Portuguese Wine Tasting

I recently attended another delightful Portuguese wine tasting at Exquisite in Marlow. Paulo and Maria are very generous with their pours and provide home-made canapes at the end of the evening.

We started the evening with a palate cleanser Maria Papiola, a lovely white wine from Vinho Verde in north west Portugal. Bright and crisp with low alcohol level, this wine is a delight. You can almost smell the sea its so fresh, with limes, yellow apple and no oak. Would go well with garlic prawns. It's made with the Loureiro and Alvarinho grapes. If you've tried the Maria Bonita at my pop-up wine bar n Marlow, this is quite different, because the Alvarinho brings a sharpness to the wine like a sword cutting an apple. £11.40.

Next we were served Andreza Codega do Larinho,a full bodied wine with peach and pear characteristics. This is made from the same grape as is used for Madeira, but n the Douro region it is grown in high altitudes giving it a lighter characteristic. Great served with pork loin in a creamy mustard sauce and sauteed potatoes. £11.40.

Album Reserva was the first red wine we tried, and with a Petit Verdot anf Syrah base I was delighted to try such a fruity and spicy red fromPortugal. Grown in the Alantejo region,  these grapesproduce a black fruit and black pepper profile. It has high tannins for a Syrah, making it a good candidate for ageing. Great with hard cheese. Also £11.40.

Leaving the best review until last, I have to say I fell in love with Tyto Alba Red. This wine comes from a very old estate within a conservation area. There are barn owls who nest in the forest surrounding the vines, which are believed to protect the vines. Besides the romanticism,this vineyard makes stunning wines. This is their entry level red, also producing a Merlot and a Touriga Nacional I can't wait to try. Beautiful black fruits and violets,accompanied by vanilla and leather. Would go well with roast duck. Not only are the wine and history a delight, but the presentation box is spectacular, with the owl design peeking out of the hole in the box. After taking the wine out of the box you can fix it to a tree for local birds to nest in it. Wine £13.90, box £5  (£2.50 donated to RSPB by Exquisite). Wine available now, box in store in time for Christmas 2017.

In this case judge a wine by its bottle...

Normally I would tell you not to judge a bottle of wine by its bottle, because the labels can be so misleading. However, I picked this wine for that very reason: Calvet Côtes du Rhône Villages 2014 £7 from Tesco, Ocado etc.

Strong brand name, Côtes du Rhône Villages is going to be good quality Syrah yet inexpensive, and look at the gorgeous bottle shape, and here the lovely textured neck:

Very pleasing to the eye and touch. And inside? A gorgeous, fruity, zingy red wine with punch (13%)! I drank the lot! Well almost... I couldn't squeeze in the last glass 😉

I'm very happy to recommend this wine, and at the price if say to buy half a case. Enjoy!

Penfolds

I went to a Penfolds tasting at Spirited Wines last weekend, and although the wines were enjoyable, none of them smacked me around the face. Unfortunately the manager has my tasting notes to process my order, but I will get them back.

What I went back to at that tasting was my old way of describing wines. I have been so focused on getting my WSET Advanced that I've actually strayed what's true to me. Usually when I taste wines I get a sense of where I am, what I'm doing, who I'm with, rather than if its black cherry vs red plum.I promise to go back to those descriptions, but you have to stick with me for now. On Saturday we had a ballerina wine (poised, elegant, but muscular). I shall be bringing these back to you.

But in the meantime, let me just say, I LOVE Penfolds wines, and I have a Penfolds Grange in my cellar and I can't wait to try it. Although I can, because I'll also be sad once its gone. Bottle of Bin 389 (baby Grange) please...!

Shiraz or Syrah

At the bottom of the page are my tasting notes for a Syrah that I got wrong. I guessed Pinotage, but somehow feel I should have guessed a French wine. I'm doing Rhone next week as part of my WSET Advanced, so hope it will get better.

How to tell a Syrah (old-world) from a Shiraz (new-world). They're both packed with black fruit and spice. Shiraz normally has a higher alcohol content (due to hotter climate), tastes sweeter, although that's just the fruit, and the spice is sweeter, with cinnamon and clove. Syrah (same grape) originates in the Rhone valley (but is now a term used in e.g. Chile where they are trying to develop the same complexity). Syrah has more peppery and even leathery notes depending how old it is. If you drink the two side by side Syrah is sophisticated and Shiraz is the fun cousin. Aussie Shiraz feels like a Ribena-berry has smacked you in the face, but Shiraz is more discerning, more savoury, likes to take its time in your mouth.

