Bio-Dynamic Wine Dinner at Tassili, Grand Jersey 25th August 2011

By Kasia & Lucy
Last Thursday 25th August, Kasia and Lucy gladly accepted an invitation from the Grand Jersey Hotel for their 'Biodynamic Wine Dinner' in Tassili Restaurant.

Led through to a serene and relaxing room with a fabulous sea view, we were presented with the first wine of the evening, a rather golden coloured 2009 Afros Loureiro Vinho Verde from Portugal.

This was accompanied by canapés of celery salt straws, a Bellini sphere and a spoonful of scallop and crab. Quite a selection! Much more rounded than your average Vinho Verde, with flavours of ripe pear and apple, it was an excellent match to complement the seared scallop and yet cut through the richness with it's crisp acidity.

We then moved on into the rather elegant Tassili room where we were served Lemon Sole with blackened Jersey butter. To match this was a golden straw coloured Riesling 'Growers Collection' from Rose Vineyard in Pyramid Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand. A wine with mouth watering acidity and rolling flavours of fermented and caramelised apple and a hint of cinnamon on the finish. Round and heavier than modern style Riesling it was one of Lucy's favourite wines of the night (although was slightly hiding the delicate flavours of the fish).

Next was the highly anticipated 'Skeveldra' 2008 Sancerre Blanc by Sebastien Riffault from the Loire Valley, France. Paired with a fabulous combination of goats curd, smokey Iberico ham and zingy gordal olives this was a top combination. The rich, marzipan and stewed peach flavours of the wine counteracted the rich creamy curd and accentuated the salty, smokey cured ham. We could have eaten much, much more!

Then we have moved on to the first red 'Granato' Vigneti Delle Dolomiti Rosso 2006 from Trentino, Italy, made by renowned winemaker and viticulturist Elisabetta Foradori. A dark intense wine full of juicy blackberries, hints of black pepper and soft rounded tannins. Perfect with the fatty Smoked Duck Carpaccio and complemented the bursts of dried cherries that accompanied it.

Then onto another winning combination. We were presented with a cylinder of perfectly tender smoked Angus Beef Fillet with a celeriac and truffle puree and a glass of 2003 '1368' Barranco Oscuro, Cerra Las Monjas, from Spain.

A concoction of varieties including Garnacha and Cabernet Franc create a powerful wine here. Peppery, smokey with a slight menthol nose it was still juicy with predominant flavours of blackcurrant and fig. Double decanted and let to rest for a couple of hours, it was a definite star of the evening according to Kasia.

And with a mixture of sadness and anticipation, we came to dessert. Presented in an unusual glass dish, the malt ice-cream with hay casanade (a type of cream I gather) topped with caramelised granola was a lovely way to finish the mouth watering experience combined with a glass of 'Selection de Grains Nobles' 2001 Riesling from Pierre Frick, Alsace, France. A nose of apricots and honey lead to flavours of pear, pineapple and cinnamon on the palate. Both components supported each other extremely well to provide a long lasting taste to finish a truly delicious and eye opening dinner.

Lucy and Kasia

Liberty Wines customer trip to the Rhône, Roussillon and Languedoc by Alick Robertson

14th-17th June 2011

With Mark and Liz of Liberty Wines, I joined two Sommeliers, a restaurant manager and a wine buyer for a group of independent pubs on a trip through the Rhône and southern France. It was my first wine trip so I had no idea what to expect but hoped to learn some more and maybe find some new wines for Dunell’s. We visited 10 producers, some I knew of but most not, and the following are my notes and recollections of them and the trip.

Day 1
David Reynaud (Beaumont-Monteux)

The wines of David Reynaud are organic and biodynamic with emphasis on the wine’s natural fruit expression being created from the care in the vineyard and simple and natural treatment in the cellar. It is a small winery with a high reputation for quality. The new winery, with a very efficient design, was built in 2003. While David himself doesn’t speak any English we were guided around by his colleague Christophe who explained all the various techniques David uses (handed down through generations) to create wine in harmony with nature.

These techniques include:

The use of animal horns (stuffed with compost to absorb the energy of the animal) buried in corners of the vineyard on fruit days.

The use of 501, a small silica type grain, that is spread sparsely on the ground to help reflect light that can burn funguses etc without damaging the vine. Not much of this is needed here, as there is so much sun that too much 501 can be dangerous to the grapes.

The use of complimentary plants and grasses in and around the vineyard.

Within the cellar David uses un-lined concrete vats which are of his own design and are shorter than normal. This is to help make the majority of the juice within the vat be closer to the skins at the bottom for maximum contact. David also uses a new, and very beautiful, style of vat that is egg shaped. The egg shape is said to be more natural as it removes the corners where there is greater contact of the concrete with the juice. It is also believed that in principle an egg shape is has an affinity with nature.

After tasting the range of wines, what really stood out to me, was the vast difference between his entry level wines (for French locals only) and his top-level wines, especially the Entre Ciel (Between Heaven and Earth) which was absolutely stunning.

Paul Jaboulet (Tain L’Hermitage)

After the tasting we had a BBQ (Fresh tomatoes with home made vinagarette followed by Pork steak and Dauphinoise potatoes, followed by Andoilette (a tripe style sausage – but very good), a cheese course followed by cake and coffee) accompanied by the wines we had just tried. It was during this meal that David’s pager for the Pompier (Fireservice) went off and then, upon his return, he had to rescue his mother from a Tractor stuck in a ditch and then we found out he sits on the local council too. A man of many talents...

Jaboulet is a very well known and prestigious Rhône winery that has arguably made some of the best wines in the Rhône. This prestige is matched by the very grand cave system where we were met by Jean-Luc Chappelle who spent 10 years developing the system (it used to be a quarry since roman times but has since been used to grow Champignons Paris, and repair engines and weapons by the Nazis in WW2, with some hedonistic raves in the 60’s/70’s also occuring).

Unfortunately for Jean-Luc the impressive site is no longer used for barrel storage, for quality control purposes, so we were asked to help suggest new uses the caves.

