Rhône: "reds of the moment" (and a Beaujolais)

Here's a handful of blockbuster reds (and a more elegant one) worth talking about that have crossed my dinner table (well, four-legged brasserie style zinc and chrome structure) in recent times, in gratuitous celebration of Grenache perhaps. Picked from the shelves of Lidl ('wine cellar' range, so not in all stores), Marks & Spencer and independent merchant Hercules Wine Warehouse.

There's something in the stones
you know: from rasteau.com

2011 Ortas Tradition Cave de Rasteau (Grenache 70%, Syrah 20%, Mourvèdre 10% - 14.5% abv) - nice aromatic sweet Grenache fruit, liquorice and violet too; relatively 'light'/elegant for hot Rasteau country (vintage 2011) yet still has plenty of oomph, as you'd expect, with a touch of bite/grip vs attractive perfumed fruit and an earthier black olive side; ripe/spicy liquorice flavours with weighty yet tight finish and light bitter twist of tannin. €7.70 cellar door, £9.50 Hercules Wine Warehouse Kent (for the 2010).

2011 Vacqueyras (13.5% abv) - attractive ripe Grenache fruit on the nose, sweet berry and liquorice vs spicy earthy edges; firm yet rounded and powerful mouth-feel although tighter and less full-on on the finish than you'd expect perhaps (again 11 vintage, no bad thing though); well-balanced too with dry vs sweet profile and that smooth fruit hiding the alcohol. Maybe not the most super-dooper example, but fairly good value for £7.99 at Lidl.

2010 Domaine de la Curnière Vacqueyras Vignerons de Caractère (Grenache, Syrah - 15% abv) - the nose was a tad 'dirty' when I first opened it, but this smell had gone when I tried it again the second day. Bags of ripe sweet Grenache fruit for sure, spices and liquorice, earthy and savoury too and very punchy; the alcohol's a bit out of balance making the wine somewhat clunky and clumsy in the end, shame as it's got character, just like the winemakers! £11.99 M&S (I got it for less than a tenner though on offer about six months ago).
2011 Fleurie - appealing violet and grapey/cherry fruit, has a hint of grip vs soft fruit and refreshing acidity too; firm-ish and fresh palate vs soft sweet berry fruit, has fair depth too. Nice style, proper Beaujolais! £6.99 Lidl

Cahors: Malbec crush

From a Cahors wine touring trip last year -
click here, here or here for many words!

Languedoc: Domaine Sainte-Croix update, Corbières

Or the 'Hautes Corbières' as those folk who live up on the real high ground around here like to say, in the sleepy wee village of Fraissé-des-Corbières about a dozen kilometres inland from the La Palme lagoon or a short stretch to the northeast of Embres-et-Castelmaure. Previous words on and wines from Domaine Sainte-Croix on this blog can be found, from 2009 and 2010, HERE with further updates here (Corbières report May 2011) and here (2009 vintage showcase penned June 2010). I talked to owner / grower / winemaker / sales / everything 'team' Jon and Liz Bowen earlier this year at the dazzling premiere (well, the cinema seats were red at least) of Ken Payton's Languedoc wine documentary 'Les Terroiristes du Languedoc' in downtown Montpellier, which features Jon and Liz among a dozen like-minded small estate wineries, and at Millésime Bio organic trade show the next day. Including a touch of sampling, goes without saying, their newly released 2011s mostly that, in line with this vintage generally speaking in the south, were fresh, elegant, somewhat closed up and not looking very approachable then; needing more time to express themselves but a promising year perhaps, subtle rather than blockbuster...

Liz & Jon Bowen from facebook.com/LesTerroiristesDuLanguedoc

2011 La Serre white (Grenache blanc & gris) - nutty appley notes with lightly oxidized edges, a tad too 'volatile' and tart in the end. I've liked this white much more in previous vintages (see links at the top).
2011 Rosace des Vents rosé (Carignan, Syrah; 12.5% abv) - rounded 'oily' textured style rosé with subtle red fruits and rose petal notes, rounded vs fresh on its attractive finish.
2012 Aramon (an old, almost disappeared variety) - reductive tones to start, moves on to floral berry and violet notes, juicy and refreshing with nice ripe vs crunchy mouth-feel.
2011 Le Fournas (Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre) - funky and chunky layered with ripe blue / black berries, attractive 'fresh' tannins and acidity vs dried berry fruit, tight elegant finish.
2011 Pourboire Nature (Carignan, Syrah) - more baked and savoury on the nose, concentrated palate with fresh undercurrent, a touch lean perhaps but it's subtle and long again.
2011 Carignan old-vine (planted in 1905, plus "a tiny bit" of Grenache and Mourvèdre; tank sample) - savoury vs ripe profile with light oak grain, slightly cooked berry fruits, again it's tight, fresh and very long; rather 'unobvious' when I tried it although intense.
2011 Celèstra (80% Grenache + Mourvèdre; 14.5% abv) - quite rich and fruity with grainy coconut tones, chunky and firm mouth-feel with nice meaty edges, has fair oomph yet still with that elegant touch, closes up on the finish. Should be very good.

