Great Grapes

Wine down under

2012-01-04T09:43:00.000-08:00

After three flights, 25 hours in the air, 11 hours of layovers and four airports I'm finally back in the UK! Australia and New Zealand really are a long, long, long way away!

Along with some great sights, this trip also provided the opportunity to visit two new wine regions: The Hunter Valley, just outside of Sydney, and Marlborough, near Blenheim.

The Hunter Valley was not quite as I expected. In many ways it's overshadowed by its wine making neighbours in South Australia. Many of the wineries we visited were pouring mainly South Australian wines, with perhaps one local exception thrown in. Only one of our tastings was exclusively local and we found out after enjoying the wines that the winery had been sold to a Chinese owner who was intending to export all the production! Bar a select few, the reds from this region were not to my taste. To use a term coined by Ravenswood, I found them a little wimpy. It was the whites that shone and I was glad to note more restraint in the use of oak.

Marlborough was smaller than I expected. The vineyards sit happily beside a couple of main roads that run from the west to the east and into the sleepy little town of Blenheim. Perhaps the people here don't think it's sleepy, but compared to London, San Francisco and Sydney that's the only way I can describe it. The hills rise up around the valley and the whole region sits happily creating Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. It's the exceptions to these varieties that I found interesting though - particularly the Bordeaux varieties of TerraVin.

All in all, a great trip!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas is a great time of year to eat, drink and relax with the family. It's also a great time of year to share your favourite wines. This year, as we're in New Zealand, we'll be drinking the best the Kiwis have to offer.

Our wine extravaganza starts with traditional method Villa Maria sparkling wine (perhaps with a hint of orange juice) for breakfast; TerraVin Pinot Noir and TerraVin Cabernet-Merlot-Malbec are on the menu to complement the Christmas dinner fare and finally a lovely Villa Maria Botrytis Riesling with dessert.

What will you be drinking today?

Marlborough's not just Sav Blanc

2011-12-24T09:30:00.000-08:00

This week I've been in Marlborough, a province on the north-east corner of New Zealand's North Island. Famed for it's Sauvignon Blanc, the region has a very distinctive style. Some love it, some hate it but whatever the case you can't deny that New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc has rocketed onto the international stage.

Our visit, although in summer, could have been mistaken for the start of an English winter. The mountains that surround the valley were shrouded in ominous-looking grey clouds, the temperature was firmly in the lower single digits, the wind was roaring and the rain was sprinkling here and there. The perfect day, we thought, for a wine tour by bike!

Centred around the Wairau valley, just to the west of Blenheim, vineyards here sprawl along one of two main east-west roads. There are the famous names, like Cloudy Bay; the big international players, like Villa Maria and the small "boutique" wineries. We tried to take a look at all of the above!

After a short 3km cycle our first tasting of the day was at Villa Maria Estate. Here we tried the traditional method sparkling, a Sauvignon Blanc (of course), a Pinot Gris/Gewurtz blend (delicious) as well as Syrah, Malbec and a Botrytis Riesling. As we had a family member who suffered through the picking of the 2011 Botrytis Riesling we particularly enjoyed tasting that!

6.5km later and, slightly tired, we arrived at Terravin. This turned out to be our absolute favourite stop of the day. Located at the edge of the valley, on a hill, Terravin produces a range of whites and reds, but it's their Pinot Noir and Cabernet-Merlot-Malbec blend that stood out for me. I mean Marlborough, producing a Bordeaux blend. Unheard of!

It was 3.7km back to Highfield Estate, where we finally stopped for lunch. Their menu was tasty, if not a little expensive, and we enjoyed their Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir with our lunch.

Our final stop of the day, back near base, was Wither Hills. It's a brand that's exported worldwide (on the shelves of Tesco and Waitrose in the UK) and, to be honest, a little pedestrian compared to some of the other tastings of the day. Don't get me wrong - their wines are well made and show typical, local, character - it's just that some of the smaller "boutique" wineries are making more interesting wines.

At the day's end, with 23km cycled, we settled back into our cottage on the Walnut Block vineyard and enjoyed the spoils of our day. Marlborough truly is more than Sauvignon Blanc.

Hunter Valley: on the hit list

2011-12-17T09:30:00.000-08:00

I've been in Australia this week, and in particular Sydney, which provided a great base to get out and visit one of Australia's top wine regions: The Hunter Valley.

In previous trips to the land down under I've managed to get to vineyards in all the regions of South Australia (of which perhaps the Barossa Valley is most famous… and Padthaway the least?) as well as the wine lands of Victoria- from The Yarra Valley to the Mornington Peninsula. The two big names which remained on the bucket list were Western Australia, and in particular Margaret River, and the Hunter Valley, which stood before us now. Australia was the country that first got me hooked on wine, and it was an exciting prospect to be exploring a new part of it.

Located 100 miles (150 km) north of Sydney the Hunter Valley is famed for its Shiraz, Australia's calling-card, and Semillion, for which the region regularly wins awards. Having said that the region actually produces more Chardonnay these days, following some successful experimentation by Penfolds.

The Hunter Valley is actually one of Australia's hottest and wettest regions- it's basically sub-tropical, but is cooled by winds from the Pacific Ocean that are funnelled by the mountains. Without the influence of this geography the region would likely not be a well-known wine producer.

As for the wines- although it is hard to generalise, the Shiraz is generally earthy, savoury and reminiscent of the Rhone whereas the Semillion tends to be crisp with great citrus character. Worth a try if you're looking for a new take on Aussie classics! As for the wineries we visited and wine we tasted- stay tuned!

Aureole and the wine tower

2011-12-10T09:30:00.000-08:00

Lots of restaurants excel when it comes to wine, but Aureole takes it to a whole new level. Literally! Located in the Mandalay Bay Resort on the Las Vegas strip the centrepiece to this fine dining restaurant is a 4-story stainless steel and glass wine tower. With a collection of over 50,000 bottles I was able to peruse the wine list on an eWinebook and place my order by clicking the box on this specially modified tablet computer. Once the order has been wirelessly beamed to the staff a "wine angel" dressed in black dons a harness and caribena and uses a "mission impossible" style pulley system to select the appropriate bottle.

Aureole has been a Wine Spectator Grand Award winner since 2000. Their selection is vast when it comes to US wines and "old world" wines, but a little less complete for the "new world." Prices are as you would expect in a top-notch restaurant.

We chose a 2008 Boekenhoutskloof Syrah matched with a duo of beef filet and braised flat iron steak with celery remoulade and pinot noir jus. It was sublime, despite the fact that they recently lost their Michelin star!

The beauty of Sonoma wines

2011-12-04T09:30:00.000-08:00

When it comes to American wine there's only one region that really stands out... the world-famous Napa Valley. It's the region most people outside the USA (and perhaps inside it?) associate with California and its signature variety, Cabernet Sauvignon.

There's a lot more to California though, as I found out whilst working the 2011 harvest in Sonoma, where some awesome (in local vernacular!) wines are ripe for the taking.

You see Napa is flush. Its wines are well known, it's wineries are often modern and gleaming, it's visitor facilities are top-notch, its vineyards and perfectly manicured and its views are breathtaking. The impact, to you and me, is that the prices are high. You didn't think all that glass and metal came for free did you?

That's the beauty of Sonoma. Here, things seem to be slightly different. After all, it's not the list of things above that makes a great wine. The wine doesn't care whether it's being made in a garage, or an industrial estate or a state-of the-art winery (Château Petrus is evidence of that), so it's great grapes and great wine makers that make the difference.

When it comes to grapes, Sonoma has thirteen different American Viticultural Areas (AVAs). They range from mountains to coasts with everything from cool to warm to arid. Sonoma also has a good number of historic vineyards, producing fruit from vines planted more than 100 years ago. They work with Pinot Noit, sure, but also with fruit that is not necessarily in favour today, like Zinfandel and a host of Rhone varieties. My personal experience of the wine makers is that they are generally grounded. Some take on the challenge of these difficult varieties and, after obtaining 93+ for their wines from Robert Parker, go on to charge just over forty-bucks for them (Carlisle). Sure it was Zinfandel, not Cabernet Sauvignon, but it was no less of a wine.

For me, that's where Sonoma comes in to its own: different wines that are every bit as good as Napa, at a fraction of the price.

Working the numbers

2011-12-02T21:26:00.001-08:00

Has the 100-point wine score had its day? Bill St. John of the Chicago Tribune thinks so. He's quite right when he says that "a "90" sells a wine out — out, outright and out of stock — while an "89" does not. An "89," in fact, now counts as a negative." I've seen that myself- working in the industry we didn't publish scores if they were lower than 90 points. Scores are simply one critic's point of view. And, when the critic is based in the country they review, we can generally take a couple of points off the score to account for their bias. All of this means that those 85+ point wines might be worth considering. Indeed, you might even prefer them!

Scoring wine: What's the point?
Chicago Tribune

The push for fine aussie wine

2011-11-29T21:40:00.001-08:00

It seems the Aussies are finally tired of their "bargain-basement" 3-for-a-tenner wine reputation in the UK, and are making moves to improve it. Treasury Wine Estates, previously part of Fosters, has plans to make around 200 premium Aussie wines available in the UK, some of which have never been stocked before. Moving the price point above £15 a bottle will be a challenge, but I'm willing to do my part!

Treasury targets top end with fine wine unit
Harpers Wine & Spirit

The (sweet) smells of the winery

2011-11-26T09:30:00.000-08:00

Wineries smell great, right? Like wine? Well, sometimes....

It's true, wineries can often smell nice when there's a good tank on the go. Not only can the air be full of but there are other great smells to be had too.

Alcohol, for example. Wine makers use sprinklers to circulate wine in a tank and blow alcohol off into the air. It doesn't reduce the alcohol a lot, but a little gets aerosolised. Stand for too long by a sprinkler and you might begin to feel like you've had a heavy night out!

Then, there's the Carbon Dioxide. Fermenting tanks produce it in spades. You get a big burst of it when you take the lid off a tank and, if your face happens to be right by the opening, breathing it in is unavoidable. The smell is slightly sour, but the slightly light-headed effect can be pleasant!

Then there are the not so nice smells and, to be honest, these outweigh the nice smells in my experience because they can be vile and tend to persist! The least nasty is VA (Volatile Acidity). It generally smells like vinegar or nail varnish remover and is produced in the early stages of fermentation by some natural yeasts. This usually goes away with some minor work, bur if it doest something more serious (like Brett) may be afoot.

The true killer is the "barnyard" smell.... and that really is putting it nicely. In all honesty it smells like rotting vegetables and, well, s**t. It permeates the winery and seemingly gives you a new whiff around every corner. This is usually caused reduced sulphur compounds, which can be present for a variety of reasons (I won't bore you with those, but in case you're interested here's a good overview.) Suffice to say, it's not nice. It can also have a detrimental impact on the wine itself, so is ideally avoided. If not only for the benefit of employees!

So, there you go. Wineries don't always smell as nice as you might expect!

IWSC International Winemaker of the Year

2011-11-20T22:51:00.001-08:00

Six or so years ago I found myself tasting McGuigan wines at their French-inspired Château in the Barossa Valley. I really wasn't impressed. So much so that I didn't even bother to write up the tasting notes. Indeed I had all but forgot about my visit until I saw the news that McGuigan had been named International Winemaker of the Year by the IWSC, for the second year in a row! Perhaps it's time to give them a second chance!

Hunter winemaker wins top international award
ABC News

A new respect for Zinfandel

2011-11-19T09:30:00.000-08:00

Working the harvest in California this year has given me a new respect… for Zinfandel! Many in the industry, especially in retail, consider it a "bad" variety. Maybe because it's infamous for those "blush" White Zinfandel wines that no one admits to buying. Or perhaps it's the naturally higher sugar, which results in higher alcohol wines. The "high alcohol wine police" are always looking for a good target. Whatever the case, I think it has a bad wrap.

Zinfandel is thought to have originated on the boarders of Europe and Asia around 6000BC. It quickly spread across Europe, with the most notable plantings in Croatia, where it's known as Crljenak Kaštelanski, and Italy, where it's called Primitivo.

It the gold rush that bought the variety to California and, despite a run in with Prohibition, some of the original vineyards survive today. Many of these are protected by the Historic Vineyard Society and provide fruit for winemakers looking for a challenge.

It really is a challenge too, as Zinfandel is difficult to grow and make into good wine. In the vineyard it's very prone to rot, which means yields can be low (or zero!) depending on the weather. On top of that the clusters ripen very unevenly- I've seen raisins and green berries in the same bunch! Wine makers do their best to remove most of the undesirable features, but they still end up with a high-sugar must and that can cause problems with stuck fermentations if the high alcohol levels kill the yeast.

For such an intensive variety, Zinfandel isn't even able to command good returns. It isn't Napa Cabernet Sauvignon after all, so it doesn't come close to those prices. They manage 50-60 bucks at the very top end if they're lucky.

All of this means that you have to be in it for the challenge, or the love of it. Sure, there are plenty of bad Zinfandels, but the well made ones are well worth searching out.

Penfolds costs a pretty penny

2011-11-16T21:09:00.001-08:00

Penfolds is setting a new price record with its most recent wine release, the 2008 Bin 620 Cabernet-Shiraz. Made with fruit from some special blocks in Coonawarra, this wine is a blend of 51% Cabernet Sauvignon and 49% Shiraz. At £750 a bottle it's more expensive than most of the 2010 Bordeaux stable, so one for only the most serious (wealthy!) Penfolds fans. We'll be in Sydney in a month or so, so I'll be on the look out for by-the-glass sales!

Penfolds releases first Bin 620 for half a century
Decanter.com

Pouring over the paper

2011-11-14T00:00:00.000-08:00

Drinking wine out of paper bags is no longer the preserve of tramps and bums, thanks to a new British invention. The paper wine bottle will apparently be making an appearance on UK supermarket shelves in 2012 after the success of its baby brother- the paper milk bottle. It all sounds very green, but I have a feeling wine consumers will see red:

First came the plastic cork, now get ready for the paper wine bottle
The Observer

The grapes with wrath

2011-11-13T11:00:00.000-08:00

As 2011 wines are being barrelled-down throughout Northern California, ready for their time in oak, I came around to thinking about the grapes that didn't make it into this years wines. This harvest I have personally seen more than 100 tonnes of grapes pass beneath my hands on the sorting table and, for many reasons, some of the clusters never made it into the wine.

All wineries have different perspectives on what to remove whilst sorting, but a good rule of thumb is "if you wouldn't eat it, chuck it." This would usually include rot, as it can really impact the character of the wine; bird damage, as bunches that have been pecked to death really don't look appetising and sun burn. Then there are the undesirables, based on the wine makers preferences: water berries, which have no discernible character, and can be recognised by their light colour; small second growth clusters attached to the main cluster, which have less character and raisins, which are usually removed for Pinot Noir but almost impossible to remove from Zinfandel due to the uneven ripening.

As an agricultural product, grapes also tend to bring other foreign matter with them into the winery. Depending on the skill of the harvest crew, and whether the pick was during the day or night, leaves and pieces of the plant are commonly found. Pieces of other plants, presumably surrounding the vineyard as well as rocks and stones are also pulled out.

Then there's the fauna that comes along for the ride. Wasps and bees usually escape by themselves as the grapes are processed, but I have personally pulled earwigs (there were lots this year!), grasshoppers, a praying mantis and a baby frog from the line. Although I never found anything in my tanks, one of my colleagues had a lizard that wasn't so lucky.

Finally, there's the plain weird. For me this included a number of small bird bones in a Pinot Noir sort (no wing sauce on these, so presumably not the picker's lunch) and quite a bit of fishing line in a Zinfandel sort.

In summing up I would like to remind readers that, in general, it's only red grapes that are sorted. Whites go straight to press. If you needed a reason to give up white wine, this would be it!

California's 2011 harvest comes to a close

2011-11-08T09:38:00.000-08:00

As the 2011 harvest draws to a close, and the weather in Northern California takes a significant cold turn, I wanted to write a little bit about the harvest and take a look back at my expectations when starting my wine making internship. How close did I call it?

Although only two months have passed I feel like I've gained a lifetime of experiences. Working 14 hour days, 6 days a week, helps gain familiarity quickly! The harvest, according to many, was a strange one. It was a harvest of peaks and lulls. More specifically two real peaks.

The first peak, in early October, saw grapes picked in order to beat the early season rains. For many varieties, the sugars were already good. For others, they needed more time. Who would have ever thought that California would have problems ripening?

The rains came and went and the interim period was filled with picks of necessity. Grapes coming in were starting to rot and nervous farmers were picking in order to avoid loosing the whole crop.

For those that waited, and avoided the rot, the weather improved and was generally dry and sunny through the end of October. That's where we saw the second peak, a couple of weeks ago, before the rain started again. For most the grapes are now sitting in tank at various stages of fermentation and a period of well earned rest can begin!

In terms of my expectations:

1. Given the location, in the Sonoma Valley, I think we'll be handling mainly Chardonnay (which will come in first), Pinot Noir and Syrah. This was partly true. The Chardonnay and Pinot Noir did come in first. The interesting part was that grapes were trucked to the winery from all over the region. From as far away as Paso Robles. That means that we saw Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel and a host of other varieties.

2. Hours will be long and sometimes unsociable. I'm guessing early mornings, late nights and weekends come as part of the package. Wine waits for no man! So, so true!

3. I think there'll be plenty of hard, manual, work. I'm not adverse to that as I like to avoid the gym! Again, very true, but it was the punch downs (pushing the cap of grape skins that forms during fermentation back into the tank) that were unexpectedly hard. For big tanks you'd need a platform, a harness and a 6ft stainless steel punch down device with a small circular end. You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to break the cap in some (bigger) tanks. When you do this 30 times a day, that's a real arm workout!

4. I expect it to be hot, cold, wet and dirty. Hopefully not all at the same time! The hot/cold swings were sometimes extreme - especially as winter drew in. The winery would be cold, but standing over a fermenting tank doing a punch down would always get you sweating! I was wet most of the time. With all the wine and cleaning, I found it impossible to stay dry. Wet feet were the worst!

5. I expect plenty of tedious jobs, including cleaning and preparing, which are par for the course. Absolutely true. Someone once told me that wine making was a series of uncoiling, coiling and avoiding hoses and wires. Never has a truer word been spoken! It was the set-up and break-down of each task that took the longest.

What didn't I expect? Well, the science surprised me. You think of grapes as just fermented grape juice, but that is really not the case. The wine get analysed on multiple occasions and various adjustments are made throughout the process. Although grapes are covered in yeast, commercial strains are often added for fermentation. Acid, nitrogen and fermentation aids are common. Chemicals and gases, some of them dangerous, are used regularly. Water is sometimes added, or taken away.

Water usage also surprised me. It seems that no matter what you're doing in the winery, it involves water. Usage varies widely, but is strikes me as something we should be looking to reduce in the future.

All in all this wine making internship was a great experience. It was much harder work than I expected, but I wouldn't have changed it for anything. Besides, it'll only take me a few months to recover!

Turning water into wine

2011-10-22T09:44:00.001-07:00

Cleaning, it seems, is at the heart of all good wine making. Contamination is the enemy... after all you don't want stray yeast jumping from part-made wine to juice and starting fermentation early or, worse, some other undesirable infection caused by dirty bins, tanks, pumps, barrels or equipment.

All of this means that everything that comes into contact with any part of the wine making process is sanitised time and time again.

At the winery I'm working at everything is sanitised through one of four main methods:

1. A multi-step chemical and water rinsing process,
2. Ozone water,
3. Steam,
4. High-proof alcohol.

Which is used when is a matter of choice, but what most of these processes have in common is the use of lots of water.

Add to that the water used to heat tanks and start fermentation (which goes through the jacket once then goes straight down the drain) as well as the water actually added to wine, legal in California, and you're talking about some serious water bills!

Wine Institute research shows that the figures vary widely, but that on average it takes around 6 gallons (23 litres) of water to make 1 gallon (4 litres) of wine. Some, aggressively water conscious wineries, manage 1.5 gallons (6 litres) of water per gallon of wine whereas other not so conscious wineries come in at a whopping 20 gallons (67 litres) of water per gallon of wine.

Water may just come out of the tap, but it's a precious resource. Maybe it's time for wineries to start labelling bottles with their water usage? And perhaps even with other "green" credentials.

To barrel or not to barrel?

2011-10-15T11:50:00.001-07:00

That is the wine making question! When it comes to barrels though one thing is for sure: wine makers are very fussy. Just like politics, there are many schools of thought on how to do things.

First off it's worth saying that some wines don't ever see a barrel. Fruity, early drinking reds like Beaujolais and many whites are made in neutral fermentation tanks and go straight to bottle.