Jaboulet have, in recent years made real effort to bring their wines back to top form with emphasis on quality when buying grapes from producers for their Jalets and Paralelle 45 ranges. Also with their own grapes for their top whites they have started to harvest earlier as Marsanne is particularly susceptible to oxidation if picked too late.

All the wines were very good and I was especially impressed by the whites as I had previously told myself that I didn’t care much for Marsanne and Viognier, my favourite wine being the Sterimberg. Of the reds, of course I loved their top level ‘La Chapelle’ but after that I would happily slum it with the Cornas.


After the tasting we were taken across Tain to the hills where the grapes that make it into the finest Jaboulet wines (and Chapoutier among others) are grown. The slopes are varied with many changes in soil type allowing for complexity in the wines that can be created. It was here where we visted ‘La Chapelle’ which is the site of a Hermit’s chapel in times gone by.

We then vistied the world famous Chocolats Valrhona, who trust me, do make very good chocolates. This visit was the reason why we had to have air-con on in our people carrier for the rest of the trip and making sure we always parked in the shade, for fear of meltage of said amazing chocolate.

That night we dined at ‘Le Mange Vins’, a small restaurant with excellent food accompanied by some older (2006) vintages from Jaboulet.

Day 2

Domaine Richaud (Cairanne)

Marcel Richaud is the fifth generation of his family to make wine and he has a reputation for making some of the finest wines in the southern Rhone. Their grapes come from several different parcels in the vicinity, all with their distinct terroir. Upon arriving we were shown the route the grapes would enter the winery during harvest and then following the processes (red wine in concrete vats and whites/roses in steel) until bottling where we saw their new bottling machine in action. They use as little sulphur as possible with none being added for wines destined for the French market and just a little for those due for export.

The wines all had quite high alcohol (16-17% for some last year) due to the use of only natural yeasts and it was during lunch that Marcel explained that older winemakers would have changed the blend using different grapes to reduce the alcohol. They now can’t due to appellation rules dictating what can and can’t be used in wines from the Cairanne appellation.

While I did enjoy the wines I personally found it hard to imagine customers paying the RRP of £18 - £34 for the range we tasted without being hand sold the fact that these are small production, bio-dynamic and artisan wines.

Cave Cairanne

Cave Cairanne is the cooperative for Cairanne where we met Thierry Caymaris. Firstly we toured the museum that explained the unique features of the Cairanne with rich alluvial soils by the river and glacial stones on the vinyards high on the hills. The museum also had the theme of the five senses involved with apreciating wine with various demonstrations to show this, my favourite being guessing the smells characteristic of wines from the Cairanne. And they were – Cherries, Pepper, Cinammon, Smoke and Leather.

I, again, enjoyed all the wines and thought the La Villasse range (made by Liberty in collaberation with Thierry) were good value for money, and in screwcap, with the Rosé being my favourite (despite having a coughing fit and nearly spraying everyone with it!). The wines of Camille Cayran (made by Thierry) were also great with the Plan de Dieu 2009 being my favourite, tasting of cherries and violettes with smooth fine tannins and an RRP of only £8.99. For lunch Marcel (from Domaine Richaud) and Thierry laid on a typical french buffet in the shade of the trees by the vineyards that make the grapes for top wines, overlooking the southern Rhone.

Château Vaudieu (Châteauneuf-du-Pape)

I was very excited about visiting this Château (owned by the Brechet family) as their red Châteauneuf is one of my favourite wines, so much so that I had the 2005 with my last Christmas lunch. Vaudieu is one of the 3 original Château’s within CNDP, which was the first ever appellation.Upon arriving we were taken on a tour of the 70 hectares by the winemaker and were shown the 7 different terroirs they use to make their wines. By the way, of their whole production, 15% is white wine which is much higher than other CNDP producers. In making their wines the whites go through one of the largest and newest presses in the area, it elimates oxygen from the process ensuring a higher quality wine at the end. The reds, when in their steel vats, undergo a process of Delestage (or racking) where the wine is pumped out into concrete vats leaving the grape solids behind and then pumped back in late. This gently extracts phenolic compounds by oxygenating the juice to produce a softer, less astringent wine exhibiting more fruit character.

We then tasted their wines with Laurent Brechet, with none scoring lower than an 8/10 on my tasting sheet and with hindsight I wonder why that one wasn’t a 9. The stand out ones were: The CNDP Blanc 2010 with fresh white fruits, beautifully crisp and balanced acidty. The CNDP Rouge 2007 that had ripe red fruits with elegant silky tannins. The Gigondas 2009 (under the Domaine de Bosquets label) was so good I failed to write any notes on the taste, I did note however that this wine comes from the same parcel where the first Gigondas wines were made in 1376 and that this 2009 vintage came first in the 40th anniversary Gigondas competition. I liked the last two so much that there was no need for the spittoon anymore and after all they were the last wines to be tasted that day.

That night laurent joined us for dinner at the Hotel la Sommelerie where we learnt of some of his other talents as a racing driver (including ice rallys) and that they have races in the grounds of Château Vaudieu between the vineyards. When I asked on his thoughts of screwcap enclosures, he assured me that CNDP will never embrace them and that while they may be ok for other appellations in CNDP tradition is king. One of my favourite stories was of how a tradition has formed between 11 of Châteauneuf’s top producers (including Laurent) where each year, they each donate 20 litres of their top grape juice and each year a different producer makes and blends the wine with 2 cases of the resulting wine going back to each producer. This wine will never be sold for any price he explained and was for the pleasure of Châteauneuf’s top 11 only, fittingly they call it La Sang Melee, which I believe means ‘The Mingled Blood’.

Day 3

After visting the village of CNDP we headed south to the Costiere de Nimes in search of Château La Tour Beraud, which in the end really was a search as the winery we were looking for was actually, and not at all helpfully, sign posted as Morgues de Gras... Because of this we only had an hour here.

