Review: Domaine Sainte Rose ‘Le Marin Blanc’ 2011

I’m a bit of a fan of Domaine Sainte Rose. Brits Charles and Ruth Simpson really know how to make tasty, accessible and keenly-priced wines from their vineyards in the Languedoc. This ‘Le Marin Blanc’ is no exception. It’s quite an unusual blend for the Languedoc – Marsanne, Roussanne and a touch of Viognier. Grapes that are more at home in the Rhone. But they have evidently travelled well.

I like DSR’s ‘Le Vent du Nord’ but for me ‘Le Marin Blanc’ is a step up. On first sniff there’s attractive melon and white peach aromas. Over time I also got some floral notes. Not being the green-fingered type I couldn’t tell you exactly what sort of flowers it smelled of but I was picturing white blossom in spring. There was also the faintest hint of honey and vanilla too. In the mouth you get a sense of very well judged acidity giving a crisp but generous palette with a long finish.

This is ‘crowd pleasing’ enough that if you take it round to a friend’s house who’s not that ‘into’ wine they will say ‘oh this is nice’ meanwhile you can sit back and enjoy the complexity. Available from Majestic priced at just £7.99 when you buy two or more.

Review: Tsantali Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

By Charlie Brown

I like Greece. No, I LOVE Greece. So much so I spent a summer there once. Great times, but I did have to stick on the beer. The wine you get in tavernas is not great – at all.

Greek wine has not enjoyed a good rep. Retsina, flavoured with resin, has a lot to answer for. As does other Greek wine clearly made somewhere far too hot and not in a favourable style – the idea of balance doesn’t seem to come into it.

However, as many wine buffs will tell you, grapes can grow pretty much anywhere and as I said in my last post, I don’t believe in good or bad regions, just good or bad wine.

So while in my local Waitrose (moving to Leigh-on-Sea in Essex has its perks, Waitrose being one of them) I picked up a bottle of Tsantali Cabernet Sauvignon. I’ve had it before, and I liked it. I had it again, and still thought it was a good drop.

What was it like?

Pretty good; though you’ve got to have a hankering for a savoury wine for this one.

On opening, there was a small amount of brettanomyces present which made the initial smells and taste pretty meaty and savoury. I’m happy with brett in small doses, it gives wine some interesting flavours. I once opened a bottle of natural wine which tasted just like parma ham. Perhaps for another post…..

Once it had opened up for half an hour or so, the fruit started to show its face. Sour cherry was the prevalent flavour. The influence of oak is in there for all to taste – not a vanilla flavour like those big Riojas but more of a herby note – in particular, thyme.

It’s a big, warm, predominantly savoury wine – reminded me of having a cuddle with a tree. Gives great wine lips too. It’s not the most complex of wines – it tasted the same the next night – but for Greek wine, it’s a winner.

What else should you know?

First, it’s organic which is almost always a plus in my book. It means that some thought has gone into the wine making process, and as a rule, wines made organically are more sustainable as they command a slightly higher price, benefitting everyone involved (even the consumer – better wine for only a little more cost).

Second, it’s from Halkidiki, a peninsula on mainland Greece, which does get pretty hot in the summer but has plenty of rain in the winter. It’s a cooler part of Greece, making it one of the easier places to grow grapes.

Third, it’s Cabernet Sauvignon which benefits from being grown in a hotter climate – those pesky Cab grapes love the sunshine and detest the cold.

Fourth, it’s great value at £8.99 from Waitrose direct, or in any Waitrose supermarket.

My recommendation would be to do as the Romans did; go forth and drink Greek wine.

Beaujolais: why you shouldn’t always follow wine fashion

By Charlie Brown

My mother in law recently dropped round an old 1970s Fanny Cradock cookery book. In it, her husband Johnnie talks about wine – and there’s a whole section on Beaujolais. Along with the 2012 Beaujolais Nouveau date just behind us, it got me thinking more about this increasingly unfashionable French wine appellation, and the parallels between it and wine fashion as a whole.

OK I’ll admit – Beaujolais has never been my favourite. Too many memories of thin, watery, astringent red wine at £3.99 from the off-license next to my uni halls. And until recently, Beaujolais Nouveau had seemed to me like a pointless exercise.

It’s not always been like this. Mr Cradock in 1970 cites:
“Beaujolais has become so popular all over the world that the demand far exceeds the supply”

So why the change? For me, it’s not the fact that Beaujolais can taste awful. Many wines taste really bad but are really popular – not least some of those over-extracted, sugary grape juice wines from the popular big-names in the new world. It’s simply to do with fashion.

Fashion can account for a lot of things. It’s why just-out-of-uni East London young things opt for bikes with no gears. Or why Longchamp have made a fortune on those quite awful looking plastic handbags.

It’s therefore often something to be taken with a pinch of salt – and it’s no different in wine.

