A Tasting with Man 'O War from Wahieke Island New Zealand

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting Sara Fogarty from Man 'O War wines, and taste through there current releases and a couple of library samples, so we could gauge how they will age. Now as the title suggests Man 'O War are based on Wahieke Island, New Zealand, in the Hauraki Gulf, east of Auckland on the North island.

The estate was originally 4 farms that were all purchased in the early 80's and combined to create a massive 4,500 acre estate in the north eastern corner of the island. Only 150 acres across 76 sites are under vine, and this is still a working farm with sheep, olives, fruit and your even able to get married at the chapel on the estate. Each of the vineyard sites has been selected due to it's facing, soil and microclimate for specific varieties, the one grape they don't grow though is Pinot Noir as they are too far north for it, they concentrate on the varieties from Bordeaux and the Northern Rhone for their reds. They also have a very interesting take on naming vineyard sites, with names such as Lunatics, Madmans, Asylum and Bitch just to give you an idea, and their wines as you'll see below.

Cliff's Vineyard

Ponui Island

Madmans Vineyard

                                                   

The vineyards started to be planted in 1992 by Matt Allen who is still Vineyard Manager today, the first vintage was produced 1996 and they didn't release any wine till 2006! Then in 2008 Duncan McTavish came on board as Winemaker having previously worked for Waipara Springs and before that Pegasus Bay (one of my favourite vineyards). The one thing that struck me the most during the introduction to the vineyard was the ethos of 'for the future', they are all about taking there time getting it right and making sure everything is in place for the future generations to continue and develop.

On to the tasting, we started with;

2013 Gravestone
This is a blend of 75% Sauvignon Blanc and 25% Semillon, a classic Bordeaux blend, not usually one of my favourites but this one I really enjoyed. 20% of the Sauvignon and all of the Semillon go into pucheons to give the wine a touch more richness and some gentle spice while retaining the fruit and refreshing minerality perfectly balanced with the acidity.

2014 Valhalla
100% oaked Chardonnay, with 25% new oak, 5% Acacia and 70% old oak. This is a wonderfully big rich wine, with a lovely buttery texture that's cut through beautifully by the acidity as this wine does not go through maololactic fermentation. On the nose and palate you lovely hints of sweet spices, green apples and grapefruit folowed up with the touch of minerality.


2014 Bellerophon
This is Duncan's hommage to Cote Rotie, and is a cofermented Syrah (97%) and Viognier (3%), they ferment 30% in whole clusters and age it for 18 mths, 25% in new oak and the remaining 75% in ols seasoned oak. This is a pretty yet powerful wine, with lovely dark fruit, and hints of raspberry, violets and white pepper which all combined beautifully with the acidity and the tannins.

2009 Dreadnought (no longer available)
100% Syrah which 100% see's oak, 12% new for 11 months, giving you big rich dark fruit and lashings of white pepper,a lovely acidity and silky fine tannins. As all these combine it gives the wine a real savoury character which is lovely and lingers around on your palate for what seems like forever.

2013 Dreadnought (current vintage)
For this year 50% went into new oak and the other 50% went into old seasoned oak. This wine shows all the same characteristics as the 2009, it does have slightly more youthful character to the fruit and spice, the tannins while still fine are far more present and acidity has softened out as much as the 2009 but it's drinking fantastically now and will continue to develop over the coming years.

2014 Dreadnought (not released yet)
The only way to really describe this is that it's a slightly more youthful version of the 2013, needs time to integrate and soften out, but when it does, it will be pretty magnificent.

2010 Ironclad (current vintage)
This is their red Bordeaux blend, 39% Cab Franc, 30% Merlot, 18% Cab Sauv, 7% Malbec and 6% Petit Verdot, Yes this is a big old blend, but a pretty stunning one at that. With lovely fruit, spice and hints of minerality to it. Combined with soft and silky tannins contributing an almost cocoa texture to the wine, this is definitely a favourite of mine.

2012 Ironclad
45% Cab Franc, 20% Merlot, 14% Petit Verdot, 13% Malbec and 8% Cab Sauv, you can really tell the reduction of Cab Sauv and increase in Petit Verdot on the nose of this wine. It has much more brighter fruit to it and the spice is very subtle in the background, but these will develop over the next couple of years, it has plenty of tannins so needs that little bit of time to help it soften out a touch.

I have to say these wines are delicious, not being a big fruit bomb style or full of dark sweet fruit, they have much more depth and complexity to them, which just helps to make them even more enjoyable and even better as they age, even just a little.

A Weekend of Antipodean Wines on Tasting

This weekend we're going to have quite the selection of wines on tasting from Australia and a great new Pinot Noir from New Zealand.

The Pinot Noir we're going to have on tasting is the 2014 Ward Valley Estate from Marlborough, this wine is produced by the same guys who produce the Snapper Rock wines that we stock, James Leary and winemaker David Coulston and is produced in tiny quantities, only 250 cases!

 I first came across this at last years London International Wine Fair, and I've managed to grab a couple of cases of this stunning vintage before they move on to the 2015.

This has that lovely pale bright cherry red colour to it, with amazing aromas of red berry and red currant fruit. On the palate these come through wonderfully with a real savoury character it that combine perfectly with a touch of acidity and very soft elegant tannin's, that just produce a stunning glass of wine and even more so when you find out how much it costs. For this weekend there will also be a special introductory offer, so don't miss out!

We'll also have a selection of Australian wines imported by the guys at Aussie Rules on tasting, with the Reverend V wines, Richard Hamilton, Riposte and the one I'm really excited about, the Mornington Peninsular Chardonnay from Dexter. These wines unfortunately won't be in stock for this weekend but we will be taking pre-orders and again there will be a special offer on them as well.

