Italian red wines

Bio Fantini with notes of liquorice

My aim is to try as many green wines as possible, to write my opinion about them and give them my rating. If you have a taste similar to mine, I hope that this could give you some guidance in your choice of quality green wines at good price. 🙂

I have now tried a bio Fantini Farnese 2013, which is a red IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) from the Abruzzo area in Italy. It is made from the black grape variety Sangiovese (the same used for Chianti).  Typical for this grape is that it is not as aromatic as Cabernet Sauvignon for instance, but high in acidity and with a typical slightly ’sour’ red cherry fruit character. It normally gives wines with rather astringent tannins and earthy aromas reminding of tea leaves.

This wine gets 85 points.  On the nose I sense red cherries, herbs and a bit of liquorice.

On the palate I taste cherries, slightly sour, with some herbs as well as liquorice. The acidity is quite high, and the tannins are there but not so astringent. The alcohol level is 12,5 %.

This wine is quite good, and the liquorice notes add something. I would say that it is worth its price (75 SEK at Systembolaget, nr 2344).

Combine this wine with food like barbecued pork and lamb dishes!

Enjoy 🙂

Fantini

French red wines

Powerful Pomerol provides pure pleasure :)

…you either love the powerful aromatic black grape variety Cabernet Sauvignon, or you don’t….I myself really like it 🙂 However, since it is so very aromatic in its character I think that a blend with the ’softer’ grape variety Merlot giving the typical Bordeaux blend is often the best option to choose.

It is NOT easy to find green Bordeaux wines, basically since the humid weather makes green production more difficult. But the Château des Annereaux Lalande-de-Pomerol 2010 is the first year that this wine was ecologically certified. Lalande-de-Pomerol is situated on the East side of the Gironde river, north of Pomerol and St-Emilion. This vintage is made of Merlot 78%, Cabernet Franc 17% and Cabernet Sauvignon 5%. The alcohol level is 13,5 %.

On the nose you sense the typical Bordeaux Merlot/Cab with ripe blackcurrants, toast from oak, herbs and spices. Not too strong since the Cab level is not so high.

On the palate this wine has lots of integrated tannins and strong aromas, however well-balanced and velvety. You sense the oak in a well-blended way, as well as blackcurrants, black cherries, cedar, coffee and the typical herbaceous tones. It has good length and is good to drink now but can also be kept for a decade. I give it 90 points!

Concerning food, this wine would be great with most meat dishes, but also with a moussaka for instance. It is wonderful with Brie and also with Camembert cheeses!

The Château des Annereaux 2010 can be bought at Systembolaget (special order nr 74200) for the price of 179 SEK.

Skål!! 🙂

Pomerol

Italian white wines

Fresh Pinot Grigio completes chicken dishes

From Veneto in Italy I have tried a white organic Pinot Grigio (Pinot Gris) wine called P. Lex, an IGT wine which expresses many typical Pinot Grigio characteristics.

On the nose you find very fresh fruity notes of stone fruit like peach and nectarine.

On the palate it has the style typical of north Italy, with early harvested grapes with lots of fruitiness, giving a light and fairly neutral character with medium acidity. I do taste peach, ripe pears, nectarine, and some spicy notes.

It is a white wine very easy to combine with dishes like chicken and fish, but it is also pleasant to drink on its own. I give it 81 points.

In Sweden you can find the P. Lex Pinot Grigio at Systembolaget, normal assortment, at the price 89 SEK (nr 74879).

I wish you a great Saturday night! 🙂

Pinot Grigio

Fortified wines

Sweet Saturday evening dessert with Muscat

Wow, I just had another heavenly chocolate and wine experience 🙂 This time with a tasteful chocolate cake dessert and the marvellous French fortified white wine Domaine du Paparotiel Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise. Ant this wine is ALSO ecological! It says on the bottle that it won ’Médaille d’Or in the Concours des Vins Orange 2014’ (the wine is from 2013).

This is a Vin doux naturel from the village of Beaumes-de Venise AC in Southern Rhône in France.  It is made from the Muscat grape, which is not one grape variety but a prolific family – and this specific one is called Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains (the oldest member of the Muscat family – and one of the oldest grape varieties of the world!). Sweet wines have been made in the region form the 14th century. This grape gives a very complex spectrum of perfumed and aromatic notes! Unaged wines are full of both floral notes like rose and elderflower, as well as citrus aromas and grape and peach. It is totally adorable, according to me 🙂

On the palate you find the similar floral and perfumed sensation of elderflower and roses, as well as stone fruit like peach and nectarine and citrus fruit like grape. The alcohol level is 15 %.

