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!

A couple of older Aussies

I spent Sunday evening with some very good friends, with some lovely wine, snacks and some great records we had all been collecting. We had some of the most delicious sourdough bread as well as some truly amazing oak-smoked, sun dried tomatoes. They were utterly incredible, full of the rich sweetness of your normal sun dried tomato, but with this whole other dimension, a smoky, nutty flavour, unlike anything I've had. Obviously they disappeared pretty quickly, but the oil they left behind was so full of their flavour, alongside a super intense garlic tang. We put to good use the rest of the sourdough.
So, the wine.
Both of these friends spent a great deal of time together living in Australia, some of the best times of their lives, so I decided to bring along something with that time of their life in mind, and here they are.

De Bortoli Chardonnay 2004, Yarra Valley, Victoria

This wine really is doing well, despite on the back of the bottle a suggestion of three years cellaring is mooted. The nose is full of smoke and nutty qualities, as well as some lovely oak and tropical fruits. Although the smoke and oak are very present, it feels in no way overblown, it seems to create a rich intensity, not unlike that of Mersault.
On the palate, more of that smoke, vanilla, oak, and toast. But more fruit than I had expected, some of it tropical but also some pear-ish qualities and stoney mineral flavours.
The finish is long, and the acidity really quite big. For not much more than £5 a bottle as a bin end, I've done alright here I think. I have one left, which I may hold on to for just a little longer.

Mountain Blue, Cabernet Shiraz 2002, Rosemount Estate, Mudgee

This wine was heavier and darker than dark matter! But only as far as its appearance goes. The nose is packed with bramble fruit, and spices; cinnamon, liquorice and pepper, alongside a really pleasant earthy quality and raisin aroma. Showing it's age.
The palate has a great deal of freshness, with some herby levels, laced around some hefty blackcurrant and blueberry. That spicey nose continues onto the palate with some capsicum and pepper. All of which is underlined by really toasty warming oak, which, impressively hasn't overwhelmed the fruit, which is very much still in attendance.
Not all is positive sadly, there is some soupy quality emerging as the wine develops in the glass, and some stewed fruit. Not much, but you do become aware of it, which suggests now is the right time.
Overall a pretty enjoyable wine, entwined in a very enjoyable evening!

Penfolds St Henri, 2006

A Shiraz dominant (92%) blend with a small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon, from vineyards across Clare Valley, Eden Valley and Barossa, one of Penfolds' premium cuvees.
What a HUGE wine!!! It's a massive, brooding, dark, inky, light absorbing thing. The nose is dense, full of blackberries, and black cherries. There is rich vanilla oak in there too, with some wood smoke and liquorice. The nose isn't all about heavy, dark matter, there are some delicate herbs too, and black olives, adding a real savoury edge.
The palate is lusciously smooth, opening with sweet blackcurrant, alongside some savoury herbs which balance nicely to avoid falling into the 'Aussie Fruit Bomb' category.
There is some gloriously warming, smoky oak, with some really grippy tannins and tons of acidity. The finish is super long and actually quite mouth puckering, which I quite enjoyed. This wine should stick around for a while, at 7 years old, it feels fresh and so much lighter and more elegant than I had expected. Good stuff.

Wines of late

I've been useless in the last month, a combination of music festivals and work and general tardiness have meant that I have been nowhere near this blog, but at least I have still been sipping nice wine.

Recently I spent a week at Latitude festival down in Southwold, Suffolk. It was a bit of a bus-man's holiday really, I was a bar manager for a good cause that goes by the name of 'Workers Beer Company'.

They're predominantly a trade union organisation that supports similar causes as well as other social enterprises and charities through volunteer fundraising. The bars are staffed by volunteers who work a number of hours each day over the weekend and donate their hypothetical wages to their chosen good cause. In return they get to go and experience the rest of the festival free of charge! A pretty good deal with some fundraising thrown in.

It was a fun weekend, seeing friends I haven't seen since the previous year's festivals. I also got to see some good music during my down time, notable acts include The Tallest Man on Earth, Kraftwerk, I am Kloot and a great set from Bloc Party. The whole week was great fun, just very tiring!

Right. Wine. I've had a few nice things recently, chance purchases, bottles I've had my eye on for a while and finally got round to buying, and a couple of things I'd intended to drink from my cellar that were possibly in their latter stages of life.

It's been a bit of a New World fest of late, so that's what I'm going to write about.

Evolution 15th Edition, Sokol Blosser, Dundee Hills Oregon.

First up is this interesting and quirky white. Technically a non vintage, but instead an addition, the second from latest in actual fact. It has quite a list of grapes inside that funky bottle, listed in their entirety, they are: Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, Semillon, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, Muscat Canelli and Muller Thurgau.

Quite a list.

This sort of diverse blend creates quite a complex wine, with very contrasting and in some ways contradictory flavour profiles.

On the nose there is lots happening, ripe citrus, limes and grapefruit, as well as white fruits, peach, apricot and some pears too. There is a floral perfume too, with some spice underneath it.

