Monday, 8 October 2012

TN : Château Cambon la Pelouse 2009, Cru Bourgeois, Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, France



This wine is a blend of 54% Merlot, 42% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 4% Petit Verdot.

This wine was imported by Tryffelsvinet AB.

Colour : Dark red/blue hues

Aroma : Cedar, blackcurrant, plums, raspberry, tobacco

Taste : Cedar, oak, plums, herbs, blackcurrants, raspberry, drying tannic finish, put it away for two to three years for the cedar to tone down a bit

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 191 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 96055

Mark : C+

Website :  Château Cambon la Pelouse

Sunday, 7 October 2012

TN : Tamarí AR Malbec 2011, Bodega Tamarí, Cuyo, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina



The grapes for this wine were hand-harvested on 27th April 2011. The wine spent one year in French oak. The winemaker was Sebastián Ruiz Flaño. This wine was imported by Mondo Wine Sweden AB.

Colour : Raspberry/blueberry

Aroma : Blueberry, blackcurrants, liqourice, herbs

Taste : Blueberry, raspberry, vanilla, blackcurrant, herby finish

Alcohol : 15%

Price : 119 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 6442

Mark : C

Website : Bodega Tamarí


TN : Zuccardi Viognier 2012, Familia Zuccardi, Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina



This wine is sealed with a screwcap. The wine was imported by Philipson Soderberg AB.

Colour : Pale yellow

Aroma : Floral, honey, pear, apricots, peach

Taste : Roses, pear, apricot, flowers, green apples, honey, peaches

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 80 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 6059

Mark : B

Website : Familia Zuccardi

Wednesday, 3 October 2012

TN : Clarendelle Rosé 2011, Clarence Dillon Wines, Bordeaux, France



This wine is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot.

This wine was imported by Hjo Grosshandel AB.  

Colour : Bright strawberry, rose

Aroma : Strawberry, herbs, redcurrants, lemon

Taste : Dry, redcurrants, herbs, strawberry, lemon, bitter cherry finish

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 119 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 95111

Mark : B-

Website : Clarence Dillon Wines

Tuesday, 2 October 2012

TN : Moët & Chandon Rosé Impérial



Colour : Copper, pink

Aroma : Blood red oranges, red berries

Taste : Strawberry, creamy, oranges on finish

Alcohol : 12%

Price : 399 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 7598

Mark : B-

Website : Moët & Chandon

TN : Serrata Belguardo 2010, IGT, Marchesi Mazei, Maremma, Tuscany, Italy



This wine is a blend of 80% Sangiovese och 20% Alicante Nero. The Total acidity is 5.4.  The vineyards are located at an altitude between 70 and 130 metres with a south to south-west exposure. The vineyard soils are mainly sandstone and limestone. The age of the vines is 12 years. The vines are spur cordon trained. The number of vines is 6,600 per hectare. All of the grapes were handpicked fromSeptember 6th (Sangiovese) and from August 30th (Alicante). The must was fermented at a temperature between 28 and 30 degrees. The maceration lasted 14 to 16 days. The wine was aged for twelve 12 months in small oak barrels french and american 225 litre oak (30% new). The wine was bottled in February 2012 and released to the market in March 2012. 42,000 bottles were produced. The first vintage of this wine was in 2001.


This wine was imported by The WineAgency Sweden AB.


Colour : Dark red/cherry colour

Aroma : Spice, cherries, herbs, oak

Taste : Cherries, oak, herbs and tobaco on finish

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 99 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 22955

Mark : C+

Website : Mazzei

Monday, 1 October 2012

TN : Coyam 2009, Viñedos Emiliana, Los Robles Estate, Colchagua Valley, Chile



This wine is a blend of 41% syrah, 29% carmenère, 20% merlot, 7% cabernet sauvignon, 2% mourvèdre och 1% petit verdot. The wine was finished for 13 months in oak (80% in French oak barrels and 20% in American oak barrels). Coyam is the word for “Oak Forrest” used by the original inhabitants of Chile: The Mapuches. Ancient oaks surround the vineyard where Coyam is born.

This wine received 90 points from Wine Spectator, August 2011, and 90 points from Wine Advocate, March 2012.

Colour : Dark blackcurrant

Aroma : Blackcurrant, blackberry, coconut, herbs

Taste : Blackcurrant, blackberry, coconut, earthy and spice finish

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 179 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 95108

Mark : B-

Website : Viñedos Emiliana

Saturday, 29 September 2012

TN : Waterfall Cabernet Sauvignon 2011, Domaine & Vineyards, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia



Domaine & Vineyards began in 2009, as a collaboration between Rob Bowen, Stewart Sampson and David Rado. The company produces wine from areas Margaret River and Pemberton.

This wine was sealed with a screwcap. This wine was imported by Prime Wine Sweden AB.

