#509 Meeting old friends

I met two old friends last week.  Firstly, I bumped into an old schoolfriend that I hadn't seen in over a decade.  Despite the huge number of changes that have gone on in both our lives (marriage for us both, children for her, both in professional jobs instead of having parties on the beach and drinking Smirnoff Ices) we were at ease with one another again despite being very different people.  Similarly, I rekindled a relationship with a wine that I haven't tasted since I left Oddbins back in 2004, the South African Glen Carlou Pinot Noir and was intrigued to see if i would have the same reaction to this wine.

Now to be honest, I don't recall much about Glen Carlou from back then except that the Pinot Noir was tasty enough.  The labels were always a bit boring, the wines were around seven or eight pounds and that was it really.  They were just there, sitting on the shelf by the fridge and I never really paid them much attention.  What would at least eight more years of tasting wine make me think of these wines and would the Pinot Noir live up to my memories?

Starting with the 2011 Glen Carlou Chardonnay, it had a slight ginger, peachy aromas mixed with pear skin, leading onto a palate of soft wood, savoury notes and a bit of fleshier apple, peach and apricot.  A gorgeous finish of gentle wood and fruit.  Firstly, this is an great South African Chardonnay.  Secondly, this is a great Chardonnay - regardless of where it is from.  Finally, this wine is only twelve pounds, which makes it one of the best value wines I've tried in a long time.  90pts

I moved onto the 2010 Glen Carlou Quartz Stone Chardonnay and there was a lot of peach coming off and less wood than the other wine.  It was as if someone had not just stirred the lees, but put it in a blender as there was a load of yeasty aromas coming off.  The palate is well balanced with lots of gentle wood, tropical fruit and then a sprinkling of white pepper on the finish.  It is a better wine than the 'basic' Glen Carlou Chardonnay, and although it is worth the nineteen pounds you are paying, it doesn't over deliver like the other wine does.  90pts  

Moving onto a pair of reds, the 2010 Glen Carlou Cabernet Sauvignon was another brilliant wine.  Some sprouty aromas immediately made me think that they may have thrown in some Cabernet Franc as well, with a lovely blackcurrant and chocolate coming through.  The palate has an awesome tobacco and dark cherry flavour with some spice and more of the sprouts on the finish.  Again, twelve quid and phenominal value.  91pts

Finally, onto the Pinot Noir - the wine I loved back in my rookie wine merchant days.  This was the 2011 vintage and it was.... awful.  Horribly chemically, then thin with feeble, fake fruit aromas.  There was a cheap perfume - the sort of perfume that a Big Brother contestant would put their name to when they were trying to milk that cash cow.  The palate was like licking plastic which had had some Ribena spilled on it.  This is a horrific mess of a wine.  57pts

Meeting my old school friend was lovely, meeting an old wine friend less so, but it's siblings were stunning wines.  I wouldn't bother with the Quartz Stone, not because it isn't good, but because for an extra fiver you can buy one of each of the Chardonnay and Cabernet. 

By Peter Wood with 3 comments

#508 100 Grapes - Trousseau/Bastardo

Trousseau or as it is also known as, Bastardo, is grown in many parts of Europe, but never in big quantities.  Seen mainly in Portugal, it has a white mutation called, no surprise here, Trousseau Gris.  

Also seen aas rosé and as fortified wines, I decided to try a Trousseau from the French region of Jura - a land that is sandwiched between Burgundy and Switzerland, and that I think is all too often overlooked.  

2005 Domaine Andre et Mireille Tissot Arbois Trousseau Singulier

Very pretty on the nose, bright cherry and plum skin coming off the nose with some strawberry cream filled chocolate aromas.  Wonderfully soft, then a bit of tannin coming off with very restrained, older fruit.  Quite savoury with some really attractive plum and cherry stone.  Very soft and then some harder, woodier elements on the finish that has a real appeal.  A delicious wine  89pts

By Peter Wood with No comments

#507 Spark up the doobie, lets talk Tasting Notes

What still amazes me about wine critics is that you get to see a lot about their life through their tasting notes.  The flavours and aromas that they use to describe a wine can give you a surprising amount of insight into what they relate to.  Take Gary Vaynerchuk, he was all about Fruit Loops, Skittles and pork fat - a perfect set of tasting notes from a child of the 1980s!  Jamie Goode is more simple and to the point with his notes - flavour - flavour - flavour - comment on structure - summery of the wine - done.  A methodical approach, charismatic of the scientist he is.  Olly Smith embraces the Monty Python in his character and has backflipping penguins landing on pineapples and Michael Broadbent is much more about the construction of the wine and the overall experience, relating to the many previous times he has tried the wine and showing a dignity as an elder statesman of wine.  You really can learn a lot about the character of a person when reading their notes.

