Faulty Italian Wines

This weekend I tried a couple of, what should have been, very nice Tuscan reds. Instead, disaster struck.

The first was a Chianti Classico 2006 from Castello Dei Rampolla at 14% alcohol which just tasted of red wine vinager. I cut the capsule and the top of the bottle was covered in red-stained mould. This was completely undrinkable.





The second was the Bolgheri Sondraia 2007 from Poggio Al Tesoro at 14.5% alcohol. On opening, the contents smelt of old damp cardboard. Obviously it was suffering from about of TCA. Underneath was some great dark fruits however. This would have probably been a great bottle if it weren't corked. With a bit of imagination, it was possible to drink this wine thanks to the concentrated fruit.

TN : Paracombe Pinot Noir 2008, Adelaide Hills, Australia

This wine is imported by Johan Lidby Vinhandel.



This wine is sealed with a screwcap.

Colour : Pale red

Aroma : Very spicy, strawberry and cherry fruit, toffee

Taste : Overwhelmed by the very very spicy notes, soft red fruits, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, liqourice, boring, mostly two-dimensional spice and fruit

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 169 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Paracombe Premium Wines
Website : Johan Lidby Vinhandel

TN : Marsiliana 2005, IGT, Tenuta Marsiliana, Maremma, Tuscany, Italy

This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot.





Colour : Dark red, brown hues

Aroma : Tobacco, plums, blackcurrant, raisins, herbs

Taste : Aged, drying talculm powder texture on finish, plums, blackcurrants, raisins, herbs, spice

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 309 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Tenuta Marsiliana

TN : Pauillac 2005, Bordeaux, France

The producer is Cordier Meztrezat.

Colour : Red, slight browning

Aroma : Blackcurrant, plums, milk chocolate, earthy, cedar

Taste : Blackcurrant, plum, earthy

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 189 SEK

Mark : C+

TN : Chateau Gachon Cuvee Saint-Georges 2004, Montagne St-Emilion, Bordeaux, France

This wine won a gold medal at the Concours Genral Agricole De Paris in 2006.



The vineyards lie on deep chalk soils over looking St. Emilion. The chateau is owned by Gerard Aspin and his son.

Colour : Red

Aroma : Toast, coffee, milk chocolate, plums, blackcurrant

Taste : Blackcurrant, blueberry, plums, milk chocolate, herbs

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 176 SEK

Mark : B-

TN : Corison Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Corison Winery, California, USA

The ancient (5,000 years B.C.) European design motifs on the label are enduring symbols of the creative and regenerative power of nature.



Cathy Corison is the Winemaker and Proprietor of Corison Winery.

Colour : Dark blackcurrant

Aroma : Blackcurrant, toast, oak, vanilla, mint

Taste : Blackurrant, vanilla, coffee, oak, toast, smooth tannins, slight liqourice on finish

Alcohol : 13.8%

Price : 599 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Corison Winery

TN : Paracombe Cabernet Franc 2006, Paracombe Premium Wines, Adelaide Hills, Australia

This wine was sealed with a screwcap. Only 240 cases of this wine were bottled.



This wine was imported by Johan Lidby Vinhandel.

Colour : Dark red/blue hues

Aroma : Herbs, blackcurrant, tobacco, plums, coffee

Taste : Blackcurrant, plums, herbs, green pepper notes, milk chocolate

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 189 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Paracombe Premium Wines

The Men's Loo at Forum Nacka, Stockholm, Sweden

I went to Forum Nacka, a plush shopping centre on the outskirts of Stockholm, on Saturday and was greeted by this wall-sized poster on the back wall of the cubicle in the men's toilets.

The poster is introducing a guy named Stefan who runs a wine tasting group and according to poster loves a good Cab.

TN : Chateau Belgrave 2006, Grand Cru Classe en 1855, Vignobles Dourthe, Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, France

This wine is a blend of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Merlot, and 2% Petit Verdot. This wine opened up after an hour in the decanter.



