Wines of Chile Annual Trade Tasting, 9th September 2011, Stockholm, Sweden

Friday 9th September 2011 and time for the Wines of Chile annual trade tasting held at the Sheraton hotel in central Stockholm. Twenty nine Chilean wine producers were showing their wines.

Here are my tasting notes/grades :

Amayna

• Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Blackcurrant leaf, lemon, zingy, Mark : B-
• Sauvignon Blanc Barrel Fermented 2007, oaky, zingy finish, leafy, Mark : C
• Chardonnay 2008, Lemon, lime, very oaky, needs time to tone down, Mark : C
• Pinot Noir 2009, Nice fruit, burgundian cool climate like, oaky, Mark : B-
• Syrah 2009, Mark : B

 Apaltagua

•  Gran Verano Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, Mark : B
• Gran Verano Carmenere 2010, Mark : B
• Gran Verano Rose Carmenere 2011, Mark : B
• Envero Carmenere Gran Reserva 2009, Mark : B

Casa Marin

• Cartegna Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Mark : B
• Cipreses Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Mark : A
• Miramar Vineyard Syrah 2009, cool climate style, Mark : C

Vina El Principal

• Calicanto 2010, Mark : B
• Memorias 2007, Mark : B
• El Principal 2007, Mark : B

Concha y Toro & Maycas del Limari

• Marques de Casa Concha Syrah 2008, Mark : C
• Don Melchor 2007, Mark : B+
• Maycas del Limari Reserva Pinot Noir 2010, Mark : C
• Maycas del Limari Reserva Syrah 2009, Mark : C

Millaman

• Limited Reserve Zinfandel 2009, Mark : C
• Limited Reserve Carmenere 2009, Mark ; B-
• Casa Millaman 2005, Mark : C+

Perez Cruz

• Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva 2009, Mark : C
• Cot Limited Edition 2009, Mark : C-
• Chaski Petit Verdot 2008, Mark : C+
• Liguai 2008, Mark : A-
• Quelen 2007, too oaky, Mark : B-

Vina San Pedro

• Tierras Moradas Carmenere 2007, Mark : B+
• Kankana del Elqui Syrah 2008, Mark : B+
• Cabo de Hornos 2007, Mark : B

Santa Carolina

• Cellar Rose Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, slight sweetness, super fruity, great glugger, Mark : B
• Reserva de Familia Carmenere 2009, Mark : B
• VSC 2008, Mark : A-

TN : Erasmo 2006, Vina La Reserva de Caliboro, Maule Valley, Chile

This wine is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cabernet Franc,  and 30% Merlot.

This wine was imported by Carovin AB.

Colour : Dark red

Aroma : Toasty oak, plums, backcurrant, raspberry, cedar

Taste : Fruity, raspberry, blackcurrant, plums, toasty oak, woody finish

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 179 SEK

Website : Vina La Reserva de Caliboro

TN : Schiefer Eisenberg Blaufraenkisch 2008, Suedburgenland, Austria

Colour : Raspberry red, blue hues

Aroma : Off funky smell, red fruits, oak

Taste : Strawberries, blueberries, oak, overly spicy with fruit in background

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 186 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Weinbau Schiefer

Domaine des Bossons Visit July 2011, Peissy, Geneva, Switzerland

On July 18th 2011, we took the train from Geneva Cornavin to Satigny. Laure Leyvraz picked up from the station and took us to the Domaine des Bossons winery. The winery has 29 hectares of vineyard and grows 15 different grape varieties. The domaine is owned by Eric Leyvraz who we met briefly. His daughters, Laure and Valerie, are now involved in the business and will eventually take over. Eric inherited the domaine from his grandfather, Albert Desbaillets in 1971.

The domaine has the same winemaker as Cave & Domaine Les Perries, Sebastien Schwarz.

The estate was organic from 1995 to 2006 but the estate gave up from 2007 onwards due to ideological reasons.

In addition to the Sauvignon Gris 2010 and the  Le Vieux Clocher Fut 2009 (see separate blogposts) , I particularly liked the Gamaret.

Website : Domaine des Bossons
Blogpost : Sauvignon Gris 2010
Blogpost : Le Vieux Clocher Fut 2009

TN : Altair 2004, Altair Vineyards & Winery, Cachapoal Valley, Chile

This wine is a blend of 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Carmenere, and 7% Merlot.

Altair Vineyards and winery is a collaboration between Chilean Vinas San Pedro, Saint Emilion's Chateau La Fleur and Chateau Dassault.

