Rocked up to TWS Click & Collect just before 18:00 on the off chance my order was ready (it was), as I was mentally debating opening up a half bottle of the Thalabert.
Instead I opened up the Alta Naoussa 2020. Immediate impressions: light, very pale cherry.
On the nose med+ notes of cherry, strawberry, some raspberry, some candied sweets (reminiscent of Beaujolais - I’ll come back to this) without the candied cola note that puts me off some Beaujolais; and a hint of some green stalk hiding in the background - nothing unpleasant. Again, reminiscent of a Cabernet Franc.
Some acidity (low+) on the palate, predominant cherry and strawberry notes, no barnyard funk or game, but there are some savoury tannins, with a med- finish.
To my inexperienced palate, I would immediately consider Burgundy, but more Beaujolais. As the wine lingers and opens in the glass, the nose is becoming more pronounced.
Yet another wine where I would find it almost impossible to blind taste without identifying a Cru Beaujolais.
I’ll kick off then, but please feel free to merge if this is co-incident.
For late lunch, Fresh Brancaster mussels from Davies in Cromer this morning, lightly grilled with olive oil, breadcrumbs, garlic, walnuts & parsley topping and home-made Focaccia served with some garden salad, I chose this zingy Pfalz Riesling troken which had enough body to work well with the meaty delicious mussels, but balanced with good lively acidity to make it shellfish-friendly. Doesn’t take much to remind me that Riesling is top dog for most white wine matches.
A huge burst of gorgeous aromas from this. Quite close to Barolo in that respect but with a characteristic twist of sundried tomato. Really quite a spectacular nose, in fact.
Good balance of fruit and acidity in the mouth. A bit of tannin means a grippy and slightly chalky mouthfeel, and should be even better in a few years.
I’d recommend this to anyone who was disappointed by their Barolo ‘19 allocation and it’s a snip at £22/bottle. Naturally a case went to reserves before writing this….
Our last night in Alsace before returning, and I cooked a côte de veau with roasted potatoes, fennel and Roscoff onions, and a parsley sauce. We drank Marcel Deiss Rotenberg, 2016.
Our first bottle of 2016, and it’s pretty much a canonical version of the wine. Ripe grapefruit and blood orange, no botrytis in this vintage (that I could get, at least), and a spicy twist of ginger nut on the finish. As ever, rounded with a touch of residual sugar, and lovely balance. It’s very versatile, and matched the food well.
Heading back to England tomorrow. Hope everyone has a good weekend.
Suffering a little bit of a bruised ego after this week’s Barolo allocation - not least because of the dawning realisation of old Piedmont favourites slowly fading out of view is now made real - I reached out for some comfort on the ‘drink now’ rack…
…with Saudia Arabian lamb. Not - nor ever will be -Nebbiolo, but that needn’t be a a major criticism. It is in the sort of ‘savoury’ firmament that it’s Italian cousin sits in, but I’d say this is hitting tertiary territory, the nose being beetroot cooked in tomato paste and accompanied by olive tapenade and a touch of browning to the pale reddy-purple hue.
The palate is more pomegranate with beetroot, with fully resolved tannins and a very ‘relaxed’ feel to it.
After an energetic morning at the leisure centre ( er, I scoffed a caffeine gel and was buzzin’ afterwards ) and a productive afternoon in the kitchen, portioning out a corn-fed free range chicken and then making stock with the carcass, trimmings and some veg, this here tonight as a reward…
…a Felton Road ‘Block 2’ Chardonnay 2014. TWS drinking window was until 2020 but thankfully it’s still as fresh as a daisy and, should one wish, with the scope for further time in bottle. No doubt, thanks to the screwcap closure.
Anyway, green apples, lemon citrus and oatmeal on the inviting nose., Similar sensations on the fresh and vibrant palate with, unusually for chardonnay, a zesty lime note too. Mealy flavours provide some textural chew and the oak input is seamlessly integrated into the body of the wine. A long, complex, and refreshing finish ices the cake. In a word, classy !
Really good with my chicken ( semi ) supreme and cauli / broccoli cheese dinner too as the food seemed to elevate its flavours even further…
I’ll kick off then, but please feel free to merge if this is co-incident.
