Rich, fruity, vanilla, leather. A full and silky wine with dense, well structured tannins. It was a lovely treat at the allotment with sun setting and Aberdeen Angus burgers. It was a gift at our Cuban Party last week. I have found it for £70 per half case at everywine.co.uk and would recommend it highly to accompany meaty dishes this summer.
Category Archives: wine of the month
Charmail 2003
Having bought a case of this a couple of years back, I’ve been impressed by the way the wine has improved over the last year having been a bit dumb and unexciting when it first arrived. A bottle drunk with friends in their garden in Aldeburgh late last Saturday night sitting around a wood fire really hit the spot. Lovely, juicy fruit with a nice cedary tinge – very tasty and moreish. Delicious! A wine that delivers lots of pleasure and enough complexity to keep you interested to the bottom of the bottle and probably the second. This Chateau is still a reasonably priced Bordeaux (in comparision to others) en primeur and back vintages are probably still affordable.
Protos Seleccion 2006
First tried with Maria, the winemaker at the fantastic Rogers 12 million euro winery. Enjoyed more at the Tempranillo event on the 22nd. Very full with purple rim. Lovely smokey nose with great length and hints of herbs. Baileys wine import Protos crianza 2006.
Aalto 2005 Ribera del Duero
This was one of the highlights of our trip to Ribera del Duero. A truly powerful and deliciously addictive Ribera wine which will be on show at our forthcoming tasting – decide for yourself.
Pascual Toso Malbec Mendoza Argentina
The best way to combat a rainy, slug pellet laden day in May was to crack open a bottle of this fine Argentinian Malbec. A very impromptu WanderCurtis tasting chez le allotment with fine Aberdeen Angus burgers and bbq chicken wings. Rich, dark, packed with fruit – a fine example of Malbec. Available at Swig Wines for about £12.
Arzuaga Ribera del Duero 2006
A stupendous example of what the Ribera can produce. Wonderfully luscious/coffee/vanilla/mocha with harmonious balance and plenty of ripe black fruits. This is a real treat and overshadowed Pesquera reserva and tinto 2005.
Was the most popular of five Ribera reds. Wonderful food matching provided by masterchef Rob Revel-Chion, the producer of the finest paella north of the Pyrenees, laden with clams, king prawns, chicken and smokey paprika.
A fine wine indeed and many more to come on our wine tasting and buying trip to the Ribera del Duero later in May.
Concha y Toro winemakers lot 105t Pinot Noir 2008
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.
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.
Duval-Leroy Blanc de Blancs 2004
Waitrose have a 50% discount on this 2004 vintage champagne at the moment. Apparently it was selling for 30 quid (too expensive) before being reduced to £14.99 a bottle, or a very tempting £14.24 if you buy a case of six.
It’s lovely and fresh, with a tasty chardonnay character. Quite long too. It develops in the the glass over an hour or two which indicates that if you were to put a case away in the cellar or under the stairs for a year it will mellow and broaden out further.
Offer ends on the 22nd (though I suspect it may be extended if they haven’t sold out).
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.
WanderCurtis Wine 