Moët & Chandon April 2013

05 Sunday May 2013

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Yippee, I’ve finally completed all my assignments for my MA Food and Wine Culture. That means I finally have a life again, well until I start on the dissertation. It also means I can finally catch up with my blog, and how about a glass of Champagne to celebrate?

Last month my husband was mad enough to run the Paris Marathon, finishing in a fantastic 4hrs 29mins. To celebrate, and recover, we headed to Champagne, just a short drive east of Paris. We stayed in the wonderful Best Western Hotel de la Paix – I wouldn’t normally recommend a hotel but we have stayed in some truly awful places in Reims and I hope I can help you avoid them. Also the restaurant at the hotel is outstanding with lovely fresh seafood, great wine and very friendly staff.

We decided (well I decided) that we wanted to visit some of the Champagne houses and after a morning spent at Pommery in Reims we headed to Épernay and Moët and Chandon. Moët was founded in 1743 by Claude Moët and the house of Moët was created by his grandson Jean-Rémy Moët and remains to this day a symbol of luxury. According to Moët and Chandon a bottle of their champagne is opened every second somewhere in the world and with this in mind the tour guide took us down into their cellars which at 28km are the largest in the world. The longest cellar is 300m and is at a depth of 30 metres. This ensures that the wine is stored in perfect condition with the exact amount of humidity and a stable temperature.

Moët has a long and close association with Napoleon Bonaparte; this is demonstrated in the name of the Impérial Gallery which was named in honour of Napoleon’s first visit to the cellars (he made five visits in total) and the Impérial Champagne was created in 1869 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Napoleon’s birth.

Jean-Rémy Moët

Jean-Rémy Moët (1758-1841) – created the house of Moët

Dom Perignon

Moët and Chandon produce several champagnes including the Brut Impérial which is aged for 2½ – 3 years and the Grand Vintage which is only produced in the best years and is aged for a minimum of 7 years. There have been 70 Grand Vintages produced in the last 162 years, the most recent is the 2004. Both of the Impérial and the Grand Vintage are blends of the three Champagne grapes but the Grand Vintage uses more Chardonnay than the Impérial (51% for the 2002 and 38% for the 2004 compared with 20-30% for the Impérial). The Brut Impérial is a blend of an astonishing 100+ base wines, from a possible 700+, demonstrating the incredible ability of the Chef de Cave to continuously create a product that is recognisable to consumers around the world from such a huge choice of wines. Moët and Chandon own 1200ha of vineyards and also purchase grapes from other growers to produce the millions of bottles they make a year (they declined to tell us the exact amount they make).

The most famous name associated with Champagne is of course Dom Pérignon and the tour guides at Moët aren’t shy about making sure the visiting tourists are aware of this connection. Dom Pérignon is always a Vintage wine and is only created in the best of vintages, it is Moëts premium brand. It is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay using wine from 17 Grand Cru, with a small percentage coming from Hautvilliers. It is aged for a minimum of 7 years, the Rosé for 9 years and the Oenothéque for 12 years, although they are often aged for a lot longer, the 1990 Oenothéque Rosé was aged for 20 years. They also use corks on the bottles rather than crown caps as they feel it is better at preserving the wine.

Sign

This sign helps the cellar staff identify what is in each bottle – The top part is a ‘secret’ code that identifies the cuvee, the next is the vault number and finally the number of bottles stored there.

The obvious bonus of visiting the Champagne houses is that you get to sample a glass or two of their products. We had:

Brut Impérial (dosage 9g/l, Pinot Noir 30-40%, Pinot Meunier 30-40% and Chardonnay 20-30%) – aromas of green apple, citrus and brioche and flavours of pear and apple.
Brut Impérial Rosé (dosage 9g/l, Pinot Noir (40-50%, 10% red wine, Pinot Meunier 30-40%, 10% red wine, Chardonnay 10-20%) – red fruits (strawberry, redcurrant) with a hint of floral aroma.

Both wines were bright, elegant and full of fruit, if I hadn’t already had three glasses at Pommery I would quite happily indulged in a few more glasses. But as it turned out two glasses were more than enough and I spent most of the trip back to Calais giggling and singing along to cheesy soft rock.