For those wines that do see oak, the wine maker is usually looking for the barrel to impart additional characters (like tannins, vanilla and toast) whilst the wine matures. As wine matures it generally mellows out a bit too and becomes smoother and softer.

When it comes to the barrel itself, the first decision is which country to buy them from. France, as you might expect, is top of the list. Their wood is exported to all the wine making regions of the world. Their barrels are known to impart delicate characters, but at around eight hundred bucks each they're not cheap.

The people who gave us metric time also gave us options when it comes to using French oak. Along with a myriad of different producers (coopers) there are two main types of barrel: those that originate in Bordeaux (220 litres) and those from Burgundy (230 litres). *These sizes in litres based on US gallon conversions, please see correction below!

American oak is the next most common. It's cheaper and known for imparting more intense characters. Other countries, like Hungary, also produce oak barrels but they're a far smaller player.

Whilst new oak barrels can add a lot of character to the wine inside, old oak does almost the opposite. It's almost neutral.

Care routines for old barrels vary widely. Some wine makers like to leave them well alone- only rinsing between uses. Most like barrels to be steamed between uses to kill all the nasties inside. Others use ozone water for the same purpose. Sulphur gas is then pumped inside whilst in storage to make sure nothing grows. Just before they're filled, barrels are usually steamed and rinsed again.

Wine makers commonly split a tank of wine between a variety of old and new barrels, to let different characters develop, eventually blending them together in the final wine.

Consumer views on barrels are also divided. Some don't like the big tannic wines that result, others (including me it has to be said) do. One thing's for sure though... the use of barrels in wine making is not set to change any time soon!

Wine science

2011-10-08T09:00:00.001-07:00

If you asked most people how wine is made I think they'd probably say that it's just fermented grape juice. This natural image couldn't really be further than the truth. Wine making these days is all about science... and chemistry.

As soon as grapes arrive to the winery they're treated with sulphur. This essentially helps to kill off anything bad before the cold soak and subsequent fermentation take place.

As the cold soak comes to an end a sample is sent to the lab for a "juice panel", like something out of ER. The results come back within 24 hours and, like a nervous patient, the wine maker takes a look to see what the damage is. Included in the juice panel are measurements of acids, sugars and nitrogen. As a result of the numbers we might add acid (common in warmer climates) or water to dilute the sugar.

After fermentation is started, with commercial or indigenous yeast, it is maintained through additions. As I mentioned last time- you've got to keep those yeast happy!

Fermentation aids, yeast nutrients, nitrogen (which can be from organic or inorganic sources) and air are all common. These are usually added until the Brix (a sugar measurement) is under 5. At this point the yeast are almost done eating up all the sugar and don't need further care.

When juice comes into the winery the Brix is (depending on the variety) in the low to mid twenties. After fermentation is finished it's -1 or less. At this point, it's time to barrel down.

Getting the fermentation party started

2011-10-06T08:46:00.001-07:00

Harvest went into overdrive last weekend as growers rushed to pick grapes before the rain, which went on to pour down like an English summer day!

There was indeed plenty of rot to pick out on the sorting line and I'm sure many crops would have been lost if they hadn't made the decision to pick.

Regardless the grapes are now safely in tank and as I write this post (on my iPhone) I'm at the top of a ladder pumping over a tank of Zinfandel juice... the only free time I get these days!

Today I'll be inoculating this tank of Zinfandel and it'll be on its way through fermentation. You essentially have two choices when fermenting: natural yeast (the powdery white substance on grape skins) or commercial strains.

Using natural yeast can be risky. It's more likely to give rise to volatile acidity (a kind of vinegar smell) as some natural strains produce it as a byproduct. It's also more likely to end in a stuck fermentation. The benefit though is that the wine at the end can be more interesting than that produced with commercial yeast. In our case, when lots are big enough, they can be split between two tanks and ferment them both ways.

When using commercial yeast you can pick the best one for the variety you're using. For example, Zinfandel needs yeast tolerant of high alcohol. Manufacturers also have yeasts that claim to do other things, like enhance the blackberry character, but the wine makers I've spoken to are generally skeptical!

Commercial yeast usually comes in dried form and requires a very specific "build up" to be rehydrated before you can add it to the tank. You start with yeast in warm water then add juice slowly until the temperature is within a few degrees of the tank. You have to treat yeast right or they won't perform!

Whether using natural or commercial yeast the key to getting the fermentation started is heat- usually provided through a jacket around the tank. After that you sit back and wait whilst the yeast does its thing: turning sugar to alcohol and giving off a whole heap of carbon dioxide in the process.

Next time I'm going to try and write a piece on additions. Cheers!

The wine making begins

2011-09-25T08:30:00.000-07:00

After a pretty slow start to the 2011 harvest, the trickle of grapes began to turn into a torrent this week as we saw plenty of Pinot Noir and Zinfandel coming across the sorting table. We're not sure yet if this wine making season will be hectic and compressed, like 2010, or extending into December. Either way it was nice to be getting started on the work we all came here to be a part of.

The grapes generally arrive in half-ton plastic bins, sometimes on the back of a pick-up, sometimes on a regular truck and their first stop is the weigh scales.

Whites generally go straight into the europress (although we have sorted some) and get pressed on a pre set program up to around 2 bar of pressure. Sometimes the wine maker will take all the juice that's there, whilst other (more discerning?) wine makers keep pressing until they don't like the taste of the juice any more. The juice is then left in a stainless steel tank to settle before being moved into another vessel to ferment. The nice thing, in my mind at least, about sorting the grapes is that you can remove the undesirable elements (bugs, insects, leaves, twigs, mould etc) before pressing. Most whites are made unsorted though and it doesn't seem to greatly impact the taste of the final wine.

Reds on the other hand go across the sorting table and into the crusher de-stemmer. This nifty piece of (probably very expensive) equipment removes the stalks and breaks the skin of the grapes slightly to start releasing the juice. The berries that come out go across a vibrating table with variable sizes slats which allow other debris, unripe berries and raisins to fall through. The berries are then put into a stainless steel tank where they sit for a while (how long is really up to the wine maker) for a few days to cold soak. This lets the juice come out of the grapes and pick up the deep red colour of the skins and tannins from the seeds.

During the cold soak the juice and berries are "punched down" or "pumped over" in order to keep the whole thing mixing up. Brix (a measurement of sugar in the juice) and temperature are regularly measured in order to monitor progress. The Brix will go up sharply to begin with, but once it plateaus out it's probably time to start the fermentation. You'll have to wait until next week for that though.

Cheers!

Out and about in the vineyards of Sonoma

2011-09-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

This week, along with the usual preparations for harvest, I got to accompany my winemaker and another intern into the vineyards. It all started around 8.30 on Wednesday when we piled into the winemaker's Subaru and headed for the hills!

The first stop of the day was Steiner Ranch, which sits exactly on the boundary of the Bennett Valley and Sonoma Mountain AVAs. It was a beautiful spot. Grapes are sourced from two plots here: one planted with Steep Hillside Grüner Veltliner, one of the very few plantings of the variety in California, and the other with two different early ripening clones of Syrah. The grapes hanging on these vines looked good, but they're still a way off being ripened to perfection in this cooler climate location.

Next stop was Rossi Ranch in the Sonoma Valley AVA. The winemaker thinks his "best" Grenache from here, although not this year as fruit set less successful than normal due to a cool start to the season. Grenache is, it seems, a bit of a pain to grow. Some Mourvedre and younger vine Zin for some of the blends also comes from here, and was looking great in the glorious California sunshine

Bedrock Vineyard, in the Sonoma Valley, was our third stop of the day. Originally named Madrone, like the road it sits off of, this vineyard was planted in the 1850s and replanted in the 1880s (post phylloxera). We have two blocks of old vine Zin here as well as a block of Mourvedre. The vineyard is owned by Joel Peterson, who bought it after selling Ravenswood to Constellation. Here we did some berry sampling to check the pH (acid) and brix (sugar) content of a random selection of berries. Berries were picked from the top, middle and bottom of clusters every 10 paces apart up and down a number of randomly selected rows. Back in the lab the berries were crushed up for the readings. As you would expect, they currently show the grapes aren't ripe!

The final stop of the morning was Monte Rosso in the Sonoma Valley AVA. That's quite odd when you see this vineyard because it's basically on top of a mountain - over 1000 feet up! This vineyard is owned by Gallo who came to acquire when they bought the Martini winery. Here we taks old vine Zin (which we sampled) and Sémillon (some of which was ripe and delicious!)

Our final stop of the trip was a new grower, Rowe vineyard. Here we found gnarly old vine Zin planted in 1906 with the occasional Petite Sirah plant mixed in. There were a good few clusters on the ground in this vineyard as it looked like botrytis (a type of rot, which interestingly is desirable if you're making some sweet wines) had set in. One of the issues with Zin, I found out, was that it doesn't ripen very evenly.

All in all a great day with some very interesting insights into the farming side of wine making.

First fruit

2011-09-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

This week saw our very first fruit arrive. The air was filled with anticipation all morning as we waited for just 4 tons of Napa Sauvignon Blanc. The excitement of watching the first crush was soon over. After just 30 minutes all of the fruit had gone into the europress, the free run was safely in tank and the pressed juice was barrelled in stainless steel.

This week's training fit nicely in between periods of full on activity: cleaning and steaming barrels. We walked through the process of breaking down - breaking a full barrel of wine to top up others and putting the remainder into a stainless steel keg ready for the next top up. Lots of finicky instruments involved as well as compressed gas, but it looks pretty doable. I just need to remember not to explode the barrel!

Barrelling down - moving wine from tanks into barrels - is kind of the reverse process and uses a pump. This time the warning was to ensure the tank is always vented... otherwise it will implode!

Chemicals were also covered this week. Everything from inert gases to probably the most dangerous chemical in the winery - Sulphur. Sulphur is used is its gaseous form (SO2) to ensure mould and bacteria do not grow inside empty barrels. In its liquid form (SO3) Sulphur is added to barrels full of wine to kill yeast and bacteria and also prevent oxidation. This is why most wine "contains Sulphites". Sulphuring barrels requires the use of a breathing mask, as Sulphur is really not good for you. With my mask on I look like something out of a World War II movie!

This week ended with intern beers at the Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa where we enjoyed the rather aptly named beer "It takes a lot of great beer to make great wine" ... truer words were never spoken!

Wine Making 101

2011-09-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

So that's it... my first week as a harvest intern is over and I have a lovely long weekend to recover. Boy do I need it. I haven't been on my feet all day and all week for a long time. I'm more used to a comfy chair at an ergonomic desk in an air conditioned office! What I've signed myself up for at Copain Custom Crush is a very different deal indeed, but I couldn't be more pleased with my choice.

Week one was exciting. I've learnt how to perform many day-to-day wine making tasks (like steaming barrels, pumping over, spraying the cap, punching down and taking measurements) that until now I've only read about. All be it with water and other practice materials. No wine wasted here! Doing some of these things for real the first time will definitely be scary - I'm thinking especially of standing 15 ft above the ground on a platform in a harness punching down the cap in a bubbling tank or perhaps driving the forklift with a load of grapes, or wine, or barrels or all those things.

The one thing they don't tell you about wine making though is that you're going to become an expert cleaner! Cleaning, it seems, is at the heart of all good wine making. Everything that comes into contact with any part of the wine making process (from bins which hold grapes to hoses, valves and pumps) are sanitised time and time again. This could be through boiling hot steam, a multi-step chemical and water process or a high-proof alcohol solution, but the secret ingredient is always the same... a little elbow grease.

At least I won't need to go for the gym for the next few months!

Working the California Harvest

2011-08-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

I start a new adventure tomorrow, working the 2011 harvest at Copain Custom Crush. This will be my first harvest in California, actually anywhere, and I'm excited to learn the ins and outs of a process I've only ever been on the end of.

My understanding of what Copain Custom Crush does is fairly high level at this stage. Like the famous Crushpad, they provide winery services to clients who do not have their own facilities, or who have simply run out of room. Copain can do everything, including: sorting, pressing, fermentation, labs, additions, punch downs, pump overs, barrels and bottling.

At the outset of this internship I'm listing my expectations... it'll be interesting to see how close I come:

Given the location, in the Sonoma Valley, I think we'll be handling mainly Chardonnay (which will come in first), Pinot Noir and Syrah.
Hours will be long and sometimes unsociable. I'm guessing early mornings, late nights and weekends come as part of the package. Wine waits for no man!
I think there'll be plenty of hard, manual, work. I'm not adverse to that as I like to avoid the gym!
I expect it to be hot, cold, wet and dirty. Hopefully not all at the same time!
I expect plenty of tedious jobs, including cleaning and preparing, which are par for the course.

Most of all though I expect plenty of great experiences, some great people and a whole lot of fun.

As we go into Monday I am excited, nervous and cautiously optimistic!

The wine leaderboard, 2011

2011-08-27T08:30:00.000-07:00

Back in February 2010 I spent some time analysing my CellarTracker tasting notes, or more specifically my scores, to find which country came out on top. That is to say, to which county I had allocated the highest average score.

My results showed a definite favour for the Americas, with Argentina topping the leader board, the USA taking the number two spot and Chile bringing home bronze.

Having lived in the US for the past two years, and spent time in the major wine regions of Argentina, I wondered how the rankings had changed… it was time to dust off the spreadsheet and crunch some numbers!

The results were interesting to say the least. The two countries whose wine I have had the most experience of recently have gone down in my estimations - Argentina by a massive 10 places. The home I left behind is a new entry and Spain was kicked off the list entirely:

1. Chile (86.21) -- UP 2
2. New Zealand (85.64) -- UP 2
3. USA (85.62) -- DOWN 1
4. Portugal (85.6) -- UP 1
5. Australia (84.52) -- UP 1
6. South Africa (83.86) -- UP 3
7. England (82.63) -- NEW ENTRY
8. Italy (82.52) -- UP 2
9. France (82.27) -- DOWN 2
10. Argentina (81.79) -- DOWN 10

Perhaps what they say in Argentina is true… they make different wines for the local market and their "best" wines are all exported. Norton Privada for instance, which is highly rated internationally, is not sold in Argentina. As for the USA, I think that's down to the sheer number of Californian wines I'm able to try these days. Many of the "value" picks leave a lot to be desired.

As for the scores themselves - I tend to be a harsh critic, but I think it's an English interpretation of the the wording used in the 100-point scale. It takes a lot for me to rate a wine "Extraordinary" or "Outstanding." In this context Chile's 86.21, in the "Very Good to Excellent" range is a good result. Even Argentina's 81.79 puts it firmly in "Good." After all, there's a lot of "Average" wine out there. Cheers!

Hot and bothered about wine temps

2011-08-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted to ask for an ice bucket to try and cool down some vino that's almost as hot as the food you're eating? Or maybe even [dare I say] ten minutes in the microwave to warm up a freezing bottle?

Wine serving temperatures are important because wine tastes its best when served at the right temperature. You wouldn't serve a warm beer, so why do we let warm wine go?

Warm wine at restaurants, especially red, has to make you wonder if they're even storing the wine properly. Does the bottle you're paying over the odds for sit in a daily cycle of heating and cooling? If so, it's not likely to be at its best. Time to make a stand and send it back.

And in case you were wondering - here is greatgrapes guide to the perfect serving temperatures:

What's your beef… Part II

2011-08-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

I think it's clear to most who eat the beefy treat that nothing enhances the eating experience more than a lovely glass of red wine. And perhaps a dab of béarnaise sauce!

Back in December 2009 I wrote a post about my top five steak and wine matches and I thought it was time for an update:

USDA Prime Filet Mignon at III Forks in Houtson with Bonny Doon Syrah. At almost forty bucks its definitely not cheap, but the 12oz is only $7 more than the 8oz, so that's a no brainer! The steak here is the best I've had in the US. Midwest beef broiled to the perfect medium rare temperature.

2005 Bonny Doon Syrah
One of the more reasonably priced picks on the menu, this Syrah showed restrained French, as opposed to bold Aussie, characteristics. On the nose I found subtle plum and savoury capsicum characters with a little white pepper. The palate was rich and full - red fruit, subtle spice, vanilla and a hint of oak.

Lomo (filet) at Cabaña Las Lilas in Buenos Aires, reportedly one of the best steak houses in the country, with El Porvenir Syrah.

2004 El Porvenir Syrah
I have particularly enjoyed El Porvenir Bordeaux blends before but had never seen a Syrah. It didn't disappoint. Lovely full-bodied black berry and cracked black pepper characters with plenty of toasty oak and fine grained tannins.

Filet Mignon with a tarragon-mustard beurre blanc at Alexander's Steak House, a michelin starred eatery in Cupertino, with Salentein Malbec.

2005 Bodegas Salentein Primus Malbec
Made from 100% Malbec grown in the high climbs of the Uco Valley this wine was aged for 19 months in French oak then for a further 12 months in bottle. The resulting wine is dense, intense and with great structure. Black in colour I found blackberry, clove and mocha characters on the nose. The palate is full bodied and delicious. Sweet tannins from the French oak frame the pepper and spice. Good acidity and lovely long finish.

What's your favourite combo?

The Wine Century Club

2011-08-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

Ever thought you'd run out of new wines to try? The Wine Century Club's challenge to taste 100, 200, 300 or even 400 different varieties might give your wine tasting a new lease of life!

Run completely on the honour system, the Wine Century Club allows anyone to download a membership form and check off all the varieties they have tasted, including space for notes if you wish. Only 3% of applications downloaded are ever completed, so it sounds like it might be harder than it seems.

I think this is a great way to explore new wines and I for one intend to try for the century! Looking over my CellarTracker tasting notes I reckon I'm about 75% of the way there, so it's obscure varieties from here on out!

You'll find the application forms here. And in the words of the club, if you lie on your application "may the wrath of Bacchus curse your palate!" Enjoy!

Discover South Africa with Boekenhoutskloof

2011-08-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

Founded in 1776, Boekenhoutskloof is situated in the foothills around the picturesque town of Franschhoek, about an hour northeast of Cape Town. Restored in 1993 by owner and winemakervMarc Kent, they undertook a programme of re-planting as soon as they moved in.

Boekenhoutskloof first became a prominent force in Cape wine making with its acclaimed 1997 Syrah. Today they are one of the Cape's leading producers who make some outstanding wines.

Their flagship range, indicated by the seven chairs, includes Semillion, Cabernet Sauvignon and of course a Syrah:

2004 Boekenhoutskloof Syrah
Made from 100% Syrah from the Wellington vineyard, this wine went into used French oak barrique of varying ages for fermentation and maturation. Deep purple in colour I found dried fruit, spice and pepper on the nose. The palate is savoury, displays some mineral qualities and has a lush, mouth-filling silkiness. Fruit and wood are balanced in harmony. Well integrated tannins. Great elegance. Excellent.

They also produce a premium blend called "The Chocolate Block" (for obvious reasons if you ever get a taste!) made from an annually changing blend of Syrah, Grenache Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault and Viognier. This is one of my favourites:

2003 Boekenhoutskloof The Chocolate Block
Deep purple in colour this wine, as it suggests, has mocha, espresso, dark chocolate and a hint of spice on the nose. The palate is rich and full with abundant juicy fruit, vanilla, oak and ripe tannins. Mouth filling and delicious.

Their third label, Porcupine Ride, includes a value range of great tasting Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Syrah/Viognier, Viognier and Sauvignon Blanc:

2007 Boekenhoutskloof Porcupine Ridge Syrah
Deep purple in the glass, I found blackberry, dark cherry and cracked black pepper characters on the nose. The palate was rich, and full (amazingly so for a such a good value wine). I found layered dark berry fruit, spice and that trademark South African smoke and burnt rubber twang.

Finally, their ultra-value range called "The Wolf Trap" makes a red, rose and white blend.

2005 Boekenhoutskloof The Wolftrap
The nose shows spice and savoury vegetal characters, such as capsicum. The Viognier also lends a little purfume. The palate is big and juicy with great red fruit characters, a hint of cigar smoke and a pleasant creaminess. Very drinkable!

Whatever you're looking for it's worth giving Boekenhoutskloof a try!

Wine ratings - friend or foe?

2011-08-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

Have you ever bought a bottle of wine because it was highly scored? Me too. In today's wine world marketing often revolves around points and awards, but do we really understand these systems? And do they help us buy and drink good wine?

First it's important to note that there are different rating systems. They basically break down into the 100 point scale, modelled after the US high school grading system and made famous by Robert Parker; the 20 point scale, from French academia and the star system, with both five and three star models in use. It's probably no surprise that the 100 point scale is more common in the US, whereas the 20 point scale is more common in Europe, although the US scale is very well known. The lack of consistency could make things quite confusing, but luckily Jancis Robinson has put together a really good chart which aligns the systems.