Colour : Blackcurrant/red

Aroma : Oak, mint, blackcurrant, tobacco, liqourice, vanilla

Taste :  Tobacco, blackcurrant, vanilla, plums, liqourice on finish

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 99 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 97058

Mark : B-

Thursday, 27 September 2012

TN : Cono Sur Visión Chardonnay 2011, Cono Sur, Aconcagua, Casablanca Valley, Chile



The winemaker was Adolfo Hurtado.

This wine is sealed with a screwcap. This wine was imported by Spendrups Bryggeri AB.

Colour : Pale yellow, green hues

Aroma : Pineapple, mango, banana, lemon, custard

Taste : Pineapple, mango, butter, oak

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 90 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 6522

Mark : C+

Website : Vina Cono Sur

Wednesday, 26 September 2012

TN : Chateau Coucheroy 2009, Andre Lurton, Pessac Leognan, Bordeaux, France



This wine is 100% Sauvignon Blanc.

Colour : Pale yellow

Aroma : Oak, lemon polish, pears

Taste : Creamy texture, lemon, minerals, gooseberries

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 119 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 4136

Mark : C

Website : Andre Lurton

Tuesday, 25 September 2012

TN : Oveja Negra Reserva Pinot Noir 2010, VIA Wines, Maule Valley, Chile



This wine was sealed with a screwcap.

This wine was imported by The WineAgency Sweden AB.

Colour : Red, blue hues

Aroma : Red berries, spice, milk chocolate

Taste : Strawberry, herbs, liqourice

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 89 SEK

Mark : C

Website : VIA Wines

Sunday, 23 September 2012

TN : Rabl Vinum Optimum Grüner Veltliner Kamptal Reserve 2010, Weingut Rabl, Kamptal, Austria



This wine was sealed with a screwcap. This wine was imported by Johan Lidby Vinhandel.

Colour : Pale yellow/lemon

Aroma : Herbs, lemon, grapefruit, stone fruits

Taste : Lemon, white pepper, grapefruit, herbs

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 159 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 97031

Mark : B-

Website : Weingut Rabl

Saturday, 22 September 2012

TN : Porcupine Ridge Syrah 2011, Boekenhoutskloof, Malmesbury, Swartland, South Africa



The John Platter South African Wine Guide 2012 chose Boekenhoutskloof as the winery of the year. Th egrapes were fermented in stainless steel with selected Rhone wine yeast strains. Two thirds of the wine was matured in French oak. The residual sugar is 2.98 grammes per litre, 5.46 grammes per litre total acidity, and pH of 3.76. This wine is sealed with a screwcap.

This wine was imported by Prime Wine Sweden AB.

Colour : Dark red, blue hues

Aroma : Blackberry, raspberry, liqourice, burnt toast, white pepper

Taste : Burnt toast, smoky bacon, blackberry, liqourice, white pepper

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 99 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 22996

Website : Boekenhoutskloof

Thursday, 20 September 2012

TN : Bodega Piedra Negra Pinot Gris 2012, Alta Coleccion, François Lurton, Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina



This wine is sealed with a screwcap.

Colour : Very pale watery-like straw

Aroma : White grapes, pear, apricot

Taste : White grapes, pears, apricots, slightly bitter finish

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 75 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 6193

Mark : C

Website : François Lurton

TN : Chateau Olivier 2000, Grand Cru Classe de Graves, Pessac-Leognan, Bordeaux, France


This wine is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc.

In the case of Chateau Olivier, records indicate the presence of a building on the spot where the chateau now stands as long ago as the 12th Century, and by the mid-14th Century the property was occupied by the d'Olivey family, as evidenced by documents describing the marriage of Rostang d'Olivey to Elizabeth de la Lande, heiress to nearby Chateau de la Brède, in 1350. The property remained with the family for centuries, a long and successful tenure which even survived a sustained challenge from Bordeaux councillors who had taken over the neighbouring seigneurie in 1409. This must surely have been the longest running legal dispute in the late Medieval Ages, as the matter was not concluded until 1680, despite the intervention of at least one monarch. Perhaps unsurprisingly the dispute was settled in favour of the proprietors, although by this time the property had passed down the female line after the last Olivier due to inherit the estate chose to enter the priesthood instead. The Lasserre family thus took on the estate, and by marriage it then passed in 1663 to Pierre Penel, Baron de la Brède, by virtue of his marriage to Marie Lasserre.

With the ensuing years the estate changed hands numerous times, firstly passing to the daughter of Marie and Pierre, who married Jacques de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu. They sold it to Bernard Joseph de Malet, a local parliamentarian, and there then followed a litany of landlords; Lestard, who did much to improve the chateau, making it less of a fortified castle and more of an elegant country house, then Legris, Souberrie-Dugarry, Sergent-Bardwich and Fousset, none of whom did so much as plant a vine, before finally passing to Count Charles-Joseph Maurice d'Etchegoyen in 1846. The new tenants refurbished the chateau yet again, carrying out extensive modifications, and added viticulture to the activities of the estate, which also included forestry and husbandry. The end result of the extensive renovations of Lestard and then D'Etchegoyen (what stands today is largely of the 18th and 19th Centuries) may not be to everyone's taste, nevertheless the chateau remains an impressive and perhaps attractive building, hidden in a clearing in the woods, and surrounded by a moat. After D'Etchegoyen, Olivier was sold to the Bousset-Salvat family, although they in turn yielded to Alexandre Watcher. Then by virtue of the marriage of Agnew Watcher to Jacques de Bethmann in the early 20th Century, the German De Bethmann family took control, and this is a responsibility they still hold today. The most recent incumbent is Jean-Jacques de Bethmann.

