of this wood either!

Klinec Jakot 2007 - Slovenia, Primorje, Goriška Brda, Medana; label
13,5% abv; from Tokaj Furlanski or whatever it is called legally today. An orange wine aged one year in acacia. Though different enough from the Malvazija in its fruit aromas - this one being less grapey in its aromas but more floral - this is still marked by a woody note presumably from ageing in acacia. Like the Malvazija, this is of moderate tannin as far as orange wines go, but seems to have higher acidity, so it seems to me more austere. But this is still a lovely drink. Having now had two acacia-aged wines side by side, I do wonder if my interest would survive if more were aged in it instead of oak since I prefer grape aromas to wood aromas.

Klinec Quela

2011-11-23T15:31:00.001+02:00

Klinec Quela 2006 - Slovenia, Primorje, Goriška Brda, Medana; 60% Merlot, 30% Cab Sauv, 10% Cab Franc.

A Bordeaux-blend that doesn't smell at all of oak (how nice for a change!) - because it is aged instead for one year in cherry barrels. This has wonderfully vivid and pure aromas of bright red fruit and slight earthiness and leafiness. I am tempted to say it has concentrated cherry aromas, but that would be facetious. Though 13,5% abv, there is no excess ripeness or sweetness of fruit; instead this has wonderful precision, wonderful grip and wonderful freshness. I have no idea how new the cherry wood is, but if cherry barrels let the grapes shine with such purity and without any obviously woody aromas, perhaps the Bordelais should start using such barrels, too!

Seghesio Zinfandels 2009

2011-11-22T12:20:00.002+02:00

Seghesio Family Vineyards Zinfandel Old Vine 2009 - USA, California, Sonoma County
35,50€; re-labelled to 16% abv by the importer or Alko (Finland's monopoly claims to test every wine it sells to make sure the label states the correct alcohol and other details); I couldn't tear it off to see what the original label says. Lots of berry aromas and dark toned fruit, quite lactic / yoghurt-like, no obvious alcohol on the nose - which is in my experience very rare in such high abv wines. It smells very much of Christmas spices and toffee and liquorice, i.e. has some new oak aromas that need to integrate. The palate is very rich but it gladly isn't super-concentrated, it has fair tannins and moderate acidity to help counter the huge fruit. Amazingly the alcohol is well integrated and does not stick out like sore thumb. This is far from my preferred drinking, but I can understand why many will love this wine.

Seghesio Family Vineyards Zinfandel Home Ranch 2009 - USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley
34,90€; 90% Zinfandel & 10% Petit Sirah; re-labelled to 15,5% abv by the importer or Alko (Finland's monopoly claims to test every wine it sells to make sure the label states the correct alcohol and other details); I couldn't tear it off to see what the original label says. This is quite like the '09 Old Vine in being full of berry and dark fruit aromas with quite a bit of spice showing from the oak. Though similar aromatically, there is a touch more brightness and elegance (if one can say that about such a huge wine!) in this one. Very thick and though it has slightly less alcohol (if we believe the new labels!) there is slightly more obvious heat in this than in the Old Vine. Nice tannins with some real grip make this seem like something else than just a fruitbomb. But it is fucking huge - much too gargantuan to bring me pleasure. But at least its merits are obvious enough that even though my preferences are diametrically opposite to this wine's style I can still appreciate that many will absolutely love this.

Carcharodon carcharias: Gaudry & Selbach-Oster

2011-11-20T22:24:00.002+02:00

Two great whites:

Vincent Gaudry Sancerre La Tournebride 2010
24,50€; 13% abv. A really wonderful Sancerre. No cat's piss, no gooseberry sharpness, instead there is a wonderfully pure aroma of apples and minerals. It smells pretty ripe, and it tastes ripe, too, but it isn't heavy or sweet. It is dry, pleasantly acidc and grippy, but not harsh in any way. Pure and lovely and elegant. If all Sauvignon Blanc were like this, I would be a fan of the grape.

Selbach-Oster Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese 2007
19,90€; 8% abv; 105 g/l RS; 7,7 g/l acidity. A wonderfully mineral aroma, but a ripe style of Riesling with aromas verging on tropical, slight petrol already. Wonderfully savoury with a slight quinine-bitterness despite the sweetness and ripeness; moderate acidity, lacking perhaps a bit of the cut and precision that I would hope for (but this seems to be the norm in such ripe vintages), but still a very attractive wine. Lovely.

A thorn in my side

2011-11-19T14:20:00.002+02:00

Thorn-Clarke Riesling Mount Crawford 2010 - South-Australia, Barossa, Eden Valley
15,96€; 13,5% abv. A very strong aroma of lime and petrol. Quite rich for Riesling but very high in acid. A perfectly decent wine but quite in your face.

Clos du Tue-Boeuf Cheverny Frileuse 2010 - Loire Valley, Cheverny
13,3% abv; a blend of Sauvignon and Chardonnay (the rules for Cheverny Blanc is that 60-80% must be SB the rest Arbois, Chardonnay or Pineau Blanc). A really lovely aroma, quite perfumed and floral but with an appley and mineral core running through it. Pleasantly light (I was sure it would have max. 12% abv when given this blind!), very pure and seemingly delicate but with great acidity and an interminable finish. Outstandingly moreish. Lovely.

