Wine Society clearance case

A couple of weeks ago I bought a clearance dozen from the Wine Society. This was partly to make use of the £20 credit that was given with my membership, (which I was given for Christmas). On Sunday, with a delicious rib of beef from Tony Harrison, we tasted two of the wines in the case that were recommended for immediate drinking. For an aperitif I chose an Italian white – Basilicata Bianco, Terra degli Eventi 2008. This is a mix of malvasia, fiano and chardonney, and refreshingly different . Excellent in this situation, but unfortunately no longer on the Wine Society list – and as far as I can ascertain only available now from suppliers abroad. However, I can tell you that the maker is Oronzo Alò and you can see a video of him here, talking at a Wine Society tasting.

The red we drank with the beef is also unavailable! Corbieres, Domaine de la Marque, 2006. And here I can be of no help at all – the bottle label has no further information other than the French post code (11360), and a web search provides no information. Having said dwhich,it was a very acceptable accompaniment to the beef! Deeply coloured, fruity and gently spicey. I’ll try to do better with the next wines!

Two evenings in Uppingham

I’ve been working in Peterborough for a couple of days, and stayed at the Falcon Hotel in Uppingham. This has some very up and down reviews on ‘Tripadvisor’, which is undoubtedly due to its having changed owners in the past six months, with the new management trying to get it back to a real three star establishment. I found it a very comfortable and welcoming place – to the extent that, unusually for me, I ate there on both nights. The first evening I chose from the standard menu – (and chose a smoked meat terrine, followed by lincolnshire sausages and mash). On the second night they had a ‘St Patrick’s Day’ evening – yes, a week late! This basically meant that there was a three piece Irish band and an Irish themed set 3 course menu. From which I had a hot chicken and Irish chedder salad, followed by a beef-in-Guiness stew. (And a chocolate and nut pudding!)

The wine list was limited – something I like in a place like this. On the first night I had a bottle of Vetriano Sangiovese 2007. I can’t say there was anything spectacular about this, but it was fruity and undemanding – quite appropriate with the meal, and after driving down from Cumbria!

On the second night I chose an Alto Pampas Del Sur 2009.  This was slightly oaky, which favoured the stew, and again fairly undemanding and soft. Both wines retail at around £6 and hence around £15 in the restaurant! Alto Pampas is a label of the very large Concha y Toro company, who also produce Casillero del Diablo (see an earlier post). I’m afraid their site is another of the annoying, flashy, sound ridden sites that South American producers seem fond of!

The only retailer I can find who will supply both wines is The House of Townend – Hotwines but both seem to be fairly widely available online.

Marks & Spencers wines

Two wines from M&S recommended in the papers last weekend – I haven’t tried either, so can’t comment personally!

The South African Crow’s Fountain Chenin Blanc 2009 (£5.99, down from £7.99 until 5 April,  14.5% abv) “looks good at the offer price” – reviewed by Victoria Moore in the Guardian. This is made by Villiera Wines, who are based about 10 miles from Stellenbosch. However, the Crow’s Fountain is not listed on their site, so is presumably a formulation purely for this supermarket export market. (Be warned – the Villiera web site is a fancy one, but takes an age to load!) M&S appear to be the only UK suppliers

2007 Marks & Spencer Meursault – £24  “True white burgundy of the kind you know and love, there’s plenty of deliciously nutty and lees-derived oatmealy flavours in this stylish meursault, seamlessly bound in a framework of subtle oak and textured opulence.” – reviewed in the Independent. From Les Caves de la Colombe, who I can’t find a supplier for anywhere in the world! However, the 2006 Meursault won a Decanter World Wide Bronze Award for 2008, so they must be OK!

If you’ve never looked at ‘Wine Library TV’ an old edition tasted the Caves de la Colombe Chassagne-Montrachet, and Gary Vaynerchuk (VAY NER CHUK) is certainly an ‘in your face’ type of guy!

Recommended supermarket wines from this weekend

What have the critics been recommending this weekend?

From Morrisons, 2008 Corbières, Cave de Mont Tauch – reviewed in the Independent:

“This spicy, robust southern French blend of grenache, carignan, syrah and mourvèdre from the Mont Tauch Co-op shows plenty of juicy peppery fruit and damsony acidity – the perfect everyday sipper” £4.49

And two from Tesco, recommended by Jane MacQuitty in the Times:

2009 Australian Reserve Riesling-Gewürztraminer, South Australia – £4.96 “Serve this bold, spicy, lychee and peach-laden Aussie white well chilled with spicy oriental cuisine”. This is made by Warwick Billings, who is listed as a directorof Lobo Juice and Cider Co, who only produce apple juice and cider! He is apparently, head winemaker at Angove’s in Australia – maybe they are better known there than here.

Côtes du Rhône, France – £3.52 “Not all non-vintage reds are nasty — take, for example, this simple, ripe, peppery, plummy grenache topped up with carignan and syrah.”

A couple of M&S wines were also reviewed – I’ll talk about those later!

Sunday 21 March – supper

Had 6 for supper last night.  I ordered a dozen of the 2008 Champteloup Touraine, Sauvignon Blanc from Waitrose ‘online’ that was the Jane MacQuitty recommendation. They were delivered last Wednesday, and so I opened the first bottle last night for an aperitif. Very fresh pineappley nose, with similar pineappleand melon flavours, but with that slightly ‘sherbet fountain’ taste that I can often recognise in Loire sauvignons. This comes with a stelvin closure, so its probably not the best storage to keep it on its side in the wine fridge – but I might talk more about that at another time.

