Wednesday 27 April 2011

TN : La Parrina 2009, IGT, Gancia Parrina, Maremma, Tuscany, Italy


This wine is a blend of 30% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot, and 10% Syrah.



This wine was imported by Interbrands Sweden AB.



Colour : Raspberry red

Aroma : Oak, vanilla, cherries, spice, liqourice, raspberry

Taste : Burnt toast, spice, vanilla, blackberry, raspberry

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 259 SEK (3 litre bag-in-box)

Mark : C+

Website : Gancia Parrina

TN : Solosole Vermentino 2009, Poggio Al Tesoro, Bolgheri, Tuscany, Italy


This wine is 100% Vermentino from a selection of Corsican Vermentino clones. The grapes come from the Sondraie vineyard located at 25 metres above sea level. The vineyard soils are deep sand, gravel, and clay. The vines were trellised to the Guyot training system.



The name Solosole means "just sunshine".

This wine was imported by The WineAgency Sweden AB.

Colour : Pale yellow

Aroma : Oranges, peach, herbs

Taste : Oranges, peach, herbs, honey

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 119 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Poggio Al Tesoro

Monday 18 April 2011

TN : Bolgarello Bianco Vermentino 2010, IGT, Poggio Al Tesoro, Tuscany, Italy


This wine was sealed with a screwcap.



This wine was imported by The WineAgency Sweden AB.

Colour : Watery pale lemon

Aroma : Mandarin oranges, lemon, almonds, pear

Taste : Pear, almond, lemon, bitter finish

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 75 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Poggio Al Tesoro

TN : Leths Have Pink ! Zweigelt Rose Trocken Klassik 2010, Weingut Leth, Fels am Wagram, Niederoesterreich, Austria


This wine was sealed with a screwcap.



This wine was imported by Domaine Wines & Spirits AB.

Colour : Salmon pink, copper

Aroma : Vanila, strawberry, oranges

Taste : Raspberry, strawberry, vanilla, oranges, very fruity, redcurrants

Alcohol : 12%

Price : 79 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Weingut Leth

Wednesday 13 April 2011

TN : Louis M Martini Napa Valley Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Napa Valley, Californina, USA


Louis M Martini built the winery in the Napa Valley in 1933.



This wine was imported by Spendrups Bryggeri AB.

Colour : Dark blackcurrant

Aroma : Burnt toast, blackcurrant, mint, tobacco

Taste : Blackcurrant, burnt toast, coffee, cinamon on finish

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 199 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Louis M Martini Winery

TN : Kerastis Agiorgitiko 2008, Apostolos Lykos Winery, Peloponnesos, Nemea, Greece

This wine was imported by Concealed Wines AB.



Colour : Red, blue hues

Aroma : Spice, pepper, plums

Taste : Cinamon throughout, plummy fruit, liqourice on tangy finish

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 89 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Apostolos Lykos Winery

Monday 11 April 2011

TN : Antu Ninquen Mountain Vineyard Syrah 2008, Colchagua Valley, Chile


Ninquen (nin-ken) means "Plateau on a Mountain". Antu means "sun" in Mapuche or "People from the Earth" language.



The Ninquen Mountain vineyard is located in Colchagua Valley. The soil is a thin blanket of clay over decomposed rock. The trellis system used is VSP. All of the grapes were handpicked on April 18th 2008 and then subjected to a four day cold soak. The yeast used for alcoholic fermentation was PDM. Three pump overs of two minutes per ton were done each day. The total skin contact was twenty three days. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered. All of the wine spent 18 months in oak of which 80% was French and 20% was American. 50% of the oak was new and 50% was second use. The residual sugar is 2.98 grammes per litre, the total acidity is 5.25 grammes per litre (measured as tartaric acid) and the pH is 3.53. 3000 cases were produced.

Colour : Dark blackberry

Aroma : Blackberry, plums, tobacco, mint, milk chocolate, black pepper

Taste : Blackberry, mega tobacco on finish, plums, mint, milk chocolate

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 149 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Vina Ninquen

TN : Journey's End Bluegum Merlot Barrel Selection 2007, Stellenbosch, South Africa


The vineyard soils are predominantely granite with sandy top soil. 12035 vines were planted in 200 and 2001. The rootstocks used were 1010/14 and Ruggeri 140. 27.2 tons of grapes were harvested on the 26th February 2007 at an average yield of 2.4 tons per acre.



Thirty Six barrels of this wine were produced. The wine was aged for 18 months in French oak barrels with a small percentage ageing for a further time in American oak barrels. This wine won a double gold at the 2010 Michaelangelo international wine awards.



