#202 The good, the bad and the surprising - October

Every month I'll be sharing with you the best, the worst and the most surprising wine I've tried.  So for October...

The Good: 2007 Graham's Vintage Port (Portugal)
Ok, so I know it won't be available for another 18 months, but this is a seriously good port.  Remarkably fresh on the nose, but with a palate full of leather, wood and alcohol, means that this is wine to put away for a quarter of a century.  Order your case now. 

The Bad: 2008 Wickham Vintage Selection Dry (England)
I should be supporting the English winemakers.  It is a local product, there is the whole carbon footprint thing to worry about, and if the greenies are to be believed, it means we can shun the rest of the world and drink wines made from obscure grape varieties that the wine making world has shunned.  Thing is, for us to even consider buying English wine, rubbish like this needs to be obliterated from the market.  To say it is bad is an understatement. 

The Surprising: 2001 Conde Cabernet Sauvignon (South Africa)
This wine, despite not being anywhere what you would consider a 'fine wine', has aged pretty well, and despite losing a lot of it's primary fruit, was still an enjoyable old wine. It is past it's best, that is for certain, but it was still nice to drink.

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#201 Wine Gang Live - Blog Spot Winners

Nothing like a little self congratulatory blog post I think!  There has been a competition with The Wine Gang and Robert McIntosh's Wine Conversation for bloggers to feature their blog at The Wine Gang's Christmas Fair next week.

Entrants had to write a column entitiled Buy smarter and drink better wines, and my article was one of those selected to go down to London and promote their blog, and wine blogging in general.

Unfortunately, I'm unable to go (Champagne tasting commitments!) but I'd like to congratulate all the other winners and hope that things go well for them.
The Winners are
Mathilde Cuisine
Food Wine Travel
Ostrea Edulis
The Tasting Note

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Post #200 The Greatest Food & Drink Pairing - By Nicola Holmes

The Great Yorkshire pub.  A place where old men went to have a pint or four after a long shift down the pit, smoke a Woodbine and bet on whippets.  It isn’t the place that one would assume would be the setting for a great food and drink pairing, but it eclipses anything that any wine region can challenge it with. 

Before going home to his wife, the working man needed some food to soak up a bit of the alcohol, and so the crisp became a compulsory product in any bar.  Nowadays, not only have the mines closed but the traditional pub is becoming a rarer thing.  So, to celebrate the 200th post on The Tasting Note, we have a special column to salute those pubs, both past and present, as the birthplace of a great British food and drink pairing – the crisp and a pint of beer.

To write this column, a homage to the great Yorkshire pub we needed a coal dust covered, rugged miner, but we couldn’t find one.  So Nicola Holmes, a self proclaimed crisp aficionado, and an old primary school friend, took up the challenge. She is from Yorkshire though!

According to myth, legend and Wikipedia, crisps have been around for over 150 years.  American chef George Crum created the crisp in response to a customer who wanted his fried potatoes thinner and less soggy.  The crisps went down so well that Crum continued to make them, so we start with the American contingent. 

Kettle Chips – Lightly Salted
It seems appropriate then that the first crisp on my list is the gourmet Kettle Chip.  Kettle Foods have been producing their crisps since 1982.  They arrived in the UK in 1988 when the American brand set up home in a converted shoe factory in Norwich.  The ethos behind Kettle Chips is commendable, with quality natural ingredients lovingly hand cooked in small batches.  This is reflected in the price, with Kettle Chips being one of the most expensive crisps on the high street.

On opening the packet, the first thing that strikes you is that there aren’t many crisps in there.  The aroma is pleasant, almost zesty, and inviting.  Kettle chips are thicker cut than the average crisp giving it a less brittle texture.  Disappointingly the flavour is rather oily, not particularly salty, with a rather dull aftertaste.

Pringles - Original
Pringles is another American brand.  Not strictly a crisp, I’ve chosen to include it on my list as it’s the sociable snack, being the mainstay of parties and impromptu get-togethers.  Rather than using sliced potatoes, Pringles are made by mixing a list of ingredients in to a dough which is then shape and fried.

These days the tubes are filled almost to the top, giving you a good amount of Pringles for your money.  On popping the seal the smell is rather inviting.  There’s an initial hit of salt in the mouth, with a great crunchy texture, but they leave an unpleasant aftertaste.

