#481 Italian craft beers

Hardly a day goes by without some new brewery opening up and putting its products out onto the market, trying to challenge the establishment or reinvent the beer industry in some way.  Others simply want to produce a nice pint and don't really care about being the next big thing, but precious few are actually forging their own path, and a lot of the beer that is being produced is pretty mediocre with only a few shining stars emerging from the masses, and the masses come from a lot of countries.  The UK, America, Belgium and Germany are the biggies as well as a smattering from places such as the Netherlands and Norway, but what about Italy?  Known for the likes of Nastro Azzuro and Birra Moretti, you don't often put Italy and 'craft beer' in the same paragraph, but I tried a trio of beers from the country shaped like a boot.

Started in 1996, when a group of friends wanted to have a bar in Milan that served quality beers, it grew a microbrewery that now produces around a dozen and a half different beers.  They have just started being imported into the UK by Elite Beers, and here is what I thought.

Birrificio Lambrate Ligera American Pale Ale 5%

Sweet, gingery with some honey coming off the nose.  A little bit of herb comes through with some dried apricots and  a sweet floral element.  The palate has some bitterness coming off the palate, light and fresh with a little bit of bitter floral hoppiness.  A little weak on the finish, but a decent clean beer.  Not worth the money though.  85pts

Birrificio Lambrate Lambrate Bock 6.8%

Sweet, rich honey and a lovely dried fruit coming off.  Lovely sweet herbs with a nice balance of chocolate and toffee aroma. The palate is quite fizzy, but then calms down for a creamy palate, nice bitter element on the mid palate.  Nice structure, quite hoppy but with an underlying sweetness.  87pts

Birrificio Lambrate Ghisa Smoked Stout 4.6%

Smoked tea aromas with a little chocolate coming through and some coffee as well.  The palate has more of the smoke coming through at the start, and then becomes smoked bacon dipped in coffee.  It needs more body, sweetness and alcohol as it is just to flat and thin with cheap smoked cheese on the finish. 72pts

By Peter Wood with No comments

#480 Rolls Royce for the price of a Golf

Rolls Royce always meant luxury.  Only the finest cows were despatched to cover the seats and the prettiest sheep given a haircut for the carpets and no tree less than a hundred years old was knocked down to make the dashboard.  The cars glided through every pothole with such ease and sophistication that the hat on Lady Cuthbertson-Smythe's head was never nudged out of place, nor did the line of cocaine being done in the back end up a snowstorm on the lap of the rock star owner.

But look at a 1980s Rolls Royce nowadays.  Unless the owner has spent a small fortune on the car, you can guarantee that it is a bit of a rust bucket and falling to pieces.  But then Volkswagen bought the company and any Rolls Royce being produced nowadays will almost certainly never suffer the same fate.  When something does go wrong it will cost many many pounds to fix (VWs are pricy enough, goodness knows what a brake pad will cost for a new Phantom), but rust and fragility will never occur. If you are Simon Cowell, you know that the massive producer of Passats and Beetles has done a good thing to this prestigious British company.  In this case, bigger is better, but boy do you pay loads for it!

Which is the exact opposite of what I normally think about wine.  Sure, big producers have their place, but I'd normally prefer to find an interesting small grower Champagne than buy a bottle of fizz from Moet & Chandon.  Faustino's top Riojas are all well and good, but give me an entry level Tondonia Rioja any day of the week, as you'll get a better wine for less money.  Usually, when a big producer makes a 'winemakers wine', they feel the need to justify its place by charging extortionate prices, when smaller winemakers offer better wines for less money.  Bigger companies often mean worse, and you still have to pay loads for it!

But today I tried five wines from Australian producer Peter Lehmann and I may start to think that bigger producers can do really good, higher end wines without charging the vinous equivalent of a Rolls Royce price tag. 

