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A Few American Wines Feb 7 2010

There were also a few American wines at the same tasting (see post below), but you have to understand that it was still before midday on a Sunday, and I had been vigorously tasting the ancient Bordeaux beforehand, so if I approached these wines with anything less than intense enthusiasm, then you will have to forgive me. Sadly I did not make my way through all of these, but this is what I thought of the ones I liked:

1970 Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon: Showing extremely well, still had a pretty intense nose of game, black fruit and earth, and a complex and evolving palate, rich yet refined, with fine tannins and clear acidity that balanced the other strong flavours very well. An excellent wine. The surprise of the tasting for me.

1987 Dominus: Had a dark ruby core with a red-brick rim, a very refined nose, floral, earthy, black cherry and currants, tobacco. Dark fruit, leather, cedar and lots of earthy minerality on the palate, with balanced tannins and acidity. Splendid indeed.

If only they still made Napa cabs in these styles..

The only other wine I thought would be worth sharing with you was the 1995 Fess Parker Syrah, which was a very well-balanced wine. It had a huge nose of sweet black fruit, a little game and marzipan(?), which was dense and rich on the palate, with excellent acidity and big tannins. A very good wine indeed if you like this style.

Right, I'm done now, you can put the knives away, and roll down your sleeves...

Very Old Bordeaux Tasting Feb 7 2010

Right then, after a great deal of lingering over those 3 great wines (yes, even the '62 HB was great despite the fact that it was not supposed to be long-lasting vintage) and repeated sampling, I moved onto the others in the line. There were 3 vintages of Chateau Margaux: '67, '73, and '81.

1967: A little over its peak, however there were still some good, soft fruit and floral aromas, the palate was very balanced and elegant, with a lightish body and very soft texture, a very pleasant wine overall.

1973: It still had a certain finesse, but I felt it had faded quite a bit. Very little fruit left, but there was some minerality. A light body and smooth texture. Tired.

1981: A more concentrated wine than the previous 2, the flavours hadn't faded at all. Bouquet of smoke, earth, tobacco and flowers, with a complex palate of fruit (blueberry and cassis), cedar, tobacco and earth. Soft, resolved tannins and balanced acidity. Very elegant.

There were a couple of other Mouton-Rothschild vintages worth mentioning too: '76 and '99.

1976: Still possessed a complex and pretty intense nose, smokey, tar, earth. The palate was a little faded however, there was still some acidity and soft tannins, but the fruit wasn't backing it up as it should. Drink now if you have it.

1999: A tight nose, still developing for sure, elements of smoke and gunflint minerality. Closed on the palate also, but possesses all the right characteristics (fruit, tannins, acidity) to become a very good wine indeed.

And just before you keel over, one last Bordeaux to mention, though not so old, is the 1990 Pichon Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande. This had excellent flavours, was quite rich and had a certain finesse. The tannins were almost resolved, and all the secondary aromas and flavours were present. At its peak now, extremely good.

Phew, I bet you're all glad that's over..

I Hate EasyJet

Just a quick note as Im trying to get back from my most splendid trip to the Jura et al - stuck at Geneva airport having missed my first ever international flight thanks to the cretins at QueasyJet - heavy snow meant late on the drive back from Champagnole (many thanks to Vincents awesome Father for all his help this weekend) and nobody told me they close the check-in 40minutes before the flight - I get there 5 mins after its closed and they refuse to check me in - my planes on the ground 35mins but they wont let me on - morons - paid an extra 45(damn no pound sign) for the privelage of getting on the next flight - anyway better run or ill miss the next one - hoepfully will get back to blighty soon and will regail you of my adventures - laters

Very Old Bordeaux Tasting Feb 7 2010

Right, I'm not going to talk about all the wines on the previous post for 2 reasons: firstly there were a whole load that were crap, past their best, or that I didn't like; and secondly, if I did, then you would all die from extreme, mind-numbing boredom. And because I'm a sensitive, new-age man, I won't put you through that ordeal.

So, after a quick shot of Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve to enliven the taste buds, I hit the whites, all of which were flabby, with the exception of the Chateau-Grillet (viognier), and that had no fruit. Enough about those, on to the Bordeaux.

First off:

1961 La Mission Haut Brion:

A dark ruby core going to a red-brick rim, with a big, aromatic, complex nose of bold, sweet fruit, tobacco, smoke, meat, spice and minerals, backed up by a full body and rich flavours, with soft tannins, a velvety texture and a very long finish. This is a big, rich and dense wine, it is extremely powerful, yet very elegant and refined (if that's possible), with all its elements in perfect harmony with one another. And given that it has such intensity of flavour it will certainly last for some time to come with good storage conditions. Absolutely Awesome!! This was my number 1 wine of the day.

