What I've been up to, plus a few interesting recent wines

Oh dear. Looking at the date of my last post, it would appear I have written precisely naff all for over 6 weeks. Not good enough, I know, though the reasons are manifold - with downright laziness being just one of them. To be fair, it has been a strange (and occasionally difficult) few months.

I seem to have spent a good part of my time in hospitals and doctors' surgeries, partly for checks on my own health (thankfully everything seems to be OK again) and partly due to the fact that my Mother has been in hospital on 3 occasions since December, firstly with pneumonia and latterly due to the ongoing after-effects. Seems her heart is a bit weak now, but with a few more trips to the doctor, and an ever-increasing daily coctail of drugs (warfarin next, I believe) she is still alive and kicking. And long may it continue - even at 84, she is certainly not the sort to let it get the better of her. She still lives on her own, in her own house and, whilst we have all been a lot more attentive since her illness, she manages pretty well. That said, I go to see her most days, either to do a few odd jobs or just to keep her company, which (having probably not done so as much as I should have in the past) has been really rewarding for me. Whatever happens, she isn't going to be around forever, so I'm glad it has whipped me into shape now, rather than when it is too late. After all, nothing else in life is as important as the ones we love.

Plenty of other things have been going on in my life, too. Much of March and early April were taken up driving around the country doing wine tastings, whilst May has been spent mostly in the garden - including (to borrow the phrase from Spinal Tap) a bizarre gardening accident, in which I tore some muscles in my side and cracked a rib or two. Of course, I have also been drinking a few decent wines and writing my tasting notes on them as I go along. Indeed, this post has been literally weeks in the pipeline. Problem is, with all the other stuff going on, and the resulting lack of time (not to mention the necessary drive and energy) typing everything up has, until now, simply been a chore too far. Let's face it, I don't earn any money from this blog - I do it for my own enjoyment (and hopefully to help my readers pass a pleasant few minutes!). And believe me, transcribing written notes is just about the most boring job in the world, especially since I am no touch typist! I'm actually considering buying one of those fancy tablets with a stylus pen, which would (if everything I read about them is to be believed) enable me to write on a screen and use an "app" to convert it into a text document. It could transform my dull existence and obviate the need for me to sit at the computer so much. Of course, if any of you have some useful advice on alternatives, please do let me know.

Anyway, for starters, here are my notes on some of the best or most enjoyable wines from the past few weeks (with more to come in future posts)...........

Cono Sur Sparkling Brut NV Bio Bio Valley, Chile

Rich, leesy, lime and lemon aromas and flavours, with a a touch of fresh, sweet apple ripeness, all underpinned by a strong mineral streak. Chenin Blanc, Pinot Noir and Riesling all work in perfect harmony, in a bottle that is just in the right place, although I doubt that another year or two more would do it any harm. A lovely friday night aperitif.

Domaine de La Garance Les Claviers 2006 Vin de Pays de l'Hérault

This is a wine that really does take time to open out and show its true colours - in this case, my note is written a full week or more after it was first opened. A hugely complex nose of white flowers, violets, mint, herbs de Provence, mixed spices, lime marmalade, old leather and all manner of white fruits (quince, peach, apricot) and even a suggestion of delicate red fruits. It really is a gloriously complex and flavoursome bottle, with myriad fruit and non-fruit flavours, a touch of tannic grip (even for a white wine) and tangy acidity. Add to that a spicy, herby, southern warmth and you have a quite wonderful wine, with real charm. For a wine that has little added sulphur, it is quite remarkable that it should smell and taste so good, more than a week after being opened. I still have a handful of bottles of this left at £12.95, but once they are gone, that's it.

