Book : In an Out of Africa ... in search of Gerard Depardieu

Francis Gimblett, The Wine Adventurer, tastes a Moroccan wine made by Gerard Depardieu and then travels to North Africa to try to find similar or better wines. He visits Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia.

This book is in two parts. The first is a travelogue about his exploits and mixes winery visits with colourful descriptions of the places he visits and episodes that happen whilst on route to these places. The second part of the book is a detailed description of each winery he visits and comes complete with tasting notes.



I found this book very entertaining and my only complaint is that there wasn't more of it.




Website : The Wine Adventurer

TN : Spinifex Esprit 2007, Barossa, Australia

Spinifex was founded in 2001 by Peter Schell and Magali Gely. This wine is a blend of 36% Shiraz, 26% Grenache, 25% Mataro, 7% Carignan, and 6% Cinsault.



This wine was imported by JPC Wines AB.

Colour : Dark red, blue hues

Aroma : Liqourice, spice, pepper, blackberry

Taste : Fruit bomb, liqourice, spice, pepper, blackberry, plums

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 269 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Spinifex Wines
Website : JPC Wines AB

TN : TH Pinot Noir 2008, Vina Undurraga, West Casablanca, Chile

TH stands for "Terroir Hunter". The grapes for this wine come from a 1.59 hectare North-facing hillside in Las Dichas at tha far South-Western end of the Casablanca Valley. Only 685 cases of this wine were produced. The grapes were grown in well-drained red clay loam over alterated granite subsoil, rich in quartz. 100% Davis 1 Pinot Noir clones were used. This wine was sealed with a screwcap.



Colour : Red

Aroma : Strawberry, spice, plums, oak

Taste : Red berries, oak, plums spice

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 149 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Vina Undurraga

TN : Catena Alta Chardonnay 2007, Bodega Catena Zapata, Mendoza, Argentina

The grapes for this wine come from the Adrianna vineyard at 5000 feet elevation (80%) and the Domingo vineyard at 3700 feet elevation (20%). The wine spent one year in French oak, half of which was new.



This wine was imported by VinUnic AB.

Colour : Lemon

Aroma : Oak, pear, sweetcorn, pineapple

Taste : Sweetcorn, oak, mango, pineapple and oranges on very long finish

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 189 SEK

Mark : A-

Website : Bodega Catena Zapata
Website : VinUnic AB

TN : Syrah Rose, Vin de Pays D'Oc, International Wine Broker Handelsgesellschaft mbH, France

Colour : Bright strawberry, raspberry

Aroma : Fresh red berries

Taste : Strawberry, raspberry, spritzy

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 6 Euro (250 ml bottle, Le Buffet, Oberpolinger, Munich, Germany)

Mark : B

TN : TMV Swartland Syrah 2007, Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards, Swartland, South Africa

This wine was sealed with a screwcap.

This wine was imported by JPC Wines AB.



Colour : Dark red, blue hues

Aroma : Lavender, spice, oak, meaty

Taste : Blackberry, blueberry, red berry character, toast, white pepper

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 189 SEK

Mark : B-

TN : Clairet du Chateau de Lisennes 2009, Bordeaux Clairet, Jean-Pierre Soubie, Bordeaux, France

This rose wine is a blend of 50% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Cabernet Franc.



This wine was imported by Janake Wine Group AB.

Colour : Raspberry, dark for a rose

Aroma : Herbs, red berries

Taste : Redcurrants, herbs, vanilla, strawberry, raspberry

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 79 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Janake Wine Group AB

TN : Dr L Riesling 2009, Dr Loosen, Mosel, Germany

This wine was sealed with a screwcap.



Colour : Pale straw

Aroma : Oranges, honey, green apple

Taste : Peaches, white grapes, honey, lime

Alcohol : 10%

Price : 79 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Dr Loosen

TN : Natureao Free Muscat 2009, Torres, Spain

On the label it states "Fewer than half the calories of a conventional white wine" and "for everyone who would like to enjoy the pleasures of the earth with all of its' taste and a minimum of alcohol".

This wine is 100% Muscat. The grapes were fermented in stainless steel vats at a temperature of 14 to 16 degrees for two weeks. The wine was sealed with a screwcap.



