TN : Craggy Range Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2007, Te Muna Road Vineyard, Martinborough, New Zealand

This wine was imported into Sweden by Divine AB.



Te Muna means "Secret Place". The vines are grown on stony, limestone soil adjacent to teh Huangarua river.



Colour : Pale lemon

Aroma : Green pea, mango, passionfruit, blackcurrant

Taste : Passionfruit, minerals, blackcurrant leaf, mango, guava, mandarin, creamy mouthfeel

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 199 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Craggy Range Winery
Website : Divine AB

Vintners' Tales DVD

This new DVD contains of the nine of best 10-minute film portraits in the award-winning BBC2 series Vintners’ Tales shown in 1992 and 1998, comprising the following characters in conversation with Jancis Robinson. Unfortunately, it is missing some episodes which is a bit of a let-down.

This television series won the Best Television Programme of the Year award at the annual Glenfiddich Awards. The 1998 series also earned Jancis Robinson the only ever Glenfiddich TV Personality of the Year and went on to global recognition by winning the Gold Award for Wine TV Programmes at the World Food Media Awards at Tasting Australia in 1999.

The DVD Contents are

Series 1
Harry Waugh (Honoury MW)
Bill Baker (Reid Wines)
Farr Vintners

Series 2
Michael Broadbent MW (Christie's)
Carla Carlisle (Wyken Vineyards)
Adam Brett-Smith (Corney and Barrow)
Nigel Wilson (Lincoln College, Oxford University)
John Avery MW (Averys)
Edmund Penning-Rowsell

What comes across is Michael Broadbent's hatred of Sothebys, John Avery's chaotic approach to business and what a great job Nigel Wilson had; every time Nigel went down to one of the college cellars, if he could find them, there was almost a guarantee to discover some unknown treasure of a wine.

This DVD can be bought via Jancis Robinson's website. It costs ten pounds of which five pounds is donated to the charity Comic Relief.

Website : Jancis Robinson

TN : Casa Lapostolle Semillon 2007, Estate Bottled, Rapel Valley, Chile

Casa Lapostolle was founded by the Marnier Lapostolle family from France and the Rabat family from Chile in 1994, through Alexandra Marnier Lapostolle, her husband Cyril de Bournet and Don José Rabat Gorchs. Today, Casa Lapostolle is 100% owned by the Marnier-Lapostolle group. The Marnier Lapostolle family are the founders and owners of the liqueur Grand Marnier. Originally winegrowers in the Loire Valley, the Marnier Lapostolle continue this vintner tradition today as owners of Chateau de Sancerre.

This wine was made from old vines in Apalta. It was aged for seven months in French oak barrels.


There is no mention of this wine on the Casa Lapostolle website.

Colour : Pale lemon

Aroma : Lemon, nutty, green apples

Taste : Beeswax, lemon, nutty, honey, green apples

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 129 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Casa Lapostolle

TN : Vina Chocalan Gran Reserva Blend 2005, Estate Bottled, Maipo Valley, Chile

This wine is a blend of 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Carmenere, 18% Syrah, 15% Malbec, 9% Petit Verdot, and 5% Merlot.

The grapes were handharvested during the first week of April. Fermentation was in stainless steel tanks at a temperature of 28 degrees. The wine was matured in French oak for 14 months.



This wine was imported by Sydamerika Viner AB.

Colour : Deep blackcurrant

Aroma : Oak, coffee, chocolate, blackcurrant, herbs

Taste : Smooth, savoury, blackberry, blackcurrant, herbs, plums, coffee

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 167 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Vina Chocalan
Website : Sydamerika Viner AB

TN : Chateau Preuillac 2000, Appellation Medoc Controlee, Cru Bourgeois, France

There is a sticker on the label stating that this wine won a medaille d'Argent at the Concours Mondial in Brussels in 2002.



