Life's little surprises

It's funny how life works sometimes. Take, for instance, my week just gone, where I gave my first large-ish wine talk, which was of course promptly followed two days later by a company training course in giving successful presentations and running wine tastings. (The talk, on the subject of 'Great Value Wines for Everyday Folk' was given to eighty or so of the lovely folk at the Droitwich Spa U3A, details found here: http://u3asites.org.uk/code/u3asite.php?site=487). It was at said course where, as well as learning about ways to deliver a confident and effective presentation, we had the pleasure of trying a few company reserves, as part of the food and wine matching section. We poured out three whites and three reds, and it was only halfway through the section when the course leader - announcing that we were also to be trying Champagne - brought out a bottle of Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2002.

I don't know about any of you, but I certainly don't need to be asked twice. Although I'm not the world's greatest Moët fan (I think their non vintage 'Impérial' offering manages the implausible task of being both mouth-puckeringly tart whilst retaining a relatively high dosage of 9g sugar per litre), I did enjoy their younger 2006 Grand Vintage when I tasted it last year. Calling it 'elegant, reticent and austere', I appreciated its poise and faithfulness to the Moët house style, as well as predicting a bright future ahead. With the tasting of the 2002, I was lucky enough to gain a little glimpse into that promised world.

To look at, the 2002 is immediately and quite obviously more aged, with a deepish honeyed lemon colour and gentler, lazier bubbles. On the nose, it is an intriguing and beguiling sort of wine: shy initially, but then as you both become more acquainted, it reveals notes and flavours of browning apple, warm lemon, caramel, nuts, cereal and oatmeal. On the palate, the initial mouthfeel is pétillant and fizzy in a sherbert sort of way, which then undertakes a lovely evolution into more honey, porridge and cereal characteristics on the mid-palate. I found the structure of the wine to be delightful: refreshing, balanced and plush, thereby avoiding the usual Moët sins of overpowering acidity and fruit meanness. The wine finishes long and tingling, with the freshness of lemon juice tantalising the tongue into another sip. The 2002 evolves well in glass too: I found that as I returned to it periodically, aromas of warm lemon pie had begun to waft out of the glass, as the wine gradually reached room temperature. In short, the Champagne was a total sensory experience and one of those moments of utter vinous delight.

Standing out from the competition

This short piece isn't about the minutiae of Moët's excellent Champagne. I didn't write this with the intention of quoting the Chef de Cave's words extolling the 2002's virtues (he says it's 'ripe, balanced and clean' by the way); nor did I pen this because I felt the desire to compare two of Champagne's recent great vintages in 2002 and 2006 (the latter being better known for its fruit and freshness; the former for its warmth and generosity). I didn't even write it to drum home my point about Moët's acidity/sugar balance issue (only 5.5g/l in the 2002, see you can do it guys!). I simply typed these words into my keyboard purely to express my delight at having had the pleasure of tasting such a phenomenal wine, because sometimes that is all that's called for. When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. When you go on a training skills course on presentations two days after giving the largest one in your career to date, you laugh it off. But when life gives you Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2002, you'd better damn well drink up and savour it.

Drink pink!

Drink pink! After all, is there really any other style of wine to enjoy on Valentine's Day? I did note that some wine outlets were pushing bigger reds like Malbec and Aussie Cabs (presumably for the steak-eaters among us) as well as an array of whites for the Holy Day (because is there ever an event where Kiwi Sauvignon isn't required?). For me, however, this Valentine's required nothing other than rosé Champagne, and it just so happened that I'd found the perfect one for the occasion!

 

 

Hailing from Champagne's Côte des Bar sub-region (that's Pinot Noir country to you and me), the fabulous Oeil de Perdrix Rosé Champagne NV (Majestic, £17.99 on offer) was this year's fizz of choice. The rather unpronounceable name translates into English as 'Eye of the Partridge', and derives from a technique used in the Middle Ages in Champagne, where winemakers would use a gentle pressing of black grapes to create delicately coloured pink wines, akin to the shade of a partridge's eye. As well as imparting a light colour, this pressing method also ensures a delicately flavoured, elegant style of wine.

