Blind Shiraz Tasting

My housemate and I were having an almost daily debate as to the best every day drinking Shiraz. I thought The Wine Society’s own label Australian Shiraz for about £6 was my favourite session wine, but he felt that Aldis Australian Shiraz for £5 was better.

As you can imagine, there is only one way to settle that debate….. BLIND TASTING

We threw a couple of other bottles into the mix – a similar priced South African Shiraz which won a Decanter Gold medal and the £20+ Penfolds Bin 28 Shiraz.

For me the order was:

Penfolds Bin 28 2010 4/5

The Societys Australian Shiraz 2.8/5

Porcupine Ridge 2014 Shiraz 2.7/5

Aldis Australian Shiraz 2.5/5 

Marc had the Aldi and the Society the other way round. For me the Aldi shiraz was lighter, thinner and fruitier. I preferred the spicier Society to be honest. I was pleased (relieved) that both Marc and I picked out the Pendolds as the most expensive and our favourite. A Classy wine, smooth with big red fruits, a hint of spice and a long finish.

Domaine Pichard

The Wine Societys fine wine list landed on my door a few months ago and i took a punt on a vertical case of Domaine Pichard. A wine from a village in the south west of France called Madiran. So to kick off I tried the 2008 which is a blend of 60% Tannat and 40% Cab Franc. On the nose it was reminiscent of a Cos D’Estournel, but fell a little flat on the taste. It is a big wine, but perhaps a year past its best? Flavours reminiscent of a Cos, but with out the longevity. A baby Cos at best. Still lots of promise, and 2008 isn’t regarded as a seminal vintage. Lots of promise for the other 5 bottles to come. 3/5

Eastern European Invasion

Following on from my last post (where a Romanian Pinot took a podium spot in a blind tasting) i went round to some Bulgarian colleagues house for a Bulgarian Feast. Fantastic cured meats and dips and a hot pot style dish.

They, very kindly, provided a drop of wine with it.

First up was a Todoroff Boutique Merlot 2013 from the Thracian region of Bulgaria. This wine was a very solid Merlot. Warm red fruits and infantly drinkable. Perhaps not the complexity or depth of some other Merlots but hard to pass up! 2.9/5

Onto the more exclusive Todoroff Galery Mavrud 2013. Now were talking! A bigger red, full of flavour and more complex. £14.99 from Vaskovino. 3.8/5

Blind Pinot Tasting

The scene was set; a weekend of drinking and rugby. Kicked off by a blind Pinot Noir tasting. Five bottle selected by two people. Bottles up to £20.

Overal Ranking:

1st equal D + E

3rd A

4th B

5th C

for me personally i had C ahead of D. D i felt we were drinking too young. I thought it was a bit flat and with five more years in the cellar it may open up a bit more.

Ok so what were they:

A – Romanian Pinot Noir 2014 – Purchased from Majestic wine for about £8.

B – A regional French Pinot 2012 – Purchased from Majestic, price point was about £13.

C – Devils Corner Pinot Noir, Tasmania 2014 – Purchased online for about £10 – I had this as a hotel wine when i was in Tasmania and it wasn’t the wine i remembered this time around. Different vintage, multiple different vineyards. 2014 was sweet and perhaps a little thin but packed full of red fruits. I shall re review this when when i next open a bottle…

D – Erath Pinot Noir 2013 Willamette Valley, Oregon – Again purchased from Majestic

E – Mount Difficulty Roaring Meg 2013 Central Otago – A Majestic wine. When i was in New Zealand my favourite Pinot Noir was Mount Difficultys eponymous label Pinot. The second wine version is up there with the best and at less than £20 a bargain when compared with its french relations

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

I spent a month in the Marlborough wine region about 5 years ago and it complete changed my game. The quality and variety of wine was an eye opener. Of course like many of the great wine regions the very best stuff doesn’t leave the country. One of the most astonishing wines i tasted was the Johanneshof Gewürztraminer (http://www.johanneshof.co.nz). A highly decorated wine in NZ, it is very much their flagship wine – complex and elegant.

New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is very easy to come by in the UK, but there are Sauvignon Blancs and then there are Suavignon Blancs. The Highfield Sauvignon Blanc, 2011 isn’t just any old wine. Japanese owned estate, single vineyard with a mock Tuscan tower over seeing the estate, I had the pleasure of visiting and tasting a selection of their wines. The photo at the top of this page was taken from the top of the tower (after an aggressive tasting at Villa Maria before hand)

What sets this wine apart is the finish. Often with other NZ sauvignon blanc’s you can get in the UK they are wines which have grapes picked from several different vineyards in the Marlborough area. Such wines like Villa Maria and Bancott estate (which are good wines) end up having a sharper, tart finish. This single vineyard wine has a smooth elegant finish. The taste is zesty citrus fruits with classic gooseberry notes. All for under £15 (I think). 4/5. 