For further information on visits to the Moët and Chandon cellars please go to http://www.moet.com/Visit-us/Visit-our-cellars

The art of Pommery – April 2013

09 Tuesday Apr 2013

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Like Dijon, Reims has always been a stop-over destination for us when we head down to Italy. We usually arrived late at night and left first thing in the morning. Now, thanks to my wine studies, I have been lucky enough to spend more time in these beautiful cities and take in more of their history. Reims, in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, has a long and fascinating history from its part in the crowning of French royalty to the near destruction of its cathedral during the First World War, oh and of course it is home to many of the great Champagne houses.

Pommery - Reims

Pommery (now owned by Vranken) is based in Reims and along with Veuve Clicquot is another example of a strong-willed woman successfully taking on a business at a time when women did not run businesses. Jeanne-Alexandrine Louise Pommery took over the business after the death of her husband in 1858 and under her guidance construction on the current site was started in 1868 and over the course of ten years Madame Pommery had eleven miles of cellars dug out of the chalk by hand. The huge site was eventually completed in 1888. She had a grand vision of what she wanted the brand to become and part of that was to encourage visitors into the cellars by making them more artistically interesting.

This is one of the oringinal pieces of art – carved directly into the chalk, our guide told us that the artist nearly went blind as he had to work by candelight.

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Madame Pommery’s vision has continued today and the cellars are used as galleries displaying different pieces every year. This years theme is recycling.

Elephant - Pommery

I’m not sure what this elephant has to do with wine or recycling – but it is certainly an interesting sight in the middle of the entrance hall and adored by the many children that visit the Pommery site.

The lights below are used to light one of the long galleries in the cellars. The artist collects glassware such as fishbowls from markets around France and puts them together to create these lovely alternative lightshades that give a little bit of magic to the gloomy cellar.

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This giant ball is made of paper and is designed to absorb any moisture from the cellar – it doing so it becomes smaller and changes colour. It has been in place since last Autumn.

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This display of wellies was part of last years exhibition but has proved so popular that they have kept it. The boots have mechanisms in them that make them stomp giving the impression that they are walking on the spot. Apparently children love them, but they have scared a few people!

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Without the art the cellars at Pommery are stunning – their cavernous size alone is something to admire. The art makes them even more interesting and beautiful – if you are in the area they are not to be missed. And if you are thirsty after walking through the cellars you can finish the tour with a glass or two or Pommery champagne.

Pommery visits and information available at – http://www.vrankenpommery.fr/

Corton visit 2013

01 Monday Apr 2013

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When last years MA Food and Wine Culture cohort visited Dijon it was 20°c and they enjoyed picnics in Beaujolais and walking through the vineyards.  This year it was a bit different.  Most days the temperatures were in minus figures and snow was not uncommon.  So after a day spent in a very warm classroom we reluctantly headed out into the cold for our first experience of the Wine Route.  We headed towards Corton and Domaine Maurice Chapuis - a vineyard owned by the family of Claude Chapuis one of our lecturers at ESC Dijon.  This was to be the first of many experiences over the week that demonstrated the amazing warmth, kindness and welcoming nature of the people of Burgundy.

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First, a bit about Burgundy.  It is complicated, and that is being nice about it, many of the locals don’t understand the appellation system so I’m not sure how in the space of a week we were supposed to learn it all.  Burgundy is made up of four departments – Yonne, Côte d’Or, Saône-et-Loire and part of the Rhône.  These are then split into regions – the Yonne has Chablis, the Auxerrois, the Tonnerrois, the Jovinien and the Vézelien.  The Côte d’Or from north to south is – the Châtillonais, the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune.  Saône-et-Loire is made up of the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais.  Finally, Beaujolais is in the Rhône.  Now within these regions the wines are further classified.  There are 32 Grand Crus in the Côte d’Or (Chambertin, Musigny, Corton, etc) and one in Chablis.  There are 635 Premier Crus (village A.O.C’s that are followed by the name of the Premier Cru climat - for example Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles).  Forty four village A.O.C’s (such as Chablis, Irancy and Nuits-Saint-Georges) and twenty three regional A.O.C’s which include Bourgogne, Bourgogne Aligoté and Crémant de Bourgogne.  And that is without getting into which side of the National Road the vineyards are and talking about the potato fields.  Simple!

