Musings of a UK Wine Scholar

One of my favorite wines so I didn't really need an excuse for a tasting when it came in one of my recent Laithwaites mixed cases.

Producer: Le Marquis, Cellier Des Dauphins

Region: Chateauneuf du Pape, Tulette, Drome, France

Vintage: 2009

Grape Variety: Blend (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, possibly others?)

Price: unknown (Laithwaites Four Seasons Mixed Case)

Appearance: Deep Ruby

Nose:  Clean, medium intensity aroma of red fruit (cherry and red plum), hints of blackberry and spice (pepper)

Palate: Medium tannin, medium acidity, medium bodied and full of flavour. The Grenache brings a wonderful rich red fruit cherry and plum flavour complementing hints of blackcurrant and complex spice flavours (pepper and cloves).

Conclusion: I have always loved Chateauneuf du Pape and this is a great example of a lovely wine.

I wanted something spicy and punchy to go with Mexican Tacos so thought I would give this a go.

Producer: il Bello

Region: Piemonte, Italy

Vintage: 2009

Grape Variety: Barbera DOCG

Price: £5.99, Waitrose

Appearance:  Medium Intensity with a Bright Ruby Wine

Nose:  Clean Medium intensity Aroma of Red Fruit (Plum) and Black Cherry, hint of Blackcurrant aromas with a rich spicy (pepper and nutmeg) undertones.

Palate: Dry wine with high acidity but low tannin. Full bodied rich spicy wine.  Black cherry and plum flavours balance out the spice of pepper, cloves and hint of sweet nutmeg.  Oaky smokiness also comes through.

Conclusion: Initially the acidity made the wine seem harsh and astringent but I left it to breath and then drank it with dinner and found it mellowed beautifully into a very rounded nice tasting wine.

What better adventure to celebrate passing my WSET Level 2?

Producer:  Waitrose ‘Seriously Plummy’

Region: Maury (Appellation Protegee), France

Vintage: not stated

Grape Variety: 100% Grenache noir

Price: £9.99 (37.5cl)

Appearance: Clear deep garnet

Nose:  light aromatic – smells to me of winter spices and reminds me of port. A sweet earthy syrupy aroma with hints of mixed peel and reminded me of the raw mix of fruit cake (hope that doesn’t sound too weird)

Palate: high tannin, high acidity with a rich full sweet red fruit flavour of cherry and plum with an undertone of milk chocolate butteriness.

Conclusion: This was a really special adventure for me to celebrate passing my WSET Level 2 and I wanted something out of the ordinary.  This was a pleasant surprise and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The notes from Waitrose say I should pick up ginger, orange and vanilla in the aroma (and I guess that sort of matches my initial thoughts of fruitcake and winter).  With the flavour it suggests mocha and cedar. I didn’t really pick that up but maybe others will.

There I was lying in bed this morning and thinking that it had been two weeks since I did my WSET Level 2 exam in London, and then I heard the letter box go and it sounded like something important as it hit the doormat.

There it was a big brown envelope containing my results!  I opened it with trepidation as I really wasn't sure how I had done.  What followed was a crazy excited dance round the lounge for the next 5 minutes - a Pass with Distinction!

It made me feel so proud of all the work I had done preparing for it - and I won't fib there was a hell of a lot of fun and wine drinking along the way!

It has spurred me on to continue this fantastic adventure and go for my Level 3 in the New Year.

Until then I'll enjoy the journey and I am back online with my tasting notes too.

The second tasting of the week was for a full bodied red and WSET recommended a Barolo.  What I tried wasn't as full bodied as I expected it to be and I was surprised by how high the tannin was (despite the clues from the tutor!).  However, it was very drinkable and we had to wait for a night when we could cook a Roast Shoulder of Lamb as I felt it suited the bottle :0)

Producer: Terre Da Vino

Region: Italy, Barolo

Vintage: 2007

Grape Variety: Nebbiolo

Cost: £15.00 (I wonder if I had taken it over £20.00 if I would have matched the body and depth I expected?)

Appearance: Deep Ruby

Nose: Clean, Medium , Black Fruit and Plum tones with a cedar wood lingering aroma

Palate: Dry, medium acidity (mouth watering), high tannin medium bodied, long length. The first flavour I got was the fruitiness of plum and then followed by black cherry (almost at the back of the throat).  Then came a deep smoky / cedar flavour with a slight bitterness afterwards which I presume is the oak ageing - its taste of bitterness reminded me of bournville cocoa powder.

This isn't as heavy as I expected it to be and had a high tannin to it.

