The Edinburgh Wine Club |
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Tasting, Thursday March 15, 2007 |
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Wine |
Grape |
Country |
Supplier |
Price |
Comments |
Ranking |
| Domaine de Valmoissine 2005 Louis Latour | Pinot Noir | France (Provence, Burgundy style) |
Henderson | £8.99 | Fairly flat, light fruit. Drinkable, good value but not outstanding for P.N. Turkish delight. | |
| Nativa Carmen 2003 Organic, wild yeast | Cabernet Sauvignon (oaked) |
Chile | Henderson | £8 reduced to £6.40 |
Mint (2 comments), marshmallows. Good legs (2 comments). Big, fruity, low tannin. | Best wine of evening |
| Pirramimma 2003 McLaren Vale | Petit Verdot (oaked) |
Australia | Majestic | £10 | Light citrus nose, petrol, vanilla aftertaste. Sharp but well rounded. Rotting bananas nose, tannic. | |
| Zonte's Footstep 2006 Langhorne Creek |
Shiraz/Viognier | Australia | Somerfield | £7.99 reduced to £5.99 See note below. |
Powerful, round, cloves. Sweet, soft. Feeble nose, good with spicy food. | Third equal |
| Vacqueyras 2003 Laurence Feraud | Grenache/Syrah /Mourvedre | France (Rhone) | Majestic | £8.99 | Dry old-world flavour. Spicy. Complex but disappointing with (this) food. | Third equal |
| Lindemans 2005 Winemakers release | Shiraz/Cabernet | Australia | Scotmid | Nominally £7.99 but (b.o.g.o.f.= £4) | Strawberries. Smooth. Sweetish. Stood up to highly spiced food. | Best value |
| Heim Reserve 2004 Gewurtztraminer | Gewurztraminer (the only white wine of the evening) |
France (Alsace) | Henderson | £10 reduced to £6.75 | Light, floral. Less sweet than many GWS, goes well with every food except beetroot (though what does?). | Second |
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Note: Zonte's Footstep: The wine was favourably reviewed in a recent Guardian piece, giving Somerfield's prices. That offer was date-limited and would have expired soon after, although I haven't been back to check. However Sainsbury's now have it at the same 'reduced' £5.99. An article I read recently (by a wine expert) stated that a 'reduced' price like this is the target price for which the wine is really made. That is, it would generally be poor value at the higher price. It may of course be excellent value at the lower one. This also applies to offers such as Threshers 3-for-2 (they simply inflate the prices), though possibly not David Henderson's lines or items listed as 'bin-ends'. Food combinations: George asked me to repeat some comments here. They were simply from something I once read: that certain French red styles were harmonious with local food for more than accidental reasons. In particular, that the more tannic Bordeaux grapes (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot) combined well with rarer meat (Grilled steak and lamb) due to a chemical reaction in the mouth, while the softer low-tannin Pinot Noir of Burgundy better accompanied long-cooked casseroles (daubes) and hams. By extension, the more peppery Syrah and Grenache of the Rhone would marry with spicier, more highly flavoured food from that region. I suggest though that the wines we tried that evening which worked best with spicier food, did so partly because of their apparent sweetness. |
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