Fourcas Hosten 2005

2011-11-17T16:41:00.001+02:00

Château Fourcas Hosten 2005 - Listrac-Médoc
13% abv; 50/50 Merlot & Cab Sauv. This is young, of course, but it also seems like a pretty traditionally styled Claret. Aromas of cedar and dark fruit and a little bit of funk open up with some two hours of air to reveal a bit of bright, red-toned fruit. The oak is still a bit too obvious for me, but it isn't present in alarming amounts. Quite chunky and chewy, meaty and rustic and delightfully strongly tannic, but - despite a hot year - it is not at all "modern". This isn't sweet and concentrated; this is refreshing and savoury and is the antithesis of "Parkerized" Bordeaux. I think in 5-10 years I will enjoy this very much even though I have largely given up on Bordeaux.

Foillard Morgon CdP 2009

2011-11-15T15:31:00.000+02:00

Jean Foillard Morgon Côte du Py 2009
13,5% abv. A very sweet aroma - the hot year is very much in evidence. It is darker in its sweet, cherry and raspberry fruit than I remember earlier vintages to have been; but that doesn't matter since there is a wonderful, savoury streak running through the wine bringing in the required freshness to balance such an abundance of fruit. Full bodied, rich and wonderfully light on its feet. There is good acidity and tannin, too, but this is a fruit forward wine. I do prefer Foillard in some other years, but even this 2009 is an outstanding wine.

Quite a lovely pairing with some moose sausages of moderate spiciness, where, perhaps, the extra dose of fruit for once wasn't a bad thing in the wine (spice seems to need sweetness from a wine, whether in ripeness or in actual RS).

Puzelat no longer puzzling

2011-11-14T13:56:00.005+02:00

Earlier in my experience Puzelat used to have some problems with far too great a percentage having been off (oxidised and cidery), but in the last two years, absolutely every bottle has been pristine and outstanding. I don't know if that means that they had some trouble with the "natural" methods earlier and now got them fixed or whether I simply had bad luck - my sample is too small to be worth statistically. But reading through the internet, it seems as if quite a few others have noticed things getting better. These three, certainly, were all outstanding.

Thierry Puzelat P'tit Tannique Coule Bien NV
Is there some way of finding out what vintage this is? 12%; Mainly Gamay with a bit of Grolleau and perhaps also some Pineau d'Aunis mixed in; no vintage on the label. Quite a lovely aroma of peppery Gamay brightness, but with fairly dark toned fruit - but not sweet. Pleasantly light and sour, quite dense and intense despite the lightness, refreshing finish. Lovely!

Thierry Puzelat Pinot Noir Touraine 2009
13% abv. Really lovely Pinosity, quite ripe but with bright fruit and lovely precision on the palate. Vivacious. And though a "natural" wine, this bottle at least wasn't freaky in any way; it was just a lovely expression of the grape.

Thierry Puzelat Le Rouge Est Mis 2010
12,5% abv. Though it is often said that Meunier is similar to Pinot Noir, I didn't really notice the similarity except very superficially. But the positives of the wine are many: though not a sexy, perfumed Pinot Noir -lookalike, the aromas are lovely with a bit of earthiness and very sweet, red fruit, very "natural". The palate has sweet fruit but is lively and refreshing; graceful. If comparisons to other grapes must be made, it seems more like an elegant Grenache to me than Pinot Noir. Lovely.

Moon Harvested spoof

2011-11-13T10:37:00.002+02:00

Herdade dos Grous Vinho Regional Alentejano Moon Harvested 2009
100% Alicante Bouschet. 26,90€; 14,5% abv. Very dark, almost black. Some nice bitter aromas and dark fruit. Very rich, but juicy and properly acidic, too. But all this niceness cannot disguise the fact that this is woefully overoaked.

State of Matter and Hoping for a Phase Transition

2011-11-12T10:59:00.000+02:00

Glen Carlou Cabernet Sauvignon Gravel Quarry 2008 - South Africa, Coastal Region, Paarl
34,90€; 14,5% abv. Almost black. Very dense, very woody aroma, dark fruit and some Cabernet lift. Very rich and dense, more a solid than a liquid, quite strong tannins, much extract. But the finish shows a clear Cabernet character of a refreshing type. I didn't enjoy it until the savoury finish. I must wait until some reaction melts this solid into a liquid before I might find it enjoyable. But no pressure, time shall do its work.

Cantillon Grand Cru Bruocsella 2006

2011-11-09T21:50:00.000+02:00

Yesterday after a far too hectic day at the bookshop my future ex-wife and I wanted to relax with a good beer. So we went to a pub close to our place. Surprisingly they had a beer there that is very hard to find in Finland but which is one the most awesome drinks I have tried, Cantillon Grand Cru Bruocsella Lambic Bio 2006.

5% abv; best before December 2020 it says on the back label! This is a lambic aged three years in oak, with spontaneous fermentation (no added yeasts).

It looks like orange wine and smells like it too. Wonderful earthy aromas with a bit of peach, apples and toast - if Blanc de Blancs Champagne were made as orange wine, this must be what it would smell like! No bubbles. Dry and quite high in acidity and bitterness, but not austere or painfully intense. The aftertaste is eternal. Despite the lack of bubbles this is a very lively beer. Perfect. The only thing that could have made it more perfect is if there had been some fat to eat with it (cheese, prosciutto, ...).

One of the few times I have had this beer before was a slightly more aged example. It had become even more like Chardonnay bubbly with age. Fascinating beer.