I mention this because I don't want you to judge me on a wine I tried today.  I rarely get drunk - in fact, I rarely drink, preferring to taste wines and let my colleagues finish off the bottle.  I don't smoke and have never done any form of illegal narcotic in my life - not even the more socially acceptable ones.  I am, to be honest, pretty boring!  So imagine my surprise when the first smell I got from the 2011 16 Stops Shiraz (£8.99) from Liberty Wines, was marijuana.

Yep, before the crisp raspberries and tobacco came through, I got so much of of Amsterdam's finest blasting into my olfactory gland, it made me want to grab a Bob Marley record and wear a kaftan.  The palate was a bit of a downer after that, with some lighter berries, a bit of red apple skin and some black pepper coated plums, but like walking down any street in the capital of the Netherlands, you just can't avoid smelling the pot!  80pts

By Peter Wood with No comments

#506 You know you shouldn't...

Wine lovers everywhere - this is a wine you aren't going to admit to liking, but secretly, you'll open up a bottle on a Sunday morning and guzzle it with your bacon and eggs.  With the name 'Pink Bug Juice', you'd think that it would be coming from Australia or America, but this sweet pink fizz is Italian.  From Rinaldi, this Moscato d'Asti has had none other than Robert Parker praising it for being simple and fun.  

It has a soft, strawberry aroma cut with some raspberry leading to a sherry vinegar note coming off.  The palate is light, fresh and clean with delicious strawberry, lychee and raspberry flavour.  The finish has some young balsamic notes to it which cleans everything up and makes it soft and very approachable.  It is a fun, slightly nutty wine and it is fortunately low in alcohol because you could drink loads of this.  82pts

I forgot to check it it had a vintage, but if it does, I'm guessing it would be the most recent, 2011.

By Peter Wood with 2 comments

#505 Putting money in a Piggy Bank

There are always people coming up with new ways to build a wine brand and make a bit of money for themselves and/or charities, and Guy Anderson Wines (GAW) has come up with a concept that should work.  In conjunction with Waitrose, they have released six wines called 'Piggy Bank' made by three winemakers from Chile, France and Spain.  

Available in 160 Waitrose stores, fifty pence from each bottle sold is put into a Piggy Bank, and when it reaches £10,000, they will give the money to a group of charities.  Utilising social media, the customers can pick one of three charities, and the pot of cash is divvied up proportionally amongst the trio.  This is a concept that Waitrose have been doing for a long time with their in-store 'token bins', and this is why I believe this sort of concept, ideally targeted at the typical Waitrose customer, could be a success.  The only question remaining is 'are the wines any good?'.  I was sent two bottles to try.

2011 Piggy Bank Sauvignon Blanc (Elqui Valley, Chile)

Winemaker: Giorgio Flessati

Bright, crisp apple with some lovely light lemon and elderflower coming off.  There is a slight burnt note emerging though that I'm not entirely pleased about - it is almost like burning plastic.  The palate is ok, shows some brighter fruit, but again there is this burnt note coming out.  There is also a bit too high alcohol, and the acid is a bit punchy on the finish, which has some nice grassy, vegetal flavours.  It is ok, but I can show you dozens of Chilean Sauvignon Blanc that are just as nice for a pound less.  76pts

2011 Piggy Bank Tempranillo (Estremadura, Spain)

Winemaker: Norrel Robertson MW

Some meaty, sweeter fruit aromas balanced out with a bit of herbs and lamb sweetness.  The palate leads off with a bit of firm tannin, some cherry and then more berries being coated in cocoa and charred wood.  There is still a load of tannin, but it softens towards the end with a dusty, leathery note.  The finish is a bit unbalanced, but it is a nice enough bottle of wine and good value.  I just wish that the end was as good as the beginning.  81pts

Piggy Bank Website

Piggy Bank Facebook Page

By Peter Wood with No comments

#504 Independent Bottler Whiskies

A lot of people pay a visit to Scotland at this time of year.  Some go to St Andrews to play golf, others are in Edinburgh to see a show at the Fringe and some go further north to hunt for Nessie.  Inevitably, most people who visit Scotland will sample a few of the culinary delights of Scotland including Haggis, Deep-fried Mars Bars and, of course, Whisky.