A Little Star from North Western Italy - Livon Friulano

Livon are a family run winery situated in the North Eastern part of the Friuli Venezia Guilia region in Northern Italy on the borders with Slovenia and Austria. Dorino Livon purchased his first vineyards in the region in 1964, and has continued to grow the estate over the years, while he has also built a state of the art winery. In 1980 Dorino's two sons Valneo and Tonino joined the company and started to create different ranges from the vineyards that they owned, with some being very small production from a selection of there best sites. They have continued to grow and the family now own another four wineries, two of which Tenuta Roncaldo and Villa Chiopris are also in Friuli, Borgo Salcetino is in Tuscany and Fattoria Col Santo are from Umbria. They grow a wide selection of both Indigenous and International grape varieties, producing an equally as wide range of wines across their entire portfolio.

The wine I want to talk about though is the 2013 Livon Friulano, the Friulano grape is also known as Sauvignon Vert, which many people actually get confused with, and refer to it as Sauvignon Blanc, which despite the similarities in their names, are of no relation.

The grapes are all harvested by hand and then fermented in stainless steel tanks, where they spend a further 5 months before being bottled, spending a little bit more time before being released.

In the glass, the wine had a lovely bright straw colour to it with some delicate greens hints. On the nose it was very aromatic, with some lovely fruit, hints of spice and Almonds. These all came through on the palate, the wine itself had quite a rich mouth feel to it which was perfectly balanced to the acidity, that cut straight through it and stopping it from being too rich and over the top. All the components came together perfectly with this wine, producing something that had a great depth and complexity while maintaining a freshness to it that made it extremely enjoyable.

A Ranch of Many Rabbits - 2011 Rabbit Ranch Pinot Noir

New Zealand Pinot's, if you hadn't already guessed produce some of my favourites wines, and these guys are no exception. The Rabbit Ranch are based in Central Otago, where they grow some of the best Pinot Noir grapes in the world (in my opinion) due to it's cool climate and similar terroir to the mighty Burgundy, the home of the Pinot Noir grape.

The vineyards which had been planted at the turn of the 1900's was the last attempt to get rid of all the Rabbits that had taken over the estate. After the second world war, the vineyard had fallen into disrepair, until Warren and Betty McGreagor  decided to replant the vineyard and breath a new life into the estate. Today apparently the Rabbits still run wild throughout the vineyard, in the fields of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc vines that they grow.

The 2011 Pinot Noir has a very pale ruby red colour, with some tiny hints of brick around it's rim, on the nose there is that lovely red berry fruit you expect to get from a NZ Pinot Noir, but then you start getting little hints of spice and smoke, and you start to see a much more complex wine. All of these came through on the palate with the spice and a savoury character dominating the almost sour cherry fruit, which when combined with a lovely refreshing acidity and a tiny amount of very soft tannins, it created a really enjoyable glass of wine. The other really nice thing about this wine, is that it is a red you chill. Put it in the fridge for half an hour or so and as it warms it in your glass it becomes very perfumed and aromatic, and dare I say it, even more enjoyable!

A Visitor from Italy - Jeffrey Chilcott from Marchesi di Gresy

At the beginning of last month I had the pleasure of meeting Jeffrey Chilcott, the cellarmaster for Marchesi di Gresy, who are based in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy. The winery is based in Martinenga, Barbaresco which for me is an area that produce some of Italy's greatest and aromatic wines, predominantly from the red grape Nebbiolo, but have added Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay in to there repertoire.

Marchesi di Gresy is made up of four estates, the estate in Martinenga became the property of the Marchesi di Gresy family in 1797, adding to their property in Monte Aribaldo that they had acquired in 1635. They also have properties in Monferrato, La Serra south of Asti and close to it Monte Colombo. Alberto di Gresy in 1973 decided to stop selling his grapes to other merchants which were used to set the benchmark price in the markets of Alba and start to produce his own wines. Included in the property in Martinenga, is the only Barbaresco Cru Monopole which only Marchesi de Gresy can mention on their labels.

Jeffrey had bought a selection of his wines for us to taste covering the Langhe, Monferrato his Barbaresco Cru and single vineyard, there were two wines that really stood out for me, but here are the others. The 2013 Langhe Sauvignon Blanc had some lovely green fruit flavours with a slightly richer texture from the lees stirring, and the perfect touch of acidity. 2012 Villa Martis Langhe Rosso, this is a blend of 60% Nebbiolo and 40% Barbera with french oak and large neutral oak barrels used. It was delicate and aromatic on the nose with some lovely fruit and a well balanced structure from the tannins and acidity.

The last two I tasted were two wines from the Martinenga Monopole, the 2008 Barbaresco Martinenga, this wine was everything you'd expect it to be and possibly even more. With a very pale red colour and a garnet rim showing signs of it's age, it had some lovely dark fruit, smoke, leather and spice aromas, with them all coming through on the palate giving it a meaty character. It still had plenty of soft and silky tannins with just enough acidity to clean them from your palate, making it a very stunning glass of wine. We then tasted the 2005 Barbaresco Camp Gros Martinenga, this single vineyard site is the pride of the estate and has been produced since 1978, only in exceptional vintages though. Considering this was three years older than the previous wine, in the glass it looked and smelt richer and with more depth, it had all the characters of the first Barbaresco but you could be mistaken for it to be a lot younger. This again was a stunning glass of wine and you could see what an exceptional wine this vineyard site can produce, this will last for another 10 years without any problem. Both of these wines were exactly as they should be, but they aren't cheap, ranging from £47 - £54 for the 2008 and £69 - £77 for the 2005.