Madeiras 1834-1981

2011-11-05T16:56:00.004+02:00

I was invited to a tasting of vintage Madeiras tonight. I love harsh acidity and VA and all things "off" so I was excited. And this was, indeed, perhaps the most satisfying tasting I have ever attended!

d'Oliveiras Sercial 1971 - label
Lovely, complex rancio and toffee aroma with a streak of citrus for freshness; super acidity - what was it that Broadbent said about some brut nature Champagne: gargling with razors? - well, that's about the structure of this. This is a "young" wine still but the complexity is already obvious. Outstanding. Despite being so youthful, I so loved the high acidity structure that this might just have been my favourite wine of the night.

Barbeito Verdelho 1981 - label
Cloudy colour, but the wine was wonderful. A slightly grassy/greenish aroma; lovely freshness, fairly dry, intense but not at all as intense as the Sercial above! But lovely stuff anyways.

d'Oliveiras Terrantez 1977 - label
A sweeter scent than the previous two: fresh plums and also rancio, VA and all the lovely goodies that Madeira has. But the palate doesn't really seem sweet; it is fairly rich but it is bracing, too. Lovely freshness. Wonderful!

Barbeito Boal 1960 - label
Chalk and rancio, pruney. Obviously sweet (perhaps the only wine tonight that I can say that about), but with the wonderful cleansing bitterness of an espresso shot. Wonderful!

Barbeito Boal 1863 - label
Not a very expressive nose: scorched dust and malty like a Porter. Rich, but without the sweetness of the 1960, wonderfully lively with a citric laser cutting through the sweetness. The scent was ok, but the palate was outstanding!

Barbeito Malvazia 1834 - label
A wonderful dry/anti-sweet smell of dried figs - one would need the literary skills of Joyce to describe this. Supreme intensity and the taste of figs continues on the palate; wonderful acidity that makes it seem dry and racy and moreish despite the RS and the richness and the supremely intense finish. Outstanding.

And finally we had a Cossart Gordon Bual Colheita 1995 which didn't really seem like Madeira at all: no real VA, it just smelled a bit of glue. The palate was sweet and lacked acidic definition. Not very enjoyable.

120 Days of Sonoma

2011-11-03T12:06:00.003+02:00

Geyser Peak Chardonnay Block Collection Water Bend 2009 - USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley
14% abv. As far as these oaky, rich Chardonnays go, this has been among the more palatable ones to my oakophobic palate. The scent has obvious Chardonnay aromas at first with some yellow plum and citrus, but the oak does start to interfere after about 10 mins open. From then on it only smells of toffee. It tastes of toffee, too, though it has good acidity. So why did I find this more palatable than most others obviously big and oaky Chardonnays? Because the oak didn't become nasty and bitter but stayed in the sweet end of the spectrum, so it didn't hurt going down. But neither did it bring me pleasure. This is a style of Chardonnay so far from my pleasure zone that I'm having difficulty stepping out of my boots to decide if this could be recommended to those who prefer something other than Chablisesque or Jurassic Chardonnay.

Geyser Peak Reserve Alexandre Meritage 2006 - USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley
19,78€; 14,5% abv; 70% Cab Sauv, 13% Merlot, 9% Malbec, 7% Petit Verdot & 1% Cab Franc. A scent of mint, coffee and ripeness. Quite chunky and tannic but so sweet and ripe in fruit that this certainly is not an austere wine. It's not a bad wine if you like a rich style of Bordeaux-blend, but I don't think it is one that will excite even fans of such a style.

Feudo di Santa Tresa Insieme 2010

2011-11-02T15:06:00.001+02:00

Feudo di Santa Tresa Insieme Nero d'Avola Sicilia IGT 2010
10,99€; 13% abv. Much space on the label is used to emphasize that there are no added sulfites in this wine. But that doesn't mean it would taste "natural". It seems like a pretty generic Southern red: ripe, rich, plummy fruit; some nice crunch on the palate, but overall rather unmemorable. Not something to spit out in disgust but neither is it something I'm dying to try again.

An unpdate on a favourite: Lapierre Raisins Gaulois 2010

2011-10-31T14:18:00.001+02:00

M. Lapierre Raisins Gaulois 2010
This cheap Gamay continues to impress and is one of the most frequently opened wines at our table because it is incredibly versatile gastronomically. A light and pure style of Gamay, none of that bubblegum awfulness, just pure fruit. Ripe but light, thirst quenching and enormously moreish. Lovely.

Fausto sold his soul to the oak-devil

2011-10-29T19:25:00.002+03:00

Trapiche Viña Fausto Orellana De Escobar Malbec 2007 - Argentina, Mendoza, Valle de Uco, La Consulta

29,90€; 14,5% abv. Jesus, this is boring! A completely anonymous wine, utterly lacking in personality. It doesn't lack oak, however. This is a complete failure as a wine because there are no grape based aromas, only oak based ones. Thick, too concentrated and too oaky palate that doesn't resemble wine very much at all. Aromatically uninteresting and unidentifiable from a million other wines made in a ripe, new French oak style; the palate is notable only for being loathsome and repugnant in its persistent oak flavours. I was actually hoping this would be slightly corked so the aftertaste wouldn't have been so long - alas, this last mercy was not to be, so the aftertaste was long and, as you probably guessed, dominated by oak. It never ceases to amaze me how some seem to find it a virtue to make something so unvinous from grapes. A failure as a wine and a failure as any drink purporting to bring pleasure. An excellent drink if you want to torture me with boredom, however.

