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

TN : Peter Lehmann Barossa Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Barossa, Australia

This wine was sealed with a screwcap.



This wine was imported by Spendrups Bryggeri AB.



Colour : Dark red/blackcurrant

Aroma : Sandalwood, blackcurrant, milk chocolate, mint

Taste : Cedar, blackcurrant, milk chocolate, mint, herbs

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 124 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Peter Lehmann Wines

TN : Clemensbusch Riesling Vom Roten Schiefer 2009, Weingut Clemens Busch, Mosel, Germany

This wine was imported by Katthuset AB.



Colour : Lemon

Aroma : Lemon, lime, barley sugar, honey

Taste : Lemon, lime, honey, pear, bags of minerals on a long zingy finish

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 169 SEK

Mark : C+

TN : Dr L Riesling 2010, Dr Loosen, Mosel, Germany

This wine was sealed with a screwcap.



This wine was imported by Vinunic AB.

Colour : Pale straw

Aroma : Honey, lemon, lime, oranges, green apples

Taste : Off dry, lemon, honey, mandarin oranges, pear

Alcohol : 10.5%

Price : 79 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Dr Loosen

TN : Mille855 2009, IGT, Barone Ricasoli, Maremma, Tuscany, Italy

"Mille 855" is a tribute to Bettino Ricasoli who founded the Ricasoli company in 1855.



This wine is imported by WineWorld AB.

Colour : Dark cherry

Aroma : Herbs, cherry, milk chocolate, oak

Taste : Milk chocolate, cherries, sour acidity on finish, herbs

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 259 SEK (3 Litre Bag-In-Box)

Mark : B-

Website : Barone Ricasoli

TN : Zardoz Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere 2008, Vina Indomita, Maipo Valley, Chile

This wine is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 105 Carmenere. The wine received 91 points from Wine Enthusiast magazine - "An outstanding wine, highly recommended".



This wine was imported by Primewine Sweden AB.



Colour : Dark blackcurrant

Aroma : Green pepper, blackcurrant, burnt toast

Taste : Concentrated and fruity, green pepper, blackcurrants, oak, burnt toast, herbs

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 159 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Vina Indomita

TN : Bonterra Chardonnay 2009, Mendocino County, California, USA

This wine has been made from organic grapes grown along the Russian River. The principal vineyards were Fetzer Sundial, Fetzer Ledford, Fetzer Chalfont, and Haiku Vineyards. The wine is a blend of 92% Chardonnay, 4% Muscat, and 4% Viognier. 70% of the must was fermented in oak and the remaining 30% in stainless steel. 70% of the wine was then put through malolactic fermentation. The wine was then aged for six months in oak. 24% of the oak was neutral, 16% was new oak, 20% was one year oak, 20% was two year oak, and 20% was three year oak.. The Total Acidity is 0.64 grams per 100 millilitres, the pH is 3.23, and the Residual Sugar is 0.39 grams per 100 millilitres. The winemaker was Robert Blue. This wine was sealed with a screwcap.



This wine was imported by Philipson Soderberg AB.

Colour : Light yellow

Aroma : Butter, oak, nuts, oranges, pineapple

Taste : Butter, vanilla, oak, oranges, pineapple, apples

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 135 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Bonterra Vineyards

TN : Gran Feudo Rosado 2010, Bodega Julian Chivite, Navarra, SPain

Bodegas Chivite was founded in 1647. This wine is mainly made from Garnacha Tinta using the saignee method. The juice was separated using gravity. The wine was sealed with a screwcap.

This wine was imported by Arcus Sweden AB.



Colour : Raspberry pink

Aroma : Jellied raspberries and strawberries, herbs

Taste : Raspberry, strawberry, herbs, redcurrants

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 64 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Bodegas Chivite

TN : Akarua Chardonnay 2009, Bannockburn, Central Otago, New Zealand

All the grapes for this wine come from the Akarua Estate vineyard. The vineyard aspect is North to North-West. The vines are planted to an East-West orientation. The vineyard soils are weakly structured light alluvial soils from schist rock on old glacial terraces. The vines are 14 years old and the trellis system used is a 2 cane VSP canopy. The Chardonnay clone planted is the Kawarau clone 6.



All of the grapes were picked on the 8th April 2009. The growing conditions were cool with 950-980 GDD with early autumn frosts (September 2008 - April 2009). There was less than 320 mililitres of rain during the growing season.

The grapes were whole bunch pressed and the temperature during alcoholic fermentation was kept below twenty degrees. The Viticulturalist was Gillian Wilson and the Winemaker was Matt Connell. The Brix at harvest was 23, the Residual Sugar is 3 grammes per litre, the Titratable Acidity is 7.6, and the pH is 3.25. The wine underwent maturing in oak of which 15% was new. The finished wine was sealed with a screwcap.



This wine was imported by Domaine Wines & Spirits

Colour : Pale yellow

Aroma : Buttered sweetcorn, pineapple, oak

Taste : Pineapple, sweetcorn, zingy lemon and lime intense citrus fruit, butter

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 159 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Akarua

Wines on SAS flight from Geneva to Stockholm, July 20th 2011

We had three different wines on a return journey from Geneva to Stockholm in Geneva. All the wines cost 60 SEK and came in the airline standard screwcapped 187ml bottle format.

