Gallo Summer Red

A dark, chilly winter evening is an odd time to be trying this Gallo Summer Red.

The inappropriateness of the time of year, however, turns out to be the least of my concerns.

Sweet and sherberty with forest fruits, it tastes like a basic off-dry Mosel Riesling with added cough syrup.

Alcoholic sweetened fruit juice for people who don't like wine.

Far better to try this Gallo Pinot Noir recommended by Jancis Robinson.

£6.99; provided for review.

Other related articles
Columbia Crest, Two Vines Cabernet Savignon, from April WoTM
Virginia Wines

Links
Gallo - website

Wine Gang Christmas Wine Fairs - Discounted Tickets

The Wine Gang have three Christmas wine fairs coming up:

- Bath (Nov 2nd)

- London (Nov 9th) 

- Edinburgh (Nov 30th)

All five members of the Gang will be around all day and there are free wine walks, a pop-up shop and masterclasses on everything from Champagne to Tokaji and chocolate matching.

An entry ticket for each event costs £20, but there is a special code of BLOG40 that will reduce the price to £12 plus take 10% off any masterclass tickets.

More details on the Wine Gang's website.

Other related articles

South West France Wines with Anthony Rose at Comptoir Gascon

South West France Wines Christmas Masterclass

The First Rule of Flavour Club

Flavour Club is, according to its twitter feed, all about lesser-known Spanish wines and gourmet, artisan food - what's not to like about that?

They sent me a sample of their October Wine Box to review:

Bracamonte 2012, Verdejo Rueda
Verdejo is Rueda's signature grape - unoaked, it is precise and aromatic, not dissimilar to a cool-climate Sauvignon Blanc.

This example, however, has spent some time in old oak which gives it more of an old-school substance - which I like.

Golden sandy yellow in the glass, with aromas of citrus and old oak; ripe melon and white pear fruit with a streak of linear acidity and a hint of salinity.

With aeration, the fresh, aromatic varietal characteristics become more prominent; pure, precise and elegant with good underpinnings, it is a versatile food wine; match with roast chicken or pork.

Good.

Yllera Tempranillo 2010
From the northerly Castilla y Leon region, this tempranillo is somewhat full-on - it has 14.5% alcohol and spends 12 months in new French and American oak.

Dark purple in the glass, there is lots of ripe dark fruits and spicy toasty oak on the nose.

The palate is soft and velvety with more smokey damson fruit, sweet vanilla muskiness and savouriness cut through with good acidity.

The tannins are fine, if slightly drying on the finish, and there is a slightly baked character to the fruit.

A good, crowd-pleasing effort with character; with plenty of alcohol, fruit and oak, it's not subtle - but it is fun. And if my old-world palate would prefer a touch more restraint, that's a minor quibble.

Red Pepper Compote
The red pepper compote that, along with some breadsticks, accompanied the wines is in character more like the red than the white: lovely, savoury roasted red peppers made into a sweet compote - is it a savoury jelly, or a sweet relish?

Match with a rustic pork terrine, crusty bread and cornichons.

Conclusion
Spain is pretty much on the zeitgeist now for good food and wine - I would happily sign up to Flavour Club for a couple of months to see what they can offer.

Other related articles
Gonzalez Byass Altozano Verdejo Sauvignon Blanc
Beronia Special Production Tempranillo

Links
Flavour Club - website, twitter

Wine of the Month - October

October is a somewhat confused time of year - the only month that can bring summer-like heat, damp autumnal chill and wintry darkness.

At this time of year, foods are gamey with intense sauces which means big wines with gamey, vegetal aromas.

This month, we also have a seasonally-appropriate guest entry from Norwich-based Beaujolais specialist, Beaujolais and Beyond

For sunny days Orballo Albarino, Rias Baxas (£10.49, Bacchanalia)
From north western Spain, this is made from the Albarino grape and similar to a summery vinho verde from across the border in Portugal.

Dark sandy yellow in the glass, there are aromas of citrus fruit and melon skin.

The palate is zesty with ripe citrus fruit, pineapple and yellow apricot, with fresh acidity.

Characterful more than elegant, it is bigger and fuller than the traditionally light vinho verde and would match with white fish, quenelles in a creamy sauce or chicken in a morel and sherry sauce.

For chilly days Domaine de la Plaigne, 2011, Régnié (£11.30, Beaujolais and Beyond)

Like Chablis to the north, southern Burgundy's Beaujolais region is a once over-hyped region that is now ripe for a revival.

Made from the Gamay grape, Beaujolais does not aspire to the complexity of great Pinot Noir, for sure, but when well-made can show an alluring elegance.

Translucent purple in the glass, there are aromas of red and black cherry.

The palate shows a real purity of cherry and plum fruit and fresh, prominent acidity with real elegance and precision - this is a really lovely wine. Good.