And if you thought that was a big wine, then try this next one...



1959 Mouton-Rothschild:

This wine borders on the ridiculous. At 50 years of age it has a colour that almost defies belief, it is almost black with a purple rim, and it possesses very strong aromas of dark fruit (cassis, cherry), spice and mint/eucalyptus. This is a massively-extracted, syrupy wine, which seems to be pretty unevolved on the palate, has very big, dry tannins and high levels of acidity, extremely rich and opulent flavours, and will probably last for several more decades yet. Definitely a 'Wow!' wine.

2 bottles were opened at the tasting, with some variation, the first one was definitely a lot softer and less intense than the second. We were told that they double-decanted all the Bordeaux a couple of hours beforehand at around 9am, and by 12.30pm the second bottle was really starting to come into its own - it's definitely got some time ahead of it..

And finally, the last of the top 3:

1962 Haut Brion:

This had spicy, smokey, sweet and minerally aromas that were much softer and more elegant than the previous 2 wines, the core was also a deep garnet colour, moving to a red-brick rim again. On the palate there was much less sweetness than on the nose, there was much more of the earthy, minerally flavours, combined with some strong dark, and maybe a little stewed, fruit backing it up. The tannins were also fully integrated, there was some good acidity still, and a medium(+) body and soft texture, overall giving a most pleasurable mouthful of wine. Fully recommended if you can find, and indeed afford it.

One slight criticism I had of the tasting was that they poured these 3 wines together, but in the wrong order. They poured the '59, then the '61 then the '62, they should have done it in the reverse order in my opinion, moving up in body and concentration. Can't have it all though I suppose.

More to follow soon on some of the other wines...

Tasting Sheet 2/7/10

Here are the wines that were tasted this morning at the Edward Roberts pre-auction tasting:

N/V Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve
1975 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs
1976 Andre Vannier Chablis Mont de Milieu
1975 Etienne Sauzet Puligny-Montrachet Les Referts
1976 Louis Latour Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
1977 Neyret-Gachet Chateau Grillet Cuvee Renaissance Tirage Limite
1962 Cruse Pommard
1955 Chateau Cos D'Estournel
1959 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild
1961 Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion
1962 Chateau Haut-Brion
1967 Chateau Margaux
1970 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild
1973 Chateau Margaux
1975 Chateau Talbot
1976 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild
1981 Chateau Margaux
1982 Chateau Notton
1983 Chateau Leoville Las-Cases
1990 Chateau Pichon-Lalande
1999 Chateau Mouton-Rothschild
2000 L'Esprit de Chevalier
2000 Chateau Yon-Figeac
1985 Vega Sicilia Valbuena
1970 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Unfiltered
1987 Dominus
1994 Calafia Cabernet Sauvingon Konrad Vineyard
1995 Leducq Merlot Sylviane
1995 Heitz Cabernet Sauvignon Bella Oaks
1997 Anderson Peninou Proprietary Red Wine
1998 Del Dotto Merlot
1998 Del Dotto Giovanni's Tuscan Reserve
1999 Branham Cabernet Sauvignon
2000 Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon
2000 Don Vincenzo Proprietary Red Wine
2001 Anderson Peninou Cabernet Sauvignon
2002 Branham Cabernet Sauvignon
2004 Venge Family Scout's Honor
2005 Jack Williams Cabernet Sauvignon The King
1970 Domaine Gerin Cote Rotie
1995 Fess Parker Syrah
2000 Fontodi Syrah Case Via
1988 Chateau St. Jean Muscat Canelli
1985 Fonseca Port

I will attempt to dissect, and dismiss, some of them in the next post

Mature Bordeaux Tasting Tomorrow

Very excited, I am going to a pre-auction tasting today (Edward Roberts International, http://eriwine.com/flash.html) where the highlights will be a '59 Mouton-Rothschild and a '61 La Mission Haut-Brion, supposedly 2 of the best wines from Bordeaux from the last century. It's not often I get to taste wines like these, in fact it's not ever that I get to try them, so watch this space...

Whew..

Ok, sorted now. Sweet.

D'oh

Ooops, sorry people, having a few problems figuring out some customisation stuff.. Hopefully all will be back to normal very soon..