Cosimo Maria Masini at Kämp Signé

2011-10-27T14:56:00.001+03:00

Cosimo Masini of the Tuscan "natural" wine estate Cosimo Maria Masini was in Helsinki yesterday, so with a group of wine lovers we convened at a new restaurant, Kämp Signé, for some of his wines and the great cuisine of Sami Tallberg.

First up was an amuse bouche of carrots that had undergone malolactic(?) fermentation. It was quite wonderful - sauerkraut but without cabbage!

The starter was grilled pumpkin with ricotta and ginger mint with roasted pumpkin seeds. A very meaty dish with just the right amount of richness from the flesh and ricotta that was refreshed by the mint and the roasted seeds.

We didn't have a white with these starters, but we had the Cosimo Maria Masini "Nicole" 2007 which is their unoaked 100% Sangiovese. And it was a fantastic pairing with the pumpkin. A very pure Sangiovese aroma, all cherry and sandalwood and, of course since unaoked, no oak-taint. This is fragrant and sexy like a Pinot Noir. Ripe but lively, crisply tannic, this is a joy to drink now though ideally it should be kept a few years. The brisk structure cut through the richness and meatiness of the pumpkin so that the pairing was greater than the sum of its parts - and even the parts themselves were outstanding.

The main course was pike perch and mussels in a creamy, almondy sauce. It sounds simple, and the tastes were indeed simple and plain - but the structure of the fish was cooked to perfection. I think it is shows the quality of the restaurant to make such a simple, even neutral dish so well.

And another sign of this restaurant's excellence is that they designed a dish so perfect for the Cosimo Maria Masini "Annick" 2010 which is an unoaked blend of Chardonnay and Sauvignon - two grapes I usually dislike! Yet the wine is really nice: all minerals and sea shells and lemon on the nose; the Chardonnay's richness shows well but the slight greenness of the Sauvignon complements it well. Here, these grapes don't clash, but co-operate. And it was wonderful how the Chablisesque aspects worked with the mussels yet the richer body worked with the creamy fish. Both the food and the wine had a split personality in a good way!

Dessert was a chocolate almond cake of supreme intensity that the Cosimo Maria Masini Vin Santo "Fedardo" 2004 cut through admirably. This was a dark brown, oxidative style - a style that I really like for Vin Santo. My preference is for Vin Santos with oxidation and just a teasing touch of sweetness; this, however, was VERY sweet. But it was balanced by the acid and the roasted and oxidative notes. Lovely stuff, despite my preferences usually being for something drier.

Great wines in one of the greatest new restaurants in Helsinki with great company and the winery owner and importer present to talk about the wines. What could be better?

L. Cosimo Masini, R. Jarno Malmberg, their importer here

Unknown composer of the day: Sebastián de Vivanco

2011-10-26T20:48:00.002+03:00

Sebastián de Vivanco (c.1551-1622) is IMO one of the great unknown composers of the Spanish Golden Age. He was a great melodist - and despite some great contrapuntal writing, it is the richness and sheer beauty of his melodic writing that immediately caught my attention. So why is he unknown? I suspect it is because of a contemporary also from Ávila, Tomás Luis de Victoria, who is - justly - considered one the greatest Renaissance giants has eclipsed him. But Vivanco isn't shamed at all in his company, as this motet Versa est in luctum shows:

Hacienda del Carche Jumilla VV 2008

2011-10-23T12:39:00.001+03:00

Bodegas Hacienda del Carche Jumilla Viñas Viejas 2008 - Spain, Murcia, Jumilla
18,89€; 15,5% abv; 50/50 Monastrell and Cabernet Sauvignon. Purplosity and quite a bit of toffee oak aromas. Dark fruit, very ripe, but strangely for one of such high alcohol, it doesn't seem raisiny. Very thick, generic dark fruit, perhaps a slight lift from the Cab, but overall the fruit seems just too ripe to really show any characteristics of either variety. Though hot on the finish, it is not nearly as bad as I expected from seeing 15,5% abv. A perfectly competently made wine at a fair price for someone whose tastes in wines are diametrically opposite to mine.

Schloss Saarstein Riesling Kabinett trocken 2008

2011-10-22T10:49:00.002+03:00

Schloss Saarstein Riesling Kabinett trocken 2008
c. 15€; 11% abv; 6 g/l RS; 8,4 g/l acidity. A pure enough, but ultimately rather unexciting scent of Riesling. Tart and charmless. Why almost only trockener styles are available in Finland remains a mystery to me since they are mostly wines lacking charm and balance.

Taylor's 1963-1995

2011-10-18T14:31:00.000+03:00

I was invited to a tasting of Taylor's Ports tonight. We started with a perfectly enjoyable Chip Dry White NV which was a little grapey and nutty aromatically; rich and rather too alcoholic and not really dry IMO but off-dry. But it was intriguing enough aromatically that I can imagine enjoying a very chilled glass or two even though it isn't really a fascinating wine.

The Vintage Port 1963 was outstanding. Light colour, but otherwise still youthful. Fresh red fruit, lingonberry and some cedar aromas would indicate an aged Port yet it was still so rich and sweet that it seems youthful. The finish lasts forever. Lovely balance. I would still prefer even more aged aromas; but even now it is wonderful.

The Vintage Port 1970 was a relative disappointment - though still a good wine. But after such an outstanding wine as the '63 what could not be a relative disappointment? It was darker in fruit tones than the '63 with a strong liquorice aroma. It was more monolithic and less lively than the older wine.