I started with a 2005 Peter Lehmann Wigan Eden Valley Riesling (£18).  Made from 50 to 60 year old vines, it showed bright fresh citrus, a little bit of plasticine coming off, but then some more sweeter citrus comes out, quite cleanly - all oranges and limes. The palate has a nice sweet lime flavour but none of the sugar.  Crisp and acidic with a precise, linear flavour profile.  Good balance, a nice fresh clean wine with some rounder citrus flavours rather than the brash acidic zingy Riesling you often get from Australia.  I liked this a lot.  89pts

The next wine - 2006 Peter Lehmann Margaret Semillon (£15) - was equally nice.  If the RIesling was all about limes, this was about lemons!  Initially a bit of peachy fruit and then with a clean, minerally and lime aroma coming through.  Some milky elements coming out, giving a bit of roundness and depth, but then the palate has lemon galore, lots of fresh lemon juice but with that creamier texture - almost like tart lemon curd!  Lots of clean fruit, and with a chalky element and a waxy texture on the finish.  Lovely. 90pts.  

The third wine is a fun wine thrown in a bundle of seriousness.  The 2011 Peter Lehmann Princess Moscato (£11 for 50cl) has a bright, pretty and floral nose with some orange and rose petal aromas.  A slightly harsh bubble but with some sweet honey and turkish delight softening it a bit. Very fun, clean and simple with a lovely bright citrus and strawberry flavour.  Fun, silly and very drinkable wine but a bit pricy for something that is supposed to be a light hearted wine.  84pts

Onto the reds and the company's top Cabernet, the 2008 Peter Lehmann Mentor Cabernet Sauvignon (£20).  It had big Cabernet aromas but with some floral notes coming out with just a little of the greener fruit aromas you would normally expect a lot of in an Aussie Cab.  A touch of liquorice and mint, but more leaning towards the fruit.  Some chunky tannin, but not over the top, dark, earthier berries - blueberries and dark cherries.  A nice balance., with dry leather and coconut husk on the finish.  A delicious Cabernet from Australia at a really good price. 91pts.

Finally, the company's iconic wine, the 2007 Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz (£32).  I've always liked this wine, and it didn't disappoint today.  A touch of aniseed balls on the nose and a little bit of blueberries, liquorice and cinnamon too.  There is a slight sweetness, more compote than jam on the palate which has a big, dark, liquorice and fennel element coming off with some black pepper flavours cut by some fresh blueberries.  A dark, smoky delicious wine.  89pts

All of these are well made, terroir driven wines that express their country and show that Barossa can make restrained, elegant wines.  By abandoning American oak, the Stonewell Shiraz has become classy.  Picking early makes the Wigan Riesling an very pretty dry Riesling with balanced acid and the Semillon is one of the best examples I've seen of this variety from down under.  Also, giving both of them time to age has resulted in good wines becoming great.  Even the Moscato, though pricy, is a nice wine to try.  The star for me though was the Mentor Cabernet.  At twenty pounds it is a delight in a glass.  It is a Rolls Royce for the price of a Golf.

By Peter Wood with No comments

#479 A quintet of Greek wine

Greece is the centre of the world once more.  Every country in the western world is looking to this eastern European country, wondering if they will get out of the European single currency and knock over the first domino that will make every other economy in Europe collapse in a heap.  They do have one resource that could make them a few quid to help their economy, but selling their wine will be a bit of a hard sell.  The first reason is that Greece has their own grape varieties with names that are hard to pronounce.  Secondly, a number of years ago, Oddbins tried to bring in a package of Greek wines and I remember battling with the customers trying to flog them off cheap so there is a history of Greek wines not doing so well.  I thought that maybe now is the time to take another look at Greek wines, and with them needing any revenue they can, maybe get a bargain.

The first wine I tried was the 2011 Domaine Gervoassiliou Malagousia.  From the Thessaloniki region, it is made from the Malagousia grape, an aromatic variety that came back from the brink of extinction in the late 20th century.  It had a simple, light and lemony aroma with some floral soap notes coming out.  The palate had a creamy texture with some simple sweet orange fruit and lime pith.  There is a touch harsh alcohol on the finish, strange when it is only 12.5%.  More floral flavours come through, but a nice, simple fresh wine.  77pts £13.50

A pair of Assyrtikos came next.  This grape is indigeous to the island of Santorini with its volcanic soils and older vines of this grape variety has been proven to be naturally resistant to Phylloxera and are ungrafted.  The grape is often blended with other varieties including Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon, and due to the ash soils, Assyrtiko doesn't lose its acidity when it is very ripe, which makes it good for sweeter wines.  Unfortunately for this grape, it is also made into Retsina...