New World, Cheap, Very Nice

In an attempt to veer from the one-track mindedness to which I referred yesterday, I opened a delectable bottle of a 2008 New World Viognier from the Horse Heaven Hills AVA in Washington, from a producer called McKinley Springs. This was everything a good Viognier should be: beautiful floral and stone fruit aromatics with lots and lots of wet rock minerality, and awesome peach and apricot fruit on the palate, with the same minerality also, and the textbook oily viognier texture, followed by a very crisp, and pretty long finish. And the price for this marvel of a wine that would rival a decent Condrieu? $15. Splendid. You know it's a good wine when you get upset when the bottle ends. Or is that just alcoholism? Who knows.. Anyway, I think this could become one of my go-to wines, it is that good and that good value.

Well, maybe there is a future for me in New World wine appreciation after all, I promise I am trying. Any suggestions for further wines to try are always welcome too. In fact I would receive bottles in the post if anyone is so inclined..

One-Track Mind

Hmmm, I just realised that almost all of the wines that I waffle on about are French. Why is it that I mostly seem to have French wines in stock? I must try to diversify a bit more..

A Good Grower Champagne

Yesterday we went over to our friends' house, and we took over a splendid bottle of champagne to congratulate them on the birth of their firstborn, and to view said offspring. The champagne was a non-vintage Grand Cru Brut Rose, from Varnier-Fanniere, a grower, made from a blend of GC Chardonnay grapes from the village of Avize (90%), and GC Pinot Noir grapes from Ay (10%). The wine looked to colourblind me like it was a striking pink/amber colour, and had good amounts of red fruit on the nose for a wine that is mainly Chardonnay. On the palate it was very fresh and racy, with good fruit, a little bread, and excellent minerality. It was very a very focused and precise wine, with smallish bubbles, overall extremely well-balanced, and it went very well with the tuna salad nicoise we consumed with it. The more I drink these grower champagnes, the more I realise that they have so much more character than most of the big negocient-produced wines. These are the ones to look out for people, look for a very small RM on the front label, and you know they are grower-produced.

I'm not sure that young Sadie appreciated that we were drinking fine champagne in her honour, but until she gets older, less is definitely very much more...

Urgh..

Ravenswood, Vintner's Blend Zinfandel 2007. Disgraceful. Nuff said. I wish people wouldn't bring them round. Please people, no more crappy Zins!! I have, however, had a couple of Primitivos form Puglia that have been more than palatable in the last 6 months or so, must be the Old World touch..

On another note of heightened joy, the thought of an anorak-laden post from you, Nahthern, about one of France's minor wine regions makes me shudder from head to toe in orgasm-inducing ecstasy (see comment on previous post). I can hardly contain myself. My wife is very excited too.

Blowtorch Rib of Beef by Thomas Keller

As the title would suggest, I had Thomas Keller round last night to cook rib of beef for me. Actually I did not. I recently received from my charming and very thoughtful wife a signed copy of his new cookbook, Ad Hoc At Home, based on recipes from his restaurant in Yountville, Ca. One of these is his recipe for Blowtorch Rib of Beef (bone-in), which involves browning the meat and fat with a blowtorch, and then cooking it slowly at a lower temperature to ensure that there is a much more even pinkness throughout the interior, rather that cooking it at higher heat and having decreasing pinkness from centre to edge, with the aim of the blowtorch being to get the yummy exterior crust as if it had been cooked at a higher heat. And may I say that a combination of this technique and my superlative cooking skills ensured that the meat turned out perfectly. And served with some roasted root vegetables (parsnips, carrots) and homemade horseradish, it made for an extremely pleasant way to pass a Sunday afternoon. I also preceded this course with the first soup (not a stew, or casserole) I have ever made, a sunchoke soup, the recipe for which I found on epicurious.com. Awesome.

I served the beef with an outstanding bottle of 2004 Tardieu-Laurent Cotes-du-Rhone Cuvee Guy Louis (50% Grenache, 50% Syrah), which has to be one of the best CDR I have tasted in several years. It is a little tight straight out of the bottle, but after an hour or so of decanting it had opened right up. For $15 you get a nose of ripe red and black fruit, coffee, spice, and a little oak. The palate reflects the nose very well, but also gives you a full-bodied, velvet-textured mouth feel, some good acidity and some grippy tannins, with a pretty long finish, culminating in a very well-balanced wine, which could easily pass for a good Gigondas I would say. All for $15!! Bargain!! There aren't many of those around these days! All I can say is that I'm bloody glad I've got 4 more bottles of this left.

Anyway, maximum kudos to me for a splendid meal, and a great wine selection. Well done me..