Domaine La Combe Blanche Pinot de l'Enfer 1998 Vin de Pays des Cotes du Brian

For those of you unfamiliar with Guy Vanlancker's wines, Cotes du Brian has nothing to do with a Monty Python film. Brian (basically pronounced "bree-on" - though you may wish to add a bit of French spit for authenticity) is the local river - though doubtless no more than a trickle in summer - which lends its name for the most local VdP denomination. Indeed, "a local name, for local wines"! This (along with a 2001 Tempranillo from the same l'Enfer vineyard that also showed excellently) was a bottle I had been keeping for a tasting of unusual grape varieties from Languedoc that I presented a couple of weeks ago to Nottingham Wine Circle. It showed very well on the night, but once again (a full week after opening) the last glass was a real treat - which is quite amazing for any Pinot Noir, in my experience. The colour is a quite evolved brick/tawny. It has a wonderful aged Pinot character, more in the way of Claifornia in style than (say) New Zealand or Burgundy, but with a good degree of elegance. Lots of forest floor and rotting red/black fruit aromas and flavours, with classy oak and floral nuances, hints of garrigue herbs and white pepper and lots of secondary/tertiary flavours and a welcome touch of volatile acidity. In fact, after a week, it takes on an almost Musar-like quality. A really lovely wine and even mildly surprising - at least for a 15 year-old Languedoc Pinot Noir. Actually, it is (to my nose and palate) really just coming into its prime drinking window. I wish I had a few bottles left. I must ask Guy if he has any tucked away that I could buy!

Finally (for now at least) I thought it would be nice to try a much younger Pinot from the same stable - in this case an unoaked Pinot from the lower slopes near the village of La Liviniere. I must admit that (for me at least, and the above wine notwithstanding) Guy has yet to really "nail" Pinot Noir. In the Languedoc heat, it tends to have a bit too much of everything for its own good - especially alcohol. And yet....... and yet......

Domaine La Combe Blanche Calamiac Terroir Pinot Noir 2009 IGP Pays Côtes du Brian

This really is rather enjoyable. A pot-pourri of polished wood and leather, damp earth, red cherry, raspberry and bramble, and a whole load of pepper and spice. Even despite the noticeable streak of warming alcohol, it almost seems right for the wine, which (in a curious and totally irrational comparison with Burgundy) is less about the grape than the terroir. A less Burgundian Pinot Noir would be difficult to imagine, but it is full of life and charm and rich with the warmth of the south. And it went beautifully with a barbecued/griddled selection of rump steak, lamb chops and Lincolnshire sausages, with balsamic tomatoes and a pasta salad (remember that nice wether we had last week?). A very yummy wine, which may even get better over the next few years - after all, Guy Vanlancker's wines often reward patience! £10.50 (but only a couple of cases left).

               

A glorious fortified red wine from one of Languedoc's most enigmatic winemakers

This is a wine I've been meaning to write about for a while. I opened my first bottle a couple of weeks ago and wrote the majority of the my tasting note at the time. Problem is, most of my notes are compiled with a good old-fashioned pen and notebook, so typing them out for online use is always a bit of a pain, especially when I leave it for too long. I like to think I write with a certain amount of feeling, but that feeling can somehow be lost if I don't get it to the keyboard fairly sharpish, no matter how memorable the wine. So what more excuse do I need for opening another bottle, in the early hours of a cold December morning, when I should be in bed (or at least making better use of my time by completing some urgent pre-Christmas updates to my website)? Don't get me wrong, my sustenance of choice at such a late (or should I say early) hour is usually either tea or coffee. But what the hell - it is December, so why not enjoy a little Christmas spirit.................

Domaine de La Garance Bruixas Vin de Liqueur Solera Hors d'Age

What to call this? Vin de Table? Vin de France? Or what? The label states the name, volume, abv, but nothing else. To be honest, it probably offends many a UK/EU labelling regulation, but I'm not too concerned, especially as I bought it from the grower's (ex) UK importer, rather than importing it myself. But what of the contents? Well, when I first tasted this wine at a dinner in the cellar of winemaker Pierre Quinonero in June 2012, I was completely blown away - and now I am blown away once more, for it is a real stunner.