Smith's Salt & Shake
Salt & Shake are probably the most traditional crisp on my list.  Currently manufactured by Walkers, they were originally made in the 1920’s by Frank Smith.  Smith supplied his crisps to pubs in North London, along with salt-cellars so the customer could season their own.  As the salt-cellars often got pinched (no pun intended), Smith began to include a blue packet of salt in every pack.

These had an unpleasant, sulphurous odour on opening, similar to rotten eggs.  The portion size was small but you have the novelty factor of opening the little blue packet and salting your own crisps.  As the salt doesn’t really stick to the crisp you get some mouthfuls that are really salty and others that aren’t salty at all.  When you do get a reasonably mouthful it’s quite a satisfying flavour and the texture is nice and light.

ASDA Extra Special – Mediterranean Sea Salt
ASDA Extra Special crisps are the supermarket’s version of the Kettle Chip.  They also use natural ingredients and hand-cook the crisps.

These actually smell similar to chip-shop chips, which is rather appetising.  The look and taste is very natural and the crisps appear to have been cooked with the skin on.  The crisps are fairly thinly sliced but the texture isn’t quite crisp enough.  If you ate a reasonable portion of these they would perhaps leave quite a greasy taste in the mouth.  In comparison with the Kettle chip I found ASDA Extra Special to be preferable and better value for money.

Walkers – Ready Salted
Gary Lineker’s crisp of choice, Walkers is the self-proclaimed nation’s favourite.  The Leicester brand have been around since the 1940’s when butcher, Henry Walker, ran short of meat and decided to sell crisps as well.  There’s a nice, fresh smell to the Walkers crisps and a reasonable portion in the packet.  They have an excellent, light and brittle texture and a good level of salt in the mouth.

Seabrook – Sea Salted
Seabrook is the Yorkshire crisp. Fish and chip shop owner, Mr C Brook, came up with the idea to produce crisps in 1945.  The famous crinkle-cut crisp has been produced using sea salt and sunflower oil for years.  They have a similar fresh aroma to the Walkers crisps.  Considering the percentage of oil is less than in Walkers, the flavour of Seabrook crisps is more fatty.  The crinkle cut gives the crisps a meatier bite.

The Beer
I chose to taste the crisps with Old Speckled Hen as its rich, malty taste provides a suitable contrast to the saltiness of the crisps.

The beer was unable to cut through the flavour of the oilier Kettle Chips and ASDA Extra Special, leaving an overwhelming aftertaste of fat.  The taste of the Pringles was too subtle and was lost when combined with the beer.  The range of flavours and textures produced by combining potatoes, sunflower oil and salt is astounding, as all the crisps I tasted differed greatly from each other.  The best crisps proved to be the lighter flavoured and more brittle textured crisp.  The Salt & Shake were OK but if you’re hungry and want a good mouthful to go with your beer, then go for the Seabrook.  The best beer crisp overall was the Walkers, subtle enough not to overpower the beer but salty enough to give a good contrast.  I am pleasantly surprised, as I assumed that the mass-produced everyman brand would be average and nothing special.  It is fitting that Britain’s greatest food and drink pairing should be with Britain’s favourite crisp.

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All good things come in threes - 2007 Symington Port

All good things come in threes.  The Musketeers, Stooges, Blind Mice, wheels on a Harley Trike, Amigos (Chevy Chase, Steve Martin and Martin Short – a legendary film!) and Scaramanga’s nipples!  And, of course, there are three declarations of vintage port every decade.  So far in the naughties, we have had 2000 and 2003, but, as is the case at every port declaration, the 2007 is heralded as the greatest of the decade and the best since whatever year the port house can get away with!

I was invited by Wine Importers to a tasting in Edinburgh’s New Club of the latest releases from three of the Symington group’s portfolio of port houses.  On show was the 2007 vintage of Graham, Warre and Quinta do Vesuvio, and also a selection of older vintages.

