Merlot for March

Eight of us for the March get together. A small but sophisticated group (ha ha) tasting one of my least favourites.. Merlot..

There is a classic line in the film Sideways, where Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti) an unsuccessful writer & a wine-aficionado, is about to go into the Restaurant and makes his feelings clear, that they were not going to order ' any f**~@*~~ Merlot '  that sums up my feelings too, not that I'll hold that against our hosts Mark & Linda. 

However, there is always an exception as 'they' say, whoever 'they' are... I actually thought that the Merlot we brought was quite good.  It did also come out tops for the evening.. no I am not feeling big headed about this, in light of my above Merlot feelings I gave as much thought to buying this wine as I would to buying a power tool..none !

A little Merlot background for starters ~

Merlot (pronounced Mare-LOW) is a darkly blue-coloured coloured grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird (Turdus merula), probably from the colour of the grape.

Merlot-based wines usually have medium body with hints of berry, plum, and currant. Its softness and "freshness", combined with its earlier ripening, makes Merlot a popular grape for blending with the sterner, later-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon, which tends to be higher in tannin.  Here I would like to add that I always think Merlot has the smell of wellie boots !

Anyway... on with the evening, we started rather surprisingly with a Hungarian Merlot from John Lewis, not bad, this one came in second.. a jammy cherry flavour with a slight pepper finish.

Next was the WINNING Gallo Merlot, lots of berry aromas, very smooth & velvety, hints of cream soda (would that be vanilla ??)  a good wine for £6.49 from Co-op.

Followed by a rough tart one from France( this provoked numerous comments !!) also lots of tannin, needles to say the only person who liked it was Mark, Mr Bordeaux lover...

We finished with the most expensive wine of the evening, sadly disappointing, proving the more you spend the better the wine doesn't always ring true (ask yourself...why spend much on a Merlot..or is that just me) & even more shockingly it was Australian, not often you get a dodgy Australian, well actually you probably do.. but not in wine..ha ..ha.. ha.. well I thought it was funny :)

Comments were, bit rough, jammy, cherry and YES..wellie boots ~ actually thinking about it, does that make this wine the most 'typical' out of the four ??

A smaller group this time who enjoyed delicious food, especially Linda's superb lemon tart. Conversation covered a wide range of topics, latest books read, some more intellectual than others (!) we even got into politics after a few glasses of wine,  and for a change we could all hear each other & speak at normal levels, as opposed to the normal, who can shout the loudest approach.

It was nice to welcome Terry & Karen who, it has to be said had let their attendance slip (just joking we know you have 'other' friends) although they are making up for it, next one at their house, with the challenge of English wine..better start searching now !

Time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x

Made me smile..

Which wine are you ?

First a limerick from an eloquent member ~

There is a wine club from Margate

Which tastes wines bad and great

They maintain a log

And upload a blog

With an aim to educate !

It was our turn to host the wine club so we decided to go with something a little different... each couple if possible to bring along a wine that suited their character.. e.g. you might be refreshing & bright, deep with a long finish (as someone suggested) !.. do you get the idea.. we also added a little valentine touch.. each person to wear a pink heart with clues to their wine (grape) & country.


It is actually quite fun when you think about your friends characters & which wine they would be.. puts a smile on your face..go on have a go.


Now before we get down to the wines & their clues for you to have a guess..some of the usual basics.. ten of us squeezed round the table, spilt drink ? oh yes, that was me within about five minutes of sitting down, I knocked my champagne into my lap..what a waste and real champagne too !!


Meal was once again Jamie Olivers bangers & mash, simple but yummy and stuffed tomatoes for the veggie option.

Okay here we go ~ see how you do.

