The Spoken Grape

Napa Cabernet and Burgundian Chardonnay

One of the perks of the job is that you get to try some seriously great wines without ever having to pay for them. Don't get me wrong, I'm not adverse to spending money on wines, but when the wines are $300 a pop I don't tend to drink them frequently, especially not on a Monday evening at a casual  BBQ. For this group of wines it is a pity, as the smokey BBQ flavors that accopmany the meaty taste of a chard steak forms a quality food match with expensive Napa Cab.

First up was Schrader T6 To Kalon Vineyard 2006. This wine piqued the 99 points mark from Wine Spectator, being labled a masterpeice from James Laube. Having drank it I can see why, its lovely velvet textrue, ripe chocoalte, mocha and berry flavours all off-set a well structured wine. Great tannic force and some nice stabalising acidity save it from being over blown and flabby. It opitimises Napa Cabernet with its broad shoulders and bombastic amount of flavour.

The second wine was a 2006 Materium from Maybach. Oakville fruit lifts this wine with a slighty less texture and delivery compared to the Schrader. The tannins seemed a little more on edge. The wine was complimmented with large amount of rich dark tones, again, mocha, chocolat a touch of spice and some blackcurrent. Not a bad wine, definately worth while decanting.

Preceedeing both of these wines, thankfully as the Cabernets here are pretty palate domineering, was a Domaine Leflaive Macon-Verze 2006. Lovely little maconnais, with good textural charddonay fruit, some of that oxidative character Leflaive is famous for, hazlenuts, bread a little melon, a little more fruit and  bouancy that most of Leflaives wines, a little riper but sound for this region.

Leflaive In Napa Valley

Well after a long and dis-interesting flight across the Atlantic and much of North America i've finally touched down in California. The jet-lag gave me a pretty broken up sleep, but the 2004 Chevelier-Montrachet from Domaine Leflaive ensured my dreams were at least restful. Very good wine,delivering all the hazelnut, brioche and mineral notes that this terroir is famous for. It was definitely more of a delicate vintage in comparison to the 2005's, elegance and finesse being the order of the day.

Now as the jet-lag comes and goes like downy pillows under my head, my thoughts become stuck in the cotton wool of my mind. For my body it feels like half three in the morning, even if the sun is still hanging in the light blue sky.

Gemtree Vineyards White Lees Shiraz 2006

After being away from Aussie wines for so long following a shiraz drenched vintage out in the Barossa, I'm back on it. Gotta say, it's good to be back. I've missed the intensity and punchyness of these types of wines.

The Gemtree Vineyards White Lees Shiraz 2006 from the Maclaren Vale is a definate killer wine. Its got an immense nose, blasting Butterscotch, dark olives, crème of cassis, violets, blueberries, plums and liquorice.the colour is typically australian, deep deep red, with a touch of violet, purple. It inks the glass, leaving long legs and a lovely pink stain down the glass. On the palate the this wine is rich, probably with a bit of added tartaric acid, super concentrated. there's not a huge hearth of alcohol roaring through, rather a staedy delivery of warmth, like waking up on a summers day. This wines pretty good, it's a touch expensive, but then only 300 case were made.

Here's the interesting part,

"The story: Winemaker, Mike Brown was emptying some freshly fermented white wine out of new French oak barrels. Left behind in the barrels were the remnants of yeast called 'lees'. Normally the lees are emptied out before the next wine is added. Whilst rolling the first barrels to empty them, Mike tasted the lees in a tub and found they had extraordinary flavour. They were fluffy, crunchy, and looked very "alive" and healthy. He decided to transfer top grade Shiraz into the French oak barrels on top of the white lees. Over the next 28 months the experiment began to take shape, and what has evolved is a unique beast!! The white lees have acted as a preserving agent, protecting this wine from normal ageing characteristics, hence with the extraordinary quality of the 2006 vintage combined with the natural preserving abilities of the lees, we have a wine that is truly remarkable".