The first of this variety I tried was the 2011 Thalassitis White Dry Wine, which had a little sulphur coming off.  Some minerally elements come through with some pine and a bit of hot hedgerow flowers.  The palate is pleasant and fruit driven, lots of sweet citrus and then a salty tangerine pith and yellow flower flavour.  Quite tasty and fresh.  81pts £15.50

Next up was the 2011 Assyrtiko by Gaia Wild Ferment, made from grapes from 80 year old ungrafted vines.  A bit of yeast with some ginger elements came off with some dried orange peel and crispy roast chicken skin and thyme.  A nice oilier texture, some lovely wood coming out and an amount of beeswax as well leading to some sharper minerals and a citrus zing.  This falls away and the chicken strolls back in, but I really like this wine.  84pts £16.00

The final variety was Agiorgitiko, one of the most widely grown Greek varieties.  Red skinned and heat resistant from the Peloponnisos area, it is able to be made into any type of red wine from very soft to very tannic, depending on where it is grown and how it is made into wine.  The softer wines have a similarity to Beaujolais Nouveau, but the chunkier wines can age very well and are can be blended into Cabernet Sauvignon.  The wine I tried was the 2011 Notios Red Dry Wine was entirely this variety and it was in the softer camp.  Lots and lots of sweet, fresh cherries that were ruined by making them all confected.  There is some chocolate and cinnamon balls aroma coming through on the palate with some tarry elements, liquorice and then weak fruit.  Far too bubblegummy and confected for me.  73pts £11.50

And then, finally, a blend of 40% Agiorgitiko and 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2008 Katogi Averoff Red Dry Table Wine from Macedonia, which was a lovely wine.  Nice bright cherries with a floral lift to the aroma - a bit of rose petal - and then some older wood.  The palate has a gravelly element, some savoury notes, liquorice and tobacco with some black cherries and a tiny tar element.  There is a slight alcohol spike, but it is very well made, balanced and tasty.  83pts.  (Not available in the UK)

Greece is a country that can, and does, produce good wine.  They have interesting varieties that are adventures for the wine lover looking for new things to try, but commercially, they are facing an uphill struggle and it would be a shame if they focused on Cabernet and Sauvignon Blanc to get people looking towards Greek wine.

By Peter Wood with No comments

#478 Wines that should be consigned to hell

Quite often I feel that I'm overly critical about cheaper wine.  Wines that I feel are characterless and boring can be drinks that some people, who don't care too much about what they drink, find as perfectly acceptable, Saturday night gluggers.  Having said that though, there are some wines on the market that are simply horrific products that shouldn't be called wine, and I tasted two of them recently.  


Both the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir from Rosemount Estate were, well, disgusting.  A chemically element was present throughout both of these wines and you got the impression that they were made in a lab rather than a winery...

2009 Rosemount Estate Sauvignon Blanc

Light, clean grassy and elderflower aromas.  A little bit of hot wild grass as well.  Some alcohol comes out of the glass as well with a little gooseberry.  The palate is pretty weak, with a little bit of Swizzles Matlow Drumstick Lolly, which is strange because they are supposed to taste of raspberries and milk, and further strange as I like Drumsticks, but hate this.  Too much acid, too much fake fruit and this wine makes me get a headache and I dislike this more as it has put a negative memory in my head of Drumstick lollies.  65pts

I thought it couldn't get any worse - I was wrong.

2009 Rosemount Estate Pinot Noir

Whatever this is, it doesn't smell of Pinot Noir, it barely smells of wine!  Sweet confected 'fruit juice' - one of those cheap Supermarket own brand fruit juice concentrates that smell like no fruit known to man.  The palate is confected, with horrific chemically created flavours - so awful I couldn't take another mouthful.  60pts

You could forgive these wines if they were four pounds per bottle, but they are nearly double that.  There is a wealth of wines available at less money that are vastly better - even if they are dull and boring.  This pair of wines are simply inexcusable and should be sent to hell.  

