Red Wine
Interview: Quinta do Noval's Christian Seely on producing dry wine in the Douro
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- Published: 17 February 2019 17 February 2019
The roots of ambition
Speaking at a recent launch of port house Quinta do Noval’s range of new-look red wines, Managing Director Christian Seely digs into the terroir to reveal the fruits of his carefully exercised labour. Is the beautiful undulating land of the Douro, with its extreme climate and steeply terraced vineyards, working its way to joining the ranks of Europe’s highest regarded dry red producers?
Review: Jose Maria da Fonseca Periquita Reserva, 2014, Peninsula de Setubal, Portugal
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- Published: 26 January 2019 26 January 2019
Inky dark ruby hue. Immediately reminiscent of LBV port. Mulberry, strawberry, chocolate. Elegant use of oak to soften and hook us back in for next sniff & sip. Very stylish wine from the Peninsula de Setubal, just south of Lisbon, Portugal.
Periquita Reserva 2014, fab pick from @DulwichVintners for £12.50... cool blend of Castelao (54%), Touriga Nacional (28%), & Touriga Francesa (18%).
Available in-store or online from Dulwich Vintners
CVNE Rioja Reserva 2014 Review
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- Published: 04 November 2018 04 November 2018
A quality Rioja that never disappoints. This deep, succulent, rich red will take the edge off the hardest day. Lovely complex range of flavours including leather and vanilla from the oak, smooth rounded tannin intertwine with ripe satisfying cherry flavours.
Couvent des Jacobins, Bourgogne Pinot Noir, Louis Jadot, 2015 Review
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- Published: 04 November 2018 04 November 2018
Feeling perfectly Autumnal with this benchmark classic pinot noir from Louis Jadot. Really bright red fruit, with great structure and lip-smacking food-pairing ability. We served with a vegetable curry with lentil salad. “One bottle is never enough” says our dining companions.
Chateau Sainte-Marie 'Alios', Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux 2015 Review
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- Published: 21 September 2018 21 September 2018
Merlot (74%), Cabernet Sauvignon (21%), petit verdot (10%)
A decent combination of dark fruit and spice, chocolate and tannic grip. It is drinking very well now and I have opened with friends who all commented on the quality of the wine. Great for this time of year with wild boar, venison, rabbit.
Vines situated on a steep slope of 24º, gravel and iron soil (hence Alios). Alios ripens faster because the soil absorbs the heat and the southern facing slope exposes them to more sun.
Stainless steel tanks for fermentation. Soft extraction using pumping over twice the volume of the tank. Fermentation in tank and then moved to french 400litre oak barrels for 12 months. The larger barrel allows for less exchange of flavour with the oak.
For more information on buying visit Wine-Searcher
Main article and discussion with Stephane Dupuch of Chateau Sainte-Marie: (Re)Defining the Entre-Deux-Mers: Interview and tasting with Stephane Dupuch
Tasting notes for the following wines can be found here:
Château Sainte-Marie, Vielles Vignes blanc - Madlys, Château Sainte-Marie, 2016 - Château-Sainte-Marie, Vieilles Vignes, Bordeaux Supérieur, 2016 - Chateau Sainte-Marie 'Alios', Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux 2015
Château-Sainte-Marie, Vieilles Vignes, Bordeaux Supérieur, 2016 Review
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- Published: 21 September 2018 21 September 2018
72% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon
Dark fruit, very elegant, violets. Ripe but not overripe. 2016 was a cooler vintage than 2015. The 2015 are bigger in fruitiness and ready to drink but the 2016 have a more elegant character, are more balanced. These will age well.
For more information on buying visit Wine-Searcher
Main article and discussion with Stephane Dupuch of Chateau Sainte-Marie: (Re)Defining the Entre-Deux-Mers: Interview and tasting with Stephane Dupuch
Tasting notes for the following wines can be found here:
Château Sainte-Marie, Vielles Vignes blanc - Madlys, Château Sainte-Marie, 2016 - Château-Sainte-Marie, Vieilles Vignes, Bordeaux Supérieur, 2016 - Chateau Sainte-Marie 'Alios', Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux 2015
Louis Jadot’s Beaujolais Village 2016 - Review
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- Published: 19 June 2018 19 June 2018
At this time of year the palate starts to crave refreshing wines that match the seasonal menus and attire. Red wines that are full bodied are fine for big food dishes, bbq’s or cooler nights, but having wines made from the Gamay grape is a good strategy.