The first of the two that really caught my eye was the;

2012 Langhe Chardonnay,
I'm not usually the biggest fan of oaked Chardonnay, but this one was stunning, produced from fruit grown on the Martinenga, Monte Aribaldo and La Serra estates it had this lovely bright golden colour to it. The wine starts it's fermentation in Stainless Steel tanks for the first couple of days before then being transferred into oak for further fermentation and maturation. This gave the wine a wonderfully rich and creamy texture with hints of baked green apples, nuts and lanolin, the nutty characters really started to shine over the fruit on the palate with a balanced acidity that stopped it from being over the top and making it a very enjoyable glass of wine.

The second was the;

2007 Monferrato Rosso,
This wine is produced from 100% Merlot which is grown on the La Serra and Monte Colombo estates and was not starting to show any signs of it's age yet. It spends around 30 months in French barriques before spending a further 22 months in bottle the wine is also allowed to go through malolactic fermentation. With all this you get a deep red colour with aromas of macerated dark berry fruits with some hints of spice and smoking coming through, lovely fine and silky tannins and just enough acidity to make them all combine perfectly and produce another stunning glass of wine.

It is hard to find a bad wine in what we tasted, the Barbaresco's were, as I had expected them to be, stunning, but when you compared them by price to the other wines, the Langhe Chardonnay (£25 - £29) and the Monferrato Rosso (£16 - £18) were the real stars that shone out for me. I'd like to say a massive thank you to Jeffrey for taking the time to come and show me his wines.

A Dinner with TerraVin from New Zealand

A few weeks ago I had an invite to meet several of the investors in TerraVin, a boutique New Zealand winery from Marlborough, for dinner at the newly opened Four to Eight restaurant in Covent Garden. I remember meeting Mike Eaton the former wine maker and tasting their wines a few years back at a Jascot's tasting, there was one particular wine that really stuck in mind, and that was the Te Ahu an oaked Sauvignon, which shouldn't be, but was stunning. Since the last time I encountered there wines, they have handed the wine making reigns over to Gordon Ritchie, who had previously been a winemaker at Seresin.

On arrival we were served a glass of the 2013 Sauvignon Blanc, which had all those typical New Zealand characteristics of Gooseberry, Green Pepper and Citrus, but with a much more rounded/softer acidity to it. We then moved on to the 2011 Chardonnay, now this wine is wild fermented and then aged in oak for 18 months, it is then all blended together and spends another three months in tank before being bottled. It had a lovely creamy texture with touches of butterscotch and vanilla, there was a hint of baked apple in the background, combining with a soft but plentiful acidity.

Next came the wine that I really wanted to taste again, the Te Ahu, it was also served with a cream of celeriac soup, which was just beautiful, and had an earthy character that worked so well with the flavours of this wine. You had apricots with some citrus, you also had in there some kind of almond/nuttiness which worked with the fruit perfectly and you had this soft and silky acidity which just brought it all together perfectly. The wine has this earthy character to it that worked with the soup perfectly.

With the main course we were served two of there Pinot Noir's, the 2011 and the Eaton Family Vineyard 2010. The 2011 was delicious, very typical New Zealand Pinot, lovely red cherry fruit, with a touch of smoke and spice mingled in with it, and a lovely acidity that's not to tart, but just enough. The 2010 Eaton Family however was another notch up, more depth in each of the flavours wonderfully soft and silky tannins, I have to say this was my second favourite wine of the night behind the Te Ahu.

And finally for desert we had the 2012 Late Harvest Pinot Gris, which the 3 bottles apparently had been flown over especially just for this dinner as it's not available in the UK. This was lusciously sweet as you would expect, but it had this wonderful acidity that just cut through the sweetness perfectly to show flavours of white peach, citrus and honeysuckle which were just stunning, only a shame that we won't be able to get it over here!

A Little Beauty from New Zealand - A range of Single Vineyard Wines

The other week I called into the SITT (Specialist Importers Trade Tasting) at the Royal Horticultural Society, and I had the pleasure of meeting Fleur McCree who is the owner of the boutique New Zealand winery Little Beauty. They are based down in the Waihopai Valley, Marlborough, and produce a range of single vineyard varietal wines from Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Reisling And Pinot Noir.

Fleur has bought in Eveline Fraser, who used to be head winemaker at Cloudy Bay to make her wine, and she really has done a fantastic job with them. Throughout the vineyard they employ sustainable growing techniques, have installed a sophisticated irrigation system and an advanced climate monitoring system to ensure they get the very best fruit possible. In the wine making process they use wild ferments and mature there wines using French oak from Fleur's favourite Burgundian coopers, all of these wines are produced in very limited quantities

Now for the wines;

2010 Single Vineyard Dry Reisling - had some lovely aromas of citrus, lemon and lime with a touch of floral honey suckle, a nice and refreshing acidity which just combined stunningly.

2013 Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc - grapefruit with a touch of gooseberry coming through and a hint of basil which surprised me, plenty of acidity but not overly tart and very enjoyable.

2012 Single Vineyard Pinot Gris - this was light and delicate with some lovely floral characters and a touch of citrus, a hint a vanilla spice and again a perfectly balanced acidity.

2010 Single Vineyard Gewurztraminer - this wine had aromas of sweet oranges, rose and clove, a soft elegant acidity which all worked together beautifully.

2013 Single Vineyard Pinot Noir - lashings of dark berry fruit, raspberry, and smoke, it had a savoury character to it as well with soft and silky tannin, only one word that can describe it, stunning.

Picture Courtesy of Little Beauty

They also produce a small range under the Black Edition label from Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir which are produced in even smaller quantities and are really a notch above there Single Vineyard range and are absolutely glorious, but think I'll save these for another post.

