TN : Mas de la Dame La Stèle 2008, Les Baux-de-Provence, France

 This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

This wine was imported by Ward Wines AB.

Colour : Dark plums

Aroma : Blackcurrant, oak, spice, blueberry

Taste : Blackcurrant, blueberry, spice, black pepper and oak on finish, retaste in 1-2 years

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 189 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 70431

Mark : B

Website : Mas de la Dame

TN : Anima Chenin Blanc 2010, Avondale, Paarl, South Africa

The word Anima refers to the vital life force or soul.   Avondale's ethos “Terra Est Vita”- Soil is Life – is their acknowledgement that for us, soul animates everything on earth, from the minerals, through plants and animals to humans.  Avondale called their Chenin Blanc Anima, because the lively minerals of Avondale’s soils give to the wine its own delicious, spirited character and extraordinary finesse.

The hand-picked, organically grown grapes were harvested at 22° to 23° Balling, whole bunch pressed and then naturally fermented in 500 litre French oak barrels. 15 to 20% of the grapes were whole bunch fermented which added body and length to the wine. After fermentation the wine was kept on the lees for twelve months with regular battonage.

This wine was imported by Handpicked Wines Sweden AB.

Colour : Yellow, green/brown hues

Aroma : Oak, mango, herbs, vanilla, butter, lemon

Taste : Peach, mango, oak, butter, lemon, herbs, zingy acidity on long finish

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 149 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 2049

Mark : B-

Website : Avondale

TN : Pittnauer Pitti 2011, Weingut Pittnauer, Burgenland, Austria

This wine is a blend of Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch. The wine received 88 points out of 100 from Austria's Falstaff magazine.

This wine was imported by AB Wicked Wine Sweden.

Colour : Red/blue hues

Aroma : Spices, blueberry, raspberry, milk chocolate

Taste : Spice, burnt toast, herbs, blueberry, raspberry

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 126 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 73173

Mark : B

Website : Weingut Pittnauer

TN : Domaine du Bagnol Rose 2012, Cassis, Provence, France

This wine is a blend of Grenache, Cinsault, and Mourvedre.

Colour : Pale copper/salmon

Aroma : Herbs, jellied strawberry and raspberry

Taste : Redcurrants, raspberry, herbs, zingy finish

Alcohol : 13%

Price : Bought at the winery

Mark : B

Website :  Domaine du Bagnol

TN : The Ultimate Zin Zinfandel 2011, Future Wines, Lodi, California, USA

This wine was sealed with a screwcap.

 This wine was imported by The Wine Team.

Colour : Dark red, blue hues

Aroma : Blueberry, blackberry, vanilla, mint, oak, toast

Taste : Mint, blackberry, blueberry, oak, toast, milk chocolate, warm finish

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 79 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 6550

Mark : C+

TN : Minuty Prestige Rosé 2012, Château Minuty, Côtes de Provence, France

The vines are grown in a mica schist soil with south westerly aspect. The soil is mechanically worked (using plough) without using herbicide. The Vines are trellised in double "guyot" with two arms titled to 30 degrees with 2 eyes on every arm. The vines are trellised in 2 dimensions to a height of 1.70 metres height. The manual debudding helps to quantify the harvest by avoiding any green grape harvest. During phytosanitary treatments, no systemic product is used.

 This wine was imported by Ward Wines AB.

Colour : Pale copper/salmon

Aroma : Strawberry, raspberry, lemon, grapefruit, herbs

Taste : Raspberry, lemon, grapefruit, herbs

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 139 SEK

Mark : B

Website :  Château Minuty

Domaine Mas de la Dame, Baux de Provence, France, July 2013

I was at Domaine Mas de la Dame near Saint Remy de Provence last week to purchase some wine and took these photos :

Old Vine Saint Remy de Provence July 2013

We stayed at my wife's friend last week in Saint Remy de Provence and whilst there I took some pictures of this old vine she has growing in her patio. The grapes are red but nobody seems to know what the variety actually is :

Avignon Vines

Whilst taking the tourist train around Avignon last week I spotted these vines near the papal palace :

Domaine du Bagnol, Cassis, Provence, France, July 2013

Here are some pictures from my shopping trip to Domaine du Bagnol is Cassis, Provence, France :

TN : Catena Alta Historic Rows Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, Bodega Catena Zapata, Mendoza, Argentina

The grapes for this wine were sourced from two of the Catena's family Andean vineyards; La Piramide (50%) and Domingo (50%).This wine was imported by Vinunic AB.

Colour : Dark blackcurrant

Aroma : Plums, blackcurrant, herbs, liqourice, toast, black olives

Taste : Blackcurrant, plums, liqourice, herbs, black olives

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 255 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 99144

Mark : B

Website : Bodega Catena Zapata

TN : Excellence 2011, Domaine la Ferme Blanche, Cassis, Provence, France

I picked this bottle up at the Domaine la Ferme Blanche winery a couple of weeks ago in Cassis, Provence, France. I also bought the standard red and rose but have lost the tasting notes unfortunately. From what I remember both were average with the red being slightly better than the rose.

Colour : Pale straw

Taste : Creamy texture, lemon, earthy

Alcohol : 13%

Mark : C

TN : Nero d'Avola Ummira 2011, Terre di Zagara, IGT, Sicily, Italy

 I had this wine at a small Italian resturant with pizza last Thursday in Avignon.

 Taste : Dark fruits, raisiny, smooth tannins

Alcohol : 13.5%

Mark : C

TN : Chateau Tayat 2011, Blaye, Cotes de Bordeaux, France

This wine is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Muscadelle.