Colour : Red/blackcurrant/brown

Aroma : Oak, cedar, dark fruits

Taste : Blackcurrant, dark fruits, smooth tannins, oak, slight cedar

Alcohol : 12.5%

Mark : B-

Price : 19.20 Euro (Aeroboutique, Duty Free, Bordeaux Airport, 24th July 2008)

Website : Chateau Preuillac

TN : Montelig 2004, Vina Von Siebenthal, Aconcagua Valley, Chile

This wine was imported by Carovin AB.

The grapes for this wine were hand picked and the resulting wine was bottled unfiltered.

This wine is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 255 Petit Verdot, and 25% Carmenere (according to the label).

Only a limited number of 7095 bottles were produced and this bottle was number 4307.



Colour : Deep purple

Aroma : Green olive, blackcurrant, raspberry, mint

Taste : Blackcurrant, mint, green olive, white pepper, toasty oak, cocoa

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 279 SEK

Mark : A

Website : Vina Von Siebenthal
Website : Carovin AB

TN : Vina Chocalan Gran Reserva Pinot Noir 2006, Maipo Valley, Chile

Chocalan is pronounced "Sho-kaw-lann", it means "yellow Blossom", the name given to the area by ancient aboriginal tribes, as the yellow blossoms grow wild there.



This wine was imported by Sydamerika Viner AB.

Colour : Black cherry

Aroma : Oak, spicy, vanilla, blueberry, herbs, red berries

Taste : Violets, syrah-like, slightly overdone toasty oak, strawberry, blueberry, herbs, vanilla, spice and white pepper on finish

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 167 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Vina Chocalan
Website : Sydamerika Viner AB

Health and Safety for Wineries and Vineyards

A new book has been published "Health and Safety for Small- and Medium-Sized Wineries Handbook" by the British Columbia Wine Council relating to health and safety for wineries and vineyards. It would be useful for any vineyard/winery owner to read. Ignore the references to local organisations and documents and then most of it applies for wineries/vineyards in any part of the world. If you are thinking of setting up and winery and/or vineyard then this is a necessary read. It is freely available from the BC Wine Grape Council.

Website : BC Wine Grape Council

Wine Chocolate Pinot Noir

I bought a bar of Pinot Noir wine chocolate for 49 SEK in my local flower shop (Tyresö Centrum) of all places. It consists of chocolate with raisins that have been marinated in Australian Pinot Noir. It tasted quite good but not what exactly like what I was expecting. The taste was Cadbury's fruit and nut chocolate, heat, spice, and cherry liquor. The chocolate was also a bit overpriced but I suspect in Australia it is much cheaper.



Also in the wine chocolate range, and I still have to try are a Shiraz wine chocolate, and Pinot Noir or Shiraz wine chocolate drops.



The chocolate is made by an Australian venture, out of Melbourne.

Website : Farm By Nature

Book : The Billionaire's Vinegar

I just finished reading my copy of The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace; it is subtitled The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive bottle of Wine. It is published by Crown Publishers of New York. I picked my copy up at Chapters in Montreal for 29.35 Canadian Dollars but I have seen it at NK here in Stockholm.

The most expensive bottle of wine was a 1787 Chateau Lafite sold in 1985 to Malcolm Forbes who stored the bottle in unfriendly conditions leading to the wine turning to vinegar.

This bottle and other bottles purporting to have been ordered by Thomas Jefferson were discovered by Hardy Rodenstock who had been given them by somebody who found them behind the wall of a bricked-up cellar in Paris. Hardy Rodenstock has never given out the source of these bottles, he is also vague about the number of bottles found.

There are two questions, were these bottles really ordered by Thomas Jefferson? , and are they really what they say they are ?.

Christies and Broadbent should never have sold these on the premise that they may have been destined for Thomas Jefferson; this book presents no evidence of such a fact.

This book does not present Michael Broadbent in a good light. He comes across as an old woman, jealous of Sothebys and far too friendly with Rodenstock.

It is noted in the book that Rodenstock was found guilty of wine fraud by a court in Munich. The bottles were not found at the house that Jefferson lived at since that had been knocked down a logn time before the discovery. Also there is no mention of these bottles in any records produced by the meticulous Jefferson. All of this is hardly compelling evidence and would have been knows to Broadbent and Christies at the time of the sale.

