And …….Don‘t just believe me and my passion for the pink stuff. David Lebovitz has a terrific blog, “Living the Sweet Life in Paris”. Recently he wrote:
“Rosé has overtaken white wine in France and I am proud to say that I have done my part to help tip those scales.”
Quite!
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I am rather obsessed with Spain these days- arguably the most exciting wine country in the world at the moment. John Radford writes in his preface to a terrific book The New Spain. A Complete Guide to Contemporary Spanish Wine:
“Spanish wine is more vibrant, happening and fascinating that it has ever been.”
New shipments have just arrived from two of my favourite family owned wineries, Bodegas Chivite, Navarra and Bodegas Farina Toro. Both offer fascinating insights into state of the art winemaking at remarkably affordable prices. …..Enjoy!
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And still more thoughts about Spanish wine families. Miguel Torres was in London recently. I have know Miguel since 1977; a remarkable man running a remarkable wine company. He shudders at the thought of becoming a corporation…. “Family ownership allows for patience. Short termism is not suited to the wine industry”. I bet Fosters wish they had listened to him!
He is justifiably enthusiastic about their expansion into Rioja. Ibericos Crianza is a new take on the region with more up-front fruit no longer masked by excessive oak. This has been made by sixth generation daughter Mireia who is now Technical Director. She has also made two other wines we list. Nerola Blanco; a spicy, citrus flavoured blend of Xarello & Garnacha Blanco, and Nerola Tinto, a luscious blend of 80% Syrah with Monastrell (Mourvèdre to you and me).
“Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried
With fewer tensions and more tolerance”
Benjamin Franklin
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MARLBOROUGH SAUVIGNON BLANC: THIRTY YEARS ON
I first visited Marlborough in the hot summer of 1963. My University mate and I were on the way from Wellington to the Pan Pacific Arts Festival in Christchurch. On day one of our trip we pitched our tent in a field just outside Blenheim. It was my first and only night ever spent under canvas – the next day, we dumped the tent, hitch-hiked directly to Christchurch and spent our miserable amount of money on a hotel room for the week. For years all I could remember about Marlborough was how desolate it was…even in the middle of the best time of the year. Small, dull towns, poverty stricken sheep farmers eking a living out of barely arable land. Boredom, and nowhere civilised to get a drink.
My how things have changed…and it’s all down to the world of wine! In 1973, the visionary Frank Yukich, founder of Montana ignored the protestations of his board of wine ignorant money men ( U.S. partners Seagram and their acolytes) and preferred to follow the advice of Davis University, California who thought that Marlborough was the perfect place to plant the first commercial vines in the South Island. All and sundry in Auckland , the Hawkes Bay and Gisborne followed the typical North Island attitude to the South ….and laughed at the prospect.
At first Muller Thurgau was planted, but encouraged by Ross Spence’s experimental success with Sauvignon Blanc at Matua Valley, Auckland, Yukich planted New Zealand’s first commercial Sav Blanc vineyard; the first wine was released on 2009.
In the mid 80’s Montana set up a pallet of their Sauvignon Blanc in the middle of Auckland for a photo shoot. The banner said “Reserved for Methuselahs in London.” In the glory days of my large place near Parliament Square we poured Montana wines like there was no tomorrow (no “just a glass of water “lunches in those days, God bless them!)
Marlborough Sav Blanc now accounts for 80% of the country’s wine exports. As we all know the wine conquered Blighty in a few brief years. It has repeated the exercise in the USA, and recently it has won the hardest battle of all and taken over Australia’s domestic white wine market!
From impoverished sheep rearing to one of the world’s iconic white wines – all in the space of 30 years. It is one of the great contemporary wine stories!
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WE HAVE FOUR OF THE VERY BEST SAV BLANCS!
TINDALL ESTATE SAUVIGNON BLANC 2008/9 £21.50
A Kiwi rarity – a family owned single vineyard winery, with no grapes bought from contract growers…only their own produce. Heaps of tropical fruits in a restrained, sophisticated manner.
COOPERS CREEK SAUVIGNON BLANC 2008/9 £23.50
Aromatic & herbaceous. Classic Marlborough Sav Blanc style….
KOURA BAY SAUVIGNON BLANC 2008/9 £29.50
Bounteous quantities of limes, tropical fruits & gooseberries with a zippy finish. 5 stars in both Cuisine & Decanter tastings.
PIONEER BLOCK SAUVIGNON BLANC 2008 £35.00
SAINT CLAIR Dillon’s Point, Lower Wairau Valley
Matt Thomson describes his classic as:
“An intense concentration of blackcurrant, passionfruit and citrus with a mineral note that gives the palate an intensity which lasts and lasts."
Reminiscent of Cloudy Bay in its halcyon days - long gone.
AND DON’T FORGET THESE OTHER WINES !
OPAWA PINOT GRIS 2008 £23.50
Yalumba own this 25 hectare spread on the gravel soils of the Rapaura Valley. Lovely, gentle spice & peaches with a crisp, dry finish.
OPAWA PINOT NOIR 2008 £23.50
A definite Kiwi style with up-front cherries & raspberries & a smoky finish
TINDALL ESTATE CHARDONNAY 2007 £27.50
Elegant, gently oaked style with citrus, peaches & a touch of melon.
TINDALL ESTATE PINOT NOIR 2007 £29.50
A more European style – restrained, soft style with delicate raspberries..
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CHATEAU HERMITAGE MAZEYRES POMEROL
I love Pomerol. Stephen Brook sums the wines up succinctly in his excellent must-have tome “The Complete Bordeaux” (720 pages of densely packed information …..Don’t even think of taking a copy on Ryanair; you will have used up 50% of your miserable weight allowance)
“I look for a distinctly sensuous character in aroma and texture, combined with a firm, not rigid, structure. Where there is power it is usually discreet, where there is tannin it doesn’t obscure the fruit.”
Hooray!
It is a tiny appellation measuring only 4 kilometres by 3. Anyone can source the big name estates such as Petrus , L’Eglise-Clinet, L’Evangelile, Le Pin and all the other glory boys at stratospheric prices. …. (Last week someone emailed me offering Petrus. It was £3,300 for a bottle of the 2000. The 2006 was snip at a mere £1800!)
The hardest part is finding good value wines in such a small, exalted area. Late lat year I discovered a relatively unknown beauty from a family owned estate. They ship mainly to the USA and Japan, but I managed to persuade them to allow me an allocation. Our shipment arrived recently, and our claret connoisseurs with an eye for a bargain are having a ball!
CHATEAU HERMITAGE MAZEYRES 2006 £40.00
Robert Parker pontificates and everyone listens:
“2006 was a Merlot year on the Right Bank with Pomerol the star.” This lives up to his claims. 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Franc. It combines full frontal flavours with that lovely understated ‘Bordeaux elegance’
AND……..2004 EN MAGNUM £80.00
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