Wine of the week #30: Crémant du Jura (Sparkling Chardonnay/France)

Hi all,

Unfortunately, no time for a full blind tasting this week but a superb value sparkling wine anyway from a very unusual wine seller (Aldi) and a much better value alternative to entry low quality Champagnes!

Special thanks to Sarah for this tippletip!!

It is

A dry sparkling wine made only from Chardonnay in the region of Jura, in the North-East of France.

Expect

Appearance: pale lemon, relatively thin and numerous bubble strings in the glass.

Nose: apple crumble & some citrus hints

Palate: tonic bubbles that soften up on your tongue to leave delicate pleasant green apple & citrus flavours. Good balance between the crisp acidity and the fruit flavours. Hints of biscuits/crumble give a little bit more complexity and pleasant finish.

IF YOU LIKE A CRISP FRUIT-DRIVEN FIZZ, FORGET DISAPPOINTING CHAMPAGNES ON OFFER @ £15, THIS IS MUCH BETTER AND ONLY £6.99.

Score: 15/20 (taking into account price)

You'll like it if you like: very dry ciders, sparkling wines (not frizzante), a bloody good deal, partying with friends, underdogs, dry Prosecco, Champagne more on the more than the biscuits autolytic flavours, an 'apéro' with the salted peanuts & amuse bouches; cava.

Have it with:

Not sure it's best drunk on its own. Might be a bit too dry.

Would recommend either with salted nibbles before dinner or with creamy fish or even homemade fish & chips. The idea to get something creamy or a little bit oily but not too heavy.

Find it:

1) Aldi - £6.99 - Philippe Michel - Crémant du Jura. 15/20. Also recommended by Jancis Robinson & Sarah.

2) Laithwaites - £9.99 - Roche Lacour - Crémant de Bourgogne. Not tried.

Did you know?

> Jura is not very well known in the wine world. It is tucked between very famous Burgundy and the underdog Switzerland and was once a very big wine region with 20,000ha of wines cultivated in the 19th Century (now down to less than 10% of this).

> Jura produces Crémant but also some vin jaune and vin de paille. Vin jaune ('yellow wine') is made by using the same technique as for Sherry. A wine is fermented from late-harvested local Savagnin grapes and then put in casks where a film similar to flor develops on top of the wine ('le voile') and gives the wine a very distinctive oxidised taste.

Vin de paille ('straw wine') is made from Savagnin grapes traditionally dried on straws, then creating a rich sweet white wine.

> Aldi is probably the best discounter when it comes to wine. They also have award-winning Cava (£4.48) and Prosecco  (£6.99) worth considering.

> The appellation 'Crémant du Jura' was created in 2005 and now represents 20% of the Jura wine production. The region is ideal for crisp sparkling Chardonnay with a reasonably wet climate that encourage slightly underripe grapes, best for sparkling wines.

> Crémant is the name for any sparkling made like a Champagne but that is not from the region of Champagne. The method and most often the grapes are the same so you can find, especially in the UK, much better from Crémant vs. Champagne.

> You can find Crémant in Alsace, Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Jura, Die, Loire and Luxembourg. Take your pick!

> I tried this Crémant at 4pm this Friday afternoon and now feel very ready for the Bank Holiday weekend!

Cheers!

Whatever wine you're drinking this weekend, ENJOY!

:@lex

Wine of the week #29: Merlot (Red/Chile)

Hi all,

Continuing on the top grapes, I have hunted down the Pub's favourite: Chilean Merlots. Four wines under £10, from £3.99 to £8.99 tasted blinded. And the winner is:

It is

A dry red wine made from Merlot grapes in Chile.

Expect

Appearance: deep ruby, sparse thick legs.

Nose: blackberries, black fruits, pepper and spices.

Palate: very fruit driven with red fruits (red currants, raspberries) with some sweet spices and hints of pepper too, medium bodied, warm pleasant alcohol, slight acidity imbalance and relatively long finish with some tannins but relatively fine-grained.

