Burgundy Part 2 - Maison Ilan

It is now Sunday evening in Burgundy and I have managed just one previous post on this trip - which only goes to show what a busy time it has been. Yesterday was a case in point, where two planned grower visits turned into four, resulting in an eleven hour day and a late dinner. Today has been more relaxing, with a long lunch on the sun-drenched terrace of the delightful restaurant St. Martin in Chapaize, followed by a mini tour of the highways and byways of southern Burgundy (detailed commentary provided by Monsieur Bennett). Tonight, we will enjoy a supper of cold meats, cheeses, salad and a few more bottles of wine, then it's an early start tomorrow morning, for the journey back to Nottingham.

I'll have plenty to write about over the next few days. Meanwhile, here are a few thoughts on a visit to taste the wines of Maison Ilan in Nuits Saint Georges.

I first heard of Ray Walker around 2 years ago, when he posted on the wine-pages forum about his desire to go and make wine in Burgundy. Apart from the fact that he is from California, I knew very little else about Ray. For some reason, I assumed that he was retired from the Rat Race and just fancied trying his hand at making wine in his dotage. In fact, he has just turned 30, with a background in real estate and finance - and didn't even have an interest in wine at all until around 5 years ago! Rather than repeat the story, I'll just refer you the the Maison Ilan website. There's a good blog, too (linked from the main website). For now, here are my notes from a rather special tasting of Ray's wines.

Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru Monts Luisants 2010

Bright, super fresh, ripe red fruits, redcurrant and an interesting lemony quality (probably due to the malic acid). Very nice.

Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru Les Chaffots 2010

Savoury, herby, meaty aromas, with lots of redcurrant and raspberry. Again, plenty of malic acid, which only serves to give it even more lift. Delicate and expressive.

Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Corbeaux 2010
Prickly, light, full of cherry fruit. Nice!

Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru Aux Charmes 2010
Sweet raspberry fruit aromas and flavours. Very substantial, hugely enjoyable, with great promise.

Le Chambertin Grand Cru 2010
This is big, concentrated and crammed full of fruit. Incredibly elegant, long and utterly delicious.

Ray Walker and his 90 year-old grape press - a bargain at 400 Euros!

Then we were treated to 3 wines from the 2009 vintage, from bottle.............

Morey Saint Denis 1er Cru Les Chaffots 2009

Aromas of mocha, meat and hugely concentrated fruit, with an enticing vanilla/custard note. The palate is silky, with very fine tannins, juicy cranberry and redcurrant fruit and all manner of exotic spices. A fabulous wine.

Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru Aux Charmes 2009

There's a hint of fine Calvados, and again a strong whiff of mocha, but the fruit just sings. Wonderful Pinot Noir character, with immensely concentrated sweet, savoury fruit and breath-taking complexity. Opulent, but so completely elegant, with a finish that just goes on forever. For me, this was a truly profound wine.

Le Chambertin Grand Cru 2009

I didn't really manage to write anything coherent about this wine, although I do remember it was a bigger wine than the Charmes - richer and even more concentrated. But quite frankly almost as good. Frankly, to have the opportunity to taste two such profound wines, one after the other, was a very rare treat indeed. Stunning wine(s).

Always allowing for the fact that Ray Walker has yet to actually bottle his first vintage (he gave up on the first attempt at bottling the 2009's after 20-odd bottles, as the corks hadn't been paraffin-treated, so weren't going in properly) it really isn't too hard to imagine him becoming a very big star in Burgundy, in a very short space of time. Of course, there's many a slip between cup and lip, but this is a man who clearly knows what he wants, and is willing to put in as much work as is needed to get it. He's clearly had some great luck, not just in obtaining financial backing for Maison Ilan, but also in being able - in his first year of making wine - to source grapes from some of the finest vineyards on the Cote d'Or. But they say you make your own luck, and Ray is clearly a very driven man. The fact that he appears genuinely modest about what he has achieved in such a short space of time just makes you want even more for him to succeed.

That's it for now, but here are a couple of nice photos from our trip (and there's plenty more whey they came from)..............

This magnificent animal pulls the plough in the vineyards of the biodynamic 
Domaine Romanée Conti
           

Burgundy Part 1 - Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg

It felt like a nightmare – but in reality, a rendition of “God Save The Queen”, played hesitatingly (and very loudly) on some sort of pump organ in the style Captain Pugwash at 7.30 in the morning (to an Englishman it was 6.30) was just David Bennett’s way of making sure that we (and the neighbours) were awake. Thursday could only get better.

We had arrived at David’s house in the medieval southern Burgundy village of Saint Gengoux Le Nacional at around 7.45 pm on Wednesday evening – pretty much bang on schedule, and with a busy day to look forward to on Thursday. An early start saw us on the road by 8.30 am, heading north for a 10 am appointment with Domaine des Lambrays in Morey Saint-Denis.  I forgot my notepad for this one, so didn't take any notes as such. I'll try and put together a report based on others' notes soon. Meanwhile………………

After a long walk around the vineyards behind Morey, we found a cool spot in the shade of the forest, half way up the hill, for a picnic lunch. Then it was off to Vosne-Romanée, for our 2.30 pm appointment at Domaine Georges Mugneret-Gibourg. I have to say that the wines of this estate were – for me – the highlight of the 2 days so far. We tasted 7 wines, all from the brilliant 2009 vintage. Following various degrees of oak ageing, all of the cuvées are currently lying in stainless steel tanks, ready for bottling in around 2 weeks’ time. These are my notes;

Vosne-Romanée 2009

Red fruit aromas and a hint of black fruit and some older wood notes. Pure, bright flavours of fresh and crystallised fruits, with fine tannins. A nice start.

Chambolle-Musigny 2009 1er Cru Les Feusselottes

This is more serious – more oak, more fruit, more soft spice (I noted fenugreek in particular). The palate shows a touch of austerity, with a combination of healthy acidity, soft tannins and moderate fruit. Another very nice wine.

Nuits-Saint-Georges 2009 1er Cru Les Chaignots
Fenugreek again. A lovely mix of crystallised fruits, wild strawberries, cherries and classy oak. Cracking structure – fruit, acidity and tannins in perfect harmony. Very long, and with a nice lingering vanilla note on the finish. Undoubtedly firm, but very fine, like an iron fist in a velvet glove, and very lovely to drink, even at this early stage. That said, this has real potential. A lovely wine – and if Mr Bennett gets on with sending a confirmatory email, we may be lucky enough to buy 3 bottles each of this wine. It will cost us around 30 quid a go, but will be worth every penny.

Échezaux 2009

This one takes a while to come out of its shell. Serious, complex wine, with hints of apples and red capsicum lurking behind the super-ripe strawberry fruit, with soft spices, polished wood and marked stone/mineral. I even got some apple pie notes on the palate, amongst the ripe strawberry. This is very elegant and very long. A fabulous wine.

Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru 2009

This is a “jeune vignes”, from a vineyard which actually qualifies as Griottes Grand Cru – which, once the vines are more established, it will actually be. But for now, it is labelled as 1er Cru. High toned ,then becoming perfumed and herby, with notes of oregano, cloves, bay and spearmint – a very sexy nose. The palate is quite simple in comparison, whilst being intensely fruity and rich. The finish is a touch tannic and even austere. Needs time.

Ruchottes-Chambertin 2009 Grand Cru

This is wonderful. It smells like an old church pew, with a combination of incense, exotic spices and polished wood, smeared with ripe wild strawberries. The palate is incredibly complex and structured, and amazingly fleet of foot. This is already soft and sexy and very feminine. Spicy, woody, fruity, elegant – just wonderful. My note can’t really do it justice. At somewhat in excess of £100 a bottle, I doubt that I will get to drink too much of this, but it was a real privilege to taste. A profound wine.

Clos Vougeot 2009 Grand Cru

Savoury, meaty, rich. Then the spices and incense notes begin to emerge. And cherries, redcurrants, violets and a hint of bitter chocolate. This is masculine and dense – there’s almost something of the Languedoc about it. Ripe redcurrants, with good acidity, but not tart in fact, very ripe, almost opulent. This is currently a sleeper, but will surely be fabulous, given time.

Madame Mugneret listens intently, as David Bennett explains exactly how to make great Burgundy

That's it for now. More tomorrow.

    

Off to Burgundy for a few days

Just a quick post to let you know I'm still alive and kicking (if a little tired and in need of a rest)! Apart from my recent pieces about Oddbins (now officially in administration) I've been so busy with other things recently - wine business, day job, family, car troubles, etc - that I simply haven't had the time for blogging. Sometimes, something just has to give!

By the time you read this (I'm posting around midnight, when I really should be doing other things) I will more than likely be on my way to Burgundy, to enjoy a few days of wine, food and general conviviality with my good friends David Bennett, Andy Leslie, Bernard Caille and Peter Bamford. Apart from several planned visits to some very fine Cote d'Or wine growers (which I hope to report on over the coming days) I will hopefully also have some time to write up some of the best wines from hundreds of tasting notes I've been accumulating over the last few weeks. So, without the constraints of work, wine business and other commitments to occupy me for a few days, there will be plenty of scope for typing them up for publication over the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, watch out for lots of Burgundy-related posts over the next few days (wireless connection permitting).

A bientot!

        

Oddbins - further developments

Since I wrote on Tuesday about the beleaguered state of Oddbins, there have been further developments. Off License News now reports that "Oddbins has applied to the courts go into administration to stave off winding-up orders from creditors ahead of next Thursday's meeting to vote on a proposed company voluntary arrangement. The company described the move as a "precautionary measure" and said its remaining 89 stores would continue to trade."

This measure effectively gives Oddbins a 10-day immunity against any winding-up orders, allowing for the vote on the proposed Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to go ahead as planned, at a meeting of creditors on 31 May. However, unless the terms of the CVA are accepted at that meeting by at least 75% (in terms of value) by the creditors, then the company will almost certainly be forced into formal administration.

Bizarrely, British Gas appears to have played a significant role in forcing Oddbins' hand, since they are one of the companies (or perhaps even the only company) to have apparently applied for a winding-up order against Oddbins. The list of creditors on Deloitte's CVA document shows British Gas Business to be owed the princely sum of £57.65. Which seems a little strange, because business regulations normally dictate that a debt of at least £750 be outstanding before any single creditor can apply for such an order. Following a little digging, the intrepid Jim Budd now reports on his excellent blog, Jim's Loire, that the explanation for this is that "the amount listed as owed to British Gas excludes estimates." Whatever that means is anybody's guess - although it isn't inconceivable that the reported total debt of around 20 million Pounds is a rather conservative estimate.

Either way, the future for Oddbins now appears very bleak. Even if they manage somehow to stave-off formal administration in the short term, actually having any wine to sell may prove rather difficult. The problem is, having treated their suppliers (both wine growers and UK importers/agents) so shabbily, why would those same suppliers ever want to to do business with Oddbins again in the future - especially if they are forced to accept just 21% of what they are already owed (and over a 4 year period, at that)? There is simply no longer any basis for trust or goodwill. If, as reported elsewhere, the Oddbins management are so confident that they can re-build their business, why not show a clear resolve to (eventually) pay back 100% of what they owe? Anything less is unsatisfactory, but 21% is quite frankly an insult.

Always assuming that their existing suppliers do what they are being asked to do and cut their losses, who on earth will take their place in the longer term? No sensible grower would touch them with a bargepole ,unless it was on a strict "payment with order" basis.

I take no personal pleasure from reporting on the seemingly inevitable demise of Oddbins - too many people will lose their livelihoods and too many honest suppliers will face severe financial difficulty. As I said in my previous post, I am one of the countless enthusiasts for whom Oddbins played such a huge part in starting my love affair with good wine, and it is sad to see a once-great retailer fall so spectacularly from grace. But that was then - and this is now. And apart from the name, there really is little left for us sentimental wine lovers to lament - except for the fact that the dreaded supermarkets will now have even less competition from the high street. 

          

For another take on the subject of Oddbins, including some rather damning comments by the trade, see the report entitled Suppliers being 'asked to fund Oddbins rescue' on the Harpers Wine & Spirit website.
       

Oddbins - is this the end for a once proud wine retailer?

Like many an avid wine enthusiast whose voyage of discovery began in the late 1980's and early 1990's, I have fond memories of many happy hours - not to mention a fair amount of money - spent in the vinous heaven of Oddbins. A wide-ranging, dynamic and continuously evolving wine list, combined with innovative marketing, fair pricing and enthusiastic staff was the secret of Oddbins' success. I remember that Australia, USA, Southern France, Spain and the Rhone were particularly well represented, although other emerging new-world countries were also given a helping hand. In short, for the budding enthusiast and seasoned aficionado alike, Oddbins was the "happening" place to find new and exciting wines. Indeed, many of the relatively unknown growers whose wines populated the shelves in those heady days have since gone on to become much sought-after, iconic names. Others have all but disappeared from the UK market, which is a great shame, because many of them were deserving of more attention.

Having been acquired by Seagrams in the late 1980's, Oddbins' success continued well into the late 1990's. But by 2002, things were (for a variety of reasons) on the slide and Seagrams sold the business to the French wine retailer Castel. An even more lacklustre performance (in terms of both marketing and choice of wines) by Castel saw things go from bad to worse until, in 2008, the Company was sold to a consortium headed by Simon Baile, son of Nick Baile, who was the owner in the pre-Seagram days.

