Tasting Cap Negre 2009
Food recommendations are soft meat, spaghetti carbonara, and cheeses.
Small producers ~ Great wines
Food recommendations are soft meat, spaghetti carbonara, and cheeses.
This is clearly not a SuperQuinn’s phenomenon… Neither a Dublin’s one! I checked Tesco’s half-price offers online for the week (hurry up… it ends today!!) and they include a “Special Offer” were you save €11.29 (!) when buying Oceans Edge Pinot Grigio, which allegedly was €19.29 but now is only €8.00! Guess what? The actual price was €9.99 for the most of this year, with some offers on €8, but now they want you to believe it’s a super special sale! If you pay €19.29 for it and then find that out later, would you feel like you’ve been conned?
This is, among others, one of my The Day After Wine”.
http://www.rodaropaolo.it |
I opened a bottle of Paolo Rodaro Friulano 2011 last night for refreshment, but I have to confess I was not much impressed… we took it with some chilli cheddar cheese – maybe this was the problem – and apart from the freshness, nothing else came to my attention which would worth blogging…
The day after, putting some left-overs together for a quick brunch, we decided to try it again, with a lovely & improvised stir fry king prawns… and I have to tell you, the wine was almost like another one! Lovely fruity aromas came instantly as I poured it into the glass, mainly apricots and peaches. Then the palate the fruits again, with some spices (white peppers, sweet spices) and hints of minerality as well.
Undoubtedly, this Paolo Rodaro Friulano 2011 is my “the day after” wine!
Brumont Merlot-Tannat, 2011 |
This 50% Tannat, 50% Merlot from “Mr. Madiran”, Alain Brumont has a pale purple colour, with lovely notes of red fruits on the nose, notably strawberries, raspberries and red cherries. Some hints of minerality can appear on the nose, but couldn’t get any on the mouth. It’s a wine still developing despite of the low tannins but I’d not keep for much longer.
It has a good acidity, and the 14.5% of alcohol don’t attacks the throat. A medium finish length, medium bodied, it reaffirms the nose’s aromas in the palate.
I’d drink it now but would like to visit it again in 2 years time.
Just arrived from Spain where I travelled for the XVIII Fira Del VI de Falset – Priorat AND for the F1 Grand Prix de Catalunya, I bring good and bad news for the wine market in general – the “normal” people!
The good news is that Priorat and Montsant wines are good as always – lots of interesting wines, winemakers exploring different vinification methods as never, and wines which bring all the potential of Garnatxa and Samsò, the most powerful grapes of the region! Some wines I particularly liked was from bodegas Mas de l’Abundància, Joan Simó, Vendrell I Rived, Celler Mas de les Vinyes, Pascona, Vermunver, Cellers Capafons-Ossó, Cellers San Rafel, Ficària Vins, among others… and there are a lot!
Now the bad news: the price, that thing that puts a lot of people off stuff. I’m not saying Priorat wines are not expensive to produce, but there’s more than a mite of ballyhoo, too, part of it fuelled by wine journalists, but part generated by emerging consumers from emerging markets, as China and Russia, not forgetting the king of consumption USA! Basic demand and supply, and the winemakers, as everybody else, have to survive!
Bad for us, the normal, regular consumer.
But don’t give it up, my winelover reader… you always can find good prices, it’s just a matter of digging deeper… and when you find the wine which fits your pocket, buy it with no hesitation! It will surely be a good wine!
To be honest, the wines in Temecula didn’t impress me at all. They were all easy-drinking wines, with an unbalanced sweetness from interrupted fermentation, almost appellative, to the american sweet-teeth taste.
I tried wines from small valleys in Napa and Sonoma as well, Dry Creek, Alexander Valley, Lodi, Mount Veeder, Oakville… and surprisingly it was a bit disappointing… maybe because as I was in a budget-aware trip, all the bottles we got were under US$30!
For sure there are nice wines in USA. The last one I remember tasting I believe was a 2010 Culler Wines Cabernet Casaeda: fantastique, but it cost me US$50!
Differently from Europe, would it be the case that to get serious wines in USA we have to go over US$30?
Showing a lively cherry colour, it has red berries, vanilla & spices aromas on the nose. Red berries, chocolate and sweet spices on the palate, with a long and smooth finish.
This 50% Merlot and 50% Tannat was made to develop a complex and balanced wine matching style of New World wine. The grapes grow on clay-limestone hillsides soils located on Ténarèze, and fine clay soils called Peyrusquets. The wine rests over the grapes before bottling.
On the nose it has red plums, cherry jam, prune, blackcurrant and white pepper. A juicy palate of cherry, plum, peppery, and earthy flavours. A lovely red with good fruit and a plump and supple finish!