Excellent and rare aged white from the Loire: Domaine aux Moines Savennieres 1998, yes, I said 1998

About as unique as white wine gets, and I
mean that in a good way...

This is a really unusual white wine. I'm usually a red man, but am developing my white wine palate sporadically.

My tastes run to the stronger, heftier wines around. Although I draw the line at about 14.5% alcohol and am not a fan of the huge South African or Australian reds with over powering alcohol and/or fruit.

Back to whites, I have discovered good white Burgundy in recent years (2008 Meursault being a particular but pricey favourite).

Also Carbonnieux from Bordeaux is a cracker, if not cheap.

This white on the left here, Domaine aux Moines 1998 was an extraordinary find at Vinoteca in Soho, recently.

It's amazing aged white wine. You rarely see whites this old that are not sweet wines, so if you can find it, it is well worth a try. The dryness comes off as it breathes, although one out of the three bottles I have tried had gone over the edge. It's hard to explain how it tastes. Like nothing else in white wine.

Imagine a Sancerre with more richness, breadth and a little, well 'edge' to it. Plus the aged flavours. Not to everyone's taste, but very tasty nonetheless. It's about £15-20 at retail prices, which is a real steal, if you can find any left. 

2003 Dofi, superb Priorat at a very good price, if you can buy it

According to a few sources, winemaker Alvaro Palacios is an established wine legend, making unusual wines in Catalunya, Spain, home of the the under-rated priorat grape.

This guide to his work is full of praise.

Having only tried one of his wines I find it hard to comment.

The one I did try though, pictured, at 10 Greek St restaurant London (ask them for the secret wine book), was an absolute cracker.

No less than Parker himself gives it 92-94 and he says it is:

“Super-expressive, rich, and full-bodied,
with wonderfully integrated acidity, tannin, and
wood...."

It was a couple of months ago when I was lucky enough to try it and that chimes with my memory. I recall fantastic structure which I hadn't expected, and superb full bodied balance and depth. The tannins reminded me of the Gironde.

It's hard to find and not cheap. We paid about £40-45 in the restaurant, and that looks like the retail price too from what I can tell on wine-searcher.com.

If the 2003 isn't available, the other vintage reviews seem to indicate that Alvaro Palacios is one to watch.

Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano Risera 2007, two good options

2007: Bad in Bordeaux but superb in Montepulciano

From a layman's point of view, i.e. mine, 2007 seems to have turned out quite well in Montepulciano.

Back in 2010 a blogger who undoubtedly knows more than I, wrote that the:

"2007 vintage was a nervous and aggressive vintage in Tuscany, with brambly acidities and sharpness that have yet to settle out".

Further thoughts and reviews are here.

I've been sampling the odd bottle of Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano Risera 2007 from a couple of sources over the last two years and I think the vintage must have moved on considerably from 2007.

The Riserva vintages are not made every year so one should have relatively high expectations.

Some interesting background on the region can be found on the Berry Brother's site here.

Interestingly, I had no idea how much smaller the production volume is when compared with nearby Brunello and Chianti. Berry's says that: "Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG covers only 820ha - compared to 12,000ha for Brunello di Montalcino and 7,000ha for Chianti Classico".

Berry's also writes that: "Stylistically, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano combines the richness of Brunello di Montalcino with the perfume of Chianti Classico. Without the limestone spine of other top Tuscan sites, the wines tend to be medium to full-bodied with firm tannins, lively acidity, fleshy strawberry and cherry fruit and hints of tea leaves. The best examples should age 8 to 15 years while Riservas can last for over two decades."

So if you want to tell your friends you are drinking a wine that is slightly off the beaten track, this is a good one to sample. I find rare tuscan steak and wild boar both go very well with these wines.

What I like about the two 2007 vintages I have had is that they, unlike some other good italian wines, don't break the bank when you drink them in a restaurant. That matters quite lot given how pricey a lot of decent, and a lot of frankly mediocre, Italian wine can be.

First up, the wine pictured is available in London's Boca di Luppo for about £45. That's not bad for such a good eatery (Boca is fabulous, eat at the bar if you can).

Here's the producer website. Retail prices seem to be about £18-20 in the UK. That makes it a bit of a gem in my book. Their description of it as "dry, harmonic, fruity and velvety, with an elegant texture and long finish" is a decent one. I would add that it has that lovely slightly aged, earthy Sangiovese tinge on the end and into the finish of a sip. For the price, retail or in Boca, it's a decent option indeed.

