Another fine effort from talented Chilean winemaker Ignacio Recabarren.
This is a great value pinot. In fact you won’t find a better quality pinot for £6. Available from The Wine Society and other outlets. We tried the Concha y Toro Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon the same evening and all are amazing for the price.
Author Archives: WanderCurtis
An introduction to wine tasting – St Michaels, Highgate
A superb night of wine education and tasting for the St Michaels School Association (SMSA). Four rounds of three wines 80 people. Included Domaine Varoilles Gevrey Chambertin 2000. Excellent crowd and a lot of money raised at the auction.
The Coffee pinotage – Diemersfontein pinotage 2008 South Africa
It came as a great shock… initially full bodied, fruity, then secondary wooded chocolatey overtones. But the big surprise a few seconds after swallowing was a clear, lengthy taste of roasted coffee lasting a good five seconds. A real treat of a wine and very unusual. Only £8.00 at Waitrose.
Leoville Barton and Langoa Barton vertical tasting
We had some great feedback from a very exclusive crowd of 20 north London wine lovers who attended our first tasting last week. Seasoned wine collectors and those keen to learn more seemed to enjoy the evening equally, not least Adam and me.
We managed to get together a selection of 11 wines from Chateau Leoville Barton and Langoa Barton spanning from ’88 through to ’04. Wines were served in pairs blind to compare the chateaus, youthful and aged wines and high scoring vintages with lesser.
Starting with a ’98 of each, we were disappointed by how dumb and uninteresting they were. The 2000’s, ’01s and ’02s were all good but hard to tell apart. This in spite of the highs score of the Leoville ’00 and the price premium that both ’00s command over the ’01s and ’02s. Perhaps they are all a bit young and time will allow the ’00s to stride ahead?
The 1988 Leoville was fully evolved with earthy notes and just enough fruit left, all together lovely. The evening finished with a ’96 Leoville which was equally gorgeous and complex but more vigorous and substantial.
The surprise star of the evening however was Langoa ’97 with notes of sweet pepper, a compact core and long middle palate, which is drinking beautifully now in spite of being unloved by the ciritcs. The Langoa ’04 was also noteworthy. Although young, it was smokey, cassis and vanilla rich and showed lots of promise.
List of wines
- Leoville: ’88, ’96, ’98, ’00, ’01, 02
- Langoa: ’97, ’98, ’00, ’01, ’04
Christmas in Hook Norton
Wish I was chez Franz!
My brother in law ‘forgot’ the wine supply. Luckily dad’s wine came to the rescue and we rather guiltily raided his dwindling store of Imperial 2001 Reserva Rioja, Spain.
A lovely intense palate of red berry fruits with spices and sweetness of French and American oak. Went down very well with forerib of beef in horseradish butter.
Mince pies were washed down with Bimbadgen 2006 botrytised semillion. This is delicious and lush, full of honey dried fruits and that joyful botrytis finish. Phil promised to bring the Mouton next year!
Fortnum and Mason Verget du Sud 2007 Syrah (Christmas hamper)
A surprise gift from Dr Ranald Davidson following our Ramsay treat. It was with some anticipation that I opened the Fortnum and Mason Verget du Sud 2007 Syrah when dad popped in, impromptu, following the birth of my new nephew Rafael Leon.
Phew! What a nose! Musty, mossy, like a newly struck match… sulphur. How did they get away with supplying this one?! I will leave it overnight and do some further tastings, but don’t expect too much. Coq au vin tomorrow!
Trimbach treat
The lovely wines of Trimbach are well documented. Our Christmas night out at 54 on Farringdon Road revealed various vinous treats.
The best however was Trimbach pinot blanc 2007. It is not the most popular grape and I can see why. It does not have any particular distinctive aromas, but this is surprisingly well balanced with a crisp finish and plenty of acidity to cut through king prawns coated in spiced yam. Available at around £10 per bottle, and like all of Trimbach wines doesn’t disappoint.
Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant
A true gustatory treat with friends Joff and Rene. We went for the seven course tasting menu. The highlight was risotto with shavings of Italian white truffle.
Wine list was an encyclopaedia with prices to match. Stayed sensible and went for an Italian gewurtztraminer from Alto Adige, very fresh (actually served too cold – should have complained but didn’t), floral and typical gewurtztraminer, but not perfectly balanced, with a slightly sharp aftertaste.
