This was a great way to welcome in the weekend.
Meerlust Rubicon is sumptuous , packed with fruit so fresh for 2006, young, full balanced ,cassis ,long long finish
a must buy , and Wandercurtis must do a SA tasting!
Author Archives: WanderCurtis
La Tradizione Fattoria Poggiopiano – Chianti Classico 2006
It was with great pleasure that I took delivery of 2 cases of my stock of Wine Society reserves.
This stunning Chianti Classico is packed full of fruit but has a long-lasting toasty/tarry liquorice finish
Highly recommended .
New Zealand annual tasting
This was another fantastic tasting at Lords. Highlights included Craggy Range, Felton Road, and Bell Hill.
A really marvellous Botrytis Gewurztraminer from Nobilo. Some delicious crisp rieslings, and a beautiful Cloudy Bay Te Koko.
Great to meet with my old Theatre Nurse colleague from the Blenheim days Barbara Lawson and try her lovely pinots.
Pleasantly surprised also by the Pinot Gris. Quite a few on the WanderCurtis February shopping list.
Great Argentinian malbecs in March 2013
Malbec has found its home in Argentina, producing powerful, aromatic, dark coloured robust wines. We were delighted to have Guillaume Raffy present his families wines which originate from the Tupungato region of Mendoza adjacent to the Andes.
Bodega Raffy has recently been awarded with a Decanter regional trophy for the best Argentinian Malbec. The vineyard is at 3,500 feet, with a sunny, dry climate fed by waters from the Andes glaciers, perfect conditions for this award winning Malbec.
We tasted the Cuvée Terroir and the Reserva Red There were other surprise wines on the night.
The tasting was served with a two course dinner including the finest Argentinian steak, at the Argentinian restaurant The Bull Steak Expert. The executive chef is Daniel Veron who was the youngest head chef in Argentina.
Wines of Spain with Master of Wine Mike Ritchie
Here is the selection of wines we tasted at our January wine tasting:
Rias Baixas, Maior de Mendoza Albarino 2010
Excellent producer of the same name, and from the exceptional 2010 vintage, MdM has an extra complexity from six months on its lees. Pithy citrus notes of grapefruit and lusher soft stone fruits, and a firm backbone of tense minerality. Very good indeed!
Rueda, S Vina Mayor Rueda 2011
Unoaked 100% Verdejo. A lot better than a standard Rueda blend, which will have been padded out with Viura. Racy and tingling acidity, pitched half way between the angular zest of a Sauv and the textural richness of a Chard.
Ribera del Duero, Sembro 2011
Newest vintage just in. Sembro is the first wine on the ladder from an immaculate estate run by sherry house Osborne right next door to Pesquera and Hacienda de Monasterio, in the ‘golden mile’ of the denominacion. A lightly oaked – four months – red that is an ideal intro to the weighty and tasty wines of the area. 100% Tinto Fino, it has a pleasing wild fruit character and rusticity, satisfying and full-bodied.
Toro Vina Mayor, the Toro 2008
Many Toros are brusque and uncompromising, a product of a baking hot, continental climate in NW Spain. VM Toro presents a more suave take on the region. Ten months in oak, 100% Tinto de Toro (another locally adapted Tempranillo synonym). A cultured and well-judged Toro with bags of flavour but tamed and house-trained!
Priorat Akyles young vine, 2008
From a wild and wacky tiny estate near Falset in DO Priorat, run by father and daughter operation Josep and Silvia Puig. This is from their young vine Garnacha, and it has plenty of the trademark Priorat licorella, graphite-rich minerality, along with bags of exuberant Garnacha black fruit juiciness.
Rioja, Bai Gorri Crianza
Excellent modernist Crianza 2007 Rioja from new(ish) estate Bai Gorri in Rioja Alavesa near Laguardia. The winery, shades of Ernst Stavro Blofeld’s lair, has to be seen to be believed! The wine is excellent, with French oak in the ageing, and comes from a blend of old vine Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano sourced from a variety of local growers in high, cool Alavesa sites near the winery. Overall, a polished, classy and satisfying mouthful of wine.
Sherry (flor-aged) Fino Inocente
A classic from Valdespino, this oak-aged 100% Palomino base wine comes from the top-rated albariza-soil Macharnudo vineyards. The solera is old and established, and the wine is not bottled until about 7/8 years after harvest, once the ‘scales’ have been run at least 8/9 times. The tangy and intense aperitif sherry is almost a Fino-Amontillado as it has tested the limits of the blanketing flor’s viability over a longer period than any other Fino around.
Montilla-Moriles Alvear PX Anada
Pudding wine from arch exponents Alvear. Their PX Anada 2008 is lush and pure and very sweet, but it is all in the service of the wine. Only Rutherglen muscats get close to this intensity.
Peter Lehmann ‘The Futures’ Shiraz 2008 Barossa
Deep flavoured, concentrated, intense shiraz, full of spice, liquorice and black fruits. Lovely balance, silky tannins and long finish.
Found in Iceland! at the seafood grill Reykjavic, managed to buy half a case. N/A UK. Please contact me, I may part with a tasting sample!
Berry Bro’s & Rudd Ltd Extra Ordinary Claret 2009
Produced for Berry by Jean-Michel Cazes, this is an elegant claret, packed with juicy black fruits and cassis with a lovely balanced finish. Perfect for Christmas day lunch and great value at £12 (though 2010 now available – also a fantastic Bordeaux vintage).