The second option is Avignonesi's Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano Risera 2007 which I think is even better than the Carpineto above.

I always buy it at Negozio Classica in Notting Hill, London, which is one of my favourite places to hang out. It's always relaxed there, the food is fabulous and the italian wine selection unsurpassed. The restaurant is part owned by the Avignonesi vineyard, a trend I would love to see more of, and the benefits are clear. 

The Avignonesi Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano Risera 2007 is not cheap, around £50-60 as a I recall it in the restaurant, but as a special treat it is unmissable. And it likely come with an expiration date given how limited general Montepulciano production is. Drink it while it lasts. 

Clos d’Alzan Côtes du Rhône Villages Signargues 2011 - A decent bet under £11

Very good en primeur buy @£7

I've mentioned this wine a few times before.

The 2010 was superb value, particularly en primeur at £7-8 per bottle.

The 2011, which has just arrived at my door after a long wait, is also excellent.

Few 2011 Côtes du Rhône wines are as good as 2010, but then 2010 was one of the best years ever.

In Bordeaux they are saying it will eventually surpass even 1982.

In the Rhone I am not sure, but I loved the 2010s I had.

This 2011 was also great value at around £7-8 per bottle, also en primeur, although I had to wait a LONG time for it.

Now it's about £130 a case, and that's decent value for what you get. It has an unexpected freshness and a fruitiness, with the complexity of the region that other wines in this price bracket lack.

It's not a "light" wine by any means, but the bottle I tasted was very quaffable indeed, which you don't always think fits with Côtes du Rhône wine. They are not Bourgogne or Fleurie wines, after all. I felt I could really taste the Grenache in it. I suppose you could say it's powerful but very well balanced and accessible.

I drank it at just below room temperature, at least as first, which may have affected the palate.

FromVineYardsDirect.com where I bought it, describes it rather differently. They say: "A rich and dark Grenache blend boasting lots of blackcurrant fruit, pepper and spice. Impressive power and balance with a lingering finish".

That's not really what I've had from my one bottle, but nonetheless it's worth investigating, despite the reviewer disagreements.

At £130 a case, or just under £11 per bottle, it's a decent bet, and you'll be supporting a small vineyard too, rather than supermarket buying practices. 

Domaine la Sarabande: Great value Languedoc drinking

A recent addition to the Sarabande vineyards

Sarabande is a relatively new addition to the up and coming Languedoc wine region within a region of Faugères.

It's run by two knowledgeable and friendly folk, Paul and Isla Gordon.

Their wines, produced from small parcels around Faugères, are superb drinking.

I was lucky enough to visit their house in the village during August and taste a few of their recent vintages.

They make several reds and a rose, and promote their work and wine via this enjoyable blog.

As you'd expect for the region, the grapes are mostly Carignan, Mourvèdre, Syrah and Grenache.

Despite breaking one of the bottles of their wine in my suitcase flying home from Toulouse, I've managed to enjoy several bottles of their rose, mid range and signature reds since August.

Those I have sampled are pictured below (pinched from their blog but I hope they won't object). Their wines range from 7-8 Euros for the Rose, to 12.50 for the AOP Faugères and 25 Euros for the excellent "Les Espinasses".

Here's where to go to consider buying the wines. For cutting-edge boutique wine (if that's not too silly a term, which it may well be) from an emerging region lots of wine fans are excited about, it's well worth trying a few.

 Les Espinasses, left, is powerful stuff. At 15% it needs food to accompany it, but drinks beautifully.

I'm finding I am enjoying the good newer wines from the Languedoc more than my traditional Côtes du Rhône at the moment. They seem less predictable. Perhaps because they are new to my palate.

For value drinking, the bottle just below, AOP Faugères is pretty unbeatable at below £10 a bottle (pre UK tax).

I'll be buying a case of this as as soon as my 2011 Clos d’Alzan Côtes du Rhône Villages Signargues 2011 is exhausted. That arrives next week from those excellent folk at Fromvineyardsdirect.com.