These wines really do match up to there name of Little Beauty, if you get the chance to buy or order a bottle in a restaurant then I would definitely recommend that you do, I really was bowled over by how good they all were.

A Pinot Noir from the Loire

After visiting the southern hemisphere, I thought I should venture back up to the northern hemisphere and pay a visit to the Loire Valley.

The Loire is renowned for it's white wines, especially those from Sancerre, Pouilly Fume and the slightly lesser known Menetou-Salon, all produced from the Sauvignon Blanc grape, but they also grow a small amount of Pinot Noir. They use the Pinot Noir to make their rose, but also they produce a small amount of red Sancerre. While Sancerre blanc gained it's AC qualification in 1936, it was not until 1959 that the AC qualification was extended to cover both the red and rose produced from Pinot Noir.

The 2012 Jean Colin Sancerre rouge is produced from vineyards situated around Thauvenay, on the hills southeast of sancerre. The soil here is made up two thirds Clay/Limestone and one third Flint which all add to the flavour and complexity you get in the wines from this region. They also practice Bio-Dynamic farming methods, although they are not certified, using natural pests, cover crops and the lunar cycle.

The harvesting is all done by hand and the grapes are packed into small crates to prevent them from being damaged, after going through a pre-fermentation cold soak maceration, it then goes through a two to four week fermentation, with regular cap punch downs to aid extraction. Once the fermentation process has been completed, the wine then goes into new oak barrels, from the local forests for a further 10 months maturation, where it will also go through Malolactic fermentation to give it a much more rounded and softer character.

In the glass it had a pale ruby colour, with lovely red berry fruit, raspberry, cherry and red currant you also got pear drops and a touch of spice coming through from the background. On the palate these all came through with a small amount of fine tannin and a lovely acidity which all balanced out beautifully.

I have to say I was rather impressed with this wine, it had a nice depth of flavour and was well balanced, it didn't bowl me over but I would happily drink a glass or two. On a hot day you could chill it down slightly and would be perfect for a lunch time drink, especially as it's only 13%.

A Trip to the Spar

When you’re in a hurry and the only place you can find to pick up a bottle is the local Spar, you may like me, think that all I’m going to be to get is a bottle a cheap and nasty Pinot Grigio or one of the uninteresting big brands, but don’t panic, all is not lost.

I had the opportunity recently to meet the guys from the Spar and to taste some of there own and exclusive label wines, which I have to say were very impressive and actually great value as well. Here are a few of my favourite;

Spar Chablis; this has aromas of green fruit and citrus, with these coming through on the palate, it has a delightful acidity with a touch of steely/minerality to it as well. Not quite a crisp as many other traditional Chablis, but this helps to make it a bit more approachable and hopefully enjoyable to more people, and great value at £10.99.

Chene St Louis Sancerre; with lovely aromas and flavours of gooseberries and a nice minerality to it, again the acidity is much softer than many of it’s counterparts, this however does not detract from it being a delicious wine, and great value at £10.99.

Valle Vento Barolo; this had a garnet colour to it in the glass, with the aromas and flavours dark fruits, cherries and plums, with a touch of spice coming through from the background. The tannins were fine and silky, the acidity was just enough to complement this, resulting in a great glass of wine and again exceptional value at £14.99.

Les Trois Couronnes Chateauneuf du Pape; this is a blend of 13 of the permitted varieties, including Grenache and Syrah, which all help to create big rich wine with a great depth of flavour. It had aromas and flavours of dark fruit and spice, wonderfully fine/silky tannins and just the right amount of acidity to balance it all out and make it a great glass of wine, all for £15.99.

Ursa Maior Rioja Reserva; a Tempranillo blend, this had lovely mature aromas and flavours of dried fruit, cherries, tobacco and a touch of sweet spice, Vanilla. Lovely silky tannin and a great acidity, I have to say this was perfectly balanced and probably my favourite of the day, and all for £9.99.

I have to say I was rather impressed with there selection of wines, and if I ever needed to grab a bottle or two and I came across a Spar, I wouldn’t have any hesitation in popping in and selecting one from there own range.

A Californian Riesling from Hagafen in Napa

Having been introduced to the wines from Hagafen in Napa Valley before by a friend, on my visit to California last year I had to make sure we paid them a visit and call in on their tasting room to sample some of their other delights. I’d been brought back a bottle of their Sauvignon Blanc (read my review here) and after going to their website I really wanted to try some of the other varietals they did, the reds were rich and full of flavours and all with great structures, but the one wine that really stood out to me, and the wife to be, was their 2010 Rancho Wieruszowski Vineyard White Riesling.

In the glass it had a bright, pale lemon yellow colour, with very pronounced aromas of stone fruit, peaches, apricots and citrus such as mandarin. On the palate it was off-dry, with all the flavours of stone fruits and mandarins, but it also had a touch of minerality to which all just added to its wonderful complexity. It had just the right amount of acidity to cut through the weetness of the wine perfectly, making it a well balanced wine, with great complexity and that touch of class.

Unfortunately they’re not available in the UK, but if you get the chance to go to Napa Valley, then make sure you pay these guys a visit on the Silverado Trail, but not just for their fantastic wines but also for the views.

A Dinner with Kevin Judd from Greywacke

One of the great things of working for an independent wine merchant (The Vineking) is that I get to go to all the events that we organise, such as the a dinner with Kevin Judd at the Dining Room in Reigate. For those of you who don’t know who Kevin is, he’s the winemaker from Greywacke, formerly the founding wine maker from probably New Zealand’s most iconic wine, Cloudy Bay. Kevin produced the first 25 vintages at Cloudy Bay, and introduced the world to the fantastic Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, after leaving Cloudy Bay; Kevin decided he wanted to continue wine making, but now under his own label, Greywacke. He buy’s his fruit from various vineyards around Marlborough, including from his good friends at Dog Point (another one of our favourites) who are the other original founders of Cloudy Bay, they also very kindly let him use their facilities to produce his wines. He did remark that it’s now more affectionately known as the Cloudy Bay retirement home, as many of the original staff from Cloudy Bay now work at Dog Point or with Kevin at Greywacke.