Now a bit about Corton.  It is in the Côte de Beaune area of Burgundy and encompasses the producing villages of Aloxe-Corton, Ladoix-Serrigny and Pernand-Vergelesses.  The two Grand Crus are Corton and Corton-Charlemagne.  The main grape variety is Pinot Noir although some Chardonnay is grown as well.   The Grand Cru of Corton-Charlemagne is for white wines only.  The average production of both reds and whites is 464,000 bottles a year.  And it is very cold March!  A useless pub quiz fact – Corton is from Curtis of Othon who owned the land in the 8th Century and Aloxe is Celtic for hill.

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Claude showed us around the family property and the winery and after several hints about how cold we were took us down into the cellar which had several statues of St Vincent looking down on us from all angles.  Unfortunately the recent heavy rain had flooded part of the cellar but we were still able to taste some of the wines produced by his brother.  Several bottles later, we headed to Benoit’s house (another of our lecturers and the chief party animal of Dijon) to continue the tasting along with some of the many local cheese we would try over the week.  Claude’s knowledge of Burgundy and its vintages is nothing short of amazing.  You could fire questions at him all night and he could answer without missing a beat – he is pure genius and a pleasure to spend time with.  Benoit, is also incredibly knowledgable, but is also the reason I have developed a cheese allergy – although more of that in future posts.

Although Burgundy is very complicated it was immensely helpful to go to some of the areas and put the knowledge into practice.  The plots are so small that having an expert point them out to you and describe all their little nuances it possibly the only way to truly appreciate the wonder that is Burgundy.

Information about the wines available from Domaine Maurice Chapuis is available at – http://www.domainechapuis.com/home

Australian Wine Tasting – Matthew Jukes at Great Western Wine

11 Monday Mar 2013

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Last year I completed 5 units of the WSET diploma – everything but unit 3 – the dreaded and very large still wine unit.  I have decided due to various commitments to do unit 3 via distance learning.  Having already completed various courses with the Open University I have no qualms about learning in this way but there is one downside – I have to source and pay for all the wines myself.  To try and offset this a bit I have decided to try and attend as many country or region specific tastings as possible.  My first event this year was Matthew Jukes 100 Best Australian Wines 2012/13 at Great Western Wines in Bath (although there were only 52 wines available, and I thought I was bad a maths).

Matthew introduced the evening and then left everyone to their own devices.  The wines were laid out on tables; some people were picking their way through a predetermined list others were just trying as many as possible.  I had an early start the next day and with a trip to Dijon looming I decided to stick with the Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs (with a side-line of Riesling, of course).  Matthew was talking a small gathering through the world of Australian Chardonnay so I joined the group ready to learn about a subject that I greatly need to improve on.  And I did learn.  There were a few things I probably didn’t need to know and that hopefully won’t pop up on the exam such as who are the hottest winemakers in OZ (I won’t give that away for fear of offending), but others were useful, such as the different climates, which wines were declassified versions of top wines and therefore a bargain and also how the wines compare to those of the great Chardonnay region, Burgundy.

Chardonnay’s we tried included:

2010 Peter Lehmann EV Chardonnay, Eden Valley £12

2009 Yalumba FDW7c, Adelaide Hills £17

2009 Leeuwin Prelude Chardonnay, Margaret River £25

2011 Cherubino Chardonnay, Margaret River £28

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From there I decided to explore the Pinot Noirs of Australia.  Here there was a great variety in the styles; some were very pale and light with a delicate complexity, others seemed to scream out of the glass with big hits of red fruit and alcohol (the Paringa Peninsula is 14.5%).  This did not give me any confidence when it comes to the unit 3 blind tasting – how will I ever identify all these variations as being from Australia.  Young Australian Rieslings are generally easy – big hit of lime, some floral notes, cool and crisp with refeshing acidity levels,  (can you tell I’m a fan?).  But these Pinot Noirs were a very different matter, and clearly something I’m going to have to work on.

