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
Beaujolais and Beyond - website, twitter

'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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Links
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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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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