Kevin talking to the room

Listening to Kevin talk about his wines and the wine making process, the most amazing thing was how little intervention he did with them, to put it in his own words, I press the grapes, put the juice into the tanks or barrels depending on which wine he’s making, and leave it to get on and do it’s own thing! This all helps to keep the pure fruit flavours that you find in his wines; another thing was the use of wild yeasts to produce his Wild Sauvignon and his Pinot Noir, which just help to add another dimension to his wines.

Along with the wines we’ve sold in the past, he also bought some of his Chardonnay and Pinot Gris for us to taste, and like his other wines we know so well they didn’t disappoint, unfortunately at present they are only produced in small quantities, but we are hoping to get some of his next vintage of the Chardonnay, but again we only be able to receive a small quantity, so if your interested in them, then make sure you get your orders in early!

The wine we had on tasting were;

2011 Sauvignon Blanc – this just had beautiful green fruit flavours and aromas, with a touch of minerality to go with it, great acidity, producing a beautifully restrained and elegant glass of wine.

2010 Wild Ferment Sauvignon – with a much richer mouth feel, and more complexity than his ordinary Sauvignon, it had a hint of Vanilla and softness to the acidity which just made this wine absolutely stunning.

2009 Chardonnay – again this wine had a real richness to it, with slightly savoury/lanolin aromas, with a touch of citrus on the palate and a creamy texture, combined with a minerality and a long lingering finish that made this wine just amazing.

2010 Pinot Noir – with both some dark and red fruit flavours and aromas in the glass, intermingled with a smoky vanilla oak, soft fine tannin and a great acidity to it, and a length of flavour that just kept on giving, this wine definitely did not disappoint.

Several empty bottles of his Pinot Gris

2010 Pinot Gris – this wine was slightly off dry, but with stone and dried fruit flavours, the perfect amount of acidity, and as with all the others a length of flavour that just kept on giving, it worked very well the raspberry and vanilla in the desert, but was a little challenged by the chocolate.

I have to say, my favourite of the night was his Wild Sauvignon, but we couldn’t find fault with any of range and I’d highly recommend any of his wines for you to try.

TerraVin - A Tasting with Jascots Part 2

Following on from my last post, A Wine Tasting with Jascots, there was one vineyard that I felt deserved a post of their own, TerraVin. Based in Marlboro, New Zealand, which if you’ve ever read my blog before you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of New Zealand wines, I did however nearly miss them, as while I enjoy drinking them I’m always on the look out for something different to write about. These guys however have managed that, and I’m glad that Ben from Jascots insisted that I try them, I also had the pleasure of meeting Mike the winemaker from TerraVin and really get an understanding of what he was trying to create with his wines and the attention to detail he put into them. They had three of there wines on show for us, two Sauvignon Blanc’s and a Pinot Noir.

The first we tried was there 2009 Marlboro Sauvignon Blanc, which was a very typical Marlboro Sauvignon Blanc to be honest, loaded with green fruit aromas and flavours, the tart acidity which you’d expect, but not to over powering, they combined well and produced a well balanced and enjoyable wine, it was exactly what you’d expect.

They also had there 2009 Pinot Noir, which really was quite beautiful, plenty of red fruit on the palate with great integration of oak going to produce a more meaty/smokey flavour to it, great fine tannin and just enough acidity to make your mouth water, the flavours lingered for a long time. This was a stunning example of great Pinot Noir, well balanced and enjoyable, would go brilliantly with something such as bar-b-que’d meat or roast lamb.

For me though, the star of the show was there 2009 Te Ahu, which again was produced from Sauvignon Blanc, not that you’d have known without being told before hand. This wine spends 11 months maturing in oak before spending a little longer in the bottle before release. I know most people say Sauvignon Blanc doesn’t like being oaked, but done well, it can produce an absolutely stunning wine, as with this one. The initial project started with just five rows of vines and has expended row by row over the last couple of years, combine this with low yielding vines you can see how they only produced 250 cases in total.

On the Palate you get some real crisp green fruit flavours, but that’s where its similarities stop with other Sauvignon Blancs, you also get a real creamy/buttery mouth feel, more what you’d expect from an oaked Chardonnay, there was a touch of Vanilla and a little minerality in there as well. It had a tiny amount of acidity, but just enough to cut through the rich mouth feel, combine this and the flavours together and you a wine that the only way I can think to describe it as breathtaking.

Would I recommend there wines, in one word, absolutely, they show great flavours and characteristics across all the wines they produce, but if you can find a bottle of Te Ahu, don’t hesitate or think about it, just buy it, there will only be 100 cases to reach our shores. 

A Summer Tasting with Imbibros

The other week a friend sent me a message saying that his local wine merchants were having their summer tasting evening, and did I fancy joining him. So I jumped on a train and headed on down to a town called Godalming, which is just south of Guildford and then on to Imbibros Wine Merchants to see what they had to offer, and if there was anything that was just that little bit special.

When we got their, we found the tasting was in full flow and very busy, always a good start in my eyes, so we collected our glasses and made a start on the task in front of us. On show were 77 wines and 8 spirits from all over the wine growing world. There were some fantastic wines and unfortunately a couple that really were not very good, there was even one that was a tribute to the legendary Pink Floyd, which was of course a Rosé. 