Pinot Noirs I tried:

2010 Tamar Ridge Kayena Vineyard Pinot Noir, Tasmania £18

2010 Paringa Peninsula Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula £26

2010 Tapanappa Foggy Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir, Fleurieu Peninsula £32

2010 Yabby Lake Single Vineyard Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula £30

One thing I found difficult was trying wines that an expert such as Matthew Jukes had declared to be a good wine and not liking them.  I felt conned!  Should I tap him on the shoulder and ask him to explain himself?  Probably best not to for someone trying to get a foothold in the industry.  It is just another case of how subjective someone’s wine taste is.  After all, they weren’t bad wines, maybe with the exception of the 2011 Jacobs Creek Classic Riesling; I just wasn’t a fan of them.  All in all it was another great educational evening provided by the guys at Great Western.

Contact Great Western Wine on – 01225 322810 or www.greatwesternwine.co.uk

New Year Resolutions

07 Monday Jan 2013

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It’s that time of year again when the first question you are asked by most people is ‘so what’s your New Year’s resolution?’  Most people either want to do more or less of something.  One friend of mine is going to exercise more; another is going to eat less chocolate.  Mine is one that would normally fall into the going to do less of category, but I’m going to buck the trend and do more of it.  My New Year’s resolution is that I am going to drink more.  Of course as I am studying for an MA in food and wine and WSET Diploma I have an excuse to drink more, well that’s my story.

Decanter Undiscovered Reds Tasting

I have spent the last year learning about wine – viticulture and vinification, appellation regulations, how to make champagne and fortified wines, the wine business.  But I feel that I haven’t drunk enough of it; although I’m sure my colleagues who regularly take the mick out of my new career path would disagree.  They seem to be under the impression that I have a drip in my arm constantly feeding me Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and that I bathe in the finest Champagne.

Wine tasting

So to help keep my resolution I have been trawling the internet for wine events, trade tastings and fairs that I could attend.  Here’s a small round up of some of the events that will be taking place over the next year that I will be attending, perhaps you would like to join me?  They are South West focused, because that’s where I live and we also have some great wine merchants who offer really great tastings.

This is only a very small sample of all the tastings going on this year.  If you have any you would like to share please add to the comments box.

Languedoc-Roussillon tasting – Decanter November 2012

30 Friday Nov 2012

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After spending a week in Montpellier in the summer I have developed a real love for the wines from this region and when I heard that Decanter where having a Languedoc-Roussillon tasting as part of their Fine Wine Encounter I couldn’t wait to go.

The Languedoc-Roussillon wine region is rugged, hot and dusty but also has great big swathes of vines that form an undulating green carpet over the area.  Due to the size of the region there are many different soils available to grow vines on, from limestone and shale to sandstone, calcareous or gravel.  The Languedoc part covers the areas of Aude, Hérault, and Gard, the cities of Montpellier and Nîmes, it is fairly flat and heads straight down to the Mediterranean.  The Roussillon is more mountainous and covers the area towards the Pyrenees and down again to the Mediterranean, it includes Rivesaltes, Banyuls and the city of Perpignan.  Roussillon is especially famous for its vins doux naturels.

The region is still quite unsophisticated in its approach to winemaking although investment is being attracted to the area and quality is being improved.  The region produces wine on a huge scale (particularly the Languedoc) and it is often this quantity that overshadows the quality wines that the region produces.  Bush vines are still common in the area, but with the increase of international varieties there are also wire training methods in use.  The climate is most definitely Mediterranean – it was scorching when we were there in July and we were very appreciative of our hotels roof-top pool – although it can get a bit blustery due to wind coming down off the hills.

Vines near Montpellier

At this years annual Decanter Fine Wine Encounter they held their first ever Languedoc tasting in the Discovery Theatre. It was hosted by Isabelle Pangault from Vignobles Jeanjean, Emmanueal Cazes and Rosemary George MW.  Our hosts were all very enthusiastic and passionate about the area; talking about the improvements to the quality of the wines and the investment that has been made to ensure the wines can only get better.  They also spoke of the energy of the new generation of winemakers that have studied abroad and are now coming back to the region full of exciting new ideas and plans to create the very best wines.

