Page listing - "Subpage Listing" 2019 SCHEDULE Last Monday of the month at 3pm
Wadebridge Wines Christmas Tasting Alan has confirmed that we have a minibus and a driver for the Wadebridge Wines Christmas tasting on Wednesday 20th November. Pick up will be from Lerryn at 5pm and Lostwithiel Library at 5.10pm. 2020 schedule 27 Jan Nick 24 Feb Sue & Carl 30 Mar Jenny 27 Apr tba 25 May Jean & Eric 29 Jun Helen 27 Jul Lindsay & Keith 31 Aug tba 28 Sep Alan 26 Oct Christine Update 28th October Wadebridge Wines Christmas Tasting  October wine tasting Christine's plan for our latest tasting involved, a wine she hasn't had before, a wine she wants to like more, and a bottle on which she liked the label - and why not indeed!  We then moved on to Grant Burge Chardonnay from South Australia. Grant Burge is an award-winning 5th generation South Australian winemaker. The Burge family have a long association   As the clocks changed last weekend we wended our way home happily through the dark after another very enjoyable afternoon! Update 7th October Alan has confirmed that we have a minibus and a driver for the Wadebridge Wines Christmas tasting on Wednesday 20th November. Exact timings to follow but for the moment please keep the date free in your diary! Update 30th September Todays' tasting was billed as HELEN’S RANDOM SELECTION. All the wines were sourced from Wadebridge Wines and selected for an unusual grape variety or name. 1.OROPASSO ORIGINALE - White wine from the Veneto region of Italy (£11.25) Grape: 60% Garganega 40% Chardonnay  "Intense straw yellow with greenish reflections. Delicate with floral notes and hints of citrus fruits and yellow flesh fruits. Fresh, mineral, very well structured and well balanced. No oak treatment. A lovely partner to pasta, risotto, soups, fish, shellfish, white meats and mature cheese." This proved a very popular opener with unanimous thumbs up. 2. MAD DRY FURMINT – White wine from the Mad village region of Hungary (£14.15)  "Somewhere between Loire Chenin and Chablis in style, this refreshing white wine expressing both the varietal character of the Furmint variety and the typical minerality of the vineyards of Mad village. Well structured and well balanced, wonderfully elegant blend of apricot and peaches with a warming ginger spice. Just off dry in style with great structure and minerality. Beautiful with roast pork." Again deemed very pleasant by the assembled tasters but perhaps not worth the extra cost.  "Deep, dark and black, the first impression of this Carmenere is one of toffee and caramel with notes of jasmine. After agitating the wine new aromas emerge such as blackberries and raspberries, together with liquorice, coffee, black pepper and tobacco. Everything flows naturally and elegantly in the mouth, resulting in a ripe and well structured wine with refreshing acidity highlighting the black fruit." A popular choice, particularly amongst the red wine drinkers who were quick to go for seconds! Another great afternoon, introducing ourselves to new grapes, regions and flavours. ---------- Update 26th August Linden's recent trip to France saw us tasting some excellent French wines this month, primarily from Domaine Royet near Couches. More information is available HERE . The Couchois region, lying South of the Maranges and South of the Hautes Côtes de Beaune, has been a wine-growing area since time immemorial .This hilly part of the region has achieved recognition as a distinct portion of the AOC Régionale Bourgogne (since the 2000 harvest) after a long campaign to have its quality officially recognised. Its red wine from the Pinot Noir grape is produced in the communes of Couches, Dracy-lès-Couches, Saint-Jean-de-Trézy, SaintMaurice-lès-Couches, Saint-Pierre-de-Varennes and Saint-Sernin-du-Plain. The proximity of the Cote de Couchois to the prestigious Cote de Beaune sub-region is evident not only in its terroir, but in the strictness of its appellation laws when compared to the other Bourgogne regional titles. The Cote du Couchois has tight production conditions – specifically those surrounding the minimum yield.  Firstly we tasted the Domaine Royet Cremant de Bourgogne. This was certainly effervescent to start with! Once the bubbles receded we all enjoyed the pleasant "biscuity" taste. A great start to the afternoon. Next followed an unexpected treat. Linden's son, David, is a winemaker in that area and had recently made a barrel of his own wine (possibly using some grapes commonly used for C*****S). In an unusual twist David had buried the barrel in the earth...