Colour : Pale yellow

Aroma : Elderflower, peaches, green apples

Taste : Peaches, green apples, white grapes, elderflower

Alcohol : 0.5%

Price : 49 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Torres

TN : Dynasty Dry Red Wine, China

The only pieces of information I could find on the label was "This wine is made from world-noted grape varieties" and "produced and bottled by Sino-French joint venture Dynasty Winery Ltd Tianjin P.R.C.".



Colour : Light red, brown notes

Aroma : Stewed red fruits, plums, wood, musty but blows off

Taste : Stewed red fruits, integrated heavy wood/oak

Alcohol : 12%

Price : 188 RMB

Website : Dynasty Fine Wines Group Limited

TN : Encosta dos Castelos Alvarinho 2008, Manuel Rodrigues de Oliveira, Vinho Verde, Portugal

This wine was imported by Stragas Gruppen AB.



Colour : Yellow

Aroma : Almonds, green apple, oranges, lemons

Taste : Zingy lemon, herbs, green apple, bitter almond finish

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 119 SEK

Mark : C

TN : Jester Junior Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Mitolo, McLaren Vale, Australia

The fruit for this wine is sourced from Willunga which situated at the southern end of McLaren Vale in South Australia. This wine was sealed with a screwcap.



This wine was imported by The Wine Agency AB.

Colour : Dark red, blue hues

Aroma : Blackcurrant, tobacco, milk chocolate

Taste : Coffee, blackcurrants, tobacco, milk chocolate

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 115 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Mitolo Wines Pty Ltd
Website : The Wine Agency AB

TN : Spitzerberg 2007, Muhr-van der Niepoort, Carnuntum, Austria

Murh-van der Niepoort is a collaboration between Dorli Muhr (who heads the Austrian PR firm Wine & Partners) and Dirk Niepoort (the famed wine grower from Portugal’s Douro Region).

This wine is 100% Blaufraenkisch. Half of the wine is made by fermenting whole bunches with the stems, and then pressing off at just the right time to get the extraction right. The other half is made with an extended maceration on the skins of three months.

Colour : Red/purple

Aroma : Earthy, violets, strawberry, cherries, tobacco

Taste : Red berries, tangy, light tannic finish

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 299 SEK

Mark : C+

TN : Le Sughere di Frassinello 2006, IGT, Rocca Di Frassinello, Maremma, Tuscany, Italy

This wine is a blend of 50% Sangiovese, 25% Merlot, and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon.



Colour : Dark red

Aroma : Cherries, herbs, chocolate, vanilla, oak

Taste : Cherries, blackcurrants, oak, herbs, chocolate, vanilla, warm finish

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 179 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Domini Castellare Di Castellina

TN : Quartz Reef Bendigo Pinot Noir 2008, Central Otago, New Zealand

The grapes for this wine were hand-picked between the 25th March and the 7th April 2008. The winemaker was Rudi Bauer. This wine was sealed with a screwcap.



This wine was imported by Divine AB.

Colour : Light red/blue

Aroma : Spice, overripe strawberry, blueberry, plums, liqourice

Taste : Liqourice, oak, overripe wild strawberries, spice, blueberry, warm finish

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 299 SEK

Mark : B+

Website : Quartz Reef
Website : Divine AB

TN : Kopke Reserva Vinho Tinto 2007, DOC, Douro, Portugal

The grapes for this wine came from the "terroir duriense" and from the best parcels of Quinta de S, Luiz. The wine is a blend of 50% Touriga Nacional and 50% Tinta Roriz. The wine was aged for 14 months in French oak 225 litre casks.



Colour : Dark blackcurrant

Aroma : Plums, blackberry, oak, vanilla

Taste : Herbs, heavy oak, plums, blackberry, vanilla

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 119 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Sogevinus Fine Wines

TN : Changyu Dry Red Wine, China

I could find no markings on either the front or back label to tell me what vintage this was or what grapes were used to produce this wine. This wine tasted like an average Bordeaux in a poor year.



Although the history of grape planting and wine making in China dates back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), the industrialized production of wine was started by ChangYu byMr. Chang Bishi.