Wine tips: Three very discerning malbecs
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- Published: 03 April 2018 03 April 2018
Maybe often seems a much-overlooked wine and not for any good reason. Recently I have stumbled upon a few that have given us bags of pleasure! The same grape expressed individually, from Cahors, Hawkes Bay New Zealand, and the Colchagua Valley in Chile.
Chateau D'Auzanet - Review - Good Value Organic Claret
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- Published: 04 March 2018 04 March 2018
This is a claret worth mentioning both for the taste quality and the lightness of the price tag. For many drinkers I speak to these days, there is a growing interest in organically produced wines and this is exactly what Chateau D'Auzanet is producing. The style is typically Bordeaux: blackberry and plum with good tannic structure and length. An easy accomplishment to many a cool climate evening (such as we are used to in the UK!!).
Cune Rioja Reserva Review: seasonal classic pleasure
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- Published: 03 December 2017 03 December 2017
A lovely classic Rioja Reserva with ripe dark red Fruit, easy going tannin, succulent body. Sexy on its own or pleased to assist with a wholesome bite of your favourite wholesome dish. At this time of year some oven roasted rabbit seasoned with lemon, honey, rosemary and thyme should do the job perfectly well!
Cune make very good benchmark quality wine and this 2013 reception is no exception.
£12.99 from Majestic (or cheaper when mixed with a case of 6)
Available in the UK from Majestic, Waitrose Wine Cellar
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Ribeira Sacra, Wines of Galicia: Heroic Viticulture in the Cañón do Sil
We rolled out the rug on a small patch of grass etched between the steep cascade of Roman terraces, with neat lines of vines both rising above us and falling away to the tranquil water below. Between each vine, the ground was covered in shrubs, flowers and buzzing insects. The panoramic view across the Sil Canyon, in this stretch of Ribeira Sacra, with tins of sardines in olive oil and a makeshift salad, offer a rustic experience of sublime dining.
Discord in Odesa; pruning at Shabo goes on!
Last week a picture was posted on Twitter of vines in Shabo, a large estate that lies to the west of Odesa on southern Ukraine’s Black Sea coastline. The image seemed benign at face value but the reality, of course, is that the city of Odesa has been bracing itself for attack by Russian forces.
An aperitif by the coliseum
As COVID-19 conspires with the grimmest of winds and rain to force a societal retreat behind our own front doors, the word ennui springs to mind. The muddle of displeasure is pierced when Natalia hands me a large bulbous glass of a liquid I do not recognise.
Artichoke pasta and very fine Pigato
Britain’s lamentable exit
On the eve of Britain’s official departure from the EU, my partner and I decided to explore a small town on the Italian Riviera where thewintry cold doesn’t feel so much like cold war bite.
I had warned my significant other that I would be having an inverse departure party, a release of the sanity valve if you like!
Soave: volcanic wines with elegance and longevity
Sitting inside the ancient castle walls inside the town of Soave, a short drive from Verona in northern Italy, the unique slightly almond aroma of the indigenous grape, Garganega, rises gently from my glass. The castle sprawls up the side of an extinct volcano that gives the region its variant soil structures that mark out the better quality of Soave wines.
An American In Paris; Tanisha Townsend (@GirlMeetsGlass) discusses podcasts, Paris wine bars, & what she's drinking at the moment
Tanisha Townsend decided to move to Paris 4 years ago after regularly passing through the city en route to the world’s most famous vineyards. In fact, it was about 2 years ago at the Printemps de Champagne Bouzy Rouge tasting in Reims that I saw (who we shall now refer to as) GirlMeetsGlass chirpily speaking to her web followers on Snapchat.
