Rovereto – Gavi di Gavi – Michele Chiarlo - 2011

Gavi is a commune in the larger DOCG wine region of Cortese di Gavi, within the great wine region of Piedmont; hence Cortese di Gavi wine made from within the commune of Gavi is confusingly referred to as Gavi di Gavi. In any case, all DOCG Cortese di Gavi wine is made from the white Cortese grape.

Pale, zesty, citric (more lime than lemon) with no suggestion (as I was expecting) of bitter almonds, but a finish that keeps reminding me of pecorino cheese. Lightly rather than intensely fruity. Not complex, nor too acidic to drink without food, but in no way flabby or of poor quality.

84/100

C.H. Berres – Erdener Treppchen – Spätlese – 2001

Ah, the joy of deciphering the German wine label! Erdener is from Erden, a town on the Mosel; Treppchen is the name of the vineyard site, in this case “little staircase”, which is also an Erste Lage, a first-class site. Spätlese implies wine from fully ripe grapes, the lightest of the late harvest styles, a riper category than Kabinett, but it can still be made in either a sweet or dry (trocken) style: here it’s sweet. The Berres family has been making wine since 1510; they are in the 21^st winemaking generation. 2001 was a magnificent German vintage, with low yields but very high quality.

Purely sweet to begin with; moderate petrol notes soon blow in. Two-thirds of the way through the palate I can’t help but think of cashew nuts. Not dense or highly concentrated, but very attractive. Being set against borscht at the dinner table is a transformatively good experience for this wine; it suddenly seems more acidic, more structured.

86/100

Viña Albina – 1970

I had my doubts about this bottle, as it was down a bit at the neck and the cork was somewhat knackered. In fact, though, apart from a slight, initial mustiness that blew off, it turned out to be in excellent, delicious condition. The more old Rioja I drink, the more I think it can age better than most Bordeaux.

To begin with, the bouquet comes across most forcefully as mushrooms and wet undergrowth, the note that blows off. Then it is a lovely blend of mature red fruit (I thought of redcurrant) and spiced, savoury pickles.

The oakiness shows a little more on the finish, which seems short in comparison to the complexity the wine shows through the rest of the mouth. Not quite the same delightful, precise, bright fruit of Berberana 1970, nor quite the same finesse, but a delicious and much more savoury wine from one of the great Rioja vintages.

(Although this bottle showed well and gave me immense pleasure, I do expect there are slightly better bottles of Albina ’70 out there).

92/100

Manzanilla en rama – “I think”

En rama (original state) bottling from laudable independent bottlers Equipo Navazos, one of the great drivers of the ongoing sherry renaissance. Unfiltered, so a much darker colour than most manzanilla sherries, and with a formidable amount of sediment in the bottle. A big bouquet of chamomile and lanolin (I think Johnson’s face cream), and very salty. A bizarre palate for manzanilla; big in the mid-palate (usually a manzanilla empty spot), it is very acid-driven for sherry (usually lower acid) with a profound aftertaste. It is commonly said that manzanilla needs to be drunk young, but this has the complexity and structure to age well. If I miss anything about it, I miss the nuttiness that sometimes comes over, but otherwise stupendous.

94/100

Sake Diary

Chotoko – Heavenly Brew – Honjozo

Unripe bananas, with a heat on the finish that reminds me of Szechuan pepper. Grippy, not as a smooth as the best sakes can be.

Nechi Otokoyama – Ginjo

Smells like double cream. Sweet, too: watermelon. Quite a fine finish, almost winey. A surprisingly good food sake.

Tamagawa Kinsho – Daiginjo

Lime, flowers and pear – very fragrant, and a very smooth palate. Clearly the finest of this batch of sakes, but doesn’t stand up well to food.

Kamaizumi Shusen – 3 Dots – Junmai

Earthy and mushroomy – the flavours are very savoury, but there is a surprising underlying sweetness. Not quite so good a finish, but definitely interesting.

Dewa Oka – Junmai Ginjo

The blurb says cherry blossom, but that seems remote to us; there is a much more clearly defined note of cucumber (N1 adds bitter melon) and a ginger finish. Structurally relatively light.

Château Paillas – 2002

Not Bordeaux, but Cahors, the home of Malbec, in central south western France.  

This has clearly smoothed out since its young days when it was undoubtedly too chunky, but is nevertheless something of a disappointment. It approaches with a distinctively black cherry note, then has a dry mid-palate empty of much other than a little white pepper; then a small sweet hit of Ribena on the finish. Leaden, rustic, uninspiring.

79/100

Bodegas Norton – Malbec – 2011

Fairly dense colour, but not opaque (I’ve seen Malbecs from halfway up a mountain that are as thinly coloured as the average Pinot Noir, but the Malbec norm is pretty black). The nose is primary and primitive – bristly, brambly black fruit that says hot, rustic Mediterranean. A sticky sort of texture, but with no great flavour depth, and a rough finish.

78/100

Cuvée Lalou – 1999

I attended a fascinating event at LEOS (the London Experimental Oenology Seminars) in December given by Didier Mariotti, Chef de Cave at Mumm, in which the Cuvée Lalou (the premium cuvée at Mumm, a 50-50 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay) was served at different temperatures.

At 6°, the champagne was at its yeastiest, and seemed entirely Chardonnay-driven.

At 11°, the yeast character seemed somewhat different – more popcorn than bread. Both Chardonnay and Pinot character were perceptible. 

16° seemed the least attractive way to serve the champagne, but it also brought out the Pinot character, which expresses better at warmer temperatures; at this temperature, the finish seemed rather bitter (and Pinot supplies that bitterness). Nevertheless, there was also some interesting spice that manifested at this temperature that didn’t appear in the colder pair. 

90/100 (At 6° and 11°!)

Château Rauzan-Gassies – 1983

A Margaux second growth, currently down-rated to a fifth in the Liv-ex classification. 1983 lives in the shadow of 1982, but was nevertheless an excellent Margaux vintage; apparently some châteaux here made better wines than in ‘82.

Still looks relatively youthful, without too much bricking. Dark fruit and muted cedar, and a menthol character that sometimes segues into plasticine. The finish is rich and savoury. No very strong flavours, but smooth, long and beautifully rounded.

92/100