So, what constitutes a good wine? 90+ points, right? Well, that's certainly the view of many wine consumers. Many wine producers and merchants do not publish reviews of wines if they scored under 89 points fearing that the wine buying public will think it's no good. In the 100 point system though the 80-90 point category ranges from above average to very good. It's a shame that many consumers are blinkered by the scores, because there are some great wines in that category.

It's also worth noting that scores are subjective, and one person's opinion. Although critics often agree, there are many instances where Parker will give a mid-nineties score to a wine that Wine Spectator rates in the high-eighties. Score also change and are increased, or decreased, on subsequent tastings. That's why I've always liked the idea of following a critic whose scores you generally agree with.

Wine ratings certainly are a convenient way to make decisions when faced with a buying wines from an expansive selection, but in some cases you may not end up with something you like. Just because it got 98 points doesn't mean it will be to everyone's taste, or that it is ready to drink now.

I think this is where a good wine merchant comes in. Many top stores conduct regular staff tastings, and spend lots of time and money educating their staff. Ratings are a good place to start, but aren't a substitute to explaining what you're looking for to someone who may well have tasted 80% of the wines in the store themselves!

Port isn't all Portugal has to offer!

2011-08-06T08:30:00.000-07:00

When you think of Portuguese wine you probably think of the fortified kind named after the city, Porto, from which Port was exported after making its way down the Douro River by rebelo boat.

There's much more to one of the world's biggest wine exporting countries though. Along with a multitude of styles of Port the Portuguese also produce the white wine known as Vinho Verde, which is gaining popularity in the wine bars of the world for its fresh and vibrant characters. Then there's the island of Madeira and it's special kind of fortified wines, known for their longevity. Indeed I tried a 1890 Madeira just a few months ago which was in fine condition! Finally, more in keeping with modern wine trends, there are the dry red wines.

Although there are a number of regions in Portugal that produce dry red wines, the most famous is the Douro where the traditional Port varieties of Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz are expertly crafted into Portugal's red wine calling card.

One of the great things about these wines, apart from the fact that they're unique and delicious, is that they're relatively unknown so represent great value. Indeed I found this great wine in World Market retailing at half the price of a well respected bay-area wine merchant.

2006 Altano Douro Reserva
From the Symington stable (which includes Port Houses Graham's, Warre, Dow, Smith Woodhouse and Quarles Harris) this wine was made mainly with Touriga Franca. The nose is fruit forward showing red berry fruit and toasty, creamy characters. The palate is medium bodied and well structured. I found savoury coffee and mocha characters as well as a silky tannins and a long smooth finish. Great value for $13!

Time to give Portugal dry reds a try?

Ridge's Jimsomare Ranch Vineyard

2011-07-31T08:30:00.000-07:00

The Jimsomare Ranch Vineyard, located at the bottom of Montebello road in the Santa Cruz Mountains, is well known for it's high quality Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Chardonnay. Although Ridge still make a Jimsomare Chardonnay, they don't currently make specific Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel. Instead this quality fruit is used in their other wines, like the Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet.

In the past Ridge's Cabernet Program used to regularly perform barrel selections of the top Cabernet Sauvignon from this vineyard and release it as a separate wine. This 1992 Ridge Jimsomare Cabernet Sauvignon is one such example. Now almost twenty years on it's try to pop the cork on this little beauty.....

It's intense purple with ruby red edges in the glass. The nose still shows plenty of ripe berry fruit as well as a couple more savoury characters - especially flame-roasted bell pepper an a touch of pepper. The palate is full bodied with lashings of blackberry and liquorice. The long finish shows cigar box, white pepper and spice. This wine has aged beautifully and feels like it still has another ten years in it.

According to the back label: "92 Cabernet, Jimsomare Ranch, bottled April 94. The Jimsomare Ranch on Monte Bello Ridge provides up to seventy-five percent of the grapes for our Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet; its distinctive character dominates that wine. Each year we separate out two or three of the most intense wines from the vineyard and combine them to make a small, one hundred percent Jimsomare bottling for the Cabernet Program. This lovely wine, with its racy, spicy berry fruit and full, chalky tannins will be enjoyable within five years of its vintage. It will develop more fully with an additional five years in the bottle."

Wine marketing to wine making

2011-07-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

Those who read this blog often know that I moved to California at the beginning of this year to gain new experiences in the wine industry. For the past few months I've been working in old, rare and auction wines at K&L Wine Merchants. Working at K&L I got to meet some people who are very passionate about wine. I got to do some exceptional staff tastings and I learnt a lot about buying and auctioning wines. It's a great company, and I enjoyed the experience, but it's time to me to move on!

My next challenge, further North near Santa Rosa, is with Copain Custom Crush. I'm going to be working as an intern for the 2011 crush and I'm hoping to gain some very hands on experience! Copain Custom Crush provides winery services to clients who do not have their own facilities, or who have simply run out of room. After the client sorts their fruit at the provided tables, Copain can do the rest: pressing, Fermentation, labs, additions, punch downs, pump overs, barrels and bottling. Given the location I think it's going to be lots of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah.

I'll let you know how it goes, but first there's a holiday in Michigan to enjoy!

California Carignane

2011-07-24T08:30:00.001-07:00

Originating in Cariñena, southern Spain the Carignan grape is often used in blends to provide deep colour rather than to make a varietal wines. It's generally high in acid and tannic and although Cariñena isn't grown much any more on its home soils of Aragon, the variety has become popular in Priorat where the locals also know it as Mazuelo, Tinto Mazuelo, Crujillon and Samsó.

In France, where it's widely planted in the Languedoc, some of the best examples come from Fitou. The wines are generally earthy, smoky and rustic.

In California, it was once the third most planted variety and mainly used for box or jug wine. Today few vines survive, but some winemakers persist with production of varietal examples. One such winemaker is Randal Grahm of Bonny Doon. His 2008 Carignane Cunning, made from a blend of 61% Carignane and 39% Mourvedre, shows intense purple colour in the glass. The nose shows berry jam, this grape like the warm climbs, and liquorice aromas. The palate is rustic, as I would expect from this varietal, showing mostly earthy, savoury characters. Finishes with a big hit of spice and fresh acidity.

Champion California wines

2011-07-23T08:30:00.001-07:00

I've been living in the US for more than 18 months now, and in the Bay Area for almost six of those. I thought it was about time that I put it out there.... a list of my top five California wines I mean. So, here they are in score order:

2005 Big Basin Vineyards Syrah Fairview Ranch
Made with fruit from the Fairview Ranch Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands this cool climate Syrah is surprisingly concentrated. Deep, dark purple in the glass I found blueberry, blackberry and spice on the nose. The palate is full bodied and rich. I found layers of warm black berry fruit, well integrated oak, soft tannins and long smooth finish. 14.9%, but absolutely delicious! 98 points.

2005 Justin Vineyard Justification
I really enjoyed this wine over Christmas dinner. Made from a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, this wine was dense purple in the glass. The nose shows aromas of raspberries and dried fruit. The palate is very full-bodied, but finely balanced. Red fruit, capsicum, earth characters and well-integrated oak. 96 points.

2005 Reynolds Family Winery "Persistence"
Inky violet in colour this Bordeaux blend shows intense dark berry fruits, tobacco and white pepper aromas. The palate is medium to full bodied and silky smooth. I found blackcurrant, earthiness and spice. Very, very tasty! 96 points.

2001 Bonny Doon Vineyard Le Cigare Volant
Made from a blend of 34% Grenache, 33% Syrah, 27% Mourvèdre and 6% Viognier this wine is showing lovely maturity and great complexity. Ruby red with berry fruits and liquorice on the nose. The palate shows excellent balance and fresh acidity, even after a decade. Excellent. 96 points.

2006 Opus One
Very deep purple in colour this wine shows delicious black fruit, tobacco, anise and white pepper on the nose. The palate is bold and mouth filling. It starts out with blackberry and cassis characters which develop into spice and vanilla. Lots of drying tannin and a very very long finish. Delicious, but probably drinking a little early. 96 points.

Honorable mentions also go to Alexander Valley Vineyards and Ridge - who have produced some great wines that I've enjoyed immensely.

Long Shadows "flying winemakers"

2011-07-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

Long Shadows Winery, located in Washington State's Columbia Valley, doesn't have its own winemaker. Instead their wines are made by internationally acclaimed winemakers from the major wine regions of the world. Hailing from the US, France, Italy, Germany and Australia there are some big names in their team. All of these "flying winemakers" craft their own unique style of wine with the fruit that the Columbia Valley has to offer.

Here are a couple of my recent favourites - the first, a syrah, made by ex-Penfolds winemaker John Duval who now makes Barossa Valley syrah under his own label and the second a Cabernet made by Randy Dunn of Dunn Howell Mountain.

2005 Long Shadows Wineries Sequel Syrah
Made with Washington Syrah, I found dark berry fruit, cracked black pepper and spice aromas on the nose. The palate is well integrated and nicely balance. Unlike most Aussie syrah it's got a pretty fresh acidity which provides a nice contrast.

2006 Long Shadows Wineries Feather Cabernet Sauvignon
Randy made this wine with 100% cabernet sauvignon selected from five vineyard and aged it for 23 months in French oak. The nose is restrained, but fine. Lovely dark berry fruit, cracked black pepper and a touch of vanilla. The palate is full bodied and delicious. Luscious blackberry, pepper and fine grained tannins. Lovely acidity and great finish.

Leelanau and the Old Mission Peninsula

2011-07-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

Our summer vacation this year will be in the US, and we're visiting a state which produces wine. Can you guess where Leelanau and the Old Mission Peninsula are? No, not California.... Michigan. Yes, the motor state also produces wine. And good wine at that!

The Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsula AVAs, located around Traverse City in the North of the state, have ideal conditions for viticulture. They benefit from the favourable micro climate of the lake, which helps to moderate the extreme temperatures, and have sandy soil with good drainage. A number of varieties flourish here, but white grapes seem to do especially well.

To my mind Sparkling wines have become Michigan's calling card. At L. Mawby, that's what they do best. Owner Larry Mawby has a simple mission: make great sparkling wines. His labels include L. Mawby, which are made using the traditional (Champagne) method, and M. Lawrence, made using the tank method (similar to Prosecco in Italy). Here's one of my favourites:

NV Mawby Blanc de Noirs Brut
Made entirely from Pinot Noir this wine shows subtle berry fruit and bready aromas on the node. The palate is medium bodied with a crisp finish.

The climate though also has another benefit... snow! Like their Canadian neighbours to the North that means Michigan is well placed to let its grapes languish on the vines all summer, then freeze in the winter downfalls. Black Star Farms makes a particularly good example:

2007 Black Star Farms A Capella Ice Wine
Picked and pressed whilst still frozen, this extremely concentrated wine shows delicious ripe exotic fruits - peach, passion fruit, pineapple - floral characters and lovely subtle spice on the finish. Absolutely delicious, but a little expensive!

Isn't it time you gave motor state wine a try?

1986 Château Pichon Lalande

2011-07-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Château Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, usually known as just Pichon Lalande, is a second growth producer located in the Pauillac region of Bordeaux. Using more Merlot than most in the region, their wines are known for tannin and structure. As a second growth, these wines have good value on the secondary market and it's from this market that I got to try this bottle.

Returned by a customer, the label on this bottle has definitely seen better days (see picture), but that doesn't necessarily mean the wine is bad! Many humid cellars, good for stopping the cork drying out, could do this kind of damage to paper labels. What's important is the fill, capsule and cork. In this case the fill was into the neck, the capsule was in good condition and there were no obvious signs of previous seepage.

The cork popped easily with a regular cork screw and the wine looked a lovely ruby red. Despite the fact that this wine is 25 years old I still found some primary berry fruit characters and a touch of tobacco on the nose. The palate was surprisingly fresh - high acids in '86 - with lovely earth, leather, white pepper and even some blueberry. Refreshingly long finish.

I was actually surprised at how much I liked this wine. The meaty, leathery, mushroomy, vegetal characters of many older wines don't really suit my taste, but the fruit and acidity still present in this bottle made it an absolute pleasure!

Views from Ridge

2011-07-10T08:30:00.001-07:00

As a side note to my post yesterday about the Ridge Zin, Blends & BBQ Tasting I wanted to recommend heading up to Ridge's tasting room. Montebello road is winding and fun to drive... watch for cyclists; the tasting room staff are knowledgeable and friendly; the views are exceptional (see below) and if you needed another reason the wines aren't bad either!

Ridge Zin, Blends & BBQ Tasting

2011-07-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, in the scorching heat of the holiday weekend, my wife and I ventured into the Santa Cruz mountains for a wine tasting. There's really nothing unusual about that, but in this case we were heading to the top of Montebello road and Ridge Vineyards Zin, Blends and BBQ tasting.

The idea of pairing Ridge wines with regional BBQ styles was a very interesting concept. The wines were matched by the flavours in the meat, cooking method, sauce or side to a complimentary character in the wine. I have to say, it worked.

Table one - check in - was the Ridge 2009 Mikulaco Chardonnay. No BBQ here, just a refreshing chardonnay to get us going in the heat of the day.

We started backwards, at the last table. This just happened to be one we were most familiar with: Texas Beef Brisket. Although not pinky-purple on the edges from the smoking that we were used to, the beef was tender and delicious. Matching Texas BBQ was the 2008 York Creek Zinfandel. As a blend of 79% zinfandel and 21% petite sirah I thought the mineral characters complimented the smoky beef. It certainly matched better than the Blanc du Bois they grow for themselves. If anyone asks though, I didn't say that!

Next up was California Tri Tip, a cut we had at our wedding. It's the end piece of the sirloin and, cooked well, can taste as good as filet! This tri tip was indeed delicious, although perhaps slightly eclipsed by the amazing potato salad with blue cheese. The California BBQ was matched with 2007 Lytton Estate Zinfandel. Made mainly from the primitivo clone, this blend also includes 4% carignane and 3% petite sirah. I liked the slightly juicer fruit with the strong blue cheese and spicy notes complimented the tri tip. It was so good I went back for seconds!

Kansas was up next and this time we were dining on Kansas City Baby Back Ribs with a side of beans. Slightly sweeter than all of the other offerings this delectable delight was offered with 2006 Mazzoni Home Ranch. A blend of 58% zinfandel, 40% carignane, and 2% petite sirah this was probably the most earthy, savoury wine of the day. It cut the molasses well.

Finally we had Carolina on our minds with a North Carolina Pulled Pork sandwich and cole slaw. Personally, it was my least favourite BBQ of the day, but others seemed to enjoy it. I'm just a beef guy when it comes to BBQ. This sandwich was matched with 2009 Geyserville - a 74% zinfandel, 17% carignane, 6% petite sirah, 2% alicante bouschet and 1% mataro blend. For me this big wine slightly overwhelmed the delicate pork, but the wine itself was still a triumph.

Favourite BBQ of the day: California Tri Tip. It was so good I went back for seconds!

Favourite wine of the day: 2008 York Creek Zinfandel - I love how the large percentage of petite sirah softens out the zinfandel.

It seemed like a popular event, so already looking forward to next year! Perhaps we could match Ridge wines to regional styles of fried chicken? That would be a challenge...

1996 Ridge Sangiovese

2011-07-03T00:30:00.008-07:00

Ridge is probably best known for Monte Bello, it's premier Bordeaux blend, and crafting small lots of Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel from different micro climates in Sonoma and the Santa Cruz Mountains. Now and again though, they experiment with other varietals - Carignan, Grenache and Barbera to name just a few. This 1996 Sangiovese was Ridge's first release of the varietal, and an experiment which obviously did not prove too successful given they no longer make this wine!

From the Advanced Tasting Programme (ATP club) selection, this blend of 85% Sangiovese, 10% Cabernet Franc and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon from Dry Creek Valley was perfectly aged in someone else's cellar before I took ownership of it!

Lovely purple in the glass I found a rustic, but round nose which showed grilled bell pepper, white pepper and earth. The palate is medium bodied and fine. It still shows a little ripe cherry character, but ends with spice and cracked black pepper. Lovely long finish. This sangiovese has aged well. 35 barrels produced.

Cottoning on to Cass Wines

2011-07-02T00:30:00.012-07:00

Cass winery, located in Paso Robles east of the “Templeton Gap”, was for me the absolute stand out of the tasting opportunities available at last weekend's Lake Arrowhead 28th Annual Art and Wine Festival.

Opened in May 2005, Cass specialise in Rhone varieties and Cabernet Sauvignon from estate grown fruit. Their flying winemaker, Lood Kotze, was recruited from South Africa where after qualifying at the University of Stellenbosch and has made wines for the likes of Neil Ellis, Rust en Vrede and Grant Burge Wines.

Cass is also taking on the kiwis when it comes to the environment - they're 100% solar powered - and you can see the stats for yourself on their website. They're one of the first vineyards in California to plant ENTAV certified vines (they're the folks in France responsible for certifying the quality of the clones) and they're using technology to the full with real-time weather data from their vineyards that shows temperature, relative humidity and soil moisture to anyone who cares to take a look.

Last, but by no means least, they make some great wines! Their repertoire includes straight grenache, mourvedre and syrah as well as a Rhone-style blend along with a cabernet sauvignon, the top few barrels of which are made into a reserve. I particularly enjoyed the:

2008 Cass Syrah
Made from only syrah, this estate wine was aged in 75% new French and American oak for 18 months. At 15.5% alcohol it's pretty weighty, but at ease with the ripe dark berry fruit. It's an earthy, peppery, concentrated new-world style syrah with layers of complexity. 550 cases produced.

2008 Cass Cabernet Sauvignon
This cabernet is likely not 100%, but a blend like the best Bordeaux wines. Regardless, it's aged for 22 months in 75% French oak. That gives the wine quite some body, complexity and tannin. Fine-grained French tannin of course. I found concentrated blackcurrant, vanilla and a touch of tobacco. 700 cases produced.

If you happen across their tasting room I hear they have some pretty great food to match with these wines too. Enjoy!

1993 Mouton-Rothschild - when the BATF banned Balthus

2011-06-26T00:30:00.018-07:00

It recently came to my attention that the U.S Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (known as BATF... you know, the guys with ATF on their jackets in the action movies. And probably in real life come to think of it) had a run in with a well known French château in the mid nineties over a piece if art.

The château in question was Mouton-Rothschild, long famed for their artistic labels, and the vintage was 1993. That year Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, owner of the château, used a nude pencil sketch by Polish-French artist Balthus (who to be fair is considered "esteemed but controversial") on the label which the BATF rejected as inappropriate. In response, Baroness de Rothschild changed the US labels so they were simply blank. You can decide for yourself if you think it's are or inappropriate, but I don't really see it.

As for the wine inside - it wasn't considered a great vintage, garnering only 90 or so points from most of the top critics. Nevertheless Robert Parker managed to make it sound stunning in his usual flamboyant style: "The 1993 is a beautifully made wine which could be considered a sleeper of the vintage. The wine boasts a dark purple color, followed by a sweet, pain grillee, roasted nut, and cassis-scented bouquet that is just beginning to open. In the mouth, the wine may not possess the body and volume of a vintage such as 1990 or 1989, but there is more richness of fruit, a sweet, ripe, pureness to the wine, as well as medium body and outstanding balance." But that, as they say, is a whole other story!

Penfolds Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz

2011-06-25T00:30:00.008-07:00

Although Penfolds release new vintages of their bin wines at the same time every year, it always seems to pass me by. Where on earth did March go? Regardless, this was no ordinary release. Along with the usual suspects, and the 50th vintage of Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz, came a completely new wine. The first from a specific sub-region of the Barossa Valley. It's called Penfolds Bin 150 Marananga Shiraz and 2008 marks its very first vintage.

With fruit sourced from the floor of the Barossa Valley, where it's warm and dry, this 100% Shiraz is aged in new and old oak from France and the US. They reckon the resulting wine fills the gap between Bin 28 and RWT, but I reserve the right to check that out for myself!

Although I have not been able to purchase any here in the US, it's only been released in Australia and the UK so far as I can tell, I did manage to pick up a case at Berry Brothers & Rudd and add it to my existing cellar with them.

I'm looking forward to giving it a go next time I'm in the UK, but would be interested to know if anyone out there has already tried it. Post your tasting notes here!

1975 Rausan-Segla, the 55 pointer

2011-06-19T00:30:00.019-07:00

It's not often you come across a wine with 55 Robert Parker points, so this 1975 Rausan-Segla just had to be tasted! Back in 1984 he said: "Very light in color, with a suspicious brownish cast, the 1975 Rauzan-Segla has a burnt, cooked-fruit aroma, shallow, very tannic and astringent flavors, and a short, nasty finish. This is a pitiful effort in such a fine vintage."