Colour : Blackcurrant

Aroma : Blackcurrant, plums, tobacco, herbs, toasted oak, vanilla

Taste : Blackcurrant, plums, coffee, herbs, drying tannic finish, still tight - try again in two years

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 289 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Vins et Vignobles Dourthe

TN : Artemis Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, Napa Valley, California, USA

Warren Winiarski founded Stag's Leap Wine Cellars in 1970. The winery's 1973 SLV Cabernet Sauvignon won the best red in the, now legendary, 1976 Judgement of Paris tasting. Artemis is the greek goddess of the hunt and is often pictured with a stag by her side.



This wine was imported by Ward Wines AB.

Colour : Dark deep purple

Aroma : Blackcurrant, vanilla, mint, coffee, oak, plums

Taste : Blackcurrant, oak, vanilla, coffee, sandpaper textured tannins on finish

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 300 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Stag's Leap Wine Cellars

TN : Cono Sur Vision Chardonnay 2008, Casablanca Valley, Chile

The winemaker was Adolfo Hurtado. The wine was sealed with a screwcap. The grapes came from the El Centinela estate. The vineyard soils are mineral with red clay. All of the grapes wer hand picked on the 29th March 2008. 60% of the wine was aged in barrels and 40% in stainless steel tanks for seven months. The finished wine was bottled in October 2008. The pH at bottling was 3.32, residual sugar was 5.6 grammes per litre, and the total acidity was 7.17 grammes per litre.



Colour : Lemon

Aroma : Pineapple, banana, vanilla, oak, stone fruits

Taste : Pineapple, butter, vanilla, oak, slight bitter almond and oranges on finish

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 95 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Vina Cono Sur

Book : Chateau Lafite 1953 - and other stories, Malcolm Gluck

This book is a non-factual fiction book (Malcolm "Superplonk" Gluck's first foray into fiction writing) where each story is loosely associated to a particular bottle of wine.



The stories are quite varied and consist of a murder mystery, a young man's introduction to wine and his loss of virginity to his sister-in-law, a wine writer being replaced, a wine writer being setup to order a ridiculously priced bottle of wine at a restaurant, a man who retires from a factory, a women mistaken for being Jancis Robinson, a wine merchant who ends up at Tesco and meets a woman from South Africa, a bottle of wine made up of the contents of a spittoon, a wine writer who accepts perks which he shouldn't do, the preparation of the travel programme for a range of wine personalities visiting Argentina, a wine writer who writes under two identities, a female author who gets it together up one of her attendees at a book signing, a woman on a TV chat show, an old woman and man who live in the same block of flats and have a common interest in wine, and a TV presenter of a wine programme who can't smell a thing.

While some of the stories are much more interesting than the others, I would thoroughly recommend this book as a source of wine-related entertainment.

TN : Redmont 2006, Weingut Markowitsch, Caruntum, Austria

This wine is a blend of Zweigelt, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah.



Colour : Red, blue hues

Aroma : Oak, raspberry, violets, raspberry

Taste : Polished oak furniture, blueberry, raspberry, blackcurrant

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 14,90 Euro (Vienna Airport TVW Travel GmbH 12th January 2009)

Mark : B-

Website : Weingut Markowitsch

TN : Naeli Vermentino Di Sardegna 2009, Cantine Di Dolianova, Sardinia, Italy

The grapes for this wine come from Parteolla and neighbouring areas, with medium consistency soils, clayey limestone of Miocene origin, medium height hilly land with a sub-arid climate.



The grapes are protected from maderization from the time of picking, so as to preserve their primary aromas. There then follows a cold static settling of the must then the alcoholic fermentation is started using selected yeasts. The fermentation temperature was twelve degrees. After a short development with its noble lees, the wine was bottled early to preserve its' freshness.



Colour : Pale lemon

Aroma : Pear, pineapple, herbs, lemon

Taste : Pineapple, lemon, pear, herbs and bitter almonds on finish

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 85 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Cantine Di Dolianova

TN : Chateau Malescasse 2005, Cru Bourgeois, Haut-Medoc, Bordeaux, France

This wine is rated 15.4 points by Decanter magazine.