Brane-Cantenac vertical tasting with Corinne Conroy
Tasting 11 consecutive years of the Chateau’s grand vin, this event was a fantastic walk through the last decade of Bordeaux vintages, but the evening’s real revelation was the remarkable consistency of character and quality that the wines showed, through these varied times.
Kiran’s tasting notes:
2001: Heady mix of perfume, sandalwood and spice on the nose, lovely savoury and complex flavours in the mouth, fruit & cedar. Delicious, fresh and lively finish. Gorgeous.
2002: Quite closed at first on the nose, some floral hints, opening up after decanting to give delicate mature nose of earth and forest floor, on the palate medium body tasty and rounded.
2003: On the nose baked fruits and some earth and wood, in the mouth more fruit and spice but with enough acidity and lift.
2004: Slowly opening up with floral notes, sandal wood, beginnings of forest floor, lovely silky mouthful of black fruit tart, savoury, balanced, fresh and long. The gem of the evening. As with all of the wines tonight, a haunting perfume characteristic of the Chateaux lingers on in the empty glass. Wow!
2005: A little tight on the nose, sweet green pepper then opening up with blackcurrant, spice and cedar. In the mouth more fruit and a touch of spice. Quite concentrated with nice integrated tannins and great freshness. Still a tightly coiled spring.
2006: Needed decanting, sweet floral and fruity core then a whiff of hoisin sauce on the nose. Concentrated flavours of black fruit and bit of toast on the palate, again compact, packed with nice tannins.
2007: A floral nose with sweet fruit, lighter bodied than the previous wines but with nice red fruits and a few savoury notes, cool and clean.
2008: After decanting and some coaxing revealing some classic black fruit and cedar on the nose, but characteristically of these wines as if delivered from a perfume vaporiser making it delicate and sensual. Medium body, with nice fruit and some savoury notes. Amazing how this wine has evolved into such an enjoyable experience from the awkward and unfriendly barrel sample I tasted EP 4 years ago.
2009: At first not as expressive as last time I tasted this wine (Corrine says it is beginning to close down for a period). After decanting and some air, ripe fruit, flowers a touch of toast, lots of everything making a heady nose. On the palate lovely silky body, lots of fruit with enough savoury notes and a super crisp balance. Remains refined even though a bigger wine. Lovely!
2010: Wow! This wine has an intense yet somehow delicate perfumed nose, violets, red currants. Just a touch of cigar box, the vaporiser is working overtime on this one. Then in the mouth really concentrated, again silky but with strong backbone of tannin. The Chateau seems to really sing in this vintage, hitting equilibrium between refinement and substance. Outstanding!
2011: This wine really impressed. Side by side with the 2010, one could appreciate just how close in quality it is to that great vintage. Similar perfumed delicate nose, a nice sweetness and silky on the palate, with fresh red fruits and a hint of toast, good acidity. Really fine.
Brane-Cantenac is a second growth from the original 1855 Bordeaux wine classification of 1855 in the Margaux appelation. In 1922 it was acquired by the Lurton family and in 1992 control passed to Lucien Lurton’s son, Henri Lurton. Brane-Cantenac’s vineyards lie on fine, gravelly soils, grapes include Cabernet Sauvignon (55%), Merlot (40%), Cabernet Franc (4.5%), and Carmenere (0.5%)
Brane Cantenac wines are available widely. The wonderful 2009 vintage is still vavailable from Nickolls and Perks at a good price http://www.nickollsandperks.co.uk/product.asp?product=NPCS19452
The superb 2004 and older vintages from Fine & Rare: http://www.frw.co.uk/searchWines.aspx?keywords=Brane+Cantenac+2009&sid=4&FRS=ws
The evening was in the private room at Bistro Aix, Crouch End, with a tantalizing selection of French classic cuisine. http://www.bistroaix.co.uk/
Buitenverwachting ‘Christine’ 2008
Excellent South African Bordeaux blend from the marvellous Swig.
One of eight Swig wines tasted at our wine quiz night for 120 this week.
Perfumed, cassis, savoury notes, fresh acidity, smooth texture and length. A real pleasure.
Brane Cantenac vertical tasting brainstorm
On Saturday November 9th, we held a brainstorm at the Curtis household on how to serve 11 consecutive vintages of Lurton’s marvellous Brane Cantenacs. A Smaragd Wachau Riesling kindly hidden from the night before and the Soli pinot provided the inspiration for the daring format. (Advice from Michael Schuster and Mike Ritchie MW not withheld.)
It was to be:
- Round 1: 2001 v 2008 ( age and elegance)
- Round 2: 2010 v 2011 ( Blockbuster V stuggling vintage – or so we thought)
- Starter: terrine pate with Brane 2004
- Round 3: 2003 v 2006 v 2007 ( hot years, cool years )
- Main: confit of canard with 2002 ( or meant to be)
- Round 4: 2005 v 2009 (blockbuster years)
Served as above and the crowd loved it. Lurtons optical sorter at nearly half a million Euro threw us with the 2011 v 2010.
The lovely Corinne from Brane helped the evening flow, and it would have been the perfect night except for the taxi driver dropping her at Charing Cross Hospital not Hotel!
Apologised profusely at the UGC tasting at the Royal Opera House on the 12th November and may well have sorted a joint Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte-Chateau Coutet tasting for WanderCurtis for 2013. Roll on the New Year, we will keep delivering.
WanderCurtis Wine 