Simply Italian Great Wines (selection from Tuscany)

Sorry I forgot to shave before work today!

Most interesting tasting of Italian wines in London, smoothly and expertly organized by Jane Hunt MW of www.huntandspeller.com. This time I chose to focus on wines from Tuscany.

The producers who came to the tasting were an excellent selection, and here below is a totally subjective choice of a few who impressed me the most.

Azienda Agricola Malenchini

Thank you Alice Brizioli for the presentation of your wines. Now certified bio (organic) according to European standards.

Chianti DOCG 2020

A solid product that still needs time to evolve. Score 88.

Chianti Colli Fiorentini DOCG 2019

90% sangiovese and 10% canaiolo, An excellent Chianti. Score 90

Chianti Superiore DOCG 2018. 

This one takes 5% pf pulitello grapes, another top Chianti that will be at its peak sooner than the other two. Score 90

Vin Santo (100% malvasia), Score 88

Canaiolo IGT 2020.

A fruity interpretation of this so-called "minor" grape of Tuscany, usually blended with sangiovese in Chianti. Score 88

Bruzzico 2017.

The "Supertuscan" of their range. 50% sangiovese and 50% cabernet sauvignon, aged separately for five years: cab in large barrels and sangiovese in barrique. Ready now, still good potential. Excellent body and balance, very complex and long. Score 93. RRP 25 euro

Azienda Camperchi

These wines caught my attention, thank you Martina Marrini for your explanations.  Organic certified since 2018.

Campidivini La Cornia, (bio) 2018

Fruity pinot noir, reminds me of some New Zealand wines, sunny and lively. Score 90.

Campidivini La Chiusa, IGT blend 2015

Round and long, an excellent price/quality ratio at 10 euro RRP. Score 94, ready now.

Grand Collection, Anno 0, IGT 2015

70% sangiovese and rest cab sauvignon, merlot and petit verdot

A smooth, round wine with great body and complex tertiary aromas. Score 92

Azienda Fattoria Montecchio

Primum 2017 and 2016 Chianti classico DOCG.

95% sangiovese and 5% alicante, 18 months in large barrel. An imposing wine, round and compex, with great potential for further evolution. Score 92 for the 2017 which is in my opinion the better of the two.

Pasquino Primum 2015 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG.

Sangiovese 100%, 30 months in barrels and amphoras. Clay slows evolution, this wine has a purposefully rough character which conveys it imposing personality. Score 94. RRP 38 euro

Vignano

A most interesting encounter with a family who moved around the world, from italy to Mauritius, South Africa, Singapore and back to Italy to make excellent wines in Tuscany. Thank you Nicolas for a great tasting. Certified bio-organic production. 

Chianti Riserva 2017 DOCG. 

Easy nose, more aggressive in the mouth. Score 88.

Il Primo 2016, Chianti Superiore 2016 DOCG.

100% sangiovese, full round smooth. Score 92

Matrio 2016 IGT Toscana malbec

The biggest surprise of the day, an Argentinian grape in Tuscany, well done. A complex wine, perfectly balanced, harmonious. Score 94.

  

Organic wines of New Zealand

Most interesting event hosted by New Zealand Wines, expertly and safely organized by Sarah Shepherd at 67 Pall Mall in London. 

An informative way to spend a rainy morning, about 75 bottles to be tasted and some amazing surprises.

Overall, the quality of organic wines is increasing, not just in New Zealand but worldwide, as producers master the techniques. Still, a few wines today could not hide their rough edges, this is typical of less stable organic wines, and more work is to be done.

Compared to previous NZ tasting I noticed a marked improvement of their chardonnays. Sauvignon blancs remain the workhorse of NZ production and confirmed their world class quality also among this organic selection. 

Some exceptional gems stood out among the pinot noirs. Not quite the structure of Burgundy but these wines were full of complex and round fruit, they proved to be very long and, alas, relatively expensive, which I consider a sign of success in the market.

Below are my notes from a selection of all the wines tasted today.

chards and sauvignon whites...

