I went to Forum Nacka, a plush shopping centre on the outskirts of Stockholm, on Saturday and was greeted by this wall-sized poster on the back wall of the cubicle in the men's toilets.
The poster is introducing a guy named Stefan who runs a wine tasting group and according to poster loves a good Cab.
Monday 8 November 2010
The Men's Loo at Forum Nacka, Stockholm, Sweden
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:33 0 comments
TN : Chateau Belgrave 2006, Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Vignobles Dourthe, Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, France
This wine is a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot. This wine opened up after an hour in the decanter.
Colour : Blackcurrant
Aroma : Blackcurrant, plums, tobacco, herbs, toasted oak, vanilla
Taste : Blackcurrant, plums, coffee, herbs, drying tannic finish, still tight - try again in two years
Alcohol : 13%
Price : 289 SEK
Mark : B
Website : Vins et Vignobles Dourthe
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:21 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, Napa Valley, California, USA
Warren Winiarski founded Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in 1970. The winery's 1973 SLV Cabernet Sauvignon won the best red in the, now legendary, 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting. Artemis is the greek goddess of the hunt and is often pictured with a stag by her side.
This wine was imported by Ward Wines AB.
Colour : Dark deep purple
Aroma : Blackcurrant, vanilla, mint, coffee, oak, plums
Taste : Blackcurrant, oak, vanilla, coffee, sandpaper textured tannins on finish
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : 300 SEK
Mark : B
Website : Stag's Leap Wine Cellars
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:10 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Cono Sur Vision Chardonnay 2008, Casablanca Valley, Chile
The winemaker was Adolfo Hurtado. The wine was sealed with a screwcap. The grapes came from the El Centinela estate. The vineyard soils are mineral with red clay. All of the grapes wer hand picked on the 29th March 2008. 60% of the wine was aged in barrels and 40% in stainless steel tanks for seven months. The finished wine was bottled in October 2008. The pH at bottling was 3.32, residual sugar was 5.6 grammes per litre, and the total acidity was 7.17 grammes per litre.
Colour : Lemon
Aroma : Pineapple, banana, vanilla, oak, stone fruits
Taste : Pineapple, butter, vanilla, oak, slight bitter almond and oranges on finish
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : 95 SEK
Mark : C+
Website : Vina Cono Sur
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 19:52 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
Tuesday 2 November 2010
Book : Chateau Lafite 1953 - and other stories, Malcolm Gluck
This book is a non-factual fiction book (Malcolm "Superplonk" Gluck's first foray into fiction writing) where each story is loosely associated to a particular bottle of wine.
The stories are quite varied and consist of a murder mystery, a young man's introduction to wine and his loss of virginity to his sister-in-law, a wine writer being replaced, a wine writer being setup to order a ridiculously priced bottle of wine at a restaurant, a man who retires from a factory, a women mistaken for being Jancis Robinson, a wine merchant who ends up at Tesco and meets a woman from South Africa, a bottle of wine made up of the contents of a spittoon, a wine writer who accepts perks which he shouldn't do, the preparation of the travel programme for a range of wine personalities visiting Argentina, a wine writer who writes under two identities, a female author who gets it together up one of her attendees at a book signing, a woman on a TV chat show, an old woman and man who live in the same block of flats and have a common interest in wine, and a TV presenter of a wine programme who can't smell a thing.
While some of the stories are much more interesting than the others, I would thoroughly recommend this book as a source of wine-related entertainment.
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 18:43 0 comments
Labels: BOOK REVIEW
Monday 1 November 2010
TN : Redmont 2006, Weingut Markowitsch, Caruntum, Austria
This wine is a blend of Zweigelt, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah.
Colour : Red, blue hues
Aroma : Oak, raspberry, violets, raspberry
Taste : Polished oak furniture, blueberry, raspberry, blackcurrant
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : 14,90 Euro (Vienna Airport TVW Travel GmbH 12th January 2009)
Mark : B-
Website : Weingut Markowitsch
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 19:09 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Naeli Vermentino Di Sardegna 2009, Cantine Di Dolianova, Sardinia, Italy
The grapes for this wine come from Parteolla and neighbouring areas, with medium consistency soils, clayey limestone of Miocene origin, medium height hilly land with a sub-arid climate.