Château La Tour de Beraud

The name refers to the fire tower (La Tour) that sits within the vinyards of Beraud, this was used in ancient times as a warning system in case of invasion from the people of the Languedoc (just like in Lord of the Rings!). The terroir here consists of the same glacial and alluvial soils as that of the southern Rhone but much deeper – 15 meters and a hotter and more mediteranean climate. I enjoyed all three of the wines we tried here (red/white and rose) which I thought actually over delivered for their price point (RRP £8.99/£9.99). They all had bags of fruit and were clean, fresh and rounded in the mouth. Samples will be requested for Neil and Liz.

La Croix Gratiot (Picpoul de Pinet)

Unfortunately we also had trouble in finding La Croix Gratiot as our instructions were to head for Montagnac and there is of course another Montagnac about the right distance away which our sat-nav preffered!

This large property (which is mainly a melon farm) is run by a two person team consisting of Yves (father) and the NZ/Montpellier trained winemaker Anais (daughter). Upon arrival we settled down to lunch immediately (having been so late already) in the old barn that now holds their many huge steel vats. We tasted, I mean drank, the range of wines with several courses of food typical to the local area (seafood terrine with langoustines, salted cod with local vegetables and anchovy drizzle, sea snails, cheese and then fresh melon with lemon strawberries). This is definately my favourite method of tasting wine – with the local food!

I thought the wines were excellent, pure clean fruit that tasted young and fresh, and i am not alone as their Rousanne 2010 won the award for overall best Vin de Pays in France! They all showed real quality which was matched by the cool and stylish design of the wine labels and names.

Mas la Chevaliere (Beziers)

Mas la Chevaliere is a winery of La Roche (Chablis) ownership that was created after a 10 year search for land in the south of france that would be suitable for Chardonnay. After a lot of work in creating the vineyards their very large and impressive winery was built in 2003. We had a tour of the vineyard that makes their top wine ‘Roqua Blanca’ and then toured the winery, which is polar opposite in terms of scale to the first winery we visited at Domaine Richaud.

We tasted the wines of La Roche and Mas la Chevaliere before dinner, outside the converted farm building we were staying in overlooking the winery. The Chablis’ of La Roche were all pleasant (Chablis not really being my thing) and were typical of Chablis’ steely mineral style. I did prefer the wines of Mas la Chevaliere because I thought they gave so much more when considering their price point of £8.99.

The Chablis mindset when making these wines was evident, they were so crisp and clean and most importantly very enjoyable.For dinner a feast had been prepared (by a michelin star chef no less), Oysters, Scallops in herb jous, Smoked Salmon and Langoustines, Artichoke hearts with truffles followed Cote du Boeuf (cooked on an open fire of old vines) and then strawberries in steeped in orange liqueur. A very enjoyable night – I noted that the decanter never seemed to empty.

Day 4

Château St Roch (Maury)

This winery, owned by Jean-Marc Lafage is named after a Cathar castle that sits atop one of the nearby mountains. We toured the vineyards that were mostly made up of Schist like rock with vines that were up to 100 years old. The last couple of years had suffered from very low production of around 15 hectolitres per hectare so this year’s expected 25-30 hectoliters is encoraging for all in the area.

The whole area has become more trendy in recent years with big investments by some some ‘major players’. Unfortunately as much as St Roch follows organic principles they cannot be certified due to the close proximity of lots of other parcels of vines whose owners sell to the local cooperative and use pesticides.

After following the wine making process from vineyard to carbon fibre vat, including the cold soaking technique used to avoid a burning high alcohol taste, we sat down to taste the range.My favourites were the Chimeres with its liquorice and red fruit flavours (Dunell’s currently sells this wine already) the Kerbuccio (named after the Cathar Castle) – I noted that I wanted to keep the rest of the bottle, and the two Maury’s - one red and one white. The first time I have had a white (Macabeo) Maury and I’ll be sure that Neil and Liz would like to try it too. I noted burnt toffee on the nose and on the palate - caramel/nuts/blossom/saline/nougat. Yum.

Cazes (Rivesaltes)

The 220-hectare Domaine Cazes was founded in 1895 and the wines are still made by the fourth generation Emmanuel Cazes. The family took the decision to move to to orgnic and bio-dynamic viticulture in 1997. Based on their view that ‘the natural environment needs natural preparation’ they plough the soils and use only natural ingredients as treatments and arranging their work according to the lunar calendar. Our host for the day was Lionel Lavail (Directeur General) who believes they were one of the first in France to go organic and that they may be the biggest oragnic estate in the world. They have 15,000 visitors a year come to their winery and have embarked on starting their own school.

Cazes is, I was told, a very well known winery in France and a benchmark of Rousillon wines. Lionel was happy to point out that more needed to be done to develop this outside of France.Their top level wines, the Collioure and the Credo really shone, they both showed power on the nose and I was expecting really hot, maybe burnt tasting wines but both were pleasantly elegant and fresh.

Cazes are very well known for their Vin Doux Naturels – they fortify them using grape spirit to stop the fermentation leaving the wines sweet and relatively low in alcohol at only 15%. They hold large amounts of each vintage back to age for at least 10 years with over a million bottles currently in their stock. We tried several of these and compared their Rivesaltes Ambre 1998 to the 1978, both tasted incredibly fresh and were light in the mouth but with powerful fruit with the ’78 showing real toffee and cream flavours followed by a clean finish.

We finished our trip with lunch (all organic and freshly caught/picked that day) in the Cazes restaurant before making our way back to the airport to head home. Overall every producer we visited so far thinks that 2011 will be a very good vintage. Most were so far expecting to harvest at least 2 weeks earlier than normal due to amount of sun and little rainfall so far this year.

It was a long journey back to Jersey with plenty of time to let everything I had tasted, eaten, seen and learnt on the trip settle in my mind and body. I had a great time and am now working on where and when I can go next...

Alick Robertson

Bordeaux 2010 En Primeur Tastings 4th - 8th April 2011 - Neil and Jane Pinel

Last Friday, Neil and I returned from a very enjoyable Bordeaux En Primeur trip to taste the 2010 vintage. It was an amazing opportunity to visit some of the very best Chateaux in the world, some of which I had never visited before.

Back in September and October of last year, rumours were already bubbling away that 2010 was also an exceptional vintage, this on top of the magnificent 2009. Could they really have struck gold again, back to back vintages? Anticipation was certainly high.