They will be familiar with the bigger brands of whisky - Glenlivet, Glenfiddich and Macallan - but what they won't be too aware of are the hidden gems of Scotch; Independent Bottlers.  Most whiskies are made, matured and bottled by the producer.  If you see a bottle of, for example, Cragganmore 12 year old, it has been made and matured at the distillery in Speyside and then bottled by the producer, sometimes in their own bottling plant, other times contracted out to a bottling plant.  An independent bottling of Cragganmore would be made by the distillery, and then one of two things would happen.  It would be aged by the distillery and then sold when mature to an independent bottler, or the independent bottler would take the new spirit and age it themselves.  Then the bottler, with both of these scenarios, will decide when they think it should be bottled and do so.

There are a lot of advantages of buying independently bottled whiskies.  Firstly, they don't advertise, so you aren't paying for that when you buy a bottle.  They also offer different ages, casks and styles to the standard distillery bottlings of the whisky.  Older whiskies can be cheaper (for example £500 for a 25 year old Macallan or £275 for a 41 year old Macallan bottled by Gordon & Macphail) and you can often get whiskies from distilleries that closed a long time ago.  The downsides?  Well unless you read lots and lots of reviews or have the opportunity to try a lot of whiskies, you never really know what you are buying.  

I've sampled a lot of indie bottlings recently, here are some of the best.

Berry Bros & Rudd's 1989 Girvan Cask 37532 Single Grain Whisky, bottled 2011
Soft, gentle and subtle with honey, foam bananas and a bit of Corn Flakes on the nose.  The palate is very approachable, with a clean, savoury note.  Lovely.  85pts

Berry Bros & Rudd's 2000 Boisdale Bowmore, bottled 2011
Subtle heat and smoke with some smoke, oak smoke rather than peat however.  There is a caramel and tobacco note as well.  The palate has a punch of spice, lots of sweet peat and dry wood, cinnamon bark and leather.  84pts

Berry Bros & Rudd's 1990 Bunnahabhain Cask 18, bottled 2012
Big and sweet aromas with smoke as seasoning, reflecting the distillery style of being lightly peated.  The palate has a lot of sulphur, gentle however with some tobacco.  Even with the sulphur element, I quite like this.  84pts

Gordon & Macphail's Secret Stills 3.5 (Auchentoshan 20 Year Old)
Rum & Raisin Ice cream mixed with a hot Tamale.  Some subtle dried orange peel on the nose.  The palate is very woody, some earthy elements coming out with a bit of tar coming off.  The palate does have a nice simple elegance to it.  84pts 

Gordon & Macphail's 1993 Imperial, bottled 2012
This distillery closed in 1998, and the whisky has a big, chunky nose, lots of punchy flavours - bitter marmalade, burnt match, butter, leather, coal dust, ash.... a mean aroma.  Lots of alcohol on the finish but it does have a sweet, creamy element on the finish, fully covered by the peppery dry elements.  Imperial is a tough whisky, but this is about as soft and gentle as you are going to get.  82pts

Gordon & Macphail's Secret Stills 6.6 (Glen Garioch 22 year old)

Sweet aromas of dried orange peel a lot of creme caramel and lion bars!  The palate is simple, with subtle matchstick and pear skin mixed with a lot of pepper, dried citrus and pot pourri. Very nice.  85pts 

Gordon & Macphail's 1994 Caperdonach Connoisseur's Choice

Clean, fresh and simple with lovely light creamy elements.  Lots of herbs and a bit of peach.  The palate is simple, gentle, balanced and nice with a clean citrus and cream flavour.  Very nice.  84pts

