Wine sales, consultancy and education
I admit I’m a big Pinot Gris fan and New Zealand make some tremendous wines from this versatile grape – and this wine made by one of Central Otago’s Premier Wineries: Mount Difficulty proved to be a little gem. Off-dry in style meaning there is a touch of residual sugar on the palate, it’s not sweet but there is just a hint of sweetness there making it a perfect match for slightly spicy food. On the nose (and palate)…
Before I review this wine I wanted to give a quick overview of the rather unique production processes used which many readers may not be overly familiar with. This orange wine from Georgia is made using traditional Georgian techniques which involve the use of a Qvevris - an oval shaped amphorae (often buried) into which the grapes are loaded and left to ferment. The grape in this instance is the indigenous Rkatsiteli which is a white grape. Yes that’s…
A good year for Bordeaux despite not being from one of the most reputed of the Grand Cru Classé estates this was still highly enjoyable despite the rather bonkers 15% abv! On the nose black fruits dominated (cherry, plum and blackcurrant) with sweet vanilla spice and obvious smokiness from 18 months in oak. This was a relatively full bodied red with noticeable dusty tannins, warming alcohol and notes of mocha and liquorice supporting the fruit on the palate through its…
I attended the recent Wine Barn German wine tasting principally as a bit of research for my next blog on Riesling but wanted to flag up a couple of wines that I thought were really intriguing and absolutely lovely that may be new to some readers. First up from the Franken region: Wirsching 2016 Iphöfer Kronsberg Scheurebe Alte Reben Dry Scheurebe is a variety not seen much outside of Germany and Austria which is a shame as this cross…
From the Luigi Bosca Bodega in Mendoza (Argentina) comes this quality red blend: dominated by Cabernet Savignon (50%) and Syrah (35%) with the lesser known Tannat grape completing the blend and providing a bit of extra tannic bite. This is not a wine for the faint hearted, it’s big, bold and richly textured with plenty of bright fruit on the nose and palate: blackcurrant dominates (it reminds me of Ribena!) but there is also a deft herbaceous edge to…