Three wines with dinner and a fortified wine afterwards.
Stoneleigh Pinot Noir Rose 2006, Marlborough, NZ
Oddbins - £8 A-
Wonderfully fruity nose, full of raspberry and strawberry goodness; the palate is fresh, clean and leaves you wanting more really. It is quite alcoholic at 13%, but it still feels light and nimble on the palate, especially if you have it slightly chilled; the colour doesnt hurt either, a deep pink hue means its not only pretty to look at, but it also has substance and structure behind the wine. Not completely dry, some residual sugar balances the soft acidity. I cannot for the life of me find any fault with this wine; it wont keep perhaps, but rose isnt supposed to keep in any case. Drink slighty chilled with light food, think poached salmon salad with light vinaigrette dressing.
Was had with: Gazpacho (cold tomato based-soup, description can be found here). Complemented the soup really well; the acidity and sweetness was just right.
Independent adjudicator: 8.5/10. They loved it too.
Tenuta del Portale, Aglianico del Vulture DOC 2004, Basilicata, Italy
BBR - £10 B
Nose doesnt give much joy, seems rather closed when tasted. Palate was of light berries and cherries, slowly developing into cranberries at the end. The notable feature was the silky and supple tannins, much in the style of proper Margaux; mind you theres still enough structure in there for it to accompany anything but the most hearty of foods. Its a pleasant enough wine, glad I tasted it; but unfortunately, not one which I would buy again.
Was had with: Roast pork, crackling and apple sauce with mashed potatoes and sauteed provence-style vegetables. Went alright, could've been better.
Independent adjudicator: 7.5/10 (I think they're being generous here, or maybe its the 14% abv talking)
Campbells Rutherglen Muscat NV, Victoria, AU
Oddbins - £9 B-
Bought this because it won Decanter Gold and I cannot see why. It was incredibly sweet: I wouldnt stop short of saying that it was like drinking concentrated solution of brown sugar, like drinking alcoholic raisin juice (yes raisin, not grape). Funnily, it did have osrt of a bitter finish, like marmalade? I wouldnt be surprised if sugars were near the 200g/l mark. The nose only smelled of raisins and molasses. Mouthfeel was unbalanced, the cloying sweetnesss dominated on the palate with hardly any acidity to speak of, maybe it got scared off by the sugars, I dont know. And for the price, I would get BBR's Own Sauternes made by Ch Suduiraut any day. I really disapproved of this; read the winemakers comments here. Or better still, buy a bottle in your local Oddbins and leave me a note. I could however, imagine this as a sauce to drizzle over ice cream / waffles / pancakes; who needs syrup?
Was had with: Rasberry mousse. The desert felt light and refreshing compared to the wine; just downright wrong.
Independent adjudicator: 7.25 (again, being polite; or the 17.5% abv?)
Graf Hardegg 'Forticus' Port style Merlot 2000, Blauburger, Austria
NYW - £13 (bin end sale) B+
Fruit dominated, cherries and strawberries; very unusual style. It has the restrained, firm tannins like port but none of the associated licorice / blackcurrant nose. This had a lighter nose than most tawnies, let alone vintage port. Very unusual and yet so drinkable; I dont think it would go with sweet deserts just because it lacks the sugar; but with cheeses perhaps?
Showing posts with label fortified wine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fortified wine. Show all posts
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
Monday, 5 May 2008
General, 4 May 2008
Two wines with dinner and a fortified wine afterwards.
Magpie Estate 'The Thief' Mourvedre Grenache Rose 2006, Barossa Valley, AU
NYW - £8 [B+]
A rather deep coloured rose, made from unusual varietals. This off-dry rose displays plenty of fruity characteristics, with notes of cherries, raspberries and strawberries. Its not completely devoid of body, which is why it will go with light dishes (maybe chicken caesar salad). Its got slightly too much body for me to drink on its own, not to mention 14% alcohol.
Was had with: Prawn and salmon in parsley sauce with cheesy crust. Went alright with the food, but shouldve chosen a different wine.
