Wine of the week #32: Moscato rosé (Sparkling/Sweet)

Hi all,


After all the fuss that was made about the low-alcohol Moscato mainly in the US and a bit in the UK, I thought I would have a taste at three different Moscato Rosé this week. The perfect ladies' night drink with less than 6% abv, light fruity flavours and lot of sweetness. 

It is
A medium-sweet frizzante Rosé made from Moscato grape grown in...Australia!


Expect
Appearance: light pink salmon colour & no fizz visible in the bottle at purchase.
Nose: sweet red berries, hints of flower.
Palate: persistant creamy fizz to start, generic summer red fruits flavours and long medium-sweet finish. Good balance between sweetness, fruit flavours, fizz and acidity.
Score: 10/20


A LOW-ALCOHOL SWEET PINK FIZZ FOR AN UNPRETENTIOUS IN THE SUMMER GARDEN (INSTEAD OF A RIBENA).


You'll like it if you like: sweeties, girly night when you can drink but stay in control, into low alcohol wines, raspberries and strawberries, fruity rosés.


Have it with:
Anything but your main meal. Great for apéritif on ice on a hot summer day with crisps and amuse-bouches.
Try it with bacon, cranberry & brie. Potentially all combined. ;)
Also worth a try with light fruit salads.


Find it in:
1) Laithwaites - Nine Tails Moscato - £8.99. Not a pretty cork but the most decent example tried. 10/20. See above
2) Tesco - Jacob's Creek Moscato Rosé - £7.79. A prettier bottle with surprisingly less fruit and more acidity. 8.5/20. Drink ice cold?
3) Sainsbury's - Banrock station Pink Moscato - £5.49. Less fizz, a lot of sugar & little taste. Also, how can they call this a 'fine wine' on the bottle?? 6/20

Key question: What I do with these now?

Did you know?
> Moscato is Italian for Muscat. The same type of grape you can find in dry Alsace wines or sweet Muscat Beaumes de Venise, some Greek, Australian (Rutherglen) sweet wines.


> Moscato/Muscat is a very aromatic grape that is also suitable for table consumption. It is one of the only grape with dual usage.


> In Italy, the main regions for Moscato are Piemonte (slightly fizzy Moscato d'Asti), Sicilia and Sardegna (Moscato di Cagliari and di Sorso Sennori).


> The Moscato shown above come from Australia. Mhhmm!?




Enjoy your wine!
:@lex

Wine of the week #25 - Pinot Grigio Rosé (Rosé/Italy)

Hi all,

It's spring time! Sunny weekends, BBQs with friends, ice creams for the little ones and fruity, fresh wines all around!

I've been looking for a Cotes de Provence Rosé ever since I came back from there and was finally taken aback by a very commercial looking Italian Pinot Grigio Rosé!

It is

A dry rosé wine made from Pinot Grigio grape in the Venezie region, north-est of Italy.

You can expect

Appearance: light salmon-pink colour

Nose: subtle hints of strawberry & ripe pear.

Palate: Delicate red fruit flavours (strawberries/raspberries, cherries) nicely balanced by a gentle and relatively medium acidity. The alcohol is very discrete and the wine is, what a surprise, light bodied. The finish is relatively short but soft.

Not complex but an elegant&easy-to-drink-grab&go-to-your-picnic type of wine. Not sure what the Italians would call it but the French call this a Vin de soif ('thirst wine') and this is a perfect example.

LIGHT, UNEXPECTEDLY ELEGANT, EASY-GOING & EASY-DRINKING ROSÉ FOR YOUR NEXT MEAL IN THE SUN.

Score: 8/10 based on elegant balance fruit vs. acidity.

You'll like it if you like: light wines, Cotes de Provence, an easy tipple in the sun, staying away from Zinfandel rosé.

Have it:

Chilled on its own.

At a picnic (no corkscrew required!) with light food: carrots & houmous, fresh tomatoes, light creamy Bries, pear & grapes. Get the picture?

With most things light: salad, white fish

Find it:

1) Laithwaites - Il Pino £7.99. As above.

