Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon 2011: A real find

This is my first post for a while.

I've been away, in Brazil, Turkey, China, Germany, Malta, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, France and Singapore. Phew. It's nice to be back in Blighty for a bit.

Of those, only Turkey, China and Germany have half-decent wines :)

France of course, was amazing. More on my recent Bordeaux trip in another post. 

More also on Turkish and Chinese wine later.

I would not recommend Brazilian wines.

They say the sparkling white and Cabernet reds from the south are drinkable.

They are wrong. In Brazil, drink Chilean reds. Or Argentinian of course. Uruguay has some wine too, but one hears it's not up to much.

In particular in Brazil I'd suggest Carmenere, which I found very passable in many restaurants on the North East coast of the country. More on that, again later.

Meanwhile, here's a true gem of a wine: Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon 2011.

I've tasted, and posted on, the 2007, a while back, which is superb at the price.

I was dubious about the 2011. So young, how could it compete?

But it does. It has similar characteristics to the 2007: The richness, the excellent acid balance, the supple smoothness and the spine. Overall I'd rather drink the 2007, as it has aged just a tad, and so had broadened out a little. The 2011 is still quite tight, if you know what I mean.

But what a wine at the price!

I bought this bottle above in Dusseldorf airport for around 10 Euros. A total bargain.

It's what you'd expect from Lafite Rothschilds, but it's a whole heap better than anything else in that price range.

In the UK of course, rip off central, you pay a bit more. £10 or £11 a bottle. But well worth it.

It's to be my next quaffing case for sure. Once I have got through my case of Clos d'Alzan 2010 (bought en primeur at £7 a bottle and amazing, I am pleased to say) and a case of Tracot Beaujolais Recolte 2011 (ideal for Christmas chugging, from Berry Brothers). More on those, later.

Mouton Cadet 2008: Silky and poweful

I tried Mouton Cadet this week for the first time in years.

It could be as long as a decade since I've tried it. As a more 'mainstream' shop wine I've instinctively avoided it.

However I found myself on the right side of a couple of glasses of the 2008 this week in a hotel bar in Brussels. I'd imagine it ages well as a Graves wine, so am now looking forward to the earlier years.

I'd definitely recommend the 2008 at the price. Prices vary from £8 to £11 a bottle, perhaps depending on whether you want the reserve or not.

Here's one source to buy it from.

That website linked above says it tastes thus:

Nose: Both dense and elegant, opening on ripe fruit, especially blackcurrant and strawberry. A wine of great class and character.

Palate: A massive attack sustained by well-rounded, remarkably textured tannins. Great overall harmony between forward fruit and a high quality structure. Fine tannic length and an elegant finish.

That seems an accurate assessment from what I can remember. It's 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot with a dash of Cabernet Franc.

More merlot than I would usually like, but I did enjoy the powerful deep smoothness of this wine.

It may not suit the terroir/geography, but I'd love to try this wine with a little more Cab, just to see how it works out.

Here's a link to Wine Searcher so you can find it wherever you are in the world.