(I bought it En primeur at a total cost with tax of about £7.50 per bottle, based on the excellent 2010. I'm not expecting it to be quite as good as 2010, but at that price I am sure it will still be worth it)

The Sarabande rose is also below. It's keenly priced, although I found it a little acidic. But that's probably me more than the wine. For some reason I find a lot of rose too acidic to have more than a glass of. For rose fans, I'd say try it, it beats buying from supermarkets any day.

If interested in buying the wines, contact pauldouglasgordon@gmail.com

Gerard Bertrand La Forge 2000 - A hidden Languedoc gem

Not cheap, but a rare gem

I first discovered La Forge in a wine shop in Shanghai.

An odd way perhaps, but it was via a friend who spends his summers in Languedoc-Roussillon, so perhaps not that much of a surprise.

The region is by far the best value place in the world for what are now wines of rapidly increasing quality.

Places such as Corbieres and Fitou have a reputation for bulk wines, mass production and less than average, fruity quality.

Not any more. Those wines of course still exist, but more and more boutique wineries, and much larger ones, are springing up to take advantage of the soil and weather.

In the past the Gironde river served as a connecting artery between Languedoc-Roussillon and Bordeaux. Wine used to be shipped down the river to bulk up clarets of the past. Whether this still happens I am not sure.

This wine, Gerard Bertrand La Forge 2000, is truly a hidden Languedoc gem. I also tried the 2001 and the 2002, plus a few others. The 2000 is a stand out. It is not cheap at around 50 Euros a bottle, but for a rare treat, if you can get it, it's highly recommended.

In the glass it's the colour of 20 year old left bank claret, with the complexity and smoothness to match.

It's a blend of Syrah and Carignan, the latter being a grape you see less often compared to better known equivalents in Languedoc, such as Mourvèdre, Grenache, Syrah and sometimes Cinsault.

Given the grape variety, La Forge 2000 lacks the tannins of Bordeaux, but has survived 13 years in vat, barrel and bottle to create a wine of supple richness, smoothness, complexity and a touch of sweetness.

This is without doubt the best non-Bordeaux aged red wine I've ever had. There are only a couple of hundred bottles of it left, according to our charming guide who took us around the winery. I imagine it does not have long until it is past it's best. The 2002 that we tried had gone over the edge, but the 2001 appears to have some ageing potential left until it reaches the heights of 2000, if that's possible given 2000 is a stand-out vintage in the region.

Given that wines from the far south of France lack the Bordeaux tannic structure ability to age for 10+ years this was a real find for me.

I visited the winery, Château l’Hospitalet, in mid/late August this year and a few more photos are below.

It's part of an impressive empire built up by Gerard Bertrand, a former rugby player for the French national side, over the last twenty years.

In the distance from the top of the hill you can see the sparkling of the mediterranean sea.

Mini-vertical tasting of La Forge 2000, '01,'02,'30. A difficult day.

Hidden gem year: 1996 left bank Bordeaux

Bargain vintage drinking

As an amateur enthusiast and small collector of some vintage bottles of red, I've come across a few years which I think represent very good value given the quality and price on offer.

One of these is 1996 Bordeaux, on the left bank.

I've never had a bad bottle from the year, and there is incredible variation as the wines age.

For example Potensac 1996 is a bit of a gem. It tastes to me like a 2000, smooth, elegant and with a long long way to go.

Meanwhile Cos Labory 1996 is a completely different beast. It's claret that Jancis Robinson and others suggest drinking now. It's on the way out they say. I'd agree, which is what makes it such a bargain at just £30 a bottle with tax and duty.

I found a couple of cases on BBX, the Berry Brothers exchange where you can buy from individuals online within the Berry's system.

Other great 1996 wines worth a look from the left bank are Calon Segur and Sociando Mallet. Both cracking, if a little more costly at around £75 and £50 each.

For value aged claret drinking, there's a lot of mileage left in the vintage.

Making this blog more interesting..

After a while blogging on individual bottles of wine that style has run its course.

I thought about deleting the blog altogether. Writing about something such as wine, where a few years learning counts for little by comparison to others, is a humbling experience.

Rather than doing that though, I'll make it more about places, areas, vintages and experiences. That should provide a little more variation.

Let's see how that goes.

Lafon Rochet 1982

Worth waiting 31 years for.

Would you trust wine served like this? The BA lounge in Stockholm

Hmm, Red, White, or er, Gin and Tonic? Tricky one