… The wine named Chablis Hole in the Ground was a big hit with the group - the first time we had had an unlabelled bottle! We noted many of the characteristics we would expect from a Chablis - good job David!   The second Domaine Royet wine was a Bourgogne Chardonnay. Although pleasant the majority preferred David's Hole in the Ground!  Finally a Bourgogne Cotes du Couchois, a pinot noir with a fair amount of tannin but also a few spicy notes and plenty of red fruit. As is often the case the jury was split on this one - a couple of people enjoyed this very much, the rest of the group preferred to return to the whites and check them out again! Apart from our unlabelled bottle all the wines had been purchased from the vineyard and cost on the region of 8 to 9 euros per bottle. Another fun afternoon - our thanks to Linden. ---------- Update 30th July 2019 Our July meeting was held at Keith and Lindsay's house. Prior to this month's meeting Lindsay had read an article about improving standards of German wine, so she picked three for tasting.  Karl May Gutswein Weissburgunder 2018 This luscious Weissburgunder is made by brothers Peter and Fritz May, seventh generation winemakers at their 200 year old family estate. Better known elsewhere as Pinot Blanc or Bianco, in Germany’s Rheinhessen region Weissburgunder produces a lovely rounded style with a core of minerally freshness. Peter and Fritz are both talented winemakers, – Peter worked at Framingham in New Zealand and Fritz at Riesling specialist Grosset in Australia. At their own estate they employ eco-friendly methods in the vineyard and this is reflected in the vibrant fruit and finesse of the wine – a delicious match for pork and sauerkraut, or creamy chicken. Taste: Creamy and smooth with orchard fruit and gentle spiciness Alcohol 12.5% (£12-59 per bottle from Laithwaites) ---------- Leitz Eins Zwei Dry 2017 Weingut Josef Leitz is located in Rüdesheim, at the western end of the Rheingau. As the German Wine Guide notes, “Few in the Rheingau make finer wines than Leitz.” This family estate is run by Johannes Leitz, who took over what was then a 2.6 hectare property in 1985, aged just 21, and grew it to 43 hectares. Eins Zwei Dry is a wonderful modern ambassador for the region. Named with a refreshing Teutonic sense of fun, this tasty, dry Riesling is a light hearted, crisp, elegant white. With scents of apple, apricot and lime blossom, it’s very food friendly and particularly good with pan-fried fish or Waldorf salad, or simply on its own. Taste: Stony, citrus; a fresh, mouthwatering, fruity, floral quality Alcohol 12.0% (£13-49 per bottle from Laithwaites) ---------- Pinot Noir is much loved in the pricey wines of Burgundy. Germany also makes thoroughly appealing and complex reds from Pinot Noir, usually providing better value. The warmer climate of the Pfalz is particularly well suited to the grape. Laithwaites buyer was very taken with this tiny-yield red from the Rietburg cellar. Yields in 2017 were small but the quality is excellent. The secret with Pinot Noir is to go gently – careful extraction of flavours and no heavy oak, so the wine sings with fruit and no hard edges. Roast chicken, barbecues, creamy pasta or simply solo – enjoy as you like. Taste Ripe berries – raspberry, cherry, blackberry – with savoury length Alcohol 13.0% (£9-44 per bottle from Laithwaites) ---------- Overall the selection was well received by the group, particularly the Pinot Noir, but they considered the white wines did not represent particularly good value for money. The next meeting is on 26th August 2019 at Linden's house. ******************* Update 25th June 2019 Seven members of the group gathered at Jean and Eric's house for the June meeting.  More details available on the Zephyr website. Following the Gewurztraminer tasting Eric explained how he had picked the most expensive white and red wine on sale at the local branch of ASDA.  The white wine selected was a 13% Chablis Premier Cru from Famille Brocard with a list price of £15. We are advised that "Famille Brocard has created this excellent wine from grapes produced in the Chablis Premier Cru vineyards of Northern Burgundy. The Chardonnay grapes reach full ripeness here and the resulting wine has the classic, floral aromas of Premier Cru Chablis with delicious citrus and mineral flavours on the finish."  