Etikettarkiv: Grenache

Spanish red wines, Uncategorized

Smooth raspberries and earth from Terra Alta

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From the southern part of Catalunya in Spain called Terra Alta I try the Interstellar Organic Garnacha 2022 from the producer Herència Altès. This wine gets 79 points (Good wine). The price at Systembolaget is 101 SEK, and the nr 20065.

De Haan Altés was founded in 2010 by Nuria Alte and Rafael de Haan, and after having bought grapes they bought the vineyard La Serra and started their own winery in 2013.

This wine is made from the black grape variety Garnacha (which is called Grenache in France). The wine has a medium light ruby colour, and on the nose I sense fruity raspberries, strawberries, cherries, bay leaf as well as earthy notes and medium intense notes of oak like cloves and vanilla. On the palate the wine shows smooth raspberry and cherry notes, paired with spice, vanilla and chocolate.

This wine is dry and has a medium (+) acidity level and a high alcohol level of 14,5 % abv, however the tannins are medium and smooth. The flavors are not very pronounced and the body is medium, so all in all the wine feels fruity and fresh with a medium light finish.

The wine has been matured for 4 months in large Austrian oak barrels, and its smooth texture, balanced acidity and fruity red flavors makes it a good wine to match with lighter meat dishes, such as grilled pork chops with creamy herb sauce or roasted lamb with oven-baked potatoes. Also good with salads with cheese or similar vegetarian dishes.

It is best served at 16-18°C, and is best to drink now and will not improve with bottle-ageing. Surprisingly good though at this price-level!

French red wines

Dark olives notes from La Clape

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From La Clape in the south of France and the region Languedoc-Roussillon, this typical ”GSM” blend produces notes of both dark olives, chocolate and licorice on the palate. GSM stands for the 3 grape varieties Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, and is typical for this region since they complement each other well. Saint Auriol Chatelaine comes from the producer Les Domaines Auriol, and this wine is sold for 119 SEK at Systembolaget (nr 4500).

It has high but well-balanced level of acidity and smooth tannins that are rounded off by one year of oak maturation. This adds notes of cedar, cloves, chocolate and vanilla – on top of the spicy and dark fruity notes both on the nose and palate. It is very easy to combine with most dishes of meat as well as overcooked or grilled cheeses or vegetables – add a spicy and creamy sauce and the combination is perfect! I give this wine 86 points!

Spanish red wines

Torres San Valentin – easy to like and worth its price

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Spain has a long wine history, and has gone through lots of modernisation lately. It is one of the world’s largest suppliers, and its most famous grape varieties are white airén and the black tempranillo and garnacha (grenache).

Torres San Valentin Garnacha (79 SEK, nr 12755 at Swedish Systembolaget) is made of 100 % garnacha (black grape variety) and has an alcohol level of 14 %. The producer is the Torres family, DO Catalunya, and this is one of the world’s most well-known wine producing families, active since the seventeenth century. The sweet thing is that this wine was created by Miguel Torres Carbó as a gift to his wife Margarita on Valentine’s day – hence its name!

The grapes are harvested in September, and the wine is fermented in steel tanks with some skin contact.

On the nose there is a lot of cherries, plums, raspberries and some liquorice and toffee notes. It has a youthful tone with medium intensity. It has a purple red colour, and on the palate you get a medium-bodied taste of red fruits like cherries and plums, with some liquorice and soft acidity.

This wine gets 89 points – mainly because it is well-balanced and well worth its price! To be served at 16-18°C, mainly with vegetarian dishes or light meal dishes. It can also be enjoyed on its own, or with several kind of cheeses like Gruyère.

French red wines

Xavier Grenache vieilles vignes

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Rhône is one of the most famous wine regions of France, and the red grape varieties you find there are typically Grenache and Syrah. Xavier Grenache vieilles vignes Organic 2015 (nr 2151, 95 SEK at Systembolaget) is produced from 85 % Grenache and 15 % Syrah, and it is organic. I give it 81 points.

The producer Xavier Vignon is famous for using the terroir (soil) of the grapes to enhance their flavours, and this wine is a great example of this. The wine is made of a selection of grapes from more than 50 years old vines, called ’vieilles vignes’.  The deep roots give mineral salts from deep down which results in rich tastes of dark fruits like cherries and raspberry, spices, lavender, cinnamon and minerality. The local tones with herbs and lavender from this region is also called ’garrigue’.

The alcohol level is 14,5 %, and it is best served at 16-18° C.

CHEESE: The spicy notes from this wine go very well with the Corsican cheese called Brin d’Amour. It is a goat/sheep cheese rolled in spices like Rosemary, Chili and other local spices/herbs. You can also use soft cheese and roll it is spices and herbs to get this effect, and it goes very well with the fruity and spicy character of this wine! But this wine would also go well with cheeses that are salty, a bit acid and have some spices/complexity – like the Swedish cheese ’Västerbotten’ or the French Gruyere!

FOOD: This wine can be enjoyed on its own, but is goes very well with spicy and grilled dishes (meat and/or vegetables).

Fortified wines

Maury+chocolate= match made in heaven ;)

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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