Moving Forward

I have officially left my job now!! Two years and six months after beginning there, and beginning my interests in wine, I have decided to move on to pastures new!!
I think it was the right time to go for something new. I've been a general manager now, and I want to try and progress more specifically within a wine oriented role; which my new job seems to be!
The venue in question is 'The Wingerworth Pub & Kitchen'. A brand new gastro-pub venture, not yet open, in a village (Wingerworth) just outside Chesterfield. My role is to be the resident 'wine guy'. I will have a good deal of control over the wine list, food and wine matches.. Pretty much perfect!
So, rather than go straight from one job into the next, I decided a little time off was in order, not much, just a week of rest and relaxation. Which so far has included having a new boiler fitted, buying new uniform, and having a practise at baking our wedding cake! More info on the success of this at a later date I suspect! With this well earned rest, I think I should be able to relax with a glass or two!

Domaine Sainte Rose 'La Nuit Blanche' Roussanne, 2011, Languedoc

First up was this wine, a refreshing little thing that we drank on Friday night. Well, I didn't drink a great deal, I was feeling a little under the weather, but having tasted it once before, I knew what was coming.
The nose is deliciously rich, full of oak, and tropical fruits; pineapple, grapefruit and peaches, as well as vanilla and cream. It's pretty floral too The palate is big and fleshy, peaches, melon and lots of rich vanilla. In truth, it's a pretty weighty wine, lacking a little acidity and not necessarily in any way refined. But sometimes that's just what you need! And I enjoyed it greatly.




Montes Alpha, Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Colchagua Valley, Chile.

Now apparently, according to many sources, 2007 was a very very good year in Chile, particularly in places like Casablanca Valley and Colchagua. A slightly cooler summer that gave the grapes longer on the vines before reaching ripeness, and thus making it possible for the wines to develop great tannin structure to develop with age.
Upon opening, this wine I found it a little closed and restricted, showing some fruit and oak, but not a great deal. The palate was similar, acidity and muted fruit, Not so good.
A couple of hours later, and continuing the next day, my, how everything changed! The nose is packed with a mix of sweeter and savoury levels. Black cherry, cassis and black pepper are the real dominant features, but there is some greenness too, and a little smoky bacon! There is blueberry too, and some spicy oak, a pretty big nose, but with nice, soft edges.
The palate is equally large, but not overblown. Predominant flavours are, again, black cherry, blueberry, and black currant. There is some eucalyptus-menthol there, smoke and oak as well. And heaps of refreshing acidity. Delicious. I have one bottle left, which I will keep hold of I think, for a little while longer. I'll have to hide it mind. What makes this wine even more enjoyable is that I found it in Tesco for the princely sum of £4 per bottle!! BARGAIN!!!

So there you go. I'm keeping myself busy during my down time. Not long now before the new job officially begins!! I'm getting a mix of feelings right now, excitement and nerves, more nerves right now though. It'll all be OK though.
Now then, lets finish this baking......

Some of America's Finest

It may come as a surprise, but I'm quite an avid lover of Californian wine. I love the rich, fruit forward, exciting nature of the region. I also love the approachable nature of the geography and the desire of the winemakers to make wines for people to enjoy.

Principally, my grape variety of choice is Zinfandel, the distant relative of Puglia, Italy's Primativo. Zinfandel has a long, rich history within California. It us the variety that survived and pre dates Prohibition, and across the state, ancient vineyards still exist, in some cases, from the 1800's! They are wild, untamed, gnarly old vines, that produce very little fruit. But what they do produce is so deeply concentrated, rich, and expressive, in the right hands, it can make sublime wine!
This leads me neatly to some wines I tasted recently by Ridge Vineyards, one of the greats of California....

Ridge Vineyards, Lytton Springs, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County 2009
71% Zinfandel, 23% Petite Sirah and 6% Carignane.
This wine came across really well. A young, brooding wine, full of muscle, and power, but also a great deal of finesse refinement, and control.
There's a great freshness to the nose, of blueberries, raspberries and spice, herbs and smoke. The palate is full of those same herbaceous qualities of the nose. A real green quality; green peppers and a bit of basil freshness.
There was some heat on the palate, but not overwhelmingly so. The dominant characteristics I picked up beyond the savoury liveliness were luscious red berries and a hugely bracing acidity and a small suggestion of sweetness. All rounding off with really mouth puckering, grippy tannins and brilliant length. A great wine, with a bright future ahead!