When this wine is made the fermentation process is interrupted by adding high-strength grape spirit to make a strong sweet wine. Beaumes-de-Venise is situated next to Gigondas och Vacqueyras, and the village has existed since the Roman times and is mostly know for its sweet Muscat wines. The wines generally have a slightly lower level of residual sugar than other Muscat wines, resulting in a lighter style and are easier to combine with food.

Talking about food – apart from my own favourite chocolate dessert, this wine goes well with fois gras, blue cheeses of fruity desserts like strawberries and melon as well as many berries.

This wine gets 90 points from me – it is great to drink now but it also has potential for ageing, which would add flavours like honey, raisins and dried apricots I should believe.

To buy it in Sweden it must be specially ordered at Systembolaget, and one bottle of 375 ml costs 99 SEK.

Have a totally enjoyable Saturday evening! 🙂

muscat

Italian red wines

Interesting Cab cuvée from Sicily

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of those grape varieties to be found almost everywhere, and it often divides people into ’lovers’ or ’haters’… I myself quite like this grape variety which gives deeply coloured wines, with lots of tannins and strong aromatic aromas. The most typical wine is of course the Bordeaux blend with the Merlot grape.

But this time I will write about a blend with the Sicilian grape variety Nero d’Avola, and the Raccolto is an ecological wine. Sicily is the largest of Italy’s regions, and has the largest area under vines. Most wines are IGT wines – Indicazione Geografica Tipica – but many producers create reliable and affordable wines.

This is also the case for the Raccolto 2013, which I give 84 points. This wine is made of 60 % Nero d’Avola and 40 % Cabernet Sauvignon. The alcohol level is 14 %.

It has a dark ruby colour. On the nose it has as excepted aromatic fruity notes of blackcurrant and cherries, as well as hints of liquorice and some vanilla from oak ageing.

On the palate you will find quite a complex blend of blackberries and black cherries – but also violet and liquorice. There is also a hit of herbaceousness. This wine is full-bodied, with quite high levels of tannins that are slightly bitter. However, the total impression is that this is a wine that goes well with many dishes – like red and white meat dishes, as well as pasta (of course), lamb and game.

You can find the Raccolto in Sweden at Systembolaget’s normal assortment (nr 32452) for the price of 94 SEK.

Raccolto

Fortified wines

Maury+chocolate= match made in heaven ;)

I might as well admit it at once…I am completely addicted to chocolate, especially dark chocolate. This is the most evident proof of the time I spent working at the European Parliament in Brussels some years ago, and I am now convinced that it will be a lifelong affliction 😉

However, it is quite tricky to find wines to match dark chocolate, especially green wines! So I was so happy when I found out that Domaine Pouderoux produces a green Maury from Languedoc-Roussillon in the south of France!

This wine gets 90 points. It is a red fortified wine from 2012, made in a way similar to the Portuguese Port wine (halting the fermentation by adding brandy to create a sweet alcoholic wine by leaving ”natural” residual sugars). The Maury AOC is normally made of the grape Grenache noir (Garnacha), which is the case for this wine as well. The Domaine Pouderoux is situated in the heart of the Maury appellation 20 km from Perpignan, and have been winegrowers for more than six generations (www.domainepouderoux.fr).

The wine has a dark ruby colour. On the nose the wine has a spicy and fruity tone, with plums and blackberry – as well as black pepper and a sweet note.

On the palate you both sense the alcohol (15 per cent) and the sweetness (110 g/l), as well as quite a complex mix of flavour characteristics like black fruit – prunes, dark cherries, combined with crystallised orange, chocolate and vanilla.  It is a well-balansed wine, full-bodied and with both good tannins and a long finish.

Food: Serve this wine at 14-16°C with matured cheeses or chocolate desserts.  Maury is also very suitable as an apéritif, or with duck or fois gras. But my own favourite would be to simply have some delicious dark chocolate pralines, preferably Belgian 😉

You can find the Domaine Pouderoux in Sweden at Systembolaget’s normal assortment (nr 7806) for the price of 101 SEK (500 ml).

Enjoy!!!

Maury

Italian red wines

Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – spice and chocolate

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Italy is such a fantastic wine country, producing some of the best wines in the world. 🙂 The climate is also good for producing green wines, and I will now introduce you to the Valle Reale Montepulciano d’Abruzzo  DOC from 2010 which is an organic wine. The region of Abruzzo lies to the East of Lazio (where Rome is situated), and one of the region’s DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata) wines is the Montepulciano d’Abruzzo, made from the grape variety Montepulciano (not to be confused with the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG from Tuscany).

