I just got the latest Sigva AB newsletter in my mailbox. They are launching three new wines from Quinta do Noval, located in the Douro in Portugal, on December 1st 2007 :
In my mailbox has just popped up the latest newsletter from Occasion Wine AB. In December, they are launching two German wines :
I just received my copy of Grapevine, number 4 2007, which is published by Tegner Hermansson. Not much of interest contained it though. I did notice that they were offering a wine box of 6 wines for the Christmas period which looks interesting.
The contents are :
VinUnic have published the December 2007 edition of their Våra Viner newsletter.
Guigal's 2003 LaLa wines are unleashed on Sweden. Italy's Tenuta San Guido's Sassicaia 2004 and Guidalberto 2005, which I might buy, are also available. From California comes Shafer's Hillside Select Cab 2003 and Relentless 2004.
Website : VinUnic Våra Viner Nyhetsbrev December 2007
This wine was sealed with a screwcap. It was imported by Vinalliansen but no mention of the 2005 vintage appears on their website !.
This wine is a blend of 60% Cinsault, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Syrah.
Colour : Pale red/ruby
Aroma : Violets, blueberry, white pepper
Taste : Violets, liquorice, blueberry, smooth tannins, slight spice and white pepper on finish, thin moothfeel
Alcohol : 14%
Price : 77 SEK
Mark : C+
Website : Massaya & Co
Website : Vinalliansen
For 39 pounds it is possible to adopt a vine for a year at the Three Choirs Vineyards in Gloucestershire in the UK. This is a nice option if you intended to visit the UK and would like to do some vinous-related touring and visit a vineyard whilst there.
You will get :
There is no mention of any vintage on the label.
I served this wine chilled and really liked it but as it warmed up it lost its bite and fruit.
Dr Phil Spillman is Deakin Estate's winemaker. He joined the Wingara Wine Group from Villa Maria in New Zealand and, prior to that, worked at BRL Hardy and Chittering Estate. Craig Thornton has been Deakin Estate's vineyard manager since 2005.
The Deakin Estate property and its wines are named in honour of that visionary, Alfred Deakin. It was purchased in 1967 and then planted to premium wine grapes which were sold as fruit until 1980 when a winery facility was built. The Deakin Estate range was launched in 1994.
There is no mention of this wine on the Deakin Estate website !.
Colour : Deep black/purple
Aroma : Dark fruits, blackcurrants, blackberries
Taste : Fizzy but does not last that long, liquorice, dry, unsweetened bramble jelly
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : 99 SEK
Mark : B-
Website : Deakin Estate
Alto's history dates back to 1693, when it was part of a larger farm named Groenrivier ("Green River").
In 1919, the then owner of Groenrivier, Hennie Malan, divided the farm vertically in order to sell half of the land to his brother-in-law. The development of Malan's share was a co-operative venture between himself and his son, Manie. In the next few years they set about converting this partial wilderness into a wine farm, to which they gave the Latin name, Alto, a reference both to the altitude of the vineyards and their own aspirations. They built a homestead and a cellar, and planted the lower slopes with vines.
Malan's choice of red varieties was based on a shrewd assessment of the nature of his land. When Piet du Toit bought Alto in 1959, neither he nor the experts he called in for analysis and advice could fault the planting or the wine created by the Malans. When Piet retired in 1983, his son, Hempies, a well-known rugby Springbok, succeeded him. Hempies du Toit continued the fine red wine-making traditions of his predecessors until May 2000 when Neethlingshof's winemaker Schalk van der Westhuizen took over.
Colour : Black cherry/red
Aroma : Bubblegum, stewed strawberry
Taste : Long acidic finish, bubblegum, stewed strawberry, spritzy moothfeel
Alcohol : 12%
Price : 70 SEK
Mark : D+
A couple of months ago I bought "The Symbian OS Architecture Sourcebook" by Ben Morris. Symbian OS is what powers most Smartphones (example manufacturers being Sony Ericsson, Nokia, and Motorola). Ben is a freelance writer and system and product architect focusing on Symbian OS.