The fight against Rodenstock is currently being led by William Koch who claims that the engravings on his four bottles are modern in origin whilst Christies are still claiming that they are genuine, despite not making public their report.

Colour photographs of all the so-called Jefferson bottles, at least the Koch ones, would have been a nice extra.

Website : Benjamin Wallace
Website : The Crown Publishing Group

TN : Plaisir De Merle Petit Verdot 2005, Wine of Origin Paarl, South Africa

There was no information about this wine on the Plaisir De Merle website !.



Colour : Deep purple

Aroma : Violets, blackberry, blackcurrants, toast, vanilla

Taste : Blackberry, blackcurrant, vanilla notes, spice, on the finish are liqourice, tangy mint, drying tannins and heat

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 164 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Plaisir De Merle

TN : Chateau Rol De Fombrauge 2001, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France

Colour : Maroon

Aroma : Red fruits, vanilla, tangy

Taste : Tangy finish, red fruits, plums, smooth tannins, talcum powdery mouthfeel

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 17.70 Euro (bought at Maison du Vin de Saint Emilion 17th July 2008)

Mark : C

Chateau Giscours 18th July 2008

We visited Chateau Giscours on Friday 18th July, the first of our two chateaux visits. The 705 from Ravezies drops you right off at the bus stop outside the main gates to Giscours, 45 minutes from Bordeaux.


The inside of the main chateau is actually in need of some serious rennovation. The owner, Eric Albada Jelgersma, a dutchman, lives at Chateau Du Tertre, his other chateau in Bordeaux, when he stays in Bordeaux.


There are two wines produced, a Haut-Medoc, and the grand vin. The Haut Medoc is fermented in concrete tanks and the grand vin in stainless steel otherwise we were told that the same wienmaking procedures were used for both wines e.g malo in steel and then maturation in barrel. Both the wines, Haut-Medoc and Margauz appellations must be kept separate by law. The Haut-Medoc is harvested by machine whereas the grapes for the Margaux grand vin are hand-harvested usign 300-400 pickers.


The barrels are organised into rows of about 60 barrels. To rack each line of barrels takes about two days. This is for emptying all barrels into stainless steel tanks, cleaning the barrels, and then transferring the wine back into the barrels.



Some of the stainless steel tanks are actually located outside the main building which is extremely unusual for Bordeaux though this causes no actual problem due to temperature control. For bottling, a bottling line is hired in.



The grand vin is typically a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 35% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot.

We tasted two wines, the 2003 grand vin which was very spicy, fruity, and exotic tasting; it felt low in tannins and could be drunk now or aged. The other wine was a 2007 rose which was dry, fruity, and very enjoyable on a 30-plus degree afternoon; it was bottled in magnums.

Website : Chateau Giscours

Chateau Kirwan 22nd July 2008

We visited Chateau Kirwan in Cantenac on a very hot day last week. The chateau is easy to get to, hop on the 705 bus at Ravezies and 45 minutes later get off at Cantenac Bourg. There is a very visible sign pointing to the left and 5 minutes walk away is Kirwan.



We were shown around by a very competent bilingual Cindy Aubier, a bilingual tourism student who had spent some time in Philadelphia in the USA.



Chateau Kirwan produces two wines, the grand vin which contains a lot of Cabernet Sauvignon for ageing which is recommended to be kept for at least ten years by which time it has transformed, and the second wine Les Charmes which is usually a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc though in 2002 40-45% Cabernet Sauvignon was used.



In the barrel ageing room, a lot of the barrels were covered with wine due to carbonic pressure but this will be fixed next year when the chateau switches to using glass bungs.



We tasted two wines, the 2002 Les Charmes and then the 2003 grand vin. The 2002 Les Charmes was very drinkable and the 2003 still had some oak to meld and tannins to integrate but it could also be drunk now.

