What wine are you drinking today ?

On a more serious note. One of the best outside Italy; maybe.

Sainsbury's "Taste the Difference" Verdicchio.

NOVAS CARMENÈRE/CABERNET SAUVIGNON, GRAN RESERVA, COLCHAGUA VALLEY 2013

"Ageing for nine months in both French and American oak has brought some complexity and depth to the juicy, round fruit. Organic, stylish and looking towards Bordeaux for its inspiration".

Very nice with this evenings pasta dish : )

Debs

Cape Mantelle, 2007, Cabernet Merlot. Just the ticket with the BBQ rib eye. It is National BBQ day here in Greece. Sadly, no Retsina in the cupboard. 

Dave

After a shift, a glass or two of Aromatic and Citrus, Spanish dry white from the (allegedly) posh person's supermarket. The one with the darker green label. A fiver!! Very, very decent for the money.

There's celery, houmous and oatcakes too.

C.

The builder who fixed a leak in the roof of our holiday home in the Lake District kindly dropped off a bottle of Californian Cab. Sauv., which against expectations turned out to be very fine. Alas, the unseasonal hot weather up here caused the contents to prematurely evaporate - 

 

tonym posted:

The builder who fixed a leak in the roof of our holiday home in the Lake District kindly dropped off a bottle of Californian Cab. Sauv., which against expectations turned out to be very fine. Alas, the unseasonal hot weather up here caused the contents to prematurely evaporate - 

Good work Tony, me ol "Puckker"...see what i ..............

Just thinking about the leak, I seem to leak at a lot these days...especially at night!!! Can you send you roofer round!!!!!!!!!!

CANTELE NEGROAMARO, SALENTO IGT 2015  

A couple of hours ago i put a bottle into my airing cupboard to rid the cellar chill before opening, and pouring a large glass then left it alone for 20 minutes... 

Nothing special for tea tonight, just a cheese pasty with mash and baked beans, but this smooth and fruity Italian red is delightfully the most welcome aperitif : )

Debs 

E. Guigal's Cotes du Rhone. Benchmark stuff. On offer too.

C

Pitty this is the last one. Great with some pasta. 

One of my mentees was finally awarded his MW (Master of Wine) qualification yesterday, one of four new ones, bringing the total up to 356 in the world.

It was just the excuse I needed to open this beauty. One of only two wines to which I have ever given a perfect score when judging (at the Decanter World Wine Awards, this wine [blind obviously] received scores of 100 [from me], 99, 99 and 98. I have never seen such unanimity, and I've been judging wine for 30+ years!). 

Madeira, once one of the world's most highly regarded wines, was cheap 10 - 20 years ago  (and subsequently in consequence didn't cover the costs of its absurdly time and labour intensive production). Accordingly the vineyards were ripped out (in favour, usually, of bananas). Now the wine - when it is at its rarest in terms of production - is finally regaining the esteem it so richly deserves (and did all along). So it's becoming expensive again, and they are replanting! To have seen this cycle makes me feel old. But boy am I glad that I tried some of the wines that I did, when I did.

This will set you back the thick end of £75, but it is worth every penny, and of course can be consumed over the course of days, weeks, even months (although I've a feeling this particular bottle won't make it beyond the weekend).

(Here's what I wrote about it, Decanter always send you back your notes, which is nice):

This was an okay evening.

It's alright for some!

Probably my favourite Red . Even though its not from Central Otago Its gorgeous and at around £18 a bargain .

Chalshus posted:

Today I opened a bottle of Maydie Tannant. Sweet, fresh dessert wine from Madiran in the south of France. Made like a Port wine. Great with some cinnamon buns. 

Sounds like the perfect breakfast to me. How Continental!

Vegetarian Lasagne with cheese grated broccoli tonight, and while i'm waiting for the oven...

SALICE SALENTINO DOC, RISERVA, CANTELE 2013

"Dark cherry fruit on the nose with a delicate floral character, the palate is richer with plummy fruit, spices, even a wiff of smoke whilst the finish is smooth with sweet supple tannins."

