Further wines from around the world

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we got a mixed "Off the Beaten Track" case from the Wine Society recently, and a few more of these have now been drunk, so I need to report back on them using the blog as my external memory drive and then I can forget about them and take the bottles to the bottle bank. 

Starting with the white, here we have an Alella from Marques de Alella, 2010. This is Spanish and the WS described it as "a delicate and refreshing wine, full of charm and appeal". We opened it on Wednesday night as I needed anaesthetic to get me through episode 1 of the 8 disc box set of Jason King which G asked me to get for him. Warning to G: I'm going to need something stronger in future to cope with the purple dressing gowns, medallions, moustaches and turquoise cravats - some Felettig marc might do the trick.... Back to the white wine. My verdict: bland and completely uninteresting. Half the bottle went down the sink last night as I was too bored to drink it. It would normally cost £7.50 a bottle but they have inexplicably sold out, probably to saps like me who bought it as part of the mixed case. Perhaps I'm being harsh - it wasn't actively unpleasant.

The rest have all been reds. The label on this one is hard to read - it's a Cote Roannaise 2011 from Domaine Robert Serol, made from gamay. At just 12% alcohol, this was light and I hardly noticed it slipping down. It was perfectly pleasant and cost £7.95 but I wouldn't dash back for more.

This Chateau Ksara Reserve du Couvent 2009 was more like it. This is a syrah-based blend from the Lebanon. I've been a big fan of Chateau Musar in the past, but this didn't have that tarry, baked quality that Musar does. It was impressive and would be a great barbecue wine. Good value at £7.95. I'd have it again.

This was a red from Hilltop Estate in Hungary. I think G liked it more than I did - for me it had "bottle that is going to be hard work to finish" written all over it, although we did manage to force it down somehow. It has a high proportion of cabernet sauvignon and was perfectly accomplished but somehow rather boring and "international", for me. It's only £7.25 though, which makes it good value. I'd have guessed it would cost more than that.

Finally, the star of this particular batch, for me - as the Inverse Law of Labels would predict. This is Kalecik Karasi 2009 from Vinkara in Turkey. As a bona fide wine snob I would assume that Turkish red would be rough and undrinkable except possibly in a Turkish restaurant along with well-charred offerings of some sort. In fact this was juicy and vibrant. The WS notes refer to cherries and redcurrants and for once they are accurate. It was appealing and the kind of thing I think my family would like or would be good for a party at work. I'll almost certainly get some more in due course, although at £8.50 a bottle it was relatively expensive compared to some of the others here. 

Dinner at A de V Towers, 15th March

Last Thursday, T and G came round to mine for dinner and we had a very enjoyable evening. 

T kindly brought along a bottle of Palo Cortado. I attended a tasting once where Palo Cortado was memorably described as "the transsexual of sherry". Wikipedia explains, rather more prosaically: "Palo Cortado is a rare variety of sherry that is initially aged under flor to become a fino or amontillado, but inexplicably loses its veil of flor and begins ageing oxidatively as an oloroso."

It's not a style you see very often and this one was made for Waitrose by Lustau. It was enjoyably piquant and nutty at the same time. We failed to do it justice by having it alongside La Guita Manzanilla - the two did not go together. I'd been to Selfridges the day before and got some of their excellent mixed nuts but T knowledgeably informed me that the finest cashew nuts in the world are served in a hotel in an obscure part of Sri Lanka. Selfridges will have to raise their game!

Next up was this bottle of Vosne Romanee 1er cru les Petits Monts 2004 from Mongeard-Mugneret which we had with some slow-cooked leg of lamb and potato gratin. We had high hopes for this wine which cost a whopping 65 euros. I wasn't previously familiar with the domaine but they seem very serious and are sold by Berry Bros.

Sadly, I found it disappointing. Normally I love Vosne-Romanee but this didn't hit the spot. It was a plummy, murky colour which T described as "grey". I got baked fruits on the nose and the palate was smooth and integrated. It was decent mature burgundy but lacking any kind of wow factor. We gave it an 8.

After that our spirits were restored by T's claret jelly which was a great success and possibly the highlight of the entire evening.

Finally, G assembled an assiette de chocolat on my new rectangular white plates bought specially for this purpose so that we no longer have to eat it off the table. This consists of different things from Michel Cluizel - a piece of coffee-flavoured chocolate, some chocolate-covered coffee beans, a piece of chocolate with orange peel in it, some chocolate cocoa nib things, a piece of special single plantation chocolate, and finally a couple of chocolate-covered almonds. For some reason, it is eaten from right to left. I think T was possibly rather perplexed at G demonstrating his OCD tendencies (it's essential that everyone must have the same number of pieces) but the calvados soon took away any concerns. Thanks to both for the pleasure of your company. 

Cheap and cheerful whites

A few weeks ago the Wine Society had an offer called "Off the Beaten Track" which tempted me into buying a mixed case. So far we've had two of them, both whites.

The first was a Bourboulenc from Domaine de Limonet, 2010. This is a Vin de Pays de l'Aude which is from the Languedoc. It was 13% alcohol. Pale gold in colour, it was fresh and had good acidity. It wasn't complicated but had a little bit of oak and went well with crab. We felt it was the kind of wine to drink young. It would normally be £7.75 a bottle which seemed about right. I enjoyed it but I think by the end of the bottle we were getting a bit bored with it, so while it was interesting to try, I doubt whether I'd have it again.

The second was this Quinta da Lagoalva, Talhao 1, 2011 from the Tejo region in Portugal. I know very little about Portuguese whites other than Vinho Verde, and this proved to be a pleasant surprise. It was quite floral on the nose and distinctly lemony and zingy on the palate and went well with the lamb biryani we had for supper. Again, 13% alcohol, fresh and light, and one to be drunk young. According to the notes, it's a blend of arinto, verdelho, sauvignon blanc, alvarinho and fernão pires. I felt this would have wide appeal and would be a good party wine. At £6.75 a bottle it seemed good value and I'd certainly consider getting some more.

Manzanilla La Guita

I'm a big sherry lover, and when G told me about La Guita, I had to get hold of some. It's available in half bottles from various places and in the end I got mine from Sipp which is a shop on the Brompton Road, just down the road from Harrods. I toyed with the idea of going there but in the end laziness prevailed and I ordered 12 halves online, incurring the annoying £10 delivery charge. It worked out at £6.50 a half all in.

It's made by Hijos de Rainera Perez Marin and comes in a convenient screwcap bottle with a vibrant orange seal. There's a bit of string taped under the label; I'm not entirely sure what its function is! Also, the date of bottling is stamped on the label - in this case July 2011 - which is a nice touch.

I enjoyed it a lot - it's very fresh and relatively light in style, although it gained some weight overnight, so definitely one to be drunk over no more than 2 evenings. I think I like it about the same as La Goya, and it would be interesting to compare the two - must get some La Goya in before this runs out. Corney and Barrow are now selling La Goya for £6.29 a half so they are directly comparable. These two, and the trusty but more heavyweight Pastrana Manzanilla Pasada from Hidalgo (£9.95 from the Wine Society, £11.95 from Waitrose, I think - an interesting example of good value from the WS) are currently my three favourite manzanillas.