The 2007 Warre’s was quite sweet, with lots of toffee and chocolate mixed with leather on the nose, but remarkably fresh.  There was more leather on the palate, with some nice damson elements and plum skin.  Very well balanced, and the alcohol was superbly integrated.  Finishing, it was long, with dark elements, but just a hint of spice.  An excellent wine, drinking well now, if you like younger Vintage Ports, but this will last a very long time.  8/10

Skipping one vintage, 2003, and going back to the 2000 Warre’s was a revolation. When I tasted it last in 2005, I said “Dark purple with violets, green hints and a light cherry aroma. The palate is big. A lot of alcohol smacks you in the face, a lot of stalky, bark and dark berries. A long haul port, and very tight.”, and it still hasn’t changed with a gentle nose and a bigger palate.  The only difference is that everything is much more muted.  The nose was quite dumb with cherry and cassis struggling to come out of the glass, and the palate was still quite vibrant, with lots of cassis, dark chocolate, and then alcohol kicking in.  Fresh berries dusted in cocoa on the finish with some nice cherries.  8.5/10, but still way too young and sleeping. 

Then it was back to the 1994 vintage, and again, when I tried it last in 2005, I wrote “Ruby red with a slight orange rim. Toffee and caramel aromas with berries coming through. Very closed - soft spicy fruit, quite hot and a slight tannin. Pretty dull. I think that this is fast asleep.”.  Totally different now!  The wine has lovely fresh fruit, covered in dust with some minty elements coming through.  Sweet fruit compote mixing with fresh raspberries and chocolate.  Very well balanced, with dark chocolate and a little coffee.  Really opening up and drinking nicely, though I’d still give it a decade!  8.5/10

Then it was onto a port house that, until that day, I’d only ever tried one vintage.  Quinta do Vesuvio is a port produced from the grapes from this quinta only, and therefore is a much better expression of a place than other, non single quinta, vintage ports.  The 2007 vintage was quite savoury, with a lot of meaty aromas and green vegetable elements mingling with fresh mint and violets.  Lots of aniseed on the palate, with dark berries – brambles and cassis – with some tayberry freshness.  A really interesting, and very drinkable, vintage port.  8.5/10

As an example of an older vintage of this highly prized wine, there was a bottle of the 1999 vintage on show.  It was quite closed and savoury, with not much fruit coming off the nose.  The palate is all about sweet fruit, with some leather, rosemary and a little spice coming along.  I think this was just in a closed patch of it’s evolution and, if the 1990 is anything to go by, it will open up beautifully. 

Finally Graham’s.  To make things clear from the off, this is my favourite port house, and please forgive me if I gush a bit, but I’ve never claimed to be a great wine critic, I just say what I like and what I don’t, so the chances are that I’m going to like these!

The 2007 Graham’s was very fresh, with some lovely light, sweet jam aromas, with lots of caramel and chocolate mixed in and just a glimpse of honey.  The palate was quite alcoholic, with a tar and twiggy element coming through the fresh berries and cocoa.  Leather on the finish, but so closed.  This is going to be a sleeper, needing upwards of 25 years to mature.  9/10

Then, like the Warre’s, there was a selection of older vintages.  First up, the 2000.  In 2006, my notes were “Oaky and smoky. Dry roasted peanuts, simple and jammy and very juicy! It is like drinking cassis with bucket loads of tannin and a very dry finish.”  Now, there is lots of cassis, aniseed, cloves and nutmeg.  The palate is all about berry fruit, some alcohol and a lot of violent spice.  There is a bitter element mixed in with some woody tannin.  A bit unbalanced, and needs time.  8/10 with the potential to be outstanding. 

Then, moving onto the 1997 which was the first time tasting this wine for me, and it amazed me how drinkable it was.  A light nose, very approachable with perfume aromas and a lot of dried fruit.  The palate had more of this fruit, but with some bonfire toffee, menthol and lots of peppery spice.  There is a decent amount of cocoa powder on the finish with squashed berries on the finish.  What astonished me was that there was no noticeable alcohol, it was so well integrated.  This is one you can drink now.  8.5/10

Finally, the 1994 vintage, and thankfully, this wine that I have been hoping would be wonderful, is starting to show evidence of that.  Once tight and closed, it is showing no signs of changing on the nose, which was a struggle to get any aroma off.  The palate however was a revelation.  It is quite dry, subtle at first and then gob fulls of spice and powerful fruit.  There is sweet cherry compote mixed with chocolate and mint, and then a drier, long, leathery finish.  Again though, no noticeable booze, which, means that this wine is a bit too drinkable!  The problem is that the aroma, which is such a crucial part of the enjoyment of port, is not there.  Still, it is a stunning bottle of port.  9/10 with time.