Fast-forward 3 years and Simon Baile's grand design, aimed at restoring Oddbins to it's former glories, appears to lie in tatters - as do the finances of both the Company and many of it's creditors. Those creditors - as can be seen from the proposed CVA (Company Voluntary Arrangement) now available to view on the Deloitte website - include many of the current and former staff of around 130 shops, who are owed wages and/or severance payments ranging from less than £100 to several thousand. Then there are the landlords of the shop premises, utilities companies, local authorities, and of course the wine growers and agencies, who have continued to supply Oddbins with stock, despite what must have been some pretty ominous warning signs. Many are small, independent growers, whose very livelihoods are threatened by the prospect of having to write-off debts of perhaps a few thousand Pounds. Others are somewhat bigger and arguably better placed (though I imagine not best pleased) to sustain some pretty significant losses. For instance, the relatively small Champagne grower Drappier is owed £80,000, UK wine agency Hatch Mansfield is owed £200,000 and Chilean wine grower Concha y Toro is owed £250,000. Several other companies and large growers are owed six-figure sums and many more are owed five-figure sums. Even wine haulage and shipping company J F Hillebrand is owed almost £25,000 - and believe me, that amount of money shifts an awful lot of wine. The full list of creditors, as shown in Appendix 6 of the CVA, makes for sobering reading. The list is as long as your arm and the debts total somewhere in the region of twenty million Pounds.

The most staggering figures of all, however, are the amounts owed to Her Majesty's Customs and Revenue (HMRC) - over £3,000,000 in unpaid VAT and PAYE, and almost £5,500,000 in unpaid excise duty. Speaking as a (very) small independent wine merchant myself, my Company settles its VAT bill every quarter, without fail - it would be seriously negligent of us not to, for the simple reason that it was never our money in the first place. Furthermore, if we don't have the money to pay excise duty, we don't get our wine. The bonded warehouse sees to that, because it is their job. In both instances, if we failed in our obligation to pay these taxes, you can bet that HMRC would be down on us like the proverbial ton of bricks. Which begs the question, who - if anybody - at HMRC has been keeping an eye on Oddbins? Suffice to say, some serious questions need to be asked.

So what sort of a future lies ahead for Oddbins? The idea behind a CVA seems to be that a company which is essentially insolvent gets to carry on trading, subject to agreement by at least 75% of the creditors to accept a guaranteed percentage of the monies owed to them. In this case, the proposed fixed dividend (i.e. the amount to be paid back to the unsecured creditors) amounts to 21%. In other words, each creditor would receive 21p for every Pound they are owed - and over 48 months, at that. I may be wrong, but I can't see the proposal being acceptable to the majority - and I know what my answer would be, if I were put in that position. Problem is, of course, that most (if not all) of the alternatives may be even worse.

One of the most surprising things about this whole sorry tale is that, despite the rumours circulating on the Internet in recent months - not to mention the dwindling numbers of bottles on the shelves in the Oddbins shops - the real state of affairs only became clear when Deloitte published the CVA. Which, coincidentally, was at around the same time that a Daily Telegraph article, penned by wine columnist Victoria Moore and entitled Oddbins fights back, was published. You can draw your own conclusions, but under the circumstances, it will probably not go down as Ms Moore's finest hour. Then again, we all get the wool pulled over our eyes occasionally, and she'll live to fight another day. Somehow, I doubt that Oddbins will.............

   

The Riesling orgy continues

My new range of Mosel Rieslings arrived in bond yesterday, so are now officially "in stock". And because there are so many of them (14 in all) I've been facing a race against time to write all the tasting notes for my website. I've only 4 more to go, now (plus a solitary Weisserburgunder and the grower profiles) which I hope to complete over another Riesling-fuelled weekend, in time for sending out a newsletter early next week. Here are my notes on a couple of delicious Auslesen, tasted last night.

Dr F Weins-Prum Graacher Domprobst Riesling Auslese 2009 Mosel - £16.75

A bright, limpid, pale yellow/straw colour!. As with all of the Weins-Prum wines, the nose is delicate and refined, yet full of subtle complexity. This one shows plenty of wet slate minerality, even a hint of steeliness, but also plenty of fruit, in the way of dessert apples, lemon and flowers, along with an enticing hint of clarified butter. Again, the palate has a good deal of residual sugar, but this is tempered with intense, laser-like acidity and that ever-present mineralit, which carries through to a long, lingering finish. This really is elegant in the extreme - and another wine with tremendous potential to age and evolve.

Dr F Weins-Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese 2009 Mosel - £17.30

Ultra-pale straw/gold colour. The nose offers delicate aromas of spring flowers, stone fruits, lime zest and mandarin, with a hint of oregano. More than anything though, this wine speaks strongly of slate/minerality. The palate is loaded with all manner of citrus and stone fruit flavours, and is fairly rich and intense, even honeyed - as you would expect from a wine of this level of ripeness. But all of that intensity and richness is more than matched by utterly mouth-watering acidity and again a strong impression of minerality. The result is a wine of great focus, purity and elegance - and impressive length. Yet again, this wine is just wonderful to drink now, but also has great cellaring potential. I would expect it to reach its peak sometime after 2020.

Incidentally, both of these wines coped admirably with a light supper of home-made smoked mackerel paté, lightly-dressed salad and warm crusty bread.

     

Pancakes and Riesling - a match made in heaven!

OK, so I can't claim to be the first to discover this fact - one which is, come to think of it, rather glaringly obvious. I'm currently tasting my way through a few more bottles of Kurt Hain and Dr F Weins-Prum Riesling and writing full tasting notes for the website, in preparation for the delivery of my shipment later this week. It is hard work, but someone has to do it - all in the name of research, of course!

And since yesterday was Pancake Day, it was an ideal opportunity to do a bit of impromptu wine and food matching. We started with some tortilla wraps, filled with hot and spicy chilli con carne and a freshly-made onion, capsicum and chilli relish. Although not the ideal match, both Rieslings were a refreshing and fruity accompaniment to the chilli, especially the Kabinett, which was slightly drier and with a touch of refreshing spritz. But the wines really came into their own with pancakes, laced with a little sugar and lashings of freshly-squeezed orange juice. The Kabinett coped admirably, but the Spätlese, with it's flavours of mandarins and apricot and intense acidity, really was a match made in heaven, mirroring the sweetness and acidity of the pancake toppings.