Here are my top 5 from the evening and in no particular order;

Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Marlborough – Loaded with green fruit, predominantly Gooseberries and combined with the perfect amount of Acidity that just made your mouth water profusely, creating an absolutely stunning wine and a classic example of the great New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, £15.50 a bottle.

Painted Wolf Penny Viognier 2009, Swartland – Really pronounced stone fruit with a hint of vanilla coming through from the background, combined again with just enough acidity that made your mouth water and cut through the fruit perfectly, a beautiful wine for £13.95.

Living Rock Cinsault/Ruby Cabernet 2009, Western Cape – Full of red fruit, cherries and red currants, perfectly combined with the tannins and acidity, creating a surprisingly well structured and enjoyable wine, all for £5.95, you can’t go wrong really with that.

Geoff Merrill Jacko’s Blend Shiraz 2006, McLaren Vale – With pronounced flavours of red berries and spice coming through, it was perfectly integrated with the oak and full of fine, silky tannins, and just the right amount of acidity, a stunning wine, as it should be for £16.50.

Four Vines Old Vine Cuvee Zinfandel 2008, California – Full of juicy dark fruit and spice, again combined perfectly with the fine, silky tannins and acidity, creating an enjoyable wine, and a great example of Zinfandel at £15.95 a bottle.

It was a great evening, and there were many more fantastic wines that we tasted, these are just a couple that really caught my eye, if you’re interested in purchasing any of them, they are all available online from Imbibros.

A Beautiful Sauvignon Blanc from A Great Napa Vineyard

Earlier in the year I was given a bottle Hagafen Sauvignon Blanc 2010, by a friend who had just returned from a trip to San Francisco. The vineyard and tasting room is situated on the Silverado Trail, one mile south of the renowned Stags Leap District; they also have two vineyards on the eastern benchland of Napa. Founded by Irit and Ernie Weir in 1979, with the aim of this is to produce high quality fine wines and according to Jewish dietary laws, producing wines from Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah (Shiraz), Riesling and Zinfandel in small lots, which results in a total production of only 8,000 cases.

On pouring the wine you got a bright but very pale Apple green colour, with quite pronounced aromas of citrus, grapefruit and lime, I then got a tiny hint of stone fruit in the background. On the palate, the favours came across as the aromas, grapefruit, lime and again that tiny hint of stone fruit. Which were just fantastic, along with this it had just the right amount of acidity to go with the fruit favours and make your mouth water.

I have to admit, if I hadn't know it was a Sauvignon Blanc, embarrassingly I have to say I could have mistaken it for a Riesling. It was an excellently balanced wine that was very refreshing and thoroughly enjoyable to drink. If you can get hold of a bottle then I'd definately recommend it, with the added bonus that it's Kosher, just in case you needed it to be!

Having realised that I had got very out of touch with whites, I felt I needed to re-associate my self with some of the great white grapes. I was fortunate enough to spending a week’s holiday in San Francisco, and took the opportunity to hire a car and drive up to Napa with the plan to taste as many whites as I could. Having tasted this Sauvignon Blanc we headed first of all to Hagafen’s tasting room, and really started to understand the difference between this and their Rieslings, and they were fantastic, so much so, I bought a bottle of their White Riesling, Rancho Wieruszowski Vineyard 2010, looking forward to reviewing it soon!

A Secret Tasting with Linton Park Wines

Finborough Wine Cafe

The other weekend was the 3^rd instalment of Andrew Barrow’s (Spittoon) secret tastings known as ARSE (Andrew’s Really Secret Event), just in case you thought I was being crude. All we knew to was that we were to meet outside a district line tube station, to be named later, on the 3^rd at 12pm, how could I resist the intrigue!

Although we were given several cryptic clues as to our meeting point, it was kept secret right up to the last possible moment; it turned out to be West Brompton tube station. On arrival our names were checked off the register, which made me feel like I was on a school trip, and we moved on to our first venue, the Finborough Wine Cafe. We started the day with a glass of Morton New Zealand sparkling, which was a blend of all three of the Champagne grapes, giving you great flavours and a good level of acidity, producing a beautifully refreshing drink, and a great way to start the day.

Hennie - The winemaker

After we’d had the opportunity to get to know the others on the tasting we were duly informed that we were moving on to the next venue, which, after putting my jacket back on and everything back in my bag, turned out to be the tasting room downstairs! When we got downstairs we were greeted by Hennie (winemaker) and Neil from Linton Park Wines, who were here to showcase their wines and give us some insight into them.

Based in the Paarl region of South Africa and nestling in the foothills of the Groenberg Mountain in Wellington Valley, they have 290 Hectares growing Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Situated 500m above sea level, this helps to provide a cooler climate with the various oak leaf soils, all helping to produce some fantastic growing conditions and some great wines. Fortunately for us, Hennie had brought wines from all the grapes above and across two ranges, their standard and reserve.

Linton Park Sauvignon Blanc 2008 – With wonderfully herbaceous aromas and flavours, a low level of acidity, and a good length of flavour all combined to produce a fabulous wine, definitely my favourite of the whites.

Linton Park Chardonnay 2009 – With pronounced fruit aromas with a buttery edge and a touch of spice, good level of acidity cuts through its richness. Not over powered by the oak, this was a beautifully rich wine that was very enjoyable, and I’m not a fan of oaked Chardonnay.

Linton Park Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 – A deep ruby colour, with red berries and chocolate aromas, on the palate you got these with a touch of jammy plums, combined with a good level of fine tannins.

Linton Park Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 – This had dark fruit and oak aromas and palate, very fine, soft tannins, creating a very refined and beautiful wine.