Colour : Dark red

Aroma : Earthy, cedar, dark fruits

Taste : Earthy, talculm powder texture and tannins, plums, blackcurrant, cedar

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 174 SEK (Systembolaget 31st October 2008)

Mark : C+

Website : Chateau Malescasse

TN : Crognolo 2007, IGT, Tenuta Sette Ponti, Tuscany, Italy

Colour : Dark black/red

Aroma : Oak, milk chocolate, cherry, herbs

Taste : Toasty oak, milk chocolate, blackcurrant, cherry, herbs, liqourice, warm finish

Alcohol : 14.5 %

Price : 219 SEK

Mark : B+

Website : Tenuta Sette Ponti

TN : De Martino Single Vineyard Las Cruces Old Bush Vines 2007, D. O. Cachapoal Valley, Chile

The grapes for this wine come from the dry-farmed Las Cruces vineyard which was planted almost 70 years ago. The wine is a natural field blend dominated by Carmenere and Malbec. The vineyards are planted on granitic soils, that originate from the Jurassic age. The grapes were hand picked on May 8th 2010. The wine was aged for 14 months in French oak barrels.



This wine smells much better than it tastes. I don't think the Malbec addition does this wine any favours and it would be better off as straight Carmenere.



This wine was imported by Domaine Wines.

Colour : Dark blackcurrant

Aroma : Toast, oak, dark fruits, floral, milk chocolate, green pepper

Taste : Dark fruits, coffee, tobacco, herbs, thin texture, green pepper

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 189 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : De Martino

TN : Elvis The King of Rock N' Roll Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, California, USA

The label says "Special Edition Elv75 Birthday 2010".



The wine was vinted and bottled by Elvis Presley Cellars.



Colour : Red, blue hues

Aroma : Jammy, blackcurrant, vanilla, oak

Taste : Jammy, blackcurrant, vanilla, oak, herbs

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 109 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Rock'N'Wines

TN : Catena Chardonnay 2009, Bodega Catena Zapata, Mendoza, Argentina

The grapes for this wine were sourced from the Lujan de Cuyo vineyard at 940 metres altitude (40%) and the Tupungato vineyard at 1,500 metres altitude (60%).



This wine was imported by VinUnic AB.

Colour : Lemon

Aroma : Sweetcorn, pineapple, mandarin orange, butter

Taste : Sweetcorn, pineapple, butter, oak

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 119 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Bodega Catena Zapata
Website : VinUnic AB

Wine Stories at Wine Sur

I just received an email from Gonzalo Merino over at Wine Sur. They are running a great little mini site dedicated to Argentinian wines. However, it is not simply a wine review site but allows the wineries to each present a story about a wine they produce in less than 100 words.

So visit the web site and vote for you favourite wine story today !.

Website : My Wine Story Wine Sur

TN : Siefersheimer Riesling Trocken vom Porphyr 2008, Weingut Wagner Stempel, Rheinhessen, Germany

This wine was imported by Moestue Grape Selections AB.



Colour : Pale yellow

Aroma : Mineral, honey, pineapple, lime

Taste : Extreme mineral finish, pineapple, honey, lemon and lime

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 149 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Weingut Wagner Stempel
Website : Moestue Grape Selections AB

TN : Tsantali Naousa Reserve 2006, Evangelos Tsantalis, Naousa, Greece

This wine is made from the native Xinomavro grape.



Colour : Dark red

Aroma : Plums, oak

Taste : Overoaked, nice fruit, raspberry, plums, blueberry

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 239 SEK (Restaurant Samos, Stockholm, Sweden)

Mark : C+

Website : Tsantali
Website : Restaurang Samos

TN : Pieve dei Monaci Syrah 2007, IGT, Pieve Vecchia, Maremma, Tuscany, Italy

Colour : Dark blackberry

Aroma : Spice, blackberry, white pepper, herbs

Taste : Blackberry, milk chocolate, herbs, pepper on finish

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 113 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Cantina Pieve Vecchia