Described as being more of a classic vintage to 2009, especially due to the retention of higher acidity, we spoke to our long standing friend John Kolasa who runs Chateau Rauzan-Segla Grand Cru Classé, Margaux and Chateau Canon 1er Grand Cru Classé, St Emilion (where we stayed as guests) about his thoughts on 2010. He described it as being a vintage with “perfect structure and lift” thanks to great concentration of fruit and acidity. He said that it reminded him of the 2002 (because that year also had low yields), 2003 (for its ripeness of fruit) and 2005 (for its ageing ability). He then described it as a "British" vintage, NOT an “American” vintage and that it is more complex and elegant than many wines produced in 2009. It is also worth noting that many whites also faired very well due to the concentration of fruit and acidity. So, two great vintages but clearly different in style. Which you like better is clearly up to your taste.

And so onto the tastings….we had been told that many Merlot vineyards had suffered some stress due to the fact that the Merlot vines were not able to withstand the near drought conditions experienced in 2010 as well as the stronger Cabernet vines. Indeed, many of the Cabernet-dominant, Left Bank wines were outstanding with deliciously dark ripe fruit, fresh attacking acidity and complex but elegant tannins. Some were so brilliantly balanced, I would have been quite happy drinking them now! This was clearly evident at our very first tasting at La Mission Haut-Brion (what an amazing start) where we tasted, amongst their other wines, the 2010 La Mission at 15.1% Alcohol. It was so rich and powerful yet restrained and elegant. You would never have believed the alcohol was so high. It is a beautifully crafted wine that will last a very long time. Their whites, for us were the whites of the week. Chock full of ripe tropical fruit flavours and fresh acidity, they were an absolute delight.


The Right Bank, which is more Merlot based however, didn’t fare quite as well with some over-extracted fruit and bitter flavours, which some producers had also over-oaked. This was evident to us with Chateau Larcis-Ducasse which we were very unhappy with. Showing mint and nettles on the nose, it had a sharp palate and gave us a wink, what Neil and I call a ‘winky’ wine. There were exceptions however with excellent examples from Chateau Canon, La Tour Figeac, Pavie-Macquin, L’Eglise-Clinet, Angelus and the truly outstanding Ausone to name but a few. Personally, we felt that Pomerol seemed to have faired better than St Emilion in this respect. In conclusion though, 2010 is definitely the year of the Cabernet. We tasted some truly exceptional wines. Amongst our favourites were Rauzan-Segla, Margaux, Cos d’Estournel, Haut-Brion, Chateau Palmer (we had this for breakfast and with a 5 minute length, was truly incredible), Pontet-Canet, Ducru-Beaucaillou, Lynch-Bages and Leoville-Las-Cases.


In general, after 4 long days of tasting and daily scraping of tannins off our teeth and tongues, we are extremely impressed with the 2010 vintage overall and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Prices and demand will be high this year, there is no doubt, but this is certainly a vintage to invest in. With incredible ability to age, these wines will probably out-live many of us and reward those who drink them with outstanding complexity, poise and balance.

For a full album of photos, please see our Facebook Page or if you are not on Facebook, please view them here Photobox

As and when the En Primeur offers are released, we will release our tasting notes. However, in the meantime, you may like to view Decanter's website where up-to-date coverage on results, scores and tasting notes have already been published.

Jane

Dunell’s Iconic Wine Night 10.02.11 - Report by Tim Wildman MW

"Following the success of the inaugural Iconic Wine Night last September I had the great pleasure to be invited back by Neil and the team at Dunell’s to host a second evening of fine, rare and wonderful wines. The second Iconic Wine Night took place on February 10th in the Leopold Suite at Grand Jersey, with canapés matching each wine supplied by Richard Allen, their Head Chef. I was joined by Vianney Gravereaux from Champagne Philipponnat who presented the first two wines.

CHAMPAGNE PHILIPPONNAT CLOS DE GOISSES 1992 (This wine was brought to Jersey direct from the Philipponnat cellars and is not commercially available. It was a great honour to have this wine at this event)

For many of the guests tasting Clos de Goisses was the main discovery of the evening. Vianney explained that Clos de Goisses is often referred to as one of the wine worlds best kept secrets. The reason why Clos de Goisses is relatively unknown, even to wine enthiusiasts, is beacuse of its tiny volume of production. An average year for Clos de Goisses would be 15,000 bottles, which is put into persepctive when considerd next to reported estimates of Dom Pérignon production, which vary between 3 and 4 million bottles a year.

Vianney explained that the reason for the small production is that Clos de Goisses is a single 5.5 hectare vineyard, which produces just one wine, the Clos de Goisses. In French wine nomenclature the word clos indicates a single, often walled, vineyard. Vianney explained that goisses is a local dialect expression for hard work, or hard labour, a reference to the steep angle of the vineyard’s slope, at some places 45%. This steep slope, and its perfect due south aspect are keys to the unique style of Clos de Goisses. In the cold, northerly and marginal climate of the Champagne region, Clos de Goisses is remarkable in that it often ripens a full one or two degrees of alcohol more than surrounding vineyards. The vineyard is made up of pure chalk with heavily eroded top soil, so that the vines virtually sit right on the chalk. This gives Clos de Goisses its remarkable minerality, that balances the power and weight of the ripe fruit. Clos de Goisses is released after ten years aging, so the current vintage on the market is the 2000. It is one of the few champagnes wine that can stored with confidence over the long term; powerful years - such as the 2000 - will age and improve for thirty to forty years.

The first wine of the evening, the 1992 Clos de Goisses, bore testament to that ageability. Incredibly pale and bright for the age, it looked more like a five year old champagne rather than almost twenty years old. The nose was remarkably fresh and perfumed, and again, with no signs of age. One of the guests commented on the limey, almost riesling-like acidty and fruit on the palate. The flavours were very pure and precise, with a gentle honeyed richness coming in on the finish, the only real indication of its age.