"Nothing makes the future look so rosy as to contemplate it through a glass of Chambertin." --- Napoleon

Right, back to the blog, sorry it's been such a long time. Various other priorities have come up and left me with little time to write. That doesn't mean it stopped me trying different wines, far from it. The other day, tired of young, dense and fruit focused, dare I say, "modern wines", I tried the Heritier de Baudricourt Gevrey-Chambertin  "Les Corvees" 1999. Robert Parker reckons the reds on the Cote de Nuits in this vintage are early maturers, far from it, this wine was still tight and focused exposing very little soft  and slightly decaying fruit that I was expecting. The acidity was crisp and structural, but there was little filling the centre. The colour showed some development, turning a touch tawny. On the nose it delivered what all good Pinots from this region do, autumnal leaves, wet earth, rotting humus, cherries and a touch of five spice. On the palete it was quite dark and with sour cherry fruits. The depth and longevity on the palete was a real drawer with this wine. It could be said that this is traditioanl Burgundy of this class, not always obvious on the first or second swallow, but one that you start to understand the more you drink. Austerity and pricision are the key factors here, do not shy away from this wine, mearly put it with the right food, such as a rare fillet steak covered with epoisse sauce or tender beef bourguignon and it will absoulutly shine.

A trio of Pinot Noirs, Rippon, Kooyong and Delaport

Pinot Noir is fairly widespread now and Burgundy is no longer the only place producing top quality wines from this grape. I was lucky enough to taste my way through a dozen Pinot Noirs that focused on alternative regions of the world. Austria was impressive with the 2004 Nittnaus Pinot Noirs showing well. France's less well known Pinot producing areas, such as Sancerre, came out strong with Vincent Delaport's Chavignol 2007. Here's a quick round up on the three wines that impressed me.

Domaine Vincent Delaport,  Sancerre 2007. One of the lighter Pinot Noirs of the tasting, this was definitely more elegant and feminine. The tannins were delicate, piquing the taste buds with a lovely crisp apple acidity. There was very little if any oak influence, the wine was 50% stainless steel tank fermented and 50% old neutral oak. This Pinot, very much relies on the quality of the fruit to display it's interesting qualities.

Kooyong Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir 2006. One of the more extracted wines on the line up. It gave lovely ripe Pinot fruit, soft and alluring. The wine lacked a bit of acidity, but was still very enjoyable, delicious texture and a some great, if a bit dusty tannins. The flavours range between BBQ sauce, meaty notes and a bit of liquorice and soy sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rippon Central Otago Pinot Noir 2005. Probably the most complete Pinot in the line up. The 2005 was head and shoulders above the 2004, with was a little past it and the 2006 which was less ripe and more thin. The 2005, displayed toast, a sexy little touch of Volatile acidity and some good oak. The acidity is less pronounced making it seem more luscious on the palate. Tannins keep the sensation alive in your mouth 30-40 seconds after the wine slides down your throat. Very good!

Friday Night Fish 'n Chips and Chardonnay

Well it's Friday evening and as tradition dictates, it the evening of fish 'n chips. I'm a follower of no particular religious doctrine, but I do think the Catholic tradition of not eating meat on a Friday as a welcome one. What a perfect night to pop down to your local chippie and pick up a steaming paper bag of fresh white fish, deep fried in batter with chunky yellow chips and plenty of salt and vinegar splashed liberally over the top, and a pickled egg sitting on the side.

Unfortunately our local Chip shopschanged hands and the quality of chips has slid down hill rapidly. Those crunchy, crispy yellow fried chips with fluffy white centres have been replaced by soggy, turgid oil soaked chips with fish that swims happily in an ocean of vegetable oil. So this evening I've decided to make my own, everything from chips through to mushy peas.

With a glass of Chardonnay at my-side I'm attempting to cook chips, like they do in the chip shops, just without the massive deep frying baskets and lighted up glass counters. Here's the recipe I'm following, to cook traditional chips. The fish is Sea Bass covered with rosemary and lemon bread crumbs, which is a recipe i'm making up as I go along. The mushy peas are, as tradition decrees, from a tin.

Anyway, as the chips are going through the par-boil stage, I've opened a bottle of Oak-Aged White Burgundy from Tescos Finest 2007, and I've got to say, I'm sick of Tescos finest. I tried a really good Nebbiolo a while back, but since then every bottle I've  tried from this range has let me down.

What Tescos does to create their Finest Range is after every vintage they go out to the wine growing regions and buy up bulk wines that are floating about, slightly sub-par, wines that the original producer doesn't want to put their name to, which Tescos moves in on an snaps up. The bigger the volume they can lay their hands on the better. This wine is made by the large cooperative 'Cave des Vignerons de Buxy', a nice off load of fruit from the less prestigious and more high yielding regions.