This wine was imported by Vinunic AB.



Colour : Dark red

Aroma : Dried fruits, raspberry, blackcurrant, liqourice, milk chocolate

Taste : Blackcurrant, raspberry, dried fruits, liqourice on warm finish, minerals, milk chocolate

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 155 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Journey's End Winery

Monday 4 April 2011

TN : Chateau Desmirail 2004, Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, France


This wine is classified 3rd Grand Cru Classe. It is a blend of 39% Merlot and 61% Cabernet Sauvignon. The vineyard consists of 30 hectares of deep quarternary gravel. The vines are planted at a density of 7600 vines per hectare. The average age of the vines is 30 years and the average yield is 45 hectolitres per hectare. All of the grapes were harvested between the 28th September and the 15th October.



Jean Desmirail founded the estate at the end of the 17th century. Chateau Desmirail is now ran by Denis Lurton who took over in 1992 at the then age of 33.

This wine was imported bhy VinUnic AB.

Colour : Red, blue and brown hues

Aroma : Cedar, blackcurrant, plums, tobacco

Taste : Cedar, tobacco, herbs, little fruit consisting of plums and blackcurrants, woody drying finish

Price : 289 SEK

Alcohol : 13%

Mark : C-

Website : Chateau Desmirail

TN : Les Lauzeraies Tavel 2010, Les Vignerons de Tavel, Cotes du Rhone, Tavel, France


This wine was sealed with a screwcap.



This wine was imported by Terrific Wines Sweden.

Colour : Raspberry pink

Aroma : Raspberry, strawberry, herbs, oranges

Taste : Raspberry, strawberry, herbs, spice, bone dry

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 95 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Les Vignerons de Tavel

TN : Chateau Marzy Grand Enclos de Riffat 2005, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France


This wine is a blend of 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Colour : Dark red

Aroma : Plums, cedar, tobacco, blackcurrant

Taste : Horrible overwhelming stale tobacco, earthy, herbs, hints of plummy fruit, earthy, tangy finish

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 225 SEK

Mark : E

Wednesday 30 March 2011

TN : Laurel Glen Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Sonoma Mountain, California, USA


This wine was imported by Divine AB.



Colour : Dark blackcurrant

Aroma : Blackcurrant, plums, cedar, vanilla

Taste : Mega liqourice on finish, blackcurrant, mineral, cedar, toast

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 369 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Divine AB

TN : Chateau Haut-Mazeris 2004, Canon-Fronsac, Bordeaux, France


Capucine de Luynes is the manager of the vines of Château Haut-Mazeris, which have been in her family for four generations. The vineyard itself is located in the district of Saint Michel de Fronsac, on the highest slope of the region. The vineyard soil is clayey limestone. There are ten hectares of vines of which five hectares are in Canon Fronsac and five hectares in Fronsac. The grape varietals are Merlot 65 %, Cabernet Franc 15 %, and Cabernet Sauvignon 20 %. The average age of the vines 30 years old though a few vine stocks of Cabernet Sauvignon are
over 100 years old. The wine is aged in 30 % new barrels and 70 % one year barrels. Jean-Luc Thunevin is the consultant.



Colour : Blackcurrant, red

Aroma : Blackcurrant, plums, toasty oak, sandalwood

Taste : Blackcurrant, plums, fruity, drying tannins on finish, toasty oak, cedar, could leave a year or two more and try again to see if tannins integrate more or fade

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 269 SEK (Stockholm Arlanda Airport, Terminal 5 Duty Free shop)

Mark : B

Website : Ets Thunevin

Monday 28 March 2011

TN : Castelgiocondo 2003, Brunello Di Montalcino, Marchesi De Frescobaldi, Tuscany, Italy


This wine is 100% Sangiovese. All of the grapes for this wine were handharvested during the last week of September and the first week of October 2003. The yield was 35 hectolitres per hectare.



Alcoholic fermentation took twelve days in stainless steel vats at a temperature of less than 30 degrees. The length of the maceration was 32 days. The wine was matured in Slavonian oak casks and French oak barrels.



This wine was rated three out of five stars by Decanter magazine and 90 points by Wine Spectator.



This wine was purchased as part of a three bottle case of the 2003, 2004, and 2005 vintages of Castelgiocondo from Finnair in-flight duty free on the Hong Kong to Helsinki route for 98 Euro.