With plenty of acidity, low tannins and pure fruit, it is a highly-versatile food wine that can stand up to stronger sauces - match with autumnal foods such as duck with cherry sauce or venison with red-wine jus.

For wintry evenings Silvern 'Greenock' Shiraz, Barossa 2011 (£9.25, Noel Young Wines)
Made by Noel's partner at Magpie Estate in Australia's Barossa Valley, this is a cancelled order offered at a bargain price.

Dark fruits, with a warming, slightly baked character, roasted spices and a slap of leather, held together by a prominent acidity.

Soft texture and savouriness, somewhat port-like.

With roast dinners Lavinyeta Puntiapart* 2011 Emporda, Spain (£14.99 CambridgeWine Merchants)

An unusual blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Samso (aka Carignan), this is dark purple in the glass, with sliced green bell peppers and pencil shavings on the nose.

There is lots of dark plummy, black cherry fruit and toasty-oak spiciness on the palate, cut through with fresh acidity and underpinned by perfectly-ripe tannins.

Long and savoury with an inky texture and a pleasant firmness on the finish, this is an extremely accomplished wine indeed. Very Good.

For days of mist and mellow fruitfulness Jean-Luc Matha, Cuvee Lairis, Marcillac (£11.50 Joseph Barnes Wines)
From south west France, this is made from the Fer Servadou grape - "fer" being a reference not to iron, but to a "feral" character of the grape.

Bright ruby purple, with initially a slight cabbagey-sulphurous aromas on the nose (often actually a sign of low added sulphur), below which are ripe strawberries and some leather.

Pure, precise red and black cherry fruit, peppery spice and fresh linear acidity.

Very elegant, with soft tannins, medium-length, some persistence and a clean finish - quite different and very interesting. Good.

Match with in-season game, especially pheasant or hare.

Other related articles
More on Beaujolais - BoJo-Lé
Wine of the month archive

Links
Bacchanalia - website
Beaujolais and Beyond - website
Cambridge Wine Merchants - website
Joseph Barnes Wines - website
Noel Young Wines - website

Main image credit: http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/pheasant-shooting-henry-thomas-alken.jpg

Crus Bourgeois 2011‏

A review of 2011 Crus Bourgeois Bordeaux

To use an airline metaphor, if basic Bordeaux is Economy, and Cru Classe is First Class, then the Crus Bourgeois sit squarely in the middle as Business Class - pay a bit more than for entry level and you get a glimpse of what First Class is like without the hefty price tag.

2011 was not an easy year in Bordeaux - cool and wet with hail is no-one's idea of a good vintage.

The wines have just been released, so after listening to a panel discussion on the Crus Bourgeois, I sampled a couple to pick out a 2011 to drink now and one to lay down:

For drinking now

Chateau Le Crock, St Estèphe (around £16 from BBR and Seckford) - dark in the glass, ripe fruit, well-balanced, good fruit and perfume, soft and supple texture, good length, drinking nicely now.

For laying down

Chateau Larose Perganson, Haut-Medoc ( around £14 - £24 from slurp, The Fine Wine Company) - rather closed up at the moment, dark purple with some aromas of leather, liquorice and bramble fruit; very good structure and texture from which the fruit will emerge with some ageing.

Other related articles

Crus Bourgeois at IWC Dinner

Crus Bourgeois 2010 at Cambridge Tasting

Crus Bourgeois Panel Discussion

Links

Crus Bourgeois - website, twitter

Crus Bourgeois Panel Discussion‏

A review of a panel discussion on Crus Bourgeois

Panel
Hal Wilson (Cambridge Wine Merchants)
Laura Jewell MW (Tesco)
Dirceu Vianna MW (Coe)
Stephen Brook (journalist)
Francois Nony (Vice President, Alliance des Crus Bourgeois)

Stephen Brook, who led the panel, started with a brief introduction to Crus Bourgeois:

Covers wines from one of the 8 Medoc appellations; must be a blend of any 2 permitted grapes
Assessed via an annual competition - entry is voluntary not obligatory
Wines are tasted double-blind; the judges are not told about what score is needed to gain Cru Bourgeois status

Francois Nony then talked about the advantages of Crus Bourgeois

Value for money (especially compared to Crus Classes) - priced at £9 to £30

Testing is independent, the use of Crus Bourgeois stickers improves quality control (fixed number reduces risk of fakes / forces producers to put sub-standard wines into a second wine)

Quality is comparable to a minor classed growth, but with a focus on drinkability

2011 was complicated vintage, heterogeneous - wet, with a late Indian summer that was not warm; also hail.