CHAMPAGNE PHILIPPONNAT CLOS DE GOISSES 2000 @ £119.95 per bottle

By contrast the younger wine - the 2000 - actually looked older. Vianney explained that the deeper golden colour was a hallmark of the warm 2000 vintage, when the (black skinned) Pinot Noir came in so ripe that is was impossible to keep some of the colour out of the juice.

The wine showed a rich golden colour, powerful nose of brioche, toast, lemon and red fruits, with a savoury white truffle characteristic that many say is a feature of Clos de Goisses.

Vianney pointed out that the owner, Charles Philipponnat, refers to his champagnes as “wines”, as they display all the hallmarks of great white wines, the bubbles being as Vianney put it, “a distraction”. To emphasise this point, the 2000 vintage was served from a carafe, to allow the champage to breathe as one would with a young red or white wine.

HUDELOT NOELLAT RICHBOURG GRAND CRU 2001 @ £269.95 per bottle

The first of the reds was a rare and delicious Burgundy, from the famous Richbourg Grand Cru vineyard, that lies within the appellation of Vosne Romanee in the northern part of Burgundy’s Cote d’Or, the Cotes de Nuits. Domaine Hudelot Noellat own 0.28 hectares in Richbourg, making them one of the smallest holders in this legendary Grand Cru which comprises 8.03 hectares in total. They are recognised for producing a house style of wines that are both fine and fragrant. The 2001 showed a delicate nose, very fine, gossamer like tannins, sappy, floral, red fruit, with some herbal complexity, with a very long finish.

CHATEAU MARGAUX 2001 @ £449.95 per bottle

The first of two Bordeaux First Growths, and a perfect example of the A list level we were tasting at this evening.

2001 was a good year in Bordeaux, characterised by a balance and restraint in the wines that make them perfect for early to mid term drinking, and to many palates (mine included) are representitive more of their terroir and a classic ‘claret” style than the riper, more powerhouse styles that are becoming more the norm in warmer years. This Chateau Margaux was highly aromatic, with a bouquet that filled the room, showing floral notes alongside dried tea and fine herbs. On the palate there was dried red fruit with more of the floral, rose petal perfume, the tannins already resolving (softening), and with a fresh, digestible acid.

CHATEAU LAFITE-ROTHSCHILD 2006 @ £595.00 per bottle

Until quite recently Chateau Lafite Rothschild was considered the least collectable of the five Bordeaux First Growths (the others being Latour, Mouton Rothschild, Haut Brion and Margaux). How things have changed. The huge demand for Lafite in the Chinese market has driven prices well above those of its peer group, fuellled by its image in the Chinese market as the “ultimate” gift. The 2008 which was released at £1950 a case is now worth over £11,000, a rise that was further fuelled by the Chateau announcing that each bottle will be etched with the Chinese symbol for eight (a lucky number).

The 2006 showed a semi transparent core, not as deep as I’d have expected; rich red and blue fruit, some coffee and mocha, spice, all elements in balance, dry, very fine granular tannins, tight finish, very long.

PENFOLDS GRANGE 2005 @ £199.95 per bottle

For many this was the most memorable wine of the evening, it was certainly the biggest and most powerful. Deep purple black, very rich nose, opulent, dark fruits, some raisin, black plum, mocha, espresso - complex full and very powerful. Broad structure, full but pliable tannins, saturated with ripe fruit and toasted new oak.

As an introduction to the wine, I related the story of how Grange was first created by winemaker Max Schubert. Inspired by a tour of Europe, and particiularly Bordeaux, in 1951 Max Schubert made the first vintage of Grange, producing five hogsheads (1800 bottles) on an experimental basis. By 1957, as a result of poor sales and negative reviews, Schubert was instructed to cease production of Grange, but continued undeterred for three years in secret, using old barrels and recycling bottles and hiding the maturing wine behind a false wall in the cellar. In 1960, as the early vintages began to age and their true value appreciated, the family members on the board instructed Schubert to re-start production, little knowing that he had not missed a vintage.

OPUS ONE 2007 @ £169.95 per bottle

I made the comment that there is often a gap between the perception of Opus One (often by those who have not drunk it!) and the reality of the wine itself. This is a far cry from the over-ripe “super-Cabs” that the Napa Valley is reknowned for producing. Robert Parker (the US critic) describes the 2007 as having a “skyscraper-like mouthfeel”. I have no idea what he means by this, but feel that he misses the point. This is a wine that is all about elegance, not power; texture, not ripeness.

On the nose it shows sweet blackcurrant and cream, not over ripe, very attractive. The palate is mid to full bodied, with silken tannins, full but supple. There is an intense core of damson fruit, sloe and more of that rich, creamy oak. Balanced acid, open perfumed almost floral finish. Delicious, drinkable, and not a skyscraper in sight!

WARRES 1977 @ £79.95 per bottle

We finished the evening on a gentle note - a fully mature vintage port from the house of Warres. Less rich than either of the two previous red wines, it nontheless provided a delicious and memorable finish to the evenings tasting. A herbal, sweet nose, showing dried figs and strawberry pips. Spirity, quite light body, aromatic palate with fine, lacy tannins, and a suggestion of cherry pie crust fruit on the gentle finish.

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Once again the team at Dunell’s had put together an outstanding selection of some of the worlds greatest wines. I made the comment to some of the tasters at the end of the evening that these Iconic Wine Nights could be seen as a sort of “wine club” whereby everyone is chipping in towards the price of bottles that we rarely get to experience in our regular drinking lives. It was a real pleasure to host the evening, when the wines are this good its a privilage, albeit a very enjoyable one!"
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To view all 24 pictures taken on the night, please click http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=269631&l=b3a2147b1b&id=110730952824 (even if you are not a Facebook member, you will still be able to view the pictures)

Huge thanks to Tim Wildman MW, Vianney Gravereaux from Champagne Philipponnat and to Nathan, Richard and the rest of the very professional team from Grand Jersey. The evening was a huge success!

Dunell’s Tasting 09.02.11 - Vins de Terroir - "Every Wine has a Story"

by

Tim Wildman MW

Last Wednesday night the team at Dunell's opened the doors of their newly refurbished store to a group of forty plus wine lovers for a tasting that had been billed as ‘Vin de Terroir - Every Wine has a Story”.