In recognition of its great contribution to the development of global wine-making, Yantai City, ChangYu's hometown, is the only city in China to be honored with the title of “International Vine and Wine City”.

Colour : Dark plum

Aroma : Oak, blackcurrants, plum, burnt toast

Taste : Green, toast, plum, blackcurrant

Alcohol : 12%

Mark : C-

TN : Wild Rock Gravel Pit Red Merlot Malbec 2008, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

The winemaker was Matt Stafford. The wine is a blend of Merlot, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc. This wine was sealed with a screwcap.



This wine was imported by Divine AB.

Colour : Blackberry

Aroma : Mint, plums, blackberry, milk chocolate, spice

Taste : Fruity, blackberry, spice, milk chocolate, plums

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 99 SEK

Website : Wild Rock Wine Company
Website : Divine AB

TN : Jean Stodden Spaetburgunder 2007, Ahr, Germany

The Rotweingut Jean Stodden red wine estate is located in the small town of Rech in the Ahr wine-growing region in Germany. The family has a long wine-making tradition, and has been growing grapes in the Ahr valley since 1578. Alois Stodden started vinifying his own Pinot Noir grapes in 1900. Today the estate is run by Gerhard Stodden, who is regarded as one of the best red wine producers in Germany. His eldest son Alexander has taken over responsibility for the vineyards in the Neuenahrer Sonnenberg site.

The first vintage of the "Next Generation" Pinot Noir in the 2001 vintage caused quite a stir. The vineyard area totals 6,5 hectares, with holdings in the following sites: Rosenthal (Ahrweiler), Burggarten and Hardtberg (Dernau), Sonnenberg (Neuenahr), Mönchberg (Mayschoss) as well as Blume, Hardtberg and Herrenberg (Rech). 85% of the area is planted with Pinot Noir, the remainder is planted with Riesling, Pinot Madeleine, Dornfelder and Dunkelfelder. The red wines are matured in new barriques for a minimum of 16 months, some for longer, and are partly also matured in large oak vats. Bottle-fermented sparkling wines (Pinot Noir, Riesling) and grappa-style spirits are also produced. The estate has been a member of the VDP (Verband deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitäts-Weingüter) association since 2005.



Colour : Bright pale strawberry

Aroma : Red berries, stems, ginger

Taste : Raspberry, strawberry, coca cola, stemmy, ginger, spice, thin

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 13.99 Euro (Galeria, Munich, Germany)

Mark : C

Website : Jean Stodden

TN : Heger Rose Q 2009, Joachim, Heger, Baden, Germany

Colour : Salmon pink

Aroma : Red berries, almonds, herbs

Taste : Explosion of red berries, very fruity, spritzy, almonds and herbs on finish

Alcohol : 13%

Mark : B+

Website : Weingut Heger

TN : Albia Rose 2009, IGT, Barone Ricasoli, Tuscany, Italy

After a mild winter, spring set off with quite rigid temperatures but they gradually rose as the season wore on with peaks over 30 degrees at the end of May 2009, also rainfall was stable around 200mm. The summer was characterized by very hot days especially during the early hours in the afternoon during the months of July and August with temperatures often over 35 degrees. The rainfall, never heavy and without hail, was concentrated during the months of June and July. Towards the end of summer, from the 15th to the 20th of September, a continuous rainfall refreshed the soil that was very dry due to a long period without rain. Autumn was initially mild and dry, with a brisk fall in temperature, even down to 10°C; during the same period the rainfall intensified. The heavy spring and winter rains created a good water reserve allowing the plants to regularly carry out all of their growth phases. Despite the strong heat which had characterized the months of July and August, the mid-September rains and the lower temperatures, permitted the phenol ripening to be end. Merlot grapes were harvested from August 26th to September 15th and Sangiovese was picked from October 10th to October 20th.

The wine is a blend of Sangiovese and Merlot. Fermentation temperature was between 11 and 16 degrees and the wine was aged in stainless steel vats. The wine was bottled in mid-January 2010.

This wine was sealed with a screwcap.