The Vintage Port 1977 was back on form. I have not been a fan of the '77s usually - my sample of such a small size as to make this meaningless has been of the formula: too sweet + too thin to counter the sweetness + too obviously alcoholic. Since everyone else has praised the Ports of this vintage, I can only conclude that every time a '77 has been opened in my presence, it has been a faulty wine in some un-obvious way. This Taylor's finally made me understand why this is such a beloved vintage. This was sublime! Great harmony between red and dark fruit, still very primary yet still complex. Sweet, rich, smooth, ripe but perfectly balanced though on the rich end of the spectrum. Lovely. And still very young.

The Vintage Port 1983 was a lighter style. The nose was quite simply sweet and sugary in a rather nondescript way. The palate was on the lighter side and perfectly balanced for a lighter port. Without the magisterial 1963 and 1977 in the same flight, I think this would have been a very good Port indeed. And this I think is the greatest problem in such tastings: "little" gems like this are so easily lost.

Then we compared two 1995 Quinta de Vargellas the first glass the normal and the second the Vinha Velha. The first was lovely, but in a style that brought to my mind Fonseca more than Taylor: blue flowers and great sweetness on the nose. The palate was less sweet and concentrated than what the nose promised. A very well balanced, but painfully young Port. I think this will be lovely. The VV however was IMO somehow off with burnt rubber aromas. It did have fans around the table however, so maybe my nose was off instead. But I was unable to enjoy it tonight.

Lastly we tried their LBV 2004 which was a perfectly decent drop: very primary fruit after these more aged examples, but there were nice tannins and enough acidity to counter the blueberry sweetness. A perfectly decent LBV. But of course it will suffer in the company of such legends.

Südsteiermark & Baden & Cos d'Estournel

2011-10-17T23:58:00.002+03:00

Blind starter:
Dr. Heger Ihringer Winkelberg Viognier trocken 2008 - Baden
Quite an interesting wine: peach, rosewater and mineral aromas; dry and quite steely, refreshing despite lowish acidity. Nice! I guessed Muscat.

Then we had a single blind flight of whites:
WG Skoff Original Gelber Muskateller 2010 - Eckberg, Gamlitz, Südsteiermark
Very mineral with a bit of green pea/sauvignon blanc -like aromas; very good minerality, fair acidity, very refreshing; doesn't have the boisterous aromatics of Muscat, but is still a very nice wine.

Weingut Erich&Walter Polz Gelber Muskateller 2010 - Grassnitzberg, Spielfeld,
Südsteiermark
This Gelber Muskateller was also aromatically quite different from any other Muscat I've had since it lacks grapeyness and a promise of sweetness; instead it is mineral and cool. Much like the Skoff except more delinated. Very nice!

Weingut Lackner-Tinnacher Sauvignon Blanc Welles Reserve 2008 - Gamlitz,
Südsteiermark
A strong aroma of peas/asparagus. Very rich, very ripe, very concentrated but at least in such a small tasting portion it seemed moreish, too. Very nice.

Weingut Sattlerhof Sauvignon Blanc Kranachberg 2008 - Gamlitz, Südsteiermark
Aromatically very similar to the Lackner-Tinnacher but with better delineation; more elegant and not quite so rich - but still within the world of the SB this is certainly at the richer end of the spectrum. Very nice.

Weingut Gross Privat 2007 - Ratsch an der Weinberg, Südsteiermark
18 months in Barrique and 14 g/l RS. These figures are about all I need to say about it. Oaky and flabby.

Weingut Raabe Silvaner Auslese trocken 2003 - St. Martin, Pfalz
Quite a neutral aroma: mineral and a bit citric with a steely rosewater aroma. Dry and steely. Nice!

Then we had a flight of Spätburgunder. I must confess that I found this flight quite disappointing: less oak would have made these all much more attractive.

Weingut Schätzle Spätburgunder Schelinger Kirchberg 2008 - Schelingen,
Kaiserstuhl, Baden
The cheapest of the set with an ex-cellar price of 13,50€. The light colour looks promising. But even though it only sees used barriques the oak overwhelms any Pinosity. Good grip, nice bright fruit, but too oaky.

Weingut Bercher Spätburgunder Burkheimer Feuerberg Grosses Gewächs 2007 - Burkheim,
Kaiserstuhl, Baden
33€ ex-cellar. Dark colour. Massive oak; smells like hot chocolate and toffee. Good acidity, however.

Weingut Bernhard Huber Spätburgunder Bienenberg ”R” 2006 - Malterdingen,
Breisgau, Baden
39€ ex-cellar. Lactic and oaky. Nicer palate: high acidity, bright red fruit; but, alas, the oak interferes on the aftertaste.

Weingut KH Johner Spätburgunder Bischoffinger Steinbuch "SJ" 2008 -
Vogtsburg-Bischoffingen, Kaiserstuhl, Baden
42€ ex-cellar; SJ = selection Johner. Oaky aroma, but this was the first of the flight where I sensed some genuine Pinosity behind the oak. Good intensity, high acidity, not as much oak interference as most others in the flight. Not a bad wine if you like a more oaky style of Pinot, but the price is just outrageous!

Weingut Salwey Spätburgunder Kirchberg GG 2008 - Oberrotweil, Kaiserstuhl,
Baden
44€ ex-cellar. Leafy Pinosity, quite a bit of oak, but it is better integrated than in the previous wines. Quite tight and high in acidity, with nice brightness. I can imagine this one improving and calming down enough to be to my taste in the future.