This wine will put people off a region that produces possible the finest wines on the planet. I love Burgundian Chardonnay, for its complexity, lengh, fullness and the fact that they can be drunk at absolutely any time, with any meal, fuck it, once in a while give a nice crisp chablis a go with eggs benedict and toast for breakfast.

Back to this wine, fresh but basic and smells slightly of swimming pool changing rooms. White-gold in colour. On the palate it is citrus, old neutral barrels, bit of texture, bit of phenolics, bit of peach, bit of alcoholic warmth and a bit a let down. If you want to explore the fantastic wine growing region of Burgundy go elsewhere, this bears scant resemblance to what the region can produce.

Yering Station MRV 2005

Some countries are uniquely disposed to creating fantastic wines that can't be reproduced else where. They contain areas of terrain where the climate, soil and people contribute to the taste, aroma and style. For example, when thinking about Chardonnay, we think the cote de beaune of Burgundy. Blessed by a unique set of soils on slopes with the best possible relief, drainage and topography. Factor in, vines which have been growing in the same patch of soil for 40-50 years and what you get, in the best vintages, are sublime examples of one the worlds most stylish grapes.

 Again, if we think of Sauvignon Blanc, no one could dispute that Marlborough has lifted the trophy from the hands of the French. Here, well drained alluvial plains, where large pebbles mix with clay loams that contribute with the focused warm summers of the northern tip of the south island New Zealand to produce stunning examples of what the grape can do. 

Sometimes, it's history that plays a more important role as it's the regions history that ingrains a sense of tradition into the techniques and methods used over hundreds of years that influence the current winemaking. Take Sherry for example. The climate and soils are no doubt unique with blindingly white chalk rolling hills that help the vine to retain water in the hot and dry climate of southern Spain. Here the Palomino, Muscat of Alexandria and Pedro Ximénez grapes struggle through, clinging onto their natural acidity's. If you made wine from these grapes in the contemporary style, it would turn out neutral and slightly one dimensional. But, when you apply the natural flor from the sherry butts, the solera sytem that ensures a good level of oxidation and mixing of vintages which combined with the final fortification of the wines, create a truly unique wine that would be hard to reproduce with the same elegance else where. Anyway, back to my original point, you can't make just any wine in just any place.

So, when I found a Yering Station Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier  (MRV) blend I was intrigued. Could this prove me wrong, could this be the exception? The producer's fairly established, the region, Victoria South Australia has done well and these are warm climate white wine grapes that should suit the warm, dry qualities of this region.

Unfortunately, this would be a wine which, in the best of terms,  could be referred to as interesting. The nose was light and wispy, smelling completely of Salt n' Vinegar Crips. The colour was green gold. The palate was floral with a touch of apricots (from the Viognier), but not enough, the Viognier sat way too far back. There was some phenolic roughness on the back of the mouth, a touch of alcoholic heat on the front and a totally lacklustre follow through. This should be a medium bodied white that'l stand up to most dishes, instead its like alcoholic custard. I know some of you may like that but it's no wonder Tescos dropped this particular wine. ( Ouch, sorry Yering Station)

Tescos Finest Alsace Pinot Gris 2005

Thanks UK Weather, you got me stoked by the prospect of a long hot summer and then ruined it by sending me a cold front accompanied by rain. Oh, well, nothing you can do about the weather, you just have to adapt. And by that I mean, keeping the cork in those pale Provencal roses, not unscrewing that bottle of NZ savvy and for God's sake, don't buy a six pack of lager and sit in the park, now is not the time. Instead, head to your local wine merchant and find a bottle of white Alsatian wine, preferably a Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Gewurztraminer or Pinot Gris. These wines, from the north east of France, deliver lots of lush fruit, ripe and full. Quite often they have a hint of sweetness, which makes them perfect to drink as you stare out at grey skies and falling rain. The Autumnal sunshine bursts through with these wines, the grapes having been left on the vine far longer than is usual in other regions of the world, they develop a lovely textural openness, interesting flavours and a sensual tongue play (Hubba hubba), taste one and you'll see what I mean. These wines don't have to be served super chilled, if fact try not to chill them too much. As an unfashionable style (however that occurs?) these wines are really good value at the moment, so grab your umbrella and anorak and go search for some!