Harsh words indeed. Parker obviously hasn't tried the wine again since. The most recent review I could find was from 2009 where a CellarTracker user had included words like "rancid" and "positively disgusting" in their review.

Although this is starting to seem like a bad idea, we just have to find out if three and a half decades of bottle age has improved the situation at all...

Ruby red in colour with a slight brown tinge this wine initially shows stewed dark fruit aromas which descend into slightly vegetal tones. Certainly no Margaux fragrance here! The palate though lets things down a little, but it's by no means terrible. There's lots of acidity and a slightly wet cardboard character. I certainly don't see where Parker got 55 points from, but then perhaps this wine really has gotten better with age!

America prefers cork

2011-06-18T00:30:00.026-07:00

When it comes to wine closures it seems America still prefers corks, as this recent example from Wine Searcher clearly highlights:

There is no doubt that conditions of bottles, labels and capsules as well as fill levels can (and should) have an impact on the price of a wine, but when did the closure become such a significant factor? It's exactly the same wine, but they're asking 18% more for the cork version. If I was looking for a bottle of 2007 Plumpjack Cabernet Reserve I know which bottle I'd be buying!

Old and rare delights

2011-06-12T00:30:00.016-07:00

One of the great things about working for a wine retailer who buys collector's cellars is that we'll occasionally come across wines that we can't sell. This can be for a variety of reasons, but it always provides a great opportunity for a little impromptu tasting. This weeks delights were:

1992 Zonin Montepulciano d'Abruzzo
Reason: Montepulciano d'Abruzzo isn't really made to age.
The wine is in fine condition, but it's not very good. I think it was just a bit dodgy to begin with!

1964 Château Malescot St. Exupéry
Reason: Active seepage
Still a lovely colour this Margaux shows meat, earth and pepper aromas on the nose. The palate is still fresh and lively with lovely black berry fruit and lively acidity. Long, smooth, mineral finish.

1978 E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône
Reason: Active seepage
Still a great colour, but starting to fade. The nose is vegetal and animal with a little "funk." The palate is still remarkably fresh - still some berry fruit, lovely spice, good acidity and nice rounded finish.

Although the Bordeaux and Rhône initially seemed eminently drinkable, they faded fast. By the time the bottles had made it home for dinner they were tasting decidedly more dodgy. Note to self: drink up more quickly next time!

2008 Bordeaux on the tasting block

2011-06-11T00:30:00.015-07:00

2008 is the current vintage of Bordeaux, and a controversial one. Weather meant it was the smallest vintage since 1991, with the wines generally steely and firm. Some managed to get good concentration, but most struggled with bitter and astringent tannins.When a certain advocate of wine compared 2008 to the great vintages of 2000 and 2005 eyebrows were raised… and prices were doubled! It didn't take long though for the wine world to realise these wines weren't as good as they had been promised. Inevitably scores and prices have started to decline, so it seemed like a great opportunity to taste some of this "value" Bordeaux.

First Flight: Right Bank/Graves

2008 Le Thil Comte Clary, Pessac Leognan.
Lovely savoury aromas of earth, white pepper and eucalyptus. The plate shows lots of chewy berry fruit, nice roundness and a long dry finish.

2008 Joanin Becot, Cotes de Castillon
This wine shouts coffee shop with aromas of espresso, chocolate and mocha. The palate goes all fruit to begin with showing lashings of spicy raspberry and cherry, but then finishes with a nice earthiness.

2008 d'Aiguilhe, Cotes de Castillon
The nose seems a little over extracted with jammy dark berry fruit, even prune. The palate seems a little austere and out of balance. Others had tried this before and loved it, so it looks like this might be oxidised.

2008 Bon Pasteur, Pomerol
Slightly minty on the nose with baking spices, cinnamon and fruit cake. Lovely! The palate is soft and fruity and ends with a little touch of liquorice.

2008 Barde Haute, St Emilion
Slightly closed nose showing savoury and earthy aromas. The palate makes up for it though with plenty of fruit, not in a jammy way, that turns into white pepper on the finish

2008 Larcis Ducasse, St Emilion
Initially showing slightly sweet berry fruit this wines turns more mineral, minty and herbacious with some time in the glass. Rich mouth feel, intense tannins, lovely long mouth-filling finish.

Second Flight: Left Bank

2008 Potensac, Medoc
Bight red berry fruit with lots of cracker pepper and a touch of alcohol on the nose. Palate is mainly savoury with gravel, mineral and earth characters.

2008 Cantemerle, Haut Medoc
Another coffee shop wine showing espresso, cafe au lait and rich cherry fruit. The fruit continues on the full-bodied palate with blackberry and the wine finishes with a lovely richness.

2008 Malescot St Exupery, Margaux
To me this wine started out a little meaty, then started leaning towards cigar box, tobacco and dark chocolate. The palate was full bodied with generous helpings of black berry fruit as well as a good acidic backbone.

2008 Lagrange, St Julien
Concentrated, ripe, red berry fruit on the nose with a touch of orange-peel. Lovely body, good drying tannins and a silky finish.

2008 Pontet Canet, Pauillac
Intense nose showing nail varnish and extracted dark berry fruit. The palate seemed a little closed, but I did find full body, plenty of fruit and tonnes of tannic structure. One for the long haul.

2008 Cos d' Estournel, St Estephe
An all around savoury wine with meaty and tobacco characters on the nose. Lovely mouth feel. Silky, toasty, good tannins. Nice mineral finish.

Washington wine a winner

2011-06-05T00:30:00.020-07:00

Washington wines may have always been on the scene for some wine drinkers, but they are relatively new to me. I've always been aware of the great Bordeaux-style wine making tradition in the Pacific North-West but not the fact that some Washington wines are collected, rated well by critics and traded on secondary markets. Quilceda Creek for example.

Wanting to expand my palate when it comes to Washington wines I'm hoping to plan a visit sometime this year (any tips welcome!) and in the mean time have vowed to try Washington wines where I can. This example, from the Columbia Valley, I picked up from Lot18. It was a great deal and a very tasty wine:

2007 ÀMaurice Cellars the Horiuchi
A blend of 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Cabernet Franc, 21% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot this wine shows luscious blackberry, dark chocolate and baking spices on the nose. The palate is full bodied and beautifully smooth. More dark berry fruit, tobacco, and minerals with vibrant acidity and delightfully long finish. Although it's delicious now I think it still has a long future ahead. 492 cases. 94 points Great Grapes.

This wine got 94 points from Wine Enthusiast and Wine & Spirits as well as 88 points Steven Tanzer. Just goes to show that these guys rarely agree. You wouldn't even think we were all tasting the same wine!

Not your typical '75 Latour

2011-06-04T00:30:00.010-07:00

Every now and again wines we've been consigned, or are buying, arrive to the office in poor shape, damaged during transit. Sometimes the gods of shipping break the bottles outright and other times they just damage them enough to make them unsalable. This was one of those times and the wine was a 1975 Château Latour.

This particular Latour had arrived to the office from Florida, by air to avoid temperature exposure, with the cork floating in the wine. Suffice to say we quickly sealed it up and put it aside for staff tasting! My tasting notes are probably not typical of a 1975 Latour, just one from Florida that's been breathing for slightly too long!

The colour was bricky to say the least, brown to say the worst. The nose was a little porty and slightly oxidised, but then that's not really a surprise. The palate started with a mere suggestion of fruit then got straight into vegetal, earthy and meaty characters. The finish was bone dry, mineraly and reminiscent of sherry!

When a good wine turns bad

2011-05-29T00:30:00.007-07:00

If you can cast your mind back a few years, to 2003, you may remember a little Spanish number called "Las Rocas" that sold out almost as soon as it was stocked. It was a simple Garnacha from Calatayud, nothing special there. What really made this wine different was the comments of one Robert Parker.

Back in 2003 Parker said this vintage "may be the greatest wine value I have ever tasted" and gave it a whopping 91 points. Pretty good for a wine around ten bucks. As you can imagine it sold like hot cakes.

He said "it should drink well for 3-4 years, possibly longer" so in 2011 we're pushing the drinking envelope a little, but only by 4 years. For a Bordeaux, no big deal.

The nose starts to reveal its age with meaty, mushroom, vegetal and wet cardboard aromas. I'm not going to say essence of sewer, because that would be unkind. Luckily, the nose though was very much worse than the taste. On the palate there's a little dark berry fruit left, but the overwhelming features are savoury and mineral with a sweet-acidic finish. It's thin and to all intents and purposes over the hill.

It just goes to show, not all wines go the distance!

Somona Zinfandels from TastingRoom.com

2011-05-28T00:30:00.010-07:00

Now accounting for more than 10% of California's vineyards, Zinfandel is thought by some to be the state's signature grape. Sure, it's related to the Italy's Primitivo, but they don't make of it what California does!

Although Zinfandel is grown across the state, this tasting pack concentrates on one of its premier regions - Sonoma. Known mainly for the Dry Creek Valley AVA, Sonoma produces rich Zinfandel known for its blackberry, earth, pepper and spice. Here's what I found, ranked favourite to not-so-favourite:

2007 Acorn Zinfandel Heritage Vines Alegría Vineyards
A field blend of mainly Zinfandel from 119-year old vineyards this wine shows lovely blackberry, blackcurrant and vanilla on the nose. Its rich and full bodied with great pepper and spice characters. Fine grained tannins and long savoury finish. 90 points.

2007 Peterson Zinfandel
A blend of 84% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Syrah and 6% Carignane this wine shows intense blackberry and a touch of cedar wood on the nose. The palate is full bodied with jammy berry fruit, toasty oak and violet. 89 points.

2007 Dry Creek Vineyard Zinfandel Old Vine
This wine is a blend of 82% Zinfandel and 18% Petit Syrah aged for 18 months in French, American and Hungarian oak. Intense red berry fruit on the nose leads through to blueberry and stewed strawberry characters with a lovely earthy finish. 89 points.

2008 Munselle Vineyards Zinfandel Osborn Ranch
This Alexander Valley Zin is made from the primitivo clone with limited irrigation. Lovely rich blackberry colour with blueberry, raspberry and cola on the nose. The palate is intensely savoury - showing earth and cracked pepper. 89 points.

2008 Trattore Zinfandel
Mainly Zinfandel with just a touch of Petite Sirah I found mainly red berry fruit on the nose. The palate is fruity and medium bodied, but with a good acidity and nicely integrated tannins. 88 points.

2008 Kelley and Young Zinfandel
Not only is this the first vintage of this wine, but production was limited to just five barrels. Cherry red in colour the nose shows spicy raspberry and slightly meaty characters on the nose. The palate starts fruity then takes a dry turn before finishing savoury and spicy. 85 points.

Vintage non-vintage fizz

2011-05-22T00:30:00.028-07:00

This may be blindingly obvious, but it's hard to tell how old non-vintage wines really are. So when a NV Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Brut Champagne happened across my desk I wasn't sure it was even saleable. I put it aside for further investigation and, as always, learned that there can be clues!

On this particular wine it's the importer label that provides some insight. You see, Veuve Clicquot used to import their own Champagne to the United States. Sometime around 1995 they let their big brother owner, Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, take over the task. So, with this Champagne proudly displaying "Veuve Clicquot Imports, New York" we know it's at least 5-6 years old. If not more. And that means it stays aside.

Although it was not bad, NV Champagnes are actually very nice after a little age it turns out, it would not be what the customer would be expecting of a NV Veuve Clicquot. It had lost the lemony acidity we've come to expect. Now with a little more full yellow colour in the glass than it's modern sister, the nose shows an intensely bready and yeasty nose. The palate has mellowed well. It's now showing nutty, caramel characters and a lovely light fizz. The finish is fine and dry.

Didn't think you could age NV Champagne? Think again!

The Aussie time machines

2011-05-21T00:30:00.016-07:00

When it comes to Australian wine I can't count the number of times I've been told in a tasting room or by sales staff at a retailer that it "needs a decade" to really open up. Lets be honest, many of these wines don't survive more than a couple of years beyond the vintage. If you did have the patience to keep them, or we able to find them on the secondary market, would the wait have paid off?

Tasting these two recent examples, which I did not have the patience or foresight to keep but managed to purchase, seems to suggest that it would have...

2001 Barossa Old Vine Company Shiraz
Made with 150-year old Shiraz vines and aged in 100% new American oak this is one blockbuster Aussie Shiraz. 10 years old and it's really not even showing. The nose is showing aromas of blackberry, blackcurrant and liquorice. The palate is smooth beyond belief and beautifully integrated. Full bodied and silky. It shows dark berry fruit, pencil shavings, tobacco and spice. Parker gave this wine 96 points back in 2003 and predicted it would drink well for 20 years. Although I would like to, I can't dispute a word he says! 96 points.

1997 Rockford Basket Press Shiraz
At fourteen, this Shiraz is still showing well. The nose shows aromas of dark cherry, leather and spice. The palate has aged well. Its characters are mostly vegetal and animal. It's earthy, peppery and full bodied. Well integrated tannins and nice acidity. 90 points.

TastingRoom.com does Dry Creek Vineyard

2011-05-15T00:30:00.012-07:00

Inspired by trips to the Loire Valley David Stare moved west in the 1960's to start making wine, and began his adventure with winemaking classes at UC Davis. He purchased an orchard in the Dry Creek Valley ten years later, which was little more than family farms and prune orchards at the time, and began planting vines. Today Dry Creek Vineyards is know for it's consistency in producing great wine, which you could see in this tasting pack:

2008 Dry Creek Vineyard Foggy Oaks Vineyard Chardonnay
Made with 100% barrel fermented Chardonnay, three-quarters of the wine also went through malo. Pale yellow in the glass the nose shows crisp, toasty aromas. The palate is pretty full bodied. It's weighty and buttery with and acidic minerality on the finish. 87 points.

2009 Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Creek Valley Sauvignon Blanc
Made entirely in stainless steel this Sauvignon Blanc has a rich, lemony colour. I's bright and aromatic on the nose. Cut grass, grapefruit and a touch of honey. The palate is dry as can be, with good weight. Lovely summers evening drinking! 88 points

2005 Dry Creek Vineyard Endeavour Cabernet Sauvignon
A blend of 97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petit Verdot aged for 27 months in French oak, Dry Creek produced 751 of this wine. Cherry red in colour I found espresso, tobacco and sour cherry on the nose. The palate is earthy, slightly mushroomy, and with big tannins, fresh acidity and long finish. 89 points.

2007 Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Creek Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Although labelled as a Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine's actually a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec aged for 18 months in a mixture of French, American and Hungarian oak. It's dusty and dense with lashings of dark chocolate and cherry. Lovely dark berry fruit, espresso and well integrated tannins with a nice smooth finish. 88 points.

2007 Dry Creek Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel
This wine is a blend of 82% Zinfandel and 18% Petit Syrah aged for 18 months in French, American and Hungarian oak. Intense red berry fruit on the nose leads through to blueberry and stewed strawberry characters with a lovely earthy finish. 89 points.

2006 Dry Creek Vineyard The Mariner
A blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 32% Merlot, 8% Malbec, 6% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Vedot this wine is aged in French oak for 24 months. Intense in colour, the nose shows lovely savoury, earthy characters with a delicious touch of mint. Full bodied with a fine grained minerality, subtle dark berry fruit and very dry finish. 89 points.

Santa Cruz Mountains Retrospective Wine Dinner

2011-05-14T11:46:00.003-07:00

Read my full post about our Martin Ray and Hallcrest retrospective wine dinner on K&L's Uncorked Blog.
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The changing face of wine marketing

2011-05-14T00:30:00.023-07:00

In 1973 Joseph Phelps bought a 600-acre Connolly cattle ranch in Spring Valley, and began planting vineyards. The first crush came only a year later and it was that year that the first vintage of Insignia, 1974, was produced.

Insignia has some impressive statistics. Along with being well recognised and heavily traded on the secondary markets it is constantly well rated by Parker and Wine Spectator who, lets face it, don't always agree.

As Phelps' premier wine, it's obviously mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, but is usually a Bordeaux blend. Originally consisting Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc more recent vintages have ditched the Cabernet Franc in favour of Petit Verdot and sometimes Malbec. Perhaps reflecting consumer preferences. Cabernet Franc has never really had a great rap.

What's also interesting is how the bottles (pictured) show how the face of wine marketing has changed. 1985's label looks like it's been whipped up on a desktop processor. I guess the drawing of the vineyard was supposed to show provenance. By the 1994 label branding had obviously played a role and we see the familiar style and colours, which drops the "vineyard" from the name. 1997 carries forward the label, but now changes the bottle and makes it shorter, heavier, darker with stylised capsule.

I have to say a 6-bottle pack of current day Insignia in it's original wood case (which incidentally requires a screwdriver to open) looks very inviting indeed. A triumph of marketing. Just like Ikea though, they don't provide the screwdriver.

Cult California Wines - An Investors Dream?

2011-05-08T00:30:00.019-07:00

Since I've moved to California, and begun working in wine, I've had a real urge to start a California wine collection for investment purposes. Many of my colleagues reactions have been simply "why?" as they go on to suggest that if I really want to invest in wine I should buy Bordeaux. But that's just not the point. I'm an Englishman living in California who is interested in the local wines. In years to come I want to tell stories about how I came to acquire these wines. It's not a matter of if I should start investing, but which wine should I buy first!

Here's the difficult part though when it comes to California: how to you tell a good long term investment from a wine-of-the minute cult cab which Parker gave 100 points in its first vintage?

Wikipedia defines California cult wines as wines for which "collectors, investors and highly enthusiastic consumers will pay very high prices" on release. Typically these wines are well rated by the likes of Robert Parker. They list "Araujo, Bond, Bryant Family, Caymus, Colgin Cellars, Dalla Valle Maya, Diamond Creek, Dominus Estate, Dunn Howell Mountain, Grace Family, Harlan Estate, Hundred Acre, Kistler, Saxum Vineyards, Marcassin, Screaming Eagle, Opus One, Shafer Hillside Select, Sine Qua Non and Sloan" as examples. A good start I guess.

Wine Market Journal's CACULT index, which incidentally is up 25 points this year, tracks a shorter list which includes Abreu, Araujo, Bryant Family, Colgin, Dalla Valle Maya, Harlan Estate, Screaming Eagle and Shafer Hillside Select. Whereas Wine Searcher lists only Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, Dominus, Caymus, Opus One and Ridge Monte Bello.

From a more international perspective Decanter Magazine looks at Araujo, Beailieu, Beringer, Bryant Family, Caymus, Montelena, Colgin, Dalla Valla Maya, Diamond Creek, Dominus, Dunn Howell Mountain, Groth, Harlan Estate, Heitz, Phelps, Opus One, Ridge, Mondavi, Shafer Hillside Select, Silver Oak, Spottswoode and Stags Leap for it's index. Whilst the Liv-ex Fine Wine 500 Index lists only one California wine, Opus One.

All in all then it seems like there is some agreement, but also some disagreement, about what makes a good investment when it comes to California wines. In terms of my experience: it's Harlan Estate, Screaming Eagle, Shafer Hillside Select, Joseph Phelps, Silver Oak, Bond, Kistler and Dunn Howell Mountain that passes though my hands again and again. Unfortunately most of these wines are a little on the pricey side, so who knows if I'll ever be able to a bottle or two to my cellar. At least now I know what I'm looking for!

A TastingRoom.com L'Aventure

2011-05-07T00:30:00.015-07:00

Stephan Asseo, owner and winemaker at L'Aventure Winery, only came to Paso Robles in 1996. Until then his wine endeavors were mainly based in France where it was the restrictive AOC laws that led him to looks for another terrior in the New World. That's how he came to find Paso Robles, and particularly the slopes of the Santa Lucia Mountain Range. Here the unique soils and maritime influence combined to work their magic and Asseo makes some seriously good wine... as I was about to find out:

2008 L'Aventure Estate Cuvée
The Estate Cuvée is a Syrah driven blend which comprises 50% Syrah, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon and 14% Petit Verdot. It's aged in 100% French oak for 15 months and it shows on the nose. I found extracted dark berry fruit, baking spice and a touch of meatiness. The palate is pretty full on. I found cranberry acid, smoke, and cracked black pepper. 1000 cases produced. 94 points Wine Advocate. 90 Greatgrapes.

2008 L'Aventure Côte-à-Côte Estate
A blend of 40% Grenache, 40% Syrah and 20% Petit Verdot, Côte-à-Côte is aged for 14 months in French oak (40% new). The nose shows initially bright red berry fruit from the grenache with a lovely hint of herbaciousnes. The palate is really full bodied with lashings of liquorice, extracted blackcurrant and fine grained tannins. Lovely intensity and a truly exceptional finish. 200 cases produced. 93 points.