By Peter Wood with No comments

#477 Retro Australian Wine with Gummi Bears

Everyone likes Haribo.  Starting in 1922 when a chap called Hans Riegel Sr made a jelly candy in the shape of a bear, the company is now a massive brand in the confectionary world, appearing in supermarkets all over the world.  Similarly Penfold's originated as a small family run company and then became a similar global monster, also appearing in supermarkets all over the world.  There is one major difference between the companies though.  Haribo has stayed within the same family, whereas Penfold's has had many masters.

And that is the problem.  When a company has the name of the people who own it, they usually have a pride that prevents them producing rubbish.  Penfold's sadly left family control and became owned by a faceless corporation that didn't care about anything but the bottom line, so good less expensive wines like Koonunga Hill, became cheap, crappy wines for getting drunk on.  Things changed a few years ago, when Penfold's decided to rekindle the quality that the Koonunga Hill brand had in the 1970s, and released some 'retro' wines.  The cynic in me would say that this was a first step in a journey away from being associated as a supermarket wine - vital for companies like Penfold's as more and more supermarkets are putting the squeeze on their suppliers and focusing more on their own label products.  But even if the cynic in me is right, does it really matter if the wine is decent?  Here are my thoughts on their retro wines.

2010 Penfold's Koonunga Hill Autumn Riesling

Fresh aromas of petrol, lime skin with some minerality elements coming through.  A simple wine, with fresher, juicier elements that are quite nice.  The palate is vibrant, lots of lime skin, a tiny touch of sweetness coming through with some tarter acidic fruit - a bit like fizzy lime Haribo if they made such a thing!  There is lots of freshy squeezed lemon and lime juice on the palate.  Not bad, clean, simple Australian Riesling without being all power and acid. 86pts

2010 Penfold's Koonunga Hill Seventy Six Shiraz Cabernet

Lots of sweet cherries and brambles with a tiny touch of raspberry tartness coming through.  Quite creamy with some warmed blueberry compote coming through.  The palate has some darker bonfire toffee and liquorice coming out with the black pepper spice from the shiraz.  A lot of earth, dark, meaty charcoal flavours with some more black pepper on the finish and the alcohol is well integrated.  The finish is a tiny bit clumsy but a nice wine and a good price.  85pts

Penfold's have always produced quality products that real wine enthusiasts have always got excited about, but at their entry price point, where most people buy their wine, quality had suffered.  After trying these wines, priced at around £11 each, Penfold's are once again making good quality Australian wines that could age a little should you want to.  Hopefully that quality will go to the mainstream Koonunga Hill wines soon.  

By Peter Wood with 1 comment

#476 Anything but Dolly-esque

Renowned for being bigger than Dolly Parton's brassiere and stronger than the clasps holding it together at the back, Australian Chardonnay and Shiraz rarely have the phrase 'Elegant' associated with them.  However, I tried two wines - that are current releases - from a pair of producers that were exactly that.

Firstly, the 2007 Vasse Felix Heytesbury Chardonnay.  From Margaret River, the wine is fermented with wild yeasts and then matured in French barriques for nine months.  The result is a wine with very subtle oak coming through, ginger notes giving seasoning to the pineapple aromas.  The palate is so simple, yet beautifully made - clean mineral elements, woody flavours dominating but in a lovely, light way, and then having more fruit as a secondary flavour, with slight spicy flavours and a touch of herbs on the end.  A very very pretty wine.  90pts £30.00

The next wine I tried was the 1999 Jim Barry The McRae Wood Shiraz.  From the Clare Valley, again this wine has a pretty nose, with lovely fresh cherry mixed with darker, dried fruit coming through.  The palate has a delicious mint toffee flavour, coated with chocolate and with hints of coffee.  Very gentle, with sweeter brambles coming through and lots of savoury notes to the end.  Definitely Australian, but the maturity of this wine creates delightful experience that you normally only get with old world wines.  91pts £37.00

They aren't cheap, but they are outstanding.  I'll leave it to you whether you think I'm talking about the wines or Dolly's chest.