I ate it with a gorgeous leg of lamb with a mint gravy, smashed carrot, potato and swede and cavolo nero greens.  I think it matched the meatiness beautifully.

Apple Test: I felt this turned the flavour to vinegar - very bitter and all tannin

Over the years I have avoided sweet wines.  I once tried one which tasted so much like venos cough mixture that it almost put me off the whole idea for life.  However, week 3 of the WSET Course requires me to try it and instead of the traditional Sauternes I thought I would go for the Hungarian Tokaji - thoroughly scrummy!

Producer: Royal Tokaji Zrt

Region: Hungary

Vintage: 2007

Cost: £11.20 (250 ml)

Grape Variety: Tokaji (5 Puttonyos Aszu)

As an aside Puttonyos are indicators of sweetness in wine specific to the Tokaji.  The sweetest is 6 puttonyos but apparently even a 3 is sweet enough

Appearance: Clear Deep Gold

Nose: Clean, Medium, Stone Fruit (Apricot and then Peach) hints of jam and preserved fruits

Palate: Sweet, low acidity, full bodied, long length.  Tastes firstly of Dried Apricot then of Yellow plums with a sweet jammy quality.  There is a aftertaste of kernels (for me it was like the kernel of an apricot. my dad always cracked the nut and then put in the jam afterwards for flavour).

I drank this with a Lemon Posset and it found it went very well with the sharpness of the lemon and the jamminess of the wine complimented the sweetness of the pudding.

Honestly it was like drinking an alcoholic liquid jam without all the stickiness!

I did not do the cheese and apple test. But given it worked with the sharpness of the lemon posset (in my opinion) I think it works well with acidity.

The second tasting for week two of my WSET Online Wine Course (I've got to say I am having so much fun thus far!  If all goes well with the exam in October I am definitely signing up straight away for Level 3!)

Producer: Gran Valle De Niebla

Region: Chile

Vintage: 2010

Grape Variety: Gewurztraminer

Appearance: Clear Medium Gold

Nose: Clean, Medium, Stone Fruit (Peach) and hints of Floral (Rose/Jasmine)

Palate: Medium sweetness, medium acidtiy, full bodied, medium length.  Tastes firstly of Tropical Fruit (Lychee) then the Stone Fruit Peach flavour comes in and finally theres the floral Rose tone afterwards. there is a mild aftertaste of black pepper

Overall its not my taste but I enjoyed drinking it.  I drank it as an aperitif as I wasnt sure how sweet it would be.

I should have mentioned with the first post of this week that I was very delayed with my wine tastings and homework for week 2! 

I spent the week on business in Marbella (Its a hard life I know!). 

The biggest highlight of the trip was visiting a wonderful restaurant by the Hotel we were staying at - http://www.elviriarestaurante.com/. Their wine list was superb and the waiter recommended a lovely Aljibes Cabernet Franc which was served chilled - that was a real first for me and I was very pleasantly surprised.

For me the wine had a perfectly velvety fruity flavour with a warm spicy finish.  Given our party ate a mix of Chateaubriaund, and Garlic Cod I was amazed at how well the wine worked with all of them.

Add to that a beautiful warm balmy evening with the sound of cicadas and good company, and it made for a rather wonderful evening

So week two's task was to drink an inexpensive light bodied red wine. Here's what I plumped for:

Producer: Vignale

Region: Italy, Valpolicella DOC

Vintage: 2010

Grape Variety: Corvina Veronese and Rondinella

Price: £4.74 (Waitrose Wines)

Appearance: Deep Ruby

Nose: Clean, Very Light Fragrance, Red Fruit (Cherry and Plum) but couldnt really pick out anything else.

Palate: Dry, medium tanin, light-medium body, medium length. Definite red fruit flavour with plums coming through first followed by cherry.  there was a definite smoky/tabacco aftertaste.

Overall a very light/soft flavoured wine which didnt have much impact but easy to drink.

I drank it with Slow Roasted Belly of Pork with Spiced Apple and Cider Sauce, creamy mashed potato, and spring cabbage.  The flavours all seemed to work well together although its not the most conventional combination! Neither flavour overpowered the other and both kept their identity.

Green Apple Test: This seemed to shorten the length of flavour and brought out the acidity and smokiness of the wine.  It had a much more pronounced effect than that sweet spiced apple with the meal.

My second taste test this week as part of my WSET Course was for a big brand new world Oaked Chardonnay.  Here's what I picked and what I thought of it.