But going back to the point of this, the 2007 vintage.  They are gorgeous wines, and will, of course, only improve with a decade or three in the cellar, but I can’t help thinking that some of these ports may not last as long as their predecessors. 

Having extensively tried older ports, I know that after the initial big gutsy leather and tannin fest, older vintages go to sleep and mature.  The 1994 Grahams is just starting to wake up at 15 years old, and, to me at least, older vintages such as 1963 are only now becoming perfect.  But the 2007 Warre's and Vesuvio ports are a bit too drinkable before their release, with a lot of up front fruit and semi integrated secondary aromas and flavours, which, in older vintages, would be grating your tastebuds and giving you the conclusion that this needed cellared.  But with these two wines, you think they are going to be ready in a couple of years, not a couple of decades.  Is this a move by the port houses to make vintage port peak early, or is it just me being paranoid?  I think I need to investigate further.  One thing is for sure, Graham's is still a long haul port house!

Thanks to Wine Importers

The Symington Vintage Port Website

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William Downie Pinot Noirs

When you try a Pinot Noir that, at £37, is horrifically overpriced and one from the same producer, that at £37, is an absolute steal, you have to look further into what this producer is up to.

The producer in question was William Downie.  I tried his 2007 Yarra Valley Pinot Noir at the beginning of the year, and found that it tasted nothing like Pinot Noir!  As a result, and as, at that point, there were none of his other wines in the UK, I just dismissed him as another Australian trying to make a big wine at a high price and therefore I paid him no further attention.

How wrong could I be?  At the end of last month, I was invited to try Liberty Wine’s Australian and New Zealand portfolio and saw that there were now three William Downie wines available, which I tasted and then immediately did some research into the company.  And boy, I was impressed.

William Downie spent a lot of time living and working in Burgundy, and you can tell that this has rubbed off on him.  His wine making approach is strictly hands off, leaving the terroir to make the wine rather than the winemaker, and from tasting his wines, he has achieved his goal wonderfully.  Making wines from Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula and Gippsland, these wines are completely different, all reflecting the place they came from.  Take the ridiculously overpriced 2008 Yarra Valley Pinot Noir.  There was a lot of mint, some meat and a touch of cherry stone.  Then a bundle of light, vegetal, stalky cranberry fruit.  It is a well made wine, well balanced, but it is just too crudely powerful. There is none of the elegance I want from a forty quid Pinot Noir.  6/10

Then, moving onto the 2008 Mornington Pinot Noir, there is strawberry, raspberry with a meaty element coming in gently, unlike the steak slap in the face of the Yarra wine.  There is a bit of grippy tannin, some spice too, on the palate but it is really nicely blended with gentle fruit flavours. A long, slightly spicy and herbal finish.  I like this a lot, but it is still a touch pricy.  Still, it is a 7.5/10 wine.

Finally, the 2008 Gippsland Pinot Noir.  This is an outstanding wine – period!  A light, floral nose mixing with raspberries and some sweet wild strawberries leading onto a gently fruity palate, with a bundle of cocoa powder and raspberries.  A very very good wine and well worth the £37, and it will improve with a few years more in bottle.  8.5/10

In 2011 there will be another Gippsland Pinot Noir released, this time with fruit from their own property.  If the 2008 is anything to go by, I can’t wait!

William Downie Wine
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Oddbins in good health!

I'd like to post this comment made by Simon Baile, Managing Director of Oddbins, in reply to my blog post yesterday relating to the several rumours from within the trade that I'd heard regarding the company.



It is a sad day indeed for all our competitors to announce that Oddbins is NOT going bust and we plan to be here for a long time to come. The rejuvenation and turn around is well under way with over 400 new wines, the beginnings of a new look inside and plenty of up beat spirit.


Our goal is to ensure that the small independent wine maker is at the heart of our range and we are quickly opening the door to many small wine makers to the UK market. This is what I work for and is what I am passionate about. So please feel free to sign up to any of our forthcoming tastings instore and see for yourselves.


After our recent press tasting in Dublin, on 11th October, Thomas Clancy, Sunday Business Post, wrote:


“Now, having recently been acquired by the son of the chain’s founder, Nicholas Baile, and his Irish business partner, Henry Young, the 150-strong chain is back where it belongs.”