I only tasted the white, the Crusan which tasted of lemon and nettles and was an ok glugger. I would give it a C.

My wife had the two reds and swears that they were ok. I didn't taste them since I find red wines served too cold on flights.

The wines we tried were :

• Borsao, Garnacha 2009, Spain
  

This wine is a blend of 85% Grenache and 15% Tempranillo

Alcohol : 13.5%
Website : Bodegas Borsao

• Crusan, Colombard Sauvignon, Cotes de Gascogne, France

Alcohol : 11.5%

• Mas Josephine 2009, Syrah - Grenache, Chateau Courac,Cotes du Rhone, France

Alcohol : 14%

Book : Drilling For Wine, Robin Yapp

This book is a very humourous brisk walkthrough of Robin Yapp's life from Dentist to Wine Merchant. The first partof the book covers Robin Yapp's work in hotels, balancing dentistry and selling wine, setting up his first wine real wine business, visits to the Bordeaux, Loire, and Rhone. He recounts numerous funny anectdotes involving Cyril Ray and Edmund Penning-Rowsell. I would throughly recommend this book to anybody interested, or not interested, in wine.

TN : Chateau Larmande 2001, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France

This wine is a blend of 65% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Larmande is a place-name which can be found in archives dating from 1585. These mention a visit by the Jurade to inspect the wine there. A stone in the cellar bears the date 1640. The owner at the beginning of the 18th century was called Champagne. After he died, his widow continued production at the vineyard for a few years before it was taken over, first by the Pion de Case family, and then in about 1850 by the Saint Genis, who came from the Charente Maritime. This family kept the estate for around 50 years, leaving the management of it to Germain Meneret.

At the beginning of the 20th century, for partition and inheritance reasons, the Saint Genis offered to sell the estate to Germain Meneret. Not having a large enough fortune to buy it outright, he went into partnership with one of his friends, Amédée Capdemourlin, who also came from a very old Saint Emilion family, in order to acquire the property. In the following generation, Fernand Meneret married Alice Capdemourlin. Both of them inherited the estate just before the second world war. Their sons and grandsons then ran the estate, bringing the surface area of the vineyard to 22.5 hectares (55 acres).

At the end of 1990, Jean Meneret ­the President and founder of the Association des Grands Crus Classés de Saint Emilion, a well-known figure in the Bordeaux vineyard and who had taken the estate to the highest level, sold Château Larmande to the La Mondiale insurance group. From this time, the onus was put on bringing the wines of Château Larmande to the forefront of the international stage. The acquisition of a new plot of vines took the surface area of the vineyard to 25 hectares (62 acres), making this estate one of the largest in Saint Emilion. The cellars were renovated, a tasting room built in stone and glass was created, and a reception room capable of holding one hundred people was built.

The chateau is situated 1,200 metres from Saint Emilion. Château Larmande possesses a great diversity of soil types : 15% is clay-limestone, 15% is siliceous clay and 70% is made up of ancient sands. The 25 hectare estate includes 19 hectares of vines planted in one block close to the château, the rest of the plots being no more than 6 kilometres away. The average age of the vines is 30 years.

Colour : Dark red, brown

Aroma : Plums, oak, herbs, milk chocolate

Taste : Plums, raspberry, herbs, cedar, aged, milk chocolate, tobacco

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 399 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Chateau Larmande

TN : Rua Pinot Noir 2009, Akarua Ltd, Central Otaga, New Zealand

The grapes for the wine were picked between the 6th and 30th April 2010. There was a cool start to the growing season followed by a warm and dry mid summer and autumn. There were 1020 Grower Degree Days (30 Sept 2009 - 30 April 2010) and 211 millilitres of rainfall. There was no whole bunch fermentation. The grapes underwent a 5 day pre-fermentation maceration. Inoculated yeast was used and the fermentation peaked at 31 degrees. Punch-downs were performed twice daily. The wine underwent a 6 day post fermentation maceration. The wine was matured in French oak barriques for ten months; 15% of the oak was new. The Viticulturist was Gillian Wilson and Winemaker was Matt Connell. The wine was bottled in February 2011. The brix at harvest was between 22 and 24. The titratable acidity is 6 grammes per litre and the pH is 3.71.


This wine was sealed with a screwcap.

This wine was imported by Domaine Wines.

Colour : Raspberry, blue hues

Aroma : Spice, plums, red fruits, toast

Taste : Liqourice, wild strawberries, toast, spice, warm and fruity, coffee on finish

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 159 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Akarua

TN : Le Vieux Clocher Fut 2009, Pinot Noir de Peissy, Domaine des Bossons, Switzerland

Colour : Raspberry red

Aroma : Red fruits, oak, vanilla

Taste : Smooth tannins, raspberry, oak, vanilla, strawberry

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 14,20 CHF (Purchased direct from Domaine des Bossons)

Mark : B+

Website : Domaine des Bossons

TN : Sauvignon Gris 2010, Domaine des Bossons, Peissy, Switzerland

Colour : Pale lemon

Aroma : Blackcurrant, pineapple, mango

Taste : Leafy, blackcurrant, mango, pineapple, nettles

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 15,50 CHF (Purchased direct from Domaine des Bossons)

Mark : B-

Website : Domaine des Bossons