Best 10 under £10 at Jeroboams Summer Tasting

Jeroboams fine wine merchant invited me to their summer tasting and unfortunately I was double-booked so didn't have much time. I set myself the task of tasting only the wines under £10 and finding the best ones.

Sparkling:

Cote Mas Piquepoul Frisant, Paul Mas, Vin de France 2013 £8.50 - this was a lively sparkling with stone fruit flavours and minerality. It lacked some of the autolytic flavours (toast, yeast etc.) from Champagne, but I have to say a sparkling from France that's not Champagne tends to be awfully good value.

White:

Excellens Blanco, marques de caceres, Rioja 2013 £7.50 - a white Rioja is often overlooked and hence often good value. This was exceptional, my favourite white on the night, with tropical fruit flavours and a lovely minerality.

Hunter's Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand 2013 £8.95 - Everything you should expect.

Quincy, Domaine Andre Pigeat, Loire 2013 £9.95 - Pretty good value from the Loire (buying from vineyards next to premium ones such as Sancerre often gets you a good deal). Lovely Qumquat flavour.

Rose:

Villa Wolf Rose, Pinot Noir, Ernst Loosen Pfalz, Germany 2012 £8.95 - Delicious peach and lemon sherbert flavours, light with a little residual sugar, like eating a fruit salad.

Red:

Les Tannes Syrah, Tradition, IGP Pays D'Oc, Paul Mas 2012 £6.95 - this was my favourite red, it had fantastic structure, its organic, you can taste violets, and I would consider it to be a touch arrogant (well Jancis Robinson likes it too, so why shouldn't it be?).

Rosso Maniero, IGT Colli della Toscana Centrale, Fattoria Casaloste, Italy 2010 £10.95 - OK I've gone over £10 for this one, but its worth it, its very heavy, savoury, with umami flavours, wondering if it has Mafia connections with the punch it pulls!

Fleurie, Domaine de Sermezy, Patrice Chevrier, Beaujolais 2011 £9.95 - light and delicious, plenty of red fruits bursting on the palate, exactly what you expect from a Fleurie.

Raza Reserva Malbec, Famatina Valley, Vinas Riojanas 2012 £7.95 - Most people I know will love a Malbec when they're having steak in a restaurant, but never at home. For this price, its time to get Malbec on your dinner table! This has had 12 months in oak, but is still quite young, so could age a bit to allow those leathery flavours to develop.

St Nicholas de Bourgueil, Les VII Arpents, Foucher-Lebrun, Loire £8.50 - this is fresh yet smokey, and perhaps a little young, but in six months' time you'll be licking your lips to get a taste of this.

10 at £10, bargain! I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised, these wines are really something. Although Jeroboams are known for their fine wines, I think you'd be pleased to have them as your wine merchant, even if your budget is £10 a bottle. They will be able to tailor to your tastes, learn over time what style of wine you prefer, and I'm sure they'd be happy to serve your needs even with a limited budget, although you'll have to forgive them for up-selling occasionally I'm sure. Same goes for other merchants. It might be daunting at first, but you certainly get better value wines than from a supermarket. Plus you'll be getting wines from the more obscure producers and brands. Only downside really is you don't get to browse and choose (my favourite thing to do, although I know others hate that task), and you have to buy by the case (which shouldn't be a problem if you drink as much wine as I do, but might be if you're on a weekly budget).

Badger challenge #10

So we finally got around to tasting the tenth bottle of our challenge we set last year.

Villa Maria Gewurtztraminer
Lime, mango and honeysuckle on the nose.
Sharp, bitter coriander and lemon flavours.
Barry said it was "not as interesting as a normal G."
Probably because he chose a New Zealand one and had forgotten.
It's not an unpleasant wine, but not fabulous.
We scored it 3/5 for quality and 3/5 for likeability.

So how does this compare to our other challenger wines?

I chose:

• Fleurie Georges deBoeuf £10.99 = 9
• Barista Pinotage £8.74 = 7
• Gestos Malbec £8.99 = 6
• Black Cottage rose £12.49 = 6
• Arca Nova Vinho Verde £7.99 = 6

Badger chose:

• Shortlist Cabernet £14.99 = 8
• Brown Bros Muscat £7.99 = 7
• Dom de Mercey beaune £9.99 = 7
• Villa Maria Gewurtztraminer £9.99 = 6
• Nero d'Avola £6.99 = 5

So I won the challenge, thankfully, but the more important lesson to learn here is that even within a restricted price range, price paid isn't the best indicator of quality or likeability. For us the Fleurie was the best value, and we've bought more since, and found it works as a great present or to bring to parties.