Colour : Dark red,brown hues

Aroma : Blackcurrants, plums, wood, coffee

Taste : Wood, fruity, blackcurrant, plums, coffee, cherries, chalky tannic finish

Alcohol : 13.5%

Mark : B

Wednesday 23 March 2011

TN : FLD Riglos Gran Malbec 2008, Mendoza, Argentina


Dario Werthein and Fabian Suffern together created Roglur winery.



This wine is 100% Malbec. The grapes for this wine were harvested on April 8th 2008. There were 16,516 bottles produced of this wine. The site for the grapes is located in Tupungato in the Uco Valley at 4000 feet above sea level. The wine was aged for 20 months in first use French oak barrels. The enologist was Pulqui Rodriguez Villa.

Colour : Dark blackberry

Aroma : Oak, plums, blackberry, violets, herbs, milk chocolate

Taste : Milk chocolate, herbs, liqourice, violets, blackberry, pencil lead tannins on finish. This wine took about an hour to open up at which point it was really singing. This could be worth leaving for anothet year or two.

Alcohol : 15%

Price : 199 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Bodega Riglos

TN : Heartland Dolcetto and Lagrein 2008, Heartland Wines Pty Ltd, Langhorne Creek and Limestone Coast, Australia


This wine was sealed with a screwcap. The winemaker was Ben Glaetzer. The wine is a blend of 50% Dolcetto and 50% Lagrein. 73% of the grapes were sourced from Langhorne Creek and 27% from Limestone Coast. The soils of Langhorne Creek are sandy loam and in the Limestone Coast it is grey marl over deep limestone. The age of the vines was between 12 and 15 years. The average yield was between 3.5 to 4.8 tonnes per hectare or 1.5 to 2 tons per acre.



The Dolcetto fruit was crushed and macerated for two days prior to yeast addition. The followed by a cool fermentation at 22 degrees, followed by four times daily hand-plunging. The wine was left on skins for 10 days before pressing. Approximately 50% of the Dolcetto was transferred to French oak hogsheads for completion of fermentation whilst the remainder was left unoaked.

The Lagrein was also fermented at cool temperatures of between 18 and 20 degrees to preserve aromatics and limit bitter tannin extraction. The Lagrein was then transferred to new French and American oak for 11 months maturation prior to blending and bottling.

70% of the oak was French and 30% was American. The wine spent 11 months in barrel.

The total acidity is 6.6 grammes per litre. The pH is 3.46. The residual sugar is 0.9 grammes per litre.

Colour : Dark blackberry

Aroma : Blackcurrant, blackberry, mint, liqourice, spice

Taste : Oak, toast, black cherry, liqourice, mint, melted chocolate-like texture, fruit bomb

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 99 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Heartland Wines

TN : Wishbone Pinot Noir 2009, Saint Clair Family Estate, Marlborough, New Zealand


This wine was sealed with a screwcap.



This wine was imported by SIGVA AB.

Colour : Red, cherry

Aroma : Oak, spice, red fruits, herbs

Taste : Strawberry, raspberry, redcurrants, herbs, warm and spicy finish

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 99 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Saint Clair Family Estate
Website : SIGVA AB

Tuesday 22 March 2011

TN : Dr Loosen Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spaetlese 2009, Mosel, Germany




Wehlener Sonnenuhr means "The sundial of Wehlen". This wine was imported by VinUnic AB.



Colour : Pale lemon

Aroma : Honey, green apples, lemon, stone fruits, pear

Taste : Lemon, lime, sweet, honey, spritzy, mineral, pears, green apples

Alcohol : 8%

Price : 199 SEK

Mark : A

Website : Dr Loosen

Monday 21 March 2011

TN : Chateau Moulin Pey-Labrie 2004, Benedicte et Gregoire Hubau, Canon Fronsac, Bordeaux, France


The estate consists of 6,75 hectares of flanking slopes of clayey limestone on molasse. It is planted to 98 % Merlot and 2 % Malbec.


Colour : Dark blackcurrant

Aroma : Oak, blackberry, plums, herbs, cedar

Taste : Blackcurrant, redcurrants, plums, cedar, herbs, coffee, tangy finish

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 286 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Chateau Moulin Pey-Labrie

TN : Stags' Leap Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Stags' Leap Winery, Napa Valley, California, USA



Colour : Dark blackcurrant

Aroma : Blackcurrants, coffee, milk chocolate

Taste : Coffee, cherry, blackcurrant, graphite-like tannins and liqourice on finish, could keep for one or two more years and try again

Alcohol : 14.1%

Price : 399 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Stags' Leap Winery