Tescos Finest Alsace Pinot Gris 2005 (appox £6). Gorgeous straw-gold colour, like fields of wheat in late summer. Delicate nose of honey, wax, pear drops and vinyl. The palate is rich and fullsome. The acidity keeps this wine fresh and a touch of ripe fruit sweetness with some grape skin phenolics keep the balance. This wine will bring out the warmth even if the BBQ's full of water and the rain's bouncing off the windows. Good value and something different, please, go out and try a wine with difference! Oh, and spread the Spokengrape message between your friends>

Denbies Hillside Chardonnay 2006

I think this is possibly the first English wine I've reviewed on theSpokengrape and after tasting this I hope it will not be the last. Denbies Hillside Chardonnay 2006 (£9.99) is a barrel fermented Chardonnay from just outside the M25 (low food miles, you'd hope), probably the most exciting thing to ever come out of Dorking. The usual critisims piped up by sceptical wine snobs is that, thanks to our maritime climate,  English wines far too often come out, thin, lean and acidic. I'm not disputing this, there are a lot of shit English wines out there and it can be a case of 'once bitten, twice shy'. Another possible stumbling block is that compared to the characterless, samey-same, slightly sweetened fruit juice sold on massive supermarket mark-downs (think Yellowtail, Stowels and Gallo) English wines can seem quite expensive, seldom being retailed for less than £6.99. Sitting in this price band puts up a lot of competition from other producers from around the world.

But, lets not let this get in the way of the wine here. It's actually quite good. It's been barrel fermented, which means it brings some lovely sawdust, green wood and apple orchard elements to the table, it's got a little brine, soy and pear which makes things a little more interesting. The nose isn't hugely obtrusive, it sits in the background, gently nudging the taste on the palete forward into the limelight. The texture is extemely interesting, bringing a kinda oilyness to the party like a Viogner splashed around your mouth. For a wine which clocks in at a svelte 11.5% alcohol the body is pretty ample, filling your palate like a sumo in a bikini. The acidity is kept in check, so you don't get that stripped, abrasive and cut up palate sensation so common with wines that come from this far north. What I found amazing was what a difference in alcohol made to my evening drinking. Following a few glasses I still felt like I had energy left, to slump on the couch watching crap TV didn't seem such a temptation and I actually found myself, glass on board, doing the ironing, quietly buzzed, but not at all lethargic. I don't see the same happening if I had drank my way through a couple of glasses of 15% Aussie chardonnay.

Domaine Sainte Rose "La Garrigue" 2007

Back up in Scotland and I've forgotten that it tends to be three or four degrees cooler than in the south. As the brisk spring winds whip around the hills, driving white clouds across the cool blue sky, it feels time to open up a wine that was born in the dry dusty heat of the Languedoc. A wine which has touched the long hot summers that Scotland can only dream of. Domaine Sainte Rose "La Garrigue" 2007, a boutique producer, run by a British couple who are making wine in a new world style, with Australian winemaker Leigh Sparrow.  They've done well with the marketing, the bottle looks good and is definitely leading the way, sporting a black embossed screw-cap and simple, straight forward label. The back label explains that this a blend of Syrah and Grenache, grapes which have proved extremely successfull in this part of France. The vineyards are situated just outside the small village of Servian which lies in between Beziers and Pezenas, historic market towns with long standing connections to the Cathars.  Back to the wine, I have to be honest, I was expecting better. It has a good colour, a simple nose and a slightly hard, breif and hollow palate. On reading back the last sentence to myself I think it sounds pretty harsh, OK, so it does have certain aspects which I enjoyed, the tannins were quite nice and easy going, there was some ripe berry fruit present and if you like the vanilla and coconut aromas of oak then you won't be dissapointed. It's a very simple wine which has been made in a very contempory way, employing plenty of modern winemaking techniques to produce an early drinking wine which will definitely give some satisfaction if washed down with a thick BBQ steak or some other smoky meaty dish. The best point about this wine is that it falls into a price point that will make it quite appealing, £6.99 from Majestic.

There are definitely potential pit falls associated with screw capping wines, put simply it's not as easy as it should be. Corks are extremely forgiving, they also give bad winemakers a good excuse, "oh, it must be the cork....". With screw caps, what you get in the glass is pretty much the same wine that the winemaker tasted before he made the important decision to bottle. In wine, the screw cap can offer more transparency, displaying the creators skill, or sometimes lack of it.