Review: La Grille Pinot Noir 2009

Posted on February 22, 2012 by

If you are a fan of French Pinot Noir but can’t afford to drink Burgundy every day this Pinot Noir from Loire based wine brokers La Grille could be just the ticket. Owners Charles and Philippa Sydney work with winemakers around the Loire valley and this one is produced by Sylvain Miniot in Saint Pourcain, although as it contains no Gamay it doesn’t tick the boxes for Saint Pourcain Appellation status and has to be labelled as Vin de France. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that means it is in any way sub-standard though. It’s a great example of cool climate Pinot Noir, and actually quite reminiscent of one of my favourite English wines, Sharpham Pinot Noir 2009.

La GrilleIn the glass it is a gorgeous, pale ruby colour and when you stick your nose in you get intense redcurrant and a bit of raspberry too, along with a slight peppery spiciness too. In the mouth the fruit and spice persist but there’s also a very slight savoury greenness to it too. Delicate and delicious!

It’s on offer in Majestic at £6.49 each when you by two or more which is an absolute bargain.

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Review: Lidio Carraro Agnus Merlot 2008

Posted on February 18, 2012 by

A long overdue review this one – it’s been a long time since my last post and I actually picked this Lidio Carraro Agnus Merlot at the Wine Show last year so it’s about time I wrote about it! You don’t see much Brazilian wine in the UK so when I saw the Go Brazil Wines stand at the Wine Show I was excited to taste some of their wines. For me, this Agnus Merlot was the highlight. It is produced by Lidio Carraro, a family of winemakers going back five generations, under their SulBrasil brand of premium wines. It’s fair to say my knowledge of Brazilian wine regions is pretty limited, but Wikipedia informs me that the Encruzilhada do Sul region where the grapes for this wine were grown is in Brazil’s southernmost state, Rio Grande do Sol – at precisely 30′ south. Should be good for growing grapes then.

Agnus MerlotIn the glass it’s a strikingly intense ruby colour. Enticing. When you stick your nose in the glass you are bombarded by sweet red fruit aromas, especially raspberry, but there’s a slight hint of darker fruit too that I couldn’t put my finger on. Slight herby notes too and possibly a bit of tobacco. On the palette its rich and rounded with a bit of grip from the tannins and a nice lingering finish. A slight earthy quality too. Lidio Carraro pride themselves on using minimal intervention and there are no signs of any oak having been used and there is plenty of sediment in the bottle indicating they haven’t filtered or fined it too much. I paid £10 for it at the Wine Show which is great value.

If you haven’t tried Brazilian wine before I think this is a great place to start. Go Brazil Wines have a list of stockists on their website so go check it out!

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Review: Saint Michel 2009 Gaillac

Posted on January 24, 2012 by

I’d like to start, if I may, with a bit of poetry:

“Late August, given heavy rain and sun
For a full week, the blackberries would ripen.
At first, just one, a glossy purple clot
Among others, red, green, hard as a knot.
You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet
Like thickened wine: summer’s blood was in it”

Seamus Heaney’s evocative poem “Blackberry-Picking” sprung to mind (well, my wife’s mind really) when drinking this Saint Michel 2009 Gaillac. Its combination of blackberry fruit aromas and a distinct leafyness makes it reminiscent of wandering through bramble bushes picking fruit and trampling on leaves.

Saint Michel Gaillac

Anyway, let’s take a quick step back. Gaillac, in south west France, is not a region I am very familiar with but having done a quick bit of research it would seem that it is actually France’s second oldest wine region, with 2000 years of wine-making history. Impressive stuff. One of the signature local varieties of Gaillac is Braucol, or Fer Servadou as it is also known, which gives fantastic colour and is often quite “rustic” or “gamey” apparently. Although based on Braucol, this one is blended with Syrah and Merlot. The result is a deep coloured, medium bodied wine with intense blackberry and leafy aromas. No signs of the rustic, gamey notes, but I did get hints of blackcurrant, wood and spice. I’m always keen to discover new regions (in this case, new to me, rather than regions that are new to winemaking!) and if you haven’t tried a Gaillac I’d definitely recommend checking this one out at Majestic. I’ll definitely be seeking out more examples.

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Review: Domaine Sainte Rose “La Garrigue” 2009

Posted on January 22, 2012 by

Domaine Sainte Rose is a good example of an innovative Languedoc producer who is shunning the proscriptive AOP rules in order to produce wines according to their own vision under the IGP classification system which offers more freedom. Brits Charles and Ruth Simpson bought the domaine ten years ago with the aim of using modern methods in the vineyard to enable them to use minimal interventions in the winery.