Wine 1:  I am fresh, fruity & full of gas
             (Those that know our group well, can guess who wore this)
              Three classic grapes, hints of butter, biscuit & pineapple
              From the country that likes to eat snails

Wine 2:  Tart & tasty
               This wine has a great name for romantics
               Unusual aromas not often spotted include grass, asparagus & passion fruit
               This area is 'cloaked' on the West Coast
             
Wine 3:   Refreshing & zesty
               Grapefruit & gooseberries dominate
               Fairy tales, Sleeping Beauty & a long river
              (This had us completely stumped for the country.its not Germany !)
        
Wine 4:  We like to think we are this (thats this couple do..)
               One of us likes this kind food
               Skippy

Wine 5:   I still have my cherry (tones) Ooo I say...
              Spicy, oak and a touch of vanilla
              Olay (I think they were going for phonetic spelling!)


So now check you answers:

Wine 1: Charles Freminet champagne ~ grapes chardonnay, pinot noir & pinot meunier
              From M & S on offer £15   normally £30.. it was very good.
             ( Are this couple full of gas ?)

Wine 2: Darling ~ Sauvignon Blanc 2010 from South Africa
             (Are this couple romantic ?)

Wine 3: Touraine ~ Sauvignon 2010 from Loire Valley
             (Fairy tales & chateaux ~ do this couple live in a dream world ?)

Wine 4: Blaxland ~ Shiraz 2011 Spicy with subtle oak Australian
            (Are this couple subtle?)

Wine 5: Berberana Reserva ~ 2006 Rioja (Are this couple spicy)

I am pleased to say no-one scored less than 4.

There was also a prize for best valentine wrapping, which went to Stephanie, who wasn't actually there she is far too young, does that make her a princess of the fairy tale couple !!

Things drew to a close after midnight, when the bottles were empty and the chocolates gone.

All the wrapped wines & my personal favourite..

Just one big shock of the evening Mark (Mr I love Bordeaux... actually liked one of the whites..pick yourself up off the floor)

Time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x



              

           

Ciao a tutti ..

We started the New Year at The Stones, just eight of us, so no extension to the table required although it may have given us a little more space and Geoff wouldn't have knocked the glass of red wine over.. first spill of the year. 'Apparently' not his fault the mat was in the way... I think not !


The Stones decided we would taste Italian wines to go with the tasty lasagna.. one white (bianco) & three reds (rosso) came under scrutiny. Well poured into glasses, swilled a bit & then down the hatch with a few mummers about cherries and tannins.. no seriously we did actually make a few notes.  Although on collecting the tasting notes we seem to doodle more than we write, I am thinking about a) having the doodles analysed  b) making a collage..


Bianco


A very light wine in colour taste & aroma, quite pleasant would be a good lazy afternoon in the sunshine wine, although you would end up more drunk than you would expect as it was, surprisingly 12.5%

Rosso


The three reds were all voted as drinkable with none particularly outstanding but isn't this generally the case with the cheaper Italian wines ??


As Mick said this is 'R' wine (ie. the hosts offering )

Gran Conti Rosso Del Molise Riserva 75Cl from Tesco £5.39 (half price offer)

The Blurb from Tesco website ~

This noble wine is crafted from a selection of the best Montepulciano and Aglianico grapes grown in the rolling hills of the Molise region of central Italy. The wine then achieves its 'Riserva' status following three years ageing, including time spent maturing in oak barrels and in bottle.

A generous and richly textured dry red wine. Made from a blend of Montepulciano and Aglianico grape varieties grown in the hilly Molise region of Central Italy, it exudes bramble fruit flavours and its richness is balanced by sweet spiced notes.

Naturally we agree, although we had, fruity, cherry, long finish & lots of tannin and no mention of spiced notes.

Then we had a Chianti (not in the wicker covering that you used to see in restaurants with a candle stuck in the top).


This Chianti and the previous wine both included Sangiovese grapes (who knows how you pronounce that.. not 'grape' but 'Sangiovese')


Typically Sangiovese grapes make medium to full-bodied wines with tannin structure ranging from medium-soft to firm. Dominate flavors associated with Sangiovese derived wines include: cherry, plum, strawberry, cinnamon and vanilla.