The Valle Reale vineyards are situated in a national park known for its wild wolves (you will also find a wolf on the label of this wine), and the quite harsh nature and climate give the grapes extra richness.

This wine gets 84 points. On the nose it has a pungent, spicy and fruity character, slightly gamey as well and hints of oak. Dark cherries and chocolate. On the palate it is a dry red wine with high acidity and quite high levels of smooth tannins. The alcohol level is 13,5 %. The flavour characteristics are spices, with dark cherries and plums. Oak and chocolate as well as herbs.

Food: The high acidity and levels of tannins, as well as the strong character of this wine, makes it perfect for spicy dishes of lamb and beef/red meat – preferably with herbs.

This wine can be found at Systembolaget’s ordinary assortment (nr 2355) for the price of 109 SEK.

valle reale

German white wines

A perfect sushi wine – Riesling from Pfalz

Many people find it a bit difficult to choose a wine that goes well with sushi – if you don’t like to drink sparkling wine or beer with sushi or just want to try something new! Fortunately there are several good wines that you can try – I personally think that this Riesling from Pfalz in Germany is a very good match 🙂

A Christmann from 2013 (ecological) gets 85 points. On the nose you find the typical Riesling notes of floral and citrus, pears and peaches. A slight hint of petrol so common for many Rieslings is also there! It is a dry wine, but as many Rieslings there is a slight sweet note of honey.

On the palate you get a crisp and almost slightly frizzy tone of lemon, pears and green apples, together with mineral notes. It has a high level of acidity, which makes it a perfect combination not only with sushi – but also other seafood and lighter fish dishes. The very floral and fruity character makes it also very good as an aperitif. 🙂

This wine is found at Systembolaget in Sweden in the normal assortment (nr 5882), for the price of 129 SEK.

christmann

French red wines

Tempting Crozes-Hermitage

I really appreciate the red wines from the Rhône valley (Southern France) in general, and particularly wines from the Northern part made of the grape variety Syrah (which is called Shiraz in Australia).

From Laurent Habrard I have tasted a red from 2012 called Crozes-Hermitage Domaine Habrard, which is an organic wine. Domaine Habrard is located in a little village in the heart of the Crozes-Hermitage appellation area. The Habrard family has cultivated the vines there for 5 generations! Their objective is to produce and sell wine with minimum impact on the environment 🙂 The vines are 30-60 years old, and the harvest is made by hand.

For me this is a very typical Crozes-Hermitage wine, that I give 88 points. The Syrah grape is small with thick dark skins, which give deeply coloured wines. The aroma characteristics are black fruit, like blackberry, hints of eucalyptus and violet notes – it is both open and complex. The taste is also black fruit, cloves and cinnamon. There are   toasted notes and spice like black pepper, as well as notes of garrigue and violet. It is a dry wine, with medium plus acidity and quite a full body. The tannins are velvety and smooth. The alcohol level is 13 %.

Food: This wine is perfect with grilled red meat, lamb and game but it also goes well with the French marvellous cheese Brillat-Savarin!

You can buy it in Sweden at Systembolaget (ordinary assortment nr 2861) at the price of 119 SEK.

Crozes-HermitageHabrard

French white wines

Charming Pouilly-Fumé

The Loire Valley in France has many great white wines to offer, and in the Pouilly-Fumé district lies the Domaine du Bouchot. I just tried the ecological white from 2013, and it was a pleasant experience. On my 10-graded wine tasting scale I give it 88 points.

It is made from 100 % Sauvignon Blanc grapes, and is very typical for its region. It has a light lemon colour, and on the nose it is aromatic without being too strong, with hints of lemon, pears and peach. It also has some tones of grass and nettles, which is typical of Sauvignon Blanc. The smokey and mineral tones that can often be found in the Pouilly-Fumé wines are also there!

On the palate it is a dry white wine, quite high in acidity. The alcohol is 13 %. The flavour characteristics are mainly fresh crisp aromatic tones of lemon, pears and peach – as well as green apples, gooseberries and a mineral note. It is well balance and goes very well with the French goat cheese Crottin de Chavignol from the nearby region of Sancerre, for instance. Concerning food: The aromatic tones paired with the high acidity of this wine also go well with most seafood dishes and fish dishes – especially boiled fish with fresh herbs that match the aromatic green notes. The high acidity level as well as the green and aromatic notes also make this a wine that would go well with sushi 🙂

In Sweden you can buy the Domaine du Bouchot 2013 at Systembolaget (nr 2238) for the price of 189 SEK (ordinary assortment).

vinpuillyfume