When not using, thinking or writing about software, Ben likes to write about wine and vines. He owns a small vineyard (less than one hectare) that he is restoring to production in Alba, Piemonte, Italy, at Google Earth 44 38.01 N 8 8.850 E or thereabouts.
Ben spends most of his time in London but is flying quite a lot, Ryanair, to Italy. He is also studying on a Wine Production part time course at Plumpton College in the UK. He has written an article for the UKVA's magazine around a Plumpton trip to the Vintech Expo in Bordeaux.
Last year, Ben made around 60 litres of Dolcetto and Barbera from old vines. This year, his aim was to make 200 to 300 litres. The summer in Alba was good this year; around the mid 30 degrees earlier and then consistently warm, mid 20 degrees. Some of the young vines, "Barbatelles", planted this year were lost to heat though some could come back. There were a couple of days of rain in August and a hailstorm with stones the size of cherries.
Website : Ben Morris
The vineyard dates back to the 17th century. Up until the French revolution in 1789, the monks of the Saint Romain de Blaye Abbey lived at the Saint Geres Prieure, receiving a significant source of revenue from the vineyard. In 1791, the estate was sold to the Irish O'Lanyer family.
This wine won the Medaille de Bronze at the Concours d'Aquitaine 2006. It was aged in French oak barrels for 18 months and is a blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Colour : Purple/red
Aroma : Oak, cedar, blackcurrant, leafy
Taste : Smooth moothfeel but not mouthcoating, blackcurrant, smooth tannins on long finish, blackcurrant, some underlying dark fruits
Alcohol : 14%
Price : 17.35 Euro (purchased at the Bernard Magrez Boutique at Chateau Pape Clement, Pessace, France)
Mark : B
Website : Bernard Magrez
This wine promised so much from the nose (really good for the price) but it was only just drinkable so buyer beware !. This also makes a mockery of the Systembolaget's monopoly policy; one of their stated reasons for existing is that they taste everything beforehand so it's theoretically impossible to buy a bad wine but this is just a joke.
Colour : Brown/Red
Aroma : Spice, bubblegum, strawberry
Taste : Spice, lean fruit, thin, bubblegum
Alcohol : 12%
Price : 59 SEK
Mark : D
All grapes were hand harvested from the San Carlos estate vineyard between 18th and 22nd April 2004. The average age of the vines was 40 to 50 years old. The vines are planted at a density of 4464 vines per hectare. The canopies are trained using VSP and the vines are cane pruned. San Carlos is situated near the town of Cunaco. The soil is free draining, alluvial loam/clay of medium fertility.
The fruit was destemmed and crushed into tank. Then 15% percent of the juice was bled off to increase concentration. The must was then cold soaked for 5 days at 10-12 degrees. The must was then heated and inoculated with selected yeasts. Temperatures peaked at 30 degrees and two pumpovers were carried out daily. There was a three week post-fermentation maceration period. The wine was matured for 14 months in 85% French and 15% American oak barrels and then lightly filtered before being bottled. Malolactic fermentation started in tank and finished in barrel.
The alcohol measured at the laboratory was 14.1%, pH was 3.55, TA was 4.9 grammes per litre, residual sugar was 2.9 grammes per litre, and volatile acidity was 0.49 grammes per litre.
Viu Manent has been family, the Viu family, owned since 1935. The Managing Director is Jose Miguel Viu Bottini.
This wine was imported by Vinia Sweden AB.