( We had dry, ordinary and harsh tannin)


There is often a herbaceous quality associated with Sangiovese wines. As for acidity levels, Sangiovese leans towards medium to high acidity content. The finish can range from elegant to bitter.

Italy's most commonly planted red grape varietal, boasting over a dozen distinct clones, is a thin-skinned grape that tends to linger longer on the vine, takes its time to mature. Central Italy, specifically the region of Tuscany, is the agricultural heartland of the Sangiovese grape. 


So now you know & can impress your friends..if your friends are impressed by that sort of thing !

The last Rosso was from Mafia country..Sicily.. so only good things to be said, don't want to end up in concrete under a motorway somewhere, do we .. although I hear its nice there for holidays, thats Sicily not under a motorway !


A nice enjoyable deep ruby red wine with spicy hints. Not sure where this wine was bought, in was in our wine rack, distinctive label, maybe someone recognises it ..

Like me you may not know much about wines from Sicily, so you can expand your knowledge now.

Sicily is one of the larger expanses of vineyards in Italy and has been probably been making wine as long as people have been making wine for. Sicily's full bodied, flavoursome and fruity wines are considered the best in the world. (By the Italians ??)

The vineyards are usually owned by large cooperatives, but the rise in modern technology have meant that smaller vineyards in prime locations by dedicated and passionate winemakers have began coming to the fore.

The main grape variety is the Sangiovese, which has over 10 clones, including the Prugnello and Brunello.

Well there you have it until next month, February, the month of love, Italian wines might have linked in well with that, but hay ho will have to think of another option..

As a passing note we have been challenged to possible a 'Wine Off' with a group from Folkestone..we had better brush up, not that we are competitive !

Thanks again for the photos Mark.

Tempo di mettere un tappo di sughero in esso

Bye x

PS I hope that says what I meant it to say !!!!

Party Time

Another year of wine club get togethers came to an end on Saturday evening, where has the time gone??  It doesn't seem like a year since Mick was throwing his wine over himself and a cream carpet...not forgetting the wall & Karens top ! 

Karen & Terry hosted a Christmas Party for their friends and all the wine club, lots of chatting, laughing, drinking & eating a nice way to finish & of course the hand out of Secret Santa presents !

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all.

Time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x

Dark & Complex..

Dark & complex really sums up the Bordeaux wines we tried on Satuday evening except for the white one, for obvious reasons !   In fact the white was so light many of us thought it was water, the taste didn't offer much more, there were hints of melon & citrus in this Sauvignon but really quite disappointing, however it was still voted as okay, it came in 3rd of 5.  Sorry getting ahead of myself here...

Lets begin again, hosted by Jacqui & Nick 10 of us made the long dark trip out into the sticks through the road works and diversions.. (Yes, of course it was worth it !) there we met our hosts and their two guests Kenton and Sandrine, who we found out was French so we expected great things from her !

If our notes are correct all the wines were from the Left Bank of Bordeaux, see previous Blog if you wonder why I am mentioning it... talking of the theme for the evening, a few slapped wrists for those that didn't read the detailed brief Jacqui sent out, naughty, naughty and maybe if more had, some of you would have done better in the surprise quiz on Bordeaux wines !  I am feeling smug here, as I came first with my wine tasting buddy for the evening Lemsip.

So to re-cap, we started with the white mentioned above then we hit the red, number 2 & 6 were the same wine, for once most of us managed to find them very similar in tasting & aromas. Chateau David from Sainsbury £6.49 The grapes are the traditional Bordeaux selection of Merlot, Cabernet Franc & Cabernet Sauvignon. A nice deep coloured wine, summer fruit flavours with structure & complexity...don't you just love that about French wine so often missing in those ever popular New World offerings. The bottle says, well actually the bottle doesn't say because a bottle can not talk, although some of you might have heard the odd bottle calling "drink me drink me", opps sorry side track again...