Kurt Hain Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Kabinett 2007 Mosel Saar Ruwer

The nose on this wine really is something to behold - intense lime, apple, stone fruit, herb and wet slate aromas, with a palpable whiff of the acidity lying in wait on the palate. When I first tasted this in September 2010, it seemed soft in comparison to the 2009, but perhaps that intense acidity and minerality have begun to temper the overt fruitiness - all part of the evolutionary process in great Riesling. Whatever the case, this has turned into a wine with incredible focus and verve, with lime oil, tree fruit and grape flavours melding beautifully with truly mouth-watering, palate-cleansing acidity and a mineral depth worthy of the finest Mosel Rieslings. Although it is so, so good to drink now, I think it has the structure to age and evolve for perhaps another 10 years. So the choice is yours - drink it now, for its sheer vitality and youthful exuberance, or leave it for a few years to develop the more mineral and tertiary aromas and flavours of classic aged Riesling. It really is a fabulous wine - and I promise it will put a smile on your face! £11.95

Kurt Hain Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese No.12 Rotschiefer 2009 Mosel Saar Ruwer

Bright, pale yellow/gold, with a water rim. Of the trio of Hain Spätlese 2009's in our range, this one is probably the softest, most fruit-forward and hedonistic of them all. That said, it already shows a fair degree of complexity, even at this early stage. The nose is absolutely brimming over with the scents of fresh grapes, mandarin orange and apricot, with plenty of that classic Mosel minerality cutting right through the fruit. My rule of thumb for 2009 Mosel Rieslings is that the Kabinetts have almost Spätlese levels of ripeness, whilst the Spätlesen are more akin to Auslesen - and this one is a perfect example, with intensely ripe, luscious fruit flavours and a hefty dollop of residual sugar. But great Riesling at any level needs acidity to balance the sweetness, and this one has it by the bucket-load. The result is a wine of both immense concentration and supreme balance, with the acidity countering the fruit sweetness perfectly. The purists would probably say that this wine needs 5 to 10 years before it is really ready. I say it is utterly wonderful and delicious now - and will always be so. £14.95

    

A delicious white Burgundy and a delectable Cornas

There's a particularly vociferous Burgundy nut on one of the wine discussion boards that I frequent who contends that fruit is not something he particularly looks for (or even wants) in his aged Burgundies. Whilst I still demand some semblance of fruit in my red Burgundies (in fact, red anything - whether aged or not) I can sort of see where he is coming from, as far as the whites are concerned. Some may think that my over-use of fruit descriptors in tasting notes is an easy option - and I'd be the first to admit that my notes tend to have a uniformity of "style", relying quite heavily on fruit/flavour commentary, although I do very occasionally find myself drifting towards the poetic (or some may say pretentious)! But using fruit (which in wine normally means anything but grapes) to describe the flavours is, to my mind, one of the best ways of conveying the feel and style of a wine to the reader. That said - and for all it's many different guises - Chardonnay may well be the least "fruity" and most difficult to describe of all the grape varieties. Depending on where it comes from, you may get hints of apple, lemon, stone fruits, tropical fruits, whatever. But it is usually all about the flowery, minerally, earthy, fruit-in-a-non-fruit sort of way. Good Chardonay smells and tastes of Chardonnay - and good white Burgundy smells of white Burgundy - whatever that is. Here's a case in point, with my latest bottle of........

Domaine Michel Juillot Clos des Barraults 1999 Mercurey 1er CruI seem to remember that my previous bottle of this was a little kess evolved than this one, but that's bottle variation for you - and this is actually just as enjoyable. The only perceptible fruit remaining is baked apple, cut through with a bit of lemon juice - quite rich, but with a definte citrus tang. At almost 12 years of age, it may just be starting to tire a little, with some gentle oxidative notes, which I actually find attractive in aged white Burgundy. But it still shows plenty of Chardonnay (or should I say Burgundy) character, with fruit, minerality, terroir and some nicely integrated oak working in complete harmony. There's a hint of toffee apple (again, a sign that it is fading a bit) but that lovely lemony acidity keeps it fresh. There's also an interesting note of fresh root ginger - lightly spicy, in a cool climate sort of way. Mercurey isn't a grand appellation (it's in the Chalonnaise, some way to the south of the Cote d'Or) but this one certainly stands comparison to a good village Meursault. Lovely wine - who needs fruit?!

I actually have quite a backlog of notes from some really excellent tastings and dinners enjoyed recently. Not that I plan to write them all up, of course (that would be very boring) but I certainly plan to tell you about some of the better ones, when I have a little more time. Meanwhile, here's a particularly fine Northern Rhone for starters;

Thierry Allemand Chaillot 1998 Cornas

Still quite deep in colour with just a tiny pink-ish rim. The nose is a glorious expression of pure, traditional Northern Rhone Syrah - blackberry, raspberry and wild strawberry fruit aromas, mingled with lily of the valley and forest floor. There's a nice touch of savoury smoked bacon, beef stock and sun-dried tomato, but just enough to complement rather than smother the fruit, and what oak there is (or was) is now beautifully integrated. The palate too is traditional - a model of elegance and restraint - which is just how I like my wines. Again, there's plenty of fruit, some savouriness, and perhaps even a hint of rusticity, but there's a lightness of touch that makes it a real joy to drink, with present (but softening) tannins and the most wonderfully mouth-watering acidity. A Cornas for Burgundy lovers.

    

A delicious trio of wines

Even apart from the lavish birthday celebrations last week, I've had the good fortune to enjoy lots of really good wines over the last few weeks - always in moderation, of course! But it's a bit of a job keeping all my notes together, so it may take a while to put them together into something more cohesive, before writing about some of the stand-out wines. Meanwhile, here are my notes on a rather delicious trio from this week.

Kurt Hain Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese No.12 2006 Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

Already a hint of petrol on the nose, making me think it may be quite advanced. But the palate is bright, fresh and simply crammed full of youthful fruit, with an astonishing intensity of flavour, combining stone fruits, sweet apples and soft citrus. The level of ripeness and residual sugar is pretty much up to Auslese level, but any suggestion of sweetness is more than offset by stunning acidity and a wonderful backbone of slatey minerality, all of which makes for a wine of incredible focus and balance. It makes your tabs laugh alright, but puts a real smile on the face at the same time, and the length on the finish is very impressive. It is a beautiful, world-class Riesling. In about 2 weeks' time, I will be taking delivery of a host of wines from Weingut Kurt Hain. I was hoping to be able to include some of this very wine, but by the time I placed my order, it had unfortunately sold out. The good news is that I will have the 2009 vintage, which is already every bit as good, and perhaps with an even better future ahead of it. Look out for it on my list, very soon - at £14.50 a bottle, it's a lot of a wine for the money.