A small Bollinger tasting

Had a small tasing of the Bollinger range tonight - quality all round was high but the most interesting aspect was tasting some of their reserve wines from magnum that they use to make up the NV and NV Rose - Bollinger being the only house to store and age a portion of their reserve wines like this rather than tank - 800,000 bottles at any one time for between 5 and 20 years which is quite mad logistically

Chardonnay Mesnil 2003 - Very forward Chardonnay nose toasty and buttery but very yeasty strong fresh bread dough on the pallette masking any fruit, dry but quite low acidity

Pinot Noir Vizennay (Blanc)2004 - Very slight pink hue, distinct pinot nose redcurrents and quite earthy but fresh light prickle and more acidity
Pinot Noir Ay ,La Cote Aux Enfants (Rouge)2004 - Extremely dense black with light purple rim very fragant black forest fruit, noticable oak nice velvety texture but acidity quite low - Point of interest this is used to blend with La Grande Annee Rose but is also bottled and sold in tiny quantities as a Coteaux Champenoise Pinot Noir

As for the wines themselves

Bollinger Special Cuvee NV
60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Meunier
Rich full and yeasty nose buttery and generous - full bodied creamy textured mousse not overly complex and a bit clinical but very good NV style if you like richer more forward styles - which I do

Bollinger Grande Annee 2000
63% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay
Much more elegant nose more greengage, ripe apple and stony minerality, lovely creamy texture with some light peach notes but good structured minerality carry through but felt missing that zappy acidity I look for and definatly lacking somewhat on length

Bollinger RD 1997 (Disgorged Sept 08)
65% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay
Restrained nose on opening which opened up after 15 minutes, fresh and pure still that stony minerality but with much more citrus notes Lemon zest ripe and aromatic but subtle - very dry precise style good balance nice acidity but feels a bit disjointed, not quite complete - lovely wine but maybe needs more time and I do in general prefer the richer creamy 'house style' of the Grande Annee

Bollinger Rose NV
60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Meunier
Very attractive pale salmon colour with almost a rusting brown hue - subtle nose quite pinot like with nice herbacious (thyme?) element - lovely creamy texture very savoury style and long drying finish - Very nice

Bollinger Grande Annee Rose 2002
73% Pinot Noir, 27% Chardonnay
Slightly deeper than the NV but same salmon pink with rusty hue - nose quite closed crushed redcurrant and freeze dried strawberries (if you have'nt smelt freeze dried strawberries just trust me on this) - pretty tight but very structured coiled spring type energy with lovely dry herbs - obviously needs more time but very very good length

Probably my favourite wine of the line up but not sure about the considerable price jump so for value my monies on the Rose NV

Blog Format

We need to sort out the format a bit better me thinks - nature of the blog is wine and food commentary so we not only need to be able to post quick and constant tasting notes without it getting cluttered but also be able to go back and comment on old posts and have it show up when this happens - ie re-tasting wines re-visiting old vintages - same restaurant etc etc - already starting to get lost on the comments from older posts - what you think or rather what do your plethora of consultants think - keeping in mind more interested in this being a self-educational reference tool rather than a random soap box

Hermitage Blanc, Domaine des Remizieres

And so to continue my recent obsession with southern French whites, today I picked out a 1999 Hermitage Blanc from Domaine des Remizieres from my friendly local wine merchant, Howard Silverman at Howard's Wine Cellar in Lakeview, Chicago, from where I buy a lot of my wine. The bottle had been sitting there for a couple of weeks, I'd been eying it up since I first saw it, and today I made my move. Anyway, to sum up, this wine was completely AWESOME!! I absolutely love this style, the very full body, the way the nose toys with you, giving you a hint of the pleasure that your taste buds are about to experience, then the way the intensity of the flavour builds and builds on the mid palate and explodes into a long and glorious finish, leaving you wishing that the bottle would never end.. Hmmm... Well, the nose had peach and floral notes (rosewater) and a tiny hint of an oxidative sherry style, and this was followed on the palate by more stone fruit (peach and apricot) plus lemony citrus notes, and again this ever so slight nutty, oxidative sherry taste, which I love. I'm pretty sure that this is a deliberate style, and I guess you either love it or you hate it. There was also some very beautifully-integrated oak, and some very well-balanced acidity, and all of these things combined to make a truly splendid wine. I feel that this wine would also keep for a good few years yet, there seems to be plenty of evolving flavours there, and good acidity to prop it up, so if you can find it then buy, buy, buy! Actually don't, less is more after all.. I had it with some simply-prepares veal escalopes and it more than stood up to it.

Tomorrow I'm roasting a very large, saliva-inducing bone-in prime rib of beef. Just because I want to, and I can't wait. Not sure what I'm going to drink with it yet, I have some excellent S Rhone wines here, we'll see.