I had been invited to show a selection of wines from the UK importer I work for “Les Caves de Pyrene”. We have a reputation for sourcing wines that are off the beaten track, but very true to their terroir (or sense of place) and Neil and Jane wanted something a bit special to mark the launch of their new-look store. When I arrived that morning and walked into the shop I have to confess my jaw nearly hit the floor. I couldn’t believe what a transformation had taken place, and how spectacular it looked. In the course of my work I’ve visited hundreds of wine stores around the UK, and have to say that I’ve never seen anything like the “Wall of Wine” that Dunell's now have running down the right hand side of their shop. Like the Great Wall of China, it can be probably seen from space, and should certainly be listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

As the guests started arriving we greeted them with Txacoli di Getaria Rubentis Rosado 2009 from Bodegas Ametzoi. We served this in the traditional Basque fashion by pouring a small measure into glasses from a height using specially designed Txacoli pourers, thereby “smacking” the wine (as they say in Spanish) and making the naturally petillant wine foam up in the glass. In the bars of San Sebastian, Bilbao and Vittoria you drink your 100ml serving of Txacoli, nibble on a tapas served on the bar counter, and then move on to the next bar. This can be repeated ad infinitum until the small hours! Txacoli is a rare wine from the Basque Country, where the vines cling perilously to the cliffs and are assaulted by the Atlantic sea. In white Txacoli you can taste the sea salt, and one writer once commented that it it the perfect accompaniment to wild rabbit because it is the only wine wherein the acidity can dissolve lead shot. The rose version that we enjoyed (even rarer) is a softer affair, all cranberries and red-currents, and at a mere 10.5% alcohol, is a beautiful summers day aperitif or picnic wine. As I told people on the night, for me it is a “two-people-ten-minute” kind of wine.

The rest of the wines for the evening tasting had been arranged around the new counter tops in the centre of the store and our guests were free to taste the wines in any order they preferred, making it a very informal event, which had quite a party feel to it. Every fifteen minutes or so I interrupted the good natured chatter to share some stories or anecdotes about the wines in question. The wines that we tasted are as follows:


Albarino “O Rosal” 2009, Bodegas Terras Gauda, Galicia, Spain
Albarino is an indigenous grape from Galicia, “Green Spain” as they call it. The locals drink it with the national dish of pulpo (octopus) plus the multitude of seafood that makes up the local diet; lobster, razor clams, crab etc. It makes a brilliant match for seafood, being unoaked, crisp, gently flavoured with apricot and peach, and is a great alternative to sauvignon blanc or dry riesling. This particular Albarino has achieved something of a cult status in Spain, thanks to the added ingredient of a grape called Caino Branco. This was an ancient grape in the region that became almost extinct, before Bodegas Terras Gauda re-introduced it to their vineyards. It lends the Albarino extra weight, texture and a further dimension of flavour, and proved to be a big hit on the tasting night.

“Petramarina” Etna Cru, Benati 2008, Mount Etna, Sicily
From 80 year old Carricante vines grown 600m up on the side of Mount Etna, this is a unique and very special wine. The sandy volcanic soil lends a powerful minerality to the wine, giving it an almost Chabliesque brine-and-oyster-shell flavour. The plate is subtle, no new oak here, and almost light bodied, but with a deceptive intensity and length. This really surprised people, who said they had never tasted anything quite like it. The local dishes on Sicily comprise seafood (mussels, clams) with pasta, tomato sauces and lots of capers. This wine would be a great match to similar dishes.

Soave Superiore 2009 “Le Bine de Costiolo”, Tamellini, Veneto, Italy
Soave is a fascinating wine, being unique in that it can be made from two completely different grape varieties, yet still carry the name Soave. The oceans of cheap Soave that washed over our shores in the 70s were made from a grape called Trebbiano, which is a pretty unexciting variety, producing thin wines with little character. There is a band of small producers making Soave the traditional way, using a grape called Garganega, which is a whole lot more interesting, and this is what we had on show for the tasting. The Tamellini “Le Bine” is a single vineyard wine coming from vines that are 40 to 50 years old. It has complex flavours that weave in-between fruit (green plum), spice (clove) and nuts (almond).

Saumur Blanc “Insolite” 2009, Domaine de Roches Neuves, Loire Valley, France
From one of the leading biodynamic producers in France, this powerful Chenin Blanc divided opinion on the night. Some loved its weighty apple and pear fruit and honeyed texture, while others were put off by its thundering authority of acid, that rises up on the finish and rattles the teeth in your head. Not the easiest wine to taste without food, but match this with a roast goose or slab of pork belly, giving some fat for that acidity to carve through, and it would be a different story altogether.

Frappato 2009, COS, Sicily
One of the most popular wines of the night - I know because of number of bottles we had to open. This is made by another biodynamic producer this time on South Eastern Sicily. COS ferment and age their wines in terra-cotta amphora, which they believe gives then the purest transmission of terroir and fruit purity. This is made from the local Frappato grape. Frappato is a bit like Gamay on acid - all juicy fruit, light bodied,with fresh acidity and spice - think Beaujolais, but with a bit more character. Great wines do not have to be powerful and complex, and I believe that as wine becomes part and parcel of our lives, people will seek out more of these “vin de soif” (quaffing wines).

“Segna de Cor” 2009, Domaine Roc des Anges, Cotes de Roussillon, France
One of Neil's favourite wines of the moment, this is a rich and warming blend of Grenache (which gives the fruit and juiciness) and old vine Carignan (which provides structure and an earthy complexity). The winemaker is a young lady called Marjorie Galet, who by raising money from her friends and family managed to buy twenty parcels of old vines that were derelict and abandoned. Marjorie’s wines are hand-crafted, using natural yeasts and with the minimum of intervention, allowing them to transmit the flavours of the wild Mediterranean landscape they grow in, of herbs, stone and sun.