2) Tesco - Cotes de Provence £6 (on offer). Light and easy to drink but sadly more of a watered down version of Cotes de Provence then the real thing. Will not survive more than a night out of the fridge.

Special - My Provence Rosés
(unfortunately unavailable in the UK)

If you get the chance to go to Provence this Summer, try these beautiful Rosés and bring me some back!!

1) Le Galantin Bandol - Cinsault-Mourvedr-Syrah partially made from Saignée. More around €12-15

2) Les Caves du Commandeur - superb 7€ coopérative Grenache-Cinsault rosé (Cuvée Dédicace). Recommended by Hachette Guide.

3) Chateau Fontcreuse - Ever-rising star from Cassis. Superb light summer drink. Unfortunately too much in demand and price went up to €12-15. Gorgeous whites & big smooth reds too.

4) Domaine Jean-Pierre Gaussen. Historical figure of the Bandol area. Beautiful acclaimed rosé and great, personable  daughters running the show. Again, slightly higher prices but you're in for a real treat.

Did you know?

> Rosé can be made in three different ways:

1. Saignée. Literally 'a bleeding' in French; dark skinned grapes are macerated for a short time before fermentation with the skins to extract some colour and then fermented as a white wine.

2. Direct pressing of red/black grapes with limited skin contact for pale wines.

3. Blending red and white wines. This is strictly forbidden in the EU but might be done for cheap New World Rosés. Only EU exception: Champagne rosé as main flavours in Champagne coming from the 2nd fermentation not the first.

> For more info, click for the Pinot Grigio Did you know

Whatever you have, enjoy your tipple!

:@lex

Wine of the week – Pinot Noir (France/Pays d'Oc)

Hi all,

After a crisp & lively Sauvignon Blanc last week, another classic with a twist.
An excellent Pinot Noir @£8.40 from....Languedoc!

What it is

A dry red wine made from Pinot Noir in Béziers in the Pays d'Oc (South of France).

What to expect

Appearance: pale ruby.

Nose: Violets & red cherries.

Palate: clean, fresh, fruity with this violet & red cherries.

With relatively low acidity and delicate fruit & floral flavours, this wine does not have the usual 'earthiness' that some Pinot Noirs can have. It is also lighter in alcohol and body vs. New World Pinot Noirs.

A FRESH PINOT NOIR WITH DELICATE FLORAL AND FRUITY FLAVOURS.

Score: 13/20 (wine shown)

You’ll like it if you like: red cherries, lighter reds, violets, lighter Pinot Noir, Gamay, Beaujolais (cru).

Have it with
 Cumberland sausages & sweet potato mash

Where to find it
1) Majestic - Nicolas Potel Vieilles Vignes - £9.99 – Price has gone up but still great value. This is how a Burgundy Pinot Noir should taste like: red berries, little bit of earthy aromas, soft, refreshing and supple tannins. Lovely.

2) Laithwaites – Champ des étoiles - £8.99. One of Laithwaites' best-selling Pinot Noir. Worth a try.

3) Waitrose – £10.99 - Louis Latour Burgundy4) Three Choirs - At the cellar door Pinot Noir - £16 - A very nice English Pinot Noir but it comes in low volumes and relatively high prices vs. others.

Did you know?

> Pinot Noir is one of the oldest cultivated vines in existence. Pinot Noir was already cultivated in Burgundy in the 4th century AD.

> Pinot Noir shares the same DNA with the other Pinots i.e. Gris, Blanc/Bianco and is proven to be the ancestor to Chardonnay, Gamay Noir, Muscadet (Melon de Bourgogne).

> Burgundy is the homeland of Pinot Noir but every wine-growing country cultivates it. Look out on the label on these more famous Pinot Noir regions: Martinborough and Central Otago (NZ), Yarra Valley (AUS), Oregon and Santa Barbara (US) Casablanca, Alsace (FR), Spatburgunder Baden (GER).

> If you're looking for a wine under £10,000, invest in the prestigious Romanée-Conti. A bottle of the 1995 vintage (good but not exceptional vintage) will cost you just that!! I dare you to click here to order!

> Pinot Noir is a key grape in sparkling wines like along Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay in Champagne.


Enjoy your wine this weekend!
:@lex!