The Olivier estate amounts to 220 hectares the majority of which is forest, pasture and grazing land, with the vineyards amounting to 50 hectares in all. Under De Bethmann the vines were leased to the Eschenhauer firm, although this arrangement ceased in 1981, Eschenhauer eventually losing their exclusive distribution rights in 1987. Today the estate is managed by Laurent Lebrun, who holds sway over all the vines, which are planted on a complex composition of terroirs, including Gunzian gravel, clay and limestone, with areas of quartz, flint and other minerals. Chateau Olivier is just one of six chateau entitled to produce both red and white wines under the Graves classification of 1959, although under Eschenhauer the focus was most certainly on the white wines. Since then, however, plantings of red varieties have increased, and although relatively young in comparison to the established white vines they now constitute the greater part of the vineyard. There are now 38 hectares of red varieties, 45% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc, with an average vine age of 25 years. What is more, with the clearing of trees and the establishment of new vineyards, on ancient plots identified from 18th Century maps, the area planted to red varieties is set to rise considerably.

The planting density is relatively high at between 8000 and 10000 vines per hectare. Practices in the vineyard and winery are modern, with the vinification of the red overseen by Guy Guimberteau, a student of the illustrious Emile Peynaud. The fruit is sorted both at harvest, which is manual, and in the winery, before temperature-controlled fermentation, typically between 25 and 30 degrees for the red. The must is vinified in steel, with cold maceration before fermentation, and with some optional use of the press wine. The wine then sees a year in oak barrels, of which one third are new each vintage. The resulting grand vin has a production of about 6000 cases per year. There is also a second wine produced from aliquots not deemed suitable for the grand vin, La Seigneurie d'Olivier du Chateau Olivier.

Colour : Brown notes, cassis

Aroma : Blackcurrant, talcum powder, dried herbs, vanilla, plum

Taste : Dark fruits, violets, talcum powder like tannins on finish, plums, slight licqourice, slight wood on finish

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 349 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Chateau Olivier

Sunday, 16 September 2012

TN : Snoqualmie Naked Chardonnay 2010, Snoqualmie Vineyards, Columbia Valley, Wasingont State, USA



This wine was made with organically grown grapes. This wine was imported by

Colour : Pale yellow

Aroma : Red apples, pears, butter, apricot

Taste : Red apple, apricor, butter, pears

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 99 SEK

Systembolget Number : 6413

Mark : C

Website : Snoqualmie Vineyards

Saturday, 15 September 2012

TN : Tesch St Remigiusberg Riesling Trocken 2010, Weingut Tesch, Nahe, Germany



This wine was sealed with a screwcap. This wine was imported by Bornicon & Salming.



Colour : Pale lemon

Aroma : Pear, honey, minerals

Taste : Dry, zingy, acidic, clean, lemon and lime, honey, minerals on long finish

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 149 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 99009

Mark : C+

Website : Weingut Tesch

Wednesday, 12 September 2012

TN : Boom Boom! Syrah 2010, Charles Smith Wines, Wasington State, U.S.A



This wine is a blend of 96% Syrah, 2.5% Grenache, and 1.5% Malbec.



This wine was sealed with a screwcap. This wine was imported by Klunk AB.

Colour : Dark red, blue hues

Aroma : Burnt toast, blackberry, blueberry, white pepper

Taste : Blackberry, blkueberry, plums, white pepper, burnt toast, spicy finish

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 129 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 6714

Mark : C+

Website : Charles Smith Wines

Monday, 10 September 2012

TN : Chateau Haut-Chaigneau Cuvee Prestige 2009, Vignobles Chatonnet, Lalande de Pomerol, Bordeaux, France



This wine is a blend of 90% Merlot Noir  and 10% Cabernet Franc.

Colour : Dark red

Aroma : Herbs, milk chocolate, plums, tobacco

Taste : Plums, blackcurrant, herbs, milk chocolate texture, tobacco

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 163 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 95131

Mark : C+

Website : Vignobles Chatonnet

Sunday, 9 September 2012

TN : Karl Erbes Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett 2011, Weingut Karl Erbes, Mosel, Germany



Stefan Erbes and his father Karl manage this family-run business which was established in 1967. This wine was sealed with a screwcap.

This wine was imported by Granqvist Vinagentur.

Colour : Very pale watery straw

Aroma : Pears, honey, lime, honey

Taste : Oranges, lime, honey, sweet, long finish

Alcohol : 8%

Price : 120 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 96019

Mark : C+

Website :  Weingut Karl Erbes