Saperavi 2007, Orevela, Georgia
Georgia (in the former Russian Caucuses) is recognized as being the ‘cradle of wine”, grape growing artifacts have been discovered dating back seven thousand years. Saperavi is the local red grape variety, and ‘Orevela” is recognized as being Georgia’s greatest red wine. Medium bodied, with layers of black fruit and spice, there is an underlying minerality and seductive aromas of violets and plum. Something completely different, and a welcome discovery for palates jaded with the usual suspect grape varieties.

Teroldego “Grenato” 2006, Foradori, Trentino, Italy

Teroldego is the grape variety, and Elisabetta Foradori the leading producer and “doyen” of the region. Elisabeta was the first ever woman to be awarded ‘Wine Maker of the Year” in Italy, a recognition not only for the quality of her wines but for her work over twenty years in reintroducing the original clones of Teroldego. Clonal selection in the 1970s led to the homogenisation of the Teroldego grape variety and hence to its genetic impoverishment: very few clones aimed exclusively at increasing the yield were developed. The limited area cultivated with Teroldego grapes (about 400 ha in Campo Rotaliano) was soon covered completely with the clonal material. The result is that today almost all of the vineyards are cultivated with only this variety of Teroldego. In 1985 Elisabetta Foradori started her work to recover the variety’s diversity. After identifying the estate’s oldest vineyard, she started with the careful selection and multiplication of the plant specimens that had the required quality features. Their monitoring over the years led to a further selection and it was followed by others reaching up to this day. Foradori has selected 15 Teroldego biotypes that she uses for replanting. They are the qualitative “backbone” of her wines. ‘Granato’ is Elisabeta top wine, a selection of her best three vineyards. It is a wine of great strength, harmony, depth and nobility. Deep, almost shy on the first nose, it reveals itself as the aromas come into focus: wild berries and candied fruit make way for roasted hazelnuts, baked bread, leather, eucalyptus and pomegranate, then the full robust palate shows plenty of temptingly chewy flesh. This won over many people on the night, and would give many a top Bordeaux a run for its money.

Banyuls Rimage 2008, Clos de Paulilles, Roussillon, France

Banyuls is a French VDN (Vin Doux Naturel) which is a style of fortified wine similar to Port. At 16% alcohol Banyuls is lighter than Port (20%) and has a smoother texture with less spirity burn. Banyuls is also known as one of the few wines that is a true match with chocolate, which we put to the test on the night, with blocks of dark chocolate provided for people to test the match for themselves. Banyuls is made from Grenache grown on steep tarraced vineyards overlooking the Mediterranean only a few miles from the Spanish border in the Catalan speaking corner of Roussillon. One of the curious stories about Banyuls is that Appellation laws dictate that the vineyards must only be worked using donkeys not tractors. This is logical due to the steep, inaccessible terraces. More controversially is the law that stipulates that all the donkeys must be born within the Appellations region. As there is now only one farmer who breeds donkeys, local grape growers are up in arms as the price of local donkeys is kept high by this monopoly situation (or as the team as Dunell's joked, more of a “donkopoly”). With its rich flavours of summer pudding and mocha, not to mention dried herbs, prune and caramel, it made a delicious end to the tasting, and gave people a warm glow as they headed out into the dark Jersey night.

It was a real pleasure to share these wines and their unique stories with the team at Dunell's and their guests and I look forward to coming back soon, when I’m told there will be some exciting new additions to the tasting area, so watch this space!

Tim Wildman MW

Report – Penfolds Vintage Years Event 2010

The Hospital Club, Covent Garden, London, 3rd November 2010 by Sarah Kerhoat

"OK, confessions first. Having only previously tasted two of Penfolds’ entry level wines, I really didn’t know what to expect of this event. The line up looked good, broadcasting figurehead Greg Dyke was planning to talk about his vintage year, Penfolds’ Chief Winemaker Peter Gago was also going to be there and of course, there were the wines!

Greg Dyke and Peter Gago

There was a glass of wine on arrival and I opted for the Koonunga Hill Autumn Riesling 2008. Already, the venue seemed packed and I discovered that 130 invites had been sent out. We weren’t left standing for long and the movement towards the seating area began and I managed to nab a second row seat. Another confession, I’m one of those people that really doesn’t mind sitting at the front, at least you can see without getting neck ache!

Greg started by explaining that he usually offered 3 subjects when he was asked to speak, Leaderships, Democracy and Weapons of Mass Destruction but as none of these were entirely appropriate, he had opted for his Autobiography and his vintage year of 1991. He had been appointed CEO of LWTV in 1989 and subsequent to the Margaret Thatcher interview around that time, she started a review of how TV programmes were allocated and it was from that point that it then became about money, not about the production of the best quality programmes. Quite topical even today, as we read news reports of how prices for 140 year old bottles of first growth Bordeaux are reaching crazy heights when there is the possibility it tastes like vinegar!

The threat of auction of TV programmes was enough of a catalyst to bring about change so Greg’s aim was to make the franchise as efficient as possible so he could bid as much as possible for the programme allocations and due to ownership restrictions in place at the time, he put together a consortium to bid for TVAM.

He dug around for information on his competitors as to how they were going to finance a bid and went from there. Of course, he won. He never prepared a speech for losing. He thought that his staff would never have forgiven him, as they would have seen it as him playing poker with their jobs. I liked his sense of loyalty to them but also, his focussed, positive outlook – it was as if failure was not an option.

I can also appreciate that it helps when you have an incentive such as shares in the project too. He made millions out of the success.

He stayed on till Granada made a hostile takeover for LWTV and while he liked Granada with its great flair and competitiveness, he didn’t like the people who were running it so he turned the new job down. Nice to have a no mortgage to have the option to do such a thing!

During his time at LWTV, there has been intrigue, drama, great comradeship and not least success, but best part about the journey was that it had always been exciting! It was at the end of his talk that our real excitement for the evening began with a glass of 1991 Bin 28 Shiraz to match Greg’s vintage year. The initial unswirled aromas were caramelly, almost port like, but the black fruit aromas came through later. Beautifully balanced, it was soft in all the corners of your mouth and of had an adorable length. I was left wishing there was more! I’m sure 1991 Bin 28 Shiraz wasn’t quite like the 1991 Grange that Penfolds gave Greg as a present but it was good nevertheless.

