Domaine Bassac - Two New Organic Wines

Two organic wines from Languedoc's Domaine Bassac

Based in Cotes de Thongue, Domaine Bassac has two new organic wines; the rosé is full and substantial, the be-whiskered Manpot is a fruity gentleman.

The rosé also has a silver medal from the Challenge Millesime Bio.

Domaine Bassac Rosé 2015 pale pink with delicate red berry fruit and zippy citrus acidity; substantial, complex and very adept.

Good.

Drink as an aperitif or match with summery picnic foods.

Le Manpot 2013 stewed red and black plums, cassis, liquorice and spice with a fresh juiciness; fine, supple texture.

Match with roast meat, salamis or sausages.

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Foncalieu
Sud de France
 

Francois Lurton South America Tasting

Tasting notes for the wines of Francois Lurton from Chile and Argentina

Stylistically, Francois Lurton's wines evoke his bordelais background - they are a blend of new world ripeness with an old world love of structure in general and acidity in particular.

If you think South American wines are no more than cheap-and-cheerful fruit-forward crowd-pleasers, think again.

Chile

Hacienda Araucano
Humo Blanco Sauvignon Blanc 2016 (£12.99) barrel-fermented, more textured than expressive; full waxy and rich

Clos de Lolol 2015 (£17.40) SB/Ch textured, rounded and long. Good.

Humo Blanco Cabernet Franc 2015 (£13.99) ripe, supple, deft clean and pure

Clos de Lolol Red 2013 (£17.40) Syrah blend, spicy with grilled notes, soft and supple

Gran Araucano Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 (£24) Bordelais-style spice and leather with new world fruit; very clean, pure and precise. Long supple and harmonious. Good.

Alka 2014 (£49.95) Carmenere, complex with pure blueberry fruit and varietal soy and coffee; deft, long and supple with gently assertive tannins. Very Good.

Argentina

Bodega Piedra Negra

Gran Lurton Blanco 2014 (£16.99) Sauvignon Vert, oak fermented, textured leesy and long. Good.

Gran Lurton Red 2011 (£16.99) CS blend, bramble fruit with grilled, spicy notes; fresh, supple, long and adept. Good.

Gran Malbec 2011 (£22) blowsy yet complex blockbusting 15.8% Malbec; black and sour cherries, spice; long and supple with a warming, grippy finish.

Chacayes 2013 (£49.95) Malbec blend, impressively big spicy, ripe and supple wine with dark fruit and grip. Good - needs further aging.

Dinner - the taste-off

Over our Peruvian dinner, we paired off some museum pieces from both estates' collections.

Clos de Lolol White 2011 vs Gran Lurton Bianco 2007 on the nose, the Lolol appears to be the older and more evolved of the two; the Lurton is in better shape and wears its aged character well.

Gran Araucano Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 vs Gran Lurton 2005 (CS blend) the fruit in both is starting to dry out a little, the Araucano is Medoc-esque with capsicum and tobacco leaf, the Lurton is more Rhone-like with dark fruit, spice and a custardy texture.

Alka 2003 (Carmenere) vs Chacayes 2003 (Malbec blend) the Chacayes is the clear winner here; it shows beautifully, with complex peppery-minty dark bramble fuits and an harmonious structre; Very Good. The Alka feels more evolved and dried out, but the acidity is still fresh and the texture supple.

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VIP Wines - Italian Cultural Institute Tasting

A tasting of Italian wines at the Italian Cultural Institute

It is a standard cliche about Italy that the country is beautiful yet unpredictable and chaotic.

Like most cliches, it is a generationalisation that contains more than a grain of truth. My personal cliche about Italy is that you need an inside track, a bit of local knowledge, to see the best of the country.

This Italian VIP tasting showcased five wineries - and met most if not all cliches; it was chaotic with no listing of individual wines, just names of producers on a single sheet.

Yet all the wines I tasted were also thoroughly enjoyable and well made, demonstrating that Italians can navigate their own complexity even where others may not fare so well.

Il Palagio By Sting: www.palagioproducts.com
Vespa Vignaioli by Bruno Vespa: www.vespavignaioli.it
Simonelli Santi by Leonardo Simonelli: www.simonellisanti.com
Cantina Todini by Luisa Todini: www.simonellisanti.com
Bruscia by Bruscia Family: www.brusciavini.it

Vespa Vignaioli
Pink fizz fresh, crisp and delicate
Fiano full and fresh with ripe fruits
Rosso do Vespa rich and intense with prunes and mixed fruit

Simonelli Santi

Antonio soft supple harmonious

Malintoppo cherry fruited with complex spice

Cantina Todini
Grechetto long, fresh, lemony versatile food wine
Nero Della Cervena complex and sophisticated. Very Good.