Altair is a star located in the Aguile the Eagle constellation.

This wine was imported by Pernod Ricard Sweden AB.

Colour : Blackberry, red

Aroma : Blackcurrant, green peppers, plums, coffee, liqourice

Taste : Blackcurrant, graphite, green peppers, plums, coffee, liqourice on finish

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 499 SEK

Mark : A-

Website : Altair Vineyards & Winery

TN : Ruedesheimer Berg Rottland Riesling Spaetlese 1999, Kloster Eberbach, Rheingau, Germany

This wine was imported by Granqvist Agentur.

Colour : Yellow

Aroma : Honey, Petrol, Green apples

Taste : Sweet, petrol, lemon, honey, oranges

Alcohol : 9%

Price : 139 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Kloster Eberbach

TN : Albia Rose 2010, IGT. Barone Ricasoli, Tuscany, Italy

This wine was sealed with a screwcap. There is a sticker on the front label stating that this wine won a gold trophy at the Nordic Wine Challenge in Stockholm.

In 2010, the seasons were normal. The winter was cold and snowy, followed by a wet spring, a hot summer, and variable weather in September and October leading up to harvest. Bud break was in mid-April, while  veraison, which took place later than in previous vintages, was uniform over all of the grape bunches. The grapes ripened evenly, and the bunches presented high sugar and anthocyanin concentrations.

This wine is a blend of Merlot and Sangiovese. The Merlot  was harvested on September 2nd and the Sangiovese was harvested on September 20th. Fernmentation lasted around about 30to 40 days at a temperature of between 11 and 16 degrees. The wine was aged in stainless steel vats and bottled in February 2011.

This wine was imported by Wineworld AB.

Colour : Bright strawberry/pink

Aroma : Redcurrants, herbs, oranges

Taste : Redcurrants, strawberries, herbs, oranges

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 89 SEK

Mark : B


Website : Barone Ricasoli

Cave & Domaine Les Perrieres Visit July 2011, Peissy, Geneva, Switzerland

We visited Cave & Domaine Les Perrieres on July 14th 2011. We took the train from Geneva to Satigny and were picked up from the station and driven to the winery in the company van. The winery and estates have been owned by the Rochaix family for nearly 200 years and present day, eight generation, owner Bernard Rochaix came out to greet us when we arrived. Today, the winery works 82 hectares of which 16 are owned by the domaine. The winemaker is Sebastien Schwarz.

We tried several wines of which we bought three (see separate blog posts). Of the others, my impressions were :

• Chasselas : Fruity glugger, Mark : C
• Aligote : Almonds, very dry yet fruity, Mark : C
• Gamaret : Rustic, fruity, smooth tannins, Mark : B-
• Muscat : Sweet, fruity, cutting acidity on a long finish

On the whole, the wines were very good and exceptional value for what seemed to be low prices.

Website : Cave & Domaine Les Perrieres
Blogpost : Sauvignon Blanc 2010
Blogpost : Viognier 2009
Blogpost : Cabernet Sauvignon 2009

TN : Ernie Els Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Stellenbosch, South Africa

All of the grapes for this wine were harvested during February and March 2009 at an average pf 25.6 Brix  sugar. The residual sugar is 2.6grammes per litre, the TA is 6.4grammes per litre, and the pH is 3.77. The wine was aged for 17 months in 300 litre French Oak barrels of which 20% was new. This wine was released on October 1st 2010. 4,800 six bottle cases were produced.

This wine was imported by The Wineagency AB.

Colour : Dark blackcurrant

Aroma : Blackcurrants, toasty oak, plums, green pepper

Taste : Blackcurrants, plums, green pepper, oaky finish with liquorice and tannins

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price :189 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Ernie Els Wines

Falcon Crest

Falcon Crest is the name of a soap opera from the 1980s that is based around a power struggle between two families, the Giobertis and the Channings. The two main characters are Angela Channing and Chase Gioberti though a third power, Richard Channing, enters the scene in the second series. It is centred around a winery called Falcon Crest. Currently only the first two series are available on DVD. The third series is rumored to be released in 2012.

The first series focuses on the mystery surrounding the death of Jason Gioberti who is Angela's brother and Chase's father. Chase seems to spend all his energy on getting the vineyard property he inherited going and Angela spends all her energy on trying to make Chase and his family leave the fictional Tuscany Valley. In the end, Chase finds out in court, via Emma (Angela's daughter) that it was all an accident. Chase ends up with total control of Falcon Crest but unrealistically gives 50% back to Angela.

