Paso Primero - Great Spanish Wine!

Yesterday I met a lovely man called Tom who has a wonderful story and he gave me some incredible wines to taste. Paso Primero are wines that are made with love and care, yet are outstanding value for money.

Tom dropped out of uni and started stacking shelves at Tanners Wine Merchants, who were very supportive and encouraged Tom to study wine making at Plumpton in Sussex. With a wine degree under his belt he set off for New Zealand with his then girlfriend (now wife) Emma to make wine in Hawkes Bay. After a couple of years it was time for a change and they moved to Canada to make wines for Flat Rock in Niagara. After three years suffering through the bitter winters they decided to move home and settle in Shrewsbury, where Tom and Emma are able to juggle caring for their baby boy with making delicious wines at an affordable price in partnership with Batan de Salas in Somontano, 2hrs from Barcelona. Sounds idyllic... but obviously hard work as a breakthrough young wine maker in a crowded market where the big guns have the power. I'm hoping I can help Tom and Emma by featuring their wines at my pop up wine bar in Marlow and spreading the word about their wines. So what about the wines?

Paso Primero is the main wine they produce, a red blend of Merlot (72%), Cabernet Sauvignon (14%) and Tempranillo (14%). The bottle we opened was a little tight on the nose, but that's understandable being the 2016 vintage with only a few months in bottle, give it six months and it'll open right up. On the palate the first hit is the Cab Sav with its tannic bite, then the Merlot floods through softening the mouthfeel, finishing on a Tempranillo lift of red fruits - the strawberry and redcurrant finish makes you crave another sip. Very easy drinking, peppery, smooth, without the burn I would expect to receive from a wine so young and with such high alcohol (14.5%). Selling for a mere £8.50 at Tanners, this is a new favourite!

Paso Prima is Tom's vanity project, the opportunity to choose the grapes that are developing to his tastes, and have a little fun. Paso Prima today is 100% Cab Sav, but the next vintage might be 100% Chardonnay, who knows, a little surprise in wait every year. I think Tom should create a members club so we can get pre-release first dibs on the new Prima each year, and the membership should include an invite for a tour of the winery. I'm in! At only £11.30 at Tanners, this is a special wine. I don't think I've tasted a wine so good for less than £12. I do love a good Cab Sav and this certainly delivers, saliva rushes over the tongue on first sip which fades to reveal velvety tannins coating the roof of the mouth. The heat of the Spanish summer days encourage the grapes to become fat and juicy, and the cooler nights allow them to retain their acidity. Big bam blackcurrant fruit, but with soft edges.

Wonderful story, gorgeous wines, and I wish Tom and Emma the best Primero Paso (first step) into the wine world. You should too, and go buy their wines - or come to my pop up wine bar in Marlow to try Paso Primero. Click here to see if I am currently showcasing these wines.

Californian Wine - Marlow Wine Society Tasting

Some of my favourite wines come from California, but good ones are hard to find in the UK because the Americans tend to keep them for themselves, so when we do get them they tend to be at two extremes, gorgeous but pricey, or just plain rubbish. When Marlow Wine Society invited me to join their Californian tasting I jumped at the chance to find a new gem. The tasting was hosted by the delightful and insightful David Rittenhouse.

We started by sampling some Chardonnay, ooh yum! I loved the Saintsbury Chardonnay from Carneros. Bright lemon hue, with butterscotch and vanilla on the nose. Yummy and buttery with medium acidity and notes of brioche on the palate. £22.99 from Majestic, which I think is pretty reasonable for a wine of this quality.

The room disagreed with me, they much preferred the apple and soft bread aromas of Kirkland "Signature" from Russian River. Russian River is normally my go to region for Californian Chardonnay, but this was poor quality - the wine was unbalanced and simplistic. At £11.50 from Costco I felt this was overpriced.

After a disappointing Pinot Noir from Saintsbury (it's hard to impress me with a pinot!), we were introduced to a Merlot that had far more complexity than we were all expecting. With blackcurrant, cherry, plum, liquorice, vanilla, black pepper and tobacco, Redwood Road have done a great job producing this wine, Bravo! At £11.49 from Laithwaites its a great buy. The film Sideways may have given Californian Merlot a bad name, but I think its time for a comeback.

