Ararat 5 Years Brandy

A 5yo Ararat grape brandy from Armenia's Yerevan Brandy Company

Brought to us by a visitor, this is an Armenian brandy whose name refers to Mount Ararat where the ark is said to have landed after the biblical flood. It was apparently a favourite of Winston Churchill.

Golden in the glass, it has a rich nose of tobacco, dried mixed fruit, peel and cedary spice.

The palate full of cooked, sweet dried fruit, roasted hazelnut, butterscotch, roasted spices and cigar box. Viscous and a touch fiery, it has a persistent finish.

A youthful spirit, it makes quite a statement but in a sophisticated sort of way - a bit like Robbie Williams.

It has a couple of IWSC Bronze medals.

Match with Christmas pudding, sticky toffee pudding, dark, bitter chocolate and an espresso or a cigar.

It is listed in the UK by Master of Malt (but currently sold out) and The Time Whisky Club (ditto) at £24.95.

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Links Ararat - website

Image credit: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dd/Ibey.jpg

Lionel Gosseaume, Les Marcottes 2012 - Touraine

A red Loire from Lea & Sandeman

The Loire is best known for its white wines, characterised as charming rather than powerful, whilst the spiritual home of Gamay is Beaujolais, which is itself on something of a roll and coming back into fashion.

This Touraine Gamay is pretty much a dead-ringer for a good Beaujolais - there's red, black and sour cherry fruit, a vibrant freshness and lilac / violet florality. Good underpinnings and length.

Light, focused, pure and precise.

Match with lighter game, especially duck.

£8.95 from Lea and Sandeman; provided for review.

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Bordeaux Grands Crus Classés: 2010-2013‏

In terms of spoiler alerts, I don't think I'm giving too much away up front if I say that the 2010s stood out at this 2010-2013 Grands Crus Classés and that the 2013s were, at best, light and delicate.

It is instructive to compare across terroirs and across vintages and, passing in my lunch hour, I had to make some hard choices about what to try and whether to chat.

In the end, I tasted as many wines as I could, picking areas and producers of some familiarity, at the expense of saying hello to a number of people - sorry, you know who you are.

Whilst all the wines were pretty much textbook examples with nothing faulty or statistically untoward, at a more detailed level, it was hard to judge them on a quick taste as some will be years off their peak, whilst lesser examples may show better in their youth but not develop as well.

Right Bank

Ch d'Aiguilhe, Castillon Cotes de Bordeaux 2010 ripe plump and spicy, drinking nicely now.

2011 good freshness and stuffing, nicely balanced.

2012 fresher with less plumpness.

2013 perfumey, light and fresh with a grippy firmness. Gently infused rather than overextracted.

Ch Gazin, Pomerol 2010 Merlot nose of fruit and coffee grounds; fresh, soft and plump with assertive grip.

2011 more of everything - fruit, perfume, substance and freshness. More stuffing.

2012 fresher and readier for drinking right now.

2013 lighter and fresher, nicely infused. Slight and delicate.

Margaux

Ch Rauzan-Segla 2011 focused cassis and savouriness with cool mint. Precise and elegant. Tannins very fine but still grippy.

2012 more cassis and cool-mint custard with freshness and savouriness.

St-Julien

Ch Branaire-Ducru 2010 ripe, smooth and spicy with savouriness. Still grippy.

2011 more perfumey, less plump. Feels less substantial but plenty of acidic structure.

2012 soft, smooth and ripe with sweet vanilla; drinking nicely now but still some grip on the finish.

2013 the lightest, thinnest and freshest.

Pauillac

Pontet-Canet 2013 violets and berry fruit, savoury minerality, firmness and persistence. Well balanced.

Sauternes

Ch Guiraud 2010 peaches, honey, beeswax, floral; sweet spice and roasted peach skins in butter with freshness.

2011 like the 2010, rich, unctuous and complex.

2012 fresher, with more honeysuckle character and no roasted elements.

2013 fresher again, like pureed peaches.

See here for Sediment Blog's distinctive take on the event.