The second series focuses on the death of Carlo Agretti and his daughter's forced marriage to Angela's grandson, Lance. Chase's son, Cole, is suspected of the murder right up to the last episode when it is revealed that Angela's daughter, Julia, killed Carlo and tried to frame Cole.

I found the series to be much better than Dallas or Dynasty in that there was a story line running through all the episodes. The actual setting for Falcon Crest was Spring Mountain Vineyards in Saint Helena.

I also bought the book thinking that the series was based upon it but it turned out to be a just a  telling of the first two television series.

Website : Falcon Crest
Website : Falcon Crest Wikipedia

TN : Reichsgraf Von Kesselstatt Riesling Kabinett 2009, Mosel, Germany

This wine was imported by Hjo Grosshandel AB.

This wine was sealed with a screwcap.

Colour : Pale yellow, green hues


Aroma : Honey, green apples, minerals

Taste : Honey, oranges, lemon, green apples on long finish, sweet cloying texture together with zingy citrus acidity to clean up nicely

Alcohol : 8%

Price : 110 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Reichsgraf Von Kesselstatt

TN : Chateau Cru Cantemerle Grande Reserve 2010, Bordeaux Superieur, Vignobles Mabille, Bordeaux, France

This wine is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Cabernet Sauvignon.

This wine was imported by WineWorks AB.

Colour : Dark cherry, blue hues

Aroma : Plums, blackcurrants, oak, liquorice

Taste : Warm, plummy fruit, then blackcurrant and oak, cedar, drying tannins then blackcurrants and liquorice back for the finish

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 85 SEK

Mark : B-

TN : Rua Pinot Noir 2010, Akarua Winery, Central Otago, New Zealand

Akarua Vineyard Estate was planted in 1996 by Sir Clifford Skeggs. It is located in Bannockburn in Central Otago. All of the grapes come from parcels planed on the Akarua Estate.

This wine was sealed with a screwcap.

This wine was imported by Domaine Wines and Spirits AB

Colour : Dark red/blue hues

Aroma : Spice, strawberry, raspberry, dark chocolate, liquorice

Taste : Spice, raspberry, strawberry, liquorice, oak, overly woody

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 159 SEK

Mark : C


Website : Akarua

TN : Cliff Lede Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Cliffe Lede Vineyards, Stags Leap District, Napa Valley, California, USA

Cliff Lede Vineyards was established in 2002, it encompasses sixty acres in the Stags Leap District. The team consists of owner Cliff Lede, viticulturalist David Abreu, associate winemaker Kale Anderson, and consulting winemaker Philippe Melka.

The lack of winter rainfall resulted in low soil moisture at the start of the vintage. With a gradual transition into spring and the earliest irrigation on record, 2007 opened with cool weather and early growth. A mild April turned to a hot May and June, with grapevines blazing through bloom and the first phase of development. Late summer heat punctuated the start of harvest. Finally, rain in late October brought harvest to a close. The 2007 vintage is most noted for its dry start and small berry size.

The grapes were sourced from the estate Twin Peaks Ranch on the Yountville Cross Road, as well as the hillside terraces of our Poetry vineyard, in which yields are maintained at sparse levels, ranging from 0.8 to 3.8 tons per acre.

The fruit was picked in the early morning hours, and immediately subjected to rigorous selection by a three-tiered sorting and refinement process. The whole berries were gently delivered to tank by a crane system, minimizing disruption of berry integrity. Cold soaks lasted three to six days, and fermentations were managed via a combination of delestage and pumpovers. Extended maceration ranging from three to four weeks fine-tuned the tannin profiles. The wine was aged in 60% new French oak and 40% neutral oak for eighteen months.

The wine is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 7% Malbec, 4% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. The wine was bottled in June 2009 and released in May 2010. 5,147 cases were produced.

This wine received 93 points from Robert Parker and 91 points from Stephen Tanzer.

This wine was imported by Vinunic.

Colour : Dark blackberry

Aroma : Blackcurrant and raspberry, coffee, mineral, oak

Taste : Concentrated texture, blackcurrant, strawberry, oak, coffee, minerals and graphite on a long drying tannic warm finish

Alcohol : 15%

Price : 475 SEK


Mark : B-

Website : Cliff Lede Vineyards