Isle of Wight

I lived on the isle of wight for 2 years. Based in Cowes (known for its sailing) i fell in love with a wine shop their called Wine Thearpy. Needless to say it was my first point of call once i clocked off on a friday. Here you could sample 24 wines (12 red 12 white) in three different measurements with a card based system. Cheese and crackers could be purchased or brought along, and i even enjoyed some tailored wine tasting events. Terry and Nic are now two good friends and i miss their shop dearly. They offer an excellent selection online: http://www.winetherapy.co.uk

Here are a few of my favs:

1.) The Black Shiraz – Australia – £9.99. a big, full bodied red. excellent BBQ and red meat wine

2.) Faultline Sauvingnon Blanc – NZ – £9.99. the perfect every day drinking white wine

3.) Rolly Gassmann – a selection of single variety grapes – celebrated grower, fantastic summer day Yachting wine

4.) Wairau River Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir – NZ – two great Marlborough wines

5.) Rall Red – South Africa – a very limited edition red (only 4 barrels made). Tastes great now but will be better with cellaring

6.) Glaezter-Dixon Pinot Noir – Tasmania – I can’t speak highly enough of Tazzy Pinot and Chardonnay

7.) City of London Gin – UK – the only gin i drink at home. First had it here and haven’t deviated since

They have added lots of fantastic wines since i was last there. Please have a look and try for yourself.

p.s. if the Moulin A Vent appears on the website again it is a must

 

Lidl hit the mark

Lidl is often perceived as a lower class supermarket in the UK. This would be unfair. The supermarket offers value for money, but with a limited and in consistent selection of food. Lidls wine collection however is excellent. Selected by Master of Wine Richard Bampfield it offers fantastic value for money but its selection isn’t that extensive.

The pick of the wines?

The Armilar 10year Tawny Port. First tasted over a cheese board watching rugby. To be fair optimal port tasting conditions, port and rugby go hand in hand. Now credit where credits due my good friend and fellow enthusiast recommended this to me and brought it over. After informing me that this would “blow my mind” it didn’t fail to disappoint. A beautifully rich, elegant wine. Delicious to the last drop. In fact we enjoyed it so much after 20 minutes of the match it was gone. 4.5/5. All for under £10.

At half time we dashed off to the local Lidl to fine (of course) that there was no stock left! We settled on the no age statement Armilar Ruby Port. A good example of ruby port, and for £7 offers exceptional value, however it doesn’t come close to the 10 year tawny. 3/10.

Aldi also offers a good selection of own label wines. I hope to have a blind taste with some Australian Shiraz in the weeks to come.

For me this weekend holds a Pinot Noir blind tasting followed by live premiership rugby.

Petit Chablis

Again from majestic wine i was drawn into Domain Seguinot-Bordet, 2014 Petit Chablis.

I went to a burgundy wine tasting at Wine Therapy (www.winetherapy.co.uk) where petit chablis was put up against premier and grand cry chablis. To be fair there wasn’t a huge amount in it. The Petit Chablis in general was lighter and fresher, yes it lacked the deep rich complexity of its relations, but it provides a great every day drinker at affordable price point.

This particular example is £9.99 or was it 10 i forget. Light in colour and traditional french chardonnay on the nose, its taste is stone fruits which are perhaps a little zesty. Overall a solid wine 3.1/5.

Where to begin

It is always difficult to know how to start a blog.

My interest was peaked by a catalogue i received from Majestic wine. South African wine isn’t a strong point of mine, i will admit, however i gambled on a bottle of The Liberator when the wine society had it on offer and wasn’t disappointed.

This wine: Rustenberg, John X Merriman, Stellenbosch 2013 (Merlot, Cab Sauv, Malbec, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot)

On pouring this is a deep dark ruby red. Like the traditional South African rugby team, it is big upfront. Physical. Red fruits, plum that fades into more cigar aromas and leaves you wanting more. At 14.5% its not for the faint hearted, but if you like boreadux blends this offers tremendous value and can be purchased from either Majestic wine or Waitrose. At less than £15 top value. Overall i would give this a 4.3/5. I have another couple of bottles that i intend to leave for a few more years……