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On Mature Bordeaux‏ (And Others)

It is rare these days that I taste a wine and don't review it - the odd bottle of dull plonk about which there is nothing to say, a textbook local wine on holiday costing a few euros.

 

For me, the rigour of analysing a wine enough to be able to describe it in a tasting note is all part of the challenge of learning about wine.

 

Dull wines are those whose styles are too familiar - I crave novelty and variety. And when I find it, I want to share the experience.

 

For me, wines are to be considered and discussed as much as consumed; wine-tasting as an intellectual activity.

 

If that makes me a rather geeky and overly-analytical dinner party guest, I can't help myself; we invited round a group of wine loving friends to try some mature Bordeaux, none of which needed a review. But I feel the need to put down some thoughts anyway.

 

We started with a fresh, textbook Canard-Duchene fizz whilst the children played in the garden, before sitting down to begin the serious business of assessing some mature wines.

 

Petite Arvine 2012, Switzerland on first opening, simple and citrussy, but with just a bit of air, it becomes weightier with floral, beeswaxy sweet spice. Very pure and adept. Just like a Swiss watch. Good.

 

Stands up to and cuts through our starters of griddled vegetables, asparagus in pancetta and mayonnaise.

 

From here, we dived into Bordeaux of varying maturity. Assessing these is a different game altogether.

Note that these wines were mostly bought at auction as mixed cases with no provenance details, so quality is, inevitably, variable.
 

Ch d'Angludet, Margux 1967 - not quite the oldest thing in the room. The fruit is rosehips, the tannins fully resolved and what is left is the acidity and tertiary flavours of an aged sherry. If fruit is the youthful plumpness of a wine, the acidity is its bone-structure; this was sallow-cheeked, bony and past its peak but still focused and venerable.

 

Ch Branaire-Ducru, St Julien 1976 almost a decade younger, but not in such good shape - twice decanted, it was still cloudy. It is oxidized, the fruit is all gone, it is somewhere between a decades-old tawny and an oloroso. Interesting academically, but we don't go back for more.

 

La Reserve de Leoville-Barton, St Julien, 1990 good fruit, balance and elegance let down by a lack of substance. What's there is perfectly fine, but it's rather slight and disappointing. A textbook second wine, perhaps?

 

Ch Clerc Milon, Pauillac 1995 previously decanted, this still has some grip and clearly is not short of stuffing. As well as fruit and structure, there is a savoury minerality. Elegant and still muscular. Very Good.

 

Patache d'Aux, Medoc 2003 (magnum) I find this one easier to understand - not least because it's my own contribution. Good, mature, mid-level Medoc; from a hot year, it's at a peak now and won't improve further. But there's fruit, depth, balance and an harmonious texture. The only let-down is a slightly alcoholic finish.

 

For me, it's a solid Good - or 15-16 pointer if you prefer scores. Jancis gives it a 12, meaning borderline undrinkable.

 

La Reserve de Leoville-Barton, St Julien 2006 a very different wine - still youthful and primary. Harmonious, fresh and elegant.

 

Ararat brandy 5yo, Armenia we finish with an Armenian brandy. With just five year's aging it still has the exuberence of youth, but this is tempered with sweet vanilla-spice smoothness. A colorful, characterful diamond in the rough - not without a degree of sophistication, but not entirely polished.

 

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The Irishman Whiskeys

Two new premium Irishman whiskies from Emporia

According to the press release, Emporia Brands is introducing ‘The Irishman’ a range of triple-distilled premium Irish Whiskeys which are new in the UK. They include:

- the only blended Irish Whiskey made entirely in copper pot stills, a triple distilled Irish Single Malt
- a 12 year old Single Malt
- a limited edition Cask Strength 54% Abv described as “quite exceptional” by Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible.

I was sent two to try.

Single Malt - golden sandy with aromas of peaty iodine, cooked fruit and spice.

Freshness, cooked mixed fruit, sweet vanilla and something medicinal - so far, so expressive and flavoursome. For me, the finish is a little disappointing; rather fiery with some alcoholic bitterness.

However, it seems I don't agree with the judges as it has won Double Gold at the World Spirits competition.