I think where I got lost is this is a vin de pays, which means there will have been less strict rules applied, and although the savoury flavours were developed, it was a little unbalanced, and had a colour purple - which I had assumed was new-world, but was due to it being so young.

All good though. It's going down nicely.

Syrah Vin de Pays, IGP, L'Ardeche, Rhone, 2012, 12.5%
Appearance: Medium, ruby almost purple, clear
Nose: Clean, med,legs, developing
Aromas: blackcurrant, plum
Mouth: high alcohol, med intensity,  high acidity, med+ tannins, dry
Flavours: blackcurrant,  cherry, stewed plums, pepper, herbaceous
Quality: Short length, good, inexpensive

How is Sangiovese different from Pinot Noir?

So, in one of my blind tastings as practice for my WSET Advanced I was told a wine I was tasting was not a pinot noir, but I found out it was a Burgundy (an easy mistake to make - check my previous post on how to tell what grapes are in French wine http://princessandthepinot.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/how-can-you-tell-which-grapes-are-in.html

One of my guesses was a Sangiovese, so I had to learn what makes Pinot Noir different from Sangiovese. Here are my notes:
Appearance: Both are ruby, but sangiovese is medium intensity, PN is light
Nose: Both med+ (the ones I tasted anyway)
Aromas: Both Cherry and plum, S=blackcurrant, PN=strawberry
Mouth: Both dry, low acidity, low body, but WOW S=high tannin, PN=low tannin BOOM!
Flavours: Both strawberry, cherry, plum
OK, tannin is the differentiater, take note all you WSETers.

Next... how is Nebbiolo different?

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.

M&S Rioja for £8

I was going to buy a beautifully oaked Rioja as I'm missing Spain. The bottle I was going to buy was a Reserva at £13, then I thought, no I have to think like you, needs to be cheaper. So I went for the Crianza at £10, but then this non-Reserva, non-Crianza Rioja at £8 caught my eye.

It's far better than I was expecting. It does have some vanilla-oak flavour that I was craving. Although it has quite short length it is rather tasty. I think the Syrah helps balance the temperanillo. I recommend you try a bottle... What have you got to lose?

Well hey, it's a good choice for those of you who like rounded reds with lots of black fruit and something totally drinkable, no effort or wine knowledge required!

How to choose an Aussie red wine

The key to choosing and Aussie wine, and indeed many wines, is identifying location, location, location.

In Australia, there are eight main regions for red wines, two cool, two warm and four hot. You need to remember that each region will focus on the grape variety that grows best in the climate/ soil/ water conditions, but they may bottle other grape varieties too. The trick is to choose the region that is best for the grape:

Cool:
Yarra Valley - Pinot Noir
Mornington Peninsular - Pinot Noir

Moderate:
Margaret River - Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot
Coonawarra - Cabernet Sauvignon
Heathcote - Shiraz

Warm:
Hunter Valley - Shiraz
McLaren Vale - Shiraz
Barossa - Shiraz

So if you're looking for a more delicate wine, or a wine with low tannin, the red fruit in Pinot Noir from Yarra or Mornington might be to your taste. These wines can also be served slightly chilled if you're looking for a refreshing drink for warm summer evenings. You may even enjoy the Shiraz from Heathcote which should be more refined than a "normal" Shiraz due to the lower temperature.

However, Aussies are known for their BIG reds...

If you like something with complexity (a variety of flavours) and higher tannins, I'd say try one of the Cab Savs from Margaret River or Coonawarrra. One thing I love about Cab Sav from Australia that you don't get in the rest of the world is the flavour of eucalyptus, which gets picked up from the soil and air as the eucalyptus trees expel their oils. It makes these wines fantastic for anything that has red meat and mint/ rosemary/ thyme. The wine has high tannin which is good for steak and roast or grilled meat, and the eucalyptus matches the herbs. Top match for a roast lamb, lamb chops, or even Lebanese/ Greek kebabs.

My favourite Aussie red is a Shiraz. Yum. Big fat blackberries. Alcoholic Ribena. Telly wine. Easy drinking, no food required, warms you up and goes down a treat. Most should have a lovely spicy finish, peppery. I would always recommend a Shiraz from Barossa as a starting point, you can't go much wrong. If you're not a connoisseur then price will mostly make the difference of how long the flavour, and bottle, will last. It's a good idea to drink a Barossa Shiraz slowly as the warm climate tends to encourage a greater alcohol content. Boozy!

TIP: The longer-lasting the flavour of the wine, the longer it takes for the flavour to disappear, and the longer between sips. You/ I/ we tend to take sips more frequently with short-lasting wines.