The final wine tasted was McGuigan's Shortlist Barossa Valley GSM 2016, a 14% wine from Australia selling for £13. The ASDA website advises "the combination of Grenache, Shiraz and Mourvedre works seamlessly together to provide a ripe red fruited wine, with a savoury appeal, complemented by soft, fine tannins. " The website continues "McGuigan Wines was established to celebrate the culmination of 3 generations of wine growing by the McGuigan family. Founder Brian McGuigan adopted the central symbol of the family crest, the lion, to reflect inspiration & the McGuigan's enduring spirit & passion for producing great quality Australian wine. Today Brian's brother, Neil McGuigan, is at the helm of McGuigan Wines & continues the proud family tradition. " Although both the more expensive wines were considered pleasant, members of the group did not detect a significant improvement over similar lower prices wines. The next meeting will be on 29th July at Keith and Lindsay's house. ************************ Update 4th June 2019 Report of Meeting on Monday 27th May The weather looked promising and we decided to sit outdoors, but we experienced the occasional weather interruption, which thankfully didn't dampen everyone's spirits.  Click on above image for larger view The theme was local: everything (nearly) was obtained from the Co-op, which proved to be very good value and very good quality. I chose a selection of red wines, typical of what I might choose for myself, and a white Riesling, representative of what I used to drink when I was younger. By consensus, one of the red wines was decanted (the Rioja), one was opened to let breathe (the Malbec) and one was drunk immediately on opening (the Shiraz blend).  I am not sure whether we noticed the difference, but it was a bit of fun. At the end of the wine tasting, everyone was given the option of an Irish Whiskey upgrade, which I brought back from our recent holiday to Ireland. It was a lovely smooth Jameson, which rounded off a super afternoon. Cheers Nick  More photos, and details of wines served, on our flickr page ************************ Update 29th April 2019 One of the advantages of belonging to a wine appreciation group is you can sample several different bottles to compare different price points. As a long term fan of Beaujolais Alan had sourced four bottles for us to sample.  Starting with the nearest white wine to the region as a light starter - Macon-Villages Chardonnay, Cave de Lugny, Burgundy (Waitrose £9.99). Made from chardonnay grapes, grown in the Maconnais in the south of Burgundy, this unoaked wine is an excellent example of modern white Burgundy. It is crisp and dry with fresh citrus and peach flavours, displaying a hint of minerality true to its origin. It's a great introduction to the region, with classical tropical fruit flavours of honey and melon and a rounded, buttery mouth feel. We then moved on to the reds! Waitrose Beaujolais Villages (Waitrose £7.99) Fresh and fruity, this has all the red berry character expected from the Gamay variety, along with a hint of spice. Georges Duboeuf Brouilly 75cl (Sainbury £8.50) Brouilly is the largest and most southerly of the ten Beaujolais "Crus", with vineyards surrounding the imposing Mont Brouilly. The finest Gamay is supple with soft tannins and a lip-smacking minerality. Fleurie AOC Beaujolais Henry Fessy (Waitrose £13.49) Fleurie is often described as the "Queen of the Crus". This ideal terroir and situation give a pleasant and harmonious wine showing fruity aromas and a nice roundness. Update 25th February 2019 Carl and Sue kindly hosted our February meeting which took place on what felt like a Spring day! The theme was 'grapes Carl had never tried' and why not! 1. Baron de Ley Rioja Blanco £8.99  From Waitrose website "Irresistible white Rioja: elegant yet rounded - an ideal aperitif. From a multi award-winning estate comes an acclaimed white Rioja. Bursting with ripe citrus and apricot with good weight and texture, this excels with Spanish tapas dishes. A great-value find. " A thumbs up from our group definitely 2.Teruzzi & Puthod Rondolino Vernaccia di San Gimignano £9.49  "Elegant aromas of green apple & citrus. This Tuscan dry white wine has an elegant nose of cut green apple and crisp citrus flavours, alongside soft fruits and a delicious stony minerality, followed by hints of almonds." Again enjoyed by all, and deemed to offer a different flavour from many white wines. 