Il Palagio
Chianti soft, supple light and cherry-fruited
Casino Delle Vie more complex and adept
Sister Moon a further step up

Bruscia
Metodo Classico crisp, fresh, elegant
Famoso floral and full with ripe citrus
Stacciola fresh red fruits, cherries and spice with feral aromas
Passito sweet, complex and fresh with honey and baked apple

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Borsa Vini Italiani 2016

Beyond Sauvignon - Slight Return: three summery wines from Villa Maria

Three summery wines from Villa Maria

Sauvignon Blanc is both the UK's favourite white grape and New Zealand's most widely-planted variety.

Villa Maria, one of the most reliable kiwi producers, has three summery wines that go beyond Sauvignon and back.

First up is a Lighter Sauvignon, a fresh sipper with lower alcohol levels; then a Germanic-style Riesling. Finally, an unusual varietal Sauvignon Gris.

Villa Maria Private Bin Lighter Sauvignon Blanc 2015, £11.30 (independents) a good, enjoyable lighter wine for sipping in the garden or lunchtime drinking. Has the hallmark Villa Maria quality feel and is not compromised by its lower alcohol status.

A light sipper.

Villa Maria Private Bin Riesling 2015, £10.55 (Waitrose, Majestic, Wine Rack, Booths and independents) expressive, fresh and crisp with dieselly aromas, nectarine and peach fruit; bitter lime zest, pineapple citrus and pebbly minerality. Germanic-style.

Match with smoked salmon or barbecued prawns with chilli and garlic.

Villa Maria Cellar Selection Sauvignon Gris 2015, £14.95 (The Co-op, independents) pungent, citrussy and intensely aromatic with expressive passionfruit, lychee and guava leading to dried herbs, lemon zest and a persistent minerality.

Match with strongly flavoured foods such as tuna carpaccio with chilli and ginger.

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La Princesse IGP Vaucluse 2015 - Cellier Des Princes

A distinctively presented rosé from Cellier des Princes

La Princesse is a new rosé from Rhône-based Cellier des Princes, whose wines I first tried at a Marques et Co-op tasting; there are many things to like about it, not least the funky thermo-senstive label which changes appearance once it reaches the ideal serving temperature of 12C.

The juice in the bottle is not bad either - it has a silver medal from Orange - and it is priced well below the level of an equivalent Provence rosé.

La Princesse IGP Vaucluse 2015 very pale pink, with fresh berry fruit, citrus and tarragon-fennel herbs; persistent finish.

Good.

A summer sipper, or match with langoustines, caramelised red-onion and goat's cheese tart or grilled sole.

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Marques et Co-op tasting

An Epic Lunch At Quilon - In Pictures

Lunch with Marques et Coop Wine Association

Quilon, a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant on the borders of Victoria and St James', was the venue for a tasting of Marques et Coop wines, followed by a epic lunch with eight courses matched to 12 of the wines.

It was my second visit to Quilon in a month, and I'm still not quite sure what to make of the place - the ambience is aristocratically restrained - no Shoreditch-style funky textured surfaces or hipster beards here.

As befits its St James' location, just round the corner from Parliament, it feels not so much ironic old school as genuinely old school - yet modern in concept; twenty-first century juxtaposition without the knowing irony. A joke without a punchline.

The food is refined Indian, well-executed; but excellent as it is, the fusion of European elegance and Indian spiciness somehow does not quite fully convince.

Nor do the foods always work brilliantly with wines; I can't help feeling small portions of craft beers would be a better match for the spices and heat of the foods.

The one revelation was Beaujolais with cottage cheese and soya chunks, which not only worked brilliantly, but also outperformed what I expected to the better match, an oaked Muscadet.

The tasting

The introductions

Chef at work

The lunch

See my tasting notes here.

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Foncalieu at Quilon

Coquille d'Oc (aka Cocky Dog)

Three wines from Domaine Sainte Rose in Languedoc, available at Waitrose

It's hardly new news that Languedoc is a great source of well-made, characterful and good value wines.

Domaine Sainte Rose is a family owned and run boutique winery near Servian just outside Beziers.

Owners Charles and Ruth Simpson believe in making beautifully crafted wine in the old world using new world methods.

I tried three of their wines; all are classy, adept and thoroughly enjoyable. And good value, too.

Domaine de Sainte Rose Coquille d’Oc Blanc 2014 - IGP Pays d'Oc 40% Chardonnay, 40% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Viognier, 5% Muscat, £7.49

Aromatic and floral with citrus and stone fruit; rich, fat and aromatic; leesy and mineral. Multi-faceted and adept

Domaine de Sainte Rose Coquille d’Oc Rosé 2015 - IGP Pays d'Oc 40% Syrah, 20% Mourvedre, 20% Merlot, 10% Grenache, £7.49

Watermelon and soft red fruits; substantial, mineral and precise.

Domaine de Sainte Rose Barrel Selection Roussanne 2013 - IGP Pays d'Oc 100% Roussanne, £11.99

Toasty-oaky with sweet spices and waxy-fat floral citrus fruits, creamy-nutty. Complex.

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Foncalieu