Gordon & Macphail's Secret Stills 4.17 (Bowmore 12 year old)

Gentle, herbal and soft and creamy, not a lot of Bowmore characters except for the sea air.  The palate is salty, lots of wet rope and bright peat with lots of oak smoke.  Not 'traditional' style of Bowmore, but a really good, interesting malt.  88pts

Gordon & Macphail's 1998 Caol Ila Connoisseurs Choice

Big, sweet smoke with lots of rich, honey and pineapple skin.  A bundle of rich pear drop and pipe tobacco with a creamy, chalky element.  The palate is all medicinal, fishy and with sweet flavours of peat smoke, honey and tar - classic Islay.  Very tasty.  90pts

By Peter Wood with No comments

#503 I wish...

One of my colleagues brought a bottle of Champagne back from France that cost him €10.00.  That is eight and a half quid to you and me.  It is called Philippe Martin Cuvee Speciale and is pretty good.  Soft bruised apples on the nose, a little bit of tart, home made lemonade and then a clay like aroma.  The palate has again some lovely citrus, pencil shavings and a little bit of grapefruit pith.  84pts.

The problem we have in the UK, is that we would have to pay £20 for it.  That is after factoring in duty, VAT, carriage and retailers profit margin.  Now as a retailer, I'm not begrudging the retailers' profit margin - it keeps me employed!  The carriage (around 42 pence per bottle) is a necessary evil, but the balance (over a fiver) goes to HMRC.  I know we have an NHS, I know we have clean streets, the police force and a military and we've all enjoyed the Olympics, but I would like good bottles of Champagne a bit cheaper.

By Peter Wood with No comments

#502 Three Austrian Wines

Josef Lieberl first made wine in Burgenland in Austria in 1969 and only a year later took over the entire winemaking process from his father.  Known as 'Sepp', he decided to change the way his family company made wine.  He stopped chaptalising the wines, preferring to produce lower alcohol wines and found that these were very popular.  He also took the wine out of two litre bottles, as was the norm in the early seventies, and put the wines into 750ml bottles.  When he took over the whole company in the early 1980's, he travelled extensively learning how wine was made in regions such as the Mosel, California, Alto Adige and countries including Australia and New Zealand.  This had an effect on the wines he made, and similarly, his son Gerald - who has been making the wines since 1997 - did his apprenticeships in Australia and America.

Starting with the single varietal 2008 Josef Leberl Zweigelt Alte Rebe, with grapes from forty year old vines, I really enjoyed the smoky fruit with a lot of tobacco and menthol coming off.  Violet then emerged with a bundle of raspberry and cherry.  The palate has more of that smokiness, a bit of cherry, lovely savoury notes and a  bit of tannin and almond.  Liquorice on the palate but very well balanced.  A bit of earth on the finish with some manure aromas.  Not bad and a good example of this Austrian grape.  80pts

Taking Cabernet Sauvignon and mixing it with Blaufrankisch and Zweigelt isn't normally what a winemaker might do, but that is exactly what the 2007 Josef Leberl Peccatum is.  Sweet menthol and chocolate on the nose, a bit of raw beef too and then a lot of Mr Sheen furniture polish.  Vegetal green pepper coming off as well.  The palate is quite chunky, a bit of sweet coffee and chocolate coming through.  Nice veggie elements and more floral note coming off.  Nice balance, fresh and a bit chunkier.  82pts

 

Finally I tried a sweet wine, the 2009 Josef Leberl Beerenauslese Samling.  It had delicious rich, sweetened grapefruit with a lot of honey coming out of the glass with a bit of citrus pith coming through as well.  A lovely turkish delight element coming through followed by peachy elements, more rounded fruit with a tangerine flavour.  It is very nice and gentle, cleans up with a lovely floral sweetness, but lacks the zing you need to combat the sweetness which spoils this wine.  I can't help thinking it needs a bit of Riesling to cut the rounder, sweeter flavours.  78pts

I liked the wines from this producer, you can see the traditional Austrian style but also the new world influences in their reds.  Careful winemaking has made them good, solid wines and, although they produce sixteen wines, I'm glad that they focus on red as it is what they appear do well.

By Peter Wood with No comments