Another gorgeous sunny day out there, though we’re still house-bound with this Covid malaise (we’re so out of fashion!). Hoping to test negative in the next couple of days
This evening, with some pork chops marinated in honey, mustard and lemon thyme - this much loved Austrian white:
We enjoyed various vintages of this lovely wine, and it never disappoints. Pale platinum in the glass, the nose has really pleasant notes of exotic fruit (mango, banana skin, guava) mixed with mellow honey, sweet blossom and maybe just a hint of kerosene.
Similar notes on the palate - a truly delightful mix of guavas and mango, ripe pears and honey with a creaminess that is nevertheless balanced by good acidity and a kick of citrus pith on the finish. There is perhaps a slightly saline edge to it too - we’ll see whether later glasses confirm this.
A wine of balance, interest and immense drinkability - what’s not to like? well, the price, I suppose. When I first bought it a few years back it was £16.99, so £19.99 feels a little bit on the ‘ouch’ side…
Oh yes! I should have said ‘house and garden-bound’. It’s a relief to be able to be out in the garden in this stunning weather. Hopefully we can be unleashed into the general public soon!
Thankfully smell and taste seem mostly OK… Bar vinegar tasting like snot, that is!
Breaking my non-mid-week drink for a personal psychological success. Or, any excuse! TWS Champagne, bought in 2018, and Francois d’Allaines Rully Tete de Cuvee 2015 from one of those mature mystery wine-or-vinegar cases.
Champagne as lovely as ever- very dry, toasty, nice tension of fizz and citrus acidity that keeps it lively and serious. Gets better with time open, this is a brooding and gives a sense of more to come. The burgundy promises well on the nose - flinty, citrusy, oaky as well - a touch smoky; but on tasting it’s light, weak even, citrus. Seems to be fading away, yet lovely balance of acidity. Not dead yet. Diam 5.
Currently in Beaune…have had a glass of Rully from DomaIne Charton which was textbook and had really good body and ripe fruit. Then had a glass of 2020 fevre Chablis which had lots of fruit and was classic Chablis. Then feeling indulgent at Ma Cuisine restaurant and had 2019 comtes Lafon Meusault…very well produced wine…but was not typical Meursault…I missed those nutty, buttery notes. This was perfumed, elegant, beautiful lemon and just didn’t do it
…a Terre Siciliane ‘SP68’ Rosso 2021, Occhipinti. It’s a 70:30 blend of frappato and nero d’avola (10% whole bunch) fermented in concrete tanks, mimimal intervention, minimal SO2 on bottling. In a nutshell, a relatively natural wine. Anyway, is it worth the price of entry (£21.50) ?
The transulcent bright magenta colour is promising. Red fruits, cherry in the main, a lovely floral note and an undertow of wet soil on the nose. Crunchy red fruits, a twist of black pepper, light but grippy tannins, a fresh acidic structure and a suede like texture on the medium bodied palate. It isn’t what I’d describe as complex but the component parts do fit together to make a satisfying, easy to drink, food friendly, whole.
All in all, if your pockets are deep enough, it probably is worth the money. That said, a well chosen wine in a similar style, from a producer with a less stellar reputation, could provide better value.
Funnily enough, this has been my impression of late too. I just don’t feel her wines offer good value for money for what they are - and I am a big fan of lighter, savoury reds, so it’s not that I don’t enjoy the style.
I sort of feel the same about COS now too. I know it’s blasphemous to say that - they are both such highly regarded producers, but I increasingly feel that a Frappato/Frappato blend for £20+ should offer something rather special, which I personally don’t feel is delivered. Or perhaps my palate is not that sophisticated…
Interesting. I’ve bought a bottle of the Occhipinti bianco, SP68 rosso and COS frapatto as I’ve heard a lot of buzz about both producers. Still to try them.
It does seem that a premium of 50-100% can be applied for the “natural, old vines, younger generation took over the family vines that had been used for industrial alcohol and went in a low intervention direction…”. And Occhipinti was also featured in Stanley Tucci’s Taste of Italy series which probably increased the export price.
You’ve summed up my overall impression perfectly. That said, I wasn’t entirely surprised to be left wanting more either.
Wines from high profile producers, and the hype that invariably surrounds them, is inevetiably reflected in their end cost due to reasons of supply and demand
Which is still a lesson, despite being bitten many times before, that I repeatedly fail to learn ( the COS frappato you mentioned is sat in the rack too ! )
I guess it saves on the cost of paying a Branding guru to come up with something original.
(Allegedly of course) - could be a ‘white lable’ product from the same firm? both are ‘South Eastern Australian’ vineyard / production although I’m told that Oz is a big place, and they have a tradition of trucking in grape must from all over
I enjoy both producers, but totally understand all the comments above.
Apart from a recent 2018 Pithos Rosso, every bottle has been a little weird or even unpleasant on opening, requiring a couple of hours in a decanter or multiple vigorous shakes. After this, normally very pleasurable but not pop n pour.
Is it reduction? SO2? Naturalness? No idea, but it’s definitely a pattern I also find in some Tenerife wines and Bierzo reds.
My hunch is a mix of the above, and I know exactly what you mean when you say these are often not a pop ‘n’ pour wines. Then again, we always decant reds - even if just for an hour or so to allow them to ‘stretch out’ a bit, but the general impression remains - these are good wines, very good even - but £20 + good…? I’m just not so sure anymore.
I wonder if - a bit like the ABC backlash - some producers have swung to the other extreme and are producing wines that come across somewhat thin (and mean?), but are marketed as ‘fresh’ and ‘low intervention’. I’m not saying COS or Occhipinti are these producers, but all I know is that even with my love of lighter, low ABV and high acidity reds I’m coming across a few I should love in theory - but fail to move in practice.
The previous post from @Inbar mirror my thoughts too only she articulated them far better than I ever could !
I hasten to add that I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday’s wine as it was clean, well made and devoid of faults. Unlike some similarly styled wines I’ve had the misfortune to try which had a bacterial quality on the nose and palate that I found distinctly disturbing
However, it was hard not to compare it with another low intervention wine recently broached here. Namely, a Beaujolais ‘L’Ancien’ 2021 from J-P Brun which was similar in many ways, medium bodied red fruits, weight of flavour, refreshing structure, only that was a good deal more wallet friendly at £12.50 !
And now I remember why spending a bit more and being a bit more choosy about wine is beneficial!
Lovely multi textured wine with dark fruits, spice and liquorice. I can really tell the difference from what I’ve been drinking recently which has been perfectly pleasant but ultimately unmemorable.
An indulgent (by my standards) but happiness-inducing Tuesday…
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