Languedoc: Domaine Les Eminades update, Saint-Chinian

LATEST HERE JAN 2014

Before diving into this concise update, why not click HERE to peruse my original insight into Les Eminades found 'out there' in beautiful Saint-Chinian country (posted August 2011), which went along the lines of: "...Set up by affable couple Patricia and Luc Bettoni in 2002, this spectacular-vista estate has been tended organically since the beginning..." Including a few older vintages of the wines tasted below. Anyway, I caught up with them earlier this year at Millésime Bio wine show. € prices quoted are cellar door or on-line in France, £ prices are from their London agent Aubert & Mascoli. They have a new website too by the way: follow the link under the photo...

Patricia and Luc Bettoni from leseminades.com

2011 Silice (Sauvignon blanc) - more 'mineral' style of Sauvignon with complex yeast-lees notes and nutty vs appley finish. Good but dear at €14.

2011 La Pierre Plantée (1960 Cinsault, Syrah, Grenache) - 'reductive' blueberry and cassis notes, spicy too with fresh tannins vs sweeter black cherry fruit, lightly peppery and crunchy on its quite long and elegant finish. €7.50 £12.50

2011 Cebenna (Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre) - enticing ripe and spicy black cherry Syrah styling to start, peppery and intense on the palate with chunkier firmer mouth-feel, savoury dark olive flavours too with nice bite vs weight and tight long finish. €10.50 £15

2010 Vieilles Canailles (1902 Carignan) - quite herbal / 'reduced' (?) on the nose, closed up and a little clumsy at the moment, concentrated though with very tight finish. Not sure, maybe it'll come out of its shell... €25 £25

Wine Education Service NI autumn/winter program

The next wave of wine tastings and courses scheduled from late September to April next year in Belfast city centre (and run by RMJ) are as follows:

Essential Wine Tasting course - £125 for 5 sessions

Tuesdays 7 to 9 pm from 24 September 2013 to 22 October and 4/02/14 - 4/03/14. More info on this five evening course here: wine-education-service.co.uk/introductory.

Wines of South America tasting - Thursday 3 October 7-9 pm - £27.50 or 2 for £50

"We'll taste and talk about eight premium wines from 'el Sur Grande', focusing mainly on Chile and Argentina - featuring well- and lesser-known grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Carmenere, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc and Torrontés. But we'll also be venturing into more uncharted waters such as sampling a big Tannat red from Uruguay..."

Classic Grape Varieties course - £150 for 5 sessions

Tuesdays 19.00 to 21.00 29/10/13 - 26/11/13

More info: wine-education-service.co.uk/intermediate.html

The Wines of France one-day wine workshop Saturday 2/11/13 10 am to 5.30 pm

"Le Tour de France" - £80 for the day including lunch, about a dozen wines for tasting and 'discussion', course notes and tuition. More details about this and other workshops here: wine-education-service.co.uk/workshop.

Christmas Champagne & Sparkling Wines tasting - Tuesday 3 December £35 or 2 for £60

"A fizzy world tour starting in France with classic Champagne and other fine sparklers, then comparing with the ever popular Cava (a very good one, of course), Italian 'new kid on the block' Prosecco, passing through the southern hemisphere (e.g. Australia, New Zealand) and ending up in England!..."

From Grape To Glass one-day wine workshop - Saturday 8/02/14 - £80 with lunch

Wines of Australia & New Zealand course - £150 for 5 sessions - Tuesday evenings 11/03/14 to 15/04/14.

Wines of Italy one-day wine workshop - Saturday 29/03/14 - £80 with lunch

Full details and on-line booking: wine-education-service.co.uk/wine-tasting-belfast

Or pay for South America and Xmas Sparkling tastings by PayPal:

Select tasting:

Oct 3 South America £27.50 GBP Oct 3 South America two people £50.00 GBP Dec 3 Champagne & Sparkling £35.00 GBP Dec 3 Champagne two people £60.00 GBP

Or check out the homepage for wine events in London, Brighton, Manchester and Aberdeen: wine-education-service.co.uk

Roussillon: Domaine Sarda Malet update, Perpignan

Previous words on and wines by Sarda Malet can be found HERE (report from a trip there in 2006, updated in 2009). I went back to this slightly hidden estate (and the family home), although lying on the southern outskirts of the city of Perpignan (across the busy road from the prison actually, over a hill and lost out of sight), earlier this year for a little tour and tasting of what's new at Sarda Malet.