To go with the full flavoured ‘market’ chicken that we were eating, I picked on of the ‘mixed dozen, clearance case’, that I received from the Wine Society on Friday. Some of the reds in the case are drinkable through to 2013, so I found one that was recommended for immediate drinking. This was a Coteaux de Languedoc, Les Combes 2006, from Domaine de Puech Chaud, near Nimes. Its also available from Berry Bros & Rudd at £8.30 (or £7.45 for 12). This had consoderable depth,subtle oak on the nose and the palate. The Wine Society tasting notes add: ‘herby, peppery bouquet with fresh, fruity flavours, medium bodied, dry and spicy.‘

Réné Rostaing, the proprietor is known as a Cote Rotie producer; his single vineyard La Landonne being highly valued. A 2006 of that would set you back £40 a bottle!

Mothering Sunday wines

I don’t know why things seem to have slipped behind this week! But I’m very late in talking about these – must be all the excitement (??) of learning that Prince Charles is visiting Cockermouth again in a fortnight, and that the Mechanics Band will be playing.

Anyway – down to business!

Our children brought (and bought) the wines for last Sunday’s meal, as well as cooking it. For an aperitif, the chose a Gerwurtztraminer (that being a favorite of their mother’s). This was a Reservé from Hunawihr, Haut-Rhin, 2008. A real hit with Mrs M: floral and typically gewurtz, with excellent length. Its available from Everywine, but if you’re local you’ll want to get it from Shills! Around £10 a bottle.

To accompany the (naturally) excellent piece of fillet steak from Harrison’s, they chose a Duoro, Quinta do Infantado, 2007, again from Shills (of course), but online at Everywine and others for around £11 a bottle.

This is deep and luscious, very smooth despite the tannins. Well worth the money!

We didn’t manage to finish either bottle on the day, and coming back to them a few days later, they have both lasted extremely well – albeit with vacu-vin etc.

By the way – the rest of the meal was excellent, so thanks children!!

A wine from last week!

Whilst I was away last week, I had an excellent meal in a pub near Peterborough. Starting with meze, followed by a chicken curry and finished (real over indulgence!) with a baked cheesecake. The wine list was not extensive (good!) and interesting.

I chose a South African red to accompany it – Rietvallei Estate Wine, Shiraz 2008, from the Robertson region. Its actually 75% Shiraz, 20% Petit Verdot and 5% Viognier. The only UK supplier I can find is Wine Hound at £7.99 a bottle.

The tasting notes on that site seem a little overblown – as is often the case, but the sense of pepper and toast, with some oak, was certainly there. I enjoyed it!

Jane MacQuitty’s wines under a fiver!

Over the past two weekends, Jane MacQuitty in the Times has reviewed her choice of best wines under a fiver. Last week it was whites. Her favorite was:

2008 Champteloup Touraine, Sauvignon Blanc, France -  Waitrose, down £1.90 to £4.99 until March 16

“Saved by an Indian summer, the small ’08 Loire sauvignon crop yielded pauper’s sancerre in the form of some stunning minerally, gooseberry and green pepper-laden wines just like this one.”

This Saturday it was reds. And her top buy:

2007 Castelvero Barbera d’Asti, Araldica, Piedmont, Italy  – Sainsbury’s, down £2.34 to £4.65 until Tuesday. However…..I can’t now find this listed on the Sainsbury’s web site!

“From the same hilly countryside that produces Asti Spumante but the barbera grape instead produces gorgeous big, fat, inky, prune, plum and cherrystashed reds like this one. Hats off to Sainsbury’s team for snapping up the best sub-£5 Araldica barbera on the block and for stocking my star buy of the week.”

Sad that our nearest Waitrose is at Hexham – although you can order online. I make use of my trips up and down the A1 to call in at the store in Newark!

Tasting the Casillero del Diablo Reserva Privada

Finally got round to opening one of the bottles of this I bought from Sainsburys. I’d just got home on Friday evening after two days work in Peterborough and Mrs L had made a lentil and sausage casserole, with which this went very well. On first opening I found it just a tad harsh, although with plenty of flavour. By Sauturday that edge had disappeared and I thought it much improved – so maybe a little rough decanting before one drinks it?

St Saturnin Lucian

St Saturnin is a village about 40km from Montpellier, which we have visited almost annually since we first started going to the Languedoc in 1986. My usual tipple from the Cave Cooperative there is the ‘Vin d’une Nuit’, which is a basic red wine that has become a real family favorite – although, with the rise in the euro, its no longer quite the bargain it used to be, but still less than £2.50 a bottle. However, another bargain from the same cave is the Lucian white. This is 2008, a blend of Grenache Blanc, Bourboulenc and Marsanne; has signs of pineapple and boiled sweets on the nose, with a quite rich, slightly nutty taste, and interestingly long considering its price. From the cave it costs around 5 euros a bottle. I can’t find a supplier in the UK, which perhaps is a blessing, as it means I’ll still be able to buy it at a good price when I’m next in the Languedoc!

It still surprises me that a producer like this, with excellent, low price, characterful wines, is not widely distributed in the UK. When I gave the Vin d’une Nuit to the wine club, they guessed it to be a £6 a bottle plus wine. Amphora Wines in Horsham do supply 2006 Vin d’une Nuit (which seems a little old to me!) for £5.95 a bottle.