Website : Chateau Kirwan

TN : Louis Jadot Bourgogne, White, Couvent des Jacobins 2006, Appellation Bourgogne Controlee, France

Colour : Lemon, yellow

Aroma : Dried pineapple, tangy, buttered toast

Taste : Buttered burnt toast, pineapple, nutty, mouth watering finish

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 106 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Maison Louis Jadot

Casa Silva Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere 2006, Estate Bottled, Silva Family Wines, Colchagua Valley, Chile

This wine was imported into Sweden by Tegner Hermansson, Stockholm. I could, however, find no mention of this wine on their website.



Colour : Cassis, purple

Aroma : Green pepper, olives, backberry, oak, toast

Taste : Dark fruits, blackberries, oak, toast, green pepper, olives, blackcurrant, nice concentration, long finish

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 79 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Vina Casa Silva
Website : Tegner Hermansson

TN : Casa Lapostolle Syrah Cuvee Alexandre 2005, Las Kuras Vineyard, Requinoa, Cachapoal Valley, Chile

Las Kuras means “rocks” in native language and the vines were grown in rocky soils.

The 2004-2005 season began with a cold, cloudy spring and it rained only once. These spring conditions caused a delay in the budding and flowering periods, which were nearly two weeks late. Summer was quite normal and dry but during the last two weeks of February the temperature climbed, which corrected the delays observed during the early stages of growth.



The grapes were harvested by hand in small cases of 12 kg and transported in refrigerated trucks. 38% of the grapes where hand de-stemmed. The remaining 62% had a double selection in long sorting tables. The must underwent cold skin maceration for 5 days at 10°C before fermentation. Fermentation lasted 15 days at 25 to 28 degrees. There was a post fermentation skin contact for 7 to 12 days. All the wine was aged for 20 months in new (80%) and one year old (20%) French oak barrels. The wine was bottled in March 2007 with a production of 2000 nine litre cases.



Colour : Deep blackcherry, purple

Aroma : Violets, savoury notes, spice, cherry, dark fruits

Taste : Violets, mouth filling, savoury, dark fruits, smoky, spice and black pepper on finish

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 228 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Casa Lapostolle

TN : Santa Rita Reserva Pinot Noir 2006, Estate Grown, Valle de Leyda, Chile

The winemaker was Andres Ilabaca. The grapes were harvested during the last two weeks of March. Partially crushed, the grapes were fermented in stainless steel tanks at 28 degrees with a soft extraction. After brief post fermentation maceration, the wine was immediately transferred to barrels so as to ensure proper structuring and color setting. It also spent 9 months in second use French barrels.



A winery anaysis showed that the pH was 3.7, acidity was 4.8, alcohol was 14.9, and residual sugar was 3.0.



Colour : Pink hues, cherry

Aroma : Stewed fruits, oak, mint

Taste : Stewed red and dark fruits, earthy, oak, mint

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 89 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Santa Rita

Bordeaux 17th-24th July 2008

I visited Bordeaux again this year, for the third year in a row, and managed to get visits to both Chateaux Kirwan and Giscours. These chateaux visits will be reported separately. I noticed a few wine-related things whilst travelling around :

Bernard Magrez is everywhere. Driving from Blanquefort, and following the D2, there are three massive Bernard Magrez signs. The first is for Chateau La Tour Carnet, the second is for Chateau Les Grands Chenes, and the third (standing in somebody's garden !) is for Chateau Fombrauge which is in Saint Emilion on the other side of Bordeaux !. I was staying near the Meriadeck centre which contains a very large and very good Auchan. Walking along the aisles for the wine, I came upon a large wooden Bernard Magrez wine display which was filled with some other wine though. Half of Auchan's fine wine selection seemed to come from Bernard Magrez as well.

I spotted Pierre Lurton, in conversation with somebody I didn't recognise, outside the Hotel de Ville in Saint Emilion.

The 705 bus which winds its way out to Pauillac now goes from Ravezies instead of Quinconces.



At the Mollat store in the centre of town, they stilled had a few free copies of their wine book catalogue that was produced for Vinexpo 2007.