If you are a connoisseur, then I recommend you move on from Barossa Shiraz and try Barossa Mourvedre, an element in GSM (something everyone should try), and very delicious in its own right. These wines go great with mushroom, veal, beef, pasta, BBQ, duck with cherry jus... or on its own.

You can really get carried away with Barossa wines, I certainly do, as I bought a case + 3 bottles of a wine that isn't available yet + a magnum that cost £100 at the Hewitson & Elderton wine dinner at DVine cellars a few weeks ago. http://www.dvinecellars.com/ so the best tip I can give you is that so long as the label says "Barossa" on it, it will be a good quality wine. If it says "South Eastern Australia" it won't be a bad quality wine per se, but it means the producer has taken grapes from all over Australia to make the blend. This ensures their wines have consistency, and therefore more reliable (once you find a wine like this you love, you can buy it over and over again, and that's what the big guns are aiming for), but it means they don't have to pay attention to the wine when they make it, and that's what's special. "Barossa" on the label might make the starting price higher, but you can stay low without risking quality.

TIP: If you like big Aussie reds, look out for "Barossa Shiraz" on the label.

My favourite Aussie red is Rockford Rod & Spur Cab Sav & Shiraz. Tip top wine. http://www.australianwinecentre.co.uk/acatalog/copy_of_Rockford.html

If you want to look for an easily identifiable brand, you can't go wrong with Wolf Blass Yellow Label. It doesn't say "Barossa" on the label but it does say "South Australia" and all the Shiraz vineyards I listed above are in South Australia, so its good enough.

How to bluff your way to buying a good deal on Rioja

So, Rioja is one of those easy wines. Easy as in easy-drinking, easy to find on the shelves, easy to take to a diner party, easy to find at a cheaper price point... but is it too easy? Most of the time, for a Rioja, I used to just pick one - what does it matter, they're all roughly the same, right? Wrong.

There are four levels of Rioja

1. Rioja (youngest, with less than a year in oak)
2. Rioja Crianza (aged for at least two years, with at least one year in oak)
3. Rioja Reserva (aged for at least three years, with at least one year in oak)
4. Rioja Gran Reserva (aged for at least two years in oak, and three years in the bottle)

Oak ageing increases the complexity of the wine, making it more interesting to drink  more flavourful and more enjoyable. The oak adds flavours of vanilla, toffee and/or coffee. So you're looking out for a Reserva or a Gran Reserva. It may not say it on the front of the bottle but as producers can charge a premium for it, you will see it somewhere, maybe the neck or back-label.

Rioja is a region in Spain where the grapes are grown. Within Rioja there are three regions within it:

1. Rioja Alta (high altitude, creates lighter wine, old world style)
2. Rioja Alavesa (hgh altitude, but fuller body wine)
3. Rioja Baja (lower altitude, so full colour wine with high alcohol, new world style)

Of course it can be down to taste as to which you'd prefer, but lets think about this on a practical scale. In Rioja Alta, a Gran Reserva is likely to cost around £40, but a Gran Reserva from Baja you can get for £10. The reason being is that the vines in Alta must be hand-picked because the rows of vines are grown close together on a steep aspect. Rioja Baja is machine-picked which means the wine can be produced more cheaply, which gets passed on to you and me. 

So to enjoy the full oak flavour of a Gran Reserva and you want to stick to your £10 budget, look for Baja. If you want less alcohol, then go for Alavesa. If you want fancy-pants then buy an Alta. It may not say baja on the label, but I wouldn't worry, if you're buying a Gran Reserva at a £10 price point, it won't have come from Alta!

Heres the delicious wine I tried at the Majestic summer tasting last week, Torre Aldea Gran Reserva Rioja http://www.majestic.co.uk/:

If you like more subtle oak flavours, then look for a Crianza. Again, if you go for Baja, you'll be tasting plums, spices and vanilla. For my hen do I did a blind tasting, and had a Baja wine for the first time, I was convinced it was a Shiraz, and told the sommelier so, even argued that he had poured the wrong bottle, but in fact it was a delicious Rioja. So now I know, and so do you. This tasting was at Ten Green Bottles in Brighton http://www.tengreenbottles.com/ and the Rioja was a David Moreno Crianza 2009.

If you want more tips on Rioja, or tips for another wine, please write a comment and let me know!

Cot

Le Clos d'un Jour, Cahors 2008 is made from 100% Cot. I bought this bottle from The Sampler. And it cost £20.