Simon Baile
Managing Director
Oddbins

Just goes to show, never listen to rumours!  I'm glad that this is the case, as the UK wine industry needs Oddbins as a friendly brand that is UK wide, and encourages people to buy their wine in specialist wine shops rather than supermarkets.  Oddbins has always had a reputation for making the wine world less stuffy and easier to appreciate, and a strong Oddbins benefits the entire wine retail industry in the UK.

As a former employee, and now respectful competitor, I wish them all the best for the future and thanks to Simon Baile for taking time to clarify the situation.

Further reading from Decanter Online "Oddbins quash 'rumours' over Castel debt"

Oddbins going bust?

I've heard rumours today that Oddbins are going into receivership.  If this is true it is a sad day for British wine retail as this once great chain is where many of todays wine professionals, including yours truely, started their careers.

Founded in 1963 by Ahmed Pochee, it has passed through the hands of Seagrams, Castel Freres and is now owned by Simon Baile who's father successfully ran the company for ten years after it was put under receivership in 1973.  When Baile took over the company in 2008, there was a promise to put the 'Odd' back into Oddbins, but, if the trade rumours are true, it looks to be too big a challenge for the company that, in 2006, reported over £8million loss.

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Labour-ing in the Rhone - Jaboulet

When Tony Blair came to power after the best part of two decades of Tory government, they decided to change everything.  And change they did bring. Everything that went well was the success of the new administration (irrespective of whether the Conservatives did the groundwork or not) and everything that went wrong was the fault of Mrs Thatcher. 

Now don’t think I’m criticising the Labour party, far from it.  This practice is what every new government does and, when Gordon Brown is ousted from power, by the Tories or his own party, whichever comes first, everything that goes tits up will be his fault and all success will be due to his successor.

But when a government has been in power for a number of years, as with John Major in the 1990’s and Gordon Brown now, if things go well, they are entirely your success, but if they go wrong, you can’t blame anyone but yourself. The same now applies now to the Rhone producer, Paul Jaboulet Aine.

This legendary wine company was bought by the Frey family, who own Chateau La Lagune in Bordeaux, in 2006.  I have written before about how their wines were a bit of a mixed bag with those produced after they took over being far better quality than those made before.  You had to give them the benefit of the doubt that things were going to get better and allow some of the wines to suck a bit. But now, nearly four years since they started their quest to restore Jaboulet back to it’s former glory, most of their current range is now from vintages post takeover. For the handful that is not, the wines are from the 2005 vintage, so the current owners have overseen them since their infancy.  Are the wines that Jaboulet is producing of high quality or is the company going the way of Mr Brown and are stuck in the mess they have created?

2007 Condrieu ‘Les Cassines’
This voignier has lovely sweet peach and nectarine on the nose, with just a hint of green apple.  The palate has a lovely texture, a little oily, with great fruit and beautiful balance.  The finish is fruit filled, long and lingering, but then the acid comes in and gives a perfect balance.  9/10 £32

2007 Crozes Hermitage ‘Domaine Mule Blanche’
Very pretty nose, peach and wild flowers.  Some fresh grapes and lychee stone coming on the palate, a really nice mouthfeel, quite weighty but balanced – like a chunky tightrope walker!  You get a little cedar on the finish.  8/10 £22

2005 Hermitage ‘Le Chevalier de Sterimberg’
Oak hits you up front, like being smacked in the face with a log.  The aroma then goes onto pears sprinkled with salt, and then with a creamy texture, pineapple skin and floral flavours.  A nice finish, but with a lot of wood.  I liked it but think that many people wouldn’t.  8.5/10 £36

2008 Cotes du Rhone Rose ‘Parallele 45’
Strawberry bubblegum mixed in a milkshake and then diluted with strawberry juice.  It’s not my thing.  6/10

2007 Cotes du Rhone Rouge ‘Parallele 45’
Rich, spicy bramble with long black pepper notes.  There is simple, fresh fruit on the palate, a bit of pepper and then dried fruit.  A bit bigger than I’d like but a decent wine.  8/10 £9

2007 Gigondas ‘Pierre Aiguille’
Imagine a plane bombing you with Brussels Sprouts.  This is a full on veg attack, with dark berries protecting you from a barrage of greenery!  Spice comes in on the palate with liquorice, cocoa and a touch of leather, but with plum stone and a little cherry.  A  fun, if full on sensory overload.  8.5/10 £17