Score: 11/20 (not taking into account price)

You'll like it if you like: red plums, smooth-textured wines, easy drinking wines, relatively low structure and tannins, Beaujolais, young Tempranillo, standard Bordeaux.

Have it with

Almost anything? Merlot is one of the most versatile grape so try it 

I would recommend some bacon-wrapped chicken or a roasted pork belly. 

Where to find it & scores

1) Laithwaites - The Patriots - £6.99 - See above. 11/20

2) Tesco - Frontera - £6.99 - More complexity (fruits & layers of tobacco) but shorter finish and slightly sticky tannins. 10/20

3) Waitrose - Montgras - £8.99 - Beautiful bottle, smooth wine but slightly sticky tannins and shorter finish. 9/20

4) Tesco - Chilean Merlot - £3.99 - Confected fruit on the nose, easy to drink but bland. 5/20

Did you know?

> DNA research has proven to be the progeny of cabernet franc and another still unknown grape variety.

> Merlot is a black grape that is relatively easy to grow: it ripens easily and produce high yields.

> Merlot can be found in moderate climates (e.g. Bordeaux, Italy) where it tends to produce red fruit driven medium-bodied wines and in hot climates (Chile, South Africa, California) where the black fruit and alcohol dominates.

> In Saint Emilion and Pomerol wines, Merlot is the dominant grape variety, which gives its generally smoother and fruitier flavours.

> There is a white merlot variety which is not a mutation of the black merlot and is still grown in very low quantity in Bordeaux.

Whatever wine you drink this weekend, enjoy your wine!

:@lex

Wine of the week #28 - Unoaked Chardonnay (White/New World)

Hi all,

After the Shiraz challenge, I've gone for the Chardonnay blind tasting challenge! I randomly selected 4 unoaked Chardonnays under £10 from Chile, Argentina and Australia. The best of the 4 is here below!

It is

A dry white wine made from Chardonnay grapes in the Central Valley in Chile.

Expect

Appearance: a very pale lemon with sparse legs.

Nose: subtle nuances of apple, butter and pears with some toastiness. Slightly reminiscent of mid-range white Burgundys. 

Palate: light wine with relatively thin texture and alcohol (12.5%). Medium-strong flavours of apple, pears & cream/butter with a lime zest finish. Very good balance between acidity and fruit.

Score: 12/20

Easy, crisp & fruity white with creamy apples & pears flavours and a zippy lime zest finish. Great simple quaff.

You'll like it if you like: half price Chablis, apple crumble, pears, cream, light dry wines, seafood.

Have it with:

Chicken pasta in creamy sauce or a Creamy Garlic Penne.

White fish in creamy sauce like this Grilled white fish in lemon & basil cream sauce.

Find it or others:

1) Laithwaites - Don Cayetano - £6.99 - See above.

2) Waitrose - Santa Julia - £5.30 (on offer) - Argentinian fruity Chardonnay with lovely apple & pears flavours. 12/20

3) Laithwaites - Long Terrace - £5.99 - Very decent mid-week Aussie Chardonnay. Well balanced. 11/20.

4) Talking Wines - Emiliana - £6.50 - Creamy apples & pears but lack of balance and slightly sour finish. 9/20.

Did you know?

> Chardonnay still was the Number One varietal in the UK with 8.1% market share of still light wines in 2010 (Nielsen).

> Chardonnay's homeland is in Burgundy where it makes some of the finest whites in the world: Chablis, Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault and numerous other prestigious fine white wines. 

> Chardonnay is a grape variety that ripens in a wide range of climates, is hardy and relatively easy to grow high yields of.

> Chardonnay is also quite versatile in the winery: it responds well to oak (fermentation and ageing), can be aged on its lees (fermentation by products), is ideal for sparkling wine and blends readily with a variety of white and red grapes.

> Forget the Footballer's wife and give Chardonnay another chance this week!

As always, any feedback welcome!

Enjoy your wine!

:@lex

Wine #27 - Maury (Red/France)

Hi all,


Hope you had a great Easter! Not hungover on chocolate yet? Well, this wine is the best companion to chocolate and is bound to make you want to have more! Oh, and it's only 84 years old! ;-))

It is 
A fortified red wine made from Grenache (Noir, Gris) and Carignan from around the town of Maury in the Roussillon (France).