It is deep ruby in colour, has medium acidity, med tannin, and notes of tar, black fruit, black currant leaf, clove, coffee. I would say this is a good quality wine due to the complexity of flavours.

Cot is the Malbec grape, simply known as Cot outside Bordeaux, and in Cahors, it is also known as Auxerrois. There are many local synonyms, since Malbec at one time was widely planted in nearly every area of France. Sensitivity to frost is the primary reason Malbec has declined in France. However, Malbec is the dominant red varietal in the Cahors area. The Appellation Controlée regulations for Cahors require a minimum content of 70%.

http://www.thesampler.co.uk/store/product/8483/Clos-d%27un-Jour-%22Un-Jour%22-2008/

Italian wines

Before I started my WSET (Wine & Spirits Education Trust) course, I "didn't like" Italian wines. That is to say I knew very little about them other than Pinot Grigio which I find tasteless, Chianti which I find a little bitter, and Valpolicella which is sour. Now I love them, purely because I know what I'm buying. There are lots of varietals and regions to learn, probably why we don't know much, and they're wrongly seen as "less good" than French wines, which often means you get better value for money. Here are a few you should try...

Hannibal Lecter infamously drank Chianti with liver and fava beans - not a bad choice as it happens! Chianti is made from the Sangiovese grape, which is high in body, acidity and tannin, has plum, earth, tomato and tea flavours. I would suggest this if you like Cabernet Sauvignon and  Bordeaux wines. I'm not saying they taste the same, but should appeal to a similar palate.

If you like Pinot Noir, may I suggest you try the Nebbiolo grape, either in the form of Barolo or Barbaresco wines. Nebbiolo has high body, acidity and tannin, and has red fruit, floral and earthy flavours that might be enjoyed by a Pinot-phile (I've just re-read this and noticed how dreadful that sounds!!). Be aware though, a Barolo can be quite full-on, a "meal wine", and is best enjoyed with (or instead of!) food .

If you love Shiraz, particularly Australian Shiraz, then I would strongly suggest you try Primitivo or Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. Both are rich in black fruits, the former with jammy notes and the latter with black pepper and raisin. Yum! (NB. Primitivo is the same family as Zinfandel, but don't let that put you off!)

For white wines, don't bother with bland Pinot Grigio or Soave, instead try something more unusual with a Castelli di Jesi (Verdicchio grape - lemon, fennel, bitter almond) or a Gavi (Cortese grape - citrus, candied fruit). Oh and one thing to remember,  don't buy Trebbiano - this is a mass-produced grape that is used for making cheap blends! The way I remember this is its the white grape with two Bs, for Bad Blends.

Look for DOC or DOCG on the label, this means it comes from a quality wine-producing area.

Quick note on Italian sparkling wines: Prosecco is a good alternative to Champagne, although will have less complex flavours, because it is made using the Tank method. "Spumante" means its fully sparkling and "Frizzante" means its lightly sparkling. The best Prosecco is, apparently, Conegliano-Valdobbiadene DOCG (I have yet to try this).

How to choose cheap wine

Happy 2013!

I have the flu, so haven't posted since the new year, and I suspect people are detoxing after the holidays, so I thought I would give a few simple tips for buying cheaper wine.

1. If you have a red and a white at the same price point (and have no preference), go for the red as its easier to make red one (white requires more balance of acidity and flavours are more delicate).
2. If you're buying in a restaurant or bar, and you think the establishment cares about its wines,go for the house wine, this should have been selected to represent their values at a reasonable price. But be sure to check prices for glasses vs bottle, as I recently found two restaurants in London were charging more per ml for the bottle than for glasses, as I suspect they had found many people say "oh lets get a bottle", either that or the people writing the prices on the menus were idiots!
3. Don't buy discounted wines in the supermarket. They have false deals that make you believe the wine is worth more, but it isn't. Take the deal price as the representation of quality.
4. Have a price in mind when going in store, have a look at the wines at that price point, but don't be afraid of spending £1 more, for cheaper wines, £1 can make quite a difference in quality.
5. French wines can be really differentiated, so it might be safer and cheaper to go for an Italian wine (see my Italian wine blog post for tips). My favourite wines at the moment come from Chile and Luis Felipe Edwards have some really great wines at cheaper price points. Winemakers in Chile are trying hard to break the global wine market so you can get some cracking value for money.

Hope this helps!!

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.

Not sure about German red wine? Try it!

