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Starting the new thread early this week.
I have an excuse though, it is my birthday today. Anyone who has a birthday at this time of year will understand the need for a decent bottle. I will update when I have tasted it.
I have an excuse though, it is my birthday today. Anyone who has a birthday at this time of year will understand the need for a decent bottle. I will update when I have tasted it.
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Many happy returns! Have a lovely meal.
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Paul, a very happy birthday indeed, and a rather fine wine from a very fine vintage. I wish you many more happy returns especially with that kind of wine !
I feel somewhat mealy-mouthed posting a lesser wine this Monday.
https://www.thewinesociety.com/product/pinot-noir-weingut-becker-pfalz-2018
Note it is âPinot Noirâ and not SpĂ€tburgunder - which is quite correct, this wine does not have the spice and depth of a SpĂ€t⊠nor does it have the verve and lift of a Burgundy. Tasted blind I would guess a Bourgogne Passe-Tout-Grains.
Not to damn with faint praise: thoroughly quaffable and truly appeals to my Beaujolais centric palate. Light cherry icecream nose with wild mushrooms ! , light and bright palate, sharp finish.
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The Labégorce is 14.5% which is a little high for me. Seems Merlot led in the mouth. A hint of prunes (which is not my favourite) but finishes pleasingly with some cedar.
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Evening all,
So. Whatâs on the tasting block tonight.
Baron de Ley Tres Viñas Rioja Blanco Reserva 2008
As the label suggests itâs a blend of.
Viura, Malvasia, and Garnacha Blanca.
Cork needed two attempts to take it out.
Poured golden yellow. Iâm rubbish at tasting notes. Off dry perhaps medium. Some (nice) oxidative notes. Some vanilla perhaps.
Lovely old wine. Disappeared very quickly.
Suspect (but donât know) there may be one or two more still hidingâŠ
Tescoâs in the bad old daysâŠ
Cheers.
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Happy birthday Paul
Hope your day was a good one.
Lovely wine to celebrate the occasionâŠ
CheersâŠ
Had a couple of quick tasters at La Carte Des Vins in Paris.
Argile Rouge by Domaine des Ardoisieres 2022. A blend of Gamay and Mondeuse from Savoie. Light and savoury - it starts with the fruit of the Gamay and then turns into something more flinty, volcanic, reminiscent of gunpowder. Very interesting.
Laurent Combier - Crozes Hermitage 2022. My first taste of the '22 vintage in Northern RhĂŽne. Owner opened to try out ( he hadnât tried it yet, just arrived) when I mentioned Ogier. Thereâs more plush fruit here blackberry and blueberries. Ripe and just short of compote. Some spices and oak. Lovely density that makes it suitable to drink young but would probably calm down next year. Low tannin, medium + acidity. Not unlike a Fleurie or Morgon but with a Syrah profile!
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We had the 2021 of that Laurent Combier in a wine pairing last year, and my memory is much as you describe - lighter coloured fruit and a lot less tannin than typical Northern RhĂŽne, and quite close to Cru Beaujolais in style. It was paired with a pork dish.
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Iâm scratching my, evidently, uneducated head here. I thought the names were equivalent and interchangeable, but of the same grape variety. But should I be thinking thereâs a style difference like syrah vs shiraz ?
As a frequent buyer of (usually entry-level it must be said) PN and Spat⊠Iâve not noticed any consistent difference or distinct style unique to one or the other, merely that the product comes from respective countries which use that name. My go-to is Ahr Spat but only because it tends to offer good value for the drinking quality it buys.
Hope to learn something here !!
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Kit,
I (and probably of the board) have a butlerâs thief.
Not needed as got the last third of the cork out with the corkscrew.
Had thought about buying a Durand. Sticker shock!
Cheers âŠ
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I think it depends (rather like Pinot Gris/Grigio) on the style of the wine and/or the target market.
Shelter Winery in Germany produce a Pinot Noir and a SpĂ€tburgunder, the former is meant to be more like a Burgundy, I think. Itâs also twice the price, so that element is about right at least.
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The French are increasingly using âMalbecâ on their Cahors, sure enough, but I thought that was just marketing of the same product but with a more familiar name to entice / reassure buyers. By the same token, Iâve never seen Italian PG labelled âgrisâ nor French âgrigioâ, so my assumption from Germans using the word PN is merely to portray a more internationally recognised word for the variety therein. If Shelter offer both names, and the PN is twice the price, that goes against @lapin_rouge 's assertion that Spat âhasâ more spice and depthâŠ
Confused ? you bet !!
Some years ago I was at a NZ tasting where one producer had a Pinot Gris and a Pinot Grigio. He explained it was because the two vintages had produced different styles of wine.
One of the worst wines Iâve tasted in years was a pub wine, produced in Italy, marketed as âZinâ.
Amusingly, I think Aldi used to stock an Italian Zinfandel. Presumably because it was more marketable than a primitivo.
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I would suggest the splitting of hairs on the point of Pinot Noir and Malbec is that they have a much more international profile (actually, much more than âmuch moreâ, theyâre ubiquitous) whereas both Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio have international markets, and indeed generally a recognisable style associated with them.
Ask the average punter in the street what a Cot/Auxerrois or SpĂ€tburgunder is and theyâll look at you like youâve two heads 
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SpÀtburgunder and Pinot noir are the same variety. The term Late Burgundy is used to distinguish it from PN précoce which is Fruhburgunder.
The nuanced differences in fruit and structure are because the Germans, mostly, use different clones of PN from France.
Burgundy uses 114,115,666, 667 the German use clones developed at usually either Freibourg or Geisenheim. The reason is that Germany was too warm for Dijon clones.
That having been said some German growers do use some Dijon clones. FĂŒrst being a main example.
Dijon clones mostly originated from cuttings in Morey st Denis, Clos de la Roche, domaine Ponsot vines.
Clones used in Oregon were mostly taken from Pommard.
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Thatâs interesting, because Iâve only recently taken to (German) SpĂ€tburgunder at a ÂŁ18 to ÂŁ25 level which to my palate is distinctly different to (French) Pinot Noir. I assumed that despite being the same grape, the German winemakers have taken the wine in a different direction to bring out notes of spice.
If they are also using different clones, that would add additional layers of difference.
My original point was that the (German) Weingut Becker 2018 seemed out of character, and more French in style. So perhaps they have planted French clones?
so⊠@Andrew1990 do you know what clones do they use in Alsace, because again they make P.N. quite different to the Baden & Burgundy models!
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