Les Vins de Vienne Sotanum M.M.I Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes

Vins de Vienne is a collaboration between three of the Northern Rhone's top growers - Yves Cuilleron, Pierre Gaillard and Francois Villard and this wine, made from Syrah (and perhaps a little Viognier) grown on the slopes around the commune of Seyssuel, just north of Vienne. Therefore, it cannot qualify as Cote-Rotie (which lies a few miles to the south, and on the other bank of the Rhone) but my goodness, it smells and tastes an awful lot like Cote-Rotie - and a very good one, at that. It is quite a deep, rich purple/red colour, but just beginning to show a little maturity at the rim. It smells lovely - crunchy black and red fruits, violets and lilies, damp earth, just a hint of smoky bacon and some well-integrated, top-quality oak. The palate shows plenty of depth and even some richness, but is supremely balanced and elegant, with softening tannins and really juicy acidity. There's plenty of black fruit in there, but also a layer of sweet and sour cranberry, which gives a refreshing lift. Finishing the dregs of this wine tonight (i.e. day 2) it has lost a little of its initial vitality, but gained even more complexity. Indeed, this is one of those Northern Rhones that - for me, at least - displays an almost Burgundy-like flavour profile and elegance. If you have some, I'd say you can start drinking it now, or age it for at least another 5 years. A real stunner, which cost me about £16 at auction, although current vintages aren't cheap, retailing at up to £35.

Les Vignes de l'Arque Vin de Pays Duché d'Uzès Rouge 2009

I wrote a note on this wine late last year, from a tasting sample sent to me by Les Vignes de l'Arque, whose wines used to feature heavily on the Leon Stolarski Fine Wines list. And thanks to that sample (plus a whole host of other good wines) they are now very firmly back on my list. They arrived in stock last week, so it was never going to be too long before I opened another bottle of the Duché d'Uzès red, and (as if I didn't know it already) it is a cracker. It has amazinly intense aromas and flavours of bramble, plum skin and blackcurrant, with further notes of orange peel, soft spices, tobacco, oak vanillin and meat/leather. A riper, more sun-drenched red wine would be hard to imagine, with those red and black fruits complemented by chocolatey tannins and really good acidity acidity. At 14.8% abv, it is no shrinking violet, but it remains beautifully balanced, without even a hint of heat - just fruit, fruit and more fruit. Oh, and a bit of fruitcake thrown in for good measure. For the money (£9.95) this is a brilliant wine, and without a shadow of a doubt provides the best quality/price ratio on my list. You'd be mad not to try it!

   

Celebrating 50 years on Planet Earth

I was honoured to be joined on Tuesday evening by some close friends and family at the Pretty Orchid restaurant in Nottingham, to help me celebrate my 50th birthday. My friend CY Choong did us proud with an excellent assortment of  fine food, whilst his wife Elsie made a rather wonderful birthday cake. And thanks to CY's unceasing generosity, we were able to enjoy a veritable feast of fine wines, brought from our own cellars. I made no tasting notes to speak of, as this was a night for drinking, not analysing. But, from memory,  (and I'm sure I've forgotten at least a couple) we enjoyed.........

• Cave de Buxy Cremant de Bourgogne 2005
• Piper-Heidsieck Brut Divin Blanc des Blancs NV Champagne
• Joseph Drouhin 1992 Beaune Clos des Mouches
• von Schubert Maximin Grunhauser Riesling Spatlese (?) M-S-R
• Trimbach Gewurztraminer 2007 Alsace
• Rolly-Gassmann Pinot Gris 2008 Alsace
• Michel Gros 1995 Bourgogne Haut Cotes de Nuits
• Chateau Simone 1988 Palette
• Clos de Gamot 1985 Cahors
• Masia Barril 1987 Priorato
• Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou 1995 Saint Julien
• Chateau Leoville Barton 1985 Saint Julien
• Domaine de Trévallon 1993, 1995 and 1998 Vin de Pays des Bouches du Rhone
• Paul Jaboulet Ainé Domaine de Thalabert 1990 Crozes Hermitage
• Chauvot-Labaume 1961 Pommard
• Hain Piesporter Goldtrpchen Riesling Felsterrasen Spatlese 2009 M-S-R
• Domaine de Montesquiou Grappe d'Or 2004 Jurançon.

I'm happy to report that there wasn't a single dud amongst the wines, although the 1961 Pommard was admittedly about 20 years past its best - unlike me, of course! That said, it did have some merit, and I found it curiously enjoyable, in a faded old dame sort of way. In terms of sheer quality, the highlights included the Piper-Heidsieck (a fine example of a classy non-vintage Champagne with some decent bottle age), Clos des Mouches 1992, Simone 1988, Leoville Barton 1985 and Thalabert 1990. All three Trévallons were right on the money, with the 1993 getting my vote, simply because it was at the peak of its powers, whilst the '95 and '98 still have plenty of evolution left in them. And, of course, the Grappe d'Or 2004 was as lovely as ever.

Of course, great food and wine is worthless without great people to share it with, and I can honestly say that those people helped to make this one of the most enjoyable and memorable evenings I have spent in many a long year. So, to CY and his staff, Andy L, David, Bernard, Peter, John, Andy G, Doug and Jenny, Roger and Ann, Richard, Ruth, Marj, Mum, TLD, Alex and Dan - thank you so much. I am truly blessed.

The Fab Four - Andy L, David, Bernard, Peter

Doug, John

Ann, Ruth, Richard

Roger, Andy G, Marj

Alex and TLD, with Dan, my Mum and me
(looking tired and emotional, as usual) at the back



      
  

50 not out

'Twas on 15 February 1961 that I was brought kicking and screaming into this world. In the grand scheme of things, my 50 year journey from complete anonymity to almost total obscurity has been relatively unremarkable. No million-selling CD's, no Hollywood blockbuster movies, no Champions League-winning goals, no Open Golf-winning Claret Jugs. I've seen a good many of my sporting and musical heroes, and even been lucky enough to have briefly met and spoken with a handful of them - and, in many cases, I have the photos to prove it! Hell, I even once walked into a hotel lift (or elevator, as they say across the pond) just as the legendary Windsor Davies was walking out of it. How many people can say that?! Unfortunately, I don't have a photo to prove it. ;-)  OK, so I'm really scraping the barrel there (with all due respect to Windsor Davies!) but I'm merely attempting to articulate the sentiment that my life has been no more eventful than the millions (alright, hundreds) of people who read this blog every week.

But one aspect of my life in which I can very definitely say I have been very lucky is the most important one of all - my family life. Following my formative years, spent in the bosom of a loving and close-knit (most of the time!) family - as the youngest of 4 siblings - I was fortunate enough to meet and marry the the love of my life, Diane, who gave me two wonderful (and wonderfully challenging!) sons. Of course, life hasn't been without a few minor hiccups, but nothing that couldn't be overcome with relatively good health (touch wood), good friends and a family that I wouldn't swap for all the tea in China. Life is good.

TLD - the best thing that ever happened to me

Yours truly, with Daniel and Alex - we're all a few years older now!

Tonight, a few friends and family members will gather at a Nottingham restaurant to help me celebrate my half-century and to enjoy a nice meal and some fine wines - though I'm not getting my hopes up about a bottle of 1961 Volnay that I picked up for a song at auction a year or two ago. Still, you never know........... I'll report back tomorrow.