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We tasted:

  • Domaine de Fenouillet Les Hautes Combes White 2011, Faugères, Vignobles Jeanjean (50% Roussanne, 50% Marsanne)
  • Domaine de Fenouillet Combe Rouge Red 2010, Faugères, Vignobles Jeanjean (75% Syrah, 25% Grenache)
  • Mas de Lunès Réserve Red 2010, Coteaux du Languedoc, Vignobles Jeanjean (90% Syrah, 10% Grenache) – my favourite – deep ruby, full of spice, pepper and black fruit, rich, juicy with soft tannins and well integrated alcohol.
  • Ego Red 2010, Côtes du Roussillon Villages, Cazes (40% Syrah, 40% Grenache, 20% Mourvèdre)
  • Notre Dame des Anges Red 2011, Collioure, Cazes (40% Grenache, 30% Carignan, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre)
  • Cuvée Aimé Cases 1978, Rivesaltes, Cazes (80% White Grenache, 20% Black Grenache) – a real treat, full of oranges, dried fruits, nutmeg and figs.  It was smooth and not cloying, subtle and not overpowering.

This really is a stunning region that is making some really fantastic wines.  If you can, get down there and experience it in person, if not, why don’t you open a bottle from Faugères or Rivesaltes this weekend and experience a little bit of the magic.

Marathon du Médoc 2012

02 Tuesday Oct 2012

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Back in February when I said to my husband, ‘Do you fancy running a marathon,’ I had no concept of how life changing training for a marathon would be.  Fast forward to September, I’ve lost 23lbs and many inches, tried various horrible tasting power gels, ran hundreds of miles and become best friend’s with the Nike run website.  But all the training was to be in vain when two weeks before the 28th Marathon du Medoc I injured my knee and despite desperate visits to the physio, my marathon dreams were over.  My husband, a long time runner, decided he would still take part and so we headed to Pauillac for what we had dubbed the ‘party marathon’.

The event is spread over three days, starting with enrolment and a pasta party on the Friday night, Marathon and fireworks on the Saturday and recovery walk on the Sunday.  On the big day the atmosphere was incredible.  The organisers encourage fancy dress and this year’s theme was historical characters and there was everyone from cavemen to Roman legionnaires to Napoleon (in many in different shapes and sizes).  And then there were those that decided to try something a little different – nothing but a mankini or the troupe of all male Playboy bunnies – neither were pretty from behind!  The marathon was started by two fighter jets flying over the start line- very cool!

Acrobats over the start line

Although I couldn’t partake in the marathon, I decided that I would walk the first kilometre just so I could say I had done it, but I took a wrong turn and ended up at the 25km sign, from there I walked to the 26km marker and Château Lafite Rothschild.  And as it was so hot (35°c) I decided to stay there in the shade of the tree lined entrance and cheer everyone on.

Entrance to Lafite Rothschild

The people of Pauillac really get into the spirit of things – they bring out food, drink and wine for the runners and there are bands and musicians playing in the villages that are on the marathon route.  This is all alongside the tastings and entertainment that are offered at each of the Château.  Lafite Rothschild had a three piece band singing Beatles songs in a mixture of French and English.  And don’t forget the oysters, steak, cheese and ice-cream that are on offer towards the end of the marathon!

Gerry finished in an amazing 5hrs 17mins and even managed a ‘Mo-bot’ and sprint finish – I was too hot and bothered just watching.

The next day we headed to Macau and Château Cantemerle for the 9km recovery walk through the vineyards – and more wine tastings, entertainment and food!  Thankfully it was a bit cooler.  For more information on the Château go to -  www.cantemerle.com/

Band playing during the recovery walk

In all we had a wonderful time, tried some wonderful wine and met some wonderful people.  Gerry already wants to go back again next year; the theme is sci-fi so I can see lots of storm troopers and Princess Leia’s.  If you want to take part, registration starts in February 2013 - www.marathondumedoc.com

We would also like to say a huge thank you to every one who sponsored us – Gerry rasied money for Médecins Sans Frontières http://www.msf.org.uk/ and I raised money for Cancer Research UK http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/home/.