You can expect
Appearance: deep ruby/garnet (hazy - if unfiltered like this one)
Nose: plum and chocolate.
Palate: sweet with smooth, chocolatey texture, lots of plum. 
Dried fruits finish (figs).


GORGEOUS SWEET RED WITH MATURE COMPLEX FLAVOURS OF PLUMS, CHOCOLATES AND DRIED FRUITS. WILL EASILY COMPETE WITH 10-20YR TAWNY PORTS. MOORISH.


Score: 16/20 (based on wine shown)


You'll like it if you like: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, hot chocolate, chocolate bonbons, plums, chocolate eggs, Easter, Port (Ruby/Tawny).


Where to find it:
1) Oxford Wine Company - 1928 Solera - £19.99
2) Laithwaites - 1969 Mas Mouriane - £19.99 - Fruitier style with less dried fruits on the finish. Exceptional.15/20
3) Waitrose - Seriously plummy - £9.99 - Less complexity but excellent value for under £9.99. 13/20. 
4) Selfridges - Mas Amiel 2009 - £24.99. Top recommended name. Not tried.


Did you know?

> Maury is a Vin Doux Naturel and unlike its name translation ('Natural Sweet Wine' in Francais), it is fortified i.e. a grape spirit is to the fermenting must to stop fermentation and reach 15%+ abv.


> The wine is nearly always made from Grenache Noir grown on the windy and sunny shistic grounds of the Roussillon.

Can you spot Maury on the map?

> Maury is located in the Roussillon (a few kilometres from the Pyrénées and Spain). It's produced in greater quantity and is still very much in the shadows of other Vins doux naturels like Banyuls or Rivesaltes. It is however gaining popularity (hel-lo!).

25l Bonbonnes that can be used to age the wine.

> Like Banyuls, the grapes are fermented, the wine fortified and then matured. The maturation can be done in bonbonnes (small 25l glass jars), in barrels or tanks, either indoor or outdoor in the sun. The fortified wine can also be under a solera system like for a Sherry. In a solera system, a fraction of the younger wine is blended after a certain period with an older fraction of wine and the same can happen for a fairly long time until the winemaker decides that the wine is ready for bottling.

The Solera ageing system - The younger wine is introduced at the top
and fractionally blended down to the 'Solera' ('ground') where it's bottled
when ready.

> The Maury is dominated by Les Vignerons de Maury. Famous Maury winemaking houses includes Mas Amiel.






Enjoy your wines!


Cheers!


:@lex

Wine of the week #26: Shiraz (Australia/Red)

Hi all,

If you don't have snow this weekend, you need to get your BBQ season kicked off. To accompany this, what better than a good ol' Aussie Shiraz? I tried 4 wines between £4.29 and £9.99 this week. And the close winner on value is:

It is

A dry red wine made from Shiraz (aka Syrah) from Australia.

You can expect

Appearance: deep ruby colour

Nose: oaky aromas (vanilla), red berries (redcurrants) and hints of dark chocolate

Palate: rich but with a very soft texture, this wine has youthful flavours of fresh red fruits (redcurrants) and spices (hints of black pepper), and is not as heavyweight as Shiraz can often be. Pleasantly low but firm tannins.

Score: 14/20 (taking price into account)

RICH, ROUND & REASONABLY ELEGANT SHIRAZ FULL OF RED BERRIES AND HINTS OF SPICES.

You'll like it with you like: Rioja, redcurrants, spicy wines, powerful reds, Cotes du Rhone wines.

Have it with:

On its own (this one only).

Any red meat or sausages on a BBQ or roast lamb

Find it:

1) Sainsbury's - Redbridge Creek £5.49 - Excellent value for money. Surprisingly good for an own label.