3.Tenuta Rapitalà Nero d’Avola £9.99  "When the winery name is said to mean ‘beautiful garden of God’, you expect something sublime and this wine doesn’t disappoint. From the rolling hills close to Palermo, Nero d’Avola is Sicily’s most expressive red grape. This seductive wine has juicy plum and cherry fruits, hints of spice and soft gentle tannins. " Again proof that we should always try new things as this red was popular with those who enjoy red AND those who prefer white normally.  Another very pleasant afternoon when the conversation ranged far beyond wine as usual. The x-rays of the pins in Nick's arm proved an interesting topic certainly! ************************ Update 29th January 2019 What a great way to spend the last Monday afternoon in January - tasting a fine selection of wines accompanied by tasty olives, bread, meats and cheeses. We enjoyed a lovely afternoon at The Wine Store, Charlestown and were transported in comfort via the Lerryn minibus.  We tasted six wines as follows: Côté Mas Frisante  Pale lemon coloured with green tints, the nose exhibits citrus, pear and floral notes. The palate is lively and fresh with ripe apple and citrus peel and a clean and refreshing finish. A great aperitif and also works well with shellfish. This Frissante sparkling wine is made using the Charmat method. This is where the second fermentation takes place in a sealed tank with sufficient yeast and sugar to produce 2 bar of pressure in the wine. It is then bottled under a champagne cork and is deliciously sparkling! A blend of 55% Piquepoul and 45% Chardonnay. Cuma Organic Argentina  A totally organic wine with a zesty lime and white grapefruit taste. Honeysuckle and peach stone give a warmer background flavour. Pairing well with stronger tasting dishes such as strong cheeses, spicy curries or smoked sausages. With very little human interference this grape grows naturally in the cool night air and warm days. With it’s hint of Jasmine and Rose petals you could easily be transported to Argentina as you drink. Trimbach Riesling Alsace  An Alsace benchmark from the famous house of Trimbach in Ribeauvillé. Ripe and fruity in the fine 2015 vintage, but with a fine backbone of acidity and wonderful appetising freshness too. Le Tot Louis Tête Beaujolais Nouveau  A light and delicate red wine, with complex flavours of banana and bubblegum notes. This prompted reminiscences of Beaujolais Nouveau tastings in Kent and London. In general we felt this was a good example compared to some of our memories! Gran Cerdo Spain natural wine  Gran Cerdo Tempranillo Gonzalo Grijalba, best value natural red on the market! Gran Cerdo is all about great natural wine with whole bunch fermentation, light filtration, no stabilisation and minimal sulphur. The juicy elements of Tempranillo shine through with no dirty oak to mask the charm of this little natural wine giving phenomenal value. The winemaker, Gonzalo Gonzalo is a legend (and not just for his name) because he has proved that you can make a fantastic biodynamic Tempranillo at an affordable price. The nose and flavours are an intoxicating combination of red and dark berries, faint lavender (or violets) and a slightly earthy edge. The herbaceous flavours gives the wine a slight green finish with a little spice, while the tannin and acidity cry out for some red meat. Pedro Ximenez Triana Hidalo La Gitana  Produced by the Hidalgo Family bodega, established in 1792 in Sanlúcar. Made using grapes dried on straw mats, fermented and fortified, then aged under the solaria system. One of the sweetest wines in the world, PX is about as sweet as things can get! Aromas of raisins, molasses, figs, toffee, caramel, nuts, the palate is incredibly thick, dense, with an oily texture, massive concentration and unsurpassed sweetness and prolonged length. The ultimate sweet wine! Fantastic when poured over ice-cream. As ever the jury was split over our favourite but we all enjoyed the varied tasting which Gina at The Wine Store had put on for us. Bring on the rest of 2019!  Update December 2018 After our very enjoyable annual jaunt to Wadebridge Wines Christmas Tasting we have yet another outing planned for the start of 2019. On Monday 28th January we will have a tasting at the recently opened Wine Store in Charlestown. Once again the Lerryn minibus will be used to enable us all to enjoy a tipple or two. The tasting will cost £25 per head plus a small fee for the use of the minibus. If you have not yet confirmed your place with Lindsay please do so asap. ******************* Our adventures during 2018 may be followed on this page. ************ |