Linton Park Merlot 2007 – Great jammy dark fruit and oak aromas and palate, again with fine tannins and a good level of acidity producing a well balanced and enjoyable wine.

Linton Park Reserve Merlot 2005 – As with the merlot above, but much more intense oak/kernel aromas and flavours than fruit, as would have expected a more refined version of the previous wine.

Linton Park Shiraz 2008 – Wonderfully pronounced aromas and palate of peppery spice with a touch of red berries in the background, with a hint of sweetness from the oak. Fine velvety tannins and a good acidity produce an amazingly well balanced and beautiful wine.

Linton Park Reserve Shiraz 2007 – With pronounced dark jammy fruit, spice, chocolate and smokey aromas, you got all of these on the palate with velvety tannins, all produced an amazingly complex and absolutely stunning wine. Which I can safely say got the majority vote as our favourite wine of the day.

After we’d gone through all of these, Hennie had one last challenge for us, he produced an unlabeled bottle for us to taste and guess the grape, year and dominate aroma. Which I have to reluctantly admit all of us wine geeks got massively wrong which was a little embarrassing, personally I thought it was a Pinotage, but it turned out to be a 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon.

It was a fantastic day, with great wine and fantastic company, I’d just like to thank Hennie and Neil for taking the time out to go through their wines with us, and of course, Andrew for organising a great day, roll on ARSE4. 

Around the World in 80 Wines with Wines of South Africa

The South African High Commission in Trafalgar Square was the venue for last weeks Wines of South Africa’s, around the world in 80 wines tasting. As you can see from the picture below it was a fantastic venue that almost felt like you were going back in time! On show were 152 wines, covering all the main grape varieties and blends which is easier to say what wasn’t in them, than what was, and one I’d never even heard of, Bukettraube.

Their were some fantastic wines on show, here are some of my favourites from the day;

Pongrácz Brut Rosé NV – This sparkling had a salmon pink colour with aromas and flavours of red berries, combine this with a refreshing level of acidity and a good length of flavour, it went on to produce a well balanced wine, especially for £8.99, available from SA Wines Online.

Lomond Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Cape Agulhas, 2010 – This is a blend of 85% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Nouvelle, with an almost water white colour and aromas of melons, figs and hints of grass coming through. On the palate you got the aromas coming through with a touch of minerality thrown in for good measure. Combine these with a good level of acidity and a reasonable length; you get a beautiful and complex wine all for £9.99, available from Forth Wines Ltd.

Spier Private Collection Chenin Blanc, Western Cape, 2009 – A blend of 95% Chenin Blanc and 5% Viognier giving you pronounced aromas and flavours of stone and tropical fruit, a touch of cedar then came through from the oak vinification. It had a good level of acidity and a long length of flavour, you also got a very full, rich mouth feel again from the oaking. This was a wonderfully rich and full on wine with great fruit flavours and complexity, which is what you’d expect for £18.49; available from Henderson wines and SA Wines Online.

Springfield ‘The Work of Time’, Robertson, 2004 – This is a blend of 45% Cabernet Franc, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot and 2% Petit Verdot which is just amazing. You got wonderful jammy flavours of dark fruit with a high level of ripe tannins and a good level of acidity, which produced a well balanced wine that would go beautifully with a Sunday roast, this wine could also age for quite a few more years yet as well. Excellent value for £14; available from Bibendum Wine.

Southern Right Pinotage, Hemel-en-Aarde Valley, Hermaus, 2008 – 100% Pinotage, which can be a difficult grape, they are either fantastic or absolutely horrendous, this one was the latter. It had an opaque ruby colour with breathtaking aromas and flavours of jammy berries with a touch of spice coming through from the background. Combined skilfully with a good level of fine tannin and you got an amazingly complex and delightful wine all for £11.99, which is just amazing; available from Waitrose.

Lourensford Noble Late Harvest Semillon, Stellenbosch, 2009 – Produced from 100% Semillon, they hand pick the Botrytised bunches which are then lightly pressed and barrel fermented. The wine had a deep golden colour which was lusciously sweet with flavours of honey and apricots, on the nose you also got the distinctive botrytis aromas. This was a stunning sweet wine that I could have sipped away at for hours; available from SA Wines Online, Taurus Wines, Well Wine W4 and www.everywine.co.uk for £8.99.

It was a fantastic tasting and there were many more great wines on show, these are just a few that really caught my eye, hope you enjoy them as I did.

A New Zealand White that's not Sauvignon Blanc

Having written quite a few reviews on New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, most people could be led to believe that this is the only grape they grow, which is not the case. With the climate being much cooler than their Australian neighbours, they don't do so well with growing the likes of Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. They do grow with great success Pinot Noir, Merlot and Chardonnay, producing some absolutely stunning examples of these wines.

I know this isn't the right bottle!

Having reviewed Villa Maria’s Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc, I thought I would also review there Private Bin East Coast Chardonnay 2008, and the fact that a friend bought a bottle with them when they came to dinner the other week made it an ideal opportunity. The wine itself has been allowed to go through Malolactic fermentation, and certain parcels of the blend have also received some oak ageing, to add some depth and complexity to it.

On pouring the wine, it had a bright lemony gold colour with reasonably pronounced youthful aromas of Peaches, Pears and strangely enough, wet wool, which isn’t as bad as it sounds. On the palate you got the fruit coming through with eucalyptus/medicinal flavours following. It had a good level of acidity that worked very well with flavours making it a well balanced wine with just the right level of oak.

This was not a bad wine, it was well balanced, not over oaked, with a short length of flavour making it an enjoyable drink, but would I recommend it? If you like your new world Chardonnays then you’d enjoy this, but personally and for the price I’d rather go for their Sauvignon Blanc.

