WanderCurtis Wine

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Category Archives: tasting notes


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Cote Rotie La Landonne Rene Rostaing 2000

A real treat at the home of avid collector and wine brain Stuart Grostern. A fantastic initial nose of cassis/black fruits, shortly followed by sweet chamois leather, and followed on with liquorice. Delicious and harmonious with rounded tannins. Perfectly balanced and drinking beautifully with lots of life left in it.

A trip underground to the sand-filled Grostern cellars revealed a salivating array of treasures. Boy, would I like to be left down here!

I sense a few more trips here.

Very pleasing to offer this Burgundian expert Brackovitch, Estate Kumeu River, NZ. Wwore blind it was a Burgundy/Mersault/Chassagne Montrachet. Well done the Kiwis.


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Austrian whites at New Year

After a few days skiing, which lacked vinus highlight but featured sufficient schnitzls with beer to compensate, we returned to Regina and Franz’s to see in the New Year. Franz again raided his wonderful cellar (worthy of a feature of its own at some point) and the evening started with a couple of superb Austrian whites.

First, a Gruener Veltliner Shloss Goebelsberg Lamm Reserve 2008. This GV from Kamptal rather than the Wachau was voted best in the vintage by Vinaria magazine. Full of exotic fruits, pineapple, star fruit etc. on the nose, but with a tight mineral core and long on the palette, lovely.

Next was a Riesling Smaragd 1999 Liobener Steirntal, from the now internationally famous FX Pichler. This was amazingly  fresh for its ten years and still in full stride, smokey with hints of match head on the nose, but with a strong fruity scents underneath. On the palette beautifully balanced, with pineapple and seasoning leaving, ending clean and invigorating.


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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!


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Christmas at Regina and Franz’s

Among many wine highlights this Xmas we’ve had courtesy of Franz’s cellar, a bottle of Mouton Rothschild 1989 (the year they got married). On the nose (quoting Franz), ‘misthaufen mit choco banana’, meaning rubbish heap and chocolate-coated banana.

It’s like walking through an Arab bazaar or souk with exotic spicy notes of cinnamon and cardamom, paprika and cocoa powder. Each scent brings something different, a rich and complex wine, beginning to go rusty around the rim but with plenty of life left. All this and absolutely delicious as well!

Following, a Smith Haut Lafitte 1999, which is a lovely mature wine with a nose of cold fireplace, menthol and tasty fruit. It is a contrast, much more feminine and although not as long, of a different class. Happy Christmas!


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Party fizzzzzzzzz

This is the season for hosting, and hopefully attending, a few parties and I’ve been doing both over the last couple of weeks.

Champagne is obviously great for oiling the social circuit. But even with the champagne houses feeling the squeeze, and beginning to produce some tempting offers, sparkling wine can deliver the same sort of quality as cheap champagne for a fraction of the price.

For my own do’s, I tend to go for the Wine Society’s Celebration Crémant de Loire. Made in the Loire out of chenin blanc, chardonnay and cabernet franc, it is bright and fresh, with a tasty chardonnay tang and refined littlish bubbles. Good enough to drink on its own. £9.95 a bottle when you buy a case of six.

I’ve also tried the Wine Society’s Saumur. Also from the Loire, but this time mostly chenin blanc. Its fine, but I find it a little gassy and lacking flavour, although great for mixing with peach juice or elderflower cordial. However at £7.95 a bottle for a case of six I’d go for the extra flavour the chardonnay brings to the celebration.

However I was knocked out by an Australian sparkling wine served at a recent party I went to hosted by a big London legal firm. Willowglen Brut is a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Serving fizz cold – but not freezing –  in nice, weightily tall champagne glasses really does help. But this sparkler really delivered a lot of flavour and depth in its own right. For me crispness is not everything, although this still had enough freshness and lift.
For a party, definitely a bargain.


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Rhone 2007 a sure bet?

A lot of the critics, in particular the ’emperor’of wine, Mr. Parker himself, have been raving about Rhone 2007s, especially southern.

Adam and I recently went to a J&B tasting of Rhone and Loire 2008. While some of the Loire wines were of superb quality the 2008 Rhône were generally disappointing. A lot of the domaines were showing a 2004 wine too, as if to say this is what the wines will develop into. Although a very welcome way of getting an insight into how the wines would develop, sadly it didn’t do much to reassure.

The 2007 do seem to be a different story.  I haven’t got any of the en primeur wines I ordered yet so I don’t know about the CNDP and higher quality end. (I did get a sneak preview at a Bordeaux Index Rhone 2006 tasting earlier this year of the Pegau Châteauneuf du Pape Cuvée Réservée, 2007 which was just so juicy, sweet and approachably delicious.)  However I’ve recently tried a couple of every day drinking wines that were great.

Firstly (at a party hosted in Fortnum & Mason by a big surveying firm) Fortnum’s own Côtes du Rhône by Andre Brunel at £7.50. This was fruity and jammy with a nice peppery finish and very drinkable.

Secondly Rasteau Côtes-du-Rhône Villages, Domaine des Escaravailles, 2007 from the Wine Soc at £7.95 a bottle, even better, juicy and succulent, bursting with fruit but with a spicy edge.

I’ve often turned to southern Rhône; Cairanne, Rasteau and Vacqueyras for great everyday drinking at well under a tenner, especially when aged for a few years, and it looks like 2007 is a vintage worth stocking up on.


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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!


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Fruhburgunder Hessische Bergstrasse 2005

This was a  gift from our friends Heidi and Heinz from Bavaria, South Germany. It is basically pinot noir, but slightly earlier ripening. Shared it with my brother, who was down from Edinburgh, and an impromptu visit from Kiran and Birgit (who was packing his wine cellar across the road).

A lovely fruity nose of wild strawberries and red fruits/summer pudding, and hints of rose petal. Birgit  ‘very quaffable’, Kiran ‘a hint of arsenic/cyanide!!’, very worrying from the Curtis’. Must be the stress of moving. I was pleasantly surprised and would happily search it out again.


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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.


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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.

More info from Farr Vintners.