WanderCurtis Wine

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Category Archives: tasting notes


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Wine tasting trip to the Ribera Del Duero, 20-23 May

A stupendous long weekend in Ribera Del Duero arranged by R-C tours.

Day one
Commenced with a private tour of Dominio de Pingus, which was very hard to find just off a back street in the village.

Winemaker Patricia Benitez took us first around the super modern science labs including PCR machine! The scientists among us were already drooling even prior to the barrel samples of Pingus and flor de pingus 2009. A fascinating insight into one of the worlds most expensive ‘garage wines’.

We were whisked off to the ultra modern Bodegas Alion (Vega-Sicilia). Purification answered every last question, valiantly, from the density of the grain of French versus American oak to the concentration of TCAs on corked samples. Then to the exotic Japanese Gardens of Pablo Alvarez’s Vega Sicilia, and finally the private tasting from immaculately pristine top range Riedel-Alion 2005, Valbuena, Unico 2000 and the most mindblowing luscious marmalady Tokay 2002. This was going to take some beating!

Off to Bodegas Protos – a very much larger more modern, and somewhat colder operation.
Impressed by winemaker Maria but the wines were disappointing. In fairness they did have a very hard act to follow.

Day two
Viejo Coso by Jesus Ramos who descended from his castle in Curiel de Duero to show us his maturing barrels in a converted church with 2m thick stone walls. Then off up to the spectacular castle-hotel, hundreds of feet high on a limestone escarpment. Amazing setting, interesting toilets and good quality wines. He kindly invited us back for lechazo (baby lamb stewed for four hours) and Champions League final.

30km by bike later and to the highlight of the trip -Juan Carlos Vizcarra, Bodegas Vizcarra.

Tasting Notes

Coso Viejo
Vinification takes place in Peniefel, followed by aging in barrel and bottle in a restored church with 1.5m thick walls. Our tasting took place in the hotel Coso Viejo also run by Jesus, a restored castle on the hill with fantastic views over the valley and back towards Peniefel. Hotel Coso Viejo, Encarnacion 9, 29200 Antequera, Spain

Jesus ages his wines for longer than the minimum stipulations for Roble, Crianza, Reserva and sells 70% of his wine in Madrid and the rest to central Europe.

Roble 2005, released 2008.
Slightly brick coloured rim. Fruity nose, simple and tasty on the palette. Develops in the glass, soft ripe tannin, black cherries and becoming even more enjoyable. Shows the extra effort and aging ** Sells for 7 EU.14%

Crianza 2003 released 2008.
Again a bricky rim, blackberry fruit, compost and vegetal notes on the nose, smooth with plenty of tannin on the palette, needs food as many of these wines do. Opens up on returning to the glass later with caramel and more complexity. Very tasty. For 9 EU a bottle fantastic value. **

Reserva 2001 released in 2006.
A sweet nose, vegetal with hints of spice and caramel, nice and interesting. Soft and smooth on the palette, quite long, a lot of tannin has dropped away. Some still present, but the fruit is disappearing. A little rioja like. We returned that evening for chuletas, baby slow cooked lamb at the castle, which was accompanied perfectly with another couple of bottles of the Reserva which really came into its own. Again at 12 EU a bottle certainly the best value wine we had delivering loads of please.**

Bodegas Vizcarra
As we cycled back from Roa del Duero through Mambrilla wondering how we were going to find our last appointment of the day, we noticed some guy in a tractor in a field shouting and waving at us. It turned out to be Juan Carlos, owner, oenologist, winemaker, PR department, labourer and everything else at Bodegas Vizcarra. An inspiring and passionate man who has since our meeting pipped Cantona as Adam’s all-time hero.

JuanCarlos-Vizzcarra

Having visited four fascinating wineries and learnt all about winemaking in Ribera, and after a rather large lunch in Roa we thought we knew what to expect. But from the moment Juan Carlos stepped off his tractor to when we left three hours later it was clear that Bodegas Vizzcarra was something very special.

We visited the vineyards themselves and heard about the low yielding old bush vines and the younger row planted vines, also the different soils and positions in the valley. In the new winery, JC explained his use of larger new oak barrels to encourage a more gentle expression in the wines. We tasted 2009 from the barrel and were privileged to visit JC’s family cellar in the town and taste a mature bottle of one of his premier wines.

Senda del Oro 2009 from barrel
Fruity nose then packed with fruit, chewy yet fresh, tasty and balanced, nicely under oaked. **+

Vizcarra 2009
From 20-30 year old vines, a crianza. Roasted coffee beans on the nose also fruit. Lovely sweet blackberry and coffee beans, soft tannin, long viscous and tasty.  **++

Torralvo 2009
From 55 year old vines. This is the wine where JC is aiming for the perfect Ribera Reserve, made in bigger barrels to temper the effect of the oak. Full fruity, concentrated with a mineral undercurrent, powerful, viscous with a long lingering fruit aftertaste.  ***+

Celia 2009
Some Garnacha in the blend here again in big barrels with attractive pink metal bands (Celia’s favourite colour?) This wine is more feminine and refined in every respect, even delicate following the Torralvo. Compact and a little closed but beautifully balanced dense complex core and soft lingering tannin at the end. This has amazing potential. ****+

Innes 2009
This blend has a10% merlot in it and again a long maturation in large barrels. Wonderfully cool and fine textured, sweet and compact, with plenty of tanning, a great mouth feel.  ***++

Celia 2003
Delicate nose, sweet with hints of the savoury/sweet plum sauce one gets with crispy duck, complex and powerful in the mouth, soft tanning, very long and persistent on the palette.  Evolves in the glass, passing through waves of sweet fruit flavours and savoury soy notes.  One of the best of the trip, absolutely delicious!  ****

Torralvo 2006
Bit closed to begin with but opens up with fruit, limestone and persistent nose, then in the mouth, wow! Big, intense, powerful seemingly endless, good balance, and so very, very tasty.  ****

By the time we got to these last two we all gave up spitting – the wines were just too good. When we finally got back on our bikes, and JC got back into his tractor, there was not a drop left.


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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.