The high point of the evening apart from the handmade chocolates(we'll get to those later)was a bottle of Margaux, not an actual big bucks Margaux, we thought it must be an Aunt Margaux or something, well that was Kentons suggestion, anyway, bought from a wine merchant in Canterbury by Sandrine, your expectations are already high I can tell... Well rightly so, this was a pricey wine for our group, it came in at £23, I have to say & most will agree it was worth every penny!

So a little about the VERY nice Bordeaux, La Bastide Dauzac Margaux 2007 ~ Basics first, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot & Cabernet Franc This wine had an attractive aromas, tastes of sweet black fruit with some tannin, complexity with a smoothness an overall success.

Chateau Dauzac was once regarded as one of the 'lost chateaux' of the Medoc. Over recent years the rather unknown Dauzac has seen significant change thanks to new ownership of Andre Lurton Who has managed the property since 1992. Dauzac is gaining a reputation for good quality wine. I would buy this again, not for everyday, maybe when one hosts the odd dinner!

So does this mean the French do actually know something(more than us) about wine ?!?! The whole of France was represented by Sandrine in our eyes, as you can tell..

I think this proves once again than it pays to spend more on French wine to get the good ones.

The other highlight to the evening was the yummy(technical food term) handmade chocolates, Sandrine makes them, she has a shop in Canterbury.. All in all I think we can say that Sandrine is more than welcome to join us again, she can bring Kenton too!

Sandrine also explained how locals would buy wine, you take along your big container to be filled with wine, return home where you would decant it yourself into bottles and seal them for future use..she remembers having bottling sessions. She told it better than me, but I'm sure you can picture it. Someone did say it was similar to us making homemade wine and beer from kits.. I think not!

So to sum up Bordeaux wines, it's an extensive region & up until a few years ago made more wine than Australia. The best examples are keenly sought after and among the worlds finest wines.

What you will notice when buying Bordeaux under £10 is that most of it comes from The Gironde Department in South West France, these are generally basic Bordeaux wines that are best drunk young, that doesn't mean drinking for young people !

One final note, this wine club was selected for Marks love of Bordeaux wine (Mark of the tiny pumpkin fame) the ironic thing was he only scored 3 out of 10 in the quiz with Linda helping him.. He skimmed the email Jacqui sent, so hadn't brushed up on his Bordeaux knowledge, had no idea of the concept or theme of the evening. (Jolly poor show I say) I suppose at the end of the day, like most of us he just likes to drink it not talk about it!

Time to stick a cork in it.

Bye S x

PS Going to make pumpkin soup this weekend with my pumpkin

Fireworks !

This weekend the wine club will be hosted by Nick & Jacqui the choice is Bordeaux with a nod towards the Gunpowder Plot.
The brief from Jacqui ~

The story of Guy Fawkes and the plot to displace Protestant rule by blowing up The Houses of Parliament is a well known tale. In a nod towards the classic story of bonfire night and the struggle between the left and the right wings( we did Halloween early so why not do Bonfire Night late!)let us take the opportunity to  educate( can hear you all laughing now - since when did we learn much at our monthly meetings other than what fun a group of people can have with a few wrapped bottles of wine!) ourselves using the contrast between wines from the Left and the Right Banks of Bordeaux.

As a very broad generalization, Cabernet Sauvignon (Bordeaux's second-most planted grape variety) dominates the blend in red wines produced in the Médoc and the rest of the left bank of the Gironde estuary. Typical top-quality Chateaux blends are 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc & 15% Merlot. This is typically referred to as the "Bordeaux Blend."

 Merlot (Bordeaux's most-planted grape variety) and to a lesser extent Cabernet Franc (Third most planted variety) tend to predominate in Saint-Émilion, Pomerol and the other right bank appellations. These Right Bank blends from top-quality Chateaux are typically 70% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc & 15% Cabernet Sauvignon.

If you can't quite remember the Gunpowder Plot from your school days, ( some while ago for most of us), click the link below
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/gunpowder_robinson_01.shtml