And finally we had two blind reds, Cos d'Estournel 1952 & 1990. Both were obviously Bordeaux on the first sniff. The '52 was quite tired but I still found much to enjoy (I admit to occasional vinous necrophilia): leaf and pencil shavings aroma; quite thin and tart palate. Not a showy wine.

The '90 was pleasantly aged (i.e. still vibrant; no hurry to drink up), classic pencil shaving aromas; dark fruit but no sense of the enormous ripeness that so many '90s have. Instead this is very refreshing. Lovely.

Domaine Treloar Tahi 2006

2011-10-17T01:56:00.001+03:00

Domaine Treloar Côtes du Roussillon Tahi 2006 - Côtes du Roussillon
About half Syrah, the rest Mourvèdre and Grenache. This sees quite a bit of new oak, but in this vintage it is already beginning to integrate well. The scent is quite lovely: lots of dark fruit, ripe but not sweet thanks to a welcome, tart, lingonberry aroma; masculine and burly but not aggressive - a gentle giant. A very lively palate, palate-cleansingly tannic, refreshing amounts of acidity, concentrated and heavy, but never too much. I think this is a great wine, but it does need a few more years to calm down.

The nasty side of "natural" wine

2011-10-15T19:35:00.003+03:00

Château Côtes des Caris Bordeaux Blanc Sec 2010
12% abv. Bio-certified. But that isn't always a sign of quality: this wasn't a very good wine. The smell is rather neutral with a bit of coconut aromas. The palate is tart and dry and neutral until the finish which tastes a little bit like soap. Not very enjoyable.

Rousset-Peyraguey Talitha Jeunesse 2010
11,5% abv. Biodynamically farmed, not yet eligible for certification. Interestingly, though from a Sauternes-producer, this wine doesn't have an appellation on the label, instead it has the text "Vin sans indication géographique". Since I have really loved the producer's sweet wines, I am saddened to have to say that this dry one wasn't very good at all. It smells of honey and fruit gone off. The palate starts out gentle and slightly sweetish but something unclean comes out at the end. Not IMO a good "natural" wine at all. Which is such a shame as their sweeties can be outstanding.

A mushroom re-classified with a Riesling

2011-10-10T22:16:00.001+03:00

Yesterday we had a pleasantly decadent dinner of what I thought was a chanterelle pie, made from a late appearing type formerly called Cantharellus tubaeformis, but now re-classified as Craterellus tubaeformis. It is a very pleasant mushroom, quite mild and very like the common chanterelle in both appearance and taste - so it's easy to understand why it was previously classified as Cantharellus.

The pie was simple: just a bit of dough, then enormous amounts of mushroom with a small amount of parsley and parmigiano on top - best to keep things simple with these tasty but mild mushrooms IMO.

And with it, I opened the last of my Peter Jakob Kühn Riesling "Jacobus" 2010s. A dry, pure wine with crystallized citrus fruit aromas and delightfully high acidity without becoming charmless like so many trockeners. This might just be my favourite cheap white I've had all year. And of course since mushrooms work with all wines and Riesling works with all foods, it was a wonderful match. I'm sure there are worse ways to spend Sundays that picking mushrooms and making pies out of them!

Treloar La Terre Promis 2010 & Le Secret 2008

2011-10-09T21:12:00.001+03:00

Domaine Treloar Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes La Terre Promise 2010
13% abv. Grenache gris, Macabeu & Carignan blanc. Quite a lovely scent. A bit of oak, but not disturbingly so. A mixture of chlorine, cellery and vanilla - it smells much better than what I write here; it is a VERY attractive scent. (Was it Pythagoras who wrote that the whole is not the sum of its parts?) Quite rich but with wonderful acidity and liveliness. Very nice.

Domaine Treloar Côtes du Roussillon Le Secret 2008
13,5%. A Syrah-based blend. A ripe, perhaps touch reductive, lactic and oaky scent. Once it opens up the scent is all about figs and pepper. Lively but powerful and thick. A good wine, but I did prefer the Motus (Mourvèdre based blend). Needs time.

So a few final comments now that I have tasted through the range I ordered. Treloar is a great producer. These are wines I want to put into my cellar. They are pure and lively and though a couple of them show a bit more oak than perhaps ideal, the oak never obfuscates the purity of fruit - not even for one as oak allergic as me. I would feel confident in cellaring even the more oaky ones like Tahi, and still feel that they will turn out very much to my taste. I think I must order more.

Alkoholin vähittäismyyntimonopoli purettava

2011-10-07T12:00:00.003+03:00

Me allekirjoittaneet viinibloggaajat vastustamme alkoholin vähittäismyynnin monopolijärjestelmää ja esitämme sen purettavaksi. Jaamme ajatuksen monopolin kilpailua vääristävästä luonteesta ja kulttuuria kuihduttavasta vaikutuksesta.

Katsomme, että monopoli on kuluttajalle kallis ja suljettuna järjestelmänä altis väärinkäytöksille. Monopolijärjestelmä edustaa poikkeamaa hyväksi havaitusta suomalaisesta käytännöstä, joka perustuu lainkäytön oikeudenmukaisuuteen, läpinäkyvyyteen ja kohtuullisuuteen.

Paheksumme politiikkaa, jossa yhteiskunnassa esiintyvien alkoholiongelmien ratkaisuna ylläpidetään monopolin keinoin kaikkiin kuluttajiin kohdistuvia rajoitteita, jotka hankaloittavat tavallisen kuluttajan elämää kykenemättä ratkaisemaan itse ongelmaa.

