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Characterful Malbec from Cahors

Château Pineraie Malbec 2022 is a full-bodied, characterful red wine from Cahors in southwestern France, known for its intense dark color and balanced flavors of dark berries, spices and oak barrels.

The producer Château Pineraie is located in the historic wine region of Cahors in southwestern France, along the Lot River. The region is the original home of the Malbec grape, where it is locally known as Côt or Auxerrois. The wine is made from Malbec (Côt) and the vines, some of which are very old, grow in a mixture of clay and limestone soils, which contributes to the character and structure of the wine.

The wine has an intense, dark color and a complex flavor profile that is balanced by a good structure with present, but integrated, tannins and fresh acidity.

Aromas: Intense aromas of dark berries such as blackcurrant, blackberry and plum, complemented by hints of clove, pepper, vanilla and toasted oak. Some floral notes of violets and hints of leather and tobacco.

Taste: The palate is rich and full-bodied, with concentrated dark fruit such as cherry and plum. The character of the wine is robust yet elegant, with a silky feel that ends with a long, spicy and slightly mineral-driven finish.

This characterful and structured wine is excellent with flavorful and robust dishes.

Meat: Perfect with red meat (preferably grilled or fried), pork in cream or pepper sauce, and game. It is a classic match for dishes such as duck confit or a hearty meat stew (cassoulet).
Other: It also goes well with mature hard cheeses and dishes with earthy elements such as mushrooms or roasted vegetables.

Price at Systembolaget is 145 SEK, nr 285201. We give it 85 points!

Premium spicy red from La Clape

From Southern France we tasted a spicy red wine made of the famous GSM cuvée: Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre grape varieties. The appellation La Clape has been its own since 2015, and is situated in the Western part of the Languedoc area, near Narbonne.

The producer Gérard Bertrand is one of the front figures of wine and especially organic wines in Southern France, and is the fourth generation in his family to run a wine business. He took over in 1987 when his father suddenly passed away, and has since 2002 transformed his business towards biodynamic wine growing practices. Today the firm has 17 estates with 977 hectares of biodynamically grown vineyards plus lots of co-operation with local growers.

The Château L’Hospitalet La Réserve Rouge 2023 offers fantastic notes of ripe blueberries and dark plums, black olives, bay leaf, figs, cocoa and vanilla from oak barrel aging. The balance between acidity and tannin structure is excellent, and the wine has a long finish of ripe berries and vanilla.

The alcohol is 15 %, and in Sweden the price is 219 SEK at Systembolaget (nr 7314201).

This is a wine that is excellent with all meat dishes including well-grilled lamb and game dishes. Spicy sauces are also very tasty, given the acidity level and complexity of the wine.

This wine is really very price-worthy, and we give it 94 points!

Price-winning Riesling from Kamptal

In Austria, in the region of Niederösterreich, we find the prestigious district of Kamptal – around 50 km northeast of Vienna. Here in the Langenlois area the family run producer Weingut Jurtschitsch make fantastic fresh and mineral-driven Riesling – like the Jurtschnisch Riesling Platin 2023 that we have tasted. The price at Systembolaget is 149 SEK, and the nr is 20102.

We understand why this wine has won prices like Gold medal at ”Årets vinare-galan” 2024 in the category ”This year’s white novelty”!

On the nose there are fresh herbs, lemon, apple, pear and melon notes and on the palate we find similar notes as well as steely mineral long finish. Very brisk acidity and well-balanced and intense stone fruit.

Weingut Jurtschnisch has a history going back to the 17th century, and the grapes are hand picked, fermented in stainless steel for freshness and also kept on the lees for a fuller body. The wine is organic.

This wine with its fruity notes and high acidity is perfect to pair with fish, seafood, vegetarian dishes as well as chicken and lamb. The high acidity is also a great combination with creamy sauces and soups! We give it 90/100!