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Wasn’t there a risk of Burgundy becoming too homogeneous in terms of clones? 667 and 777 perhaps? Germany sounds like having a broader variety there. Plus some international producers mix & match stock in England or South Africa, for example.
Alas I am not too familiar with Alsace clones. There is one numbered 162 that has been used in Alsace…so far not found much about it but I will continue to search!
My Durand clone is a bit hit and miss. I have difficulty getting the prongs fully in to some bottles and that’s when the problem starts. I’m sure if they made them out of titanium, they could go for a more slender arrangement to make insertion easier. A neutral tasting lube oil would also help. This has probably been discussed to death in previous threads so I’ll use the search function later(!)
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The vintage label was missing in action on this one. Pre 2010 at a guess?. It wasn’t even lurking beneath the capsule. Didn’t leave it for long in the glass as it looked old and fragile. Slight mushroom on the nose. On the palate, a bit of acidity remains, light bodied, minimal fruit - cherries, strawberries, v short finish. I’ll let this one RIP
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Trollinger.
https://www.thewinesociety.com/product/trollinger-fellbacher-alte-reben-aldinger-2020
As we all know, the same grape as Schiava, or Vernatsch depending if you speak German or Italian. Tonight with a Tuesday evening supper of ‘make the most of the oven’ dishes of salmon with Yuzu, Potato Dauphinoise, steamed green cabbage.
So a light red wine with salmon - and superb.
Be very careful not to overcook the salmon or the cabbage. But take the potato dish further than you should. Yuzu works really well, somewhere between mandarin and grapefruit.
Many thanks to @Inbar for the original wine suggestion.
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This tonight, with a chicken and butter bean stew found in the freezer this morning…
…from the Alicante area, a ‘Mares de Luz’ 2021, Pepe Mendoza ( a blend of mourvedre and grenache ).
Red and black berries, plums, liquorice and a touch of spice on the fragrant nose and ripely flavoured palate. Fresh acidity and light tannins provide structure to the juicy fruit flavours, not unlike an amped up Beaujolais Cru, with a mildly astringent bitterness on the finish to lift and cut the fruit. For my money, cleverly made, all too easy to drink and very good value (£10) for the quality in the bottle.
It was a cracking match to the powerful flavours in my meal too ( which also contained rose harissa, semi dried apricots, red peppers and sun dried tomato paste). Both food and wine were thoroughly enjoyed and a timely reminder, as someone prone to over indulgence, that the simple pleasures in life can often deliver equal satisfaction to the expensive ones !
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Not unrelated to, but totally co-incidentally, the flurry of posts about PN vs Spatburgunder this afternoon, I opened a repeat buy of my acquaintance over the years, but a new vintage to me, a Chateau de Chamirey Mercurey 2020 which FVD usually stocks. Mercurey Rouge 2020 | Chamirey | FromVineyardsDirect
Well Jim it’s a PN but not as we know it. To start with it’s an atypical 14.5 abv, medium-full bodied, and the nose is reductive, then sherbert, cola, some weird thing for a PN and thus I disagree with the retailer’s TNs (which I suspect are copied and pasted from previous vintages) and the palate - it’s blueberry pie, and really not any unripe tannins which would benefit from ageing. Total contrast to the last batch, the 2018, (it’s gone up by £3 in 2 years), which was indeed classic cherry / raspberry / mushroom and damp soil.
If I get my head round what it is rather than what the label tells me I think would vote it a hit, but a strange brew never the less.
Any other Burgundy PNs from 2020 out there have been sampled yet ?
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With a seafood risotto (which round our way means plenty of fennel, saffron and a touch of Ricard 
).
A Petit/Gros (old vines) Manseng assemblage, I’ve got it as spiced underripe pineapple with a mint dressing. Acidity in much better balance than earlier vintages, but just right to cut through a creamy risotto. Not quite as sophisticated as the Camin Larredya last week (unsurprisingly given it’s half the price) to be fair to them as near neighbours of Cauhapé they do manage to control the alcohol (1.5% less than their equivalent in the same vintage) much more successfully. Plenty of time to evolve, which I think it will over the next (?) decade.
