A Good Year

I finally ended up watching my copy of A Good year on DVD. It was much better than I expected since a lot review stated it was not very good.



Basically a high-up Stockbroker, Max, inherits a vineyard from his uncle. It turns out that Max spent a lot of his childhood visiting his uncle at the vineyard in Provence. He goes there when his uncle dies determined to sell the vineyard. A girl shows up from the USA claiming to be the daughter of Max's uncle. The wine produced on the estate stinks. Max meets up, nearly knocks her off her bicycle with his car, a local waitress that he falls in love with. In the end, Max fabricates a letter stating that his uncle leaves the vineyard to his "daughter" who just happens to have spent some time working in a winery in the USA. Max ends up giving up his job in London (and the possibility of a partnership in his firm) to go back to his love. The end of the film sees the daughter arguing with the local vigneron about how the wine should be made.

TN : Glen Carlou Gravel Quarry Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Wine of Origin Paarl, South Africa

According to the label this wine was handcrafted by David Finlayson.

The grapes were harvested on 15th March 2005. During fermentation, the wine spent 12 days in stainless steel tanks and then 7 days on skins. The wine was then aged for 18 months in 100% new French oak (Nevers MHT and Les Bertrange HT). The wine was bottles in January 2007.

The TA is 6.4 grammes per litre, pH is 3.68, and the residual sugar is 1.4 grammes per litre.

This wine won a double gold at 2007 Veritas awards.

Only 180 bottles were imported into Sweden.

Colour : Deep purple, cassis

Aroma : Blackcurrant, smoky oak, red berries, vanilla

Taste : Vanilla, blackcurrant, thin, minerals, red berries, acidic, coffee, chalky tanins, oak

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 179 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Glen Carlou

TN : Schmitt Soehne, Beerenauslese 2005, QmP, Rheinhessen, Germany

This is a desert wine and came in a 500ml bottle. It is mostly made from Ortega and Optima grapes.

Colour : Yellow, gold

Aroma : Orange marmelade, pineapple

Taste : Cloying sweetness, honey, citrus fruits

Alcohol : 8%

Price : 67 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Schmitt Soehne

TN : Grand Callia 2004, Winemaker's Reserve, Bodegas Callia, San Juan, Argentina

This wine was aged for 18 months in French and American oak. It is a blend of 40% Shiraz, 20% Malbec, 20% Merlot, and 20% Tannat. The winemaker was Oscar Biondolillo.

Colour : Deep dark purple

Aroma : Oak, dark fruits, vanilla, coffee, licqourice

Taste : Licqourice, slight blackcurrant, vanilla, coffee, very spicy finish

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 268 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Bodegas Callia

TN : Chateau Bibian 2005, Cru Bourgeois, Listrac-Medoc, France

This is a blend of 60% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 5% Petit Verdot. The wine spent 18 months in French oak. Alain Meyre is the chateau owner.

Colour : Red, purple

Aroma : Black berries, herbs, oak, vanilla, licqourice

Taste : Herbs, dry tanins, blackberry, liqcourice

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 138 SEK

Mark : C+

Blaxsta Vineyard featured in Wine & Spirit Magazine

Tim Atkin MW recently wrote an article on Blaxsta vineyard for Wine & Spirit Magazine. It is freely available on the magazine's web site.

Website : Blaxsta Vineyard feature in Wine & Spirit Magazine

TN : Engelbrecht Els Proprietor's Blend 2005, Western Cape, South Africa

This is a blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Shiraz, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot, and 4% Malbec.

Nice fruit but too much smokiness ruined this wine for me. The high alcohol was not noticable.

The winemaker was Louis Styrdom.

This wine was imported by The Wineagency AB.