This all follows through onto the palate, more spice and floral scent, with the citrus and pear showing most evidently. There is some sweetness to, only a little, following with some good acidity.

 It seems the Gewurztraminer has the most effect on the palate, whether or not it's the most dominant grape, it certainly feels it with its floral almost chalky texture on the palate. Overall a pretty interesting blend and a good, approachable wine.

Thornbury Riesling 2008, Waipara, New Zealand.

I've really been into Riesling of late, particularly the steely but ripe stuff from both Eden and Clare Valley. My experience with kiwi Riesling is pretty minimal, but if they're all like this one then i would rest pretty happy. Waipara is on the South Island, below Marlborough, and subsequently a marginally cooler area.

The nose of this wine has some of the same qualities its Australian counterparts possess, a fair bit of petrol and citrus on the nose. After a little while some of that smokey petrol blows off and leaves a ripe, honeyed, limey nose. It smells utterly delicious. 
The palate has some great honeyed melon flavours, a little sweetness alongside a great citrus acidity and brilliant length. I couldn't say how much longer this wine will stick around for, but I only have one left, and I know I won't be able to resist leaving it! Yum.

A few wines from recent times.

Of late I have been extremely lazy in both my blog writing and my note taking, a trend I will try now to rectify.
For a few weeks I have been really struggling to make it to the various tastings that happen around Nottingham, because of work, apathy, and tastings being cancelled, and I suppose the warm weather we are finally experiencing. Gin and tonic seems to be the order of the day at the moment; some delicious gin at that. The 'Mothers' ruin' in question is Leopold's Gin, a small batch American craft gin, made using Valencia oranges and pomelos (small grapefruit) as two of it's constituent botanicals; giving it a real citrus kick and refreshing rather than super dry finish. Delicious.
But I digress, this is a wine blog after all.
What follows are just some notes from wines tasted recently, getting me back up to speed, sort of.

Chateau Des Jacques, La Roche, Moulin A Vent 2006. Beaujolais, Louis Jadot
I'm really enjoying different cuvees of Beaujolais at the moment, Moulin a Vent in particular, with it's meatier, age worthy qualities, along with Chenas and some lovely, fragrant Fleurie too.
This one displays some real perfume, violets and rose petals, alongside some tart red cherry and black cherry as well. This translates onto the palate and is accompanied by some warming cinnamon and some savory green pepper. There is some underlying sweetness that the green pepper bounces off, a level of confection that is none too overpowering. A nice wine.

Givry 1er Cru, Clos Du Cras Long, 2002, Vincent Lump
There is a delicious sour cherry and oak nose to this wine, although slightly restrained and maybe slightly closed off? Even so, a gorgeous aroma, with a little bit of meat and earth too. On the palate, plenty of tart red fruit, cranberry, redcurrant, cherry and bags of lip smacking acidity! There is some tannin there, not loads, but a bit. Pare that with the acidity and a good quantity of fruit and this wine should stick around for a few years yet.

Nuit Saint Georges 1964, Patriarche
Not sure that Givry will stick around for quite as long as this fossil has. What a wine! Considering my father pre-dates this wine by just one year, I'm simply staggered at how well this wine has kept, and then performed during this tasting.
The nose is full of smoke, earthy forest floor qualities and some dark, slightly raisin fruit which really tingle the nostrils, but maybe that comes from the merest hint of alcoholic heat?!
The palate is brilliantly complex, with some really bright fruit, sour blackcurrant, cherry, oak and spice. Followed by just a nuance of tannin. This is close to being the oldest wine I have ever had, and a real treat and privilege to taste. Good stuff!

McWilliam's Elizabeth, Semillon, 2005 Hunter Valley
This is oak-tastic!! It smells like it has been left open next to a wood burning stove! There's so much smoke and sulphur on the nose, it's almost too much. But underneath all of that there is some lovely citrus fruit, and minerality. On the palate there is loads of lemon, and some pineapple too, and obviously oak, followed by massive acidity and more citrus. I re-tasted this bottle two days later and it was even better, showing more aged qualities, which suggests this has a good few years left in it!

The beginning of a wine cellar. Finally!

For the 18 months or so that I've been into wine, my modest collection has lived in the corner of my dining room, doubling up as a climbing frame for the cats, just getting in the way and not offering a realistic or dependable way to store or age wine. But, no longer; recently I embarked on tidying up our dark cluttered basement, the first attempt since we moved in two years ago. Needless to say it was quite a job, with many hours spent in the darkness like some sort of hermit.
Eventually, everything was in its place, either boxed up or in the bin! Leaving a lot more available space than I had expected, meaning in not much time at all, Emma (my fiancee) would get her dining room back.

After finding an ad in the back of Decanter magazine, for a site called winecase.net, which is a pretty decent site I may add, I bought and took delivery or a 90 bottle rack; leaving many more vacant slots than I had expected!
So now then: Tidy cellar, done. Put in wine racks, DONE.
Next step, buy lots of lovely wine!! And more racks! And more wine!!