Ken Forrester – FMC – Chenin Blanc – 2008

Chenin Blanc (or Steen in South Africa) has come to be seen as the archetypal South African white grape variety, a hardy, bulk-producing variety associated (in the UK) with a lot of low-end pub wines. Yet it also produces some great wines in the Loire, and it is gratifying to see it making better wines elsewhere.

The FMC is from Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape of South Africa. It has spent 12 months in new French oak and is a very upfront wine, unmistakeably New World in style with hefty, tropical notes of banana and butterscotch together with vanilla and hay. Ripe fruit and big flavours, but it all feels a little unintegrated – I think it may come together with age. I remain a little dubious as to how well Chenin Blanc is adapted to this heavily oaked style – it feels more like Chardonnay than Chenin.

Château de Ligré – Chinon – 2007

Here’s a novelty – a white Chinon.

Chinon is an almost exclusively red wine appellation in the Loire, making wines from Cabernet Franc. Yet it is not at all far away from Vouvray, where almost all wines are made from Chenin Blanc, so it shouldn’t be too surprising to find one or two Chenin Blancs – such as this Château de Ligré – in Chinon.

Medium-gold. I often find Chenin Blanc can produce slightly cheesey wines, and the first impression on the bouquet is of parmesan, followed by white peach. Bone dry. Will be better in 10 years.    

Vilmart – Cuvée Creation – 1998

Champagne from the entirely Premier Cru village of Rilly-la-Montagne, with a 70% – 30% blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Quite a deep gold colour, and a very Chardonnay-driven nose. Unusually, this champagne has seen some new oak and it shows. Lemon-tart, and discreet but very well-defined yeastiness; just like fresh white bread. Apparently a year ago it was quite tropical, but those notes have since moved on.  

Delicate and precise rather than dramatic or complex. I was surprised both to discover that it had 30% Pinot Noir (because the character is currently pure Chardonnay) and by the restrained yeasty character.

Gilles Barge – Côte Brune – 1998

The Côte Brune is the northernmost stretch of the Côte-Rôtie, itself the northern stretch of the Rhône Valley. Unlike in the Côte Blond just to the south, the all-red wines of the Côte Brune are made without any lightening touch of (white) Viognier, and hence tend to be a bit meatier.

This is a lovely comparator to Gilles’s Côte Blond Cuvée Duplessey (last post) – with a Côte, 2 vintages and some Viognier (in the Duplessey) between them, they are startlingly different wines.

The Côte Brune looks more aged, with the beginnings of bricking at the rim. It is on the nose that the difference really shows through; the Brune is intensely gamey, with most of the fruit gone, and immediately feels like a more aged wine than the Duplessey – much more than the 2 years of extra age would age would account for. Further to the game, there are notes of bacon, pepper and a touch of balsamic vinegar (superseded by slightly curried notes later.)

1998 was a ripe, early maturing vintage in the Rhône, and that shows clearly in this wine. Unlike the 2000 Duplessey, I don’t imagine this getting much better with time; enjoy the magnificent sauvage notes now.  

Gilles Barge – Côte-Rôtie – Cuvée Duplessey – 2000

The Côte-Rôtie is the northernmost appellation in the Rhône Valley. All northern Rhône reds are made from Syrah, although in the Côte-Rôtie they are allowed to add a dash of (the white variety) Viognier, which supposedly adds elegance and balance, and certainly makes the wines more accessible when they are young.

The slopes of the Côte-Rôtie are divided into two areas: the Côte Blond to the south of the town of Ampuis, and the Côte Brune, to the north. While the Côte Blond is associated with wines made from the blend of Syrah with up to 20% Viognier, the Côte Brune is more associated with bigger, more tannic, all-Syrah reds.   

Gilles Barge’s Cuvée Duplessey is from the Côte Blond, and is made with that lightening dash of Viognier.

Not an intensely deep colour, but a very poised bouquet between primary and secondary notes: cherry and blackberry fruit, followed by herbs and just a touch of smoked meat. On the palate, the fruit comes with cracked pepper. The tannins are not yet completely resolved. A very pleasing, well-structured wine, definitely able to support more development.  

Leonard Kreusch – Riesling – Kabinett – 1983

Graach – Josephshöfer

Fairly classic German Riesling from the village of Graach on the Mosel River in the Rhineland, just east of Luxembourg. The vineyards in Graach sit on a steep slate hill above the town. Two vineyard sites there have been classified as Erste Lage (first-class sites), one of which is the Josephshöfer.

Kabinett implies the wine is made in a light, delicate, off-dry to semi-sweet style.

The bouquet is a delightful blend of peaches and cream (absolutely typical for the vineyard, apparently) and aged-Riesling petroliferous notes. Instantly pleasurable. With air, the petrol grows somewhat and the wine gets more buttery, the fruit a little heavier. Not a complex wine, perhaps, but a lovely, well-aged drink.

Vietti – Barbaresco – Masseria – 1996

Vietti is a major Piedmontese winery, with a range of Barolos, Barberas, Dolcettos and a Barbaresco – the Masseria.

A fairly typical Nebbiolo bouquet – berry spice, tar and violets. A bit of tea and tobacco as well. Weighty on the palate – tannic and alcoholic. “Too tannic,” says N1. I’m surprised – I would have expected this to be smoothing out by now. But 1996 was another pretty grand vintage in Piedmont, and this clearly has some distance to go yet. Will be superb.

Albino Rocca – Barbaresco – 2000 – Vigneto Brich Ronchi

Still a very young, (blackberry) fruit forward wine – plenty of camphor there, with leather and tobacco also showing up behind the fruit, and a definite (but not overstated) oak influence. Meaty, powerful, earthy. Firm tannins.

It continues to evolve slowly but surely as we work our way though it. I spot fugitive notes of tea, coffee, and pepper.

The vigneto (vineyard) Brich Ronchi is one of the Rocca’s two Nebbiolo vineyards, the other being the Vigneto Loreto.

2000 was a pretty good vintage for Barbaresco (and Piedmont in general – Wine Spectator magazine gave the vintage a score of 100 points). This long, complex wine has got ages ahead of it. Beautiful and very expressive bouquet, but still wants time to soften out.

Nussbaumer – Gewürztraminer – 2010

That most aromatic of grape varieties Gewürztraminer is typically associated with the Alsace, where until recently I would have presumed it to have originated; but it is in fact the South Tyrolese village of Tramin, where the variety was first identified, that puts the “tramin” into the spice (“gewürzt”). In Tramin they are justly proud of their local varietal, and this Nussbaumer is the flagship wine of the Cantina Tramin cooperative.

A beautiful, heady example; while I don’t exactly want to disagree that it displays the classic varietal character of roses, lychees and grapefruit, I would say that these notes are slightly less prominent than in some Gewürztraminers, leaving room for white peach and white pepper. Very fragranced; the spice and the unusually high alcohol levels of 15% make sniffing this wine reminiscent of a trip to the perfume counter at Boots.

It is also very acidic, unusual for such an alcoholic wine (has something been added?) and the forceful combination makes it quite hard to take on its own – it needs food, and it is the epitome of the wine to go with highly spiced Thai or Indian food. Something of an exception to the guideline that wines go better with cuisine from the area they are made in.