The Spoken Grape

Aglianico and Haggis!

Never has there existed such a sublime match! A pre-Burns night supper run-through, has given me a good excuse to uncork this wine. Originating from just south of Naples on the Campania coast, this wine is predomonatly Aglianico however it has a splash of the local grape Piedirosso added. The wine has been matured in used oak barrels for eight months. Aglianico first comes to light when mentioned by the Roman poet Catullus, as he waxed lyrical about the virtues of 'Falernian' wine, the Roman equivalent of todays 'Cult' or 'First Growths'. Since then it has stepped out of the spotlight adopting a relaxed lifestyle in southern Italy, where the long hot summers protect this vine from the onslaught of botrytis of which it is particularly vulnerable.

With the 2007 KLEOS Aglianico from Luigi Maffini ,the nose is warm and full of dark fruits, slight raisin notes with toasted undertones. The colour stretches down through the glass, deep and inky garnet.  In the mouth this wine has a lovely silky texture, with a crunchy finish that is supported by gripping tannins. In between these two sensations are tastes of dark black fruits, ripe damsons and a touch of toasted fruit. Lovely well balanced wine that can handle the meaty spiciness of Scotland'sfinest cuisine, the venerable Haggis. This is not just any old Haggis, but the award winning Haggis produced by Murdoch Brothers Butchers, Forres, Invernesshire. A toast ta ye Rabbie............

Some cracking and not so cracking wines.

Right, New Year, new commitment to more frequent posts, this is my idealistic New Years resolution. The new year was seen in with some great wines, a highlight being, Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Le Clavoillon 2005. A wine that is showing extremely well at the moment, with layers of brioche, sandwiched between mineral notes, with a lovely rich texture and some tinned flageolot bean wiffs on the nose. The wine displayed the quality of which the 2005's are becoming known for and whilst most people will be keeping this wine for another couple of years I'd be wary about leaving it too long. Another wine that really stood out was the Ridgeview Cavendish 2005  Merret. Ridgeview have tried to push the name Merret as a broad covering descriptor of English Sparkling wine. Whether you support that or not, you cannot argue that this draws a close comparison to some of France's best Champagnes. The wine is hand picked and whole bunch pressed. It undergoes 100% malolactic conversion to tame that crispy English acidity. The wine is a blend that contains Chardonnay, Petit Meunier and Pinot Noir in equal amounts. On the palette this wine deliveries a surprising richness balanced against some great structural acidity, red fruits and summer pudding mingle with biscuit and toast.

So two good wines, here's one I wasn't that impressed with,2008 LA 50/50 Vin de Table Domaine Anne Gros et Jean-Paul Tollot. Here's one that should be great. Take two well known winemakers, throw in a mix of established Carignan, Grenache and Cinsault and combine them in the glorious sunshine of the Roussillon and what do you get? Sorry L&S, but a wine that stinks of a hot difficult ferment, with some weird sulphur bi-products,  that give the nose a strange burnt rubber smell. The pallet is hard with a distinct cheesy taste to it and by cheesy I mean gym shoe cheesy. This wasn't what I was expecting, it was difficult to approach and doesn't taste anything like the "refreshing", "fruity" or "delicate" tasting note applied to it. But hey, maybe this really is what's meant when a wine is described as Rustic........ 

Right, New Year, new commitment to more frequent posts, this is my idealistic New Years resolution. The new year was seen in with some great wines, a highlight being, Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Le Clavoillon 2005. A wine that is showing extremely well at the moment, with layers of brioche, sandwiched between mineral notes, with a lovely rich texture and some tinned flageolot bean wiffs on the nose. The wine displayed the quality of which the 2005's are becoming known for and whilst most people will be keeping this wine for another couple of years I'd be wary about leaving it too long. Another wine that really stood out was the Ridgeview Cavendish 2005  Merret. Ridgeview have tried to push the name Merret as a broad covering descriptor of English Sparkling wine. Whether you support that or not, you cannot argue that this draws a close comparison to some of France's best Champagnes. The wine is hand picked and whole bunch pressed. It undergoes 100% malolactic conversion to tame that crispy English acidity. The wine is a blend that contains Chardonnay, Petit Meunier and Pinot Noir in equal amounts. On the palette this wine deliveries a surprising richness balanced against some great structural acidity, red fruits and summer pudding mingle with biscuit and toast.

So two good wines, here's one I wasn't that impressed with,2008 LA 50/50 Vin de Table Domaine Anne Gros et Jean-Paul Tollot. Here's one that should be great. Take two well known winemakers, throw in a mix of established Carignan, Grenache and Cinsault and combine them in the glorious sunshine of the Roussillon and what do you get? Sorry L&S, but a wine that stinks of a hot difficult ferment, with some weird sulphur bi-products,  that give the nose a strange burnt rubber smell. The pallet is hard with a distinct cheesy taste to it and by cheesy I mean gym shoe cheesy. This wasn't what I was expecting, it was difficult to approach and doesn't taste anything like the "refreshing", "fruity" or "delicate" tasting note applied to it. But hey, maybe this really is what's meant when a wine is described as Rustic........ 

Lets leave out the oak

You may well think that red wine demands to have an addition of oak attached to it, in some form, lets say staves,chips or powder for the cheaper wines, hogsheads, barriques or casks for the more expensive ones. Either way, reading through the majority of wine critics, oak is it, when it comes to high quality red wine. It is what some have described as the "spice-rack" of the wine makers kitchen, and like a good pork tenderloin,  no serious red wine is any good without it. WRONG.....

And here is the proof. 2007 BARBERA D'ALBA  from Bricco Maiolica, made from Barbera grapes grown in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. This wine has spent its life in contact with the inert, clean polished beauty of stainless steel tanks. No, porous, possibly infectious plant material for this wine. As a result, the wine is lively and refreshing, giving up handfuls of strawberries, summer red fruits and slight blackcurrants taste. Then when you think that's all it has, there's the slight tary note, fragrant, dark and feminine. The tannins here are delicate but meaningful they finely dance around the mouth. The acidity from this high region of Alba gives the clean finish and  mouthwatering moorishness. Cracking wine, brilliant value and NO OAK. Here's a wine I could drink all night, just give me a large bowl of spaghetti, a serviette tucked into my shirt and Giuseppe Tornatore's  Cinema Paradiso .