2007 L'Aventure Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Made with 5% Petit Verdot this Estate Cabernet spends 15 months in 100% new French oak. The yields are kept low to increase concentration and this shows on the nose with intense dried berry fruit and cola aromas. The palate is full bodied and intense. Plenty of dark berry fruit, toasty oak and silky smooth tannins. Long dry finish. 1000 cases produced. 94 points Wine Advocate. 92 points Greatgrapes.

2008 L'Aventure Optimus
Made from a blend of 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 28% Syrah and 24% Petit Verdot, Optimus is aged for 14 months in French oak (90% new). I found red berry fruit, pencil shavings and a touch of white pepper on the nose. The palate full bodied with plum, dark cherry and cracked black pepper. Well integrated tannins and a long fine finish. 90 points Wine Advocate. 90 points Greatgrapes.

Trader Joe's Coastal Round-up

2011-05-01T00:30:00.004-07:00

Made for Trader Joe's by Castro Cellars, the Coastal series all come in at a mere four bucks a bottle. Are these wines great value? Or to be avoided? Here's what I thought of the most recent vintage:

2009 Trader Joe's Coastal Cabernet Sauvignon
The Cabernet Sauvignon for this wine is sourced from the Paso Robles AVA. The nose shoes plum, vanilla and white pepper characters. On the palate I found blackberry, blackcurrant and tobacco. It's medium bodied and smooth with well integrated tannins. Not much on the finish. 80 points.

2009 Trader Joe's Coastal Syrah
Dark cherry red in colour the nose shows aromas of sweet summer fruits - especially strawberry and raspberry - which are perhaps more reminiscent of Beaujolais. The palate is light in body with sour cherry character. No real finish. 78 points.

2009 Trader Joe's Coastal Merlot
Luscious red in colour, the nose shows sweet cherry and tobacco characters. The palate is medium bodied with plum character. Finish is chewy with good acidity. Not complex, but nicer than some of the other coastal offerings. 78 points.

2009 Trader Joe's Coastal Zinfandel
Good colour. Nose was a little all over the place. I found sour cherry, orange and citrus fruit. Odd to say the least. The palate is medium to light bodied with no discernible Zinfandel character what so every. It just starts sweet the turns acidic. Really not worth your money! 70 points.

So, can you make a quality wine for $4? The simple answer is no. None of these wines are any more than average and there are definitely better wines to be had for only a few dollars more. If you're intent on this price point you may as well go for the Two Buck Chuck!

Neyers Vineyards Tasting

2011-04-30T00:30:00.054-07:00

Bruce and Barbara Neyers started their vineyard in 1992 and today produce about 15,000 cases of wine annually.

Over the years they've adopted a number of natural wine making practices and integrated them with New World wine technology. In 2002, Wine and Spirits Magazine named Neyers Vineyards the Artisan Winery of the Year so I was excited to get the opportunity to taste wines that I recognise, but have never had the opportunity to try.

Here's what I found:

2007 Neyers "Tofanelli" Napa Zinfandel
Aged in 100% neutral French oak this is a very savoury style Zinfandel. It shows savoury, earthy, dusty and tobacco characters with a great acidity.

2009 Neyers "Neyers Ranch-Conn Valley" Napa Valley Merlot
Made with estate fruit, this Merlot is has about 15% Cabernet Sauvignon in the bottle. Bright red in colour I found red berry fruit and chewy, ripe, cherry. Lovely mineral finish.

2009 Neyers "Neyers Ranch-Conn Valley" Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Made with 5% Merlot this Cabernet Sauvignon shows lovely dark berry fruit and bramble characters on the nose. The palate is full bodied and well structured. It shows earthy, peppery, dusty characters and has a lovely smooth finish.

2006 AME Neyers Vineyard Selection Napa Valley
100% Cabernet Sauvignon, this wine shows lovely sweet smelling blackcurrant and blackberry. The palate is a little closed, but the wine itself is full bodied, intense and well rounded on the finish.

2008 Neyers "Old Lakeville Road" Sonoma Coast Syrah
Made with 100% whole clusters which were naturally punched down this wine was aged in all new French oak. It's a really French style Syrah which shows savoury characters like bacon fat, dried herbs, meat and crushed black pepper. Not a style I'm very fond of, but a well made wine nonetheless.

A TastingRoom.com Adventure... Australian Shiraz

2011-04-24T00:30:00.036-07:00

What ever happened to Brixr? You remember… the test tube wine tasting pack people. www.brixr.com just forwards to Crushpad's website these days and Brixr's twitter account hasn't been active since March 2010.

I assumed it had kicked the bucket last year when they never charged my card for a tasting pack I ordered. My email follow-up went unanswered and I never received anything.

I have to say I was a little disappointed. Sure I think they had some issues with the wine in their tubes tasting different to full bottles, but all in all it was a great idea. I was glad to see then that TastingRoom.com has picked up where Brixr left off… with their "innovative T.A.S.T.E. Technology™ (Total Anaerobic Sample Transfer Environment)" that seems to solve Brixr's problem.

TastingRoom.com's range seems to be extensive and interesting. If this Aussie pack is anything to go by there's lots of fun to be had with these mini bottles:

2007 Plantagenet Shiraz
I have to say that I don't have much experience with the wines of WA. This one shows some lovely dark chocolate, mocha and tobacco aromas on the nose. On the palate it's layered and smooth. Liquorice is at the forefront, backed up by black berry fruits and spice. 89 points.

2007 Innocent Bystander Shiraz - Viognier
Made with fruit from Victoria, this wine shows lifted blueberry fruit and a touch of liquorice on the nose. The palate is almost light bodied for an Aussie Shiraz. Initially I found some weighty red berry fruit, but this quickly faded to spicy oak and pepper. 88 points.

2007 Brokenwood Hunter Valley Shiraz
From the opposite side of the country, in New South Wales, comes this Hunter Valley Shiraz. The nose on this one is more peppery and spicy with undertones of vanilla and oak. The palate is a little lighter bodied than those so far. It shows ripe dark berries and sour cherries as it finishes. 89 points.

2006 Kilikanoon Covenant Shiraz
From a little further North, this Clare Valley Shiraz shows a much more savoury character. The nose is earthy and meaty with tobacco characters. The palate is smooth as silk - a product of the region and the old vines. It shows lovely plum an dark chocolate infusion with a hint of white pepper. 90 points.

2007 John Duval Wines Entity Shiraz
Made with 100% Old Vine Shiraz this wine has an impressive nose of blackcurrant, blackberry and white pepper. The palate is surprisingly round and sweet. The French Oak is well integrated and the tannins supple. It finishes with a touch of spice. 90 points.

2007 d'Arenberg The Laughing Magpie
Made in Cote-Rotie style, this wine couldn't be further from it in the glass! The nose is deep, dark and dense with plenty of black berry fruit. The palate is initially bold and savoury, but gives way to subtler spice and eventually a round finish. 89.

An afternoon at Hallcrest Vineyards

2011-04-23T00:30:00.072-07:00

Hallcrest is a small winery located on the outskirts of Felton, a small town with a very western feel, in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Hall family established a dwelling in the 1880s as a retreat, and I can imagine it was much quieter back then. It wasn't until the 1940s that the estate became one of the first wine producers in the Santa Cruz Mountains and soon gained a reputation for its Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling.

I came to know of their wines through a 1970s example tasted at a recent work event. It has aged well. So well that I thought it'd be worth seeing what Hallcrest were up to now.

The tasting room was busy when we arrived - not only were the tables full outside, but the tasting bar was packed - and everyone was being attended to by a lone employee who really needed roller skates to keep up.

Today Hallcrest have two brands - Hallcrest and The Organic Wine Works - and make wines with most of the "normal" California varieties. On the tasting menu were:

2008 Sauvignon Blanc and a 2008 Gewürztraminer - both of which didn't really float my boat.

2007 Boardwalk Carousel Syrah, made for the 100th anniversary, which I didn't feel compared well to other Santa Cruz Mountains Syrah... Big Basin for example.

2005 Terra Serena Pinot Noir started to hit more of a groove - deep, dense and dusty - probably from the dry farming.

2006 Brigantino Cabernet Sauvignon was the best of the day - blackcurrant, bramble, baking spice and a touch of pepper - but it unfortunately wasn't made from Santa Cruz Mountains fruit.

It was a shame that we didn't get to taste what Hallcrest are famous for, so I picked up a bottle of 2001 Proprietor's Reserve Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet Sauvignon for the cellar. I'll let you know how I get on with it!

Limited Release Penfolds Koonunga Hill

2011-04-19T19:24:00.001-07:00

This is not the regular 2006 Koonunga Hill, which got 91 points from The Wine Advocate, but rather a limited version produced to commemorate the first release of Koonunga Hill in 1976.

This version was only really available at the cellar doors at Magill and Nuriootpa, plus a few restaurants, and the tell tale difference are the words "Vintage 2006 Limited Release" in the top left corner.

Made from 70% Shiraz and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon this blend includes a little something from Bin 28 Kalimna and is partly, well 5%, aged in new American oak. The rest uses the normal older French and American oak.

The nose is earthy, savoury and dusty. It's drinking well now and shows extracted blackberry and blackcurrant on the palate. It finishes with a fresh acidity and well integrated tannins. A steal for 10 bucks!

Big Basin's Spring Release Celebration

2011-04-17T00:30:00.017-07:00

Staying with the theme of Santa Cruz Mountains we were there again last weekend for the Basin Basin Spring Release Celebration - held at the winery rather than the Saratoga tasting room.

Driving in the Santa Cruz Mountains through the redwoods was amazing. At some points the roads were extremely narrow. Low hanging trees and very dodgy paving seemed to be around every corner... I felt sorry for the poor car!

The winery itself was located at the end of Memory Lane (no jokes please) where the GPS showed us as completely off the map. As we arrived we found a small parking space in the gravel slightly off the single track road.

As we approached the winery building we were handed glasses and got straight to the business of the day… wine tasting! The wines were divided into three flights: Rose and Pinot, Syrah and Rattlesnake. We tasted through them all, they were exceptional as always, and had a nice conversation with the owner, Bradley Brown, about his wines and their value on the secondary markets!

After a few canapés we decided to take a walk through the very steep vineyards - planted mainly with Roussanne, Syrah and Grenache - in the bright California sunshine. It was a great day for it. The view across the mountains was spectacular - redwoods as far as the eye can see. It really was a lovely place to spend the afternoon.

As for the wines, I particularly enjoyed:

2008 Big Basin Vineyards Woodruff Family Vineyard Pinot Noir
Made with 100% Pinot Noir, planted in 1988, this wine is aged in French oak for 14 months. Bright purple with blackberry fruit aromas. The palate is medium bodied with raspberry, spice and well integrated oak. 70 cases produced. $48.

2008 Big Basin Vineyards Fairview Ranch Syrah
Made with low yield Syrah, less than two tons per acre, this wine is aged in French oak for 19 months. The influence of Monterey Bay is apparent in this cool climate Syrah which shows bacon fat, leather and a touch of sweet spice on the nose. The palate is opulent, rich and full bodied. Along with blackberry jam I found well integrated oak and fine grained tannins. Exceptionally long finish. $39.

I also need to mention the 2007 Frenchie's Ranch Syrah, a barrel selection of 2007 Rattlesnake. At the moment it's a little closed and monster-like, but with a few years of age I think it'll be exceptional.

An afternoon at Ridge Winery

2011-04-16T00:30:00.021-07:00

Ridge Vineyards, located in the Santa Cruz Mountains near Los Altos and at Lytton Springs in the Dry Creek Valley, are famed for their participation in the 1976 "Judgement of Paris" tasting and are regarded by some as California's First Growth.

We visited the Santa Cruz Mountains estate on a recent rainy Saturday and were glad of a 4x4 car as we climbed the narrow, winding road to Monte Bello Ridge - sitting at 2,300 feet (700m) above Los Altos.

Known primarily for the Bordeaux blend, Monte Bello, and a wide selection of Zinfandels we approached the wooden barn-style tasting room with some excitement!

Our tasting choices included an estate flight, with the option to add Monte Bello, and a single vineyard flight. We did them all! We tasted five Zinfandels (Lytton Springs, Geyersville, Buchignani Ranch, Carmichael and Old School), a Carignane (Buchignani Ranch), the Cabernet/Merlot blend and two Monte Bellos.

To me, it was the Bordeaux blend which really stood out:

2007 Ridge Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet/Merlot
Made from 58% Cabernet Sauvignon and 42% Merlot from the Santa Cruz Mountains this rather subtle wine comes in at a tad over 13% alcohol. Deep purple in colour, I found blackcurrant, cassis and sweet cherry aromas on the nose. The palate is well balanced. Ripe red berry fruit, tobacco and chewy tannins on the finish.

But Monte Bello is always worth an honourable mention:

2007 Ridge Monte Bello
Made from 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 9% Petite Verdot and 2% Cabernet Franc. This is a chunky wine with plenty of primary fruit character, toasty oak and cigar box characters. Lovely rich palate with fine grained tannins and a long savoury finish.

1999 Ridge Monte Bello
Made from 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc and 1 % Petit Verdot. Deep purple in colour I could see some signs of age at the edges. The nose shows meaty, savoury characters and a touch of berry sweetness. The palate is full bodied and dry with aged animal noted. Acid and tannins have mellowed and this wine seems a little older than it is.

If you're in the area it's definitely worth the trip!

Tasting the Alsation wines of Beck-Hartweg

2011-04-10T00:30:00.033-07:00

Though they're generally great, well made, wines these German numbers are not easy to sell. Generally you can get much more for your money when you look at the same varieties elsewhere, although these particular wines come in at a very decent price point. Here's what I thought:

2009 Beck-Hartweg "Cuvee Prestige" Riesling

Great colour. The nose shows citrus fruit and a touch of steely minerality. The palate is dry and well structured with a good long finish. $13.

2009 Beck-Hartweg "Cuvee Prestige" Pinot Gris

Floral nose with a touch of mineral. Lovely fruit and stone characters on the palate with good body and lovely crisp acidity. $14.

2004 Beck-Hartweg "Frankstein" Gewürztraminer Grand Cru

Intense tropical fruit on the nose. The palate is full bodied with lashings of citrus and apple which merge into a spicy, peppery finish. $28

2007 Beck-Hartweg Pinot Noir "F"

Made in 100 year old oak barrels this Pinot shows an earthy, slightly meaty, nose. Medium bodied and savoury palate with subtle berry fruit, smoke, pepper and lovely light tannins. It's actually pretty elegant. $20

2009 Beck-Hartweg Gewürztraminer Vendanges Tardive

Unlike many, this sweet wine doesn't use botrytis. The nose shows intense tropical and stone fruit character with a touch of sweetness. The palate has a lovely smooth complexion. I found apricot and honey, but given it has 70g/l of residual sugar, also some good freshness. $42

To me the Frankstein and Vendanges Tardive were the pick of the bunch!

Langoa vs. Leoville: Battle of the Bartons

2011-04-09T00:30:00.032-07:00

Owned by the Barton family since 1986 and 1836 respectively, third growth Langoa-Barton and second growth Léoville-Barton have a reputation for great, well-price wines. That's what makes this opportunity to taste them side-by-side all the more exciting!

Vineyards for both labels are located in Saint-Julien, with the wine making facilities at Chateau Langoa-Barton. Interestingly, the Château depicted on Léoville-Barton's label is actually that of Langoa Barton!

Here's what I thought of the line-up:

2007 Langoa Barton ($45)
Very bright nose of sherbet, blackberry and a touch of spice. The palate is soft, approachable and well structure. It shows intense dark berry fruit, mineral character and good acidity.

2007 Leoville Barton ($60)
Dark berry fruit, liquorice and iron fillings on the nose. The palate is dense and peppery with slightly harsher edges than the 2007 Langoa. It's still pretty tight, but began to mellow after some time in the glass. Nice long finish.

2004 Langoa Barton ($50)
The 2004 begins with rich berry fruit, tobacco and pencil shaving aromas. The palate shows delicious rich fruit, spice and just a touch of white pepper. It's lovely, but needs more time.

2001 Langoa Barton ($50)
Aromas of blackberry liquorice and just a touch of minerality on the nose. The palate is starting to loose some of its primary fruit character and more savoury, meaty, peppery characters are starting to muscle in.

2001 Leoville Barton ($90)
Bramble, blackcurrant and rich dark fruit on the nose. The palate is a little touch. Pretty high acidity and not showing the signs of age like the Langoa. Regardless, I think the Langoa wins this vintage.

1999 Langoa Barton ($55)
Nose of intense plum and cola. The palate shows sweet dark berry fruit up front which is nicely balanced by great acidity. Long smooth finish.

1997 Langoa Barton ($40)
As we get into some more age I found more earthy and meaty character on the nose of the 97. The palate still shows some good dark berry fruit but overwhelmingly it's the mineral, white pepper and sour cherry characters that shine through.

1997 Leoville Barton ($40)
Intense blackberry and white pepper aromas on the nose this wine still has a good acidic backbone. The palate shows mineral characters and white pepper. Lots of tannin and no real signs of age yet.

1996 Langoa Barton ($80)
Luscious dark berry fruit, white pepper and mocha characters on the nose. The palate is a little green with good acidity. I found aged fruit, spice and white pepper.

1996 Leoville Barton ($130)
Corked :-(

1995 Langoa Barton ($65)
From a good vintage, this wine shows blackcurrant, dark chocolate and slightly dusty aromas on the nose. The palate is showing some age with leather and spice character. Lovely finish.

1995 Leoville Barton ($100)
I found pencil shavings, anise and white pepper aromas on the nose. The palate is full bodied with well integrated tannins. It shows good balance and lovely dark berry fruit.

It was a great couple of flights, and there was plenty of talk about how the California wine industry has modernised Bordeaux and how the wines emerging from these state of the art wineries are better than ever - with estimates that they'll take 20, 30 or even 50 years to mature. All fun to speculate about.

In case you're interested my favourite wine in the flight was the first, 2007 Langoa Barton. It's drinking beautifully now and is great value at forty-five bucks!

Mondavi's take on Oz

2011-04-06T19:36:00.000-07:00

Made for only a few vintages, and discontinued in 2002, Boomerang was Robert Mondavi's take on an "Aussie style" wine. In all honestly though I'm not sure the blend really constitutes typical Aussie style. Nevertheless, this wine has aged nicely and is drinking well.

2000 Robert Mondavi Winery Boomerang
Consisting of 59% Syrah, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Cabernet Franc, 2% Merlot and 1% Malbec. The blend was aged in half new and half old oak for 15 months. The wine, now more than a decade old, has some great bottle age and it's obviously been well kept. There are no immediate signs of age in the colour. The nose shows bright cherry, liquorice and just a touch of old wood. The palate is medium bodied and has obviously lost it's fruit drive, as would be characteristic of an Aussie wine. Instead I found more savoury, cracked black pepper and spice characters. The tannins have softened nicely and there's a sprightly acidity on the finish. $30. 90 points.

Trader Joe's Cabernet Sauvignon Line-up

2011-04-03T00:30:00.007-07:00

Now that I'm living in California I thought it was time to post some reviews on own brand wines from everyone's favourite Hawaiian themed supermarket - Trader Joe's! Strangely, they're owned by a German company - Aldi - famed in Europe for staking high and selling cheap. Maybe something these wines could be accused of?

2008 Trader Joe's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Made for Trader Joe's by Stonehedge Cellars this Cabernet Sauvignon shows black cherry, vanilla and toasty oak aromas on the nose. The palate is full bodied and initially full of blackberry and spice character. Its a little thin in the middle and a touch acidity on the finish. It's a decent wine, but I wont be rushing back at $12. 82 points.

2009 Trader Joe's Coastal Cabernet Sauvignon
Made for Trader Joe's by Castro Cellars, the Cabernet Sauvignon for this wine is sourced from the Paso Robles AVA. The nose shoes plum, vanilla and white pepper characters. On the palate I found blackberry, blackcurrant and tobacco. It's medium bodied and smooth with well integrated tannins. Not much on the finish, but all in all a pretty good wine for $4! 82 points.

My advice: if you want own brand Cab from Trader Joe's then save your money and go for the coastal!

The 14th Rhone Rangers Tasting, San Francisco

2011-04-02T00:30:00.055-07:00

Last weekend's Rhone Rangers tasting, at the Fort Mason Festival Pavilion in San Francisco, was my first formal tasting in my new home town. Suffice to say, I was excited!

Although the tasting didn't start until 2pm we left Mountain View on the 10:50 CalTrain - the Baby Bullet no less - and arrived in San Francisco with plenty of time to spare. We decided to walk to the venue, at the northern end of the Embarcadero, and get lunch along the way.