The previous Crus Bourgeois system had over the years fallen into disrepute, was overhauled in 2001 with higher standards and many thrown out - but producers became litigious and the system collapsed in 2007, so was revised again into its current format with an annual competition.

Stephen posed the question of what Crus Bourgeois means to the panel's customers

Laura - Crus Bourgeois is not esp relevant to many of Tesco's customers; the company sells 1 in 4 bottles in the UK; France is holding its share and Bdx gaining some momentum. Tesco don't do anything with Crus Bourgeois instore but do use it to help educate consumers via Tesco's wine community, the wine fairs, and the magazine (distribution is 500k)

Dirceu - consumers have now lost touch with what Crus Bourgeois is; Coe have 6 wines selected as good value Bordeaux, not specifically because of being Crus Bourgeois they have little direct contact with customers

Hal - a fan of Medoc personally, his customers have long memories but not deep enough pockets for top Bordeaux, so Crus Bourgeois is the answer. CWM work with c60 producers, of whom 48 are included in Crus Bourgeois. One caveat, it's a club, but needs to be wide to have full validity.

Crus Bourgeois is perfect for CWM profile - price, range, ability to work with negociants and merchants; he can make money and stock the wines with confidence over the years "vinous nirvana".

Well-promoted via Decanter tastings and the Bordeaux Council.

The timing of the 2008 overhaul helped introduce Crus Bourgeois to a new generation of drinkers; the ripeness of 2009/10 also made the transition from New World wines easier. Crus Bourgeois was 50% of CWM's en primeur volume.

Francois Nony addressed the point of why some chateau who are not Crus Classes choose to exclude themselves from Crus Bourgeois status: some turned away because the system was too complicated, they felt they had enough of a reputation not to need Crus Bourgeois status or they aspired to Crus Classes status - the challenge in bringing all Medoc wines in the tier below Crus Classes under Crus Bourgeois is down to French state bureaucracy but they working to have all included

The UK is one of top 3 markets for investment amongst Crus Bourgeois members - it is the most competitive market, but it is birthplace of claret.

Stephen Brook observed that Crus Bourgeois are sensibly priced whilst Crus Classes are insanely priced and asked the panel to comment on pricing:

Laura: Tesco bought Crus Bourgeois en primeur and brought over in cases of 6 (not 12) for affordability.

Dirceu - fair and consistent pricing year-on-year

Leigh Claridge from Maison Sichel (from the audience): the '11s are ready for drinking now, so we can wait for 10s and 09s to mature. He has only been asked for a Cru Bourgeois wine 5 times in his career; like biodynamic or organic, people just want value for money, so Crus Bourgeois status is just a nice to have.

There is now a shortage of stock in Bordeaux chateaux: 2000 - 2010 were all good vintages, but since 2010, the vintages have been weak, so people are buying older wines over the new, and this plays to strength of Crus Bourgeois as ready-to-drink now.

Francois Nony observed that the UK is only market that likes older wines and that he would take this message back to his members who cannot afford to release selectively over time to maintain demand (as the Crus Classes do).

Question: could Crus Bourgeois system be expanded outside the Medoc?

Francois replied that it is the only system that has worked in improving quality - CIVB would like to do so, but no prospect of it happening; he would be happy to help transfer know-how but could not cope with the increased volume from expansion.

Other related articles
Crus Bourgeois at IWC Dinner
Crus Bourgeois 2010 at Cambridge Tasting

Links
Crus Bourgeois - website, twitter

Pere Magloire Calvados

A review of Pere Magloire Calvados

If cider is north-west France's answer to wine (it being too cold to grow grapes there), then Calvados is its answer to Cognac.

Calvados is the name of the département as well as of its most famous drink; records show that cider distilling dates back to the 16th century.

Only one area and one method of production is permitted for AoC Calvados du Pays d'Auge - the cider from which it is made must be fermented for at least a month, then double-distilled in a pot still and aged for at least a year.

Pere Magloire was established in 1821 and by 1900 had become the best-selling Calvados brand in France - owned for a time by Veuve Clicquot, it is now a family company.

Pere Magloire VSOP Pays D'Auge Calvados

Aged for 4 years, it is correspondingly mellow. Mahogony in the glass there are aromas of cider, apple blossom and a touch of floor polish.

The palate is elegant and harmonious with some apple fruit sweetness and refreshing acidity; well-balanced and finishes well.

It is reminiscent of a cognac but has an underlying linear sweet-sharpness without the cooked fruit aromas of cognac.

Good.

Drink as a digestif or trou Norman.

£30.35 for 70cl from The Whisky Exchange, £21 for 50cl from Waitrose; provided for review.

Other related articles
Pastis Henri Bardouin, Provence
Cognac Frapin
Reserve de la Vennerie, Liqueur Gazeifiee, Pineau de Charentes‏

Links
Pierre Magloire - website