Producer: Hardys VR

Region: South Eastern Australia

Vintage: 2010

Grape Variety: Chardonnay

Price: £6.45

Appearance: Clear, Medium Gold

Nose:  Clean, Pronounced, Citrus (Lemon) and Tropical Fruit (Pineapple)

Palate: Dry, Medium acidity, and medium bodied with a medium length. Tropical Fruit - Honeydew Melon and Pineapple/Nectarine with a crisp citrus after taste - like grapefruit. Finally a bit smokey at the end.

The label said I should get Melon and Peach but to be honest I didnt really get the peach or i simply didt recognise it.

Conclusion: Nice 'average' white wine. It doesnt specify if it is oaked but I assumed it was as it doesnt state it wasnt.  But I would say it was only a light oak flavour.

I drank it with a pasta with a light philly sauce and baby tomatoes but it would also work well with chicken.

Apple test = accentuated the Acidity but didnt cut out all the fruitiness as it was still there as an aftertaste particularly the melon

In our house a gadget is any item bought and not yet proven to be a useful tool.  Like the minature measuring jug (so tiny and cute but with no really culinary purpose!)  So I am being inaccurate here as this is really not a Gadget but (in my humble opinion) one of the best tools for Beer/Wine/Spirit Enthusiasts to keep track of all their tasting history.

Last week my Partner (http://aroundtheukin40recipes.tumblr.com) bought me several wine related Birthday presents in honour of this amazing adventure that I have embarked on.

One which I was most impressed with - The Wine Label Remover.

It is such a simple and effective product that produces such a professional finish. My study notes are now filled with a colourful array of pictures of the bottles that I have tasted.

I was lucky enough to be given a bottle of Oriveto for my birthday last week - just in time for my first wine tasting as part of the WSET Level 2 Course I have just embarked on.

The brief was to taste an inexpensive neutral italian wine and Oriveto fits that bill quite well.  I could have picked a Pinot Grigio or Frascati too but it just seemed fortuitous that this was given to me at just the right time

This is the first time I have tried to taste 'formally' as I always find it awkward to explain what I can smell and taste so here goes:

Producer: Conte Ottavio Piccolomini d'Aragona

Region: Vimodrone, Italy

Vintage: 2008

Grape Variety: Oriveto DOC

Price: Unknown (Gift)

Appearance: Clear, Medium Gold (Straw) Colour

Nose:  Clean, fresh fragrance (not floral but not overly fruity either)

Palate: Clean Fresh taste. Fruity - Apple and Pear - ripe fruit flavour (almost honey like) with a crisp citrus after taste - like grapefruit. Medium body and length.

Now for the fun bit - cheese and apple - the course tutor suggested that after the initial tasting we go again first with some cheese and then with some green apple - thank you for such a brilliant idea!

Cheese first - I found it cut out the acidity and citrus notes leaving a really creamy ripe fruit flavour (pear and honey)

Next the green apple - this had the complete opposite effect.  It brought out all the acidity and removed all the fruitiness. I didn't like it.

Sunday (Wine) School

Having spent the last 17 years of my life in academic or professional study (shudder) I must admit I was slightly daunted about adding yet another area of learning and going ‘back to school’.  However I have just spent the most amazing Sunday immersed in the wonderment of Wine.

Its week one of my WSET Level 2 in Wines and Spirits.  I have been reading my text book and other materials for the last couple of weeks but today I got to login to my online classroom and start flexing the brain cells for the first time.

There are 5 activities to complete this week plus two wine tastings – bit apprehensive about the ‘Test’ at towards the end of the week but I’m sure that’s just nerves.

One thing’s for sure my foreign language skills are certainly going to need some improving.  I spent the day looking at French, German and Spanish wine labels so not only is it mostly in ‘foreign’ its technical jargon! I loved it! I even pulled out my old school German Dictionary (16 years old and still in mint condition – I never did master it!)

The group have had to post some personal bios and they seem like a really diverse cool bunch and I am looking forward to sharing the experience with them.

Did my first proper tasting tonight too – that’s to follow in the next blog – and it was actually really enjoyable processing my thoughts beyond ‘Yum that tastes nice’.  Its been sent off to my course tutor so fingers crossed it sounded vaguely like I knew what I was talking about – but then you’ll read it too now and hopefully let me know your thoughts.

Gorgeous partner made Fresh Cornish Crab Cakes tonight - absolutely loved them so moreish!  Had a go at 'officially trying' to match a wine rather than usual tactic of just picking a bottle from the fridge.

I settled for a Pays D'Oc Chardonnay which was very rich and weighty (possibly a tad oaky).  But the crab cakes were amazing and wine worked well.