By Peter Wood with No comments

#475 A quintet of Australians

It is strange how the brain works.  Insignificant memories can be returned by the strangest of things.  Today I had the chance to try a few wines from Australian producer Yalumba, and when I was trying them, I was transported back to the tasting that I wrote my first post for this blog about in the early months of 2008.  It was held in a huge tent in Edinburgh, and I can remember as though it was yesterday, the venue and the people at the table showing me these wines for the first time.  As I write this blog post in my house overlooking the North Sea, my memory transports me back to my old, dark flat, overlooking a council offices car park, on an uncomfortable brown sofa.  Silly, insignificant memories being dragged up from some deep part of your brain for no apparent reason.  

Anyway, to the wines:  Yalumba is located in the Barossa Valley in South Australia.  Founded by Englishman Samuel Smith two years after he emigrated to Australia in 1847, he named it after the indigenous Australian word for "all the land around".  He heard of the gold rush and realised that he could get the capital he needed to build his vineyards.  After going off for four months, he returned with £300, which allowed him to buy more land, equipment and build a new house.  Now run by a fifth generation descendant, Robert Hill Smith, he became one of the youngest MDs in the Australian wine industry, and got the entire company back under family control.  

2011 Yalumba Y Series Vermentino

The fourth vintage of this wine showed bright clean aromas of sweet peach and a touch of clementine.  A little bit of alcohol coming off but then quickly integrates with some up front sweetness with flavours of pear, which leads onto clean citrus with some underripe banana coming through.  Nice balance, a little bit of honey fattening things up and floral elements making it pretty on the finish.  87pts £10.99

Vermentino: Mainly found in Italy, Vermentino is spreading to other parts of the world including the South of France, California and, obviously, Australia.  Known by many other names, it has a good sugar/acid balance which resulted in it often being used as table grapes!  When made into wine, it generally has a lower alcohol content, and flavours of apple and lime, with a medium body.  

2010 Yalumba Eden Valley Viognier

Apparently, Yalumba is 'the largest producer of Viognier in the world'.  Big claims, but according to the women's magazines I skimmed through in the dentist's waiting room last week, size doesn't matter* and I was preparing for the wine to be a bit boring.  The aromas of fresh peach and some lovely floral notes got my interest, and then some cashews came off with a touch of dried apricot.  The palate has nice balance, some good sweeter apricot fruit and then there is a touch of the parma violet soapiness coming through with some good oilier textures.  A pleasant finish with a bit of white pepper, and a really nice Viognier.  89pts £14.99

*It was a 'do I diet to make my boyfriend fancy me again' agony aunt column - just in case you were wondering

Viognier: Historically from the Northern Rhone, Viognier has been exported through the world as a potential alternative for Chardonnay.  Grown in the area during the Roman Empire, the grape declined until there was only around eight acres left in the 1960's, but over the past five decades, this has grown back up to around 750 acres.  Prone to powdery mildew, Viognier is difficult to grow, and this may be the reason it has it's name, from the Latin 'via Gehennae' meaning 'valley of Hell'!  It is a grape known for its floral qualities which makes it a good pairing for Thai food.

2010 Yalumba The Strapper Grenache Shiraz Mataro

The naming of this wine bothers me.  You and I know that Mataro is Mourvedré, so why call it Mataro when everyone else in Australia calls it Mourvedré when in a GSM blend?  Having said that, it was nice.  Bright fresh cherries and a little bit of bubblegum coming through on the nose.  The palate has a smoky sweetness coming through, then a little bit of tobacco and then some pepper coming out.  A lot of spice on the finish, although the alcohol is very well balanced.  My other problem with this wine is that it is just a bit clunky.  There is no flow with it - being flavour after flavour after flavour and never allowing one to lead onto the next.  Wines should tell you a story, and nice as though this is, it doesn't.  But that is me being overly critical! 86pts £15.99

2005 Yalumba The Signature Cabernet Shiraz

This is a barbecue in a glass, starting off with aromas of char-smoked green peppers that blend seamlessly with a barbecued beef element mixed with dark fruit and chocolate.  The palate is very soft and subtle, with lots of juicy fruit, a bit of sweetness and then some delicious vegetal and mint elements coming through giving structure.  Just delicious and a wonderful example of aged Aussie wine. 93pts £32.49