Founder's Reserve - golden sandy with sweet cooked fruit.

Freshness, sweet oaky vanilla, cooked mixed fruit and long, persistent savouriness; a touch of white pepper. Firm and very persistent finish.

Well-balanced and harmonious. Good.

The Irishman range of premium Whiskeys is available in 70cl bottles retailing from £25 - £150 from www.thedrinkshop.com and Hedonism www.Hedonism.co.uk; provided for review.

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Canard-Duchêne Authentic Réserve Brut NV, Champagne

An elegant, textbook Canard-Duchêne fizz from Waitrose

Founded in 1868, Canard-Duchêne was granted the right to include the Russian Imperial coat of arms on the bottle.

Sandy yellow in the glass, aromas of ripe orchard fruits, some muskiness.

Crisp, ripe orchard fruit; fresh, elegant and poised. Good, textbook Champagne.

Serve as a crisp aperitif or with canapes.

£26.99 from Waitrose and www.waitrosedirect.com; provided for review.

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Private Cellar Burgundy Tasting

A tasting of Burgundies with Private Cellar

Tasting red and white Burgundies selected by a Master of Wine on a warm spring evening in the Middle Temple is just about a perfect way to spend an hour or so after work.

The walls were panelled and hung with grand oil paintings, the ceilings ornate, the room full of successful, wine-loving lawyers - it was a world away, culturally, from the mermaid and the rugby player of last week.

I found I learnt as much about my own preferences from this tasting as I did about the wines:

- that I like all white Burgundy, including Chablis and Maconnais, I already knew.

- I like Beaujolais, but decided I find Fleurie rather too, well floral.

- I liked all the reds, but found the younger ones closed up and harder to assess (not for the first time)

With only limited time to get round, I decided to try the more-ambitious wines.

Whites

Domain Lamblin Chablis Grand Cru Les Clos 2010 (£34.96) zesty, mineral, honeyed, precise and long. Very Good.

Chateau Fuisse Pouilly-Fuisse Veilles Vignes 2008 (£30.96) 80% new oak, toasty, ripe, creamy-oatmealy brazil nut, precise. Very Good.

Domaine Matrot Meursault Villages 2012 (£35.46) toasty, sweet spice, muskiness, ripe yet taut and complex; floral with honey and zestiness. Very Good.

Domaine Jean Chartron - new to Private Cellar this year, I tried all three wines on show.

Bourgogne Blanc Clos de la Combe 2012 (£13.96) in Puligny, but lower down the slope and out of appellation; ripe citrus, fresh and toasty, a solid performer.

Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Pucelle 2012 (£60.46) ripe, toasty, complex and assured. Lots of stuffing. Very Good Indeed.

Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de Cailleret 2008 (in magnum, N/A) from a nearby vineyard with more calcareous soils giving a more focused and precise result, more steely-mineral. Very Good Indeed.

Beaujolais

Domaine Laurent Savoye Beaujolais Villages Elegance 2011 (£8.96) black cherry and mulberry fruit, precise, fresh and pure. Good.

Domaine Laurent Fleurie la Cadole 2012 (£12.86) softer and more floral. Good.

Domaine Christophe Savoye Morgon (£14.96) floral with cherry and mulberry fruit, sweet spice; fresh pure and long. Good.

Reds

Domaine Bertrand Machard de Gramont Nuits St Georges Terrasses des Vallerots 2010 (£25.96) Burgundian nose, sweet ripe red fruits, like fruit pastilles. Fresh, pure, precise. Very Good.

Domaine Parent Pommard 1er Cru Les Chaponnieres 2005 (£43.46) merest brick-red hints, truffles and well-hung game; sweet, ripe cherry fruit. Harmonious, elegant, savoury, fresh and precise. A touch of peppery spice on the finish. Good.

Domaine Frederic Magnien Gevrey Chambertin Vieilles Vignes 2008 (£26.96) truffley-mushroomy with ripe red fruits, plenty of stuffing and harmonious. Very Good.