Barone Ricasoli

19 Sunday Aug 2012

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The Ricasoli family have owned the Castello di Brolio since 1141 and claim amongst their clan the Iron Baron, Bettino Ricasoli, former Prime Minister of Italy and wine experimenter.  So on another very hot day in the Siena countryside we headed up to the castle (no thanks to sat nav!) to learn about the wine, the history and the man who invented the standard formula for Chianti.

Castello di Brolio

The castle has been at the centre of many disputes and wars, mainly between the Sienese and the Florentines.  Most recently it was taken over by the Germans during World War II and still shows the scars of the artillery attacks by the alliance.  The castle has signs of being rebuilt over the years with different colour stones and styles of architecture.  For example one part that is grey brick was built in the 1500′s, another which is red brick was built between 1850-60.  The chapel at the heart of the castle has been built, destroyed and rebuilt many times over the last seven hundred years and is still used for special occasions and as the family burial site.

Sangiovese grapes growing in the Ricasoli vineyards

Bettino Ricasoli, along with being the second Prime Minster of Italy was an avid geologist and viticulturist.  In his preserved rooms in the castle there are countless jars filled with stones, soil samples and his collection of silk worm cocoons – his plan if phylloxera had destroy the vineyards was to produce silk.  The family have continued his interest in viticultural research and along with the University of Florence have been working on zonation of the vineyards.  The 256 hectare site is now split into five different zones which have been re-planted with the appropriate vines – Monte Morello (limestone) has Sangiovese and Merlot, La Grotta (sandstone) is just Merlot.

They are also in the middle of experiments with clonal selection.  The family have been planting a variety of clones of Sangiovese di Brolio with the hope of improving the vine variety.  They had planted thirteen varieties in the experimental vineyard, but ten of those were attacked by a virus.  The remaining three have been sent to Rome to be approved by the authorities, but apparently this can take a very long time.

A view over the vineyards

After touring the castle, vineyards and production area we were finally allowed to sample some of the wine.  We tried:

Torricella 2011 (IGT) – 80% Chardonnay and 20% Sauvignon Blanc, 50% aged in tonneaux, the rest in stainless steel (6mths).  Light and refreshing with good levels of acidity, fragrant and floral with lemon, pineapple and apricots.  Great on a hot Siena day.

Brolio 2010 Chianti Classico DOCG – 80% Sangiovese, 15% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged nine months in old barriques and tonneaux – lots of black and red fruits – cherries, strawberries, medium body with refreshing acidity and slightly gripy tannins – a nice wine to have sitting under the stars on a warm Tuscan evening.

Casalferro 2001 (IGT) – small production and only made in the best years, 70% Sangiovese 30% Merlot, 18mths new French barriques – ruby coloured, full bodied, still with lots of black fruits, plenty of acidity and big tannins.  A definite food wine – our guide recommended having it with the local boar.

After being dragged away from the shop where you can purchase local produce and try a larger variety of Ricasoli wines, we headed to the Osteria del Castello – a stunning restaurant under the shade of the castle and the surrounding woods.  I had the Panzanella followed by grilled pork shoulder with fennel and an incredible Mascarpone mousse for dessert.  My husband shared his veal marrowbone with a cat that very quickly became his best friend.  The food was the best we had on our holiday and the atmosphere so relaxing we could have stayed all day drinking wine and being serenaded by the wildlife.

This is a great tour in a stunning area with something for everyone (and a bargain at only 28 euros per person, basic tour).  For further details head to http://www.ricasoli.it/.

Vernaccia di San Gimignano

14 Tuesday Aug 2012

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On a very hot day in July we left the air-conditioned comfort of our car and, along with several coach loads of tourists, struggled up a big hill to the town of San Gimignano perched on the top.  The town is famous for its towers, of which there used to be many, but now only 14 of the original 76 remain.  Built as symbols of their owner’s wealth, they were the 13th century’s equivalent of a man buying a faster sports car than his neighbour.  But that was not why we were there.  We were there to taste the wine.  But only after a granita to cool us down.

