Etikettarkiv: Rhône

French red wines

Xavier Grenache vieilles vignes

Lämna en kommentar

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

Sweet Saturday evening dessert with Muscat

Lämna en kommentar

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

French red wines

Tempting Crozes-Hermitage

Lämna en kommentar

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