And in case you were wondering, it has been a fruit day today, as it will be tomorrow, the best day to drink your wines. Any old excuse eh...

Wine of the Month - I Love Sauvignon Blanc

Discovering a new found love for Sauvignon Blanc it would seem of late with 2 making it into my top 5 this month - a much maligned variety thanks to the Kiwi invasion but when its fine as with most grapes its very lovely indeed - This one is spectacular the 1995 Francoise Cotat cuvee speciale 'Les Culs de Beaujeu' Sancerre. Amazing contrast between nose and palette - on opening extremely aggressive nose little evidence of fruit except austere citrus masked by very high sulphur which took nearly on hour to blow of after caraffing - but the pallette was incredible - pink grapefruit and lime peel citrus with distinct softer peach fruit side, most notably a stunning creamy texture with a seductive sweetness balancing the intense wet pebble chalky mineralty throughout - beautiful mouthwatering acidity and fantastic length, absolute pleasure to drink but the attacking severity of the nose and high acidity suggests its got a long future - difficult to find as is a special cuvee only made in exceptional years but if you see it buy it.
If you ever meet a Kiwi again who insists they make "the best sauvignon blanc in the world" - and I have met many - it is your duty to slap em round the side of the head.

82 Cheval Blanc and vintage ratings

Tasted an 82 Cheval Blanc for the first time tonight - bottle was from very good provinence and in good condition but was pretty disappointed - on opening very lovely nose, classic delicate earthy tarry notes crushed red fruit sweet cherry and smokey tobacco but a little muted - palette was broad well balanced but a bit lean and noteably disjointed - returned to it 2 hours after decanting expecting it to have opened up but nose had noticably closed down palette was definatly more austere and acidity was now completely out of wack very suprised to see it fall over like that - was expecting much better things as not long ago had the 78 which even though from a suposedly much lesser vintage than the "legendary" 82s that was simply one of the best Bordeauxs I've ever tasted - soaring warm complex nose, hugely generous velvety texture and fabulous length really a thing of beauty - the old saying that there are no great vintages just great bottles is definitely becoming more and more apparent - generalising about vintages based on critics ratings really does seem to be a complete waste of time - a very learned colleague noted hes seeing more and more of these great 82s falling over - much like the highly rated 90s in Champagne and i've definatly seen a few of these lately that are flabby messes

Pinot Tasting Review

Well, I have very sad news to report. The Pinot and boeuf bourgignon tasting that I attended last night with my friend Kristen did not live up to my hopes and expectations at all. The wines were not very exciting, apart form 2 notable exceptions and the boeuf bourg was very sub-par. The 2 notable wine exceptions were a 2006 Bourgogne Rouge from Rene Leclerc, which, for a basic red Burgundy, had lots of concentrated flavours of fruit, earth and spice in very good harmony, backed up with good acidity and supple tannins, and was definitely the best value wine there for $22 a bottle, and drinking very nicely right now, though I'm not sure how long the bottle had been open. The other noteworthy wine was a 2005 Domaine Latour-Giraud Volnay Clos des Chenes, for around $55 a bottle I think. It was quite reserved on the nose, but on the palate it was considerably more concentrated, if a little tight, with complex flavours and excellent minerality supported by a good levels of acid and very fine tannins. This one is definitely built to last. I feel that it's is starting to close down a little, so stick it away if you have any.. The other wines were all pretty characterless, generic Pinots, with no outstanding traits. There was the usual selection of crowd-pleasing, big, fruity new world efforts, made to be drunk pretty young, and also some cheaper Burgundies with no real distinguishing features. Shame.

So to sum up, out of about 25 wines, only 2 of them got my juices flowing, which is really a piss-poor ration to be honest. In fact, if I'm being brutally honest, the best thing about the tasting apart form the aforementioned 2 wines, was the brie and charcuterie that they provided for us. They did give us some very nice sausage.. And if you needed any other indication of how little we thought of the wines, we ended up leaving the Pinot Noir tasting with a bottle of a 1999 Reserva Rioja for to take to dinner with us. D'oh..! How insulting.. And all this on a flower day too.

