Some lovely wines enjoyed over the last few days

Last week was the first "bottle blind" tasting of the summer season at Nottingham Wine Circle. As usual, there were almost too many good wines for me to comment on in any detail, but two wines turned out to be rather special - and both courtesy of the ever-generous David Selby;

Albert Boxler Gewurztraminer 2000 Alsace Grand Cru Brand

This had some of us (me included) fooled into thinking it was a Pinot Gris - it really was that good(!) The nose screamed toffee, orange pith, violets and rich, earthy minerality. I guess the giveaway should have been the notes of lychee and rosewater, which I often find in Pinot Gris, but are always there in good (or in this case, great) Gewurztraminer. For what it's worth, there were even shades of a rich Riesling, courtesy of some appley notes and a touch of herbiness. In other words, complexity by the bucketload. With a nose like that, one would almost expect the palate to be a bit of a let-down, but it was nothing of the sort. It was rich but not cloying, floral without smothering the fruit, sweet-ish but with the most delicious streak of citrus-like acidity and a long, minerally, tangy finish. And once again, oh-so complex - in fact, one of the finest (if not the finest) Gewurztraminers I have ever tasted.

Charles Joguet Clos de La Dioterie 1997 Chinon

Now here's a real rarity - a Cabernet Franc that had me (not to mention most of the other Cab Franc naysayers in the Wine Circle) completely bowled-over. Almost Pinot Noir-like on the nose - perfumed, ripe, floral, earthy, with notes of raspberries and violets and a touch of cedar - and no stalkiness or green pepper! The brilliant nose was matched all the way by the brilliant, beguiling palate, which was deceptively light and elegant, with oodles of secondary red and black fruit flavours mingled with some really quite fresh notes of raspberry and strawberry, a touch of cream (presumably courtesy of beautifully integrated oak) and gorgeous, mouth-watering acidity. Very long and very lovely. In fact, its sheer elegance, lightness and complexity really would give many a fine Burgundy a run for their money. Fabulous wine.

And here's a couple of nice ones TLD and I enjoyed at home over the weekend..................

Les Vignes de l'Arque Vin de Pays Duché d'Uzès 2002

I remember seeing the articles on the news and in the press about the floods in Languedoc and Rhone in September 2002. Images of trees and furniture (and even a grand piano) floating down the swollen River Gard, following no less than 26 inches of rain in 24 hours, linger long in the memory. Aside from the damage to so many people's property and possessions, it was a disastrous end to what had been a pretty dismal vintage in both of these regions, with rain and cold (or at least not very warm) weather prevailing for most of what passed as summer.

But what of this 2002 red, from a relatively unknown backwater of the Languedoc, around 15 km west of Uzes? Well, as with quite a few wines from this much-maligned vintage that I have consumed (and of course sold) in the past, it really does disprove the theory that all 2002's were thin, green and unripe. It is a 50/50 blend of Syrah and Grenache, aged for just 4 months in oak barrels. The colour is fairly evolved - light and bloody, with a hint of bricking at the edge. But the aromas and flavours are perferctly preserved and really quite fresh, which is a real confidence-booster, considering that this is the oldest wine sealed under a DIAM cork that I've ever drank (I have long been an advocate of DIAM as an alternative to one-piece corks, with only the potential longevity to be proven - until now). On the nose, we have refreshing aromas of raspberry, cherry and bramble, with hints of meat and savoury, polished leather, forest floor and eau de vie, whilst the palate delivers equally refreshing fruit and secondary flavours, with tannins which are reasonably grippy, perhaps even a touch stalky, yet essentially light - and certainly not unripe. But there is plenty of fruit left in a wine from a vintage which - perhaps by common consent amongst Languedoc and Rhone lovers - probably should have been drunk years ago. It isn't a great wine - few, if any 2002's ever were, or ever would be - but it is a thoroughly enjoyable one. I'm not entirely sure why I kept it this long, but the wait has done it no harm. I do actually still have a handful of 2002's from other growers tucked away here and there, and on this showing, I see no reason to drink them quickly. Who knows........ some may even turn out to be as good as this one.

Incidentally, if you fancy trying a bottle of the Duché d'Uzès Rouge 2009 (a totally different animal, and from a superb vintage), it will cost you the princely sum of £9.95. And the other wines from Les Vignes de l'Arque ain't half bad either.
   