2008 Yalumba The Cigar Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon

A lovely bright fruit with some cherry, menthol and a little bit of sweet clay elements too.  There is a sweetness coming out that is nice with cherry, plum skin and chocolate.  A graceful, elegant wine with a bit of Australian power and Coonawarra menthol.  The finish as a spicy and tarry flavour that is long lasting and pretty.  92pts £20.99

I like Yalumba's wines, they are well made, taste Australian and yet don't suffer from the dreaded over extraction and barrels of sugar!  They are widely available so even if your budget doesn't stretch so far, give some of their entry level wines a shot.

By Peter Wood with No comments

#474 100 Grapes: Nebbiolo

Nebbiolo is a red grape that is most associated with the wines of Piedmonte.  A highly tannic grape, it can require many years to settle down and reveal its more elegant flavours.  Thought to have been originally documented in the first century AD in the Pollenzo region (now in Barolo DOCG) the wines described showed similarities to Nebbiolo.  The thirteenth century was the first documented evidence naming Nebbiolo, and half a millennia later it attracted the attention of the British who were looking to find alternatives to Bordeaux after falling out with the French.  

I tried two wines from the most notable regions for Nebbiolo, Barolo and Barbaresco.  Barbaresco is lighter than Barolo and is more relaxed in the rules controlling its production, whereas Barolo from an area three times the size of Barbaresco is usually concentrated and dark in its youth and then with amazing finesse at its peak.  

2008 Terredavino La Casa In Collina Barbaresco

Gentle cherry spice with a little element of cherry tunes coming through.  Some sweet aniseed balls come out of the nose with a lovely freshly squeezed cherry.  The palate has lovely bright fruit, then it becomes darker and more earthy.  Lots of tobacco, cherry stones and plum skin mixed with a pepper element coming through.  The finish is a bit leathery with a cracked black pepper spice, a nudge of alcohol, and some liquorice.  88pts

2007 Fontanafredda Barolo

Dark, dry and dusty with some black cherry and boot polish.  There is a dark, aniseed spice coming off, almost a bit of fennel as well mixed with a little bit of menthol.  Up front you have earthy spice, dark, tannic and savoury.  There is a tobacco flavour coming out that is quite big with lots of spice, alcohol, soy sauce and leather.  There is some soft, violet flavours just battering their way through but the velvet glove is still in its box.  87pts

By Peter Wood with No comments

#473 100 Grapes: Muller Thurgau

Created by Hermann Müller in 1882, Müller-Thurgau is a grape that, well, nobody really bothers about.  Despite being seen in the cooler areas of the wine making world, including Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Japan and England - to name but a few - plantings of this grape are on the decrease.

It used to be Germany's most popular grape due to its flexibility in the climates and soils in which it can be grown, and due to it's low acid and fruity flavour, the wine are supposed to be drunk young and were the backbone (although maybe a bit of a limp backbone) of the exceptionally popular Liebfraumilch and Piesporter wines of the 1970s.

It was also an incredibly popular grape in New Zealand at the same time, where the dominant producers Cooks, Corbans and Montana made a sweet Müller-Thurgau.  That ended when Montana put down Sauvignon Blanc and found that it worked reasonably well, bought the other two companies and dug up all the Müller-Thurgau to plant their Loire sourced variety.

Northern Italy is a place that has some of this child of Riesling and Madeleine Royale planted and it was from the Alto Adige that I tried, what may have been, my first single varietal Müller-Thurgau.

2010 Girlan Müller Thurgau
Smells of the countryside on a hot summer day!  Lots of wild flowers, herbs and sunshine mixed with a fresh citrus aroma.  The palate is a little clay like, then cleans up with a chalky minerality and a bundle of grapefruit and grapes.  There is a touch of still champagne about it.  A simple bottle of wine, nice when chilled and worth the dozen or so pounds you will pay for it.  86pts

By Peter Wood with No comments

#472 Ron Jeremy's Rum

When it was revealed last week by Johnny Ball that the stars of Playschool (a 1970's BBC pre-school television show for those of you of a different country or younger generation) were stoned when recording the programme, it got me thinking about how well known people have some interesting past times.