Haluamme viinikirjoittajina romuttaa kohdallamme myytin monopolijärjestelmän nauttimasta suosiosta viinin harrastajien parissa.

Kirjoitus on julkaistu samanaikaisesti seuraavilla sivuistoilla.

Viinipiru
Arto Koskelo

Rypäleistä viis
Mikko Ruuhonen

Viini-Virén
Johan Lindberg

Repository of useless information
Otto Nieminen

ViiniTV
Ilkka Sirén

Viinijano
Janne Salo

Aleksimehtonen
Aleksi Mehtonen

Kampanjan yhteyteen on perustettu myös Facebook-sivusto, Monopoliton perjantai, jossa kuka tahansa voi ottaa osaa tapahtumaan pidättäytymällä monopolista ostettujen tuotteiden nauttimisesta kuluvan päivän aikana.

Domaine Treloar Motus 2009

2011-10-07T09:55:00.001+03:00

My exploration of Domaine Treloar's range continues with their fantastic Mourvèdre-based Motus 2009. 80% Mourvèdre and 10% each of Syrah and Grenache; it spends two years in oak of which 20% was new.

And though the oak is apparent, I still thought this was a fantastic wine. Dark, slightly gamy fruit; lovely tanginess and grip on the palate but friendly, fruity and moreish rather than too structured. Really lively and refreshing despite being a big wine (14% abv). Though obviously young and ideally needing more age and despite my oak allergies, I thought this was fantastically drinkable already!

But why the oak? I am confident - since this is such a young wine - that it will fade, but why did this wine need (or did it?) such an amount of oak that it is at all noticeable? Is there some reason, other than aesthetic, for the 20% new oak?

Romantic Music

2011-10-05T15:31:00.001+03:00

I've been playing Renaissance and Baroque music since I was tiny. Now that I'm all grown-up, perhaps I should start playing some Romantic music...

Another almost-Pinot Noir from Slovenia

2011-10-04T23:58:00.002+03:00

Burja (Primož Lavrenčič) Pinot Noir Old Vines 2009 - Slovenia, Primorska, Vipava Valley
13,5% abv. 22 months in oak; and it shows. But the Pinosity is lovely underneath. The palate starts out in a lovely fashion with nervous Pinosity and it's all lovely until the finish where a slight toffee character from the oak begins to dominate. Perhaps time will correct the oak. I certainly hope so, since the Pinosity is so exquisite.

Domaine Treloar One Block Muscat & Grenache

2011-10-03T23:39:00.001+03:00

Domaine Treloar Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes One Block Muscat 2010
13% abv. Quite a nice aroma, but a bit surprising since the first smell of it seemed more like Sauvignon Blanc than Muscat! There was a sharpness and grassiness to the scent initially. It did become more typical Muscat with some time open, and a very nice Muscat it was too: not only grapey in its aromas but with lovely minerality. Really nice palate, too, with a lighter body, higher acidity and more prominent minerality than most other examples of dry Muscat I have had. Nice, but not IMO on the level their reds I have so far tried.

Domaine Treloar Côtes du Roussillon One Block Grenache 2009
14% abv; 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre. A ripe, slightly sugary aroma (warm year, I guess) but otherwise wonderfully pure, garriguey Grenache aroma. Nicely structured and refreshing and light for Grenache. Long, refreshing finish. I love how this wine manages to have all the sweet allure of the main grape yet still have such vivacity and moreishness. Very nice.

Domaine Treloar Tahi 2007

2011-10-02T23:25:00.000+03:00

Domaine Treloar Côtes du Roussillon Tahi 2007 - Côtes du Roussillon
14% abv. 55% Syrah, Mourvèdre 27% & Grenache 18%. 18 months in French oak of which 55% was new. This has strong aromas of new oak and dark fruit. It doesn't seem very promising for one as quercophobic as I, but air does improve it. The fruit underneath the oak seems to be of excellent quality: ripe and savoury but in no way jammy. The palate is now in a better place than the scent since I don't find the oak so overpowering. Good tannins, very pure fruit, refreshing and savoury though not lacking in ripeness. I think this might turn out to become something I would like with age, but frankly I do have trouble with such amounts of new oak now. Needs age.

Domaine Treloar Le Ciel Vide 2009

2011-10-01T11:56:00.001+03:00

Domaine Treloar Le Ciel Vide 2009 - Côtes du Roussillon
14% abv; unoaked from Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Carignan. Though it does have a little bit of a candied character suggestive of the hot vintage, this is isn't at all raisiny or overdone and is actually a very refreshing and moreish wine. Dark, sweet and gamey fruit; sweet and ripe but refreshing palate. A very attractive wine.

Domaine Treloar Three Peaks 2008

2011-09-30T15:12:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-29T23:57:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-28T21:23:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-28T14:10:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-28T00:17:00.001+03:00

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

2011-09-26T01:07:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-24T13:58:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-22T23:55:00.001+03:00

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

2011-09-21T12:08:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-20T20:01:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-19T11:52:00.001+03:00

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

2011-09-16T15:43:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-14T21:36:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-11T18:10:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-09T19:44:00.000+03:00

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!

2011-09-06T15:01:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-06T12:37:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-06T00:04:00.000+03:00

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?

2011-09-05T23:58:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-04T21:37:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-03T10:13:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-02T20:19:00.000+03:00

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

2011-09-02T14:14:00.000+03:00

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!