BLENDS

1. Kelly Washington semillon/sauvignon blanc, Marlborough, 2018

An easy, fruity, smooth wine, good balance. RRP £24, Score 84.

2. Kelly Washington pinot blanc, Marlborough, 2020

Biodynamic, another easy typical pinot blanc, reminds me of Alsace brothers. RRP £25, Score 86.

SAUVIGNON BLANC

3. Loveblock TEE sauvignon blanc, Awatere Valley, Marlborough, 2020

No sulphites added at all to this round and complex product. RRP £23, Score 88.

4. Osawa Wines Prestige Collection sauvignon blanc, Hawke's Bay, 2019

A typical sauvignon blanc, balanced and moderately complex, long. RRP £25, Score 89.

5. Dog Point Vineyards Selection 94 sauvignon blanc, Southern Valleys, marlborough, 2018

Strong citrus notes give a welcome freshness to this chardonnay, well balanced by vanilla in a long finish. RRP £25, Score 90.

CHARDONNAY

6. Osawa Wines Prestige Collection chardonnay, Hawke's Bay 2019

Another fresh chard with a unique sapid accent, which keeps on going... RRP £28, Score 88

7. Felton Road chardonnay Block 6, Bannockburn, Central Otago 2020

Pineapple, vanilla, an elegant wine, complex and long, perfectly balanced. RRP £32, Score 92

... and reds: world class pinot noir

8. Felton Road pinot noir Cornish Point, Bannockburn, Central Otago 2020
Balanced and complex, needs a few years in the bottle to round a few rough edges. RRP £ 42, Score 88.

9. Black Estate Home pinot noir, Bannockburn, Central Otago, 2020

A great wine, smooth, long, powerful, complex in the extreme. Intense fruit meets elegance and structure and makes one dream of what the evolution in bottle might bring. RRP 46.50, Score 94

10. Felton Road, pinot noir Calvert, Bannockburn, Central Otago 2020

Another amazing wine from Felton Road, reveals immense potential in the nose and captivates the mind with a complex swirl of red fruits and chocolate in the mouth. Very long. RRP 42, Score 95

11. Felton Road, pinot noir Block 3, Bannockburn, Central Otago 2020

Similar to the preceding wine, but perhaps even more complex. RRP £60, Score 95

12. Quartz Reef Bendigo Estate single ferment pinot noir, bendigo, Central Otago 2019

Another top pinot noir, spicy, opulent. RRP £55, Score 93

13. Burn Cottage Vineyard pinot noir, Central Otago, 2018
Similar in many ways to the preceding wine, RRP £ 53, Score 93

What an amazing tasting of pinot noirs! 

These days one is never too far away from a gel sanitizer

Organic production in NZ, image by Biogro

Sparkling wines of Slovenia, with Glass of Bubbly of London

Thank you Marin Berovic

Today I took part in a tasting of Slovenian sparkling wines organized in London by Glass of Bubbly (Thank you Chris!) and hosted by Marin Berovic, a wine specialist from Slovenia itself.

Interesting range of wines, with a predominance of fresh and fruity bubbles over smooth and fragrant.

Slovenia confirmed itself to be a small but qualitatively relevant player in the market for sparkling wines. I mostly knew Slovenian producers on the Italian side of the border, but they are famous for their still wines.

Here below are some tasting notes.

Winery Radgonske Gorice

My favorite was their Zlata Radgonska Penine Millesimé 2008 (chard 100%), which despite its age retains an amazing freshness and could be a top class aperitif. Score 88.

The Penina Extra dry 2017 sports floral notes and as its label suggests is very fresh. I liked it when it warmed up slightly in the glass. Moderately complex. Score 86.

Winery Istenič

Their prestige extra brut 2013 is amazing, fresh attack then great balance and complexity. Score 92.

The No.1 NV is also fresh and complex with a pleasant fragrance which makes it stand out. Score 90.

Interesting sweet muscat NV at only 11,5% abv. Score 86

Winery Bjana

An excellent Cuvée Prestige 2016 (chard and rebula), with impressive fragrance, complexity and balance. Score 93.