Ten minutes before the doors opened and the line had already begun to form. Inside we were given glasses, alas not Riedel, and tasting notebooks describing each vineyard's offerings.

With 500 wines and over a hundred wineries to choose from it wasn't easy to know where to start. We were obviously looking like we needed some direction as a couple approached us and pointed in the direction of Caliza. "Everything at their table is amazing" they said. There was no heard of people, so we decided to give it a good. Their wines sure were amazing - in fact they were the highlight of the tasting!

We tried the 2007 Azimuth, a blend of 53% Grenache, 35% Syrah and 12% Mourvedre aged in French Oak for 20 months; the 2008 Cohort, which was 48% Syrah, 24% Grenache, 14% Petite Sirah and 14% Primitivo and 2008 straight Syrah. It was great across the board.

Other highlights included:

Cabot Vineyards, who make wines from Humboldt fruit. A couple of their wines were a little too rustic for my liking, but 2007 Humboldt County Syrah and 2007 Klamath Cuvee, a blend of 85% Syrah, 14% Merlot and 1% Viognier, were delicious.

Cypher Winery - formerly Four Vines Winery - had some lovely wines poured by the very eccentric Christian Tietje. We tried the 2008 Monarchy, a 100% Syrah; the 2008 Peasant, a traditional Rhone blend and 2008 Anarchy, a blend which includes Zinfandel. It's cheating a little, but apparently "it's like spicy Petite Sirah"!

Interestingly for a Rhone Rangers tasting there were a curious amount of blends with non-Rhone varieties, which seems like breaking the rules to me, but most were great so I guess we'll let them off! Of the Rhone it was the blends which really shone for me. I guess that reinforces something I already know about my wine tastes!

Bonny Doon's latest offering from Alamo Creek

2011-03-27T00:30:00.026-07:00

I finally got around to opening my most recent Bonny Doon "Crew Rouge" shipment this week to find two bottle of 2008 Alamo Creek Syrah enclosed. I was excited, as I really enjoyed the 2007 vintage. Looking back at CellarTracker I found my thoughts on the 2007 from late 2010:

2007 Bonny Doon Alamo Creek Syrah
Made with 100% Syrah from the Alamo Creek Valley this wine is aged in French oak (and also oak chips - Bonny Doon are nothing if not honest! *edit: oak chips were actually used in the fermenter to stabilise anthocyanins. Still, more info than you'd get from most winemakers!) At just over 13% it's pretty low alcohol for California. Deep red in the glass with violet hues the nose shows earth, spice and anise. On the palate I found crushed berry fruit, a touch of white pepper and a fresh acidity on the finish. 90 points.

I actually think the 2008 vintage is better - it's a little more savoury and "old-world" in style:

2008 Bonny Doon Alamo Creek Syrah
Luscious purple in colour the nose shows mainly savoury, meaty and peppery aromas. The palate shows dark berry fruits and herbaceous characters. Full bodied, smooth and with a lovely long finish. 572 cases produced. 91 points.

Verdict: give it a try!

Carménère: Chile's Malbec?

2011-03-26T01:30:00.052-07:00

Wine production in Chile started in much the same way as Argentina - in the sixteenth century through Spanish conquest and missionaries. Initially well known for sweet wines it wasn't until the late nineteenth century that Chilean wine makers like Silvestre Errázuriz began to work with French varieties, brought back from their trips overseas.

Like Argentina, much Chilean wine production in the early days was considered low quality and it wasn't until the late twentieth century that Chile began to focus on export markets, which went hand in hand with improvements in quality. This is where the two countries paths diverge though. Today Chile's signature variety in international markets is Carménère, whereas Argentina staked the farm on Malbec.

Although both grapes originate from Bordeaux they're no longer in widespread use there, as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominate. Both varieties can used as blending grapes under local laws, but it's only Malbec that really is. In Cahors Malbec is even used to produce wines in its own right - something Carménère cannot claim. In Mendoza we heard stories of French wines from Cahors, where Malbec is called Auxerrois, beginning to use Malbec on the label in order to play on the popularity of the variety from Argentina.

In my experience Carménère just doesn't produce good single variety wines (please let me know if you know of one!) There are no tannins to speak of, which means the wines don't age well, and the overwhelming characters are earthy, smoky and spicy.

So, is that it for Chile? Maybe not. Mendoza is awash with rumours of a Chilean takeover of Malbec and on a recent trip to the UK I managed to get hold of a bottle of Chilean Malbec from Terra Andina. Called Altos, it's a blend of Malbec and Petit Verdot. It was good, very good:

2008 Terra Andina Altos
As blend of around two-thirds Malbec and one-third Petit Verdot, this really isn't a typical wine for Chile. Aged in both French and American oak for a little over a year, the wine comes together as bright purple in the glass. The nose showcases some lovely blackberry, plum and violet characters. The palate is big, bold and full bodied. I found mainly savoury characters of mocha and liquorice. Long smooth finish. 90 points.

Game on I think... I'm looking forward to trying more Chilean Malbec!

The joy of travelling with Riedel

2011-03-20T01:30:00.036-07:00

I've written about Riedel glasses many times before and I'm sure you wont be surprised to hear that I think they're the best way to enjoy a wine.

Given the delicate glass though (you'll realise how delicate once you've broken one!) you might be surprised to know that I always travel with Riedel glasses. Probably not the kind you're thinking of though...

First, they're stemless. Stemmed glasses are not only larger, but at much greater risk of breaking so stemless just makes sense. Second they're small, but functional. The 414/22 we use is actually an 'O' Sake Tasting glasses, but with just a little wine at a time they're perfect for travelling. Lastly, as with many Riedel glasses, there's a handy tube to provide more protection in transit.

Our Riedel glasses, packed in checked luggage, have flown tens of thousands of miles on domestic and international flights. In their tubes they've survived baggage handlers the world over as well as me dropping them in hotel rooms every now and again. At about £6 ($10) each, they're a great investment. After all, what's worse than enjoying a delicious wine in a beautiful place out of a plastic cup?!

Vintage Penfolds from the cellar

2011-03-19T01:30:00.014-07:00

Back in 1998 petrol was 61p a litre in the UK (but only $1.15 a gallon in the US), the Lewinsky scandal hit Bill Clinton, Europe agreed on the Euro as a single currency, Microsoft released Windows '98 and Australia had a one of the greatest vintages in a decade. Thirteen years later they're still getting better....

1998 Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz
Dark red in the glass with cherry red edges, this wine is showing only initial signs of age. The nose has lost some of the primary fruit and is instead showing more meaty, earthy and spicy characters. Thirteen years has done wonders for the palate. It shows layers of dark berry fruit, beautifully integrated oak, silky smooth tannins, good acidity and a lovely long finish. This wine definitely has a few more years in it. 92 points and £12 / $19 back in the day!

1998 Penfolds Bin 389
Ruby red at the edges with a deep purple core. The nose took a while to open up, but started out showing black fruits, especially blackcurrant, white pepper and liquorice. After some time in the glass I began to get more meaty aromas. The palate showed some up front fruit, but it's definitely fading. More dried fruit with hints of oak and leather. Full bodied, firm tannins and a lovely long finish. Very nice indeed! 90 points and £20 / $32.

Is BA's lounge the best wine bar in T5?

2011-03-17T07:06:00.000-07:00

It has to be said, flying through British Airway's new London Heathrow terminal is a pleasure. Sure there were teething problems, but these days it's one of the nicest places to fly from. Minimal queues at check-in and security, light and airy spaces and of course the flagship business lounges.

Looking more like a trendy wine bar than am airline lounge BA have created a wine space sectioned off from the main lounge by wine walls. Although there was no sparkling here, they had a great selection of wines which included five whites. Here's what I thought:

2008 Domaine Les Chaumes Pouilly-Fume
Lovely sweet nose, almost botrytis like, with a just a hint of spice. The palate is medium bodied and well constructed. Initial stone fruit characters give way to a lovely lemony acidity on the finish.

2007 Stonier Chardonnay
Very pale yellow in colour this Mornington Peninsular chardonnay shows very sweet, almost candied stone fruit on the nose. Almost overwhelmingly so! The palate is full bodied and it has to be said, a little cloying. Long, spicy finish.

2007 Marmesa Vineyards Hollister Peak Chardonnay
Pale yellow in colour this American Chardonnay shows stone fruits - especially peach - as well as pear characters on the nose. The palate is smooth and full bodied. Some initial creamy hints soon turn to zesty citrus on the finish.

2009 Ceretto Blange
This wine shows a very aromatic nose of apricot, peach and just a little pineapple. Lovely. The palate had a slight sparkle, which I am not sure was supposed to be there, but it didn't really detract. The slight hint of sweetness helped to smooth the acidity on the finish.

2007 Mitchelton Airstrip Roussane Marsanne Viognier
Straw yellow in the glass this Aussie blend shows lemon curd and vanilla characters on the nose. The palate is medium to full bodied with good acidity and shows some signs of time in oak. A little buttery and earthy for my taste.

2007 Brazin Old Vine Zin
Deep, dark red in colour this Zin shows sweet blackberry, bramble and baking spices on the nose. The palate is full bodied and robust. As initial baked plum characters fade I found spice and then a nice minerality on the long warm finish.

2008 Ravenswood Lodi Zinfandel
Almost black in colour this Zin is a little more restrained than the last. Not sure why BA chose two California Zins for their lounge, but at least they're different! Baked plum, liquorice and spice prevail on the nose leading through to a warm, rich, round but eminently savoury palate. Lovely smooth finish.

2008 La Puerta Reserva Malbec
Ruby red in colour this Malbec has meaty, spicy and brooding dark berry fruit aromas on the nose. The palate is medium bodied and shows a baked plum with a very mineral turning to vegetal finish.

2008 Domaine Philippe & Vincent Jaboulet Crozes-Hermitage
Light purple in the glass the nose on this French number is a little restrained. After some time to develop in the glass I found a touch of blackcurrant and white pepper. The palate is medium bodied and smooth. It shows lovely dark berry fruits, vanilla and spice.

2005 Dinastia Vivanco Rioja
Silky purple in colour this Rioja shows plum, spice and cigar box aromas on the nose. The palate is medium bodied with earthy, spicy, peppery characters that seem to slightly overwhelm the fruit. I guess that's kind of what you expect from many Riojas though. Definitely a food wine.

Cheers!

Le Froglet cup-a-shiraz

2011-03-13T00:30:00.030-08:00

At the end of last year I wrote a post about UK supermarket Marks & Spencer releasing their own brand wine in 187ml plastic glasses (see: Are you ready for a "cup-a-wine")

Back in the UK for two weeks only I decided to give it a go! The M&S I visited only had Shiraz and Chardonnay in stock, but I guess I can forgive them the rose given the wintry weather. The Chardonnay was also not refrigerated, so not sure how that plays to the convenience buyer.

I have to say I was a little concerned that the top would puncture on the trip home in the shopping bag, but pealing it from the cup I could see it was a pretty thick covering of foil and plastic.

M&S describe 2009 Le Froglet Shiraz as "a ripe, rich, smooth red wine" with "gorgeous flavours of chocolate and blackcurrant" and "subtle, warming, spicy depths and a soft finish." Personally I found intense stewed rhubarb on the nose (I love rhubarb!) and a medium bodied palate with generous helpings of red berry fruit. No great length, but perfectly drinkable.

It's certainly no top class French wine or Riedel glass, but I can see it being great for a summers day BBQ or outdoor BYO event.

Enomatic Amor

2011-03-12T00:30:00.026-08:00

London wine shop The Sampler has expanded! From it's roots in Angel's Upper Street this small wine merchant has gone west, setting up it's second store in trendy South Ken.

As with the Angel store, the shop's Enomatic wine machines are divided into four main sections: white wine (~24 wines), red wine (~40 wines), sweet wine (~8 wines) and "Icons" (~8 wines). Each machine holds 8 bottles and fills the bottle with nitrogen after each pour to prevent oxidation. Using this method wine can apparently say fresh in the machine for up to 2 weeks.

At the machine there's a little digital display above each wine which indicates the price of a sample. This can vary from a few pence to over £30 ($50). Slotting your card in allows you to pay and pressing the button delivers the wine through a small spout. On this trip I sampled:

1996 Leoville Barton
Made with a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot this estate is located between the towns of Beychevelle and Saint Julien. Deep purple in colour I found blackberry and herb characters on the nose. The palate is full bodied and elegant with layers of dark berry fruit and silky tannins.

1996 Ridge Montebello
Made with 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot and 4% Petit Verdot the fruit for this wine comes from higher elevations in the Santa Cruz mountains. Deep ruby in colour, the nose shows liquorice, mocha and coffee. The palate is full bodied with plenty of ripe and fleshy dark berry fruit and leather. The finish is long and dusty.

1991 Campillo Reserva Especial
Owned by the Faustino group, this Rioja spends 20 months in new French barrels. The nose shows dusty, dried fruit aromas. On the palate I found dried cranberries and toasted nuts. Perhaps fading a little.

1992 Charles Melton 9 Popes
Apparently one of Australia's best Rhone style wines. Although still deep in colour, this wine is showing some age. The nose shows animal, leather and vegetal characters. The palate has lost some primary fruit and developed a lean and mineral driven palate.

The Sampler isn't just a wine shop, it's a wine destination!

Argentina in a glass

2011-03-06T00:30:00.012-08:00

Having just returned Mendoza, it's fair to say I've drunk my share of Argentinian wines! From the more than 100 wines we tasted during our trip, here are my favourites:

2007 Alta Vista Single Vineyard Temis Malbec was definitely the highlight at Alta Vista. Made with fruit from a single vineyard in the Uco Valley. Lovely ripe dark berry fruit, well integrated wood, soft tannins and a long smooth finish.

2007 Kaiken Ultra Cabernet Sauvignon. Made from 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Malbec aged in French Oak for 12 months. The nose showed lovely blackcurrant, cigar smoke and creamy vanilla characters. Well rounded palate with further good fruit and well integrated tannins.

2007 Punto Final Reserva Malbec made with grapes from vineyards in La Consulta (1,100 metres) and Perdriel (900 metres), both at different altitudes. The blended wine spends 10 months in French Oak. As well as some lovely floral characters I found spice, wood and chocolate.

2006 Piattelli Cabernet Sauvignon Premium. It's made with 10% Malbec and also aged in French and American Oak for 8 months. Here I found more blackcurrant, redcurrant and blueberry as well as typical spice. Medium bodied, very round with no rough edges. Delicious!

2010 Achával-Ferrer Finca Altemera barrel sample. It's about two years away from bottling, but still a great wine. It's currently showing some meaty and acidic characters which we're reliably informed will have disappeared by the time the wine is released.

Now to wine searcher to see if I can find them in the US!

Sampling British Airway's Wine Cellar

2011-03-05T08:51:00.001-08:00

You've got to use all those air miles sometime, and in our case we decided to upgrade our economy flights to Club World on our two-week holiday to the UK. Along with the lounge and a lovely sleeper seat come the benefits of upgraded food and wine.... yet more opportunities to wine taste!

After boarding we chose the NV Ayala Brut Majeur to start our flight in style. Now owned by Bollinger, the wine menu calls this a "thoroughly dependable House." With grapes from their estate in Montagne de Reims this is a blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. The nose shows lovely aromas of crisp apple and yeast. The palate is full bodied and refreshing.

With our meal we had the option of 2008 Domaine Philippe & Vincent Jaboulet Crozes-Hermitage or 2008 Chono Reserva Syrah from Chile. I was a little disappointed, given that we were flying from the USA, that they didn't have the third option on the menu - 2007 Vila San-Juliette Merlot from Paso Robles.

I went for the 2008 Domaine Philippe & Vincent Jaboulet Crozes-Hermitage and thoroughly enjoyed it after it had a few minutes to warm up. It was a textbook Crozes-Hermitage which showed lovely dark berry fruits, white pepper and long silky finish.

Here's hoping for the 2007 Vila San-Juliette Merlot on the way home!

The wines of oneworld LAX

2011-03-03T19:14:00.001-08:00

Flying can always be a good opportunity to taste some new wines and our visit to oneworld's business lounge at LAX this evening was no exception! The selection tonight included a sparkling, an off the beaten path white and three different varieties of red. As you would expect for LA, all the wines were chosen to showcase California wine making. Or perhaps they're just cheaper!

Whatever the reason for the selections, I enjoyed the opportunity to taste. Here's what I found:

NV Piper Sonoma Brut
Made in the traditional champagne method this spamming slows a lovely pale colour and fine mousse. The nose shows great yeast and citrus notes which follow through to the palate. Dry with great acidity.

2009 Firestone Riesling
Made with Central Coast fruit I found plenty of sweet characters on the nose. Mainly tropical with the slightest hint of banana. The palate is not bone dry, with has a suggestion of sweetness and a little spice. Surprisingly full bodied.

2009 Artesa Chardonnay
From the Napa side of Carneros this wine shows mainly mineral characters on the nose with a little vanilla. The palate shows obvious malo in oak. Plenty of spicy, woody characters with good tannins.

2007 Bianchi Signature Selection Pinot Noir
From the coastal regions of the Edna Valley this Pinot shoes bright cherry fruit, violets and vanilla on the nose. The palate is medium to light bodied and refreshing. Lots of mellow fruit with a good suggestion of oak. Lovely with a light chill.

2008 Black Stallion Cabernet Sauvignon
From vineyard along the beautiful Silverado trail this Cabernet shows blackberry fruit oak and vanilla on the nose. The palate is full bodied, but elegant. Initial dark berry fruit characters are filled out with well integrated oak, tobacco and pepper. Fine grained tannins on the finish.

2007 Kenwood Syrah
Made with Sonoma Valley Syrah, this wine comes in at a lowly 13.5%! low when compared the Syrah from the Central Coast. Lovely ruby red in colour I found a naming savoury nose with just the slightest suggestion of strawberry. The palate is on the lighter side of medium bodied with lovely red berry fruit, violets and vanilla.

I went back for a full glass of the Black Stallion Cabernet Sauvignon!

So, what have I learnt about Mendoza and wine?

2011-02-27T00:30:00.025-08:00

What do I know now that I didn't know before my trip? Here are my top ten:

1. First and foremost - the Malbec is awesome, expressive and different in every region from which we tried it.

2. Having said that, Argentina is not just about Malbec and Torrontes! They produce a number of other varieties well here, including most of the Bordeaux varieties, Syrah, Tempranillo, Pinot Noir, Bonarda and Chardonnay.

3. Appointments are key. Unlike other "new world" producers you can't just arrive at vineyards. They wont even let you in the gate. The positive side of this though is that tours are much more personal and you often get the opportunity to taste from tank or barrel

4. Many wineries have a view that Argentinian tastes are different to international tastes. Not only is it common to label the wines differently, but many wineries produce completely different wines for the local market. Some of the wines through which we came to love Argentina, Norton Privada for example, is not sold here.

5. Many wineries do not even bother selling to the local market. They make wines from day one with the more lucrative export market in mind.

6. The Geneva double curtain trellising method is still in frequent use here, but perhaps mostly in the older vineyards. All the new vineyards I saw were using vertical shoot positioning.

7. Hail is a problem and many wineries go to great lengths, and incur huge cost, to put up protection nets. These cover the vines in upside-down V shapes over Geneva double curtain and are strapped tightly to the vines when they use vertical shoot positioning.

8. There is a law here which prevents sugar being stored in a winery building where still wines are made. You would have thought this was to try and prevent sugar being added to must in poor vintages, but vintage variation here is minimal so I'm not entirely sure of the reason. Whatever the case the impact is that many wineries do not make sparkling wine. If they do they have separate facilities for this.

9. Rainfall is less than 200mm per year, so irrigation is essential. We were also told that they get more than 300 days of sun a year, but you wouldn't have been able to tell that from our trip!

10. There is a friendly rivalry with Chile and some fun made by the Argentinians of their betting the winery on Carmenère. We also hear that Chile is to start producing Malbec. That could be interesting!

Notes from the Uco Valley

2011-02-26T00:30:00.034-08:00

Our trip to the Uco Valley was with the same group who took us to Lujan de Cuyo, Ampora. They picked us up bright and early for the hour long drive to our first winery. Unfortunately I had developed a bit of a cold for our third and final wine trip, so I decided not to include tasting notes with this post.

Unlike Luyan de Cayo the scenery was flatter and more barren. If only clouds hadn't been obscuring the mountains I think it would have been amazing. Stop one was Andeluna, owned by the Lay family of Frito Lay fame, it's at 1300m elevation. The winery, like all the wineries we saw in Uco, was new, modern, surrounded by its vineyards and full of facilities for visitors. As the region is only a decade or so old they have had tourism in mind more than the traditional regions.
After a quick tour of the vineyards and wine making facilities we headed straight to the tasting bar to sample the wines:
2010 Andeluna Chardonny - unoaked;
2006 Andeluna Reserve Malbec - actually made mostly from Malbec with 7.5% Cabernet Sauvignon. 70% of the wine is aged in 1 year old French Oak and blended with the 30% kept in stainless steel before bottling. It then spends a year in the bottle prior to release;
2005 Andeluna Passianado - this is the estates top wine. It's made from a blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc the percentages of which change every year.