100% old-vine Grenache, blended from the fruit of no less than 5 different vintages (from 2001 onwards) and lightly fortified. The label says 15% abv, but I'd say possibly 16-17. Like many of Pierre's wines, it can harly be termed "limpid", although to be fair the slight haze is more to do with a fine sediment, courtesy of having spent several years in barrel (or at least some of it) followed by a good couple of years in bottle, without fining or filtering. It is a lovely colour - sort of pale tawny/mahogany, fading gently to an even paler rim. The nose is quite beguiling - on opening, you get a lovely whiff of coffee grounds, chocolate and a touch of toasty oak. We also have molasses, fig, burnt orange, polished wood and a wonderfully evocative hint of autumn forest floor. Not to mention an array of fresh and preserved red fruit aromas, notably raspberry, redcurrant and wild strawberry. There's a hint of fine eau de vie, but this is such a gently and skilfully fortified wine that neither the nose nor the palate shows too much in the way of alcoholic heat. The palate is a glorious symphony of flavours, combining rich fruitcake, orange peel, fig, molasses, lapsang tea and mocha, with a long, tangy, earthy finish. Beautifully resolved tannins and a refreshing streak of tangy sour cherry acidity complete the package, in an utterly more-ish wine of great depth and complexity. Think of a mature Port (but with less alcohol) with a hint of fine old Banyuls and a touch of Madeira thrown in for good measure and you have some idea of the pleasure that this wine brings.

Simply wonderful stuff, which I have also discovered to be the perfect bedfellow for a thick slice of fruity stollen cake - and is thus a vital component of a healthy diet. After all, it is only 2 o'clock in the morning, and I have already had two of my "five a day"!

Oh, did I mention that you can buy this wine, via the Leon Stolarski Fine Wines website, at the perfectly reasonable price of £23.95? Be quick, though, as I don't have very much (and I may drink it all)!
          

A couple of "early" weekend wines

I get the impression (at least from reading wine message boards) that in most households, weekends are the times when the better bottles are opened. In my house, that isn't necessarily the case, since I have so much stuff lying around the house and in my wine store that I/we tend to be dictated more by circumstance. And last night was one of those occasions. I went to my store earlier in the day, to put a couple of orders together, and to root though a couple of piles of boxes that contain some of my own stuff, in preparation for a "young and old" tatsting I am due to present at the Wine Circle next week. And in doing so I (a) found a bottle of white with a low fill level (in other words, a leaky bottle) and (b) a few vintages of one of my favouite reds that I hadn't visited in a while. Not that last night was a special occasion, but just one of those evenings when TLD and I were together in the kitchen, she cooking a spag-bol and I making some bread. And here are a couple of lovely bottles I decided to open, to celebrate such a "non-occasion"...............

Domaine de La Garance Les Claviers 2006 Vin de Pays de l'Hérault

Fresh bread, quince and a variety of citrus and tree fruits, cloves, cinnamon, herbs of the garrigue and a whole bucketful of wet stone/slate mineral aromas. It really is delightfully fresh and alive, albeit in a (deliberately) oxidative style - think old-school white Rioja, with a bit of added richness and body, not just on the nose, but the palate, too. It really is wonderfully expressive, with lots of secondary fruit flavours (soft citrus, quince, apricot and raisin), herbs and spices, a touch of wood/grape tannin and marvellous balancing acidity - grippy, but generous and very, very long. Despite the low fill level, a bottle in tip-top condition, and still with a good few years of potential development left in it - but at the top of its game right now. Yummy! You can buy this wine from our online shop for the measly sum of just £12.95.