Domaine Poisot - I was recommended to try all of these by a friend who was there. I found the younger wines quite closed up and not easy to assess, so I have not scored these at all. As shown, they were all Good; with time, aeration and / or aging, they might well have shown as anywhere up to Very Good Indeed.

Cotton Charlemagne Grand Cru 2012 (£90.46) supple honeyed and ripe yet zesty with creamy-oatmealy brazil nut.

Pernand Vergelesses 1er Cru en Caradeux 2012 (£29.96) fresh and ripe with lots of stuffing.

Corton Bressandes Grand Cru 2012 (£66.46) sweet, ripe red fruits, vibrant with some grip.

Romanee St Vivant Grand Cru 2008 (£179.46) truffley-mushroomy-farmyardy, sweet ripe red fruits, like fruit pastilles. Long, assured and harmonious.

Recommended Wines

White - Domaine Jean Chartron Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Clos de la Pucelle 2012

Red - Domaine Frederic Magnien Gevrey Chambertin Vieilles Vignes 2008

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Greek Drama - Nico Lazaridi

Two Nico Lazaridi wines from The Greek Deli

 

Greece is one of the world's oldest wine countries and gave us our word for wine from οἶνος (oinos). Its northern regions of Drama and Kavala, however, have only a very recent history of wine-making; the Nico Lazaridi winery dates back to just 1987.

 

These two Lazaridi wines were provided by The Greek Deli in Stevenage who supply, amongst others, The Olive Grove restaurant in Cambridge.

 

The Queen of Hearts 2013, Assyrtiko, SB, Muscat a blend of mineral, aromatic and floral varieties, it tastes, well ... mineral, aromatic and floral. Poised, Sancerre-esque nose, ripe white orchard and stone fruits, some herbaceous notes, mouthwatering citrus, minerality, linear acidity and a long, persistent finish.

 

Modern, well-structured, refreshing and harmonious with an Old-World elegance. Good.

 

The Black Sheep 2012, Syrah Merlot dark plummy red, Merlot nose of plums, coffee grounds and woodsiness. Plummy fruit, liquorice, violets and sweet vanilla spice. Soft, custardy texture, a touch of salinity, fresh acidity and good savoury underpinnings. Perfectly-ripe tannins and a persistent finish.

 

Deft, well-balanced and serious-yet-enjoyable. Very Good.

 

With its matinee idol good looks matched to technical competence, it is a Leonardo DiCaprio of a wine. By day three, however, it has acquired the precise focus and flavour profile of a baby-Pomerol.

 

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Links

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Les Remparts de Bastor Lamontagne 2009, Sauternes - Waitrose

A classy Bordeaux sticky from Waitrose, recommended by Anne Jones

Sauternes is the sweet wine of Bordeaux; at its best, one of the great wines of the world.

Golden sandy yellow, musky aromas of roasted peaches and sweet spice. Sweet, ripe citrussy pineapple and baked apple fruit sprinkled with sweet spices and dried yellow stone fruit. Waxy glycerol texture, floral aromas and a touch of heather honey and beeswax.

Savoury underpinnings and a long, persistent finish. Very adept, complex and well-balanced; a very assured performance.

Very Good.

Match with chicken liver pate starters or lemon mousse dessert. Just possibly, wild boar sausages with roast chestnuts and celeriac puree might work as a main too. Or mature cheddar.

£11.99 (half-bottle) from Waitrose; provided for review.

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Links
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Eat Cambridge Street Food Launch Event - Inder's Kitchen

Pictures from the street food launch event for Eat Cambridge 2014 at Inder's Kitchen

Now in its second year, Eat Cambridge is bigger and more popular than ever - within minutes of the street food launch event starting, it was a bustling sea of people and snaking queues to the sound-track of local bands.

Inder Bull of Inder's Kitchen

 Coffee and cakes

 

Burgers and vintage vans at Steak And Honour

Urban Street Kings

Filling up quickly

 And the band played on

 





30 mins in and it's rammed

 

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2011 Côte de Brouilly Zaccharie - Beaujolais and Beyond

A substantial Beaujolais cru from Beaujolais and Beyond

Beaujolais is traditionally a light, juicy, quaffable wine best drunk young.

