The first notion is of citric, bright freshness and almost of green apple. The second and third sniff then bring a richer notion, very subtle but still, of salted buttery shortbread. The palate is wonderfully taut, vivid with tiny, energetic, fine bubbles that speak of drive and tension. There is something bracing, bright and driven here. With more air and more temperature this mellows into the creamy, tart but smooth flesh of Golden Pearmain apples at the heart while that beautifully statuesque tautness and elegance remains. Where 2012 was generous and obvious, 2013 is reticent and calm. Where 2012 was opulent, 2013 is brisk. Where 2012 was the life and soul of the party, 2013 is contemplative, giving us clean-cut, grown-up charm and a whole world of refreshment. ( @anneinvino ) The 2013 vintage was disgorged in December 2019 with a dosage of 8g/l and has an abv of 12.5%
One of three new red wines Roussillon-based biodynamic producer Le Soula is releasing this year, the 2009 alongside the 2014 and 2018, which gives a fascinating glimpse of vintages, styles and what the Roussillon is capable of. 2009 was a cracking vintage in the region and the nose offers the drinker so much promise that the wine delivers on the palate. It is a blend of 67% Carignan, 30% Syrah, and 3% Grenache Noir, most vines pretty old (some up to 70 years) and grown on largely granite at high altitude, the fruit is whole bunch pressed up to three weeks and then spending 21 months in a variety of wood formats and ages, but all large format and very little new wood. The wine is in secondary stage, although the acidity and freshness makes it feel so youthful. On the eye it is dark ruby with a redish hue,
Te Whare Ra single vineyard 2016 Marlborough Riesling ‘D’ 12.5% Dry style Riesling from New Zealand, yellow and green citrus predominate, lovely clipped dry stone textured, lemon juice finish. Clean and pure. Very light, almost colourless with a green hue; Classic Riesling nose – white flowers, lemon juice, kaffir lime leaf, green pineapple, hint of oily overalls; on the palate lemon sorbet predominates, lime juice, ripe grapefruit. There is good concentration and intensity, lean, mineral acidity, and good balance. Very particular style, - very fresh with the volume turned up on the citrus.
2016 The Armagh Shiraz from Jim Barry. With James Halliday naming Jim Barry as the 2020 winery of the year and with this 2016 new vintage of The Armagh on full song, this has clearly been a good year for the Clare Valley estate. Still so young but this 100% Shiraz from 52 year old vines already has everything in its right place – so many delicious flavours and aromas, and a freshness and balance that prevents any feeling of heaviness. On the eye it’s very deep crimson, almost opaque; there’s a fabulous nose – enticing, complex, broody, alluring, it just gets better and better as it opens out in the glass; it’s a melange of aromas that includes black fruits (blackberry), black figs, dried apricots, wet stone, spiced earth, oak, and a distinctive graphite note; Medium-full bodied on the palate, the wine is fresh, and then ripe, but has
100% Syrah from Stellenbosch, South Africa, from 2016, a vintage that was challenging primarily because of its dry conditions, reducing yield and increasing the concentration in the wine’s fruit profile. On the eye it is deep cherry red/ crimson; the nose is complex and powerful with notes of ripe cherry, wild hedgerow fruit, blackberry syrup, vanilla oak (14 months in 300l French oak), white pepper and wild mushroom; the wine is medium weight and the palate equally complex with black plum, cumin, rosemary, dark chocolate and liquorice. The tannins are firm and well integrated, there is intensity and concentration to the wine, quite an earthy/ dry stone texture with a sappy finish. The wine is immensely drinkable, with or without food, good bang for your buck at £15 retail in the UK
100th anniversary bottling of Delamain’s Pale and Dry XO Cognac – the youngest release from the house with an average age of 25 years – which has been given a packaging refresh and added intensity with an extra 2% more alcohol. On the eye it is light to mid gold, with an orange/ light brown hue; the nose is elegant, with fruity notes of raisins, vanilla pod, apricot, grapefruit, citrus, fresh fig, a little rancio and leather; the front palate is light, naturally sweet, intense flavours of apricot, dried fruits, tingly on the tongue and then finishes with a lovely dry, smooth, long length. Just so light and smooth in the mouth. Delamain does not add caramel or sugar and reduces the alcohol in the blend with older cognac at a lower proof rather than with water. The bottle size of the Pale & Dry Centenaire has been reduced from
Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millénaires 2006, Blanc de Blancs, 12% The first whiff is of buttery, smooth mellowness and rich, buttery shortbread. With more air, there is this serene, gentle but profound fruit of ripe Golden Pearmain apple. The palate is utterly mellow with more of that smooth, rounded, cashmere-like texture and fine mousse. But despite this rounded richness, the actual body remains sinuous, slender, bright. It is vivid with enlivening, soothing freshness and the cool chalky depth of the Côte des Blancs. It is the very austerity of these soils that stands in beautiful and compelling contrast to the buttery richness – this pulls the most glorious trick. On the finish there is a fine, textured seaweed saltiness paired with an incipient, mouth-watering bitterness that draws you in. It makes the next sip compulsive. With air and temperature, the saline tang gets ever more pronounced. This is dangerously delicious
Penfolds Grange 2016. Shiraz with 3% Cabernet. Roger Jones writes: “Is it as good as the 2015? well it is certainly more forward. Gage’s tasting notes are always worth a read and his tasting notes for the Penfolds Grange 2016 include this epic paragraph: “A fusion of preserved figs, black plum, blackberry and black liquorice flirts with an aromatic elation of fish oil, anchovy, soy and sesame.” I would add a darkness, tobacco, soy, and the whiff of a barrel of salted anchovies, rich wagyu beef. To begin with it is lively exciting, alluring, then as the complexity grows on the palate it is saying “give me some time”, but certainly does not need 40 years and would be a fabulous wine within five years, even sooner if it was decanted and served in a suitable glass. Many people like their Grange with 40-50 years on the clock but it
Côtes Catalanes Blanc from Marjorie and Stéphane Gallet, winemakers at Domaine Le Roc Des Anges, a 100% single parcel Grenache Gris from North-facing vines planted on schist soil in 1954. This is a dry white that is as intriguing as it sounds – complex too – and easily wears the mantle of ‘fine wine’. Straw coloured, light gold; clean and pure on the nose, limestone mineral, nashi pear, lemon blossom, almond oil, touch of lychee; the acidity is quite austere even after six years, the palate is fresh, lean, pure with lemon flesh, saline and a length that goes on for minutes, more to do with the acidity than the alcohol which is a mere 12.5% abv, given that many whites in the region touch 15% no problem. Tasted blind you might put this in Saumur or say it was a young Kumeu River.
Chardonnay 2018, Kelly Washington Wines. This is a wine with real presence that wants you to sit up and notice it right from the get-go, from the intensity of the aromas through to the palate weight and balance to the delicious refined flavours and long length. This is only the second of Kelly Washington’s wines I have tried (apart from Seresin for which she is the winemaker) and it is clear she is a genuine talent – walking that often uneasy tightrope between New and Old World styles with such aplomb. Hard to believe that this is only the second vintage of working with this fruit. Bright gold/ green hue on the eye; fruit and toasty oak which (with time in the glass) opens out into ripe orchard fruit, pineapple, toasted nuts, barley sugar, butter; mid-weight palate, fresh, bright acidity, lovely ripeness to the fruit, really juicy mouth-feel, hit of
Medium dry Chenin Blanc from one of the best in Saumur in the Loire, and just entering its drinking window – the austere acidity meeting the fleshy orchard fruits halfway now and presenting itself spectacularly well. Mid gold; complex nose of grapefruit peel, ripe pear, windfall apples, hits of honey, adhesive, slightly oxidative; the mouthfeel is concentrated, acidity is pretty brisk still and tart but integrated, just ripe orange flesh, lime zest, kafir lime leaf, yuzu. Great with or without food. We paired it with a spicy stir fry Thai prawn dish which worked well. But a quiet glass on your own contemplating this winemaker’s phenomenal style is just as good!
In his review of this wine in release Robert Parker said “There is just one chance to get the Kabinett style back here: store it for 6-10 years.” How right he was! The rich, almost Spätlese sweetness has integrated more and the wine is more balanced. That acidity is right there, laser-like from the first sip, on the front palate, tingling with minerality. The nose and the palate are all rich orchard, stone and exotic fruit - Williams pear tatin, mango, tinned peach, pineapple - and there is still honeysuckle on the nose. No oily rag/ petrol in sight. Golden, 8.5% abv. Joyous.