The grapes are protected from maderization from the time of picking, so as to preserve their primary aromas. There then follows a cold static settling of the must then the alcoholic fermentation is started using selected yeasts. The fermentation temperature was twelve degrees. After a short development with its noble lees, the wine was bottled early to preserve its' freshness.
Colour : Pale lemon
Aroma : Pear, pineapple, herbs, lemon
Taste : Pineapple, lemon, pear, herbs and bitter almonds on finish
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : 85 SEK
Mark : C
Website : Cantine Di Dolianova
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 18:56 2 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Chateau Malescasse 2005, Cru Bourgeois, Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, France
This wine is rated 15.4 points by Decanter magazine.
Colour : Dark red
Aroma : Earthy, cedar, dark fruits
Taste : Earthy, talculm powder texture and tannins, plums, blackcurrant, cedar
Alcohol : 13%
Price : 174 SEK (Systembolaget 31st October 2008)
Mark : C+
Website : Chateau Malescasse
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 18:48 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
Tuesday 26 October 2010
TN : Crognolo 2007, IGT, Tenuta Sette Ponti, Tuscany, Italy
Colour : Dark black/red
Aroma : Oak, milk chocolate, cherry, herbs
Taste : Toasty oak, milk chocolate, blackcurrant, cherry, herbs, liqourice, warm finish
Alcohol : 14.5 %
Price : 219 SEK
Mark : B+
Website : Tenuta Sette Ponti
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 18:50 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
Monday 25 October 2010
TN : De Martino Single Vineyard Las Cruces Old Bush Vines 2007, D. O. Cachapoal Valley, Chile
The grapes for this wine come from the dry-farmed Las Cruces vineyard which was planted almost 70 years ago. The wine is a natural field blend dominated by Carmenere and Malbec. The vineyards are planted on granitic soils, that originate from the Jurassic age. The grapes were hand picked on May 8th 2010. The wine was aged for 14 months in French oak barrels.
This wine smells much better than it tastes. I don't think the Malbec addition does this wine any favours and it would be better off as straight Carmenere.
This wine was imported by Domaine Wines.
Colour : Dark blackcurrant
Aroma : Toast, oak, dark fruits, floral, milk chocolate, green pepper
Taste : Dark fruits, coffee, tobacco, herbs, thin texture, green pepper
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : 189 SEK
Mark : C+
Website : De Martino
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:35 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Elvis The King of Rock N' Roll Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, California, USA
The label says "Special Edition Elv75 Birthday 2010".
The wine was vinted and bottled by Elvis Presley Cellars.
Colour : Red, blue hues
Aroma : Jammy, blackcurrant, vanilla, oak
Taste : Jammy, blackcurrant, vanilla, oak, herbs
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : 109 SEK
Mark : C
Website : Rock'N'Wines
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:25 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
Tuesday 19 October 2010
TN : Catena Chardonnay 2009, Bodega Catena Zapata, Mendoza, Argentina
The grapes for this wine were sourced from the Lujan de Cuyo vineyard at 940 metres altitude (40%) and the Tupungato vineyard at 1,500 metres altitude (60%).
This wine was imported by VinUnic AB.
Colour : Lemon
Aroma : Sweetcorn, pineapple, mandarin orange, butter
Taste : Sweetcorn, pineapple, butter, oak
Alcohol : 14%
Price : 119 SEK
Mark : B-
Website : Bodega Catena Zapata
Website : VinUnic AB
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 19:02 2 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
Monday 18 October 2010
Wine Stories at Wine Sur
I just received an email from Gonzalo Merino over at Wine Sur. They are running a great little mini site dedicated to Argentinian wines. However, it is not simply a wine review site but allows the wineries to each present a story about a wine they produce in less than 100 words.
So visit the web site and vote for you favourite wine story today !.
Website : My Wine Story Wine Sur
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 21:01 0 comments
TN : Siefersheimer Riesling Trocken vom Porphyr 2008, Weingut Wagner Stempel, Rheinhessen, Germany
This wine was imported by Moestue Grape Selections AB.