Jérôme and Suzy Sarda Malet

Jérôme Malet is now in charge, with a little advice from mother Suzy no doubt; and they have a team of six vineyard workers and new winemaker Sophie Mage. Sales manager Laurent Moinet told us they have 25 ha being converted over to organics (since 2009/10) and that they've been "pulling up some vines to decrease the surface area, so we can focus on organic with the same team as it takes more man hours." Certain parcels are found near the village of Pollestres a few kilometres to the south, where "we might buy more if some good ones come up for sale." The cellar was also extended about five years ago; and the Malet family has recently invested in an estate in Côtes du Rhône country called Domaine de Fontbonau, in partnership with Frédéric Engerer who runs all the properties owned by François Pinault (Château Latour in Bordeaux among others...).
"We make a varietal range too labelled as Vin de France," Laurent explained further, "from vines planted by Jérôme's grandfather (Jérôme Sarda)..." in the 40s and 50s, and some his father Max Malet selected in the 70s and 80s. "We're planting some new Cabernet Sauvignon clones too from Chateau Latour... and we've decreased the amount of new barrels used (they needed to, to be honest, looking at some of the older vintages tasted)... and more demi-muids..." (two to three times the size of the classic barrique that impart less oak flavour yet have a similar effect on tannin texture etc.).
Lea & Sandeman shops in London stock some of these (see vintages and £ prices next to certain wines); also available in Ireland from Sheridan's Cheesemongers and from SAQ in Canada. More @ www.sarda-malet.com.

2011 Sarda-Malet white (Grenache gris and blanc, Malvoisie; 25% in barrel) - honeyed oily and nutty vs appley and floral, quite steely bite vs powerful (14% abv); lacks a little juicy fruit though.
2008 Terroir Mailloles white (Roussanne, Marsanne, Grenache blanc) - pretty coconutty still yet has nice developed oily honeyed and buttery notes too, less toasty and nuttier on the palate with attractive mix of rich vs powerful vs crisp; good stuff in the end actually.
2012 Rosé (Syrah, Mourvèdre) - rich fruity raspberry/strawberry cocktail with quite weighty mouth-feel (14.5% abv!) then crisp finish. Nice style.
2011 Sarda-Malet red (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre; 30% in barrel) - enticing berry fruits, black cherry, liquorice and spice; nice 'fresh' tannins vs lingering fruit and warm alcohol. 2008 = £9.95.
2007 L'Insouciant Grenache - showing a fair amount of vanilla coconut oak, lots of sweet fruit too vs tannins a little dried out.
2008 Fandango Syrah (14% abv) - developing smoky leather edges vs dark cherry, meaty and quite concentrated with nice sweet vs savoury fruit, still firm and powerful too. Good.
2008 L'Intransigeant Mourvèdre - a bit oaky coco-y grainy, quite lean and firm with some savoury wild fruit, but again the tannins are a touch hard.
2007 Terroir Mailloles red (mostly Mourvèdre + Syrah) - a tad coco grainy and firm/extracted vs better sweet/sour fruit, still a bit overdone yet has more depth of fruit than above. 2004 = £19.95
2011 Muscat de Rivesaltes Vin Doux Naturel - lovely aromatic citrus peel vs grapey floral nose, sweet vs citrus bite and freshness vs nice cut from the alcohol. 2009 = £14.95
2007 La Carbasse Rivesaltes red VDN (old Grenache) - savoury meaty oxidizing notes, seems quite old already although that savoury vs dark fruit is quite attractive, still fairly solid too. Not sure. 2005 = £23.95
2005 La Carbasse Collection Rivesaltes Grenat VDN (old Grenache, cask-aged) - similar maturing baked meaty nose yet lusher and livelier, more complex with big fiery and firm vs rich and sweet combo, has much more depth and roundness vs alluring mature fruit.
2004 Le Serrat Rivesaltes ambré VDN (Grenache gris and blanc) - exotic peachy apricot notes vs juicy sweet texture suffused with subtle nutty flavours; doesn't taste that old, elegant long finish. Very good. 2000 = £16.75
1998 Le Serrat - enticing oxidized nutty nose, intense and tasty with rich exotic palate vs still 'mineral' underneath, long complex and nutty. Yum.
L'Abandon (100% Malvoisie passerillé = dried/shrivelled on the vine, 2002 vintage in fact) - very intense nutty nose with dried raisin and sultana combo, rich yet lively too, very sweet vs very fresh with intense nutty finish. Delicious unusual wine.