@rogerjoneslittlebedwyn writes “I have been aware of Arras for many years and the Arras Grand Vintage (current vintage is the 07, the 08 was released first) was sold as our house pour at The Harrow at Little Bedwyn for many years. Retailing at just shy of £40 with seven years on lees before further ageing before release this has a distinct oyster/brioche nose, winemaker Ed Carr attributes this to the cool breezes, with the Antarctic a nearby land mass, giving a cool maritime climate. The wine is complex and layered, honeyed, delicate tiny bubbles rock up from the base, hints of grapefruit pith, touch of Greek yoghurt and dried tea spices. 78% Chardonnay and 22% Pinot Noir.” For a run-down of all the new @houseofarras vintages check out www.the-Buyer.net
First in a new series of limited edition cuvées from Billecart-Salmon comes this 100% Meunier from 3 different crus. The series is called Les Rendez-Vous de Billecart-Salmon No.1 and more ‘pop-up’ cuvées are promised soon. Vinified in steel tank with 52 months on the lees. Tasting-wise: The wine opens with a slightly floral aspect and a hint of pear tart with lemon overtones. There is a sense of levity, but more air introduces a more brooding, darker notion of candlewax. That lovely but full-flavoured lightness also characterises the palate with wonderfully bright tension. Again that darker, somehow earthy Meunier note adds a hint of waxiness that almost verges onto smokiness – especially on the finish – while the surface remains bright, light and lemony. The mousse is fine and the wine has a pleasant suppleness and this sense of lightness just begs for another sip. (AK)
Museum release of a great Barossa vintage. The winemaking has changed a little these days in that where the 2016 has 35% new oak the 2012 had 65% new oak, detectable with a bit more toastiness on the nose. Less whole bunch was used – 8% in this case. To taste: Deep blood red with ruby edging; on the nose black fruits dominate (plum, mulberry) – with dark chocolate, liquorice, tar, olive, a touch of graphite; the palate is similarly complex but the overriding impression is of how the sweetness of the fruit knits in with the structure of the wine, with still-firm acidity and velvety tannins. Black cherry, cooked blackberries, plums, dark chocolate. The wine is in a really great place now and can cellar for a further decade at least.
One of the iconic single vineyard Barbarescos that is made to be versatile, either for early drinking or many years hence. 100% Nebbiolo from the Bordini site, 270m high in the village of Neive in the Barbaresco production zone. It’s a four hectare south-facing site on calcareous soils, and the vines have an average age of between 26 and 29 years. The site is sustainably farmed with no use of chemical herbicides or pesticides. The wine undergoes malolactic fermentation, and is then aged between 20 and 22 months, 50% in new and 50% in one-year-old medium-toasted French oak. It then spends three months in steel before being bottled for a further 12 months, no filtration or clarifying. To taste: Light, almost see-through cherry red/ russet; the nose is a fascinating mix of red berry fruit (raspberry, wild strawberry), red rose petals, marzipan, and a savoury quality (leather) and toasty; the
Wow. This really is something. We might know the more standard style better but here is the Double Oaked @Woodfordreserve which means double helpings of silky #bourbon #whiskey sweetness. As @vinesack says like a “big sticky toffee pudding in a glass”. It’s also the wonderful vanilla notes on the nose and palate that really make this a sipping bourbon extraordinnaire. Available in @masterofmalt for around £48. Part of the selection being promoted in UK and Europe through @spiritsfromtheus #bartender #cocktails By @richardsiddle
Saperavi, Qvevri Bouquet 2016, Mildiani Family Winery Great when a wine is way better than you expected it to be. This is 100% Saperavi, Georgia’s most prolific red grape variety that, in the wrong hands, can be too acidic and quite challenging. This example was quite sublime and outstanding. Vinified and aged in a qvevri (old-fashioned underground clay tank) this had a voluptuous mouthfeel, was complex, spicy and yet remarkably rounded for a Saperavi. On the eye it is intensely blood red; the aromas are black fruit, spice tin (black cardamom, cloves), bay leaf, jamon; the wine is medium to full bodied, with a complex array of flavours: wild black berries, liquorice, grilled meat, tobacco. There is richness, depth of flavour, ripe tannins and the acidity, well integrated and holding it all together. We paired this with spicy chicken and vegetable couscous which worked well, we also enjoyed it after
Alta Langa Millesimato Pas Dose, 2014, Contratto Founded in 1867, Contratto is Italy’s oldest Metodo Classico producer, boasting massive underground cellars and 45 hectares of vines, some of which are 850m above sea level. In 2011 Giorgio Rivetti of La Spinetta acquired Contratto, adding sparkling wines, bitters and vermouths to his range of Barbaresco and Barolo. The Millesimato Pas Dose is a blend of 80% Pinot Nero and Chardonnay; only the free-run juice is used, once fermented the wine is then aged until May, before being blended and bottled for the second fermentation. The wine is then aged on lees for another four years before release. To taste, the Pas Dose has as much elegance and finesse as the bottle’s distinctive Art Deco label. It is straw yellow in colour with a fine persistent bead; on the nose there are notes of white flowers, green apple; on the palate the
‘Grossi Läue’ Gewurtztraminer, 2011, Famille Hugel This is just superb – a great vintage, almost as big as 2009 and with acidity up there with 1996. Mid gold; a nose that you could spend an eternity immersed in without even having to drink the wine (!)– so pure, complex and voluptuous as it is; fresh rose petals, jasmine blossom, barley sugar, frangiapani, lily, tangerine, pineapple flesh, mango, they all ebb and flow and make a magnificent whole. The palate is an exercise in perfect balance – the fruit is pure and velvety, the mouthfeel is generous and full-bodied and yet has a sappy quality and finishes fresh and tense with the acidity cleansing the palate, ready for the next mouthful. Wow!