Logan Sauvignon Blanc 2010

2011-08-31T12:54:00.000+03:00

Logan Sauvignon Blanc 2010 - Australia, New South Wales, Central Ranges, Orange
17,82€; 11,5%. According to the blurb, Orange is one of the coolest wine regions of Australia. I can easily believe that from this wine. This has an almost aggressive aroma, slightly reminiscent of jalopeño, mineral and citric. High acidity, pleasantly austere and elegant: it is neither an over-ripe, tropical style nor a painfully green one. I am not a great fan of Sauvignon Blanc, but to me this was one of the more palatable ones.

Blauer Wildbacher, Blauer Muskateller, Helios, Johanniter, Blauer Sylvaner, Freisamer - the unknown Germany!

2011-08-29T21:56:00.000+03:00

Ever heard of grapes like Johanniter or Helios or Blauer Muskateller? Well neither had I until a friend over here, who travels often in Germany and Austria, invited me to a tasting with these strange, little grown grapes.

We started with a couple glasses of fizz:

Lazarus Prickelndes Gold Brut 2008 - label
From the Blauer Wildbacher grape. Yeasty and herbaceous aroma, a bit of bread; very high acidity as is typical for the grape, but it isn't an acid mouthwash but instead leaves an attractive taste of fresh berries. I liked this very much.

Weingut Georgiberg Blauer Muskateller Brut 2010 - Südsteiermark; label
A rosé fizz made from a very rare grape, otherwise only grown a little in Italy and Greece. A strongly grapey scent, very obviously Muscat. The palate, though labeled Brut, seems gentle and slightly sweet. Lacking nervosity, simple.

Then we tried a group of strange white wines:

Weingut Stelzer Portugieser Blanc de Noirs 2010 - Alzey-Heimersheim, Rheinhessen; label
A very neutral, simple wine. Easy. And easily forgettable though not unpleasant.

Weingut Ewald Ruppert Helios Prichsenstadter Krone Kabinett trocken 2010 - Prichsenstadt, Franker; label
A rather Sauvignon Blanc -like aroma of nettles. Crisp and racy; nice, simple quaffer for the 4,60€ this costs ex-cellar

Weingut Ewald Ruppert Johanniter Prichsenstadter Krone Kabinett trocken 2010 - Prichsenstadt, Franker; label
Quite a neutral aroma but slightly reminsicent of Riesling, appley. Nice enough body, but still a bit neutral. But you can't ask for much for a wine that costs 5€ ex-cellar. But I do understand why it isn't grown much.

Weingut Abril Blauer Sylvaner Kabinett trocken "Versuchsanbau" 2010 - Bischoffigen, Kaiserstuhl, Baden; label
Smells of rose-water and steel. Crisp, rather neutral, steely.

Weingut Bernhard Huber "Malterer" 2009 - Malterdingen, Breisgau, Baden; label
A 50-50 blend of Weissburgunder and Freisamer. Tons of oak; smells like it tries too hard to be fancy and grand. Bitter oak follows on the palate. Not one to my liking, though a hit around the table.

After these mostly cheap and neutral whites we had some serious reds:

Weingut Meyer-Näkel Us de la meng 2009 - Dernau, Ahr; label
70% Spätburgunder, 30% Dornfelder. A bit sweaty and reductive but becomes an attractive, unoaky wine with lots of red berry aromas. Crisp and refreshing palate, juicy. Nice!

Johner Estate Cabernet, Merlot & Malbec 2009 - Wairarapa, NZ; label
A NZ ringer, tasted blind I thought this was Australian. Lush, oaky, tarry and smells of mulberry jam. Thick, tarry, creamy. Nice, I imagine, if you like Barossa!

Domäne Müller Der Cabernet Franc 2008 - Ottenberg; label
This was one I really liked. Also served blind. It had a lovely leafy, savoury and even sharp scent, smells like cherry, juniper and sandalwood so I guessed it was unspoofy Chianti. Crisp and savoury, great vitality and strong structure. Lovely.

Weingut Pöckl Rêve de Jeunesse 2007 - Mönchhof, Neusiedlersee; label
40% Merlot, 20% Zweigelt, 20% Cab Sauv, 20% Syrah. Oaky, creamy, dark fruit - anonymous. Very tannic, maybe so much so that this is over-extracted. Not very enjoyable.

Weingut Heinrich Blaufränkisch Alter Berg 2007 - Gols, Neusiedlersee; label
Soft, a little bit jammy fruit, plenty of oak; sweet fruit, good structure, but seems to be playing it safe. Good but not too exciting.

Weingut Weninger Pinot Noir Kalkofen 2005 - Horitschon, Mittelburgenland; label
Nice beetroot aromas, peachy, some oak. Sweet and some Pinosity but there seems to be a touch of dirtiness to it (oak? some not quite prime grapes? - I don't know). Attractive despite that strange dirtiness. I wouldn't mind drinking this again.

Weingut Kollwentz Steinzeiler 2005 - Grosshöflein, Neusiedlersee-Hügelland; label
80% Blaufränkisch, the rest Cab Sauv and Zweigelt. Nice aroma, slightly leafy, some coffee bean oak aromas. Sweet fruit, upright structure, nice freshness. Nice though does need time for the oak to integrate.

Finally while cleaning up we shared a decent Pinot:
Weingut Jurtschitsch-Sonnhof Pinot Noir 2006 - Kamptal; label
Nice pinosity, quite sweet and slick, though, perhaps a touch oaky. Full body and sweet, well structured but could have been a bit lighter on its feet. Maybe a few years will do good for it?