A Tour of Napa Valley

Post contributed by Vanessa McDonald

In early October 2010, I had the pleasure of a weekend stay at The Vino Bello Resort in Napa Valley, California. This resort is a wine lover’s dream and I can recommend the location for a quiet retreat or even a meal from the restaurant.

A trip to Napa is not complete without some sort of winery tour and the county offers tours and tastings for every budget and pace, from private limo, coach and train tours that take you to 11 vineyards in a day to the more leisurely option of hot air ballooning at sunrise.

I was with my elder parents so the hotel recommended Platypus Tours. This tour company picks you up and drop you off at your hotel or B&B, provides a picnic lunch and generally keeps you plied with bottled water and bread as needed throughout the day. Our driver and tour guide (Karl) was born and raised in Napa and an absolute font of knowledge on everything in the area. If you can seek out local recommendations, do so as we were able to visit those wineries who were in the midst of harvesting that day and meet the owners of several wineries in the process; not always an option on the larger, more formal train or bus tours. I’ve detailed the 3 of the wineries visited below, enjoy and hope that you get to sample the delights for yourself soon:

Alpha Omega: This winey is located in the Rutherford valley and is one of Napa’s few boutique wineries. Jean Hoefliger has teamed up with the influential Michel Rolland to create a stunning series of wines. This was by far the most sophisticated wine of the day but, also the priciest with their flagship wine going for $170 a bottle. Napa is famous for its Cabernet Sauvignon and AO’s does not disappoint with a rich fruit taste of dark cherry, blackberry and cassis giving way to velvety aftertaste of rose petals and fresh plum.

The grounds are also stunning, with a relaxed feel despite how modern and sophisticated the tasting bar area is. There are plush white couches that encourage visitors to rest and take in the stunning surroundings. This is where we sat had our picnic lunch overlooking the winery.

Hagafen: this was the only winery I made several purchases at during the day. Renowned for being Napa Valley’s only kosher winery, this stuff is no Mankiewicz. The winery also gained notoriety when Regan served it at a White House luncheon (it’s since been served at luncheons by every sitting President –the walls of the main hall are covered with menus detailing what was served). The Sauvignon Blanc is truly delicious; clean and crisp with a hint of pineapple and a creamy mix of apricot, citrus, and grapefruit. The creaminess is said to come from the hot days and cool nights these Eastern Foothills receive. A clear winner on the day for me!

The Andretti Winery: Full disclosure, I had had enough by this time so I stayed in the courtyard and ate the fresh grapes that we were able to help ourselves too from the field but, as you’ll see from the link –the courtyard in the late afternoon sun is stunning and genuinely feels like you’re sitting in Tuscany. The specialty here is the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2009 Zinfandel that were offered for $30 for a tasting which I found to be too expensive. Those who chose to imbibe were also offered a tasting of the port style wine, made from grapes of a single vintage and bottled after three years in French Oak. It had a strong aroma of dark chocolate, blackberry and caramel as well as hazelnut. It’s possible to purchase here.

A Stunning New Zealand Pinot Noir

I was looking for a bottle of wine to go with dinner the other night and I came across a little gem that I’d forgotten all about. The wine in question was bought for me as a present a couple of years ago and was a bottle of Villa Maria Marlborough Reserve Pinot Noir 2002. As you’ve probably realised from previous posts I’m a big fan of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, but I’ve never really tried many of their reds, so now seemed as good an opportunity as ever!

The guys down at Villa Maria have spared no expense in producing this wine; firstly the fruit is all hand harvested, destemmed and crushed in open-top fermenters. While undergoing fermentation it is hand plunged, then after being allowed to go through Malolactic fermentation, it is moved to French Oak barrels to mature for 14 months before being bottled.

On pouring the wine there was quite a bit of anticipation as to what we were going to be drinking, and what we got, had definately been well worth the wait. The colour was a beautifully deep ruby colour, even though it was eight years old, I’d been expecting it to be more tawny than ruby.

On the nose there were these wonderfully pronounced aromas of plums, dark cherries and a touch a spice, predominantly clove. To taste you got all these flavours come through layer after layer with a touch of cocoa to finish it off. Their was a good level of acidity combining with fine silky tannins, creating a beautifully balanced wine with fantastic flavours of fruit and spice.

Is this a wine that I’d recommend, how can I put this, YES. I’ve only seen 2006 and 2007 in the shops lately, but if they’re as good as the 2002, then they are definitely worth buying and cellaring for a couple of years.

A South African Sauvignon Blanc

This is the first wine from South Africa that I’ve written about, and again I’m not sure as to why, they do produce some fantastic wines, and they also won Bibendums World Cup of Wine against Italy earlier this year. So I think I should really have covered some of their wines before now!

The wine in question comes from the guys at the Boekenhoutskloof winery in Franschoek, and is their Porcupine Ridge Sauvignon Blanc 2009. The fruit for this wine comes from vineyards in the Malmesbury, Wellington, Robertson and Franschoek regions. They also add about 2% of Semillon to the blend to give it greater complexity and another dimension. The fermentation is maintained at low temperatures to ensure they capture more of the tropical flavours, the wine is also left on it’s lees to add even more complexity.

In the glass, it had an almost water white colour, with aromas of tropical fruit which were not particularly pronounced, but enjoyable. You got these flavours coming through on the palate, where the tropical fruit was predominately that of Pineapples. It had a high and very level of acidity, which really made your mouth water and worked very well with the fruit flavours.

While this, surprisingly due to the high level of acidity was a well balanced wine, it lacked the complexity I expected from the lees ageing and the addition of the Semillon. However it was an enjoyable drink that would go very well creamy Chicken pasta dish.