Our second stop, just a little further down the road, was Bodegas Salentein. It's a huge concrete winery with a restaurant and art gallery attached. The main winery building is separated from the visitor centre by a long straight path through the vineyards. Our tour took us into the winery building, which was modern and dark, to see the stainless steel and French Oak tanks, massive barrel room and bottling line. The tasting room was underground in the depths of the building and contained a massive long stone table where we tasted the wines. I still have no idea how they got the table in there. Our wine samples included:

2010 Portillo Sauvignon Blanc - the winery's basic range just above table wines;
2010 Portillo Malbec Rose;
2009 Salentein Reserve Pinot Noir;
2007 Salentein Numina - the second label and a blend of 85% Malbec and 15% Merlot which has been ages in French Oak for 16 months.

The Numina seemed to go down very well with the group, who also though it great value for the $35 price tag. So much so in fact that they canvassed the group to stump up the funds to try Salentein's top wine: 2006 Primus Malbec. Again the consensus was good, but at $65 no one was sure that it was thirty bucks better than Numina. Nevertheless, everyone left in very high spirits!

The last winery, where we would have lunch, was a one hour drive from Salentein. As we got closer the winery of O. Fournier emerged from the plains like a UFO. It was designed by the same architect as Salentein, which basically means a lot of concrete! As we arrived, checked by security guards at the gate as we had been at every winery before, we decided to go straight for lunch and do the tour afterwards. With lunch, we tried the following wines:

2009 Urban Uco Torrontes;
2009 B Crux Sauvignon Blanc;
2007 B Crux Blend made from 60% Tempranillo, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah and 10% Malbec aged in French and American oak for 12 months;
2007 Akfa Crux Malbec aged for 20 months in French and American oak;

More than two hours later, we headed to the winery! It's a completely gravity fed operation (they think using pumps damages the grapes and wines) with ramps that bring trucks to the top floor. From there grapes are sorted and crushed and put directly into tanks on the floor below (their openings stick through to the floor where the trucks arrive.) They use conical tanks here as they believe it reduces the need to punch down the cap, which they think damages the wine. From here the next level below is the barrel room, the largest in South America we are told.
So, that was it. After three days of wine tours we were absolutely knackered and ready for water with dinner!

Visiting the vineyards of Mendoza my way

2011-02-23T00:30:00.029-08:00

Our second day of wine tours in Mendoza was more personal. As wineries here operate mainly on an appointment system, you can't even get into the driveway without one, we hired a car and driver who arranged the appointments for us. This way we got to visit the wineries we were really interested to see given the wines of Mendoza we knew from home.

After a little drive out of town, we started our day at Achával-Ferrer. The tour started with the concrete fermenters, which they believe give the best results for premium wines given the very slow changes in temperature due to the density and thickness of the walls. The first thing that struck me was the cleanliness of the place. It was immaculate. I've actually never seen a cleaner winery! Next we headed down the metal staircase to the barrel room, bottle storage and shipping areas below. Unremarkable, but spotless!

Back in the tasting room we started with 2009 Achával-Ferrer Malbec. This is their entry level wine made with Malbec from different areas in Mendoza and is supposed to show what Mendoza is all about when it comes to this grape. Next up was 2008 Achával-Ferrer Quimera - a blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot - which has always been a favourite. There are three wines in the Finca series, the bodega's top wines, and today it was our turn to try 2008 Achával-Ferrer Finca Bella Vista. Deep, dark, dense and delicious. Could do with a few more years in the bottle though! Next we got to try a 2010 Achával-Ferrer Finca Altemera barrel sample. It's about two years away from bottling, but still a great wine. It's currently showing some meaty and acidic characters which we're reliably informed will have disappeared by the time the wine is released. We finished the tasting with NV Dolce - made with Malbec is the style of passito it's available at the winery only. Achával-Ferrer also has small plots of Syrah and Petit Verdot which they make into wines sold only at the winery so we also picked up a bottle of 2008 Achával-Ferrer Syrah. I'm seriously looking forward to giving it a try!

Next our driver whisked us off to Bodega Catena Zapata. They built their winery in 2001 in the style of a Myan pyramid. Apparently they wanted to make a statement about South American history and culture rather than copying the styles of other countries. It's a seriously impressive building with what seems like a mile-long straight driveway out in front. The tour here began with a quick video, which spent far too much time harping on about ratings for my liking. Next we saw the stylised barrel hall as well as the winery - both white and red, which are separated here. Finally came the viewing gallery on the roof, which would have given us stunning views of the Andes had it not been for the overcast skies.

Back inside the pyramid we were greeted at the tasting room with a glass of 2008 Saint Felicien Malbec. We were then given a walk though of the local market and international market wines, which this winery clearly delineates. Apparently this is because of different tastes in different markets. The Felicien was local market only, but I still liked it! Next we tried 2006 D.V. Catena Malbec-Malbec (local market) from two different sites in Mendoza then 2007 Catena Alta Malbec (international market) and finally 2006 Angelica Zapata Malbec (local market).

The rain started to pour as we arrived for lunch at Bodega Norton, so we were glad to be going inside. At La Vid we shared two salads to start - Tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad and pear, rocket and bacon salad - then went on to eat a 400g (huge!) rib-eye steak with fries. We accompanied the meat with 2008 Norton Reserva Malbec and 2008 Norton Reserva Syrah. Both fairly run of the mill wines, but the best available by the glass in the restaurant. Interestingly our favourite wine, Privada, was no where to be found.

Leaving Norton the skies had brightened and we had a thirty minute drive to Maipu to visit Familia Zuccardi. As we walked across the courtyard they were crushing Chardonnay for the Santa Julia range of sparkling wine. Santa Julia is their lower label, and makes up almost 80% of their production. You could tell they make a lot of wine here because the facilities were seriously huge spread across a number of different buildings. As we were the only people on the tour, they decided to do something a little out of the ordinary and allow us to try some tank samples of experimental wines. Apparently they make these wines to improve their main lines, rather than in the hopes of adding them to their product range. We tried Verdehlo, Pinot Noir and Tempranillo from "their best vineyard." All very interesting. After seeing the barrel halls, which were huge and stacked eight stories high, we headed back to the tasting room where we tried 2008 Q Series Malbec as well as a taster of their sweet and port wines.

I couldn't help coming away from Zuccardi with the feeling of an industrial winery, which is completely different to how I felt about Achával-Ferrer. Their wines were definitely the highlight!

Tasting the Terrior of Mendoza

2011-02-20T00:30:00.001-08:00

Organised through Ampora Wine Tours, who turned out to be excellent, this tour took in five wineries in Lujan de Cujo with the aim of highlighting the terriors of the region.

The first stop of the day was Alta Vista, part of the Edonia Group who also own Château Sansonnet in France and Derezla Tokaji in Hungary. Our brief tour took us through the original Spanish concrete fermenters, complete with stilts to allow hot coals underneath to heat and start fermentation, and into the barrel halls underneath. Many of the rooms in the winery were old fermenters, of gigantic proportion, used in a period when quantity rather than quality was the driving force.

Next we headed to the lawn for the tasting. Under the shade of the climbing plants, we could see lawns (complete with wild Guinea Pigs!) and vines in the foreground and the Andes in the background. It was a great day to be in Argentina, so it was fitting that we started with the premier white grape: Torrontes. The 2008 Alta Vista Premium Torrontes showed some lovely tropical fruit character on the nose which led through to a very crisp and dry palate. That's why they call it "the liar"! Next we started on the reds and 2008 Alta Vista Premium Bonarda. It's a good single variety wine, but tends to show a little too much acid for my liking. Certainly not something I'd search out. The first Malbec was 2007 Alta Vista Terrior Selection. It's made with fruit from four different vineyards to give the "ultimate expression of Mendoza Malbec." I think it does a pretty good job. It's got fruit where it needs to be, but also has structure and balance. 2007 Alta Vista Single Vineyard Temis Malbec was up next, and definitely the highlight. Made with fruit from a single vineyard in the Uco Valley. Lovely ripe dark berry fruit, well integrated wood, soft tannins and a long smooth finish. We finished with NV Alta Vista Premium Extra Brut, made with 100% Chardonnay.

Back on the bus we were heading to our second stop of the day - Kaiken, which is part of the Chilean Montes group. By now the weather had taken a turn and the clouds coming off the mountains were looking threatening... the rain had started and (so we found out later) the possibility for hail. Arriving at Kaiken we were immediately given a quick tour of the vineyards where we learned how to identify Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon vines. We also got to taste the grapes from both, just a month or so from harvest. The Malbec grapes were bigger, juicer and far nicer to eat than the Cabernet Sauvignon!

Walking to the winery, we headed straight to the cellar minding the treacherous pipes, puddles and drains as we went. As our eyes adjusted to the total darkness we saw the purple angel of Montes in the background, right next to the stop where we tried a barrel sample of 2010 Malbec. Fun! As we were walking to the tasting room we started hearing "bombs" going off in the background. These were projectiles being launched by the winery to try and prevent hail. As it happened, and unnecessary procedure. In the tasking room we tried tank samples of 2010 Malbec from Agrelo, a vineyard south of Mendoza, and Vistaflores Los Arboles, a vineyard south of San Carlos. It was interesting comparing the differences - floral and fruits as opposed to earthy.

Getting started with the fully made wines we tried the 2010 Kaiken Malbec Rose first. It showed cranberry characters and good crisp acidity. An easy drinking BBQ wine for sure. The 2008 Kaiken Malbec was up next. It's made from 95% Malbec and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and aged in French Oak for 6 months. I found a very savoury, almost porty nose, which showed liquorice and tobacco. The palate showed leather and pepper. Personally I disliked this wine, but others around the table seemed to like it. Finally we tried 2007 Kaiken Ultra Cabernet Sauvignon. Made from 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Malbec aged in French Oak for 12 months. The nose showed lovely blackcurrant, cigar smoke and creamy vanilla characters. Well rounded palate with further good fruit and well integrated tannins.

Our third stop of the day was Bodega Renacer, owned by a Chilean wine company with an Italian consulting winemaker. No tour here, but we played a little blending game with Malbecs from three different regions to get started. I thought my blend was best... obviously!

The first wine we tried was a 2009 Punto Final Sauvignon Blanc from the Casablanca Valley in Chile, the only non-Argentine wine. They do make Sauvignon Blanc in Argentina, but we're told it's not as good as those from Chile. In any case this Chilean example showed stone fruit, citrus and pineapple characters on the nose and a fresh, lively, grassy palate. The reds started with 2007 Punto Final Reserva Malbec made with grapes from vineyards in La Consulta (1,100 metres) and Perdriel (900 metres), both at different altitudes. The blended wine spends 10 months in French Oak. As well as some lovely floral characters I found spice, wood and chocolate. Finally we tried 2008 Enamore. This wine is a collaboration with Allegrini of Italy, and made in a passito style. Half of the Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Bonarda grapes used to make this wine were left to dry then blended back into the "normal" non-dried grapes before ageing in French oak for 12 months. The wine is not at all sweet, as you might expect it to be. Instead I found floral, cherry and fig character.

Lunch came late, at Bodega Piattelli. This vineyards, owned by Americans, exports most of its production. Here we tried 2008 Torrontes Premium, which actually spends a little time in oak, so as well as the flowery and peachy characters I found a little more substance on the palate. Still fresh, but you can feel a little more weight with the wood. Next was the 2007 Malbec Premium, which is made with just a little (7%) Cabernet Sauvignon and aged in French and American Oak for 8 months. The nose was initially a little closed, but I did pick up plum, blackberry and a touch of liquorice. The palate was full bodied and well balanced. Finally my favourite wine was 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon Premium. It's made with 10% Malbec and also aged in French and American Oak for 8 months. Here I found more blackcurrant, redcurrant and blueberry as well as typical spice. Medium bodied, very round with no rough edges. Delicious!

Our final, and fifth, stop of the day was Bodega Sottano which is owned by a local group of three brothers. We tried 2008 Sottano Chardonnay, 2009 Sottano Malbec Rose, 2008 Sottano Clasico Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008 Sottano Clasico Malbec and 2009 Sottano Reserva Blend (made from 60% Malbec, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Malbec). Unfortunately my tasting notes are a little thin on the ground at this stop - to busy chatting with the other tour goers - all good wines, but no real stand outs.

After the day was done, we were very tired and happy to be back at the hotel for a short rest before the next meal stop!

Impressions of Iguazu Falls

2011-02-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

Our 1.5 hour flight from Buenos Aires to Iguazu was slightly delayed, as all of our LAN flights have been so far! The inflight food and drinks were free, a rarity these days, and consisted of a box of Havanna goodies - local savoury crackers, biscuits and cake with dulche de leche. All very tasty.... we need to remember to take some home for the parents!

Arriving in Iguazu the weather was noticeably more humid. We picked up a local taxi and headed to the Sheraton, located inside the national park. The vista from our "Falls view room" was amazing. You could see the thundering falls and rising mist in the distance accompanied by the roar of an amazing volume of water. We had spent most of the day travelling, so took a quick look around the hotel then had dinner in the bar (un exciting), where I was attacked by a mystery black moth! Scary stuff.

Back in our room we drank the 2007 Opalo M. Lorca Syrah that we picked up in Buenos Aires (which showed lovely black fruit, earth, white pepper and had a lovely savoury finish) whilst we agreed on our plan of attack for seeing the falls tomorrow.

The next morning, after the appropriate amount of caffeine had been consumed, we headed to the Jungle Adventures desk and booked a "great adventure" rain forest and falls boat trip for later in the afternoon. Ready to go, we headed into the Jungle and for Cataratas station. It was already a warm and beautiful day. I could feel the sun baking my skin as soon as we left the comfort of the hotel's air conditioning and I was thankful for the mixture of sunscreen and bug spray that I was covered with from head to toe!

Just a few minutes later we arrived at the station and waited to catch the train to Garganta de Diablo (Devil's Throat) the biggest and most impressive of the falls. The open air train, pulled by a gas-powered locomotive, was four-seats abreast wooden seating. It was packed, by the ride was short. Arriving at the other end we headed to see the main sight across what must have been almost 1km of walkways across the river and its various islands. It was busy, but worth the walk. The Garganta de Diablo was truly amazing. The volume of water was impressive, but it was the violence with which it erupted off the cliff and into the misty abyss which was astounding. We took photos and video, but neither seemed to really capture the moment as well as living it for ourselves. Satisfied with our first expedition of the day, we wandered the catwalks back to the station.

We still had a few hours before our afternoon expedition, so decided to walk the Circuito Superior. The catwalks here give a view of completely different falls. The Circuito Inferior in turn gives another perspective. This time below the falls, it's a good opportunity to get wet. A welcome relief! The amazing thing about Iguazu is the sheer amount of falls, all over the place. It's not just on giant waterfall, but loads of smaller ones.

That afternoon we were loaded onto old Mercedes lorries for our expedition to the port from which our speedboat would leave. Boarding via a rather tentative platform, we quickly got settled on the boat and into our bright orange life jackets. Before we knew it the boat was on its way to the falls, and we enjoyed bumping up the rapids at speed before arriving to take photos from yet another vista. It was then time to get wet... very wet. We went into the spray from the falls again and again until on the last round we got so close I could hardly breath with the amount of water flowing over me. It was terrifying, but exhilarating. A really memorable experience, and we have the DVD to prove it!

Arriving back at the hotel, soaking wet, we opened the a bottle of Argentinean NV Chandon Demi-Sec sparkling and watched the falls from the comfort of our air conditioned room! Oh, how nice it is not to be on a schedule.

Dinner in the hotel restaurant was a special buffet in honour of Valentine's day. Along with a giant heart-shaped cooked centrepiece there were heart-shaped balloons and heart-shaped butter with the bread! They also had a fruit and chocolate fountain, which inevitably ended up all over the floor! Dinner was great - we started with soup and salad, had a main course of pasta, stuffed chicken and steak and finished with a selection of desserts and cheese. We drank 2008 Bodega Norton Malbec, a good value wine which hits all the marks when it comes to a restaurant wine, with dinner and finished with a free glass of Domaine Chandon Rose. All in all, a very nice evening.

Back in the room we decided to try the bottle of 2006 Del Fin Del Mundo Gran Reserva we picked up at the duty free in Buenos Aires. This is the first wine I've tried from Patagonia. The fruit for this one is sourced from San Patricio del Chanar in Neuguen, at a latitude of 39 degrees south. It's made from 33% Malbec, 29% Cebernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc all aged in French and American oak for 12 months. The wine itself was good - medium bodied, plenty of red and dark berry fruit character, a touch of pepper and subtle oak. The finish was long and smooth. All in all a great first encounter with Patagonian wine!

Before we knew it 11:30 PM had arrived and it was a quick spray of insect repellent the off to bed dreaming of our trip to Mendoza tomorrow.

Impressions of Buenos Aires

2011-02-12T00:30:00.032-08:00

Capital of Argentina and second largest city in South America, Buenos Aires was established in 1536 by the Spanish expedition led by Pedro de Mendoza. Famous for its European-influenced architecture, tango and amazing food we were very excited about our first stop!

Soon after checking into the hotel on our first night we out for dinner at a hotel recommended restaurant, Mala Kara, where I ate Lomo (steak) and Patatas Bravas (very different from the kind I was used to in Spain - just cubed, fried potatoes, chopped tomato and basil) along with 2007 Saint Felicien Syrah. It's a brand of Bodega Catena Zapata that I didn't recognise, but it was delicious. I found lovely rich dark berry fruit, well-integrated oak and sublet smoky characters. 78 pesos well spent. Finishing dinner we were exceptionally tired, we hadn't slept for almost two days, so headed to bed.

The next highlight of the week was a sunset boat trip. After mile upon mile of local roads and speed bumps we finally arrived at the marina. The small boat was lovely, and we spent the event sailing the rivers and branches of the delta before seeing the city from afar and watching the sunset all whilst drinking some lovely Malbec. The evening ended with a lovely cheese and meat platter before we cruised back to the marina.

Back at the hotel we popped to the local supermarket for some night-cap wine! We drank 2008 Saint Felicien Malbec after the success of the Syrah yesterday. It showed blackberry fruit, cigar box character and lovely a hint of white pepper. Very good indeed and a brand that I don't think gets exported.

Not feeling fully satiated in the wine department I sent the wife to get another bottle from the hotel bar. I gave instructions to bring back the cheapest bottle they had. Five minutes and 37 pesos later she returned with a bottle of 2009 Bodegas Salentein Portillo Cabernet Sauvignon. It was lovely. I found flesh and ripe berry fruit, a little sweetness and a touch of spice on the finish. Finishing the Da Vinci Code, and the two bottles of wine, it was suddenly 1AM. Definitely time for bed!

The next day, another full of exploring, led us to dinner at Cabaña Las Lilas. It was recommended by the guide book, and a number of other sources, as the best steakhouse in Argentina. It didn't disappoint. Although we had to wait 30 minutes for a table, passed by drinking Argentine N.V. Domain Chandon Brut, it was worth it. Before the main event came a myriad of little bites and bread. The main event, Lomo (filet) was great and the wine divine. We drank 2004 El Porvenir Syrah, as I have particularly enjoyed El Porvenir wines before but had never seen a Syrah. The night ended with complimentary Limoncello and a lovely stroll back to the hotel.

So, my initial impressions of wine and Argentina? It may seem obvious, but like any wine producing country they make all sorts of wine. Sparkling and Syrah were particular surprises, although of course they shouldn't be. It seems that Argentina's reputation for Malbec means other great wines just don't find their way onto retailers shelves abroad. So, it'll be these wines I'll be aiming to try more of during the rest of our trip!

Beginning our Argentinean adventure

2011-02-06T00:30:00.023-08:00

Today my wife and I are flying to Argentina on our honeymoon. Our travel plans take in Buenos Aires, Iguazu Falls and the wine-making capital of the country, Mendoza, before we head into Chile. Famed for fabulous meat and magnificent Malbec we can't wait to pop the cork on our first local bottle. So, lets get this travelogue started with a quick overview of Argentine wine production.

Thanks to Spain, wine production in Argentina dates back to the sixteenth century. It was Catholic priests travelling to South America that brought the first vine cuttings with them - to ensure supplies of wine to celebrate mass!

