Ribero del Duero 2002 Pago de los Capellanes Reserva

Tasted 12th January 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Ian McLaren at Vagabond wines in SW6. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian from the night.
13.5%. Quite mature looking; maturing, with quite light fruit tones; Wood tannins over ripe fruit; finish is long but still rather tannic. Needs time. From 2013, 17+/20

Jumilla 2008 Bodegas el Nido Clio

Tasted 12th January 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Ian McLaren at Vagabond wines in SW6. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian from the night.
15.5%. Black-red, narrow red rim; dark rich fruits, but a bit backward; balanced, dense palate – finish has great length and complexity, with lots of chocolate. 18/20

Penedès 2006 Miguel Torres Mas la Plana

Tasted 12th January 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Ian McLaren at Vagabond wines in SW6. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian from the night.
Solid colour with hints of ageing; oak, blackcurrant, and some vegetal development; ripe fruit, excellent balance and length, but a bit hot and astringent on finish still. 17+/20

Mallorca 2009 4 Kilos Vino de la Tierra

Tasted 12th January 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Ian McLaren at Vagabond wines in SW6. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian from the night.
14%. Young purple-red, red fruit, spice overlaid with oak; tannic, with rather weak fruit and thin in middle; some finish. 14+/20

Priorat 2007 Mas d’En Gil Corna Velha

Tasted 12th January 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Ian McLaren at Vagabond wines in SW6. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian from the night.
15%. Young, moderate depth; Grenache, red fruit and spice aromas; power, depth and complexity showing on palate, from 2012, 16/20

Navarra 2007 Chivite Coleccion 125 Chardonnay

Tasted 12th January 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Ian McLaren at Vagabond wines in SW6. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian from the night.
13%. Pale gold, oak and yeast aromas; good fruit and structure, rather oaky at present, but with the length and components to improve with keeping, from 2012, 16/20

Ribiero 2009 Viña Mein

Tasted 12th January 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Ian McLaren at Vagabond wines in SW6. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian from the night.
12%. Pale, complex primary aroma; good fruit and acidity and some length, but fairly straight-forward; 15/20

Cava 2009 Cordoníu 1551

Tasted 12th January 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Ian McLaren at Vagabond wines in SW6. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian from the night.
11.5%. Pale, good mousse; quite grapy; fine mousse, with good fruit and acid balance – some length. Drink now 14/20

Chateau Morange Le Fleur 2006, St. Emilion

Tasted 2nd February 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Nick Stephens of Bordeaux Undiscovered. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian McLaren.
Excellent body colour, with little ageing; rich fruit, spice and oak notes; good ripe fruit under wood tannins and acidity: excellent length, some development, but a long way to go. Best wine of the night, superb. From 2015, 18/20

Chateau Morange Le Fleur 2007, St. Emilion

Tasted 2nd February 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Nick Stephens of Bordeaux Undiscovered. £47.50. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian McLaren.
Fair depth of colour, browning rim; austere, slightly green fruit; austere on palate as well, although well balanced; very good length, mostly green herbs. From 2014 16/20

Chateau Morange Le Fleur 2008, St. Emilion

Tasted 2nd February 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Nick Stephens of Bordeaux Undiscovered. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian McLaren.
Very good colour with oak on rim; rich plum fruit but no secondary aromas; cooked fruit, strong structure, good length, but only slight hints of the development to come; from 2013, 16+/20

Chateau Morange Mathilde 2006, St. Emilion

Tasted 2nd February 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Nick Stephens of Bordeaux Undiscovered. £19.50. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian McLaren.
Good depth of colour; some ripe fruit with oak and vegetation; tannins over ripe red fruit; fair length but little development yet. From 2013, 16+/20

Chateau Morange Mathilde 2007, St. Emilion

Tasted 2nd February 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Nick Stephens of Bordeaux Undiscovered. £17.50. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian McLaren.
Good body colour, broad rim; rather green fruit, oak; fair fruit under tannins; finish has some length but is rather closed and lacks development at this stage. From 2012, 14+/20

Chateau Morange Mathilde 2008, St. Emilion

Tasted 2nd February 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Nick Stephens of Bordeaux Undiscovered. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian McLaren.
Fair colour, pale rim; dark fruits, pepper and a hint of vegetation; moderate weight, reasonable structure, fair length and some development. Will be quite good, from 2013, 15+/20