Whats a Root Day

Basically my dearest of Yankee friends, monkey magic there is talking about the biodynamic calender - theory goes roughly that all plant growth and development is effected by not only the phases of the moon but its passage through the 12 constellations of the zodiac - not that weird an idea if you think about the gravitational influence of the moon, not just on tides but on things like underground water tables and rising of sap in plants - Plants are divided into 4 major groups Root - which corresponds to the Earth element is linked to 3 zodiac signs and the quarterly phases of the moon - ie when the moon passes in front of these constellations - there is also Leaf, Fruit (ie grapes/wine) and Flower for the other 3 phases and corresponding constellations - when to sow the crop prune harvest and - more controversially went to drink or not to - corresponds to these phases - black magic pagan hippy weirdos or simply being more in tune with mother earth and the cosmos - the debate continues - hope this clears things up for you :-)

Welcome to our Antipodean Brothers

Greetings and Salutations to our friend on the other side of the great pond - as this is a discussion of all things fine in the world of food and wine I look forward to your learned contributions, especially concerning the world of spirits, cocktails and the finest watering holes offered to man - a subject I believe you know a little about.

Pinot Tasting Tonight

Morning campers, sorry no post yesterday. I sadly spent the entire day writhing around on the couch in agony following an evening in the pub drinking beer. The first place I have found in the US with real, live hand pump beer will most likely be the last time I try that out. Call me a lightweight or whatever you want, but I'm pretty sure that I shouldn't be feeling this bad after only 5-6 beers. Something tells me that the dive bar I was in doesn't clean its beer lines very often. It seems that every time I go to the pub here and drink draft beer, which isn't very often, I feel terrible the next day regardless of how much or little I drink. This didn't happen in England when I was there over Christmas. I guess it's bottled beer or no beer here, which will basically be no beer, because as we all know American beer is disgracefully shocking. Even the decent micro-brewed beers are ruined by being served as cold as possible without freezing.. There's clearly a multitude of reasons then why I drink a lot of wine..

So, tonight I am going to a pinot and boeuf bourgignon evening at a local wine merchant. I am hoping that there will be a slant towards Burgundy, obviously, especially seeing as though they are furnishing us with boeuf bourg, but we shall see. And it's a flower day now, so hopefully all will be good. More later..

CellarTracker Virgin

I have just discovered the full joys of CellarTracker, and have just spent a few extremely pleasurable hours cataloging my wines on their website. I've been using it for a while for user reviews, but I finally decided to use it for its main purpose, to catalogue my wines.. What a splendid idea!! I mainly love the fact that I can now write my own notes on a wine, and it will all be stored online, so no need to write them down somewhere and risk losing them, or no need to screw around with crappy iphone apps, because, let's face it most of them are indeed crap. And CT is very user-friendly too, I'm a techno-retard and I still manged to figure it out quite easily.

So, to any strays who happen to read this and who happen to have a wine cellar, I fully recommend this site (see link below). Obviously that doesn't mean you Nahthern, because I realise that you are far too pikey to have such a thing as a wine collection, but to anyone else who isn't a homeless gypsy, please give it a go.

Anyway, it's still a root day, so I'm going to the pub for beer and burgers tonight, to meet my hillbilly friend from Wisconsin.

El Bulli to close!

Oh crap - just read the news El Bulli is to close for 2 years 2012-13 for sabbatical and will apparently reopen in a different format - cant guarantee Im going to be alive in 2014 think we should make a concerted effort to get a table there next year though not sure how, the world and his wife wanted to eat there anyway, god knows it'll be impossible to get in now

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/jan/26/ferran-adria-el-bulli-closed

Site Evolution

Ooh luck our first persons visited the site how exciting, obviously not sufficiently impressed to become a "follower" - peasant - right added a bunch of stuff I found add and delete as you feel appropriate - tried moving stuff around but still feels not particuarly easy on the eye - will leave in your infinitely more capable hands - also search thingy on the bottom does'nt seem to work dont know if we need it but I quite like the useful websites link - cant help thinking we still need a better way of categorising posts - I want too start putting up lots of quick tasting notes - not really for comment just quick reference and homework purposes and it'll start looking way too cluttered - whatcha thunk bubba

Bollocks, Tits and Arse

Huge disappointment, not very happy. I recently purchased a few bottles of what was one of my favourite New Zealand Pinots, we tried a bottle of it last night and it turned out to be crap. I am not impressed. After going through the trouble of purchasing it in the UK, and then bringing it back to Chicago with me, the least it could do would be to provide me with some pleasure. The wine in question is called Greenhough Hope Vineyard Pinot Noir 2003, and I still have 6 bottles left. I am hoping that it is suffering from 'transport shock', because this was a splendid wine when I last tasted it around a year ago. Yesterday, though, it smelled and tasted like a nasty Californian Pinot: a flabby fruit-bomb. The previously velvety texture had transformed into nothing more than a lifeless glass of what resembled Ribena. Bollocks. Maybe it was just a bad bottle, I really hope so, because I have always been a champion of the Kiwi Pinot scene, and of this winery, and I don't want to be let down.. It was a root day with ascending force yesterday too, I think I'll grab another bottle that has been in the 'cave' for a while, and try it on a fruit or flower day, maybe that'll help..

