Ten Things I Know About Wine

Following two weeks of tasting hundreds of wines all day, every day here, my take on the current wine-scape is this:

1. New Zealand Pinot Noir is usually divine.
2. Cheap South African red usually isn't.
3. Champagne with a bit of age is much more interesting than young stuff.
4. Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon from the Colchagua region tastes a bit like chocolate.
5. The Nebbiolo grape (of Barolo fame) is an awkward bugger but I still love it.
6. English wines, especially Sparkling ones, are definitely getting better and will have their moment.
7. Chinese wine is like real wine but spooky, hologram-ish. 
8. Top-end Burgundy is to die for, really.
9. I thought I preferred Old World Sauvignon Blanc to New World Sauvignon Blanc, but I was wrong.
10. Left-field is good: Austrian Gruner Veltliner, Southern Italian reds, undiscovered Languedoc reds...

But my biggest learning of the two weeks? Never going to miss one of the children's birthdays again. At least not until they ask me not to be there.

Current white on the side:
Tesco Finest Fiano 2008, £5.99, currently on offer at 2 for £10, Tesco
I have tried to wean myself off this stuff as it stops me drinking wines I haven't tried before but whenever it is on offer I suddenly find myself at the checkout with - whoops - another case of Fiano. This is a brilliant white grape, in this case grown in Sicily and stacked with white peach and layers of citrus fruit flavours, balanced with fresh acidity. Definitely reaches the parts other insipid whites cannot reach. Will do fine without food but it was a gorgeous match with my fishcakes hoofed down earlier this evening. 

Current red on the side:
Castillo el Destaca Crianza 2005, Ribera del Duero, £7.49 if you buy 2 bottles, Majestic
Made from a blend of Tempranillo and Grenache grapes, this is a mouthy little red from the Ribera region in Spain. Overall, Spanish wines are a joy, they taste warm and friendly. Obviously there are exceptions to the rule - old-fashioned Rioja being one - but many of the reds now have softer, more integrated oak flavours. This is one such wine, with a lovely vanilla note (given by ageing in oak) sitting very comfortably with the black cherry fruit flavours.  

Cheers dears x

Whine Challenge

Last week, I was averaging 150 wines a day. In a professional capacity of course: I am one of the judges at this year's International Wine Challenge held in London. Winning wines will boast a gold, silver or bronze medal - results released in May - hopefully making the (often hideously confusing) task of choosing a good bottle of wine slightly easier. Now, I realise I live in a slightly parallel universe with my working life and have very little to complain about, but I missed my daughter's first birthday on Tuesday because of it. My mother threw her a little party and she looked like she had a blast, but I wasn't there. We had another one today, just us and a cake covered in every kind of decoration known to the baking aisle. It would seem that sometimes you can't have your cake and eat it.

Current white in the fridge:
Tesco Finest Tingleup Riesling 2008, £6.49 (normally £8.16), Tesco
This is the grape that makes me go weak at the knees when good. Riesling is a bitch to describe as it varies so greatly depending on where it has been grown. It is often floral, even perfumed and occasionally smells a little like petrol with age, in a good way. This Australian one is just gorgeous: lime-infused, beautifully balanced with lots of acidity giving great freshness on the palate. Not one for real petrol-heads though. Not yet, anyway.

Current red on the side:
Maven Pinot Noir 2007, £7.49, Source Wines
Over the last week, the wines that have induced the most oohs and aahs from me and fellow judges have been red wines made from the Pinot Noir grape, especially when they are from New Zealand. For a long time, NZ has been all about the Sauvignon. I've got a feeling it's going to have to get used to sharing the podium with NZ Pinot. This one is aged in French oak barrels and the result is knee-bucklingly delicious, with smoky black fruits and beautifully integrated oak flavours. 

Mwah x

My kind of Festival

Back from Bordeaux, a few pounds heavier but happy, very happy. Tasting the new vintage wines straight from the barrel with the winemaker is a pretty special experience. The 2009 wines are looking lovely; very ripe, full of sweet fruit and lots of alcohol. It will be a while before we're drinking them, so in the meantime get thee to Tesco where its Spring Wine Festival is on. Here's what we drank last night:

Tesco Finest Chablis 2009, £5 (usually £8.94), http://www.tesco.com/
I am sorry, I've done this one before but it really is such a refreshingly good wine and with nearly £4 off its usual price it tastes even better. Lemon fresh, with mouth-puckering acidity and long citrus flavours. It is ever-so-slightly austere, rather like a maiden aunt. Such a great change from buttery New World Chardonnays.

Chateau de Lussac 2002, Lussac St-Emilion, £13.28, http://www.tesco.com/
This is made from classic red Bordeaux grapes, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, grown in the so-called Saint Emilion satellite village of Lussac. Red Bordeaux has made it difficult for us to love it, due to excessively high prices for the really smart stuff and variable quality at the cheap end. But a good, not-cheap-but-not-ridiculous one such as this will show what's to love. Firm, cassis-like fruit together with beautifully structured tannins and balance.

Chin chin x

Bored? Oh!

I am off to Bordeaux for two days tomorrow, to visit a new producer we're working with. I'll also get to taste some en primeur (in other words, yet to be released) wines to boot. 2009 is being touted as the best vintage for, ooh, maybe twenty years so there is a definite buzz in the vinous air. Tonight, I have written out one of my who's-doing-what rotas that causes my family much hilarity but means that I can leave the house feeling that I have done at least something to absolve responsibility for forty-eight hours. On Easter Sunday the two year old actually threw up in my face, the five year old curled up next to me like a puppy in bed and the baby nodded her head to indicate 'yes' for the first time. I'm going to miss them.

Wine reccs on my return, ready for the weekend x