Chateau Bellefont Belcier 2006, St. Emilion

Tasted 2nd February 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Nick Stephens of Bordeaux Undiscovered. £26.99. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian McLaren.
Quite a deep colour with a pale edge; austere nose, with some maturity, complex; dry palate, tannins and plenty of fruit: powerful, long finish, still developing and a little hard at this stage. From 2013, 17+/20

Chateau Tour du Pin 2006, St. Emilion

Tasted 2nd February 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Nick Stephens of Bordeaux Undiscovered. £35.50. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian McLaren.
Rich red, some brown on fringe; rich nose with plums and pepper; balanced, elegant palate with some excitement: long, with some mint and spice complexity. From 2012, good now, 17+/20

Chateau Sansonnet 2005, St. Emilion

Tasted 2nd February 2012, wines presented to Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society by Nick Stephens of Bordeaux Undiscovered, ca. £17.60. Tasting notes kindly provided by Ian McLaren.
Fair depth of colour, some browning; smoke, pepper and some plums on the nose, fine tannins, moderate fruit and high acidity; good length but not much complexity. From 2012, 15/20

Tabali Reserva Syrah 2010 (Limari)

Tasted 10/02/12, 14.5 % ABV, about £10 UK retail. A great cool climate Chilean syrah from the very north of the country. Recent award winner from Decanter. Deep violet colour, nose full of coffee, black fruits. The palate is an elegant melange of white pepper and ripe berries fruit, powerful but with smooth tannins. The sweet french oak shows through. Well made and very drinkable now. 16/20, from 2012.

I think this illustrates both the strengths and the 'work still to be done' in Chile. Anyone who reads my Blog knows how much I like Chilean wine. This wine is very drinkable, quite elegant, well-made and good value for money. I love the style of cool climate syrahs from Chile. But, as suggested in the recent Decanter Chilean syrah review, perhaps we now need more? Chile has founded its reputation on solid wine making, good value and quality control. Are they prepared to push themselves to the next level and rival, say, fine Rhone (in the case of syrah). Not necessarily the top wines, but the large middle ground, say in the £20 to £40 bracket? It remains to be seen. Tabali are innovative and adventurous but some companies maybe need to not play safe.....

http://garyswinetasting.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @garywinetasting
www.cfwinesociety.org

Tasting of fine and rare St. Emilion

Here's a link to a tasting of fine and rare St. Emilion that we held in November 2011:

Tasting Notes

The link to the Chelsea and Fulham Wine Society website enables you to download a PDF of the tasting notes

Baron de Ley, Club Privado Rioja 2008

Tasted 19/01/12, 13.5% ABV, about £9 UK retail. Cork closure. Pretty cheap for a Rioja these days, this is a 'jobbing' Rioja from the large Baron de Ley set up. Red fruits on the nose, distinctive Tempranillo palate, with sweet American oak on the finish. A little short but pleasant enough. Won't go very far - new oak hiding young fruit I speculate. But, not bad value for money. A good food wine. From 2012, 14.5 /20.

Cono Sur Pinot Noir Reserva 2009 (Casablanca)

Tasted 12/01/12 with Ian. 14% ABV, screw cap closure. About c.£9 UK retail - widely available. A straightforward, pleasant premium blend from new fruit (I assume). As always, it demonstrates Cono Sur's (Concha y Toro) quality orientated approach to wine making. Bright cherry red. Very aromatic strawberry fruit, plums and cherries in the glass, a good mouthful of red fruit. Hint of leather and cinnamon. Good value, drink now. 15.5/20
http://garyswinetasting.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @garywinetasting
www.cfwinesociety.org

Les Tourelles de Longueville, Pauillac 2006

Tasted 07/01/12 with Jean-Marc. 13% ABV, cork closure. About £30 UK retail (e.g. BBR). Second wine of 2nd Cru Classe Pichon-Longueville. Dark purple colour, archetypal left bank nose of cedar, cassis, pencil box. On the palate, it's the classic brooding, austere Pauillac character. Silky tannins and classic dark and red fruits. A little closed and still young but enjoyable now with a long finish. Great 'bangs for bucks'. From 2015. 16.5/20
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

Calicanto Viña el Principal, 2009, Maipo

Tasted 04/01/2012. 14.5% ABV, £12.50 UK retail (Majestic). Cork closure. A new Chilean wine for me, but a wine I am very pleased with. A Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere blend. Beautiful nose of coffee, allspice and damsons. Bright purple in the glass, on the palate the toasty French oak shows through. Well integrated on the palate, dark fruits and some liquorice and bell peppers on the finish. Good middle level Chilean red - this wine has some structure and is good now but could be kept for up to 3 years. From 2012, 16/20