J Edgar Hoover was famously rumoured to enjoy dressing in ladies clothing, Hitler apparently liked drawing Mickey Mouse cartoons and Alice Cooper is well known for playing golf - all hobbies that would damage their reputation!  Another thing that can destroy a famous person's career is revelations about their adventurous sex life, but there is one international celebrity that has made his name for that and has become the world's most famous adult entertainment star: Ron Jeremy.

Born in 1953 he initially studied education and theatre at Queens College, New York, before getting a masters in special education and became a substitute teacher in the city.  It was when his girlfriend sent a photo of him to Playgirl that his adult film career started.  To date, has appeared in over 2000 films and has also crossed over to mainstream entertainment, appearing in Family Guy and the ABC children's show Bone Chillers.  He has recently added another string to his bow, making rum.

Ron de Jeremy is rum from Panama, made by Cuban Master Distiller Francisco Fernandez.  Billed as "THE adult RUM" the website and marketing is firmly full of innuendo which may or may not be to your taste.  I ignored all that and wondered what is the rum actually like?  It started off with lovely rich Creme Brulee aroma and then some very sweet tea infused raisins comeing through on the nose.  The palate is light and then takes you on a journey of bitter flavours with some vanilla custard sprinkled with pepper before a charred wood element on the finish.  86pts

I prefer my rums a little sweeter and richer, but I admit I'm a rookie in this category and don't necessarily appreciate the finer things in the rum.  Nevertheless, this is a tasty drink and as celebrity drinks go, it is one of the better ones.

Ron de Jeremy Website

By Peter Wood with 2 comments

#471 100 Grapes - Cabernet Franc

I wrote about Cabernet Franc last year, so I won't go over the whole thing again, but I did try a trio of wines made with the grape to tick off another one in the 100 grapes list.  I tried a trio of wines from the grapes homeland, the Loire.


2009 Chateau de Villeneuve Saumur Champigny

Delicious cherry and green peppers coming out, quite sweet on the nose with some floral elements that are very pretty.  The palate has a nice earthy flavour, some liquorice and a little confected cherry coming out, but it is calmed by a burnt beef flavour, and a bitter note all the way to the finish.  Not the best example of this grape that I have tried, but nice.  84pts

2010 Yannick Amirault Bourgueil La Coudraye

Lots of veggies - green chillies and bell peppers.  Then you get a cherry note - almost cherry coke - coming through with a meat fat aroma.  Fuller bodied, some rounder riper fruit with less meatier elements.  A nice spice coming out and then it calms, balances out with some subtle chilli on the finish.  A rather nice wine.  88pts

2009 Domaine Ratron Saumur Champigny Clos des Cordeliers

Lovely brussels sprouts in a field of hay with some brambles coming off.  The palate has more vegetal elements coming through with a little bit of soft cranberry.  There is a lots of dark earthier flavours coming through with a little bit of tobacco.  Rather tasty but a bit thin on the end.  89pts

By Peter Wood with No comments

#470 Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Blind

Nearly ten years ago, three friends and I decided to start a fine wine dining club where we clubbed together and drank some super old wines with really nice meals.  We tried vertical tastings of Leoville las Cases, ancient bottles of port and buckets of fine burgundy, all when it was cheap enough that we could afford them!

Over the years, we all moved on with our lives, but remain close friends and passionate about wine.  Last weekend for the first time in about three years, we were all in the same place at the same time.  The last time the four of us were together, we were at a petrol station in France at the end of a weekend in Champagne where we discovered the lovely wines of the co-operative Le Mesnil, named after the town in which it sits.  In the Côte de Blancs, the town is perhaps best known for the Clos du Mesnil, the walled vineyard that produces the prestigious Blanc de Blancs from Krug.  Surrounding this are numerous small growers who either sell their grapes to bigger Champagne houses and co-ops or make their own wines.  It is these grower Champagnes that offer outstanding value for money as, without the marketing budgets of the likes of Möet & Chandon or Mumm, they can produce better quality wines for less money, and nowhere is this more apparent than in this home of fizzy Chardonnay.