Colour : Very dark purple
Aroma : Plum, chocolate, dark fruits, herbs, pepper
Taste : Oak, dark fruits, green pepper, herbs, blackcurrant, tar
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : 99 SEK
Mark : C+
Website : Viu Manent
Website : Vinia Sweden AB
I have been speaking to a work colleague of mine, Torbjörn Cagenius, who is growing vines and making wine in Öland. He has ten vines of four different grape varieties planted. The varieties yielding the most are Schuyler (blue) and Sukribe (green). He is looking at planting Rondo since another producer, Wannborga on Öland, are apparently producing excellent wine from this grape variety (I must try to get hold of some to try). Öland is agricultural zone 1 whereas where I live, Tyresö, is agricultural zone 3. However, Torbjörn considers the micro climate and soil more important and I would agree with him for such a small plantation. In his experience, it takes three to five years before the vines produce enough grapes to make wine from. he has, so far, no problems with any diseases and no problems from the deer and rabbits which are plentiful on Öland. The only problem has been with birds eating some of the ripe grapes but this has not proven to be a big issue. Torbjörn has his vines planted against walls and on traditional trellising (poles and steel wires between). His oldest vine is 10 years old !.
All his equipment (including yeast) was obtained from :
Gratulera Presenter i Sundyberg
Sturegatan 30
17231 Sundbyberg
Tel : 08 29 08 68
This season, Torbjön has invested in a 5 litre oak barrel made of medium toasted French oak. I am eager to await the results for his experiment. The barrel was bought from Thorslundkagge.
Good luck to Torbjörn !.
Website : Wannborga Vin och Lamm
Website : Thorslundkagge
Website : Swedish Agricultural Zones
I received in the post Chris Wines latest food and wine magazine. It's free and can be downloaded from their website and it also possible to subscribe to a printed copy (which is what I have done). In this issue is an article on Neil Ellis, a South Africa wine producer, whose just released Vineyard Selection Cabernet Sauvignon (Systembolaget number 82019) looks interesting at 223 SEK. There is also a one page article on Pinotage.
Website : Chris Wines
According to the label, Vina Tabali is the most northerly premium winery in Chile. Their website contains no information on the 2005 vintage of this wine.
The grapes were hand harvested and fermented in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature of 26 degrees. Then it was matured in French and American oak for 12 months. It was then fined with egg whites and subjected to a light filtering. It was then aged in bottle for six months before being released.
This wine is imported by Vin & Sprit AB which has a decent amount of information relating to this wine.
Colour : Blackcurrant/violet
Aroma : Spice, dark fruits, burnt rubber
Taste : Undertones of burnt rubber, smoky bacon crisps, oak, some sweetness, dark fruits, long length, good concentration for wine of this price, gripping tannins, white pepper on finish
Alcohol : 14.5%
Price : 93 SEK
Mark : C-
Website : Vina Tabali
Website : Vin & Sprit AB
This wine is made by Xavier Vignon who is an oenologist whose laboratory works for leading estates in the Southern Rhone. He has been making his own wines since 2002, although he has been an oenologist for the past fifteen years now.
Colour : Red/purple/brown
Aroma : Spicy, red fruits, blueberry
Taste : Long spicy finish, raspberry, blueberry, red fruits
Alcohol : 13.5%
Price : 96 SEK
Mark : C+
Website : Xavier Vignon
I received my catalogue for the Systembolaget drinks auction, to be held on Tuesday 11th December 2007, yesterday. Lots of Bordeaux and Burgundy of course. Not much in the way of pictures and no tasting notes; this doesn't live up to the qualty of the Sotheby's or Christie's catalogues for instance. The catalogue is available for online browsing at the Stockholms Auktionsverket website.
Website : Systembolaget
Website : Stockholms Auktionsverket
The December 2007 list of new wines to be releases on Saturday 1st December 2007 is now released an available for download. Lots of good priced Italian reds and German whites to buy for over Christmas drinking.
Website : Systembolaget Varunytt December 2007
The J&F Lurton website contains minimal information this wine.
I bought this wine in the Kista Galleria Systembolaget and have not seen it anywhere else on sale.
Colour : Diluted strawberry cordial
Aroma : Simple sweet red fruits
Taste : red fruits, rosehip, flabby, dry
Alcohol : 13%
Price : 67 SEK
Mark : C-
Website : Jacques & Francois Lurton
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