This one does exactly what it says on the tin: black cherries, spice, mint, plums. It’s like chewing gum and walking….through a French orchard on a wet autumn day.
It cost me £9.99 from Virgin and is one of the better ten quid bottles from their stable.
Serve cool (not cold). It accentuates the mint. The perfect antidote for drab football matches, and a great partner for pizza.
I’ve just been dribbling all over the en-primeur Burgundy 2008 catalogue from the Wine Society. I lined up a number of superbly priced selections and my wobbly knees were barely capable of carrying me to the computer to place an order.
In a year that, according to most commentators was variable at best, it looked like les escargots had marked their prices down to reasonable levels. Then a prickly heat rose through my knees, groin, heart and ended in a face flush. The values were for half cases. Oh well, I am priced out again, so the catalogue was filed under B, for bin.
If, like me, you are a “W” man, and you fully expect the return of the recession (as soon as interest rates start creeping up again) then you could do worse than explore some cheaper areas of the home of wine. South West France seems particularly good value.
This Cahors red is made from the Malbec grape, but the taste reminds me more of Carmenère. Smoky autumn bonfires, apple and pear crumble, a touch of raspberry. Perfect for a cold night in with a steak when you need to impress (or apologise to) your loved one.
Cost me £7.25 from the Wine Society.
Marqués de Riscal is getting older by the day. When I reviewed the 2003 eighteen months ago, the bottle pronounced that the Bodegas was founded in 1860. In this latest 2004 release, two new years have been discovered. It’s a bit like Joan Collins in reverse. Wine must be the only field in which the older you are, the more attractive you become.
I was in New York City a couple of months ago and stumbled across a wine shop on the Upper West Side. I posed the shop guy a challenge. I wanted to take just one bottle back to the UK. What would he recommend? Something American, good value, underrated, and not available in the UK.
He suggested that I see through the marketing gimmicks of Cycles Gladiator and try the Cabernet Sauvignon at about 11 bucks. I’ve not tasted it yet.
At a California Wines event in London last month, I stumbled across the same brand. A number of thoughts raged. It’s available in the UK! And they do a Pinot Noir! And it’s the same cheesy label! And it tastes annoyingly good…
My 1986 Hand of God driven campaign to avoid everything from the land of Peron ended for two reasons. Firstly, I finally forgave Maradona. Lurching from national crisis to personal crisis, he cuts a sorry figure on the world football stage these days. Secondly, Argentina produces some of my favourite wines and, at my age, there is little point in cutting ones stem off to spite ones Riedel Vinum.
This Malbec from Catena Alta is a prime example. It is quite expensive, although nowhere near the 37M euros that Maradona owes the Italian tax authorities. Is it worth it?
I realise I am risking treading on revered toes. Almost every food blogger within Patriot Missile range of London thinks that Hawsksmoor is legend. Esteemed mainstream critics from Jay Rayner to Giles Coren have extolled its fleshy virtues. I was recommended, no, TOLD to go there by cheese lover, Ramsay denier and beefy beefcake Chris Pople.
In short I expected great things. But whenever you set high expectations, it is inevitable that not everything lives up to the dream. And a few things fell short for me.
Being a wine snob, I normally hate own brands. Especially supermarket brands, even though they may well be the most reliable. Isn’t it more rewarding to seek out a tiny independent producer in the Andes that can only be accessed by chamois wearing crampons? A winemaker whose idea of export is chucking a couple of bottles to the next village idiot, 0.2 kilometres of un-navigable Amazon jungle away?
But I am not so sure if there is such a big difference between a carefully selected Sainsbury claret sourced from reputable Médoc vineyards, and a large scale “independent” brand such as Cono Sur, for example.
One brand that I occasionally (but not always) trust is The Wine Society. This Corbières is not rough and ready like the country wine I expected, but smooth and rich with strawberry flavours and spice.
Incredible value at £6.95. Sometimes one has to ignore the label and just get drinking.
Sunday Roast. Mmmmmmm. A weekend in London and it’s been a while since the last legendary Wino Sunday lunch. Time to make repairs but in a relaxed Sunday style. A quick flight at my favourite London wine bar. The Jubilee Line to London Bridge. A soupçon of jazz.
Anthony Flinn is a bit of a food legend in Leeds. His impressive CV includes a two year stint under Ferran Adrià at the world’s “best” restaurant, El Bulli. Flinn’s own flagship restaurant, Anthony’s, is perpetually tipped for a Michelin star. His latest project, Piazza, opened in late 2008, is situated in one of the most impressive, historically beautiful buildings in the North of England – Leeds Corn Exchange. Anthony’s footprint includes an impressive 125 seater brasserie, a patisserie, bakery, chocolatier and delicatessen. Wine, however, is another science.
My opening exchange with the waitress: Gevrey Chambertin Domaine Heresztyn 2005 please – what temperature would you serve that? “About two above room”. Ouch, no WART awards here. Please can I have an ice bucket? “Yes sir, no problem.” Things are starting to improve already. After all, the wine list looks well thought out, and superbly priced, and the menu looks bistro chic.
Christmas day. Partridge on the menu. Well it has to be more exciting than turkey, and we don’t even own a pear tree.
Searching for a wine match, I figured a mature Grand Cru Burgundy should fit the bill. This Domaine Armand Rousseau Charmes-Chambertin is way beyond the top end of my normal wine budget at about £90 per bottle but it IS Christmas so I am happy to splash out. Is it worth the huge wonga though? In a single word, erm, not on your bastard nellie. I would rather have a threesome with two multi-tongued Ood than fork out the price of a brace of afternoon teas at The Ritz to end up with a limp biscuit.
Last time I tried this wine, there was a hint of cabbage on the nose, this time too. Fortunately, the taste is a bit more refined: Quince jelly with some orange blossom, but still a bit tart really. I can think of a large number of Pinot Noirs from Burgundy and New Zealand, for example, that would blow the socks off this wine at about 20% of the price.
Merry Christmas, anyway. I am going back to my Fortnum & Mason 2000 vintage champagne which is very moreish and goes very well with Dr Who (David Tennant) and the Master (John Simm). Will the Master Race take over the world? Not on your bastard nellie! Can’t wait for the NY Day episode!
Stumble It!