1970 Lafite Rothschild

1970 Lafite Rothschild - not decanted - Palish colour with faded brick orange rim but holding colour quite well obviously fully mature but attractive nose very subtle cassis and mineral if touch medicinal very light in body light tannins just in evidence but acidity rapidily increasing over the 45 minutes after opening masking any fruit - looked good on opening all things considered but have to drink pretty quick - over the hill but still enough going on to hold interest - more historical curiosity now me thinks

The Influence of Parker, and Another Moan

I just want to have a bit of a moan about Robert Parker and his far-too-great influence on wine prices. Last summer I decided to purchase some wine from the excellent 2007 vintage from the Southern Rhone, and I went for a small Chateauneuf Du Pape producer, Domaine de Saint Prefert (the white of whom we drank at Aria), and their top cuvee, Collection Charles Giraud, which I managed to get for $59 a bottle. At the time Parker gave it a 95-98 rating, and since then he has upped its rating to 100. Anyway, I looked up this wine today, and now it's selling for between $235-750(!) a bottle at auction! Just goes to show that a positive rating from Mr. Parker puts great wines like this out of reach of the ordinary consumer, and this isn't even a classed growth Bordeaux or a big name CNDP like Clos des Papes either. I'm bloody glad I struck while the iron was hot and bought when I did..

This producer actually is one of my favourite from CNDP , Isabel Ferrando is the owner and winemaker, and she produces outstanding wines, the white is made from 80-85% very old clairette vines and is superb, and her reds are typical CNDP blends, with the top cuvee being 60% grenache and 40% mourvedre. I am not, however going to recommend them to you as they are very small production, and I want less competition for their purchase.

On a totally different note, I hate the way my American computer tells me that I can't spell favourite with a 'u', or, much worse, judgement with an 'e'. Utterly retarded.. Who gave them their bloody language anyway?

Some Interesting Southern French Whites

So my dull and ignorant friend it's my turn to be boring tonight. I've had a couple of very interesting French whites from the Languedoc-Roussillon region over the last couple of nights. First one was somethig I've never heard of, a 2007 Carignan Blanc(?) form a producer called Domaine des Milles Roses in Roussillon, costing around $22. Apparently there were only around 1000 hectares of this grape planted in the whole of France in 2000, and in fact the winemaker isn't exactly sure what the grape truly is, so he decided to call it Carignan Blanc. So there. Anyway, it has a very rich nose, with lots of floral notes, with honey, lemon, and what I believe is characterised as beeswax, and after some exposure to air some strong notes of white peach, in fact the next day (today) the peach was the predominant feature, and, dare I say it, almost like candied strawberries.. The wine was full-bodied on the palate, and reflected all of the aromas, with the peach and honeysuckle being the predominant flavours. There was also a little minerality on the finish. Sadly though, I felt the acidity was lacking slightly, which left it a little out of balance given the full body, but overall it was a very good wine.

The second wine was from a producer call Ermitage du Pic St. Loup, in the Herault region of the Languedoc. I vesited this place a year ago, and was stunned by the purity and freshness of their wines, especially the white. It was their 2007 Cuvee St Agnes Blanc, which is made up of 50% Roussanne, 20% Clairette, 15% Marsanne and 15% Grenache Blanc, just to be geeky. The aromas just leap out of the glass at you, just begging you to take a sip, it has a very complex nose of honeysuckle, blossom, honey, peach and spice. On the palate it has a little less body than the Carignan Blanc, but still pretty full, and it has a viognier-like oily texture. The fruit flavours and honeysuckle are strong on the mid-palate, and the long, lingering finish has strong minerality and a touch of lemon, and this time the acidity is at just the right level to make a perfectly balanced wine. What is so great about this wine is the amazing freshness and purity of all the flavours, a truly splendid wine, especially when you consider it cost less than 13GBP (no bloody pound sign on stupid US keyboard). I would love to tell you where you can buy this wine, but there is only 1 place on winesearcher to get this vintage, and sadly I bought all their remaining bottles last week, and imported them illegally back to Chicago. Hopefully the 2008 will be as good..

So basically screw all your 1st growth Bordeaux that cost hundreds and have a slurp on a less-than $20 bottle of Southern French plonk. It's always so much more satisfying when you find cheap wines that give you immense amounts of pleasure as there's so much further to fall with stupidly-expensive, ultra-premium bottles.. And here endeth the lesson of St. Alastair, renowned philosopher and sage.