13.0%
Italy
Style Full-bodied red
Grapes 100% Negroamaro
Less than 12 quid a bottle

I made a mistake buying a case of this, should have bought six cases! : )

Debs

Ordered this from one of those pop up festivals you get with foodies.

quite a vintage but tasted very fresh, almost like fresh grape juice but without the sweetness and with an aroma that told of promise.

We've been quaffing a good bit of this jolly nice and extremely good value Albariño over the past few months. £7 a go from Majestic. We like Albariño's generally as a style, but this is particularly fine and at the price, a steal.

kevin J Carden posted:

 

I know it's foolish but I cannot get past this shocking label.

C.

rodwsmith posted:

This was an okay evening.

Some of us come here looking for some insight, Rod. (Hint: brief tasting notes for each wine, whether any of them offer value for money, and to whom).

Chris

Well Chris, if you're sure. 

Before dinner we tasted the recent vintages.

Notes during dinner were indeed brief. I have always liked Pontet Canet, and Alfred Tesseron is the most astonishingly generous and humble host. This meal was for 43(!) people.

(From the label, cork, and style of the wine, the 1959 had been reconditioned)

Pontet Canet

2012
Amazingly fresh and concentrated for the year. Really exceptionally good, great achievement. 18.5

2013
Perfumed and elegant. Astonishing success for such a superficially rubbish vintage. Distinct hint of spice/cloves. Delicious to drink now. 17

2014
Wow! Must be the wine of the vintage, this is showing so well, essence of CS fruit flavours. 19.5

2015
Nearly bottled, cocoa and coffee oak, but not dominating the plush fruit. Super-good 19.5

Comtes de Champagne B de B 2005
Perfect. Soft mousse and acidity. Exactly what the doctor ordered 19

(we had a day of tasting almost exclusively red, and young, wine)

2000
Absolutely spot on, still fruity, subtle, silky tannins. Super-top 19.5

1990
Earthy, leather, wax-polish and dried fruit. Still alive, but about right for me, and no need to keep. 19

1959
Just astonishingly silky and textured. Palate flooding sweetness of fruit. Can't quite believe it actually is this old. Wonderfully concentrated and long supple finish. Amazing. 19

Yquem 1997
Deep gold and super ripe, but fresh and zingy to accompany the deeply honeyed botrytis. Not too oaky, integrated and perfectly ready to drink 19

Tesseron Cognac Lot No. 53
(100 y.o.)
Just perfect.

Chris, agreed on the label(!) I'll put it down to a uniquely Spanish sense of humour...

The wine is not so gaudy. More Gaudi perhaps. 

Thanks Rod.

You dodged the last bit on vfm and for whom. Looking at the reds and attempting to take a leaf out of Donkeyhaute's book (I've used my imagination) I've done some googling and suspect the 59 would suit an an Alan Clark type....old money, old houses, fast cars and young women.

The 2000 probably some hedge fund manager, knowing full well that it would be drinking very well in twenty five years time, and they'd get at very good return.

I was interested that the producers rate the 2000 higher than the 59. (But perhaps they have to, to get people to buy their younger output).

The 1990 is harder. Expensive now (I imagine, in my terms) and drinking now...

C.

I don't think Pontet Canet really plays the value for money game! They are all frighteningly expensive, but buy a great vintage young, and it will increase in price (even if not at first), which is value of sorts. Although as an investment rather than as a drink. Which is a shame.

I would never be able to afford these wines, and I am very grateful that my job means I get to taste and drink them without having to.

2016 is a sensational vintage (I will be tasting them all next week), and it might put downward pressure on the prices of the other recent ones, in which case my professional advice would be to buy 2014s (Cabernet based, left bank anyway). 14 is a really very good vintage now in the shadow of the ostensibly superior 15 (not universally for me) and the undeniably brilliant 16. 

If what/all you are after is wine to drink in the future, and Pontet Canet is within your financial reach, then buy some 2012. It won't constitute as good an investment, but tastes almost as good as the 'good' vintages, and is a fraction of the price. (2014 around £85, 2012 approx £48)

(I brace myself for a flood of comments about no wine being worth more than a fiver from Lidl. Often from people with five thousand pound amplifiers, but ho hum.)