The wood pigeon was accompanied by a 2005 pinot noir Marlborough NZ Fromm vineyard. This was fruity, decent, but nothing special. Maybe I should have broken the bank after all and gone for the Felton Road for not much more.
Farr Vintners Christmas tasting
Held at the rather grand Vintners Hall on Upper Thames St, this was a great tasting with over 80 wines on show being served by some great winemakers, including Antony Barton of Leoville Barton and Jean-Charles Cazes of Lynch Bages.
Best wine of the evening was either Krug 1998 (not usually a big champagne fan, but this is extraordinarily complex and delicious), or Lynch Bages 2000, which had a heady nose of wood, bakery and sweet fruit, and followed through with a concentrated, complexity and real lasting depth (sadly £1250 IB).
Disappointments for me were Palmer twofold, as the Alter Ego 2007 and 2002 were light and thin, and not nearly as good as the 2008s I tried at the April UCG tasting, where they so impressed me. And by the time I got to the table someone had nicked the last bottle of 1996, which others said was great!
Also the Pichon Lalande 2005, 2004 and 2001 were all a bit insubstantial (thin according to the lady I was standing next to). The 2001 was best, so perhaps they need time to develop?
Highlights
All the Leoville Barton and Langoa Barton impressed me, including both 2007s at £340 and £280 in bond (IB) respectively, confirming the oft repeated statement that Mr. Barton manages fantastically high consistent quality. I would go for the 2001 Langoa at £275 IB, which was earthy and mushroomy with plenty of fruit and tannin, or the 2004 Leoville at £395 IB, which was tight, lots of cassis and should develop over many years.
Not only was the Lynch Bages great, but so was the Les Ormes de Pez 2003 and 2005 at £220 and £240. I overheard a group of gents busy telling Jean Charles what great value his wines were and had to step in and put a stop to it.
The CNDP Dom de Senechaux 2007 they own was also lovely, full of sweet sticky figs and long, delicious. But a slight fear it might be a bit one-dimensional, or perhaps just young from a great vintage.
I was impressed by the Verget white burgundies, having recently had a great trip there sampling lots of good wine. I have been feeling a bit stung by the general level of prices and the generally poor 2007 reds.
The various Chablis 1er Crus from £135-£195 were all of great quality, tight minerally and with depth. For me ‘Vaillons’ and Fourchaume VV de Vaulorens’ were the most tasty. But I would and may go for the Meursault ‘Tillets’ at £210 IB, which was tight, fresh, stone fruits with a light woody touch and core of minerals. I’d be interested to find out how it might age.
Top value for early drinking (this time confirming Adam’s general view) were the new world wines:
Kumeu River Estate and Hunting Hill Chardonnays at £130 and £150. Made to develop over 2-6 years. Exciting, oaky but totally balanced, and simply delicious.
Craggy Range, the Merlot Cab Te Kahu at £120 IB was gorgeous and will apparently age well (no chance of that at my house as it will be polished off pronto). The Merlot Cab Franc Sophia at £190 was also ***+ wine, and the Syrah Le Sol at £295 IB (so a £30 a bottle wine) was so refined and balanced that it concealed its 14% alcohol completely. It’s the heaviness of a lot of NW wines that I find hard to enjoy.
The mystery wine a Phelan Segur 2005 at £300 as case was also very good indeed.
Kumeu River Estate chardonnay 2006
If you love chardonnay, this one takes some beating. It has that perfectly harmonious balance of a class wine. It is instantly gratifying, just delicious. Heaps of buttery, luscious, crisp feelings and a hint of minerality.
I could drink this till the cows come home but managed to save some for Suzi. Well done Kiran for sourcing this. It was available at The Wine Society, and is now available at Berry Brothers for £20.00/bottle and Bennetts wines for £17.00.
Great value for a wine that will stand up to a top Pulingy/Chassagne Montrachet. This will be on our next blind tasting evening.
Farr Vintners are selling this for £130 a case in bond, so about £14.28 a bottle, which is great value. The only problem is the £500 minimum order through Farrs – anyone want to club together?
WanderCurtis Wine 