Wine production continued unabated and received a big boost in the 19th century with the completion of a railway connecting Mendoza to Buenos Aires as well as an influx of wine making expertise from European countries brought by immigrants looking to escape phylloxera.

Severe economic issues and the military dictatorship of the 20th century once again impacted the Argentine wine industry with a focus on quantity rather than quality. It wasn't until the early eighties, the end of military rule and the stabilising hand of president Carlos Menem that the country began to see foreign investment on the back of great exchange rates. Along with a renewed focus on quality Argentina began to focus its exports - looking to key markets in the US and Europe. Growth was strong through the 90's and 00's and today Argentina exports over 400 million litres (100 million gallons) of wine every year. That puts Argentina securely in the top 10 wine industries of the world.

With almost 2,225 square kilometres (900 square miles) of vineyards, Argentina is not just about Malbec. Although it has become the face of Argentinian red wine it only accounts for 26% of the red varieties grown. Bonarda comes in second with a 19% share, then Cabernet Sauvignon at 18%, Syrah at 13% and Merlot at 7%. On the white side Pedro Gimenez (not the same as Spain's Pedro Ximénez and declining in popularity) leads the field at 31% followed by the signature white Torrontes Riojano at 18%, Chardonnay at 14%, Chenin at 7% and Torrontés Sanjuanino at 6%.

Argentina produces wine in seven key regions. North to South along the Andes mountains (see map) these are: Salta, Catamarca, La Rioja, San Juan, Mendoza, Neuquén and Río Negro. The key difference between wine growing in these regions as opposed to others around the world is altitude. This varies between 300 metres (1000 ft) and 3,000 metres (10,000 ft) with the average vineyard at about 900 metres (3,000 ft). What with irrigation from the mountains, hot days and cool nights the terrior here couldn't be more perfect for the production of wine. I can't wait to find out for myself.

That it's for now... it's time to tango!

Big Basin Vineyards Black Ridge Vineyard Odeon

2011-02-05T00:30:00.006-08:00

Bottling the Santa Cruz Mountains is what Big Basin wines are all about. Here Bradley Brown leads the production of small-lot wines which truly express the terrior from which the grapes come. The vineyards are pretty spectacular, and so are the wines.

In general Big Basin wines are exactly what they say on the label...big. They're pretty high in alcohol and have spent extended time in French oak. The resulting wines are ripe, beautifully integrated and show textbook fine grained tannins. This "Aussie-style" blend was new to me, but soon became one of my favourites:

2007 Big Basin Vineyards Odeon
Made with 60% Syrah and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon this wine is aged in 100% new French oak barrels for 20 months! The resulting wine had a dense black core. On the nose I found black cherry, blackcurrant, vanilla, chocolate and a hint of mint. The palate is refined and intense. Lashings of berry fruit soon give way to more herbaceous characters, a little spice and ultimately bacon fat. The finish shows grippy acidity and good linger. 122 cases produced. $45 / £30. 96 points.

Organic and Biodynamic wines - can you taste the difference?

2011-01-30T00:30:00.002-08:00

In the last month Chateaux Guiraud and Pontet Canet have become Bordeaux’s first classed growths to be certified organic and the Organic Winegrowers of New Zealand have set a target for 20% of their vineyards to be farmed organically or biodynamically by 2020. These are just two examples of a growing trend, but why?

The more sceptical amongst you may just say it's a marketing tool, but just what is the difference between the way normal way wine is made, organic wine and Biodynamic wine?

Conventional winemaking starts just like any other kind of agriculture. Grapes are grown using chemical fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. Inevitably, some of these chemicals get into the finished product, in this case wine.

Organic winemaking starts in line with other organic farming practices in that the use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides is prohibited. The next part though gets a little fuzzy. Sulphites are generally considered a necessary part of winemaking as they "stabilise" the wine and allow it to endure - when making wines that will be put in a cellar for twenty years, this is important. As to whether the wine is truly an organic well, that's up for debate. The sulphites themselves are certainly not organic. In Europe wines are usually labelled "wine made from organic grapes" to get around this. In the US wines labelled "organic" must not have any added sulphites, so such wines generally need to be drunk more quickly.

Biodynamic winemaking on the other hand stems from the work of Rudolf Steiner in 1924. It builds on organic agriculture by adding further practices based on Steiner's spiritual philosophy, called anthroposophy. These practices include burying cow manure in a cow horn, ground quartz in a cow horn, yarrow flowers in a stag's bladder, chamomile in a cow intestine, stinging nettles, oak bark and dandelions in the vineyard then spraying the vines with Valerian flower juice and liquid manure. You couldn't make that up, but some evidence from blind tastings seems to suggest better wines as a result.

To be honest the whole thing is a bit of a minefield. As with all food and drink I applaud efforts to remove the chemicals as this can never really be a good thing, but only time will tell if these trends are here to stay.

Goodbye Houston, Texas!

2011-01-29T00:30:00.139-08:00

Well, this is it. After more than a year living in the Lone Star State it's time to leave. By the time you read this post we will be driving to California to start a new life in NorCal wine country.

As we leave Texas behind, I've been thinking about the fun wine experiences of the past year and would offer these departing thoughts:

Texas wine. The Texas wine industry is a little hit and miss. Some of the wines it produces are good, others barely palatable. When Oz Clark visited he commented that Texas needed to stop trying to replicate Bordeaux or Rioja and concentrate on what Texas does well. I agree. For me, that is undoubtedly white wine.

Wine in Texas. Apart from a few strange regulations, like not being able to buy alcohol before a certain time on Sunday and not allowing stores which sell hard liquor (spirits) to open at all on Sunday, Houston is open for business when it comes to wine. I've rarely had to buy out of state to get what I wanted. Unlike many southern states Texas also allows direct-to-consumer wine shipments from wineries, which is great.

Wine in restaurants. I have never been disappointed for choice in most Houston restaurants. In general wine lists are very good, with all the major wine-producing countries represented. A few are exceptional, the likes of III Forks, Pappas Bros Steakhouse and Fogo de Chao come to mind. Most restaurants will let you bring your own wine for a small fee. I would love to see lower mark-ups (I think that's a general complaint for all restaurants) and more wines available by the glass.

Wine in shops. Houston is home to the Specs chain which, for someone who is in to wine, is like being the proverbial kid in a candy store. The aisles go on and on, filled with an unparalleled selection of domestic wines. Central Market, HEB, Richard's and larger Kroger stores also have an above-average selection which makes choosing very hard! In store tastings are common, as are events hosted by the supermarkets and wine shops.

Wine events. In the past year I've attended a myriad of wine events. The highlights most certainly include the Napa Valley Taste and Tweet at Block 7 Wine Company, the Texas Wine Garden at the State Fair of Texas, the Tasting Room's Houston Cellar Classic Grand Tasting, multiple Pappas Bros tastings, HEB's Grand Food and Wine Affair and visits to a number of local vineyards.

Thanks y'all, it's been fun!

My top Aussie wine picks on Australia Day

2011-01-26T00:30:00.023-08:00

'twas this day in 1788 that the First Fleet arrived at Sydney Cove, ousted the Dutch, proclaimed British sovereignty and began producing wine for local sale within thirty years. In celebration here are my top five value (there is a recession on don't you know!) Aussie wine picks.

2006 The Colonial Estate Envoy
Owned by "cult" winemaker Jonathan Maltus, who made his name with St Emilion's Château Teyssier, The Colonial Estate is made up of a collection of vineyards in the Barossa and Eden Valleys. The 2006 Envoy is made from a blend of 50% Grenache, 30% Shiraz and 20% Mourvèdre (more commonly known as Mataró in Australia) aged in a mixture of French and American oak for 12 months. Dark-ruby in colour, I found dark cherry, blueberry and earthy aromas on the nose. The palate is full bodied and mouth-filling. Intense berry fruit, mineral characters and a long, clean finish. $22, £14, 91 points.

2007 Wrattonbully Vineyards Tempranillo
Deep purple in colour, this Tempranillo was on the heavier side of medium bodied. The nose showed typical strawberry and raspberry, perhaps with a little cooked Aussie twang, as well as vanilla and just the slightest hint of spice. The palate initially showed candied fruit drying out to show liquorice and a little wood. Smooth, long finish. $12, £8, 90 points

2006 Kilikanoon The Lackey Shiraz
Aged for 15 months in seasoned American oak this wine shows a rich purple colour. The nose is pretty intense - black berry fruits, soft plum and spice leading into more savoury capsicum and cedar aromas. The palate is generous and smooth. Medium bodied with more luscious fruit, well integrated oak and a hint of white pepper. No great length, but very nice. $15, £9, 89 points.

2001 Balgownie Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
Bright purple in colour, this Bendigo Cabernet is not your usual Aussie number. More art house chic than Hollywood blockbuster. Rich berry and plum fruit as well as wood on the nose lead through to blackcurrant, tobacco and dark chocolate on the plate. Rounded and smooth. Very nice, and great value. $20, £12, 89 points.

And for the more adventurous among you, a Barossa dessert wine:

N.V. Turkey Flat Pedro Ximénez
Honey yellow in colour, this wine has a lovely nose of nuts and caramel. The palate is delicious - perfectly oxidised - and shows honey roasted nuts and maple characters. $24, £15, 90 points.

Happy Australia Day!

Hedges Family Estate

2011-01-23T00:30:00.019-08:00

The story of Hedges Family Estate starts in the seventies when Tom Hedges marries his Fiancée in her home town of Champagne, France. After working their way around the world in the produce industry their focus switches to wine when they start exporting the wines of Washington. It wasn't until the beginning of the nineties that Tom and Anne-Marie decided to plant their own vineyards on Red Mountain in the Yakima Valley and they were winning awards and garnering critical acclaim by the end of the decade. Expansion continued into the new century with a new winery and conversion to Biodynamic farming. Today Hedges is considered one of the top wineries in the region. This was the first time I have tasted one of their wines.

2007 Hedges Family Estate Red Mountain
Made from 56% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Syrah and 6% Cabernet Franc (all grown and harvested within 2 miles of the winery) this wine was aged for 10 months in mostly American oak. On the nose I found white pepper and spice. The palate is full bodied and savoury with earthy, smoky, woody characters. Long dry finish. $25 / £16. 90 points.

Justin Vineyards turns water into wine

2011-01-22T00:30:00.058-08:00

As 2010 came to a close, there was big news of a deal in Paso Robles. One of my favourite wineries in the region, Justin Vineyards (forever etched in my memory for getting a speeding ticket whilst trying to make it to their tour on time), had been purchased vineyard, winery and barrel by Fiji Water.

Although the founders, Justin and Deborah Baldwin, will continue to run things on a daily basis the might of Fiji Water is now in charge. Owned by Roll International, Fiji Water has long been the subject of controversy for its practices on the island of Fiji. For years the company has been extracting water from a large aquifer whilst seemingly denying access to locals. Luckily things might be changing on the island with more government taxes and regulation, but I wonder if these practices harm the Justin brand?

I wonder if these bottles, purchased last year, will be my last?

2007 Justin Vineyard Isosceles
Yet another tasty bottle of this fine Bordeaux blend. Intense purple with ruby red edges I caught aromas of baked berry fruit, spice and liquorice on the nose. The palate is rich and full show yet further fruit character with well integrated wood. Good structure. Nice peppery finish. 89 points.

2008 Justin Vineyard Justification
Made mainly from Cabernet Franc, this wine shows deep purple in colour. Along with blackberry and bramble on the nose, there is a rustic earthiness reminiscent of Chinon. The palate is full bodied, intense and shows very well made. Layers of pepper and spice. 89 points.

Experimenting with Bonny Doon Le Cigare Volant

2011-01-16T00:30:00.068-08:00

Images thanks to bonnydoonvineyard.com

For it's most recent vintage of Le Cigare Volant (2007) the main man behind Bonny Doon, Randall Grahm, decided to go a little off-piste. Instead of releasing one wine as they had always previously done, they released three!

All three wines were made with the same blend, consisting 60% Grenache, 32% Syrah, 4% Mourvèdre and 4% Cinsault with fruit sourced from the Alta Loma, Ca’ del Solo, Bien Nacido, Alamo Creek, Enea and Woock vineyards, however the outcomes were very different:

2007 Bonny Doon Vineyard Le Cigare Volant en demi-muid
The first variant, labelled "en demi-muid" was aged for 20 months in 600 litre oak barrels (around 160 gallons for you American folk) - a character you can definitely feel in the wine. It's deeper, darker in colour and generally more dense. Very "Aussie" or "Blockbuster Central Coast Shiraz" in style. Along with abundant blackberry I found plenty of spice, cracked black pepper and tobacco. $40 / £25.

2007 Bonny Doon Vineyard Le Cigare Volant en foudre
The second variant, labelled "en foudre" was also aged for 20 months, but this time in a large oak cask common in the south of France. The capacity varies, but suffice to say it's a lot more than an oak barrel - in the range of 15,000 to 35,000 litres (4,000 - 9,000 gallons). The ratio of wine to wood in this situation is significantly less, so it imparts much more subtle flavours. I found this version more fruit forward, including berry fruit. Overall it seemed lighter, fragrant and more elegant. $40 / £25.

2007 Bonny Doon Vineyard Le Cigare Volant "Normale"
The last variant, and "normale" release is 70/30 blend of the two. The blended wine is ruby red in colour with cherry edges. The nose shows red berry fruit, creamy vanilla and a touch of white pepper. Palate is medium bodied and smooth. Rich, warm, satisfying with a touch of oak and well integrated tannin. It really does show the best characters of both wines. $40 / £25.

All in all, a very interesting experiment. I know from our visit in September 2010 that they're currently experimenting with yet a fourth variant - neutral glass jugs, imported from Italy. It'll certainly be interesting to see how that pans out in coming vintages.

Is the writing on the wall for print wine magazines?

2011-01-15T00:30:00.070-08:00

Image by Jamie Irving

It seems like almost every day I hear about another thing the iPad can do with an app that makes its predecessor seem antiquated. Immediately things like maps, GPS navigation units, music on CDs, films on DVDs, games consoles, books, movie rentals, cables to connect your music to your Hi-Fi and cables to connect your video to your TV come to mind. Now the bell is tolling for the print magazine, and Zinio will make it seem antiquated in a heartbeat.
Although it's been around for a decade, Zinio has really come into it's own with the explosion of iPad, tablet and smart phone computing. Accessible through a number of platforms, and on the web, Zinio allows you to subscribe to your favourite magazine displayed identically to the print edition. What makes it even more exciting is that Zinio can also include video, audio and internet links, which are accessible directly from the page in the application.

I recently signed up for Zinio, and renewed my 2011 subscription for Decanter magazine through Zinio only, discontinuing my print mailing. After three editions, I've been pretty pleased with the new format. It's surprisingly easy to read with either one (portrait) or two (landscape) pages to the screen, and has good zoom functions. For me the main benefits include speed of delivery, not being tied to a mailing address, being able to carry current and previous editions at all times and being able to search.

American FINE Wine Magazine, Wine Enthusiast Magazine and Wine Access are all available now along with Decanter and I am sure that as this medium becomes more popular we will see even more choice.

So, why not give it a go? The app is free and you get some sample magazines to take a look through. Welcome to the future of magazine reading!

Château Beychevelle for Christmas

2011-01-09T00:30:00.019-08:00

Image by Jamie Irving

Located in the Saint-Julien appellation, north-west of Bordeaux, Château Beychevelle was built in the 17th Century. In 1855 it was included in the Bordeaux Wine Classification as one of ten Fourth Growths (Quatrièmes Crus). In my opinion it is under appreciated in the market. The good side of that, and of being a fourth growth, is that their wines are not only good, but affordable. So, a great choice for Christmas day!

2005 Château Beychevelle
Made from a blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 46% Merlot, 4% Petit Verdot and 3% Cabernet Franc this wine shows classic French elegance. No over extraction, just pure, clean, berry fruit with well integrated oak. The palate is medium bodied and smooth. Along with blackberry and toasted vanilla I found more savoury characters including spice and a touch of smoke. Fine grained tannins and a long finish complete this delicious wine. $60 / £38. 90 points.

Robert Parker (Wine Advocate) score - 90 Points.

Wine resolutions for the new year

2011-01-08T00:30:00.017-08:00

Image by Jamie Irving

We're now more than a week into the new year and along with the usual resolutions (eating healthier and gyming more, in case you had to ask) I've been thinking about my wine resolutions. What might I do differently this year, than I have done before. Here goes:

Experiment more. No, not the college kind! Rather, the regional kind. I tend to get very fixated with countries or regions - recently California and Mendoza - forsaking all others. I haven't explored Italy in a while, or Chile or Spain. It might be nice to visit those old friends.

Look for value. I think that spending time drinking the wines of Napa has distorted my value-o-meter a little. Sure, they're often great wines, but at what cost? I am positive that there are better bargains to be had and I intend to work harder to seek out those sub-$20 wines.

Keep better notes. This is an issue I've always struggled with. I sometimes find that writing notes interfears with the enjoyment of my wine in a home or social context. I'm going to try reverting to my tasting notebook for these, entering online at a later point.

Use twitter. With all that's been going on this year - getting married and a go-live at work - I feel like I've neglected twitter a little. So, as soon as February comes around and I am released from work duties for a while I hope to get more engaged with the wine community on twitter.

Continue my wine education. It's been a year or so now since I engaged in any formal wine education, and I miss it. I would really like to work on my WSET diploma and hope to take at least initial steps to doing this in 2011.

It will certainly be interesting to see in 2012 how well I've done with these resolutions.

Are you making any wine resolutions you care to share?

Gratified by Penfolds Grange

2011-01-07T00:30:00.002-08:00

Image by Jamie Irving

Penfolds has long been one of my favourite wineries. I love the English connection, the interesting history, the charismatic winemakers and above all the wine!

Penfolds icon wine, Grange, is something very special. Andrew Caillard MW once said “Grange’s aesthetic quality and remarkable ageing potential is the stuff of legends" and Wine Spectator named the 1955 vintage one of the top 12 wines of the 20th century. There's a reason why it's listed first in the "exceptional" category of Langton’s Classification of Australian Wine!

I started collecting Grange back in 1999 and to date my collection extends to a humongous nine bottles! I have just a single bottle from each vintage from 1997 to present. This basically means that one day I'm gonna get to do an absolutely awesome vertical tasting! Until that day I'll just have to put up with sips from previous vintages. Included below are my top three:

1998 Penfolds Grange
Arguably the best wine ever to come out of Australia it was with some trepidation that I tried this wine. Robert Parker gave it 99 points and described it as an "all time classic", so I was expecting it to be good - luckily it didn't disappoint! Rich purple in colour with a dense black core, this wine initially showed blackcurrant, cassis, cream on the nose. After some time in the glass it began to display cola cube characters, meatiness and a hint of mint. The palate is rich, smooth, elegant and well balanced. Great fruit flavour - blackberry, cherry and plum. Amazing depth and complexity. Still very fresh - I think I'll leave my bottle for a few more years yet! $400 / £250.

1980 Penfolds Grange
Bricky-red in colour, with a dense purple core, this wine had aromas pouring out of the glass before I even got it close to my nose! With dense red fruit and leather aromas this wine can only be described as meaty. The palate showed rich fruit cake characters, mouth filling fruit, vanilla and balanced oak as well as perfectly rounded tannins. An absolutely great wine which is drinking beautifully. I had to like it really since it was from my birth year! $350 / £220.

2003 Penfolds Grange
Made from 97% Shiraz and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon (with fruit originating in the Barossa Valley, Coonawarra, the McLaren Vale and Magill) this multi-region blend was matured in new American oak for 15 months. Although not an exceptional vintage like the 2004, the fruit used in this wine is the best on offer. This ensures it's still an excellent wine, full of varietal character. Dark red in colour with a dense black core this wine initially shows very tight blackcurrant character. With a little time in the glass it opens out showing blueberry, blackberry, tobacco and aniseed characters. The palate initially shows lovely berry fruit and vanilla characters. As I worked through I found spice, then oak and mouth-filling tannins. Great finish with a linger that lasted a number of minutes. This wine is obviously made for the long-haul, so still needs time to integrate. Nevertheless, it was still delicious.$300 / £190.

Look our for the 2006, I hear it's a stunner!

Experiencing Mendoza

2011-01-02T00:30:00.010-08:00

I'm excited about February. Not only does it mark the beginning of my "year of wine", but also our long awaited honeymoon - delayed for work reasons. We're off to Argentina and Chile, and plan to spend a significant amount of time Mendoza experiencing all it has to offer.

Below are some of the vineyards we're planning to visit in Mendoza. I've had plenty of suggestions already from friends and family alike, but if you have tips please feel free to post comments below.

View Mendoza Wine Tasting in a larger map