This Côte de Brouilly Zaccharie, however, whilst distinctively Beaujolais is quite a substantial wine and still feels too young to be drinking now, despite a couple of years' bottle age.

Château Thivin, Côte de Brouilly Zaccharie, 2011 Deep cherry red in the glass, complex nose of black cherries, mulberries, ginger, spice and florality. Fresh red and black cherry fruit, sweet peppery spice, savoury concentration and minerality. Long with a persistent finish.

Muscular, assertive and complex - will age. Very Good Indeed.

Match with substantial game, such as duck, venison or wild boar.

£21.45; provided for review.

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Links
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'Winebird's VINALOGY': Launch Party

Winebird Helena Nicklin is the creator of the Vinalogy, an analogy that paints a memorable picture of anything wine related and says PAH to dry facts!

With a blog and YouTube channel under her belt, she is now launching a book; I went along to the party to hang out with the beautiful people of the vinalogy (but frankly, I would pay money to listen to them reciting the phone directory).

Signing in:


A mermaid, a rugby player, an author and a polo player walk into a bar ...



Well hello Malbec! Form an orderly queue ladies - it's men in sporty outfits (and a mermaid - bet she drinks like a fish)



 

Vinalogy the book: wine basics with a twist

 

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Chateau Lestrille-Capmartin Bordeaux Blanc 2011 - WineTrust100

A delicious white Bordeaux from WineTrust100

 

Pick up a bottle of Bordeaux at random and, from 50% of the vineyard area in 1970, there's now only about a 10% chance that it will be white.

 

Whilst Bordeaux's global reputation rests on its red wines - plus a few stickies - the whites, however, have been quietly improving in quality and now represent great value.

 

This Chateau Lestrille-Capmartin is, like all WineTrust100 wines, selected by an MW - and it shows. A blend of - unsually - mostly Sauvignon Gris with lesser amounts of Sauvignon blanc and Semillon, it is fermented in new oak and aged on its lees for body and richness.

 

Golden sandy yellow, notes of toasty oak and ripe tropical fruit. Rich, ripe pineapple fruit and citrus freshness; baked apples sprinkled with sweet spice. Pure, precise, harmonious and long. With aeration, the oaky aromas develop more, suggesting it will improve with further aging.

 

Really lovely, a modern classic. Very Good.

 

Match with savoury dishes, such as chicken in a creamy mushroom sauce, roast pork or home-made toad-in-the-hole.

 

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Links

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Private Cellar Tasting

A tasting of Private Cellar wines at the IPA

Another week, another set of wines to review - on this occasion Private Cellar's Laura Taylor and Andrew Gordon came into the IPA to present a selection based on a benchmarking of our current range of styles and price points.

Private Cellar's list focuses mainly but not exclusively on Old World classics and so our tasting was heavy on Bordeaux and Burgundy.

MW exams are considered some of the toughest in the world - the oenological equivalent of climbing Mt Everest - so with an MW selecting your wines, fault-free quality and typicity are a given and it really just comes down to stylistic preferences.

The wines were arranged in pairs, with typically a more classic and a more effusive example.

There was not time to take detailed tasting notes - and the overall standard and value-for money were high in any case - but a few stood out as especially interesting.

A couple, I felt, did not get the chance to show their best due to the wines that came immediately before - and with a team meeting to run, there was not time to go back and re-taste later.

Les Rafelieres Sauvignon Blanc Val de Loire 2012 an entry-level Loire Sauvignon, this is classic, elegant and well-balanced. Really lovely. Good.

Vire Clesse, Domaine Seguin Manuel 2012 more ambitious Maconnais. Good.

Chablis 1er Cru Fourchaume, Domaine Lamblin et Fils 2011 poised, well-structured and substantial. Still young. Very Good.

St Domain, Domaine Matrot 2010 a baby-Meursault from the next hill along. Incredibly long and concentrated. Barely ready now, it has years ahead of it. Very Good.