I promise not to be boring again either.

Araujo

Tried an awesome Yankee wine tonight - 2006 Araujo Eisele vineyard sauvignon blanc, immediately interesting on opening but a bit closed - was splendid 2 hrs after decanting warm citrus and light floral notes - which is probably the touch of viognier in there - with intense graphite minerality lovely balance and acidity and perfectly integrated oak - tasted blind would have definately have said very fine Loire, same funky savoury style - almost Dageneau level if lacking a bit in the power and length - too young but very bleedin good - be very interested to see older vintages - and well worth trying to find as a hell of a lot cheaper than their reds

Special Skills

Splendid, I have figured out how to allow myself to create posts by using my special Chinese email-hacking skills, and accessing your account and inviting myself to be an author. I'm the man (and so's my wife who actually thought of it..). A post to follow shortly regarding a very interesting Southern French White from Roussillon.

1993 Haut Brion

1993 Haut Brion - Quite forward nose on opening very pleasant and attractive typical earthy coffee with touch citrus but lacking in great complexity and intensity - nicely balanced but bit thin, drying finish and acidity a bit out of wack - still lovely wine on nose but definatly lacking a bit on the palette reflecting the off vintage I guess but you wouldnt refuse a second glass.

Restaurant Reviews

Just a quicky as ate there quite a while ago but congratulations to Brett Graham only the second Aussie chef to gain any Michelin stars and he just got 3 - 2 stars for the Ledbury which is still currently the best meal i've had in London so far and also 1 star for the Harwood Arms in Fulham which was also a great meal, very good service and a splendid little wine list - one of the few places deserving of the term "gastropub" - as opposed to say somewhere that thinks sticking a bit of samphire on top of their burgers with a side order of pretty but surly waitress is reason enough to double their prices - ie: Ramseys York and Albany in Camden.
Further congratulations are in order because it really annoys the French when jumped up peasants from a backwater like Australia dare to take one of their stars, which can only be a good thing eh - so goodonya mate.

1985 Latour, Mouton and Haut Brion

Ok for the purpose of this experiment my opening blog subject was somewhat weak, ie: merely calling you fat, and your response was impressive, ie: talking about food and wine, so now I intend to redress the balance somewhat and comment on a little wine I tasted the other day.
A mini flight of 85s namely 1st growth Bordeaux - Latour, Mouton Rothschild and Haut Brion.
Not tasting these wines blind quite frankly is always difficult when you are aware of the label and the vintage but it is easier to think about these wines dispassionately when one, they are next to each other which is rare, and two more importantly you have'nt had to pay for it.
So to the wines - all some 3 hours after decanting. In order of my preference last to first - the Mouton - Black cherry colour little rim fade fairly dense much like the Latour - on the nose sweet fruit touch herbacious but much more muted than the other 2 - balanced complete, mouth filling and expressive nice finish but not great length - really lovely Cabernet but showing quite one dimensional especially in present company - will it improve who knows - but dont drink it now certainly with only 3 hrs decanting - is this worth the price - umm no its good but come on - cool labels though adds at least 100 quid to the bottle.
Latour - much more attractive on the nose but still noticably closed to me - brambley dark fruit with definate classic cedar and lead minerality - slighty lighter in body and silky texture superbly balanced and lovely long finish but seems still youthful and frustatingly beyond potential - returned to small glass 24hrs after decanting - on palette not cool but nose is soaring, brilliant warm velvety gorgeous and intense and quite frankly extremely exciting - at 25 years old you are commiting infanticide if you are drinking this wine - I Think
And
Haut Brion - bleedin brilliant - Paler than the other 2 with definate brick red hue - nose is just sexy - earthy undergrowth and roast coffee and tobacco - very savoury textured and touch smokey concentrated and complex with great depth very expressive and drinking much better than Latour and Mouton - this is a wine you just want to keep smelling rather than drinking - balanced and poised fantastic finish and very long - i think i want to cry - drink now if you can find it and afford it but sure will happily keep improving for some time to come - I Think
One things for sure - seeing 3 1st growths together at 25 years old from a top vintage there is undoubtably a huge difference stylistically between them and the numptys that can afford to buy these wines invariably drink them too young - from these bottles the Haut Brion stood out a mile is ready and is great - the Latour is obviously great but not ready, not sure when - and the Mouton not looking great and who knows - ether way learning a greater appreciation of the the stupidly priced Bordeaux's - over to you Fat Boy

Let the Games begin

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