Ridge Vineyards, Geyserville, Alexander Valley, Sonoma County 1992
I can't seem to find exact blend ratios for this vintage, but I can say that it's a mix of Zinfandel and old vine Carignane, seemingly excluding Petite Sirah in this cuvee (or at least within this vintage).
What a wine.....The nose is just gorgeous. Full of generous amounts of red cherries, red currants and a piquant smokiness that is just delightful.
The palate is full of fruit, ripe fruit, with secondary earthy qualities running like a seam through each aspect of this wine, stopping it becoming confected or stewed. There is oak, but seemingly subdued. Surprisingly the fruit seems to usurp the oak dominance, given the 21 years this wine has been around, this is a welcome surprise. The tannins are soft and fine, and fill the mouth, giving a very literal 'warm fuzzy feeling'. After all of this, as with the Lytton Springs, there is a great whip of acidity to freshen up that warmth and suggest this wine potentially has more to give!



Ridge Vineyards, York Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, Spring Mountain, Napa Valley 1982
This vineyard doesn't produce Cabernet Sauvignon any more, it now just produces one of Ridge's vineyard/ region specific Zinfandel blends, which it has done so ever since it's 'discovery' in 1971. With this severing of lineage in mind, there was a feeling that this wine was a bit special and a little different. Admittedly, it's not a Zinfandel like the last two wines, but it is another great bottle from Ridge, so definitely worth some sort of mention.
The nose was a glorious mix of sour, red and black cherry. As well as some floral elements and some rich smoke. There was some very faint minty, basil, menthol nuances too, just about. The nose also carried some light raisin elements and lovely cigar box aromas. There seemed to be both savoury green peppers and  slightly piquant red pepper on the palate, alongside more of the rich, vanilla flavours. The fruit on the palate comes across tart and really quite punchy, sour red cherry and other less precise red fruit give the mouth feel a great sense of depth and vitality. Again, as seemingly with all Ridge wine, the acidity was present, and will probably outlast us all.

All in all, through this brief but diverse window into the wares of Ridge Vineyards, I have managed to taste a spectrum of wines at different stages of their lives, all be it different cuvees, a very interesting and educational experience. One that leaves me with one overarching impression of Ridge. When young, their wines display great power, restrained power. Then with age they gain complexity in the form of savoury qualities, whilst retaining bright fruit and acidity, proper Cali wines.

Catching up....

Well......
I have done absolutely nothing on here recently!! Apologies for that.
It's been a bit of a whirlwind of late. Wedding plans, work, friends and family have all eaten up my time; as has a little laziness too!
Where to begin.... I am in the process of changing jobs at the moment. After two and a half years, time at my current job is coming to a close, I thought it was time to move on. I've met some great people there, great friends who I will keep in touch with for many years to come I suspect.
What else has happened? Well, myself and my fiancée, Emma have picked the wines for our wedding!
It was a hard slog, but after an evening trying 7 wines with a couple of friends, we have made our decision!
Which are as follows:

1. Philippe Herard Carte Noir NV
Pretty lively, full of yeasty biscuity aromas. Green apple and some apple core too. This is a predominantly Chenin Blanc based wine, sourced from all over France and vinified in Burgundy. A good, enjoyable wine.

2. Mas De Vignerons, Cote De Gascone 2012.
A blend of Ugni Blanc and Colombard. The nose was full of apple and pear, with some lovely lemon freshness. This all follows through onto the palate, with some herby green notes too.

3. Percheron Rosé, Grenache Gris 2012, South Africa
Pretty good. Relatively light, but with loads of fruit. Strawberry, cherry, peach and apricot, both on the nose and palate. This wine is full of ripe fruit, but not sweet fruit, thankfully. Making it quite pleasantly refreshing.

4. Chateau Bouissel Classic, 2011 Fronton
A wine of which, through the previous vintages I have come to know quite well. A blend of Negrette, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, and a little malbec (cot) too. I really like this wine. The nose is crammed with rose petals, cherry, blackcurrant and bramble, and strawberry. There is loads of perfume too, and no oak. It's all fruit, making it deliciously rich, but not heavy; this vintage is actually slightly lighter than previous years. Yumm...

All in all, I feel pretty happy with our selection, and I think they'll go down pretty well on our BIG DAY!!
Now just need to get everything else together!