If you want more tips on how to choose the wine YOU like, let me know what you like and I'll post some things to look out for on the label when you're buying wine.

Please drink responsibly!

If you want to see how we created the challenge, how we scored our wines and/or want to create it for yourself, please follow this link: http://princessandthepinot.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/badgers-challenge.html

Beaujolais Nouveau

This weekend I tried Beaujolais Nouveau for the first time. Ever since learning about it I have wanted to try it, but it’s only available for a short time in the year, as it is released the third week of November and should be drunk immediately (within 3mths).

Traditionally, BN was drunk by the local vineyards as a celebration of the end of harvest. The rules of the region (AOC Beaujolais) meant that historically Beaujolais were only allowed to sell their wine after 15 December of the harvest year. Then in 1951 they relaxed those rules, so the wine released before this date is called Nouveau. Georges Du Boeuf (whose Fleurie I gave tasting notes on a few months ago), and some other producers saw the potential in marketing BN. By getting these bottles out quickly they could sell table wine at a premium, and by selling it early helped with their cash-flow. It was heavily promoted in the 1970s, I’m thinking a Parisian version of Abigail’s Party, and although the celebration of the release has died down a little, the production and marketing continues with fun, novelty and celebration. It is quite popular in the US where it is promoted as a Thanksgiving wine.

The wine is very young and therefore fresh, bright and a little “un-ready”, one wine critic compared it to eating cookie-dough. I tried one from M&S (who say their sales of BN are increasing every year). I found that the texture of the wine dried out my tongue, even though it has no tannins, having the same effect as drinking black tea. It tastes of rosehip tea, Parma Violets and pear drops. It’s very thin and a little sharp, and sits at the top of your mouth. It’s bright pink-purple and you can pretty much see through it.

If you fancy trying it, which I would recommend, even if only once, look for it at the end of November, and watch for the brightly coloured labels, it’s the opportunity for the reserved French winemakers to go a little “fiesta”! 

Notes:
Beaujolais: a region in France that is AOC and produces light, fruity red wines using the Gamay grape

AOC: Appelation d'origine controlee, which means the wine has strict rules and regulations that the winemakers must abide by

Fleurie: One of the AOC villages in the Beaujolais region

Which Fleurie?

Fleurie 2009 Jean Poillard Villie-Morgon £29

Challenger wine #1 was a Georges de Boeuf Fleurie. Last night I had a different Fleurie, one that was three times the price. Although the GdB scored highly in our wine challenge (9/10), this one was outstanding, and makes me want to knock a point or two off the GdB. However, this Villie-Morgon is way out of the price range for the wine challenge so is simply non-comparable.

This wine has a much darker colour than I'm used to for a light Fleurie, but the flavour is exactly as is should be. Cherries, cooked plums, hint of pepper, and raspberry. This wine has extraordinary length, best enjoyed slowly. There is also some sediment in the bottle, which is unusual for such a light wine.

Autumn leaves on the porch, stewed plums on the stove and a candle burning in the window.

So how is it different to the GdB, I mean, after all, a Fleurie is a Fleurie? Well to start with the GdB had a kick of alcohol, the producer didn't take enough care to balance the wine. The V-M is very soft and smooth in comparison. Also, the V-M has a much longer length,  a sign of superior quality.

I'm not sure I'd say the V-M was worth three times more than the GdB, but I can tell the producer took a lot more care with this wine, and spending more will give him/her the funds to continue making great wines. If you have £30 to spend, go for the V-M rather than three GdB. If you have £10 to spend, the GdB is a good investment.

Fleurie is an appelation of Beaujolais and has quite strict rules, using the Gamay grape, so you'll know what you're getting. A Fleurie is a Fleurie, which is why often the label doesn't tell you much. The variation in quality is reflected in the price.

Challenger wine #1

Beaujolais Fleurie Georges de Boeuf 2011

A fruit explosion in your mouth - very fresh,  light, and delicious.

I would call  this a flurry of fruit rather than a Fleurie. The fruits are competing to get your attention - cherries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, plums, raisin... They certainly deserve your attention and as soon as you think you're judging a competition, you swallow and disappointingly get a kick of alcohol.

We both agreed this is a very good wine (4), it's the kick that disappoints, makes it slightly unbalanced, but this softens with your second glass. We score it a Delicious! (5) We will definitely be buying this again.

A score of 9/10 for the first wine in the competition - thankfully its one of mine!