2) Laithwaites - Patronus - £8.99 - Less oak but more body and concentration. Heady, juicy cassis fruit and fine-grained tannins. Serious stuff from the Barossa valley. 12/20

3) Aldi - Kooliburra Reserve - £4.29 - Unpretentious juicy quaff full of eucalyptus & red berries (redcurrant). Excellent value. 11/20

4) Sainsbury's - McGuigan Estate - £4.99 (half price) - Elegant nose but a bit thin texture and a poor finish with very green tannins. A true disappointment. Just about worth the half price!

This week's line up: best to poorest value
(from right to left)

Did you know?

> Shiraz is not from Australia. The grape originates from France and more precisely the Cotes du Rhone where it's called Syrah.

> The Syrah grape is the result of the crossing of Mondeuse Blanche and Dureza.

> Some believe that Syrah was actually imported from the town of Shiraz in Iran, where they produced fine wines in the 9th Century already (although mainly whites). This could explain why the grape was rebaptised Shiraz in Australia.

> Australian Shiraz tend to be slightly sweeter, riper and more chocolatey than the Rhone wines but it's worth giving a try to Cotes du Rhone. Click here for a very elegant example from St Joseph.

> Shiraz is, with no surprise, the most planted grape in Australia with more than 440,000 tonnes produced (a quarter of all grapes produced).

> In 2010, Australian wines were leading the UK sales board with every 5th bottle of wine sold in the UK being from Australian. 

> 4 of the top 10 wine brand in the UK are from Australia: Banrock Station, Hardy's, Jacob's Creek & Lindeman's. Ironically enough, none of these brands is actually managed by Australian companies but French or American.

> Due to the looser appellation system, a wine from 'South Australia' could be made from anywhere in the biggest winemaking area in the world i.e. more than a 1/3 of the Australian wine-making area. Unfortunately, the UK is not usually blessed with the better ones so most wines stating South Australia can be hit or miss. The best areas for Shiraz are the traditional Barossa or Hunter valley.

ENJOY THE BBQs!


:@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 #24: Chenin Blanc Vouvray (White/France)

Hi all,

I'm coming back to the pre-origins of this blog this week but with an historic favourite of mine: the Vouvray demi-sec! 

No specific recommendation this week, except to grab one of this very underestimated wine and try it!

It is:

A medium-dry white wine made from Chenin Blanc and from the area around the town of Vouvray in Loire (France).

You can expect:

Appearance: deep & bright lemon

Nose: green apple, citrus and honey

Palate: slightly but extremely refreshing with fresh ripe green apple and citrus flavours. 

It's basically like biting in a Granny Smith green apple: sweet, fruity and with an intense refreshing acidity!

You'll like it if you like: Granny Smith apples, Muscat, Moscato d'Asti; slightly sweet German Rieslings.

Have it:

On its own chilled.

With an Italian salad with feta, celeri and with a sprinkle of lemon in your dressing.

With your main meal e.g. a garlic-lemon-chilli chicken dish. 

Find it:

1) Sainsburys - La Couronne des Plantagenets - £6.99.

2) Majestic - La Grille - £6.99 (on offer) - If it's the same level as the La Grille's Sauvignon Blanc, this is bound to be excellent! 

3) Waitrose - Vieux Vauvert £8.50 - Award-winning wine.

4) Laithwaites - Réserve Champalou £11.99 - Champalou is known to be one of the best producer of Vouvray so you can't go wrong.

Did you know?

> The Chenin Blanc grape originates from the Loire Valley but it is also the most planted grape variety in South Africa (twice as many ha in South Africa vs. France). Chenin Blanc can be blended  with Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

> The Chenin Blanc grape is so versatile and thrives so well in the Loire terroir that you can find Vouvray wines in dry ('sec'), medium-dry ('demi-sec'), sweet ('moelleux') or even sparkling.

> Chenin Blanc has cultivated in the Loire Valley since the 9th Century with monks playing a key role in the development of the vineyards, especially in the middle ages.

> Vouvray is usually 100% Chenin Blanc. The quality is highly dependent on the weather as the grape buds early (when spring frost could still be an issue) and ripens late (needs long and warm growing season i.e. a nice autumn).

Go out, get a bottle & enjoy!

:@lex