Chateau Musar 2001 Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

It is ages since I opened a bottle of Musar, not least because my stash (currently a few bottles each from 3 or 4 different vintages) is buried under piles of other stuff in my storage unit. But it is a wine I have always loved, ever since I drank my first bottle (a 1978, if memory serves) so opening one always feels like a treat. But I'm not sure what to make of this bottle - or maybe even this particular vintage. The hue is the classic Musar brick red, though slightly deeper and less translucent than usual (and maybe even a touch on the muddy/dull side), as is the nose, which shows hints of the beetrooty, sweet raspberry vinegary volatile acidity and plenty of bramble and blackcurrant fruit. But it just seems to lack the sort of vitality and verve and sheer hedonistic perfume I expect from Musar. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something is missing. The palate too is lacking in the excitement stakes, for whilst there is plenty of fresh red and black fruits, and again a touch of polished wood and VA, it somehow doesn't have a "wow" factor. Not that it is a bad or faulty wine - just that, for the moment at least, it isn't doing it for me, either with last night's spag-bol, or on its own this evening (spicy fishcakes, chips and salad would be a step too far for such a red wine). Nevertheless, as a long-standing Musar-head, I am confident that this wine has yet to show its true colours. Some vintages show well on release (at around 7 or 8 years of age) whilst others take 15 years or more to blossom. I'm hoping that this is one of the latter, and I shall tuck my remaining bottles away for another 5 years or more.
               

What I did on my holidays (a.k.a too busy to blog) plus a series of wonderful Languedoc wines

Damn - it is once again 2 weeks since my last post! To those (handful) of you that are waiting for my next instalment of Vinisud posts, worry not - I have had the next one sitting unfinished in the "drafts" section for some time now and I promise to complete it within the next few days.

Meanwhile, I have been busying myself with tasting presentations (four in the last month), selling bits and bobs of wine (still need to sell more, though!) and sorting out my latest shipments - on which I will have more news soon. I have also been doing lots of cooking and bread baking, and all of that wonderful food needs wonderful wine to go with it. In this regard, I have been tasting my way though some other new - locally-sourced - wines over the last week or so, as well as tasting/enjoying some rather brilliant wines from one particular Languedoc grower whose wines had escaped my radar - until now, at least..........

The wines of Domaine de La Garance have been imported by Richards Walford for some time now, but despite the fact that I sell a handful of the wines on their list (though none from Languedoc - I prefer to import all of my own Languedoc wines) I never really noticed them. But I recently received an an offer from Richards Walford that piqued my interest. It read......

"For whatever reason, this amazing Domaine remains stubbornly undiscovered by the majority of our customers; sadly, we therefore find ourselves with a considerable amount of stock, ranged across several vintages. As we can no longer justify purchasing new vintages, we thought this was a good opportunity to offer out the stocks we currently hold in our UK bond........

For those of you who know Domaine de la Garance, this is a great last chance to snap up a range of vintages at keen prices. For those who don’t, these are some of the most wonderful wines to have ever graced our list – unique, complex, and deeply delicious. A combination of diverse soils, including Villafranchien (a stoney, gravelly soil mixed with red clay), basalt, marl, gneiss, limestone, and granite add real character to the wines.

The whites are based on Ugni Blanc (aka Trebbiano) – that normally quite unexciting grape variety often distilled in Cognac or used to make flabby Italian whites – but here, becomes something else entirely. Older vintages were blended with Grenache Gris and Clairette, more recent vintages with Chardonnay, which achieves a greater minerality on granite soils. Old demi-muids are used for vinification, not completely full, as the winemaker Pierre Quinonero seeks an oxidative, noisette style. The wines stay on their lees right up until the mise, giving a powerful impression of autolytic character each vintage. They must be tasted to be believed; they are a constantly changing, living thing, and how many wines can we say that about these days?

The reds seem very distinctly Spanish – no doubt stemming from Pierre’s Catalan roots. Based on old vine Carignan and Syrah (generally 90% and 10%) and spending a full 30 months in barrel before bottling, they are bursting with energy and age particularly well. Though not certified biodynamic, the Domaine practices biodynamic principles and the wines are about as hand-crafted and natural as they get – Pierre describes them as “l’antithèse de la technologie” - hand harvested with habitually low yields of 17hl/ha, only indigenous yeasts are used, the wines are not fined or filtered, and very little sulphur is used."