Finally, Greg took questions on a number of topics from Politics to the new Daybreak show, the sale of the iconic BBC Television Centre building, the relationship between a chairman and a chief executive, and being a leader. After point, I was expecting Peter Gago to talk for a little while about Penfolds, the wines we were about to taste and how this all married up with Greg’s talk but Peter’s time on the platform was very short, disappointingly so for me.

The Lineup

Then came the wines and Christine, my host for the evening, took me round to each of the wines to taste them all. We tried, Bin 311 Chardonnay 2006, Koonunga Hill Seventy Six Shiraz Cabernet 2008, Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2007, Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2006 and the St Henri Shiraz 2006.

Personally, I’m not a fan of big oaky chardonnays and so I was pleasantly surprised by the Thomas Hyland Cool Climate Chardonnay 2009 at this price point. I thought it was far more aromatic than your usual Chardonnay and gave an initial rounded buttery flavour on the palate but I did feel it was a little shorter than I was expecting. The Bin 311 Chardonnay 2006 at a slightly higher price point showed more grapefruit aromas with the sweet vanilla oakiness not overwhelming the fruit.

Out of the reds, my preferences went to the Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz 2006 and the St Henri Shiraz 2006. I discovered that the Bin 389 was colloquially known as the Baby Grange or the Poor Man’s Grange and as we were talking, the wine was developing the glass. Initially, there were very soft smoky notes but these were closely followed by jammy aromas and black fruits. The palate showed balanced black fruits and I could imagine this getter better with cellaring.

Other than the 1991 Bin 28 we were given earlier at the Q&A, the St Henri Shiraz 2006 was my favourite of the night. Sitting a gorgeous, thick ruby colour in the glass, the aromas of chocolate and cherry were definitely inviting and I thought it was actually one of the more perfumed reds I have tasted. I discovered that they used 50+ year old barrels to age this wine and consequently the barrier built up between the barrel and the wine from years of use slows down the transfer of some of the oak flavours to the new wine. I liked this element of the wine a lot and overall thought it was an elegant wine.

Looking back, I did prefer the more expensive end of the range that I tasted that night (that makes me wonder if I am now being spoilt with tasting all the fantastic wines that are out there or whether wine tastes are getting more expensive….?!). After finishing another taste of the St Henri Shiraz 2006 while chatting, I noticed that the room had thinned out quite considerably and I was soon on my way back to my hotel.

A big thank you to Penfolds and Treasury Wine Estates for the invitation and what was a superb event!

Myself and Christine

The American Feast at Feast, Gorey 21st October 2010

We have been very busy recently with various different events and it has not been possible for Neil to be in two different places at the same so we are very fortunate that our newest member of staff, Sarah Kerhoat, who is currently studying for her Wine and Spirit Certificate was more than willing to step in and present at The American Feast Food and Wine Dinner at Feast, Gorey last Thursday. She has very kindly written a report on the event. Here it is:

"Arriving at Feast at mid-preparation time was actually a great time to arrive. I was able to see the restaurant slowly being turned into a scene in North America at Fall. Branches with beautiful Autumn-coloured leaves were carefully placed around the restaurant and the different colours were highlighted by candlelight. While all this preparation was going on, I was opening the bottles to make sure that all the bottles that were to be served were showing well.

Guests ready for their American Feast arrived in small groups and were served a glass of bubbles on arrival. The small bubbles of the Valentin Bianchi Extra Brut Sparkling N.V. were delicate on the tongue and the biscuit aromas came through strongly. Finishing dry, it was such a great complement to the corn fritters (they were soft pancakes style but had a great crunch to them when you bit into them) and the crunchy, mild pepperiness of the chicken wings. With positive reactions all round, it was a good note to start the evening on.

Laurraine from Feast introduced the evening and gave the diners some background as to where the inspiration for the food had come from and why. As the guests were served their next wine, the Frog’s Leap Chardonnay 2007, and their starters of classic Caesar Salad, I started to lead them on their wine journey through the Americas. Starting in Argentina for the bubbles, we moved north to America, California specifically, for the Chardonnay. With this Chardonnay - considered to be the best that Frog’s Leap have made - you could really see their philosophy of letting the wine show itself rather than the winemakers trying to impose characteristics on the wine. It was a bold Chardonnay, perfect to match the dressing and complement the acidity of the anchovies!

Our journey stayed in California for our next two wines. The Seghesio Zinfandel “Sonoma County” 2008 was simply gorgeous! Touching on how challenging 2008 had been for the Seghesio winery weather wise and how they had spent time and energy on reducing the impact of the unevenly-ripening zinfandel grapes at various stages in the whole wine making process, we tasted and could see how their dedication had paid off in the form of numerous awards. The big, fruitiness of this wine was definitely set to enhance our main course of Loin of Venison with American black cherry and chocolate sauce.

The other red wine served to match this main course was the Lyeth Merlot “L de Lyeth” 2007. This wine is primarily a Merlot but also has a portion of Cabernet Franc to boost fruit flavour and Malbec to give structure and tannins. One of my favourites in this price bracket, it certainly showed more of its tannins than the Seghesio on the night but its fruitiness still came through and worked amazingly with the sauce.
Overall, there appeared to be more fans of the Seghesio than the Merlot in the room but there were also a few true Merlot fans who just loved the Lyeth!

The final leg of our journey took us south to Chile where the Valdivieso Botrytis Semillon “Eclat” 2007 is made. The Central Valley in Chile has perfect condition for the development of Noble Rot – moist atmosphere, right temperature – on the 100% Semillon grapes that are used to make this wine. I thought that the golden colour and sweet honey aromas made this wine incredibly inviting and the grapefruit and gentle lemon on the palate came through well to make this a perfect accompaniment for the walnut and pecan praline pumpkin pie with whipped maple cream. I knew I had been in food & wine heaven for the evening and I was sure everyone else had been too!

Huge thanks to Anne and the wonderful team at Feast for a wonderful evening!

Sarah