Tasting No 4 - Les Chardons, Vin de Pays, Loire Valley, Sauvignon 2009

We have a friend for lunch and I have rustled up a smoked salmon quiche (recipe from The Silver Spoon) which has Gruyere cheese, lots of eggs and lots of cream in it! So what about the wine? I am thinking about a Macon chardonnay or a Loire Sauv Blanc and on offering these options the ladies both fancy the sauv blanc so Les Chardons it is.

Quite clear in the glass with a slight yellowy greeny tinge. On the nose I get definite citrus, definitely lemon and maybe some lime, and a bit of kerosene....Quite dry in the mouth with lemon and lime flavours to the fore again and little bit of body to stand up to the rich food which is very satisfying. Quite a short finish but worked very well as a lunchtime white and the girls enjoyed it.

3* wine this one, I would have it again.

Available from Stone Vine & Sun for £6.95, abv 12%


 

Tasting No 3 - Ghislaine Barthod Bourgogne Rouge, 2007

A spicy Asian duck dish for tea tonight so I pull out one of my Barthod entry-level red burgundies (bought in bond from Uncorked a couple of years ago for £130 a case plus duty & vat) for the latest instalment of wine-o-clock.

Dark red in colour but almost transparent at the edges. On the nose I get black cherries, blackcurrants, raspberries, leather polish and an earthy tinge. Vanilla and blackcurrant on the mouth with slightly drying tannins which work really well with the fatty duck breast and sweet and salty sauce.  Nice smooth finish with a little oak and more berry fruit.

We were going to leave half the bottle for tomorrow night but the missus and I were enjoying it so much we polished off the lot. However, I would say 3* rather than 4* on account of value for money as the 2009, which I tasted at a recent Burgundy en primeur tasting and it was excellent, has been released at £160 per case in bond which brings it in at at about £18-19 a bottle which is a little steep for Bourgogne Rouge in my view. I have just bought a case of 2009 Bourgogne Rouge from another Chambolle Musigny producer, Digoia Royer, from Stone Vine Sun for £78 per case in bond, half the price of the Barthod so look forward to testing that out for a value for money comparison.

Friends round for lunch tomorrow so probably more from wine-o-clock then......

Tasting No 2 - McWilliam's Mount Pleasant Semillon, Hunter Valley, 2005

Moving swiftly on to Wine-o-clock's second tasting in two days. Its the weekend and the Missus has rustled up a J Sheekey fish pie so something special required. Just bought a 6 pack of this Aussie classic, we used to stay in Sydney and tasted this at a McWilliam's wine club dinner at the Guillame at Bennelong restaurant at the opera house pretty much out of the barrel in Nov 2005 and we were blown away by its fresh, floral fruity loveliness. We, like everyone else in NSW, love bottle aged Hunter Semillon so had been at the dinner on account of the old wines being served but this young one stole the show (the first vintage to be released on bottling as a limited run - they tend to store them and release them after 5-6 years after vintage). So It was with much excitement that I unscrewed the cap tonight.....

Light gold in colour with a slight green tinge, a bit like a good Italian olive oil. On the nose I get honey, passion fruit, plastic, nuts and maybe a bit of white peppery spice. In the mouth there is a slight fizz on the tongue that makes your nose twitch, followed by a wash of pineapple then honey, caramel and a hint of oak (even though it the wine hasn't been near any oak!) leading to a very long finish with a hint of lemon sherbet. This is good juice!

4* now but I think with 2-3 years more bottle age this will be nudging 5*, I think I will stash the rest of these in the Eurocave and taste another in a year or so.

View from the missus - quite oaky....

11.5% abv, £17.50 per bottle available from Slurp.

First Tasting - Villa Cafaggio, Chianti Classico, 2006

Its here, the 1st tasting for Wine-o-clock!

By the way I have decided the scoring will be out of 5, with the following
1 = not pleasant, did not finish
2 = drank it but would not buy it again
3 = liked it, would buy it again
4 = really nice wine, would buy a case and look out for other vintages
5 = genius!

Its pasta for tea tonight so first off the bat is a Chianti from a favourite producer of mine so confident of a good start.

Quite a dark crimson in colour. On the nose I get dark berry fruit, some raspberry and cherry and maybe even strawberry with a hint of honey and oak. On the mouth quite tannic to start with but it has a long smooth finish with a sweet red fruit finish, a bit like a raspberry coulis or a red wine gums but not too sweet and the oak is there into a long finish. The wine, as expected, gets better as I scoff the pasta and even quite a big hit of chili in the sauce doesn't knock the wine off course. Seems to open up quite a bit in the glass as the bottle disappears and just gets better and better and is very quaffable by the end.

13.5% abv, retails at £10-12, was available last year at Tesco.

A great wine for me and I give it 4*.

View from the missus - its nice and fruity, goes well with the pasta.

Back tomorrow, I think we are having J Sheekey's fish pie so will be a white.

Introduction

Welcome to wine-o-clock!

Wine-o-clock will follow my wine consumption over the next 12 months with tasting notes of the wines I drink over the next year. I will nominate a wine of the month at the end of each  month and then announce a top ten of 2011 in time for Christmas.

The aim of wine-o-clock is to provide straightforward descriptions of wines from everyday quaffers to special occasion wines. I will try to taste wines which are easily available and where possible provide details of price and retailer if available.

First tasting later in the week!