If Chardonnay were an actress it would be Julia Roberts - massively flexible, loved and disliked in equal measure, has the ability to be supremely elegant and a bit tarty at the same time (think Pretty Woman).  Regardless of trends and fashion, is always going to come back and be loved by millions all around the world.  Nothing I write here could really add anything to what is already strewn across the internet about the grape, so rather than wasting your time, I'll go on with the wines, which we tried blind.

Pierre Peters Cuvee de Reserve Grand Cru NV

Lots of pear drops, fresh apples and a bit of yeast.  Not well structured, starts off a bit crude with a tangy, tart flavour.  It then settles down to be a nice fresh clean wine.  I've had this before and it tasted a lot better than it did this evening.  88pts

Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru NV

Light, fresh and minerally with some oyster shell aromas and a touch of white pepper and lemon sweetness.  The palate is clean, crisp with a pear drop flavour and then some rustic pear flavour coming through.  A lovely soft mousse, a touch bitter at the end.  90pts

Michel Turgy Reserve Selection Brut NV

Vibrant, savoury with almonds and hazelnuts followed by a citrus pith aroma.  Sweet palate and then with a lovely citrus, pencil lead and melon skin flavours.  Lovely structure, very balanced and a bit of a ballsy finish.  A lovely fun champagne.  91pts

Michel Rocourt Blanc de Blancs Brut NV

Rich honey aromas with a lemon and brioche note.  Tastes like an older Blanc de Blancs with rich honey flavours, followed by a savoury, salty element.  A lovely mousse, leading to a lemon pith filled finish.  Soft and lush but a little light on the acid at the end resulting in a slightly flabby finish.  89pts

Michel Turgy Vieilles Vignes Brut NV

Pineapple and a bit of honey on the nose with chalk and lemon.  The palate has a very soft, creamy mousse with a delightful pin prick bubbles, grapefruit flavours with some chalk coming through.  Superb balance, with the acid cleaning your mouth perfectly.  A delicious wine.  92pts

The main thing I took from this tasting was the consistently high quality of Le Mesnil producers.  Even the Pierre Peters, that was not showing well, was still better than a bundle of bigger producer non vintage wines and a fraction of the price.  Some of these wines are available from the cellar door from as little as €20, which means that for a price of a single bottle of Krug Clos Du Mesnil, you could get on a train from London, get to Champagne, buy a case of Michel Turgy Reserve Selection and carry it home.  A bargain really!

Websites

Le Mesnil

Pierre Peters

Michel Turgy

By Peter Wood with No comments

#469 Century old Madeira

Described in the Sotherby's Wine Encyclopedia as "The richest and fattest of Madeira's four classic grape varieties" and not a word more, I can't help think that Boal has been done a disservice.  Boal is a Portuguese grape variety, probably best known for being grown on Madeira, and used for making the sweeter fortified wines that get their name from the island, and it is this that I'm going to focus on.  

When Boal grapes are being used to make Madeira, they are often fermented on their skins to get more phenolic characters from the grapes as they need to balance the wine's sweetness.  This sweetness allows the wines to have a natural preservative - in the same way that port and Sauternes have - and can allow incredible ageing potential.  Madeira is aged in barrels to allow an oxidative quality to the wine but unlike other wines, is kept in high temperatures - essentially cooking the wine.  This stabilises the wines and allows the wines to last a long time, even when opened.

To prove this longevity and quality, I sampled a bottle of Madeira that was 104 years old, and had spent a century in barrel.  Saying it is simply 'rich and fat' is as much of a misrepresentation as saying the actress Anne Hathaway is a podgy minger.

1908 d'Oliveiras Reserva Boal

Dark brown in colour with a ruby red core, this wine has aromas of moscovado sugar, bundles of old balsamic vinegar and sweet, dark espresso.  Very lively on the palate, a good chunk of alcohol, and incredible lively acidity surrounded by tar-like flavours.  It was insane how youthful this was but with massive maturity as well.  Was it too young? 94pts  
When I put some old, hard cheese with it, the wine simply transformed into a beautiful creature, calming the alcohol and acid and producing one of the best food and wine pairings I've ever had.

By Peter Wood with 1 comment