Vacqueyras 2006
Vacqueyras, one of the Southern Rhone's baby Chateauneuf du Pape wines is starting to compete with Gigondas as the second wine of the area. Now starting to move away from it's rough and rustic image, Vacqueyras is taken more and more seriously by producer and critic alike. Not quite yet on par with Gigondas, the difference in price between the two is stark with top end Vacqueyras wines (like the two reviewed below) available for around £15, you can pay double this figure for a similar high quality Gigondas.
2006 is an interesting vintage for the Southern Rhone, and suffers (or benefits from, depending on whether you sell, grow or drink the wine) from being in between two top class vintages. If you're in the wine industry or a big wine geek you will know about the hype surrounding the Chateauneuf du Pape '07's. No bad thing for CnDP, Gigondas and Vacqueyras wines from 2006 as they now offer exceptional value (something like the '04 Bordeaux principle but really only among the wines from the best producers).
Vacqueyras is usually a wine fairly easy to distinguish with most producers in the area, even those that have moved into heavy bio-dynamie, eager to keep the wine true to its historical roots. Vacqueyras wines have always been dusty, tannic and rugged but as that style falls further out of fashion and with two very prestigious and fashionable neighbours in Cheateauneuf du Pape and Gigondas, Vacqueyras has had to pave a new road for itself and the two producers reviewed here today, Montirius and Perrin & Fils are both attempting to do just that but in rather different ways. Although both biodynamic producers, the two wines have been styled to appeal to two very different types of Vacqueyras drinker.
This isn't the first time I've tried the Montirius Vacqueyras 2006 Garrigues this year. The wine appeared in a Berry Bros and Rudd sponsored Twitter Taste Live event and went down a real storm, the wine was fruity, full of cherries and Walls vanilla but here I was three months later and this delightfully complex and expressive Vacqueyras had turned green in a matter of three months. Perhaps a case of bottle evolution, some kind of bottle fault or, if you believe in such things, perhaps it was a "veggie day"*
I gave the Montirius Vacqueyras Garrigues 2006, 91 Points on its last outing in August. Now in late November it appears to have completely changed and my score for it at this drinking window descends also. Remember as you read this review that this wine may just be entering a non drinking phase, the Montirius is a prestigious and fine Vacqueyras wine, in fact consistently one of the best of it's type produced annually.
Montirius Vacqueyras 2006 Garrigues - BUY (but don't drink today!) - £13.50
Deep ruby red in the glass. 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah the fruit today was hard to tease from the nose however the wine does stay true to the region with dusty earthy notes and a hint of blackberry and over-ripe raspberry. Mid bodied, the wine is green, tannic and austere on the palate with a mid length finish. A good structure but the under ripe taste is baffling. 84 Points
Perrin & Fils Vacqueyras Les Christins 2006 - BUY - £12.65
Ruby red in colour. The wine quickly offers a heady bouquet with knockout Blackberry jelly, vanilla and an interesting sweet note on the nose. On the palate the wine is smooth with fine ingrained tannins and is a very pleasant and well rounded Rhone wine though, if blind, would not have picked this wine as a Vacqueyras. 89 Points
There is a theory that slowly, year on year, wines are becoming more and more alike not simply because the technology of modern wine making is available to everyone and techniques/information is more easily shared but because wine producers are playing for points (critic's) and trying to appeal to an "international" palate (whatever that is). This presents a danger for an AOC like Vacqueyras if you are a purist and want your wines to reflect the nuances of the soil/climate and taste the way they have done for generations. However, if you are a producer in an area as prestigious as the Rhone but as unknown (to the general public) as Vacqueyras, you may be persuaded commercially to produce an every-Rhone wine and appeal to a mass market.
If you know you like Rhone wines and you're not fussy about every bottle being a clean and obvious example of its exact AOC then the Perrin & Fils will suit you better, easy to drink, obvious Rhone though not obvious Vacqueyras with a nice price tag too.
If you want an a true example of Vacqueyras or something to hold onto for a while and see the true potential of Vacqueyras then go for the Montirius.
Where can I buy these wines?
Both these wines are available at Berry Bros and Rudd.
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Do you have any examples of bad bottles or dumb periods? I don't know, aside from cork taint, a more disappointing end for a bottle of wine. I was so excited about the Montirius too *sigh*
*There are those that believe the waxing and waining of the moon effects water in the bottle as it effects the tides of the sea and that wines go through periods of fruit/veggie etc depending on the day you open it in a lunar cycle. That's lunar cycle, not loony cycle.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Vacqueyras 2006
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Matt Skinner The Juice 2010
Matt Skinner The Juice 2010
Matt Skinner The Juice 2010 is no ordinary wine book. Matt Skinner has created a new kind of wine handbook that has been sadly missing from the UK shelves and one every avid wine fan (who shops at the supermarket!) should not be without. How many times have you gone along to the local supermarket or one of the chains (Majestic, Threshers, WineRack etc) and come away with with a right troll of a bottle? "Hit N Miss" aint even close to covering it, right? Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Sottimano Barbaresco Pajore 2004
Sottimano Barbaresco Pajore 2004
Sottimano Barbaresco Pajore 2004 is one of the wave of fantastic 2004 Barbaresco wines. Sottimano Barbaresco is rightly lauded in Barberesco circles but still remains under the radar here in the UK mostly because of a very poor distribution. However, in Italy and in the USA Sottimano enjoys a growing reputation with the 2006 range taking that next step up and three of their Barbaresco's holding their heads up with the very best producers and scooping huge scores with Antonio Galloni at the Wine Advocate.