Colour : Deep purple

Aroma : Smoky, oak, blackcurrant, mint

Taste : Dry tanins on finish, smoky, blackcurrant, green pepper, licquorice, coffee, mint

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 215 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Ernie Els Stellenbosch
Website : The Wineagency AB

TN : Santa Rita Triple C 2004, D.O. Valle del Maipo, Vina Santa Rita, Chile

Santa Rita was founded in 1880, by a distinguished entrepreneur of those times, Mr. Domingo Fernández Concha in the area of Alto Jahuel where the main installations of the winery are currently located. From the end of the 19th century until the mid 70´s, Santa Rita developed under the ownership of Mr. Vicente García - Huidobro, father of the famous Chilean poet Vicente Huidobro Fernández. Then in 1980, the Grupo Claro acquired the Santa Rita property.

The Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon are from the Alto Jahuel Estate in the Maipo valley. The soil is colluivial loam and is 0.8 to 1 meter deep with a gravelly subsoil. The grapes were harvested during April.

The Carmenere is from 60 year old vineyards located on a southern slope located halfway up the Apalta valley hills. The plantign density is 5,500 vins per hectare. There is no irrigation; the water is obtained via winter rain (700 mm per year average) and the natural water basin. The soil is poor and is granite based.

The wine is a blend of 55% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 15% Carmenere.

The winemaker was Andres Ilabaca.

The winery analysis shows that the pH is 3.54, the acidity is 5.64 grammes per litre, the alcohol is 14.5%, and the residual sugar is 2.40 grammes.

100% of this wine was aged in new French oak for 17 months on average. This was too much in my opinion.

Robert Parker gave this wine 93 points which just shows that he is a big fan of oak. I like oak but in this case it was too much and spoilt the great fruit, texture, and well managed alcohol underneath.

Only 360 bottles were available in the whole of Sweden on February 1st 2008.



Colour : Dark deep inky purple

Aroma : Blackcurrant, blackberry, green pepper

Taste : Overwhelming toasty oak, green pepper, olive, blackcurrant, dark berries, nice dry tannic finish

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 248 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Vina Santa Rita

WineWorld Newsletter February 2008

The latest , February 2008, Newsletter from WineWorld AB can now be downloaded from their website. It details their releases for the first quarter of 2008.

Website : WineWorld February 2008 Newsletter

Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar, Grape Radio Show, Number 143

Here are some comments that I sent in response to the Grape Radio interview with Stephen Tanzer, who I have to confess I don't bother to follow as, so far, I don't think he is any better than anybody else.

I would like to see more of the low scores published. i am not that interested in wines of over 90 points as they are too difficult to find and too expensive mostly. It is more important to me not to buy a stinker of a wine. Why are these top reveiwers not publishing more of the bad scores ? Are they afraid of annoying the producers who they may rely upon to be allowed to taste their top wines ?

Website : Grape Radio

If You Could Wave A Magic Wand, Grape Radio Show, number 171

This was my magic wand wish submission to Grape Radio.

My wishes :

1. It would be possible to sample any wine before buying a whole bottle. This is already possible in some places e.g http://www.decanter.com/news/131883.html but it should be universal.

2. Fine wine would be cheaper

3. Wine reviewers e.g. Parker, Decanter, Wine Spectator, etc publish reviews in full with scores for every wine they review - even the ones that get -1 out of a 100. They seem to be scared to do so - maybe because they fear they will not be allowed to get the wine for free to review the next year. For me. it is more important to not buy a crap wine than to buy a really good one. I would rather have something drinkable than not.

Website : Grape Radio

TN : Merlot 2006, Vin de Pays d'Oc, South of France, Laroche

This wine was bottled under screwcap.

Colour : Purple

Aroma : Coffee, raspberry, spice, cherry

Taste : Red fruits, spice, oak, slightly too acidic

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 73 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Laroche

The Wine of Frederic Magnien, Grape Radio Show Number 185

I just sent in some comments on the latest show posted up on Grape Radio :

Great show; though Pinot yet again !