Roussillon: Abbé Rous, Banyuls-sur-mer

Abbé Rous is one incarnation of this well-known co-operative winery based in Banyuls-sur-mer (Cellier des Templiers is another), which they use for a certain wine range sold to independent merchants and restaurants & hotels, rather than say own-labels in the supermarkets etc. I've talked about some of their wines on FMW.com before - click on these links for notes and comments: Roussillon: 3 white wines (Oct/Nov 2011) featuring the 2010 Cornet white Collioure that was available in selected M&S stores and on-line; and the Saint Bacchus Awards covering this local wine competition in 2009 and featuring the not so good 2008 vintage of said white wine, plus their rather good in fact 2005 red Banyuls Vin Doux Naturel (VDN, sweet fortified wine) 'Muté sur Grains Mise Tardive' (LBV style if you like).

I finally went to the Abbé Rous winery earlier this year, met some of the people behind this fair size operation (750 growers owning 1150 hectares of vines running from and around the towns of Banyuls-sur-mer to Collioure), had a look around lots of very big tuns and tasted their full range of white, rosé, red and VDN wines. The story goes that "this name was chosen as a tribute to the abbot, who, in the late 19th Century, set up the first trading & storing company for Banyuls wines to finance the construction of a church in the village." Their Collioure white and reds are generally quite good, except the ones where somebody got carried away with the new oak barrels (yawn). And, on the Banyuls front, whereas the winery is perhaps better known for some of its classic 'Grand Cru' old cask-aged styles; they've also got pretty good at making those 'new' vibrant full-on 'vintage' style reds such as Rimage.

Some of these wines are available in the UK from e.g. Ellis of Richmond (near London) and Michael Jobling Wines in Newcastle-upon-Tyne; as well as via quite a few importers around the US - see www.abberous.com for details (and some nice recipe ideas too). Going there: 56 avenue du Général de Gaulle, 66650 Banyuls sur Mer; phone 04 68 88 72 72.

2011 Cornet & Cie Collioure rosé - nice deep colour, but a little lean and flat on the palate.
2011 Cornet Collioure blanc (Grenache gris, Grenache blanc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Vermentino) - fresh and lively start vs richer honeyed notes, light yeast lees and toasty oak edges vs crisp and 'mineral' vs exotic apricot flavours; nice texture and bite too. Good stuff showing a lighter touch than previous vintages.
2011 Cuvée des Peintres Collioure rouge (Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan) - nice aromatic wine showing liquorice, pepper and violets; quite soft texture vs rich and warm fruit, easy-going attractive style with lightly dry vs sweet finish.
2010 Cornet Collioure rouge (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan) - a bit fuller and lusher, still perfumed though with nice violet and peppery hints, more structured and firmer mouth-feel layered with attractive fruit, a bit more extracted yet more depth vs that floral vs ripe fruit. Quite good too.
2009 In Fine Collioure rouge (90% Grenache, 10% Mourvèdre) - rich peppery black cherry fruit, grainy and firm palate vs riper rounder edges, some enticing maturing notes too; shows a little oak but it's well done, quite firm and dry still vs weighty with good fruit, ends up more austere on the finish vs a certain fruit 'sweetness'.
2010 Cyrcée Collioure rouge (mostly Syrah with Grenache & Mourvèdre) - deeper richer colour, tons of chocolate and coconut oak, extracted and grippy; a big wine-show red, concentrated aromatic and ripe but the fruit's hidden under all that oak.
2010 Cornet Banyuls Rimage VDN 'mise précoce' (100% Grenache noir: "bottled young" with no cask ageing) - Lots of lively black cherry/berry on nose and palate, rich and sweet vs spicy and fiery, lush ripe fruit vs dry grip and bite. Good stuff.

2006 Hélyos Banyuls (100% Grenache noir: 'LBV' style) - attractive maturing meaty savoury notes vs dark fruit vs firm mouth-feel, ending up not particularly sweet actually, fuller and more extracted yet with complex nuances.

Baillaury Banyuls 5 ans d'age (mostly Grenache noir + gris) - quite deep colour still although turning pretty brown, already fairly oxidised and 'old' vs chunky tannins and obvious alcohol. Been open too long or just past it?

2000 Christian Reynal Banyuls Grand Cru (100% Grenache noir) - lots more of those intricate (red!) Madeira type notes, not much browner in colour than above either; lovely coffee toffee and walnut flavours vs still quite firm and dry with nice bite vs that sweet maturing fruit, complex and long finish.

1999 Castell des Hospices Banyuls Grand Cru (100% Grenache noir) - has a little sediment, so careful when pouring. Similar colour to the 00, more oxidised and nuttier / 'cheesier' on the nose, the alcohol's a touch fiercer too with some dry grip underneath, complex Madeira and toffee notes, finishing relatively dry with fairly intense long finish. Good although I slightly preferred the 2000s.

2000 Joseph Nadal Banyuls Grand Cru 'dry' (100% Grenache noir) - browner and thinner colour, lots of complex pecan/walnut and all that with enticing 'gassy' Madeira edges, definitely drier with nice bite vs layers of caramelized coffee flavours, long complex and delicious.