Although I don't particularly agree with Roy Richards' assertion that the reds are distinctly Spanish (I think they speak loudly of Languedoc Carignan) I tend to otherwise agree, for these are truly wonderful, quirky wines. I bought a case of each of 4 white vintages and 4 red, of which TLD and I have so far drunk 7 - and here are my tasting notes. Firstly, the whites........

Domaine de La Garance Les Claviers 2006 Vin de Pays de l'Hérault
This is a blend of - frankly rather unfashionable - Languedoc/SW France varieties. All of the grapes (from old vines of 50+ years) are fermented together and aged for 9 months in 400 litre Tronçais oak barrels with batonnage (stirring) once a week, prior to bottling, with no fining or filtration. The resulting wine is quite a deep gold in colour, yet very clear and bright. The nose is amazing - perhaps a touch of sulphur (or more likely reduction, given that not a lot of sulphur is used), but extremely mineral and flinty, with a touch of the struck match about it, but with potent citrus/zest aromas, redolent of lime oil, lemon zest and mandarin orange. Further notes of quince/crab apple, mixed herbs, spices and straw make for a wine of real complexity, both on the nose and the palate. Those herby, citrus, straw and mineral qualities come through in the mouth, along with baked apples and cloves, glorious acidity and even a touch of wood (or grape) tannin. Whatever it is, it is a wonderfully complex wine, and I am totally enamoured by it.

Domaine de La Garance Les Claviers 2007 Vin de Pays de l'Hérault
Another deep gold coloured wine, but this one is strikingly different (at least at this stage) to the 2006 - richer, oilier, denser and perhaps a touch more alcoholic. It has peach, apricot, orange and baked apple aromas and a strong whiff of honey. Quite nutty, too, with a suggestion of sweetness that does indeed come through in the mouth. And it does taste richer, more mouth-filling and perhaps a bit less elegant and zingy than the 2006, though there appears to be ample underlying acidity - it is just masked by the sheer richness and weight of what is an enormously textured wine. Nevertheless, it is again very complex and long in the mouth, with a long, spicy, warming finish, not unlike the wjite from Chateau d'Estoublon. And for that reason, it is very impressive.

Domaine de La Garance Les Claviers 2008 Vin de Pays de l'Hérault
If anything, this is an even deeper gold colour than other vintages, but still smells fresh, albeit in a hnied, nutty, deliberately oxidative style. The aromas are more in the non-fruit category, with lots of minerally, herb and atraw nuances and even a hint of wet wool, with subtle hints of peach, orange and apple lurking in the background. It is sort of a halfway house between the 2006 and 2007, with a touch more weight than the former, but higher acidity than the latter, although perhaps the fact that it falls between the two makes it perhaps a touch less exciting. Although undoubtedly a really good wine, it doesn't quite hit the dizzy heights of the 2006 or possess the sheer punch of the 2007. That said, as I am writing this note, I see that the bottle is three-quarters empty (not just me drinking it, I hasten to add) so there must be plenty to like about it!

And now the reds............

Domaine de La Garance Les Armieres 2002 Vin de Pays de l'Hérault
What strikes me is how wonderfully "Languedoc" this smells and tastes. Of course, the fact that it is mostly (very old) Carignan helps. This oft-derided grape varety is now all the rage in a region where so many old vines have long since been ripped out in favour of more fashionable grape varieties (or in some cases, other crops altogether). The colour is a deep-ish blood red, leading to a slightly bricking rim. The nose offers a complex array of red and black berry fruits, dried orange peel and polished leather. Background notes of cedar, curry spices and tea suggest that the 2 years' oak-ageing was done with a sympathetic hand, for a more harmonious bouquet is hard to imagine. And whilst the cool (and often difficult) year means that the fruit will never be voluptuous, it has real charm, with plenty of spiced red cherry, redcurrant and raspberry flavours and juicy acidity. The tannins are grippy, perhaps even a touch stalky, but there is more than enough fruit to cope. Lovely wine.

