Notes From a Small Wine Glass

     I was out on a bit of a mission earlier this week for a fairly reasonably priced Pinot Noir or a Gamay, I just fancied something light, fruity and red for some easy drinking; ended up coming across an interesting looking Pinot in Great Grog - its most interesting factor being that it was from the Languedoc, definitely worth a try, especially at under £8.

     Now, Pinot Noir supposedly prefers slightly cooler climates, so the Aude Valley in the Languedoc doesn’t come across as possessing particularly ideal growing conditions (although there have been some more than half decent Pinots coming from hotter climates such as California too).  The bottle itself backs this up with a nice little description on the back;

‘French for “The Madman” - appropriately named, as it has long been thought, only a madman would try to produce the perfect Pinot Noir in the Languedoc.  Perfection achieved.  Myth Dispelled.’

     First impressions of ‘Le Fou’ were of a relatively classic Pinot: fairly fruit-forward with intense aromas of cherries, redcurrants and ripe raspberries followed by a savoury hint of dried herbs.  This continues on the palate with fruity flavours and a hint of French austerity backed up by smooth, soft and very unobtrusive tannins and the alcohol is not particularly overt (12.5%).  It’s slightly more substantial than a lot of Burgundy Pinots but very pleasant and quaffable, definitely an easy-drinking wine and exactly what I’d been looking for.  I definitely agree with the legend on the back of the bottle, you don’t need to be a madman to try and produce good quality Pinot Noirs in the Languedoc and I’ll definitely be drinking more in the future.

Well it’s been a while and much wine has been drunk over the past however many months, despite being ill with Glandular Fever for the last six.  Since I am about to graduate and enter the ‘Real World’ I thought it best to revive this blog, maybe pretty it up a bit, edit and publish a few of the drafts I have lying around and start paying a bit more attention to the wine I have been drinking!

     This wine is one I tried a fair while back and the report has been stored in draft form ever since so I thought it best to dust it off and publish it.  Now this is a wine I will definitely be buying again (probably fairly soon considering how long it has been since I last tried it); it was bought from Woodwinters on recommendation and I was mildly sceptical having never tried any Lebanese wines before (I have since tasted one from Château Musar that I intend to write up soon).  This scepticism was soon dispelled though as this really is a bit of a gem.

Massaya Classic Rouge (2008)

     Massaya is a collaboration between Sami and Ramizi Ghosn (the second generation of owners), Dominique Hebrard (Saint Emilion), and Frédéric & Daniel Brunier (Chateauneuf du Pape), and is situated in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon.  Just a teenie digression here to elaborate on the Bekaa Valley: Lebanon is a very small country on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean bordered on the North and East by Syria and by Israel in the South, and the Bekaa Valley is situated about 19 miles east of the capital, Beirut.  Situated at an average altitude of 1000m above sea level, it is very Mediterranean in climate with hot, dry summers and wet, occasionally snowy winters, allowing for good growing conditions.

          A blend of 60% Cinsault, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Syrah, this wine appears a deep, luminous ruby red in the glass (not represented very well in the picture); the wine is rich, complex and elegant with aromas of damsons, plums, cassis and black cherry followed by spice and a hint of dried herbs.  Somewhat reminiscent of Christmas cake or a mature rum topf: the rich, concentrated fruitiness continues on the palate with flavours of stewed plums, dried fruits and raisins.  Very high alcohol (15%) is quite evident but not offensively so and the tannins are smooth and fine.  Definitely the kind of wine to be snuggling down with as night draws in, and it shows well the next day too!

For more information on the producers, check out: http://www.massaya.com/

Finally getting around to digging out my tasting notes from some of the Summer wines and writing them up, there were a few rather interesting candidates but I’ll get around to those soon enough.

This first one caused a bit of a divide in my family, mum really took a disliking to it whilst dad and I decided that it had it’s place, although perhaps could have done to have been tasted with food to counter the acidity and rather high alcohol, and balance the savoury flavours and aromas.

Rimouresq Cru Classé, 2009, Cotes de Provence (classic rosé land) purchased from Woodwinters, Edinburgh.

Grape Varieties: Mainly Cinsault with some Tribouren and a hint of Mourvedre

Appearance: Peachy salmon pink as seen in the picture below (for once the picture shows the colour really clearly, whoopee!)

Aromas: Austere and very French with some minerality; somewhat floral with hints of rose petals; green/unripe fruit, young (unripe) peach and perhaps some gooseberry and a hint of redcurrant, green curly lettuce.  Opens up with a bit more fruit but still not overt.  Very odd wine this, aromas were very difficult to place as it was subtle yet complex at the same time, required some discussion to place some of the more obscure aspects.

Flavours: Medium to High acidity, rather dry and austere with a hint of spice on the finish, noticeably high alcohol (13.5%).

Overall opinion: Not wonderful but still rather interesting, maybe good with seafood.  Reckon it wants to be kept very well chilled, really wasn’t good once it had warmed up some.  Probably not one I will be buying again on personal preference but was ‘educational’ I suppose.

Finally got around to writing this one up and I hope it’s worth the wait; I promised you a Kiwi Sauvignon and here it is.  Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand have traditionally been likened to ‘cat’s pee on a gooseberry bush’ but I believe this one to only evoke the gooseberry part of that.

    A crisp and bone-dry white from Saint Clair Estate in Marlborough (2010) bought from Majestic (£12.49), fairly typical in it’s colour (although the picture isn’t wonderful, it’s a pale straw colour with a teeny hint of green) and aromas; gooseberry, peach and lots of citrus fruit, grapefruit and lemon-lime, slightly grassy with a mild hint of honey.  Very fruity on the palate with rather high acidity although this is not too offensive, my one dislike would be that the high alcohol content (13.5%) is a wee bit too obvious.

    Aromas are overt from the very beginning with not too much development in the glass; an extremely easy drinking wine if you’re fond of Sauvignons of this kind (which obviously I am to a certain extent) and don’t mind the slight burn of high alcohol.

    Still to come are the Lebanese red I mentioned, a rosé from Provence, two Loire Cabernet Francs and an interesting Cabernet Sauvignon - Merlot blend.