The Liberty School Syrah (Old Butchers Wine Cellar £16.99) was quite nice with warming hot cross buns and blackcurrant jam flavours, but the Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel won the room over with its beautifully balanced tannins and acidity, full body and complex flavour profile. Black plums, leather, cigar smoke, caramel and pancakes with a hint of brandy. Everyone was surprised by the price - £17.99 from Majestic this was voted wine of the night. I was really pleased they like it because I serve Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel at my Princess and the Pinot pop up wine bar in Marlow.



To find out more about Princess and the Pinot and our pop-up wine bars please visit www.princessandthepinot.com

What is this wine? Another blind tasting that I got wrong.

OK, I've lost my touch, I need to learn more to get a good handle on blind tasting for my WSET Advanced course. Exam in less than two months. Getting a lot of practice in.

Can you guess?
Appearance: light, ruby,clear
Nose: clean, medium intensity, medium legs, developing
Aromas: Blackcurrant, cedar, plum, cherry
Mouth: Medium intensity, medium acidity, low tannin, dry, medium body, high alcohol
Flavours: cherry, plum, strawberry, blackcurrant fruitella
Quality: inexpensive, acceptable quality, short length

I have to say its disappointing on the palate, a bit wet, weak... although it gets better when you put some air to it... and even better when you put an apple pie in the oven (I thought I was getting some burnt caramel and cinnamon notes, but alas that was the pie that my husband is cooking).

I couldn't figure it out. I was given the option of pinotage, merlot, zinfandel.  I couldn't figure it out. None of them fit (from what I knew). I'm guessing from that you'll know if you've passed your WSET Advanced or work in wine.  But I think it also goes to show, you have to taste a hell of a lot of wines to get rid of preconceptions.

If you haven't figured it out (or if you have), post on here and I'll reveal.

How can you tell which grapes are in French wines?

So I am given a glass of a light red wine, and before tasting "It's pinot noir!" I exclaim. "No, it isn't" my friend replies, with the knowledge of having chosen it for me to blind taste as practice for my WSET Advanced course.

"Oh, well what is it..." I ponder. Right, lets do this properly.
Appearance: light intensity, ruby, clear, med legs.
Nose: Clean, med+ intensity, developed.
Aromas: raspberry, cherry, plum, strawberry, rosehip, strawberry sweets, cherry jolly rancher.
Mouth: low intensity, dry, low acidity, low tannin, light body, medium alcohol
Flavours: strawberry, cherry, plum.
Quality: short length, acceptable quality, drink now not for ageing, inexpensive.

OK, so its not pinot noir... grenache? a rubbish pinotage? sangiovese? none of them make sense.

What is it? Roncier Burgundy 12.5% Vin de France. Ah! An understandable mistake - my friend doesn't realise that Burgundy is pinot noir, "it doesn't say it on the label". One of the "tricks" about French wine is that they expect you to know whats in the bottle from the minimal labelling terms they use. This is a common mistake.

As a basic rule of thumb:
Burgundy red = pinot noir
Burgundy white = chardonnay
Chablis = chardonnay
Beaujolais = gamay
Rhone red = syrah (aka Shiraz)
Bordeaux red = cabernet sauvignon and merlot
Loire white = chenin blanc or sauvignon blanc

Hope that helps!
Let me know if you need to know others and I'll put together a more comprehensive list.

Chateau Lanessan Haut-Medoc Delbos 2001

Badger proposed to me when we were in Bergerac, so all Bordeaux are considered special in our house.

This one is from Haut-Medoc, on the Left Bank in Bordeaux. Left bank wines tend to contain more Cabernet Sauvignon,  whereas right bank Bordeaux will contain more Merlot. Other grape varietals included in Bordeaux are Cab Franc, Petit Verdot, and occasionally Carmenere.

Cab Sav has high tannin and acidity, medium body, with Black fruit, toast and cedar flavours. Merlot has medium tannin and acidity, high body, and flavours of black/red fruit, chocolate and tobacco. Both together provides a good balance and higher complexity - choose LB or RB depending on what mix you prefer.

Left bank: Medoc, Haut-Medoc (Pauillac, Margaux), Graves (Pessac-Leognan)
Right Bank: St Emillion, Pomerol

Note the grape that has the highest proportion in the wine is named on the bottle first.

Anyway... this is a beautiful Bordeaux, traditional,lots of body, lots of tannin, top class.
Sitting in a Chesterfield chair in a private library, trying on the proprietor's top hat for a laugh.