It's Rosé time all year!

Opened up a Côtes du Rhône Rosé from Domaine de la Mordorée today and wow what a great rosé this is. Principally Grenache and Syrah, it has a beautiful deep colour and a nose of ripe, fragrant red fruits very reminiscent of strawberries and cream. On the palate it is very full and weighty, the grenache really shines through with a delightful sweetness of fruit backed up by the intensity and spicyness of the Syrah. Amazing long finish.

Mordorée are renowned for their Lirac, however all their wines offer such value for money. This rosé would be a great match to a Moroccan tajine (it's very similar in style to some Moroccan rosé's I have had in the past) and the other night I had a bottle with some smoked mackeral and it was a superb match, the spicy sweet fruit acompanying the smoked flavours superbly. This wine really doesn't need summer weather to be enjoyed, in fact more rosé is being matched to food and drunk all year round.

Rocking good Mâcon

Gosh, there's nothing like a good award winning wine to create a bit of interest. Had a bottle of the 2006 Mâcon-Loché from Domaine Marcel Couturier the other night and the consensus was that this was indeed very serious wine.

It was awarded five stars in a tasting of 2006 Mâcon Villages in Decanter wine magazine. Now there are an awful lot of wines being sold on the back of medals won, look closely and many of these medals mean absolutely nothing (take note offenders - mainly the mass mail order merchants). However I have a great deal of respect for how Decanter conduct their tastings; 1. All tastings are blind. 2. Tasting panels consist of a balance of specialists, experts, MW's and wine journalists whose scores are averaged out. 3. Tastings are carried out in a controlled environment. 4. Award winners are re-tasted blind for final confirmation. 5. No bottles are ever seen in the tasting room or at the discussions afterwards.

That seems very thorough to me, in fact I do not know of many other organisation who are quite so strict in their evaluation methods (certainly when I worked for Michelin and we evaluated restaurants their approach was as just thorough) and one has to respect such high standards.

How did the wine taste;

Bright and slightly golden in colour, beautiful nose with the aroma of white peaches intermingled with vanilla and buttered toast. Lovely weight on the palate with great breadth of fruit and a hint of minerality and so very pure, feminine and defined without being over the top. Long persistent finish. Bravo! This would disgrace many a 1er Cru white burgundy.

Bella Chianti Classico

There are times when you taste a wine and it really confirms your belief in a region and it's wines.

Drinking a bottle of the 2001 Chinati Classico from Castello di Bossi was enlightening, I knew it was likely to be good but it was perfectly mature and showed superbly, it really felt like it was at it's peak.

This Chianti is made from 100% Sangiovese and is aged in cask for 12 months. With delightful perfume on the nose, reminiscent of violets and with a savoury edge, complex and soft on the palate with lovely rounded tannins and a long finish. A perfect match to a mushroom risotto with pancetta, the weight of flavours worked perfectly. A shame we only have seven bottles left!

The New Portugal - Forget Mateus Rosé!

We held an in-store tasting of a range of wines from our Portugal promotion on Saturday and it was quite a surprise how well the wines went down with our customers.

The wines that showed best were the following;

2007 Alvarinho Quinta do Soalheiro - Beautifully fresh and pure with great balance and length.

2006 Correio Tinto, Quinta dos Rocques - Award winning (Silver at IWC and Decanter Bronze at World Wine Awards) wine that offers unbeatable value at £6.95, lovely fruit and depth.

2006 Redoma Rosé, Niepoort - Not many rosé's are fermented in oak but this beauty is and it is a glassfull of vibrant red fruits that is stonkingly delicious.

2005 Vertente, Niepoort - Made from 20 year old (young) vines, silky and elegant this got better and better and when I finished it off with my supper it was positively singing.

Niepoort 10 Year Old Tawny - Marvellous tawny with great weight, concentration and balance.

Boal 10 Year Old, Barbeito - This has to be the most under-rated drink in the world. Great balance of sweetness and acidity, delicate and so very refined.

Buckland Manor - The Cotswold Wine Experience!

Last night we held a wine dinner at Buckland Manor. It would be hard to find a more idyllic spot than the small hollow at the foot of the Cotswold Escarpment where Buckland is located. The gardens looked splendid and we were able to enjoy a glass of Blanc de Blancs Champagne from Francois Billion (en Magnum) on the terrace (great elegance and finesse, allied to serious length). The wines with dinner showed very well and the line-up and tasting comments are as below;

2006 Bourgogne Blanc, Cuvee des Forgets, Patrick Javillier Aromas of wet stone and white fruits, beautifully elegant on the palate with lovely weight, balance and great length. Superb with the crab starter, a great marriage.

2005 Estate Chardonnay, Kumeu River Showing beautiful maturity, rich and refined with such Burgundian poise. Very good with the Turbot which was with a lobster ragout.

2005 Vieux Chateau Gaubert Graves Blanc Weighty with creamy citrus fruit and good intensity. Still very young and surprisingly fresh.

2003 Argilus du Roi, AC St Estephe, Bordeaux Showing beautifully, a cracking 2003 showing none of the prune like characteristics one often finds with this vintage and still with plenty of life left in it. In fact, this wine got better and better the longer it remained in the glass. Impressive.

2003 Vigna del Sorbo, Chianti Classico, Fontodi Very, very fine and a testament to the dedication that this property puts into their wines, especially in such a difficult vintage. Amazing bouquet, layer after layer of rich cassis fruit, amazing acidity coupled with soft tannins and a very long finish.

Chambers Rosewood Vineyards Rutherglen Muscat Sweet as ever, raisiny and so very moreish. Went well with the rich chocolate tart.

Charlie and I had great fun presenting the wines, the dishes and wine combinations worked well and everyone seemed to have an enjoyable time. We look forward to the next event at Buckland on 5th November which will be an evening featuring the wines of Penley Estate from Coonawarra. Proprietor and winemaker Kym Tolley will be presenting the wines.

Albarino - the new Viognier

What is it about Albarino, but it suddenly seems to be all the rage. It definitely seems to be the new Viognier - is that because it has distinct similarities and is so well priced?

Both are very aromatic, generally best drunk young and are produced from a varietal that is shy bearing and not easy to grow. Good examples of either have that moreish apricot and peach fruit that is so very seductive.

I happened to drink a bottle of the 2007 Albarino from Paco and Lola at the weekend and what a joy! Matched to possibly the most perfect dish - fishcakes with home-made mayonnaise.

The weight and slight oiliness of the Albarino allied to a delicious cut of acidity produced a marriage made in heaven. In fact it seems like I can still taste it now! It's unusual to think of white wines worth drinking from Spain, but if you have never drunk this Galician juice definitely give it a go, if you have, try it with home made fish cakes, you'll thank me for evermore!