Sottimano produce an array of Barbaresco wines and some of the others, Curra and Fausoni namely, do enjoy some distribution here but it's the Pajore I got to taste last night and I thought would be of most interest to Wine90 readers looking for fine wines at bargain prices.
A small producer on the borders of Nieve and Barbaresco, Sottimano is one of the fastest improving producer in the Piedmont and as such you can still purchase their top cuvee Barbarescos for sub £40 prices and even sub £30 here and there. Father and son team, Andrea and Rino Sottimano create hedonistic, long lived Barbaresco wines that will surprise you with their quality even among the entry level bottles. Perfectionists, Andrea and Rino produce four very distinct Barbaresco wines that will appeal to old school and new school Nebbiolo fans.
The Pajore is a the most elegant and traditional of the four and pleases traditionalists among the Gambero Rosso judges as in excellent vintages the Pajore can scoop the odd Tre Bicchiere award now and then. Those preferring a less aggressive, floral Barbaresco will prefer the Fausoni and it's these two wines that really divide Sottimano fans. If you like big, extracted Nebbiolo then the Curra would be the choice of the typical American palate (how dare I say such a thing!) and lastly the Cotta is a more spicy affair and a great foodies wine.
Sottimano Barbaresco Pajore 2004 - BUY - €39
A dark ruby red verging on purple, no hint of age here. The Pajore explodes on the nose after a good few hours in the decanter the wine was bursting with currant, chocolate, dark cherries, cloves and a real floral note on the end. The Pajore palate is luscious, still exceptionally concentrated and powerful, red fruits dance on your tastebuds for close to a minute on the finish. Far too young but at €39 you don't feel like you shot Bambi, a 6 pack contender; the evolution here will be fascinating. 94 Points
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009
La Brancaia Il Blu 2006
La Brancaia Il Blu 2006
La Brancaia Il Blu 2006 is one of the best Super Tuscan wines around and with a growing reputation it won't stay on my QPR doozy list for long. The 2006 vintage is sumptuous. A fantastic year for Merlot in Italy, that supple little grape has provided the knock out punch to the other great red of La Brancaia's, Ilatraia. Usually, vintage after vintage these two wines can barely be separated both excellent though with very different flavour profiles. However, this year Il Blu is a baby giraffes neck ahead and with 96 points from Galloni and a Tre Bicchiere award, I had to get hold of this years vintage and see if the wine justified this stonking rating.
Swiss owned La Brancaia are foremostly fine exponents of Chianti Classico, and, like many other Tuscan estates with Chianti holdings, soon turned their attention to the cheaper and Bordeaux-esque Maremma to begin producing Super Tuscan wines. Still today these wines are wowing the critics. A little out of fashion in the noughties those in the know still swear by the Super Tuscan often rivalling, sometimes surpassing, the quality of Bordeaux and often for a fraction of the price. The interesting thing about Il Blu, a 50% Sangiovese, 45% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon wine is that it's not actually from Maremma but grown within the Chianti jurisdiction.
The excellent thing about it, is that this wine can still be found for under £40. 96 Point wines at £40 are very few and far between especially from such a famous region. Although I wasn't quite as impressed, to me 96 represents a unique barrier to push through, I happily award this wine 95 Points and a rubber stamped BUY.
As frequent readers of this blog will know, I spent 3 of the last 4 years living in Italy and one of the most beautiful things about it, excluding the people, countryside, food and wine, was the way these 4 qualities were often married. We spent many Friday evenings drinking and eating at the local Agriturismo's, where you ate the produce from the working farms, many of these were not just farms and restaurants but also hotels too. At La Brancaia you can also take a vacation with a stunning location, great food and wine of course, and set yourself right in the heart of a gorgeous Italian wine holiday. Check it out here.
Back to the wine. I popped and poured the La Brancaia Il Blu 2006 on Sunday which, to be honest, was a good 5 years too early. The wines of La Brancaia, apart from the Chianti Classico which is surprisingly accessible young, should all be given at least 5 years in the cellar. Despite this it was very clear to see that this was a very special wine and after some time to breath I can say that, for 2009 so far, this is the best QPR wine of the year. If you love Italian wines you have to seek this out, if you are into Bordeaux you have to seek this out, if you collect wine to sell for profit... you have to seek this out. If an alien were to come down from Mars, point a gun to my head and forced me to choose just one wine to attempt to please his palate...I'd choose this wine.
Food Match: Duck, Pigeon or Venison.