Their Brut 2016 (also chard and rebula) is aromatic in the nose, then a fresh attack is followed by a well balanced finish. Score 89

Winery Silveri

Their best wine was a Blanc de Blanc NV, blend of different rebula (ribolla) grapes, fresh and flowery with moderate complexity. Score 86

A Brut Nature Zero Vintage collection 2011 (chardonnay and rebula) was still amazingly fresh, hard sensations still prevail despite the aging. Score 84

Winery Medot

Brut Rosé 2017. The best rosé in Slovenia (55% pinot noir, 35% rebula, 10% chardonnay) in the opinion of several tasters, complex perfectly balanced and very long. Score 93.

Extra brut cuvée 2015 (70% chard 30% rebula), another fresh wine with flowers and citrus notes, I was again surprised at the freshness of these wines despited their age. Score 90.

Wines of Occitanie, with Tim Atkin MW

First in-person tasting after the pandemic, what a relief to be back in a hall with real people. Thanks to the Agency for Economic Development in Occitanie for organizing this event. More info also on the region's UK website.

Tim Atkin, MW

Intro to region by Tim Atkin, MW

Occitanie is the fusion of Roussillon and Midi-Pirenée, done in 2014, now largest wine producing region of France and by some accounts of the world.

Predominantly red wines (70%) with 25% of whites and 5% of rosé and sweet, the latter currently increasing.

About 3000 growers, many in cooperatives, and 700 negociants. Strong Catalan presence.

Syrah is the most recent successful arrival, began about 50 years ago to improve blends but later became established on its own.

Grenache and merlot are also popular, more merlot here than in Bordeaux.

Reputation lags behind reality: quality has been going up steadily in the region, while quantity is down similar to the global trend.

Blends on average are very successful, better than single varieties, especially for whites. Plant quite a bit of chardonnay and sauvignon blanc but can not compete with Burgundy or Loire even if prices are lower.

Detailed notes below, comments and scores are by Marco of AIS Brussels Club and not by Tim Atkin.

Master Class 1: Great Whites of Occitanie

1. Laurent Miquel, Albarino IGP Aude 2020, alvarinho 100%

Old house, founded in 1791, near Beziers. Steel fermentation, aged on lees, vines planted in 2010. Screw caps, a novelty here.

Floral nose, fresh attack, citrus, crunchy, an excellent Summer glass. Mod complex and length.

Could use some time to get a bit rounder but it is meant to be drunk fresh.

Score 92.

2. Domaine La Voute du Verdus, la Valise Blanche IGP Saint Guilhem le Désert 2020, carignan blanc 100%

Rare grape here, NW of Montpellier. Light oaking. "Lutte raisonnée" approach, not organic but least possible intervention.

Mod fresh complex aromas in the nose. Slightly woody, good structure, can feel phenolics, tannins.

Score 90.

3. Domaine Paul Mas, Réserve languedoc Blanc AOC 2020, vermentino, marsanne, grenache blanc and viognier

Steel fermentation and wood aging.

Smooth wine, mod length and complexity.

Score 88.

4. Chateau Puech-Haut, Tête de Beliér, AOC Languedoc 2020, roussanne, marsanne, grenache blanc, viognier

North of Montpellier, inox fermentation and wood aging with batonnage.

Excellent balance, mod complex and length.

Score 86.

5. Château des Estanilles, Vallongue AOC Faugères 2020, marsanne, roussanne, vermentino

FLoral aromas, vanilla, persistent minerality.

Perfect balance, complex and very long.

Score 94.

6. Château Rives-Blanques, Dédicace AOC Limoux 2019, chenin blanc 100%

Barrel fermented, batonnage.

Fresh and mineral, mod complex and length.

Score 88.

7. Mas de La Devèze, Pandore AOC Côtes du Roussillon 2019, maccabeu, grenache blanc

In Languedoc.

Smooth and complex, well balanced, a touch of lingering pleasant bitterness at the end. A unique sensation, unusual, surprising.

Score 93 mostly because it is so unique.