Domaine Sainte Rose La Garrigue

Although the methods used may be modern, La Garrigue is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre; varieties that have been grown in the Languedoc for centuries. It is a characterful, aromatic red that is reminiscent of the woody herbs that are so abundant in the Garrigue. In the glass it is an inticing deep ruby colour and when you stick your nose in the glass you get a waft of thyme as if you’ve just wound down your window whilst driving along the (very) winding roads of the Languedoc. Nice hints of jammy black fruit and a twist of pepper. A slightly perfumed, almost floral note too. In the mouth it is long with supple tannins. You can buy direct on their website but we picked it up in Majestic for only £6.49 – an absolute bargain! Whilst you’re there I would also recommend picking up another one of Domaine Sainte Rose’s reds – Les Derniers Cepages which I also highly recommend.

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Review: Les Clos Perdus 2010 Le Rouge

Posted on January 3, 2012 by

I picked this Les Clos Perdus 2010 Le Rouge up at The Wine Show 2011 and finally got a suitable opportunity to drink it just before Christmas. The good news is that it is every bit as delicious as I remembered it being when I tasted it first time around. If you read my post about The Wine Show you may recall that Les Clos Perdus is a small Biodynamic producer in the Languedoc in southern France who have aquired several ‘lost’ vineyards dotted around various appellations including Corbieres, which this Le Rouge falls into. It’s a blend of 35% Grenache and 65% Mourvedre grown at coastal vineyards near Narbonne that extend right down to the water’s edge!

Clos Perdus Le RougeOn pouring you are instantly struck by its gorgeously rich, deep purple colour. Stick your nose in the glass and the first think that hits you is a good dollop of black fruit. However, like all my favourite wines, there’s a lot more too it than that. Give it a bit of time (and ideally decanting) and you’ll get gamey aromas along with leather, earth, spice and woody herbs. In the mouth it is lighter bodied than I was expecting whilst still retaining enough tannins to give it plenty of structure.

At around £10 it is incredibly good value for such an exciting, small production Biodynamic wine. It is available to buy online on Les Clos Perdus website. If you aren’t able to splash out on a whole case, Green & Blue Wines in London stocks some of their wines to buy by the bottle (they definitely have the excellent Cuvee 71, although not Le Rouge when I last dropped by).

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Review: Pedroncelli friends.red 2008

Posted on December 17, 2011 by

After reviewing the Pedroncelli Bushnell Vineyard Zinfandel a few weeks ago, the guys at Amathus Soho recommended I try this friends.red 2008 from Sonoma County, California which is billed as a good value, easy drinking wine that’s ideal for sharing with friends. Pedroncelli Friends RedAccording to the blurb on the back of the bottle it was inspired by the times in the early days of the winery when founder Giovanni Pedroncelli used to share stories with friends over a few glasses of easy drinking wine. Well, I think the fourth generation of the Pedroncelli family have done Giovanni proud with this one. Rather than being a pure Zinfandel, they have added Merlot and Sangiovese into the blend, so whilst it is smooth and easy-drinking it still has enough complexity to keep your interest. Black cherry aromas dominate along with hints of vanilla, black pepper and liquorice. A great match for conversation and pizza, but at 14.5% alcohol it will probably get the conversation flowing all on its own! At £7 it’s great value too so head on down to Amathus or buy some online for next time you’ve got friends round.

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Review: Odfjell Vineyards Armador Carmenere 2009

Posted on December 14, 2011 by

I first noticed DVine Wine at the South Bank Wine and Cheese festival. There I only had one glass of Loire Sauvignon Blanc but when I saw them at Venn Street Market in Clapham a few weeks ago I knew I had to buy a bottle. They supply Organic and Biodynamic wines from around the world and after a quick taster I bought this Odfjell Vineyards Armador Carmenere 2009 from Chile’s Maipo Valley.
ArmadourIf you’re thinking Odfjell doesn’t sound very Chilean you would be right. Far from coming from a long dynasty of winemakers, owner Dan Odfjell is a Norwegian shipping magnate. Having moved to Chile, he bought a farm and started out growing fruit trees but after a few years thankfully he changed tack and decided to focus on grapes in the late 90s, commissioning his recently graduated son to architect a thoroughly modern winery with sustainability in mind. All his grapes are organically grown and apparently old-vine Carignan is is signature varietal, although this 2009 “Armadour” is 100% Carmenere. In the glass it’s a gorgeous purpley colour and on the nose there’s plenty of black fruit. Enjoyed slowly over the course of an evening it constantly evolved, showing mint, liquorice, spice, earth, coffee and dark chocolate. 25% of it has been in new oak for about 4 months so there’s a slight hint of vanilla but it certainly didn’t overpower the other aromas. In the mouth it’s full bodied and well structured with grippy tannins. I’m very glad that Dan Odfjell switched from ‘normal’ fruit to the king of fruit – the grape – and I’ll definitely be seeking out his other wines, especially the Carignans.

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