Quinta da Tabua Tinto, Beira Baixa, 2011

Tasted 27/12/11 in Portugal, 12% ABV, n/a UK, only available from my father-in-law's estate near Idanha a Nova. Tasted in cask. Alvaro Rocha's first attempt at a garage wine, 500 ltrs produced from about 90% 3-year old Touriga Nacional vines and a field blend of other indigenous grapes and some bought-in moscatel. Bright beaujolais pink in colour. Pleasant nose of black fruits and cured ham. On the palate it's quite sweet, rather lacking in tannins, hence a rather fruity mouth feel. I think the fruit was picked a little late (late September) and was rather over-ripe and insufficient tannins were extracted during maceration. Maybe, therefore, this is a wine for very early drinking. A pleasant wine with food, much better than I feared! 12/20
Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

Zeyssolff Gewurtztraminer Cuvee Z 2009 (Alsace)

Tasted 23/12/2011. 14% ABV, n/a UK - private import only, about €12 ex-cellars. Another great wine from the Zeyssolff stable, this one is top of their Gewurztraminer varietal tree, being late picked from older vines. Medium golden colour, perfumed, honeyed nose with oranges and apricots. Medium sweet on the palate - reminds me of a young German auslese. The mouth is full, with marmalade and hints of marzipan. Long, dry-ish finish. A lovely wine, maybe needs another year. From 2012, 17.5/20

Castello del Terriccio Tassinaia IGT 2006

Tasted 23/11/2011. 14% ABV, about £24 UK retail (Lea and Sandeman). IGT rather than DOC, as this Supertuscan blend has more than 30% non-indigenous grapes (that was the law in 2006 but has now changed, I believe) - 33% each of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Dark cherry red, showing some age. Great nose of cherries and dark fruits, slight hint of tar and treacle. Big mouthful of damsons, plums and stewed fruits. Very dry with lingering morello cherries on the finish. Big and tannic - needs longer - but good now with food. From 2013, 17/20

Domaine Tour Saint-Michel Cuvee des Deux Soeurs, Chateauneuf du Pape, 2009

Tasted 23/12/2011, with Sara, Chris, Beata et al. 15% ABV, £21 UK retail from Genesis Wines. Stellar wine from an merging producer. This wine has stormed the prizes and tastings, recently getting 5 stars in a Decanter tasting of the '09s, for example. An amazing, massive wine, one of the best wines I have tasted in 2011. Deep purple colour, incredible nose of tar, cinnamon, tobacco and toffee. Huge mouth of liquorice, juicy dark fruits and coffee. Complex with a lingering finish of Christmas cake butterscotch. Rather tannic still but refined too. This wine has a great future. A bargain. From 2014, 19/20.

Steinmühle Sylvaner QbA Rheinhessen 2010

Tasted 09/12/11. 13%ABV. £6.50. Exclusively available in the UK from German Wine Agencies. A revelation of a wine. Nice to try a pure varietal Sylvaner. Great up-and-coming producer really delivers the goods here. Lovely nose, described as a 'restrained sauvignon blanc. Off-dry, elegant palate with green fruits, lemon zest, apples. Excellent finish. Ready to drink but will last. Incredible value for money. A real find, so unusual to taste this varietal and it shows what superb quality and value there is to be had from Germany. From 2010, 17/20

Mâcon-Lugny Louis Latour, 2010

Tasted 18/12/2011. 13% ABV, about £9 UK retail (widely available). Many reviewers are raving about this as a great 'value for money' and 'affordable entry level' Burgundy. L. Latour has a great reputation and the wine does certainly punch above its weight. Pale straw colour, damp grass and vanilla on the nose. The palate is well balanced, juicy green fruits and fresh acidity well balanced with the oak. Candy box on the finish? Very clean, well made wine, a versatile food wine. From 2011, 16/20

Langenwalter Weisenheimer Hahnen Weisser Burgunder, Pfalz QbA 2010

Tasted 09/12/11. 12.5%. £6.50. Exclusively available in the UK from German Wine Agencies.
Pinot Blanc by another name. Pale straw colour, pleasant nose of damp grass and apples. Zesty palate with juicy gooseberry fruit. The acidity overpowers the fruit somewhat, rather short finish. From 2011, 14.5 / 20