8. Plaimont, L'Empreinte SO Saint Mont 2017, gros manseng, petit corbu

In Gascony, steel and lees aging, no wood.

Fresh and aromatic nose, strong minerality, hard sensations prevail.

Might develop in time.

Score 86.

Master Class 2: Tim's Personal Picks of Occitanie

1. Calmel & Joseph, Ams Tram Gram, Quartier Libre IGP Pay d'Oc 2020, Clairette, grenache blanc, rolle (vermentino), roussanne

WHITE Intense floral aromas, round and mod complex wine, long. Could use a bit more acidity. Steel, no wood, no malolactic, on lees for 4 months.

Slight bitterness gives an original touch.

Score 89

2. Domaine Gayrard, Loin de L'Oeil AOC Gaillac 2019, Loin de l'oeil

WHITE A tad too rough, though a mod complexity can make it pleasant with succulent food, it is a bit off-putting to me.

Score 80

3. Domaine Lafage, Miraflors Rosé IGP Côtes Catalanes 2020, mourvèdre, grenache gris, grenache noir

RED Very fresh, easy wine for a pizza in the garden during the Summer.

Score 82

4. Château la Sauvageonne, Grand Vin AOC Terrasses du Larzac 2019, grenache noir, syrah, carignan noir

Hard sensations prevail, tannins predominant, sapidity.

Score 82

5. Château de Ciffre, Terroir d'Altitude AOC Faugères 2019, syrah,grenache noir, mourvèdre

Intense and captivating to the nose, of ripe red fruits, perfect balance, long and complex. A few years of aging potential, I'd love to smell the tertiaries of this wine.

The best red of the day.

Score 94

6. Cave de Roquebrun, Roches Noires AOC Saint-Chinian, Roquebrun, 2019, syrah, grenache noir, mourvèdre

A good all around wine, mod complex and long, but can't compete after n.5 above.

Score 85

7. Château Coutinel AOC Fronton 2019, négrette, gamay, syrah

Organic production, no wood.

Strong character, rough, hard sensations prevail. Tim says he likes it because as he gets older he prefer wines with harder taste, especially more acidity. I guess I am not old enough.

Score 80.

8. Domaine F. Jaubert, or du Temps, VDN AOC Rivesaltes 2002, grenache gris, grenache blanc

Fermented on skins, then 17 years in concrete tanks! Slightly fortified.

Nuts, dry figs, toasted almonds. A very well balanced, long and harmonious wine.

This is considered the white counterpart to Banyuls.

Score 94.

Meet the producer, Alpasiòn Wines, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

In the context of the London Wine Fair 2021, we have been fortunate to receive some samples from a remarkable winery in the Uco Valley of Argentina.

Alpasiòn in their own words (from their website): The people behind this project are all wine lovers who decided to make a dream come true by making honest, iconic wines together. We decided to name our inaugural release “Alpasión,” a combination of the Spanish “alma” (soul) and “pasión” (passion). The Alpasión label features the fingerprints and signatures of all of the winery’s owners as testimony to friendship for life. The winery owns 85 hectares of land and although not certified just yet, Alpasión practices sustainable organic farming to ensure the health of soils, ecosystems and people. Even part of the vineyard is planted in the shape of a giant fingerprint.

Whataboutme? Sauvignon blanc 2019

Sauvignon blanc 100%. Zesty and citrussy, fresh aromas on the nose, followed by a clean taste in the mouth. A simple yet pleasant wine.

Score 80.

Whataboutme? Malbec 2019

Easy, round and mod long, typical malbec.

Score 86

Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

Ripe red fruits and plums. Excellent balance and length for this complex cab. It is still young, could age but it is good now. The best of the range.

Score 94

Malbec 2018

Easy and round, more complex aromas than Whatabaoutme? and surprisingly long.

Score 88.

Grand Malbec 2017

A wine that must wait, the tannins are still aggressive. Excellent potential, the fruit is there, so is the complexity. To drink in 3-4 years at least.

Score 90.

Grand Cabernet Franc 2018

Ripe fruit and plums. An opulent wine, very well balanced, which is not always easy with a cab franc. Deserves a wait, at least 3-4 years.