Pascal Labasse seems to have readily embraced the changes across the appellation, not only changing the artwork across his range, but tweaking the style of his wines, and I think I now prefer them to before (I’ll always give him a free pass anyway though, as a visit to Bellegarde was always a guarantee of a few freebies thrown in with your order )
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Absolutely and definitely my last bottle from the Randall Grahm era. 2003 in case it’s hard to read. Not at all hard to drink however. Still lots of dark fruit, and still tastes quite fresh. Parting is such sweet sorrow.
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Bohorquez Reserva 2010
Inspired by the 2009 library release on the web site and in baskets, this 2010 bought in 2019 EP. Have been reluctant to order/open them as they remind me of my pre Brexit purchases where they were very cheap indeed. A recent extraction of 3 from reserves.
It’s my first of 6 and it’s at a cracking maturation point. 2010 an excellent vintage.
The nose is immediately evident, complex and compelling. Lovely fruit, structure and finish on the palate. Plenty of life left. Not overly concentrated or heavy. In a lovely spot
Have a good week all!
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Love that wine with 4-8 years. Usually 1-2 years extra from release
I don’t think I’d pay current prices though. How about yourself?
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Aperitif of the week, dry, almonds/ nutty finish, very enjoyable….
Wish I had not put so much into the dinner now!!
Winters here on the food front…Chicken Cactiatorre, following mostly a Claudia Roden recipe, tweaked over time.
With this which of late I have found to be step up on the once famed no brainer……
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Morning
It was a lovely wine. Very complete. Hopefully a few more slumbering…
I’d not looked on line to get an appreciation 9f the current entry price for the wine.
£18.95 is not as crazy as it could have been.
But, I think there’s better and different stuff out there at the price point.
Cheers…
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@lapin_rouge
I have searched widely to discover which clones of PN are used in Alsace. The only answer I could find was from Hugel, who say they planted “the best Burgundian clones” in 1990…so that means ones like 115, 666, 667, and possibly 843.
Not a very satisfactory answer to your question.
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Viños López La Bodegaza Garnacha, Valdejalón 2020
Thought this would be right up my street. Nearly but not quite. fruit had a hint of stewed about it. The white got a good write up from Tim Atkin, should have ordered that instead.
Stylish label though.
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Actually that’s useful & makes sense, because Alsace P.N. (to my palate in anyway) isn’t far up the spicy spectrum.
As a general comment, it’s fascinating how P.N. can differ enormously across the globe. And indeed between different slopes in Burgundy !
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I’ve a bottle of both however I’m more looking forward to the Blanco.
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@lapin_rouge if you google search “The Pinot file, volume 8 issue 20” you will find a very good article about clones. It tends to focus more on the ones used in USA but all the same there is a lot of good information in it.
This is such a lovely wine!
Cairanne Blanc, Domaine de l’Oratoire Saint Martin 2020
Bought EP, as part of a mixed case, as we really enjoyed the 2017 iteration (bar 2 oxidised bottles). It’s a good example of what we love in a white Rhône - that pleasing marriage of generous fruit and rounded mouthfeel to zingy, zesty and mineral-y profile.
A blend of Roussanne, Marsanne, Clairette and Grenache Blanc and Gris, it’s a shimmering pale gold in the glass. The nose has notes of ripe pears, white peaches and delicate acacia honey, with a touch of chamomile and a hint of fiery ginger.
On the palate it enters with fresh notes of apricots and pears and then broadens with its honeyed, rounded texture, followed by a tingle of minerality, saffron warmth and a bitter kernel note on the (medium) finish.
Vivacious, harmonious and moreish wine, which should make a lovely accompaniment to our crab linguini dinner.
Happy mitwoch! 
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On an enjoyable day here, where a sequence of little things combined to make a sum total greater than their parts, this being one of them.
A Costers del Segre ‘Llebre’ Tempranillo 2020, Tomas Cusine. To quote the back label, this is a modern wine with lots of fruit and a moderate structure. Vineyards are above 500m that preserve the freshness of the grapes.
Otherwise, ripe blackberries, dark plums, a sprinkling of spice and a pastille like quality on the nose and palate. Lovely freshness, good depth without being heavy, and an easy drinking structure that doesn’t require the brain to be engaged to enjoy. It would be remiss not to add, that the front label is to my taste too.
For context only, it was also a super match to my simple meal ( chicken and butter bean stew part 2 ).
Which again, played a part in today’s combination of happy accidents.
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