TN : Clos de l'Echo 2005, Couly-Dutheil, Chinon, Loire, France

Colour : Red, blue hues

Aroma : Blackcurrant, herbs, black pepper

Taste : Drying tannins on finish, herbs, fruity blackcurrant, black pepper on finish (leave 1-2 years for tannins to soften)

Alcohol : 15%

Price : 189 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Couly-Dutheil

Home Viticulture : Petit Verdot

I have invested in my second vine this year. Time to branch out into vinifera and I have purchased Petiti Verdot. I am not sure if it will survive the Swedish winter outside so this will be grown indoors on the window sill.



This is the Frankenthaler from last year.

TN : Sabanis Red Dry Wine, Central Greece

This wine is a blend of Cabernet, Agiorgitiko, and Syrah. Each variety was vinified separately. The Agiorgitiko underwent 8 days of maceration and the Cabernet 10 days. Malolactic fermentation and partial maturation was in French oak barrels for six months.



In 1980 Tasos Sampanis, a Mechanical Engineer, and his wife Elli, created in Ritsona, Avlida, the Sabanis winery. Their state-of-the-art winery, situated in the heart of the winemaking zone of Agios Ioannis, Avlida, is 15 km outside the city of Halkida. The climate is characterized as Mediterranean with cold winters, a warm summer and a long dry fall. The soil is of an average sand-argillaceous type. The vineyards are semi-mountainous, at an altitude of between 350 and 450 metres, and are cooled by the South Euboic Sea. The privately owned vineyards today amount to 28 acres and 15 more acres were added as of the end of 2007.

Colour : Red

Aroma : Pepper, oak, blueberry

Taste : White and black pepper, earthy, blueberry, spice, fruits of the forest, very peppery

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 195 SEK (Restaurant Samos, Tyresö, Sweden)

Mark : B-

Website : Sabanis Estate
Website : Restaurang Samos

TN : Asyrtiko 2008, White Dry Wine, Domaine Sigalas, Santorini, Greece

The grapes for this wine were grown on volcanic soils on the island of Santorini.

Domaine Sigalas was founded in 1991 by Paris Sigalas, Christos Markozane and Yiannis Toundas. Initially, the Sigalas winery was accommodated at the traditional winery of Paris Sigalas family. Later on in 1998, a new wine production, bottling and maturity unit was built and activated in Oia, the northern part of Santorini Island. Today, after constant investments on technology modernization and expansions the current productive structure is formed, which allows the elaboration and bottling of 200.000 bottles a year. The company cultivates 19 hectares of vineyards with local varieties and produces 200,000 bottles a year.

Colour : Yellow

Aroma : Almond, marzipan, lemon

Taste : Hazelnuts, marzipan, earthy, dirty, sharp lemon, minerals

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 149 SEK

Mark : C-

Website : Domaine Sigalas

TN : Viu Manent El Olivar Alto Syrah 2007, SIngle Vineyard, Colchagua Valley, Chile

This wine was "Highly Recommended" by Decanter magazine and received 90 points in Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 2009.



The wine is a blend of 94% Syrah and 6% Petit Verdot. It was produced from Syrah blocks 1, 2, 3, and 4, and Petit Verdot block 20 of the El Olivar vineyard. The vines were seven years of age. All the grapes were hand-harvested and the must was fermented in small stainless steel tanks. The wine was then aged for 18 months in new French (93%) and American (7%) oak barrels. The wine was bottled on December 5th 2008 and 12,060 bottles were produced.



Colour : Dark red, blue hues

Aroma : Burnt toast, blackberry, herbs, coffee, milk chocolate

Taste : Toast, blackberry, herbs, plums, coffee, drying tannic finish; leave for another two to three years to see if the tannins calm down but still drinkable now

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 229 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Viu Manent Winery

TN : Beringer Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, California, USA

Colour : Red

Aroma : Blackcurrant, oak, vanilla, strawberry

Taste : Upfront rough lightly toasted oak, blackcurrant, vanilla, red berries, light, fruity

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 219 SEK (3 Litre Bag-in-Box)

Mark : C

Website : Beringer Vineyards

Book : The Wild Vine, Todd Kliman

This tells the story of the Norton grape and a look at the current status in the USA regarding Norton. The modern day story centres around Jenni McCloud of Chrysalis Vineyards who is portrayed as a Norton fanatic and champion. The book tells the story of how a bottle of Norton won a gold medal at a wine competition in Vienna in 1873 and then has almost vanished off the radar only to be promoted by Jenni and few other ecentric vintners.



I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the history of Norton but was disappointed to hear that the grape is still in obscurity in the USA and simply a curiosity. It is a niche grape variety and will always remain so.

I would recommend this book to anybody interested in the history of viticulture and enology in the USA.




Website : Chrysalis Vineyards

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+