As per expectations, the Partridge Eye is a faint shade of salmon-pink, with small and persistent bubbles. The nose, too, is dainty and reticent, with strawberry and raspberry tones underpinned by a suggestion of yeastiness, hinting at this particular fizz's Champagne origins. It is on the palate, however, where this Champagne comes to life. Initially refreshing and pleasantly acidic, the wine mellows quickly in the mouth, adopting a smooth, moussey texture which carries with it an array of strawberry and red berry flavours. The autolytic character in this Champagne materialises as creamy rather than bready or yeasty, adding a pleasant strawberries and cream profile to the wine. The wine finishes crisply and cleanly, making it an ideal partner - as all Champagne should be - to oily fish dishes. I found it to be a particularly good match with the salmon burgers I attempted on the 14th.

All in all, the Oeil de Perdrix proved to be an exquisite Champagne for Valentine's Day, and one that shall grace many other occasions in the future. In fact, the only way I think it could be improved upon is with a slightly higher dosage, and leaving the finished wine with higher residual sugar to make it Sec or even Demi-Sec. In my opinion, this would only add to the appeal of the Champagne, as well as making it a crafty little match for a strawberry-based dessert. My better half shared much the same sentiment: "This isn't as sweet as Prosecco!". However, I neglected to tell her that I concurred with her views. It may well have been Valentine's Day, but one cannot simply go around making concessions like that!

Mrs TomOnWine enjoying the Oeil de Perdrix

New year, new blends

Some things in the wine world seem to go together very nicely. Take, for instance, the traditional blend of red grapes in Bordeaux: the harmonious Médoc wines which sing of deep-fruited Cabernet Sauvignon, plush, plummy Merlot and fragrant Cabernet Franc. Consider also the holy trinity in Champagne, with the respective elegance, structure and fruit that Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier each bring to the table. And how could we ignore the many other classic marriages – Syrah and Viognier in Côte-Rôtie, Tempranillo and Grenache in Rioja, or Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz in South Australia, to name but a few?

On the other hand, there are also those untraditional, left field blends about which we wine lovers may be initially sceptical. In my personal experience however, I have found many of these to be surprisingly delightful, like the Marquis de Pennautier Chardonnay Viognier 2014 (Majestic, £7.49 on offer), which marries the two grapes well in a pleasantly fresh and weighty style. Also interestingly different is the Viñas del Vero Luces Blanco 2014 (Tesco, £9 – see my previous thoughts here: http://tomonwine.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/vinas-del-vero-luces-review-tesco-wine.html) which combines Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Macabeo in a lively, exotic wine. Some of these more unusual blends also gain wider recognition and plaudits, such as the incredibly deep and complex Viñalba Malbec-Touriga Nacional 2014 (Majestic, £9.74 on offer), which was one of Decanter magazine’s top 50 wines of 2015.

One such unusual blended wine which I picked up recently was the Estevez Cabernet Carmenère Syrah 2014, from the unstoppable retailer that is Aldi. Given its low price (a shade under a fiver) and its strong provenance (Estevez is a sub-brand of Quinta de Maipo, which in turn is owned by Chilean giants Concha y Toro), it seemed almost rude not to take a punt on this Maule Valley red. And, like my other experiences with the weird and wonderful blends mentioned above, I’m glad I did!

In appearance, the wine is a youthful deep ruby colour, with hints (perhaps poetically) of that pinky, carmine hue I associate with Carmenère. On the nose, liquorous black fruits jump to the fore, supported by backnotes of plum and tobacco leaf. The palate, too, is fruit-forward, with more notes of blackcurrant, plum and black cherry joined by hints of pudding spice. As is the hallmark of good Chilean wines, the Estevez blend is easy drinking, with the added dimension of slightly bitter tannins and a long, plummy finish.