Interesting conversation about terroir and winemakers. I think all winemakers obliterate the terroir no matter what they do e.g. even the simplest things such as choosing to cool the must down (and to what temperature) affects the expression of terroir. Don't forget the role of viticulture in obliterating terroir. How many vineyards have you seen where the grapes grow wild ? All things such as fertilisers, trellising, canopy management, disease management, when to pick, etc, all effect (obliterate ??) the expression of terroir. Let's face it, if there is a bad year where there is an large outbreak of at least one form of "bad" rot then surely the best expression of the terroir would be to include all those rotten grapes (and bottle it in a magnum for Jay :-)

I am not sure that I agree with the comment that the winemaker has a duty to let the wine reflect the vintage though. Let's say in 2004, a winemaker produces a stunning wine that I really like. If in 2005, he decides to do his best to let the finished wine reflect the vintage then he/she may produce a wine that i don't like as much as the 2004. In this case, I would have preferred the winemaker to work some magic and produce another 2004 again.

Website : Grape Radio

TN : Castillo de Molina, Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Reserva, Curico Valley, Chile

This wine was produced and bottled by Vina San Pedro, Molina, Chile.

Colour : Dark cassis

Aroma : Blackcurrant cordial, oak

Taste : Blackcurrant, dark fruits, rough toasty oak finish, hot

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 89 SEK

Mark : C-

Website : Vina San Pedro

TN : Marchigue Private Collection Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Chile

This wine was produced and bottles by Vinedos Errazuriz Ovalle. It was imported by Sydamerikaviner AB.

Colour : Bramble jelly

Aroma : Blackcurrant, toasty oak

Taste : Blackcurrant/ribena, toasty oak, coffee, raspberry

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 178 SEK

Mark : B+

Website : Vinedos Errazuriz Ovalle
Website : Sydamerikaviner AB

TN : Pisoni, Vignetti delle Dolomiti, Rosso 2006, IGT, Italy

This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Nero. It was imported by Italmondo AB.

Colour : Purple, brown hues

Aroma : Violets, raspberry, smoke, thyme

Taste : Violets, strawberry, smoke, oak tints, cherry, thyme

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 77 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Italmondo AB

TN : Fre Chardonnay 2006, Sutter Home Winery, California, USA

This is a de-alcoholized wine.

The ingredients listed on the label are Chardonnay wine, grape must, natural flavourings, and preservatives (Sulfur Dioxide, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzonate).

Colour : Pale yellow

Aroma : Grapey, lemon, orange

Taste : Grapey, lemon. citrus, orange, long finish

Alcohol : < style="font-weight: bold;">Price : 41 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Sutter Home

TN : Arn de Gotha Rouge, Les Vins d'Arn Magnusson, Grand Vin de Bordeaux, Chateau Le Faure Rouge 2006, Bordeaux, France

Colour : Dark purple/red

Aroma : Dark fruits, slight oak

Taste : lean, thin, soft, dark and red fruits, chalky tannins

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 88 SEK

Mark : D

Website : Arn Magnusson
Website : Granqvist Vinagentur

TN : Arn de Gotha Blanc, Les Vins d'Arn Magnusson, Grand Vin de Bordeaux, Chateau Le Faure Blanc 2006, Bordeaux, France

This wine was imported by Granqvist Vinagentur, Tidaholm

Colour : Yellow/lemon

Aroma : Fruit drops, lemon

Taste : Lemon, fruit drops, long finish, mouthfilling

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 88 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Arn Magnusson
Website : Granqvist Vinagentur

TN : Syrah, Verna's Vineyard, 2003, The Ojai Vineyard, Santa Barbara County, USA

This wine was produced and bottled by Helen and Adam Tolmach.

This wine was imported by Divine AB.

Colour : Black/purple

Aroma : Violets, red fruits, dark fruits, concentrated ribena, slight spice

Taste : Mouth coating, smooth tanins, red fruits, spice, slight white pepper

Alcohol : 15.5%

Price : 299 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Divine AB

Website : The Ojai Vineyard