Brancia Il Blu
Tre
Ilatraia
La Brancaia Il Blu 2006 - BUY - £39
Deep dark ruby red edging on purple, the wine sits thick in the glass. On the nose you are taken on a power tour of fruit with cherries, plum and spicy vanilla oak. The wine is full bodied with the aromas carrying through to the attack. The mid palate is powerful and tannic at the moment but still enjoyable with the finish almost endless. Brilliantly structured, the wine hides the alcohol brilliantly and is sure to improve with age. 95 Points
Where can I buy this wine?
Europeans - Chicago WC - $47.50
Americans - Divine Golosita Toscane - €40
Brits - WineDirect - £39
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Which wine would you give to an alien to showcase the best planet earth had to offer?
Monday, October 26, 2009
Alois Lageder Cabernet Sauvignon Cor Romigberg
Alois Lageder Cabernet Sauvignon Cor Romigberg
Alois Lageder is one of the major players on the South Tyrol wine map producing a large and varied quantity of quality and affordable wines. In it's fifth generation, the latest Lageder is one of the pioneers in bio dynamic wine making in the region. Lageder, like many producers in the area, buy in grapes from local growers for many of their cheaper, single varietal wines. Most of these wines are fair priced and jolly good examples of the vast variety of grapes able to reach full ripeness in the cool but endlessly sunny Southern Tyrol.
The single vineyard-Lageder produced wines are grown along bio dynamic lines and the entire estate is environmentally adapted to the nth degree with solar panelling propelling the operation.
Alois Lageders Cabernet Sauvignon Cor Romigberg is practically unrivalled in the Southern Tyrol. Although the area is blessed with a ridiculous amount of sunshine hours, Cabernet Sauvignon is perhaps not one of the varieties that springs to mind when we envisage the Southern Tyrol because Cabernet Sauvignon likes to bask in the heat to fully ripen. However, it is the exceptional management of the vines here, as well as exhaustive analysis of the grapes that has produced a cool climate Cabernet without the "green".
The Romigberg vineyards are one of the most southerly of the Lageder parcels, several miles south of Bolzano and just north of the town of Termeno. Nestled between lake and mountain, it is little surprise then that this Cabernet Sauvignon has a very real and pronounced vein of minerality. What is a surprise is the luscious fruit, spice and floral notes that the wine offers. Containing just 3% Petit Verdot as an accompanying grape it seems improbable that the PV is driving the fruit.
The Cor Romigberg is the pride of the Lageder brand and spends 20 months in two thirds new french oak followed by a further 8 in bottle before release. The vines are at high density using the Guyot trellising system. In Italy these wines come onto the market around the €30 mark which, comparing to Tuscan Cabernet Sauvignons of this standard is a remarkable bargain. This is a classic cool climate Cabernet so don't imagine that the flavour profile will be anything like a Tuscan or southern Italian Cab.
Recently I had the opportunity to try the '03, a blazing hot vintage throughout Italy that played a part in reducing the usual minerality of the wine and gave further notice to the fruit. The Cor Romigberg is a wine that can benefit from cellaring in more typical vintages, however with the '03 I'm happy to say the wine is drinking beautifully at the end of 2009.
Alois Lageder Cabernet Sauvignon Cor Romigberg 2003 - BUY - £32
The darkest brooding ruby red. The nose is at once cherries, oak inspired spice, cassis and tobacco, a real aroma fans wine. On the palate the wine has strong but not aggressive tannins, it is powerful and the fruit is complimented by a straight minerality that gives this wine it's cool climate Cabernet feel. The finish is long and fruit driven the same as the attack. 90 Points.
Without tasting previous vintages it is hard to know if the Cor Romigberg is never green due to the grape selection process or if this particular vintage was so warm in the Southern Tyrol that this vintage is an anomaly putting it somewhere between a hot and cold climate Cabernet, it is at the very least a delicious wine.
Food Match: Lamb cutlets.
Sauvignon Lehenhof
Chardonnay Lowengang
Pinot Grigio Benefizium Porer
Pinot Nero Krafuss
Where can I buy this Wine?
Europeans - Superiore.de - €36
Americans - SS Wines - $26.99
Brits - Superiore.de - £32
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Favourite Cabernet Sauvignon growing regions and favourite producer?
Friday, October 23, 2009
Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2010
Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2010
Hugh Johnson's Pocket Wine Book 2010 was popped under my door this week and is the 33rd edition of one of the UK's most popular yearly wine guides. The guide is packed with everything you need to know about producers, grape varieties, the best vintages, when the wines are ready for consumption etc and is a really great guide to food accompaniments. However, unless you have particularly thin and freakishly long "pockets" you can't really call this a pocket guide. You can call it a handbag or manbag sized wine book but I doubt the people at Mitchell Beazley are going to change the name on account of me. We could petition them?Thursday, October 22, 2009
Fontanafredda Barbera Briccotondo 2007
Fontanafredda Barbera Briccotondo 2007
Fontanafredda Barbera Briccotondo 2007 is a real surprise. The gorgeous house of Fontanafredda has spent the last 10 years rapidly improving their entire range, their once iffy reputation now soundly banished. However, Barbera Briccotondo 2007 is not only excellent for Fontanafredda, it is an excellent Barbera in it's own right.
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