Domaine de La Garance Les Armieres 2005 Vin de Pays de l'Hérault
The colour is a deep blood red, with a narrow ruby rim. The nose is again complex, with aromas of bramble and black cherry, leather, allspice and cedar. There's a strong savoury element too, hinting at char-grilled beef and garrigue herbs. Once again, the effect of 2 years' oak-ageing is harmonious and really quite subtle. The palate offers an array of sweet, spiced red and black cherry, redcurrant and bramble flavours, combined with rich, ripe, yet beautifully grippy tannins and ample acidity, making for a balanced and very classy wine, with a long, sweet and sour finish. It isn't ready yet - I would suggest it will take at least another 5 years to approach its peak drinking window - but I'm not going to let that deter me, because it is certainly giving plenty of pleasure already!

Domaine de La Garance Les Armieres 2006 Vin de Pays de l'Hérault
This one has quite a lot of sediment, even though the bottle has been stood up for a few days. But I don't let a little sediment worry me, for it is what the wine tastes and smells like that is important - and bloody hell this one is good! The nose offers-up myriad aromas of red and black fruits, woodsmoke, pepper, exotic spices, leather and garrigue herbs. There is also a strong hint of grilled meat and - at the other end of the spectrum - even some delicate floral notes. Boy, this is complex stuff, and so totally captivating I could sniff it all night. Of course, there is always a worry that the palate might not live up to the promise of the nose, but there are no such worries here. A huge hit of bramble and redcurrant fruit washes over the palate, accompanied by the most wonderful citrus-tinged acidity and all kinds of other flavours and textures, which coat the mouth and linger for an age. This really is a wine which fills the senses and keeps you coming back for more. Of course it is still relatively young, and there is plenty of grip, but the sheer pleasure offered by the intense, concentrated, yet gloriously succulent sweet-and-sour fruit is such that you almost don't notice the tannin. Every mouthful leaves you salivating and simply craving for more. I'll tell you what.... my mood before I opened this wasn't exactly at its most jovial (push-starting my eldest son's car at 4.55 in the morning was the last thing I need after a hectic previous night - but that is another story - and the weather was/is everything that is bad about early Spring in the UK) but this wine lifted me no end. It is utterly delicious, and yet another example of why I think that Carignan - in the right winemaker's hands - is the finest jewel in the Languedoc's crown. A stunning wine.

Domaine de La Garance Les Armieres 2007 Vin de Pays de l'Hérault
This is almost on a par with the amazing 2006 - if not its absolute equal. Once again, mostly Carignan, with a little Syrah, deep blood red in colour, almost opaque, with a tiny rim. As with the 2006, the nose is a riot of red and black fruits, smoke, white pepper, exotic spices, leather and herbs, with hints of sandalwood and forest floor. The palate has all of those things going for it, and more - concentrated but not overly rich, a complex array of red and black fruits, with healthy tannins and a core of juicy, citrus and cranberry-tinged acidity. The finish is satisfyingly dry and tangy, with lingering flavours of forest fruits, cedar and peppery spice. It isn't ready yet - I would hazard that it is 5+ years away from its peak - but it is nevertheless rather delicious already. Another absolutely world-class Carignan.

That's 7 down and 1 to go - and so far, not an average wine in sight. In fact, I feel like I have "discovered" a real gem of a grower - despite the fact that they have been virtually under my nose all the time! In a way, it is a shame I never came across Domaine de La Garance before, but better late than never. Furthermore, the timing could be perfect, and Richards Walfords' loss may well be my gain, for I intend to pay this grower a visit when I am next in Languedoc in June. Watch this space.........