    

A lovely, Spring-like Saturday, plus 2 very different white wines

Although today is grey, damp and blustery around these parts, yesterday provided a tantalising glimpse of Spring. It was a lovely day to be out on the golf course (even though my game wasn't exactly on song - though I did come tantalisingly close to another hole-in-one) and we even had to take a layer of clothing off after a few few holes, with glorious sunshine and the temperature almost nudging into double figures. Of course, it is still only mid-February, so there is still time for a sting in Winter's tail, but I always feel that when March is approaching, we're almost there. Having said that, I think the long spell of bitterly cold weather we had in November and December has delayed the growing season a little - perhaps not a bad thing, since the seasons have certainly been a bit out of synch over the past few years. So I guess it is just about the right time for these pretty little flowers to put in an appearance.............

The first Snowdrops of Winter, spotted by the side of the 17th green

Hain Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Kabinett 2009, Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany 

Here's something that fits perfectly with the almost spring-like weather we enjoyed yesterday. TLD and I enjoyed our first bottle of this wine whilst sat on the terrace at the Hotel Piesporter Goldtröpfchen in September last year  - and have enjoyed several more since then. It really is a wonderfully drinkable and more-ish wine, with aromas of limes and wet slate, nettles and cut grass, apple and mandarin orange. Over the last few months, it has shed a little of its puppy fat, with the intensely mouth-watering acidity integrating more with the rich, almost Spatlese level fruit. I have no doubt that this wine will age and evolve gracefully for another 5 to 8 years, but I find the combination of mandarin and lime, a touch of honeyed richness and oiliness, together with truly mouth-watering acidity almost impossible to resist. Look for this wine appearing on the Leon Stolarski Fine Wines list, within the next month or so. The price will be around £11.75 - a bit of a bargain, for a wine from a top grower, in a top, top year.

Mullineux White 2009 Swartland, South Africa (widely available - average price around £14.95)
61% Chenin Blanc, 23% Clairette and 16% Viognier, fermented and matured in 225 litre barriques (it doesn't say how new, or for how long). This is the third in a trilogy of wines from this grower that I have drank over the last few weeks, and I was hoping (given some positive - even, occasionally, gushing - reviews I have read) for great things. On first pouring, the nose displays quite pronounced sweet apple and stone fruit aromas and a touch of Chenin minerality, with background notes of honey and sweet oak vanillin. But I don't really get much in the way of freshness - it comes across as big, rich and ripe, without any of the high notes or suggestion of acidity that I would expect from a wine dominated by Chenin Blanc. The palate shows more promise in the acidity stakes, but still not quite enough to lift it sufficiently for my taste. There's a good deal of Chenin flavour, again with some rich, baked apple flavours and a touch of mineral, but the overall impression is of a slight pithiness and alcoholic warmth, rather than elegance and freshness - perhaps more in the way of a southern Rhone blend (and, to be fair, 40% of it is just that). After a day or two in the fridge, the remains of the bottle begin to show a little more freshness and the overripe flavours have receded somewhat, although the elegance I crave has still failed to materialise. It is an OK wine, but I was hoping for so much more, and I wouldn't buy it again. If you're interested in trying something in the same vein (in fact, a very similar blend, from the same region) that really does tick all my boxes, then I would suggest the gorgeous (and significantly cheaper) The Liberator Episode 1 The Bureaucrat 2009, which I will happily sell to you for the princely sum of £12.95. ;-)


         

A delightful old Gamay, and a new toy to make my life easier

It seems like everyone is talking about Beaujolais at the moment, especially following the hugely successful 2009 vintage, which threatens to put the region firmly back on the quality wine map. But it isn't just Beaujolais that makes good wine from Gamay, for it is quite widely planted in the rest of southern Burgundy, and most notably in the Maconnais, the most southerly appellation of the region. And in my humble opinion, Macon Gamay can be every bit as good as the wines from even the most exalted Beaujolais Crus - especially with bottle age. And this little beauty is a fine example of it's kind. 

Domaine Guillot-Broux Beaumont 1996 Macon-Cruzille

It is a delightful "old" pale ruby/blood colour - clear and bright, but showing definite signs of amber/bricking at the edge. I've had a few bottles of this wine in the past couple of years, ranging from good to very good - always quirky, and occasionally a bit stinky, but this one is almost clean as a whistle. I say almost, because there is undeniably a hint of funky, barnyardy brett on the nose, but just enough to add interest and complexity to a wine that is still full of wild strawberry and red cherry fruit, with touches of cedar, spice and forest floor. A good wine will always age on it's acidity (and of course tannins) and this one still has bags of acidity, whilst any tannins that were there to begin with have resoveld nicely. Experienced palates might just identify this as Gamay, but I'd wager that the first suggestion of many would be Pinot Noir. It is often said that top-notch Gamay can develop Pinot characteristics with age, and this is a classic example of that phenomenon, for it really does have that elegance, minerality, delicate fruit and overall fleet of foot that a really good Bourgogne Rouge - or even village Burgundy - tends to show at this sort of age. It has so much juicy, sweet, elegant fruit - evolved, yes, but still  beautifully poised and full of vitality. And oh, that acidity!

Incidentally, the bottle photo above was taken on my new HTC Desire HD. Strictly speaking, it is a mobile telephone but, as we all know, the concept of mobile 'phones has moved on a little, in recent years. And this little beauty just about has it all - or, at least, all that is available in phone technology thus far. It has an 8 megapixel camera with zoom and flash, video camera, music player, FM radio, wifi, bluetooth, GPS, word processing (with an excellent, user-friendly keyboard), games, apps....... the list goes on. Most importantly for me though, it  has a perfectly formed mini Internet browser, which enables me to access the Internet (and therefore my web server) whilst on the road. Which means that I can access my emails and check for customer orders, without the need to be either sat at my home desktop PC or driving around searching for a wifi signal on my laptop.  At just a shade over £30 per month, for a 2 year contract (including the hardware for "free") I consider it money well spent, for a piece of kit that will make my life so much easier and save me a lot of time into the bargain. In fact, as with the advent of the personal desktop computer and the laptop, I guess it won't be long before I'm asking myself how I ever coped without it!

      

The journey continues - yet more white wines!