A successful combination, then, of grapes that aren’t commonly associated with each other, and at a very good price. If I had to note one slight criticism of this wine, I would question the addition of Syrah and its role in the blend: I enjoyed the blackcurrant notes on the nose and palate brought by Cabernet, along with the tobacco aromatics and plum plushness typical of Carmenère, but I struggle to understand what Syrah brings to the table. Interestingly, the author of the Wine On Trial blog comments on much the same thing in a recent piece on the wine (http://www.wineontrial.co.uk/estevez-cabernet-carmenere-syrah-aldi/). Ignoring this minor point, Aldi’s Chilean blend proves itself to be an highly enjoyable weekday wine that will appeal to drinkers who love approachable Latin American wines as well as those who enjoy seeking out interesting blends. Which just goes to show that you don’t necessarily need to drink Côte-Rôtie to appreciate the interplay between multiple grape varieties. Although, if you’re offering, I wouldn’t turn a glass down…

Tom's wines of the year 2015

Season's greetings fellow wine lovers! Firstly, my sincerest apologies for the shameful lack of blogging of late (who would've guessed that moving house and being without internet for several months would have been so disruptive to a wine blogger?); therefore I have resolved to put writing more regular postings high on my ever-expanding New Years' resolutions list. In the meantime, I thought I'd share some thoughts with you on my favourite wines of 2015. My scoring is not scientific or aggregated: these are simply wines which I have enjoyed at a given time and place, and would happily part with my own money to drink again. Disclaimer: a number of the wines are available to purchase through Majestic (the aforementioned paying my salary) but I endeavour not to limit my drinking to one particular retailer, and have thus found some absolute beauties at other UK wine merchants. All that remains to say is happy holidays to all, and here's to a happy, healthy and wine-filled 2016!


Asda Extra Special Old Vine Garnacha 2013

 

Being quite partial to a good Garnacha/Grenache, I'm always ready to explore, but even I thought this 'Extra Special' Old Vine Garnacha, bearing its IWSC silver medal and its £5 price tag, was a tad too optimistic. How wrong I was. A phenomenally deep-scented wine, the luscious notes of purple fruit and vanilla carry through seamlessly to the palate, where they are joined by a touch of leathery spice on the finish. Regardless of the price (and I'd still love it at double the money), this is an extraordinarily good buy from Asda's brilliant flagship range.

Cave de Buxy, Montagny 1er Cru 'Les Millières' 2010

 

Okay, okay, so I know the Montagny appellation in Burgundy's Côte Chalonnaise isn't the area's most prestigious, but when the wine is this good, I couldn't give a hoot. Coming from the Premier Cru climat 'Les Millières and made by one of the region's most reliable co-operatives, Vignerons de Buxy, this wine is all about elegance and that touch of class. With a gentle nose of apricots and peaches, along with more soft stone and orchard fruits on the palate, this wine really expresses the area's terroir to perfection, as Chardonnay is so prone to doing when handled with care.


Brancott Estate Terroir Series Sauvignon Blanc 2013

I was sent both the Brancott Estate Terroir Series Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc to review earlier in the year, and although the former was very enjoyable and well crafted, it is the Sauvignon that has remained in my mind. Using descriptors like 'precise' and 'minerally' doesn't really seem to do this wine justice - the acidity is so laser sharp and the fruits so well-defined that Brancott's Terroir Series Sauvignon succeeds in standing out in a very competitive and crowded field. If you prefer your Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé to your Marlborough Sauvignon, give this one a go: I guarantee it'll give you something to think about.


Viñalba Malbec-Touriga Nacional 2013

The year is 2015 and Mendoza Malbec continues unrivalled on its quest for wine world domination: how could I not include this incredible effort from Viñalba in my top wines of the year? Initially sceptical about the blend, I'm extremely happy to report that the wine disproved my misgivings: the two marry very well together. The Port grape Touriga is most evident on the nose, which is heavily scented with alcoholic black fruits, sweet and earthy spices and backnotes of violet; whereas the raisined fruits and polished tannins on the palate betray the Malbec in the blend. An exquisite wine which would improve any cosy, quiet night in front of the fire. Oh, and Decanter magazine agree with me too - recently naming it one of their star wines of 2015. Cheers!