Independent adjudicator rating: 8.5/10
Dona Dominga 'Gran Reserva' Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Colchagua Valley, Chile
Oddbins - £10 [B+(+)]
A big, powerful new world wine. The nose reveals lots of attractive fruit, plenty of secondary flvours to savour. Palate is dominated by juicy blackcurrants and dark berries; there are touches of smokiness / toast, licorice and also of spices, specially cinnamon and perhaps nutmeg too. This wine really punches its way through your palate, and why not too at 14.5%. There is definitely some oak treatment, but I thought it was tastefully done; tannins should allow some maturing over 3-5 yrs, but its drinking beautifully now. I really liked it since there is so much flavours to savour, tasting this is like biting into a bunch of alcoholic berries. But it must be said that others might find it slightly too big, punchy and showy. Imagine having this for a barbecue, lovely.
Was had with: Roast beef, yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and horseradish sauce. Classic beef and Cab Sauv combination really cant go wrong.
Independent adjudicator rating: 7/10
Burge Family Winemakers 'Vintage' Shiraz Touriga Souzao 2003, Barossa Valley, AU
NYW - £10 (37.5cl) [A-]
A fortified red wine, made with 40% Shiraz, 40% Touriga, 20% Souzao; the latter two are varietals commonly found in Port. This wine displayed lots of fruit, ripe blackcurrants and dark berries; I always feel that fortifying Shiraz always gives a slightly Ribena-like quality where the end product sort of tastes like fruit pastilles and wine gums. The mouthfeel is sweet, rather dense but not as heavy as vintage port; the lack of tannins probably makes this ideal for early drinking, perhaps even slightly chilled. I can certainly see it with fruit based deserts. A drawback I thought was that the alcohol level of 19.5% was very evident on the nose, wasnt disguised at all. Otherwise, a well-balanced and well made fortified wine.
Magpie Estate 'The Thief' Mourvedre Grenache Rose 2006, Barossa Valley, AU
NYW - £8 [B+]
A rather deep coloured rose, made from unusual varietals. This off-dry rose displays plenty of fruity characteristics, with notes of cherries, raspberries and strawberries. Its not completely devoid of body, which is why it will go with light dishes (maybe chicken caesar salad). Its got slightly too much body for me to drink on its own, not to mention 14% alcohol.
Was had with: Prawn and salmon in parsley sauce with cheesy crust. Went alright with the food, but shouldve chosen a different wine.
Independent adjudicator rating: 8.5/10
Dona Dominga 'Gran Reserva' Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Colchagua Valley, Chile
Oddbins - £10 [B+(+)]
A big, powerful new world wine. The nose reveals lots of attractive fruit, plenty of secondary flvours to savour. Palate is dominated by juicy blackcurrants and dark berries; there are touches of smokiness / toast, licorice and also of spices, specially cinnamon and perhaps nutmeg too. This wine really punches its way through your palate, and why not too at 14.5%. There is definitely some oak treatment, but I thought it was tastefully done; tannins should allow some maturing over 3-5 yrs, but its drinking beautifully now. I really liked it since there is so much flavours to savour, tasting this is like biting into a bunch of alcoholic berries. But it must be said that others might find it slightly too big, punchy and showy. Imagine having this for a barbecue, lovely.
Was had with: Roast beef, yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and horseradish sauce. Classic beef and Cab Sauv combination really cant go wrong.
Independent adjudicator rating: 7/10
Burge Family Winemakers 'Vintage' Shiraz Touriga Souzao 2003, Barossa Valley, AU
NYW - £10 (37.5cl) [A-]
A fortified red wine, made with 40% Shiraz, 40% Touriga, 20% Souzao; the latter two are varietals commonly found in Port. This wine displayed lots of fruit, ripe blackcurrants and dark berries; I always feel that fortifying Shiraz always gives a slightly Ribena-like quality where the end product sort of tastes like fruit pastilles and wine gums. The mouthfeel is sweet, rather dense but not as heavy as vintage port; the lack of tannins probably makes this ideal for early drinking, perhaps even slightly chilled. I can certainly see it with fruit based deserts. A drawback I thought was that the alcohol level of 19.5% was very evident on the nose, wasnt disguised at all. Otherwise, a well-balanced and well made fortified wine.
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