Colour : Pale yellow
Aroma : Mineral, honey, pineapple, lime
Taste : Extreme mineral finish, pineapple, honey, lemon and lime
Alcohol : 12.5%
Price : 149 SEK
Mark : C
Website : Weingut Wagner Stempel
Website : Moestue Grape Selections AB
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:49 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Tsantali Naousa Reserve 2006, Evangelos Tsantalis, Naousa, Greece
This wine is made from the native Xinomavro grape.
Colour : Dark red
Aroma : Plums, oak
Taste : Overoaked, nice fruit, raspberry, plums, blueberry
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : 239 SEK (Restaurant Samos, Stockholm, Sweden)
Mark : C+
Website : Tsantali
Website : Restaurang Samos
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:40 2 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Pieve dei Monaci Syrah 2007, IGT, Pieve Vecchia, Maremma, Tuscany, Italy
Colour : Dark blackberry
Aroma : Spice, blackberry, white pepper, herbs
Taste : Blackberry, milk chocolate, herbs, pepper on finish
Alcohol : 14%
Price : 113 SEK
Mark : C+
Website : Cantina Pieve Vecchia
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:31 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Ruit Hora Vendemmia 2007, Caccia Al Piano 1868, DOC Bolgheri, Italy
This wine is a blend of 65% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Syrah.
Colour : Dark red
Aroma : Cherry, plums, milk chocolate, oak
Taste : Fruity, blackcurrant, cherry, oak, plums, milk chocolate on finish
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : 129 SEK
Mark : B+
Website : Berlucchi
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:22 42 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Zeltlinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 2008, Weingut Selbach-Ostler, Mosel, Germany
The vineyards which are the source of the grapes end at the church at the southern end of Zeltingen. The vineyard is located on a very steep slope with large outcroppings of rock. The soil consists of large chunks of blue Devonian slate, very shallow subsoil of decomposed slate on top of slate bedrock.
This wine was sealed with a screwcap. The wine was imported by Moestue Grape Selections.
Colour : Pale yellow
Aroma : Honey, mineral, pear, petrol
Taste : Honey, oranges, mineral, lime, petrol, some sweetness
Alcohol : 8.5%
Price : 166 SEK
Mark : B
Website : Weingut Selbach-Ostler
Website : Moestue Grape Selections
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 20:12 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
Tuesday 12 October 2010
TN : Renacer 2007, Bodega Renacer, Mendoza, Argentina
This wine is 100% Malbec. The grapes come from the Uco Valley and Lujan de Cuyo. The vineyards are more than 50 years old with yield of less than four tonnes per hectacre. All the grapes were handharvested into 17 Kg boxes. The must underwent an 11 day maceration at 8 degrees. Alcoholic fermentation was done using native yeasts and lasted 17 days in new French oak barriques. Malolactic fermentation was in new French oak barriques. The wine was aged for 24 months in new French oak. The finished wine was aged for 6 months in bottle before release.
The winemakers were Alberto Antonini and Pablo Profili. The pH is 3.6, residual sugar is 2.3 grammes per litre, and the total acidity is 5.9 grammes per litre. Only 5,005 bottles were produced.
This wine received 94 points from The Wine Advocate.
Colour : Deep purple
Aroma : Oaky, blackberry, vanilla, soy sauce, violets
Taste : Blackcurrant, blackberry, vanilla, polished oak
Alcohol : 15%
Price : 299 SEK
Mark : B+
Website : Bodega Renacer
Website : The Wineagency AB
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 19:14 5 comments
Labels: Tasting Note
TN : Ethos Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Chateau Ste Michelle, Columbia Valley, Washington State, USA
The grapes for this wine were sourced from seven key sites in the Columbia Valley. The wine was aged for 22 months in French and American oak. The wine is a blend of 93% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot, and 3% Syrah. 2,300 cases were produced. The pH is 3.84 and the Total Acidity is 0.59 grammes per 100 millilitres.
This wine received 90 points from Wine Spectator and 92 points from The Wine Advocate.
This wine was imported by VinUnic.
Colour : Dark blackcurrant
Aroma : Blackcurrants, oak, vanilla
Taste : Blackcurrant, plum, oak, vanilla, liqourice, grippy tannic finish
Alcohol : 14%
Price : 299 SEK
Price : B+
Website : Chateau Ste Michelle
Website : VinUnic
Posted by ANDY CHEESE at 19:01 0 comments
Labels: Tasting Note