2006 Crozes Hermitage ‘Les Jalets’
Opulent black fruit, a lot of cassis lifted by wild strawberries and spiced up by cracked black pepper.  The palate has lovely syrah fruit, cherry, plum stone and pepper.  Very drinkable with some mint on the finish.  8/10 £12

2006 Saint-Joseph ‘Le Grand Pompee’
A lot of boot polish and sweet, but mellow berry fruit.  The palate has delightful pepper and plum skin flavours.  A nice wine.  8/10 £12

2006 Crozes Hermitage ‘Domaine de Thalabert’
Gentle spice layered on top of the dried fruit, with liquorice with a bit of chocolate and a load of leather on the palate, finishing up with a kick of spice before tobacco.  8.5/10 £5

2006 Cote Rotie ‘Les Jumelles’
Entirely syrah – no viognier – and this is still quite floral.  Lots of lighter red berries, glances of spice with tobacco and a harsh leather element that spoils it for me.  It needs a bit more structure and doesn’t have it.  An ok wine, but over priced.  6.5/10 £44

2005 Hermitage ‘La Petite Chapelle’
Big, up front fruit aromas, cassis meets cherries meets strawberries.  There are aromas of aniseed coming off with a palate of softened fruit.  A grippy tannin, mixed with a bundle of spice and a noticeable alcohol coming off.  Very concentrated and with a warmness on the finish.  8/10 £45

2005 Hermitage ‘La Chapelle’
Rich chocolate, bramble and with a really interesting clove element mixed in with the berries.  Cherry stone and pepper on the palate with some cocoa and mint.  A very well made wine, and whilst not worth the money, it is a wine you should try.  8.5/10 £115

The Frey family should be happy as they are riding high and are enjoying the success of the hard work they have put into this old Rhone producer.  There is the occasional wine that is not performing as well as it should – think of them as a Jacqui Smith of the wine world– but the wines are very good and worth the money you are paying for them.  Sadly, the same cannot be said for the British Government!

As a post script, we had dinner and they very kindly brought out two older magnums, from the pre Frey era.  We started off with a magnum of their 1999 Cornas ‘Domaine de Saint Pierre’.  Very rich, dried fruit cake on the nose, with some cloves and a really nice pork fat and herb (sage?) aroma.  The palate has up front spice and lovely prune flavours and lots of leather and dusty spice.  A fantastic wine, just so sexy and perfect.  9/10

The second wine was the 1997 Hermitage ‘La Chapelle’ in magnum.  An intense, dark berry and pepper corn aroma mixed with some bramble sweetness and chocolate creaminess.  The palate is so soft at first, then the alcohol and spice kicks in with loads of liquorice and mint that leads on to a dark, herb and concentrated fruit palate.  Definitely a wow wine, but still too young.  9/10

These wines were excellent and shows what PJA was like in days of old when the wine gets a bit of age on them, and what they new company's wines could become in years to come.  I hope they do.

Paul Jaboulet Aine 
With thanks to Liberty Wines

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Mouton Cadet - The Mars Bar of Bordeaux!

Mouton Cadet is a wine that has, at best, a questionable reputation in the UK.  What was initially a wine to offer cheaper alternatives to Baron Philippe de Rothschild’s more prestigious wines, became a wine that was seen in every supermarket in the UK, discounted to a price that barely covered it’s production costs.  But in 2004, there was a effort made to remove the wine from supermarkets and get it into restaurants  and specialist wine merchants, and to establish this brand as an entry level Bordeaux in more discerning outlets.

Thinking about it, this sort of business plan, a ‘my first Claret’ brand if you will, is pretty sound.  If you are new to wine, have never tried a wine from Bordeaux before and are looking blindly at shelves in a shop, you are more than likely to have heard of ‘Mouton Rothschild’ as a great wine, so you assume that Mouton Cadet will be decent.  You’ll buy the wine, try it and if you like it you’ll buy more as it is a nice, simple way of discovering a new region.  It is like a Mars Bar, it might not be the most exciting chocolate in the world, but it does the job adequately. 