Taste : Earthy, blackcurrant leaf, lemon

Colour : Pale lemon

Mark : C+

Website : Chateau Tayat

TN : Château Peyreau 2009, Vignobles Graf von Neipperg, Saint Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France

The Peyreau estate, bordering on Clos de l'Oratoire, was purchased by the Neipperg family in 1971. It has benefited from the winemaking philosophy and experience of Count Stephan von Neipperg since the early 1990s, when he took over the management of these two estates. The 12.82 hectare vineyard is located on Saint-Emilion's north-east slope. It has clay-limestone soil with Fronsac molasse at the top of the slope and clay-siliceous soil lower down.The grape varieties are 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon.The average age of the vines is 25 years. The winemaking philosophy is the same as at the other Neipperg vineyards. The only difference is the vats; concrete rather than wood or stainless steel. Château Peyreau has had a fully-renovated installation since the 2004 vintage with new concrete vats and a redesigned barrel-ageing cellar.

Built by the Beylot family in 1860, the château is set in vast grounds featuring a wide variety of trees. In one unusual episode in the building's history, it was used as a girls' boarding school during the Second World War. 95% of total production of the château is exported.

All of the grapes were harvested by hand, into small crates to avoid bruising They were then sorted before and after destemming There was no crushing and all of the grapes arrived on a conveyor belt. The wine was fermented in temperature-controlled concrete vats; extraction was via pneumatic pigeage (punching down the cap). Malolactic fermentation and barrrel ageing was performed in barrels used for either one and two previous vintages.

Colour : Dark plummy red

Aroma : Plums, blackcurrant, oak

Taste : Graphite, fruity, blackcurrant, plums, cedar, grainy tannins on drying finish

Mark : C+

Price : 169 SEK (The Wine Company)

The Wine Company Article Number : 777569

Website : Vignobles Graf von Neipperg
Website : The Wine Company

TN : Trapiche Malbec Viña Jorge Miralles 2008, Bodegas Trapiche, Single Vineyard, La Consulta, San Carlos, Mendoza, Argentina

The chief winemaker was Daniel Pi. The La Consulta vineyard is situated at an altitude of 970 metres above sea level. The age of the vines was ten years. The vineyard row orientation was north-south. The trellis system employed was low espalier (double spur pruning). The vineyard density was 2,600 vines per hectare and the yield was 8,600 kilogrammes per hectare. Furrow irrigation was used within the vineyard. All of the vines were planted on their own rootstock. The soil was alluvial, sandy with pebbles throughout the soil profile.

Fermentation and maceration took place in small concrete vats for a minimum of 25 days at a temperature of 23 to 25 degrees. MLF was natural and the wine was aged for 18 months in new French oak barrels. The total acidity is 6.80 grammes per litre and the pH is 3.67.

This wine was imported by Spendrups Bryggeri AB.

Colour : Dark blackberry

Aroma : Blackberry, blueberry, herbs, savoury character

Taste : Blueberry, blackberry, herbs, milk chocolate character, drying tannins and liqourice on finish

Alcohol : 15%

Price : 239 SEK

Mark : A-

Website : Bodegas Trapiche

TN : Chevalier de Lascombes 2005, Chateau Lascombes, Margaux, Bordeaux, France

This wine is 55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes underwent a cold pre-fermentation maceration at 8 degrees. The wine underwent ageing on fine lees for four months and aged for 16 months in second fill barrels. 96,000 bottles were produced.

Colour : Dark red, blue and brown hues

Aroma : Plums, blackcurrant, oak, herbs

Taste : Plums, blackcurrant, herbs, polished French oak

Price : 359 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 94051

Website : Chateau Lascombes

TN : Chateau Tour Saint Pierre 2004, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France

This wine is a blend of 80% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine spent 24 months in French oak barrels of which 20% were new. The average age of the vines was 30 years.

Colour : Red

Aroma : Plums, cedar, blackcurrant, raspberry, oak

Taste : Plums, blackcurrant, cedar, spice, grainy tannins on finish

Mark : C+

TN : Natureo Free Syrah 2010, Miguel Torres, Spain

Fermentation and maceration took place in stainless steel tanks for two weeks. The wine was dealcoholised using the spinning cone method.

Colour : Red, blue hues

Aroma : Burnt toast, blueberry, vanilla sauce

Taste : Blueberry, vanilla sauce, toast

Alcohol : 0.5%

Price : 51 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 1940

Mark : C

Website :  Miguel Torres

TN : Trapiche Iscay Malbec Cabernet Franc 2008, Bodegas Trapiche, Mendoza, Argentina

 Iscay means "two" in Quechuan, the original language of the Incas. This word was chosen to symbolise the union of two grapes, two cultures, and two experts; the chief winemaker was Daniel Pi and viticulturist was Marcelo Belmonte. This wine is a blend of 70% Malbec and 30% Cabernet Franc. The grapes for this wine came from Trapiche's vineyards in Russel, Maipu, Altamira, Uco Valley, Mendoza. All of the grapes were hand-harvested. Fermentation and maceration was in small concrete vats during a minimum of 25 days at 23 to 25 degrees. The wine underwent natural malolactic fermentation. The wine was then aged fora total of 18 months in new French oak barrels. The total acidity is 6.40 grammes per litre, the pH is 3.59, and the sugar is 2.96 grammes per litre.

This wine was imported by Spendrups Bryggeri AB.

Colour : Dark blackberry

Aroma : Oak, burnt toast, blackberry, blackcurrant, green pepper, violets

Taste : Blackcurrant, blackberry, plums, burnt toast, green pepper, violets

Alcohol : 15 %

Price : 339 SEK

Systembolaget Number : 95052

Website : Bodegas Trapiche