Domaine de Calet Esprit de Blanc 2009 Costieres de Nimes

I can't remember the last time I tasted a white Costieres de Nimes - I know I've had at least one or two, but they were obviously such a long time ago that I had no real idea what to expect from this wine. The reds from this estate are really good, but a rather sweet, blowsy - in fact, quite sickly - Chardonnay tasted a few weeks back had me thinking that the other whites might be disappointing. But this one was a very pleasant surprise. The blend is 60% Roussanne, with the remaining 40% being Vermentino, Bourboulenc and Clairette. The nose really is very appealing, offering peach, apricot and zesty lime/lemon fruit aromas, together with hints of honeysuckle, buttercream and garrigue herbs. In the mouth, it manages to be both rich and distinctly refreshing at the same time - quite a rare combination in a white wine. The honeyed oiliness of the Roussane, the savoury, slightly salty tang of the Vermintino and the  fresh fruitiness of the Bourboulenc and Clairette make for a really interesting and beautifully balanced wine. The inherent zestiness of many southern Rhone whites can sometimes be a bit too pronounced and pithy for my personal taste, but this one offers just enough lime peel tanginess to match the rich tree fruit flavours, whilst the savoury, almost spicy warmth is countered by excellent orange-tinged acidity. All-in-all, this is a rich, rounded, yet poised and elegant wine, which belies its rather humble origins. I like it a lot. I have some wines on order from Domaine de Calet, which should be arriving within a couple of weeks - this one will retail at £8.50.

Pegasus Bay Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2008 Waipara Valley, New Zealand
This is another wine sent to me by Staurt Travers at Cambridge Wines - and another real winner, I have to say. The nose is a gloriously fresh combination of gooseberry, lemon, elderflower and mineral. The merest hint of tropical fruit perhaps betrays this wine's new world origins, but it would otherwise be easy (if tasted blind) to mistake it for a very good white Bordeaux or - given that the Sauvignon seems to dominate - Sancerre. The flavours offer a beautifully focused and zingy combination of gooseberry, lime and bramley apple, with a subtle hint of peach countering the tartness, whilst a strong mineral streak adds a touch of depth and complexity. The finish is long and fresh. New Zealand continues to go from strength to strength, and this is a fine example of what it can do with a classic French blend. Lovely stuff, which more than held it's own against the house lamb curry.

Rolly Gassmann Riesling 2007 Alsace
This is the last in a trilogy of wines I now list from the latest relases from this fine Alsace grower - and another real winner, in my book. As a lover of the German "fruchtighe" style of Riesling, I often struggle to appreciate the more robust, dry style of Alsace Riesling. But this one ticks all of my boxes. It has a wonderfully expressive nose, combining lemon, peach, apple and grape skins with a really pronounced, up-front wet stone/mineral quality. The palate has an earthy richness to it, with a sweet, almost cider apple quality, offset by zesty lemon and lime flavours, and again a palpable streak of minerality. The aromas and flavours continue to grow in the glass, in a wine of real complexity, finesse and great length. Although an absolute joy to drink now, it promises much for those who are patient enough to cellar it for a few more years. Boy, I love these Rolly Gassman wines! £14.99.

Mullineux Straw Wine 2009 Swartland, South Africa
I've heard some good things about this grower, and especially this particular wine, so was really looking forward to trying it. The colour is a dark orange/brown, whilst the nose has intense orange marmalade and toffee apple aromas, with a touch of grapiness. But such is the intensity of these aromas, I really am struggling to pick out any subtle nuances. The texture in the mouth is almost like treacle - and so, unfortunately, is the taste. Nobody could ever accuse the Chenin Blanc variety of lacking acidity, but what acidity there is in this wine proves to be woefully inadequate in balancing the shockingly concentrated, almost painfully sweet flavours the palate has to offer. I was expecting sweet and sour and tangy, but all I get is sweet. I have always had a sweet tooth (and have spent many a painful hour in the dentist's chair as a result) so a love of sweet wines is one of my weaknesses. And, to use a muscical/satirical analogy, I've even been known to like the occasional wine that goes up to eleven. Unfortunately, this one is all bass and no treble.
       

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.
       

A stunning Alsace Pinot Gris, truly worthy of a blog post all of it's own

Rolly Gassmann Pinot Gris 2008 Alsace

The first thing you notice about this wine is it's colour - quite a deep orange/gold, suggesting a high level of ripeness. The texture in the glass is also a good indicator - swirl it around and it takes a while for the tears to even form, never mind roll down the sides. The nose also promises much ripeness, with an intensity of mineral-rich fruit such as I have rarely (if ever) encountered in a supposedly "basic" Alsace cuvée. The aromas of flowers, toffee apple, peach, apricot and orange that emanate from the glass really do heighten the senses. A whiff of wet slate and backgound notes of cinnamon and spice, not to mention what I perceive as more than a hint of honeyed botrytis, merely add to what really is a complex nose. And the palate doesn't disappoint, offering a depth of flavour and richness reminiscent of a vendange tardive wine - or even a selection grains nobles (SGN) - yet at the same time so wonderfully fresh and vibrant. The spiced citrus, tree fruit and mineral flavours are matched blow-for-blow by a toffee and marmalade-like intensity, all of which lingers for an age on the palate. There's a certain amount of residual sugar, for sure, but any impression of sweetness is far outweighed by the sheer intensity of flavour and joyous balance that this wine possesses. And if it were too sweet, TLD would hate it, because she actively dislikes sweet wines - and the fact that she absolutely loved it tells me that we have something rather special here.

I'm well aware that Rolly Gassmann have a reputation for producing wines with a certain amount of residual sugar, which often take a good few years to come into balance. But this one is supremely balanced already, and the sheer pleasure of drinking it has me in complete and utter rapture. I shudder to think how much better this wine will become, with a few more years in bottle, because although it is painfully young, it really is so delicious. The last vintage of this wine that I listed (2002 - don't ask me why or how we have suddenly arrived at the 2008, because I don't know) was lovely, but this one is absolutely in a different league. So much so, in fact, that I genuinely wonder whether they might have mistakenly stuck the wrong labels on a much more prestious bottling! Unlikely, I know, but I'm certainly keeping the remainder of this particular case for myself, to enjoy over the next 5 to 10 years or more. Perhaps it is a case of my expectations for this wine being so far exceeded, but the effect of this wine is almost narcotic - which is a shame, because I've just finished the last half of the bottle (having broached it last night, to accompany a simple dish of pasta with garlic, parsley, olive oil and some grated cheese). An utterly glorious, stunning wine. Buy it - at £17.50, it is a real bargain.

    

A lovely 2009 Cru Beaujolais

Domaine Metrat & Fils La Roilette 2009 Fleurie

2009 was widely hailed as one of the great Beaujolais vintages, with a perfect growing season yielding wines of considerable fruit density and a good deal of richness, over and above the norm. And of the (admittedly few) 2009's I have tasted thus far, most have indeed been lovely, albeit in a fairly atypical way, because that richness - together with the correspondingly lower levels of acidity than normal - has made for wines rather more reminiscent of good Cotes du Rhone than "typical" Beaujolais. But here's one that really does tick all of the boxes, in terms of Beaujolais typicity, whilst still displaying the inherent generosity of the vintage. Although it is a somewhat deeper colour than the expected ruby red - in fact, more of a transluscent purple colour - the nose still offers a riot of summer fruits, in the way of wild strawberries, raspberries and red cherries, augmented by some enticing background notes of older wood and forest floor. The flavours are correspondingly fruity and ripe, but with real elegance and subtlety, which suggests to me that this winemaker really has got the measure of the vintage. For those ripe, fruity flavours are balanced beautifully by a hint of tannin and just the right level of juicy, mouth-watering acidity, making for a wine of considerable character, a good deal of complexity and a whole load of sweet-and-sour loveliness. Yum! In fact, double yum!
      