Alain Graillot La Guiraude 1995 Crozes-Hermitage

This is the second or third of a handful of bottles I picked up at auction a couple of years back for a real song (around a tenner a bottle, if memory serves) and it is really is in fine fettle. 100% Syrah (I assume) with classic aged Crozes aromas of bramble, violet and lily of the valley. Actually, there are none of the smoky bacon/fat aromas one normally expects, with the savoury elements being more in the way of Provencal herbs, Asian spices and damp earth. But it really is a squeaky-clean example of its kind, and a beautifully balanced one at that, with deliciously ripe, but acidity-laden fruit - brambly, but with a lovely citrus edge and no impression of sweetness or extraction. There's still some tannin there, which adds a tangy, tea-like quality, but of the fragrant, flavoursome kind, rather than the bottom-of-the-pot kind, leading to a dry but mouth-watering finish. It really is a cracking wine, from a very fine Northern Rhone grower at the height of his powers. Yum!
    

Australian Open tennis, a bizarre round of golf, plus another lovely Alsace wine

As an ardent watcher of many different sports, the Australian Open tennis always comes as a welcome relief from the winter lull in the sporting calendar (football apart, of course). And as a fan of the delectable Kim Clijsters (and what red-blooded male wouldn't be?) I spent a happy couple of hours this morning, watching her women's final victory over Li Na. I must say, it was so refreshing to watch a match of such high-quality tennis, between two athletes who play the game at a fast pace, with a high level of skill and intensity - and with nary an audible grunt or scream in the whole match. Of course, it was great to see Clijsters win, especially as her time in the game is limited by the fact that she may retire pretty soon, because she wants to spend more time seeing her kids grow up. But it was also nice to see the emergence onto the really big stage of another potential star of the future in Li Na. I like to think I'm a pretty good judge of sporting talent (I remember watching the 2003 Wimbledon Men's final - Roger Federer's first major win - and confidently pronouncing to TLD that he would become the greatest tennis player ever). And Li Na appears to be the real deal - not yet in the same league as the greats of the women's game, but I think she will go on to win a good few herself. Meanwhile, kudos to Kim! ;-)

Then it was off to the golf club, for the weekly winter team competition. 18 holes later, I had carded ‎a triple bogey, 3 double bogeys, 8 bogeys, 4 birdies, an eagle (a hole-in-one on the par-3 4th) and just 1 solitary par - which all added up to what must be the most bizarre round of golf I've ever played in my life! Some pretty woeful play was interspersed with a handful of decent drives, a few glorious short and mid-iron approach shots and a pretty hot putter. At 2 shots worse than my current 9 handicap, it was a pretty memorable "bad" round! All I want now is a victory tomorrow for Andy Murray, and a win for the Mighty Reds (a.k.a Nottingham Forest) over West Ham United in the FA Cup, and it will have been a nice weekend. :-)

Oh, and here's a note on another very fine Alsace wine, which I opened last night.........

Rolly Gassmann Gewurztraminer 2007 Alsace

I must admit that I'm difficult to please when it comes to Gewurztraminer. I love the smell of it, with those classic (and rather unmistakeable) aromas of turkish delight/rosewater and lychee, but so many of them fail to deliver the balance between fruit and acidity that I crave in a white wine, whilst those floral and tropical fruit flavours can often be almost painful to taste. But this one ticks all of the boxes. Like the Pinot Gris 2008 from the same grower, which I wrote about last night, this one has quite a deep colour (this time more of a yellow-gold) which hints at richness. Thankfully though, that richness is nicely restrained, both on the nose and the palate. All of the aromas I expect are present and correct, with the floral and exotic fruit perfume augmented by subtle notes of coriander, oregano and an intriguing (and not unpleasant) hint of emulsion paint. And whilst the palate delivers the expected hit of intense lychee and rosewater flavours, along with an unexpected element of freshly-grated root ginger, it also possesses (glory be!) a delicious and very refreshing backbone of lemon-tinged acidity. Result - a Gewurztraminer with real balance and elegance. So much so, in fact, that I can certainly see me enjoying a bottle or two more of this, for the sake of sheer pleasure, rather than just writing about it for the blog/website. Granted, it doesn't quite offer the same level of hedonism that the Pinot Gris did. That one was pretty damn special - but this is a lovely wine in it's own right. Another cracking buy at £16.75.