If you fancy a real treat this summer you must try this or treat your friends! A delicious champagne, very creamy, almost vanilla ice cream, tight compact bubbles, plenty of fruit and great length. Winston Churchill’s favourite, and you will see why. Currently on discount from Majestic Wine.
Author Archives: WanderCurtis
Barrel tasting in Bordeaux
My French became fluent after a 1967 St Estephe a 1974 St Julien and a 1999 Pomerol raided from my Aunt’s cellar in Castets-en-Dorthe to celebrate her 60th birthday. The red wine has kept her young – she’s not looking a day over 40!
Exquisite foie gras/magrets du canard, saucisson, fromages of every type, baguettes, masses of decanted Bordeaux reds, a rampant log fire and the party was on. A delight to meet Jean-Luc Magnac, local winemaker of Passavant – a port style wine made from Merlot. This was beautiful, normally aged 18 months, but he reckons the 2010 vintage is so good it didn’t need the ageing.
The following day, I drove to local vineyard to barrel taste the magnificent 2010 vintage. Tried cab sav/merlot and malbec from the barrel – great colour depth and concentration. The cab sav was a little green peppery, but was assured this is a whopping vintage. Another year to dig deep for the en primeur sale.
The wine flowed all weekend and finished with a harmonica blues duo in cercle du concorde in Castets.
Vina Esmerelda, Torres 2010
A lovely mixture of muscat and gewurtztraminer from Spain. Well balanced with plenty of acidity and lush honeysuckle aromatic flavours. Fresh and lively on the palate, great as an aperitif or with delicately spiced food. Fantastic value, £5.99 at Majestic.
Jim Barry, The Lodge Hill 2008 Shiraz Clare Valley
International wine challenge gold, 2010. Brilliant value, 14.5%, deep dark garnet colour. Robust aromas of rasberry, coffee, cherry, mulberry, chocolate and liquorice. Fine to open on Monday pm and enjoy as the week progresses. In fact, it opens up over a few days, gradually revealing sensual ripe sweet tannins. This wine is packed with the lot and is remniscent of the far costlier Jim Barry McRae Wood, which is also excellent. This is a bargain 20% off at Majestic, down to £7.99. (I may have snapped up Majestic’s stock, but it is also available through other merchants – check out www.wine-searcher.com
Grand Cru and Premier Cru Burgundy tasting
Winter warmer burgundy and boeuf bourgignon. A fantastic evening hosted by Stuart Grostern.
Round 1:
- Jean Chauvenet Nuits St Georges Les Damodes 1er Cru 2001
- Jean Chauvenet Nuits St Georges Les Damodes 1er Cru 2002
The 2001 was a little oxidised, either a faulty bottle or past its best, the 2002 fresher.
Round 2:
The hearty bourgignon was served with a Louis Jadot premier cru Savigny les beaune les vergelesses. I’ve tried this yearly since what I thought was a disappointing start. This was beginning to open up and reveal the benefits of being patient, something I don’t possess in abundance, as Kiran kept reminding me!
Round 3:
- AC Bourgogne Olivier Leflaive with a premier and grand cru
- Drouhin-Laroze Chappelle Chambertins Grand Cru 2002
- Nicolas Potel, Clos de la Roche, Grand Cru 2003
- Hubert de Montille Pommard Les Pezerolles 1er Cru 2003
- Ghislaine Barthod Chambolles Musigny les Chatelots 1er Cru 2004.
For me, this evening demonstrated the unpredictability of burgundy. You may have something knockout with an animalistic almost hormonal quality you can’t put in words. It may be fresh, fruity, raspberry, black cherry. It may be pure horseradish or tinned asparagus. Mushrooms/earth,compost, wet mouldy cloths, moss.
I suppose that’s the beauty of it .
Felton Road pinot noir, Bannockburn 2009
Blair Walters winemaker believes this could be the best vintage ever at Felton Road. One sniff of this and you can see why. Lush perfume, flowers, rose petals, violets. Very precise, clean, beautiful finish, an absolute gem, as are the others (Cornish Point/block 3), but harder to find here. I tried the range at Felton Road two weeks ago. Available at Farr Vintners. Some stock at Tesco fine wine for £25 per bottle – one for a special occasion.
Pinots of Central Otago New Zealand wine tasting trip – December 2010
I can’t imagine a more beautiful place in the world to have a vineyard – just awesome. Steep mountain ranges, valley floors, gorges, glacial waters of the Kawarau river, a fusion of light and landforms.
Aaron, Kiwi wine lover and psychologist and I started on our quest for the finest pinot in Central Otago at Bald Hills in Cromwell. Owner Blair Hunt showed us his lovely collection, after a long day on the road from earhquake hit Christchurch, via lunch at Riverside Kitchen.
The newly opened wine trail bike route in the Gibbston valley provided the ideal oppurtunity to explore Perigrine wines and Amisfield. More examples of superbly made beautiful, fruit filled sensuous pinots.
Day 3 was the highlight. We met Alan Brady, who planted the first vines in the Gibbston valley over 30 years ago and was the instigator for the wine boom here. After the initial embarrassment of not having his recently released book ‘Pinot Central’ but the one by John Saker, we were treated to a delightful tour. First of Gibbston Valley Winery then Mount Edward, followed by lunch in the sun. Surprised myself by ordering a rosé. Not normally much of a fan, these are 100% pinot and just delicious, with the most vibrant floral nose and supremely balanced palate that I am at last a convert to these rather unpopular numbers.
Alan is a true gent, humble for a man who has achieved so much here. He also rang ahead for us to arrange a tour of Rippon Valley wines in Wanaka the following day.
Off then to Felton Road and unfortunately just missed much talked about charismatic owner Nigel Greening. However had a tour and tried the wines.
The Holy Grail was found after four days of searching and 20,000km with four flight changes. All had been worth it. The passion/organic/biodynamic/terroir all came through to deliver a palatal treat – a real assault on the senses – wines gushing with fruit, flowers and complexity and something unquantifiable. The sense that a perfect harmony was present – bottled beauty!
While Block 3 was particularly good, we loved them all. Well done to Felton Road, and after this nothing really mattered (except Man Utd seeing off Arsenal the following day!) We still had some stamina, and well worth it too as Jane Docherty from Carrick was a great hostess to the fine wines of Carrick.
A great trip and now have the ammunition for a “Best of Kiwi Pinot” WanderCurtis tasting in the early summer!
Masi Costasera Amarone 2006
Delicious, full bodied, liquorice on the nose, deep purple, sweet aromas, dried prunes, long finish, soft tannins. An early Christmas present. Will be a great treat over the holiday season! Tesco wines, £21.84 per bottle.
Vina Patricia Gaucho
Unfortunately only available at Gauchos restaurant or their wine shop in Piccadilly (Cavas De Gauchos), just gorgeous, smooth, full bodied, chocolatey, fantastic Malbec from Argentina. Shared in Gaucho Manchester with my sister Berlinda who quite brilliantly summed it up, “This wine is a meal in itself!” So true, but didn’t complain when the ribeye arrived!
Cloudy Bay Pelorus
A delicious sparkler, right up there with quality champagne. Made the same way, with two years on lees. Wonderful, chalky, yeasty, full of fizz and joy. Veuve Cliquot own Cloudy Bay. Currently on special at Majestic.
WanderCurtis Wine 