The voices against Mouton Cadet appear to be coming from within the wine trade.  Sure, I have tried loads of decent Bordeaux at ten pounds or under, and as Mouton Cadet is the Mars Bar of Bordeaux, as a specialist retailer I look at it and think “there is no way I’m going to stock that”.  But this is purely brand prejudice and I suspect that similar views from most wine merchants is because of the brand, rather than the product.  I also suspect that, like me, that none of them have tried it recently.

So today I did try it.  The 2007 (a bad vintage for Bordeaux, so no help there for this wine!) Mouton Cadet did everything it should.  Very obviously Merlot dominant, with some slightly confected cherry and a little vanilla coming off the nose with just a touch of green veggies, followed on by a crisper, clean palate.  No oak – which I think it needs a little of – that meant very forward, but a touch hallow, berry fruit, a lot of dark elements which were nice, liquorice and chocolate with more vegetal elements on the finish.  I scored it 7/10, not because it is a brilliant wine, but because for between eight and nine pounds it does what it is supposed to do.  It shows the taste of Bordeaux wine, allows a novice to recognise a brand that they will have heard of (even if only through Mouton Rothschild) and pick a pleasant wine without any assistance whatsoever.

And this is this reason Mouton Cadet belongs in supermarkets and not in restaurants and specialist merchants, despite these latter places being exactly where the company want their product to be found.  Mouton Cadet is a wine that sells itself, and in a restaurant or specialist shop there are trained staff that actively sell wines.  This is the exact opposite of supermarkets that plonk wines on the shelves and let the label do the selling.  If a customer wants to try Bordeaux, and they are in a wine shop, they will ask the person behind the till for advice, pretty confident in the knowledge that they are likely to get, and will be given a good recommendation.  Conversely, these same people wouldn’t dream of asking the spotty teenager that is filling up the shelves in the supermarket and the customer will just make their choice on the label or the brand name, and a strong brand like Mouton Cadet will sell.

I know that these wines deserve a better reputation than they have, but the reason for having a ‘brand’ like Mouton Cadet is so that people can buy a product, blindly, but with confidence, and the volume produced means that they can buy it anywhere.  This is why Mars Bars sell so well, but you wouldn’t sell one in Debauve et Gallais, so you shouldn’t sell Mouton Cadet anywhere other than large chains.

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Marvellous Montagny - Domaine Stephane Aladame

We visited Jean Claude Boisset after Mongeard Mugneret, and it was a spectacular operation. Despite it’s size, with Gregory Patriat at the helm, they are producing some outstanding wines. Then it was onto Jaffelin where we met the enchanting 29 year old winemaker, Prune Amiot (always a hit with the gentlemen on any visit to Jaffelin!) who makes a delightful Pernand Vergelesses, but it was Domaine Stephane Aladame in Montagny that stood out for me in Burgundy.

Based in Montagny, Stephane Aladame started his domaine at eighteen years old, with his first vintage a mere 1800 bottles. Now, with over six hectares of vines, which, since 2005, have been converted to organic farming, he is producing one of the best wines I have tried from this village. Harvested by hand, from vines with an average age of sixty years, until 2005 he devoted his time to one wine. But then it was joined by two Cremant de Bourgogne made from wines bought in from other growers, and it was these wines we started off with.

The Aladame Cremant de Bourgogne Brut NV is very light, with lemons on the nose and a bundle of zingy sherbert and citrus aromas. The palate was lovely, fresh and lots of citrus and sea salt. The texture is lovely, with a creamy feel, and a light mousse. A really nice sparkling wine, and one that would be excellent with simple seafood. 8/10 and retailing for around £13.

The Cremant de Bourgogne Rose NV has redcurrants and a faint hint of cranberry juice on the nose. Nice and simple with red berries on the palate and some red apple too. A decent wine but just a touch unbalanced. Similarly priced to the Brut, but 7.5/10.

Finally, Stephane’s main wine. The 2007 Montagny 1er Cru. A gorgeous aroma, very gentle and subtle with mango, some peach skin and chalk on the nose. The palate is light, with minerals mingling with lemon skin and some pith. Great acid, just clearing your mouth enough, but leaving with you lovely flavours of sandstone, lime and passion fruit skin. Tres bon. 9/10

I really like this producer. Granted, we had a language barrier when we were visiting so couldn’t really get the most from the visit, but what Stephane is doing in his winery is making a perfect expression of the village. Seek this wine out as it is stunning.

Domaine Stephane Aladame
With thanks to Liberty Wines

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