Colour : Pink strawberry

Aroma : Vanilla, strawberry, grapefruit

Taste : Grapefruit, strawberry, herbs, spritzy

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 89 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Barone Ricasoli

TN : Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Concha Y Toro, Puente Alto, Chile

This single vineyard Don Melchor originates from 114 hectares at Puente Alto in the Alto Maipo valley at the foot of the Andes mountains. In 1984, Eduardo Guilisasti Tagle's vision for the vineyard compelled him to send samples of wine to enologists in Bordeaux to taste. Jacques Boissenot's enthusiasm was immediate and he has been involved in the making of every vintage since. The winemaker was Enrique Tirado.



This wine is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Cabernet Franc.

This wine received 94 points in the January 2009 Wine Spectator and 95 points in the April 2009 Wine Advocate.

Colour : Dark blackcurrant

Aroma : Blackcurrant, toast, coffee, cherry liqour, green pepper

Taste : Intense blackcurrant fruit, toast, coffee, oak, green pepper, sandalwood, drying tannins on finish, try again after a year or two

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 349 SEK

Mark : B+

Website : Concha Y Toro

TN : Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Kabinett 2008, Mosel, Germany

The estate is located in the commune of Bernkasel-Graach in the Mosel. It is owned by Willi & Christoph Schaefer. The vineyard area totals three hectares, with holdings in the top-rated Graacher Domprobst and Himmelreich sites, as well as in the Wehlener Sonnenuhr site. The area is planted exclusively with Riesling. Most of the wines are fermented with natural yeasts in traditional 1000-litre oak barrels, and then matured in these same barrels. The estate is a member of the VDP (Verband deutscher Prädikats- und Qualitäts-Weingüter) association.



This wine was imported by Origo Wine

Colour : Very pale yellow

Aroma : Slight honey, green apple, melon, oranges, mineral

Taste : Honey, melon, pineapple, oranges, lemon, mouth watering acidity, long finish

Alcohol : 7.5%

Price : 169 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Origo Wine

TN : The Ojai Vineyard Syrah 2006, Santa Barbara County, California, USA

This wine was imported by Divine AB.



Colour : Deep red/black cherry

Aroma : Spice, pepper, blackberry, meaty, liqourice, violets

Taste : Spice and pepper on finish, meaty, liqourice, blackberry, toast

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 259 SEK

Website : The Ojai Vineyard
Website : Divine AB

TN : Craggy Range Single Vineyard Pinot Noir 2008, Te Muna Road Vineyard, Martinborough, New Zealand

Te Muna means "secret place". This 33 hectare vineyard is planted with eight clones of Pinot Noir in more than 40 different parcels. From these parcels, the grapes are hand picked and fermented with indigenous yeasts before spending over a year in small French oak barrels without racking. The average Brix at harvest was 24.4, the average yield was 25 hectolitres per hectare.

5% of the grapes were fermented as whole bunch and 95% were destemmed. Fermentation was in open top oak tanks using indigenous yeast. The barrel type used was French barriques of which 33% were new. Maturation was ten months on lees. There was no fining. The wine was filtered before bottling in March 2009.



The pH was 3.62 and acidity was 5.5 grammes per litre.

Colour : Light red

Aroma : Stewed red fruits, strawberry, cherry, spice

Taste : Very fruity upfront, oak, long spicy finish, earthy, stewed red fruits, tannins on finish

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 329 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Craggy Range

TN : Rene Couly Chinon Rose 2009, Couly-Dutheil, Loire, France

This wine is made from 100% Cabernet Franc grapes grown on gravel and sand based soil. All of the grapes were hand-harvested and the yield was 45 hectolitres per hectare. The wine was bottled six months after harvest.

Colour : Bright strawberry

Aroma : Herbs, jellied strawberries, raspberry

Taste : Strawberry, herbs, redcurrants, spitzy, long finish

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 120 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Couly-Dutheil

TN : Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Marlborough,New Zealand

This wine was sealed with a screwcap.



Colour : Pale yellow

Aroma : Gooseberry, blackcurrant leaf

Taste : Gooseberry, blackcurrant, green apple, lemon, minerals, nettles

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 129 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Kim Crawford Wines