Reserva Malbec, Lujan de Cuyo, Bodega Foster, Argentina, 2008 ripe, concentrated and complex - a favourite of Robert Parker, but don't let that put you off. Very Good.

Chateau Capbern Gasqueton, Cru Bourgeois St Estephe 2005 wonderful classic aged Medoc nose of leather, truffles and bell peppers, from a very good year. Dense and concentrated, still young with some grippiness. Very Good.

The Others

Other wines were also good examples of their style:

Champagne Chauvet Brut Blanc de Noirs NV ripe red fruits on the nose, smooth and creamy, fresh.

Domaine de Lamy Fontareche Rouge, Vin de Pays de l'Aude 2012 ripe, fruit-forward, crowd-pleasing quaffer.

Chateau Beaulieu, Comtes de Tastes, Bordeaux Superieur 2009 good but somewhat Parker-esque effusiveness.

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Links

Private Cellar - website, Twitter, Facebook

Les Jamelles "Cépage Rare" Pinot Gris 2013, Pays d'Oc

A Languedoc Pinot Gris from Badet Clement's Les Jamelles "Cépage Rare" range

Ubiquitous pub white Pinot Grigio / Gris hardly counts as a rare grape variety ("Cépage Rare"), but it is not commonly found in Languedoc, so there is some truth in the name.

This wine is a blend of Pinot Gris / Grigio grapes from two Langeudoc sub-regions - the Côte de Thongue in Hérault (for waxy fatness) and an ancient dried-up saltwater lake in the village of Marseillette in the Aude (for freshness) - apparently.

In any case, the result is a balanced and harmonious, sun-kissed wine - the two parts mesh seamlessly together; there is ripe white pear and melon fruit, a shake of white pepper with smoe refreshing acidity and a touch of minerality.

A thoroughly enjoyable and reliable, entry-level Languedoc wine (it owes little to traditional Pinot Gigio or Gris) with no rough edges.

Match with tapas, roast white meat or a creamy risotto.

Badet Clement’s creators are Laurent and Catherine Delaunay, two Burgundian winemakers trained in the New World who also make premium wines as Abbotts & Delaunay.

Not yet available in the UK, the rrp will be around £8.99; provided for review.

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Badet Clement - website

Cédric et Patrice Martin Pouilly-Fuissé 2012 - Beaujolais and Beyond

A very classy and precise Pouilly-Fuissé from Beaujolais and Beyond

The Maconnais, at the southerly end of Burgundy, is home to some very good - and good value - Old World chardies; Pouilly-Fuissé is perhaps the best and best-known appellation in the region.

This Cédric et Patrice Martin Pouilly-Fuissé 2012 from Beaujolais and Beyond is classy, enjoyable and still youthful.

Fresh with ripe orchard fruits, sweet spice and minerality, it is deft, balanced and elegant. Good savoury underpinnings and length, harmonious finish. Hedonistically easy to enjoy and will only improve with age.

Very Good.

A versatile food wine, it has the body to match chicken or pork dishes, meaty white fish or a rich terrine.

Norfolk-based family business Beaujolais and Beyond also offer private wine tastings in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire as a relaxed evening with friends in your own home.

For details, contact Clare Montgomery at Beaujolais and Beyond by email or tel 01953 668668.

  

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Links

Beaujolais and Beyond - website, twitter, private parties

Waitrose White Burgundy 2011 - Waitrose

A ripe, fresh entry-level Maconnais Burgundy from Waitrose, recommended by Anne Jones

To the south of what is popularly considered to be Burgundy proper, the Maconnais is a source of good, ripe chardies in various styles. This Waitrose White Burgundy is a ripe, fresh, easy drinker.

Golden sandy yellow, aromas of melonskin and ripe orchard fruits.

Sweet, ripe melon, white flowers, freshness, some sweet spice and lime-marmalade zestiness. Some gentle persistence.

Good entry-level example that gives some indication of what the more ambitious wines are all about.

Match this versatile white with fish starters such as salmon mousse, mixed anti-pasti, chicken or monkfish.

£8.49 from Waitrose; provided for review.

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Links
Waitrose - website, twitter