For late lunch, Fresh Brancaster mussels from Davies in Cromer this morning, lightly grilled with olive oil, breadcrumbs, garlic, walnuts & parsley topping and home-made Focaccia served with some garden salad, I chose this zingy Pfalz Riesling troken which had enough body to work well with the meaty delicious mussels, but balanced with good lively acidity to make it shellfish-friendly. Doesn’t take much to remind me that Riesling is top dog for most white wine matches.
Visited my local and very good Cave in Chamonix today; Cave de l’Aiguille. Unlike most of the other Caves in Chamonix it doesn’t seem to hike prices up to ski resort tourist levels. Okay you can get most of the wines a little cheaper elsewhere but for Chamonix (or just about any ski resort) only a little is doing pretty well. And the proprietor is very knowledgable and helpful. Not only that but after recommending one wine that I didn’t eventually pick up (a 2013 Amarone) and after taking my €131 for four others, he dashed off and picked up a bottle of the Amarone and said “here’s a welcome present, I’m sure you’ll like it!”
So I didn’t open that one tonight (but will before long!) but rather a bottle of Le Colombier de Brown, Pessac-Leognan 2019, a second wine of Ch Brown. I rather feared it would be too young but both the proprietor and Ch Brown website claim that it is produced for early fruity drinking and so it proved; a really rather lovely, very fruity and slightly smoky Pessac Leognan, which despite its young approachability is very much a Bordeaux. It’s fruity but not in any way jammy with plenty of firm structure from tannins that are not overpowering despite that youth. A very good bottle of Bordeaux costing €23.80 (£20.44). I may well buy some more before I head home!
The 2018 version here tonight with fish n chips.
Needs little introduction.
Very much looking forward to getting stuck in to my 1er Crus I’m holding when the time is right.
Really like this English Chardonnay.
Lovely combination of crisp apple, apricot, brioche and subtle nuttiness and a delightful mix of creaminess then crispness on the palate.
Chateau Angludet 2011, bought from TWS EP a while ago. First bottle of 6 and my first Angludet. I don’t know whether my tastes are changing but the past few bottles of Bordeaux I have not found to be particularly exciting. This, on the other hand, was really impressive. Very fragrant, demonstrable red fruit, silky smooth and a very decent length of flavour. I have had the case for a few years and have noticed that there are a few in the Community that rate this wine and are repeat EP buyers. A bit late to the party but I’ll be joining them. Really good value this.
From an EP point of view it’s worth noting that this is normally in the Bordeaux Old Favourites EP case with 3 each of (usually) Angludet, Batailley, Cantemerle and Langoa Barton. A case that suits my tastes and drinking style particularly well!
Last night was a late valentines dinner so ate and drunk a few special things.
For starter we had smoked salmon terrine from Waitrose which we accompanied with this lovely bottle of Chablis. A very rich buttery Chablis almost more like a top white burgundy than Chablis. Despite that it was wonderful, full of zesty citrus notes accompanied by a touch of oak and very complex.
For main we had cannon of lamb with dauphinois and greens accompanied with a very lovely 00 Musar. Probably the funkiest Musar I’ve had to date. And changed in style about 3 or 4 times.
To start before I opening I was extremely worries as when removing the foil from the bottle there was an intense smell of vinegar! To follow that when placed in my butlers thief the cork fell into the bottle and I got covered in wine but the smell of it was very promising. Typical Bretty notes dried fruit and spices. I had a little taste and it was fine left for about and hour or two. At first it had a real rotten fruit character with the first glass. And then it opened up and was delicious with the lamb no fresh fruit notes at all dried cherries, prunes and a little bit of a figgy note. Rich spices at times like eating a Christmas pudding. Then it went into a porty sort of stage as the fruit got richer. A really good wine and very very complex. One bottle left which I look forward to opening soon.
The first rule of Angludet buying… is we don’t talk about Angludet I have 6 x 2021 E.P. on order, possibly not a good year but time will tell. At Xmas finished the last of my dozen 2012 half bottles - prob about time - there’s something decedent about a half bottle all to oneself.
01438 741177
I have 6 x 2021 E.P. on order, possibly not a good year but time will tell. At Xmas finished the last of my dozen 2012 half bottles - prob about time - there’s something decedent about a half bottle all to oneself.