Young Chenin Blanc and Riesling - it doesn't get much better than this.

Continuing my current preference (will it ever end?!) for white wines, here are a couple more absolute crackers, from two of my very favourite white grapes (and probably both in many people's top 3 finest white varieties)..........

Domaine Huet Le Mont Sec 2007 Vouvray

100% Chenin Blanc, certified biodynamic. A lovely, limpid, almost shimmering straw/gold colour - just lovely to look at! And lovely to smell, too. Along with Riesling (the one grape variety I occasionally mistake it for - and vice-versa) good Chenin Blanc almost invariably possesses a "mineral" quality. Minerality has various guises - steely, flinty, slatey, stoney, occasionally just plain earthy. All are descriptors that non-wine-geeks may find a bit hard to fathom - and I myself find difficult to quantify - but any aficianado of these two noble varieties will surely know what I am on about. And this particular Chenin Blanc possesses most of them, to some degree, along with some enticing apple and citrus notes and a whiff of honey. And the richness suggested by the nose certainly comes through on the palate, with an abundance of tree fruit flavours, married to intense minerality and a spine-tingling level of lemony acidity. In fact, a more focused and pure expression of its kind would be hard to imagine. Such attributes are a virtual guarantee of immense ageing potential and this wine certainly has the stuffing to evolve for a good 10 to 20 years - and yet, it is so good to drink now. Granted, it was a bit tight when I uncorked it 24 hours ago, but it has certainly opened-out since then, and if I can keep my mitts off it for another day or two, I am sure it will get even better. Then again, I don't think I can resist, because it is absolutely gorgeous! 

Dr F Weins-Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese 2009

Here's a wine with many similar attributes to the one above, the only differences being the grape variety (this is 100% Riesling) and the level of residual sugar, Spatlese being harvested at a certain degree of overripeness. And that residual sugar is accompanied by a considerable level of fruit intensity. Lime zest, mandarin orange and sweet apple flavours abound, with a strong hint of wet slate, and a fleeting whiff of fresh root ginger and oregano. The entry on the palate provides a veritable fruit cocktail of flavours - from peach and apricot at the sweet/luscious end of the spectrum, to apples, oranges and limes at the tangy end. It always amazes me how one single grape variety can produce a wine with such glorious fruit complexity - in fact, I know of no other that can match it. But this wine isn't just about the fruit - it also exhibits a strong backbone of clean, laser-like acidity and minerality, which combines effortlessly with the fruit flavours, in a wine of quite stunning purity and a level of enjoyment that transports me effortlessly to a warm summer day, even on a dreary Sunday evening in the middle of winter. My only worry is that this wine is so delicious to drink now, my own personal stash may well be consumed well before its peak - which I would say will be in around 8 to 10 years. If you like the sound of it, then you'll be able to buy some at around £15 a bottle, when it arrives in stock in about a month's time.

            

A couple of lovely young Viognier wines - one dry, one sweet

Continuing my recent theme of white wines, here's a couple of lovely 100% Viognier wines we've enjoyed over the past few days, one dry, one sweet - and both lovely!

Domaine Gayda Viognier 2009 IGP Pays d'Oc

100% Viognier, aged on its lees for 6 months before bottling. As with the Chemin de Moscou red I reviewed recently, this wine is a blend of grapes sourced from two distinct Languedoc and Roussillon terroirs - in this case, from limestone soil in Haut Minervois and schitous slopes in the Fenouilledes, so yet another example of new-world thinking, combined with old-world terroir. The colour is a bright, limpid straw/gold, with just a hint of green. On opening, there is a faint whiff of banana, which very quickly dissipates - perhaps just a touch of reduction, as is often the case with screwcapped wines. Once that is out of the way, we are left with a rather attractive combination of peaches and apricot, orange blossom and other floral notes.

At this juncture, I am distracted - nay, overcome - by a strong and rather off-putting odour of cheap Lynx deodorant, wafting down into my dining room from upstairs, accompanied by the incessent din of American Indie/Punk/Thrash/Screaming blaring out of Alex's hi-fi system. Hardly conducive to peaceful contemplation and vinous navel-gazing. Shame I can't close the door, but there are (as usual) too many wine boxes in the way! Never mind - with a bit of luck, he'll be off out with his mates, any minute now.....

Anyway, back to the wine. It's a really smooth, rather attractive expression of Viognier, with soft apricot and peach flavours countered by just the right amount of zesty citrus fruit and even a hint of stony minerality. The 6 months this wine has spent sitting on its fine, yeasty lees seems to have polished away any rough edges and tempered the tendency to pithinesss that can occasionally afflict wines made from this variety. There's a faint whiff of garrigue herbs on the nose, which also manifests on the palate, but just enough to add a little complexity and interest to a wine that definitely majors on fruit. In fact, this is another wine from Domaine Gayda which calls on new world practices and techniques, whilst very definitely speaking loud and proud of it's Languedoc (and Roussillon) origins. A really nice wine, which just happens to provide an excellent match for this evening's Thai chicken curry, and excellent value at £8.99 from Cambridge Wines.

Les Vignes de l'Arque Saveur d'Automne 2009 IGP Pays d'Oc Doux

This is the last of my sample bottles from a grower whose wines used to feature very prominently on the Leon Stolarski Fine Wines list - and will do so again, very soon. Also made from 100% Viognier, grown in a vinous backwater of the Gard, west of the ancient town of Uzes, and aged in oak for around 9 months. Clear, pale straw colour, with orange glints. A delightfully intense nose, with complex aromas including apricot, orange, fresh grapes, honey and root ginger, with the perfume heightened even more by a strong floral/rose element, akin to turkish delight. The barrel ageing has imbued the wine with a subtle note of oak vanillin. The flavours are moelleux, rather than full-on sweet, with the inherent richness countered by really good acidity and a touch of grape tannin. There is a core of rich, ripe, densely concentrated fruit and a touch of spicy, alcoholic warmth, whilst the finish offers a final flourish of tropical fruit and candied citrus. The oak is beautifully judged and integrates seamlessly with the fruit, making for a wine of considerable complexity. In fact, a little goes a long way, but fortunately this wine is perfectly capable of sitting in the fridge for a good many days after opening, during which it just gets better and better. Another lovely Languedoc sticky.