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!
San Sisto Verdicchio dei Castelli de Jesi Classico Riserva DOCG, 2017, Fazi Battaglia... And who thought that Burgudy’s wine labels and appelations were complicated?! This is a top tier Verdicchio, and a Tre Bicchieri winner from Gambero Rosso that is only made in outstanding vintages. It comes from the masters of the Marche, Fazi Battaglia who, since 1949 have been investing time in the 30 hectares of North-East facing vineyards 350m up on pure clay soils. Fermented in small format oak and then aged for a further 10-12 months and released after a year in bottle. Mid-gold, shiny and inviting; the nose has citrus and a distinctive wild fennel note, veering towards liquorice; the palate is mid-weight, perfectly balanced with a richness of fruit built around a tight, spine of acidity and zesty citrus, there is a nice creaminess there, complexity (salted pistachios); the length goes on pretty much forever,
A new wine that made its UK debut yesterday. 90% of the fruit comes from South Barossa with a blend of fruit coming from old vines. Some of these vines were planted in 1901, 1920 and one vineyard in 1935. The wine was matured in a combination of French and American oak, 35% new. Tasting-wise the wine is dark crimson; aromas of red and blue plum, lifted spice, milk chocolate; the palate is medium to full, powerful structure, with silky, ripe, even tannins and a bedrock of acidity that balances the fruit well. There’s some roast meat notes too and a summer pudding melange of berry fruit on the intense, long finish, a little hint of citrus and nut shell. Best laid down for another five years I would say or paired with a big fat steak. 14.5% abv.
A Lebanese wine blended from Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Tempranillo and Caladoc, grown on limestone and clay and part-aged for six months in French oak barrels. On the eye the wine is light to medium red with purple edges; there are aromas of red and black fruit (strawberry and blackberry) and oak; on the palate the wine has silky tannins and is open and easily accessible; flavours include blackberry, raspberry, white cherry which gives it a sour note mixed with seemingly high acidity, and a touch of green pepper on the long finish. The wine is named after the wide range of altitudes of the 110 hectares of prime calcareous marl terroir which IXSIR uses across the Lebanon between 800 and 1700 metres above sea level.
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The Lalomba Finca Valhonta 2017 is one of two new super-premium reds from Ramon Bilbao and their most expensive wine to date. It is 100% Tempranillo from bush vines planted in 2000 at a 2.8ha site on the 650m high terraces of Villalba de Rioja at the limit of the growing zone in Rioja Alta. The wine is fermented in concrete and then spends 14 months in 500l 100% French oak before it comes back to concrete for eight months of 2nd ageing – to work the elegance, character, texture and purity of the tannins. The finished wine is a complex, fantastically fresh medium-bodied red which really captures the essence of fresh Tempranillo; deep purple; aromas of black bramble fruit, violets, licorice, fresh tobacco; the palate is bright, with firm acidity making itself felt on the front palate; there are notes of red plum flesh, blue plum skin, strawberry; it
This is an enjoyable style of Austrian Blaufränkish from Franz Weninger – bright, structured, pure and mineral with nicely integrated, fine tannins. The fruit comes from 40 year old vines in one of the oldest vineyards in Horitschon, Central Burgenland with the soil rich in iron which comes across in the wine, giving it an iron filing, almost blood-like character. Biodynamically farmed, hand-picked fruit, aged in large, old oak barrels. Light cherry colour; interesting, complex nose, that senses a power within the wine; aromas include raspberry, cough candy, eucalyptus with a grassy note; on the palate the wine is lightweight, with a brightly acidic attack, sour cherry, redcurrant, raspberry flavours. Tightly strung, focused, precise with a crisp dry finish. Best with food.