Score 90

Meet the producer: Achaval Ferrer from Mendoza, Argentina

Achaval Ferrer (image from their website)

A producer from Argentina who is proud of carrying on a long, ultra-centenary tradition of wine making. Many vines are ungrafted, that is they were not touched by phylloxera and therefore had no need for grafting as most of the rest of the world.

In the works of Jevgenijs Suscinskis, who guided my tasting a few days ago and whom I would like to thank here, grafted vines give you a picture of the vineyard, ungrafted ones give you a movie! A film that does not last two hours but perhaps two centuries!

Here is the result of the tasting, very efficiently organized by MyOnlineFair:

Mirador 2014
malbec 100% from old vines, some  are 70-year-old plants on own roots.
A well balanced, dark ruby, round wine with lots of energy to offer.
15 months in french oak but one does not feel the wood much, excellent freshness is still there.
Score 89.

Bellavista 2014
malbec 100% from old vines, some up to 100 years old. 

Unfiltered and unfined it shows slight deposit. Violet black and red fruits emerge in the nose make for a fresher malbec compared to the previous one. Clearly this has further aging potential. This is an expensive bottle, around 100 Eur per bottle retail. Definitely worth it!

Score 95

 

Mendoza malbec 2018
malbec 100%

An interesting, moderately complex blend from grapes from different altitudes. A wine where the producer tries to offer the most typicity for the variety.

Score 88. 

rrp 18

Quimera 2013

45% malbec,19% cabernet sauvignon,18% merlot 18% cabernet franc

Warm blending of grapes in oak barrels to age together, an interesting method in stark contrast with most other blends where the individual varieties are vinified separately and blended at the end, prior to bottling.

Score 88

Cabernet Sauvignon 2017
cabernet sauvignon 100%
A majestic witn with long and perfectly balanced finish, due in large part, no doubt, to the 30 to 40-year-old vines from which it is produced. The wine was still excellent even after the bottle had been opened a few days (and closed after each tasting with vacuvin), long and balanced, even harmonious.

Score 93.

One word about pairing these and other Argentinian wines. Of course you will read all over the place how they go well with local food, especially famed beef from the pampas. Which it does, but this is very restrictive for the huge potential offered in these bottles.

At Jevgenijs' suggestion, I tried a pairing some of these wines with mildly spicy southern Chinese food and was very pleasantly surprised. The moderate body and smooth finish contrasts the mild (I repeat mild! Nothing can pair with very spicy food!) spices of Hunan cuisine.

Sherry: a remote guided tasting with Diatomists

Today, as part of the London Wine Fair 2021, which had to be run online because of COVD restrictions,  Marco Carnovale of the italian Sommelier Association hosted a guided tour of Sherry wines with Thomas and Antonio, of Diatomists, a wide importer of Sherry to the UK. Below is a video of the tasting. 

As they explain on their website: Diatomist is the name given to those who master the art of diatom arrangement. Diatoms are single cell algae that create complex glass shells around themselves. 5 million years ago Jerez was under water which explains the unique and exceptional soil rich in diatom fossils.

These hidden microscopic marvels are essential for the vines to thrive in a hot climate with dry summers and sporadic heavy rainfall. The soils’ porosity locks in the moisture providing essential water reserves for the vines to thrive during the long and sunny growing-season. In fact, the quality of the soil can be quantified by its diatoms.

We tasted three wines: 

1. Fino, Chiclana de la frontera, Single Pago, Pago Pozo Galván

A fresh and fruity sherry to be enjoyed with a meal of light structure. Score 88

2. Manzanilla, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Single Pago, Miraflores

A more complex wine that may easily hold its own alone or be paired with a substantial meal of fish or white meats. Score 90

3. Medium, Jerez de la Frontera, Single Bota, Aged 19 years, DO Jerez

A rich and powerful sherry, intense in color, aroma and taste. Perfectly married with dessert or enjoyed alone. Score 94

Any further information contact Antonio and Thomas at

www.diatomists.co.uk