Vernaccia di San Gimignano growing in the fields below the town.

The town is not very big but the fact that it appears in every guidebook about Tuscany means that there are lots of visitors, and unfortunately all the shops are geared towards filling their needs.  Shop after shop was filled with tat, cheap wine and lots of things shaped like boars.  There are a couple of welcoming specialist wine shops, air-conditioned, wooden cabinets and low lighting, but you really have to look to find them.

In the end we settled for trying the wine alongside lunch at a small restaurant in one of the many tiny side streets.  We tried a carafe of the house wine with our pasta dish and it was ok.  The colour was deeper than expected, a yellowy green colour that reflected the light brick of the stunning skyline that towered above us.  The aroma was very citrusy.  It was in the mouth that this wine revealed itself as Italian as the acidity raced along the tongue catching at the back of the throat and causing a little cough.  It didn’t really develop from there and became a little boring by the end of the carafe.

One of the few remaining towers.

San Gimignano wine does not have the best of reputations, with a few people wondering why it was promoted to DOCG in 1993; it was also the first wine ever to be awarded a DOC in 1966.  All I can say is that it is perfect on a very hot Tuscan summer’s day when you need something refreshing and easy going to cool you down.

Decanter – Great Bordeaux Fine Wine Encounter 2012

18 Monday Jun 2012

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If I ever had to choose only one wine to drink for the rest of my life it would probably be a Sauternes.  The luscious golden liquid with flavours that move from pineapple and tropical fruits when youthful to the deeply complex dried fruits, honey and gingerbread with age are a wonder to behold.  At this year’s Decanter Bordeaux event I was lucky enough to get tickets for the Château Suduiraut and Château Coutet tasting.  Our speakers were Pierre Montégut (Suduiraut) and Aline Baly (Coutet).

We were given a history of the area, wines and château and talked through how the flavours develop as the wine age.  Château Suduiraut is based in Sauternes and produces 84,000 bottles a year; Château Coutet is in Barsac and produces 42,000 bottles a year from the oldest and largest property in the area.  Both speakers joked about whether Barsac or Sauternes produced the better wines – apparently Barsac is better in the ’regular’ good years, whereas Sauternes really shows itself in the exceptional years although they will need ageing to show this.

We tasted three vintages – 2004, 1997 and the exceptional 1989.  The Coutet is made from 75% Semillon, 23% Sauvignon Blanc and 2% Muscadelle.  The Suduiraut is 90% Semillon and 10% Sauvignon Blanc.  The 2004s were fresh, with tropical fruits such as pineapple and hints of ginger and jasmine.  The sweetness was still apparent on both of these and gripped at my teeth.  The 1997s were deeper in colour and starting to show more complexity with dried fruits, hazelnuts and marmalade aromas and flavours.  The 1989s were darker again in colour and much more complex on the nose.  The sugar was now fully integrated and although these wines are very obviously sweet wines, you are not overpowered by that sweetness as you are in the younger wines.  The aromas and flavours were of dried nuts, tobacco, dried citrus and bitter orange (Suduiraut) and dried fruits, caramel, orange marmalade and gingerbread (Coutet).  These are the wines that make me smile when I drink them.  The complex aromas, the unctuous liquid, the warming alcohol – Aline Baly would like us to call them ’Golden Wines,’ I think this is a great name for these treasures of Bordeaux.

After the tasting we headed downstairs to a talk by Decanter’s Jim Budd on the pitfalls and scams surrounding En Primeur.  A very interesting and informative talk but the highlight for me was trying Château Coutet’s En Primeur.  The nose was so youthful and tropical that it reminded me of the pineapple juice I was given straight out of the tin for a treat as a child.  Then I took a sip and the sugar rush hit my mouth and found its way straight into a small hole I hadn’t realised was there in one of my molars.  Wow and ouch I went at the same time.  I’m not sure even with my sweet tooth that I could drink much of this but it was very interesting to compare it the other older vintages we had tried earlier.  I can’t wait to visit Bordeaux in September so I can try more of the vintages and compare them with those I have already tasted – all in the name of education, of course.

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