Weingut Schoss Sommerhausen 2008 Spatburgunder Trocken 14% Steinbach Deutscher Qualitatswein

I had a lovely Spatburgunder while we were in Wurzburg visiting my German family. This was not particularly complex but made an easy-drinking wine. It had soft tannins, and had red fruit flavours, the plum stands out, as does the black pepper. It made me think of sitting in the bath having used fruity bubble bath.

If you're not sure about German red wine, but would like to try it, I would suggest a Spatburgunder if you like a pinot noir:
"Spatburgunder" means it has been made in the style of a Burgundy, i.e. Pinot Noir.
"Trocken" means it is dry, so you can avoid those sweet wines that are often associated with Germany.
"Qualitatswein" means it comes from one of the top regions, so is generally a good wine, but not as expensive as a "Pradikatswein" which comes from one of the top sub-regions.

Another German wine I recommend is Riesling,especially from Mosel. Again, be sure to look for "Trocken" on the label if you want to avoid the sweeter wines.

Challenger wine #6

Barista Pinotage Western Cape South Africa 2010

I chose this one because I am not that fond of South African wines but Pinotage is a varietal that I enjoy exploring, it has so many variations on flavour yet always packs a punch.

I know the name gies it away, but I still wasn't expecting the overpowering aroma of coffee. Very odd! It has a lovely taste of coffee, chocolate and cherry. It is a little bitter though, although the tannins mellow and then the red fruit pushes through.

It reminds me of sitting in a diner in the USA drinking "cawfee", with sweet and savoury smells coming from the kicthen, watching the world go by.

Badger and I agreed the wine was well made, with a clever manipulation of the flavours to produce such a coffee intensity, so we give it 4 for quality. Only scores 3 on likeability, because although we would buy it again, it would probably be as a gimmick or for a friend.

Challenger wine #4

Finca Flinchman Gestos 2011 Malbec 14%

I chose this wine because it looks like the producer has taken care to ensure this wine is balanced, they have done something quite interesting... 50% of the Malbec grapes come from a high altitude (1100m) which gives it structure, acidity and complexity to the wine. 50% of the Malbec grapes come from a lower altitude (700m) which gives dense colour, fruitiness and sugar to provide the alcohol.

I think this one is big and juicy, fruity, sweeter than normal for a Malbec, nicely balanced and less tannins. I could bathe in this wine, its so velvety. However, Badger disagrees he thinks its not fruity and doesn't give him the satisfaction that normally comes with a Malbec. I think this is because its more delicate, so perhaps this is why it disappoints.

We disagreed on the score but settled for 3 for quality and 3 for likeability. 6/10, although I think it deserves more.

Challenger Wine #2

Nero D'Avola Sicilia Oriano 2011

There's nothing I could tell you about this wine before we tried it, it wouldn't have been one I would pick up, as I don't know anything about it. Needless to say this is one of Badger's choices.

Badger says: "Petroly on the nose, high alcohol, you can taste the fruit to start with, but it gives way to something harsh. It's not balanced well".

My notes: Average dirty red.

Not much more to say about it. In regards to quality is OK, we give it a 3. Do we like it? Nah, it gets a 2.

5/10 for Badger's first wine... it must have been a cheap one, so curious to see what else he has up his sleeve. I can't rest on my laurels yet.

Viognier

Although my last wine was a red from South Africa, it contained Viognier. Viognier is a white wine grape, but is often used in Cote Rotie, Rhone, France who often add a small amount to their Syrah. Maybe this type of blending will help South Africa make more mellow wines for a mainstream market.

Zalze, Shiraz-Mourvedre-Viognier, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 2011 (Price:0)

I am determined to find South African wines I like, I normally find them too harsh and too punchy. I recently found some Italian wines I liked (I'll tell you about these another time), so South Africa is next on the list. I chose this one, because of the blend - Aussie GSM (Grenache-Shiraz-Mourvedre) being one of my favourites. I have high hopes... the only concern before I take a sip is the price, but Tesco tries to keep their wine offer affordable, so here goes...

The smell is exactly as I would expect - punchy and alcoholic, yeah its 14.5%. And first sip, same thing,  woah, that's a slap in the face. But it has more depth as you let it linger. It has lots of black fruit flavours, there's an underlying shrubbery flavour, which lifts into a more fragile finish of herb and spice, which is quite unusual.

I'm being taken back to hot summers in the countryside when you pick fruits from bushes (even if you don't eat them, because you're not sure if they're poisonous), then you slip on loose soil, so take a sharp breath and grab onto a branch to catch yourself and can smell the leaves on the branch as you leverage yourself back into your stroll in the countryside. A mini adventure.