The Gamay grape when grown well can produce great depth of flavour. In Beaujolais it can have those lovely summery flavours of strawberries and red fruits, with some great savoury notes too. And not forgetting white Beaujolais, difficult to get hold of as it only totals 1 per cent of Beaujolais’ wine production. Made from the Chardonnay grape, typical aromas include fig, melon and honey.

Beaujolais in 1970

I’m not a believer in there being good wine regions and bad wine reigons – just good and bad examples of wine from that region. Some of my favourite wines are from unfashionable regions such as Cahors or Gaillac in south France (although Gaillac seems to be having a small resurgence).

And I do really believe that good independent wine shops should, to a certain extent, disregard what’s fashionable, instead focusing on good wines from good vineyards and suppliers.

Although Beaujolais can be reasonably easy to get hold of, Beaujolais Nouveau was more of a challenge. However, the demand seems to be there 259 Hackney Road’s PUR Beaujolais Nouveau, according to their Facebook page, sold out very quickly. Lea and Sandeman also have a 2012 vintage which has just gone on sale.

Beaujolais Nouveau has a reputation for being a bit crap. However there are great ones out there – it’s light, sure, and sometimes it could have done with a few more weeks in bottle. But it’s fun – and isn’t wine meant to be a bit of fun? The French get it – with Beaujolais Nouveau is still a big deal all over the country.

Unfortunately, many Beaujolais vineyards are looking to close but the ones that do it well and do it right, are still standing.

So my recommendation would be to flout the fashion sometimes and get yourself a bottle of unfashionable wine. Just be prepared to pay a little more for the decent stuff.

Recommendations

Chateau de Raousset Fleurie
£11.89 (15% off), Joseph Barnes Wines

PUR Beaujolais Nouveau
259 Hackney Road, London

Domaine Rochette 2012 Beaujolais Villages Nouveau
£9.95, Lea and Sandeman

Tasting notes roundup

I’m a bit behind (ok, very behind) on my reviews so rather than writing a full review of each of them, here are some very brief tasting notes for some of the wines I have tasted recently in no particular order.

Sokol Blosser Evolution Red NV
Oregon, USA
Bright cherry fruit from this Pinot Noir based blend but also something dark and brooding about it. Constantly evolves in the glass with notes of chocolate/cocoa, vanilla, nutmeg, liquorice, eucalyptus and woody herbs.

Sokol Blosser Delinea 300 Pinot Noir 2009
Oregon, USA
Perfumed Bramble and cherry fruit
Leafy and faintly earthy notes
Deep but at the same time fragile colour
More restrained than the Evolution red

Sokol Blosser Evolution White NV
Oregon, USA
Highly aromatic on the nose with floral notes and peachy, grapey aromas
Quite ‘Rieslingy’
Well balanced with good acidity but a touch of residual sugar to give it some roundness

Albert Mann Riesling
Alsace, France
Great example of a textbook Alsace Riesling. Nice floral and zesty lime notes.
Touch of petrol
Great acidity tempered by a little residual sugar
Great with Tom Kha Gai

Albert Mann Gewurztraminer
Alsace, France
Powerful tropical fruit and zesty citrus aromas along with a hint of nuts
Subtle floral notes and a twist of spice
Well balanced acidity and residual sugar

Andre Stentz Gewurztraminer
Alsace, France
Aromas of Turkish delight, nuts and honey
Slight herbaceousness
Good minerality
A good dollop of residual sugar but fresh and surprisingly light on the finish

Bodegas Balcona Partal 2000
Bullas, Spain
Rich sweet cherry and vanilla oak along balanced with some pleasant meaty notes from this Monastrell dominated blend
Smooth and balanced, well integrated tannins, quite soft in the mouth

Domaine Plageoles Braucol 2010
Gaillac, France
Brambley fruit with slight vegetal/herby notes
Iron-y minerality
Nice balance of fruit and savoury

Meinklang Gruner Veltliner
Burgenland, Austria
Zesty and light, almost spritzy on the tongue
Gentle citrus aromas with good minerality
Quite low alcohol would make it a good lunchtime wine. Also good with Thai.

Jean Bousquet Malbec 2011
Mendoza, Argentina
Nice peppery black fruit but not over the top, quite restrained
Perfect balance of fruit and savoury notes

Domaine Virgile Joly Grenache Syrah 2011
Languedoc, France
Delicious brambly fruit
A touch of herbs, spice and smoke
Accessible, warm, sunny wine

Santa Teresa Nuevo Mundo Sauvignon Blanc 2011
Maipo, Chile
Powerful limey, zesty aromas along with a bit of freshly cut grass and green herbs
Well judged acidity, bit of roundness to the mouthfeel

Vina Ijalba Rioja Crianza 2008
Rioja, Spain
Ripe cherry and vanilla aromas along with nice earthy notes and a touch of cocoa and spice from this blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano

Chateau Le Maine-Martin 2006 Bordeaux Superieur
Bordeaux, France
Perfumed raspberry fruit along with a leathery, meaty edge from this blend of Merlot and Cabernet Franc

Hacienda Grimon Rioja Crianza
Rioja, Spain
Sweet black cherry fruit along with notes of spices and pencil shavings from this blend of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha and 5% Graciano
Full bodied with more pronounced tannins than I would expect in a wine of this age

Bodega Classica Montesc Rioja
Rioja, Spain
Upfront cherry fruit from this intriguing blend of 75% Crianza wine (12 months oak) and 25% Joven wine (4 mths oak)
Just a hint of toasty oak, not an oak-bomb by any means

Giol Prosecco Frizzante
Prosecco, Italy
Aromas of pear and peach from this lightly sparkling, refreshing Prosecco
Some floral notes too
Fun, easy drinking and exceptional value

Clos Puy Arnaud 2010 Cuvée Pervenche
Bordeaux, France
The grapes for this Cuvée Pervenche were grown in the Castillon Cotes de Bordeaux appellation, which shares the same soils as it’s more famous neighbour St Emilion, under the watchful eye of Thierry Valette, a former jazz musician
Intense colour, fresh and vibrant
Good fruit – blackcurrant and black cherry – along with woody notes and sweet spices
Perhaps some floral and leathery notes too
Although it is young it is drinking well right away

Ciu Ciu “Bacchus” Rosso Piceno 2010
Rosso Piceno, Italy
Bright raspberry and cherry fruit
Hints of liquorice
Simple, uncomplicated fun wine

Ollieux Romanis Alicante
Languedoc, France
Blackberry jam and a good twist of black pepper
Earthy, savoury, slightly funky notes which seem to fade after a while
Really inky colour- gives great wine lips!

Gran Cerdo 2011
Rioja, Spain
Bright cherry fruit, not clouded by oak
Floral notes along with some black pepper
Fine tannins and at the risk of using an awful chiche, very easy drinking

Chateau Rochecolombe Cotes du Rhone 2009
Cotes du Rhone, France
Ripe Morello cherry on the nose with lifted hints of pear drops
Touch of liquorice
Lingering dry finish

Jean-Paul Deville 2002 Vintage Brut Champagne
Champagne, France
Surprisingly fruity along with tingly fine bubbles – Tangfastics for grown-ups!
Slight toastyness but this is not an overly bready/yeasty Champagne
Slight nuttiness on the finish
Light, fresh
I was expecting this to be a ‘serious’ Champagne but it’s got a fun side to it
Good with a salad of roast butternut squash, ricotta and walnuts

Bodegones del Sur Juanico Cabernet Franc 2010
Uruguay
A great Uruguayan red showing a lot of complexity.
Vibrant, deep colour
Nice balance of red fruits with intriguing aromas of red peppers, olives and tomatoes
Nice herbal, leafy notes too

Review: Majestic Parcel Series Eden Valley Riesling 2006

It can be difficult to find affordable Australian Riesling in the UK so when I saw a glowing review of this £6.99 Majestic Parcel Series Eden Valley Riesling 2006 by a wine writer whose opinion I highly respect, I made a mental note to pick some up next time I was in Majestic.

Eden Valley is situated near Adelaide in south Australia. While you could argue that it is somewhat overshadowed by its neighbour – the more famous Barossa valley – Eden Valley has built a good reputation for its Rieslings. This one is bottled exclusively for Majestic and is released under their Parcel Series label.

In the glass it’s a tantalisingly rich golden colour. On the nose I instantly got well-defined lime and beeswax aromas, along with hints of honey and toast. In the mouth it has a certain roundness but is surprisingly fresh and light on the finish. Coming back to it a little later I got well-defined lime and beeswax, along with hints of honey and toast. I decided to re-taste it the next day and got well-defined lime and beeswax, along with hints of honey and toast.

Nice. But I couldn’t help thinking that it seemed a little one-dimensional. I was hoping that it would show more complexity. I think it would really impress me at a tasting, but actually sharing a bottle over the course of an evening became almost a chore.

Available online or in your local Majestic priced at £6.99 when you buy 2 or more. If you have tried it, let me know what you think of it in the comments below.

Nutbourne Vineyards (by the newest member of the Wino family)

The Wino family has grown.

Let me introduce myself – I’m Charlie Brown (seriously, that is my name) and am the wife of Sam the Wino. I’ve been wanting to contribute to this blog for a while as wine is as big a passion for me as it is for him – as our wine rack will tell you. The time has come and I’ll now be offering my own musings on bottle contents.

So, what better place to start than a write up of one of my favourite things to do – visiting an English vineyard.

Nutbourne Vineyards in Pulborough, West Sussex is a 26-hectare vineyard set in glorious English countryside, overlooking the south downs, complete with an old converted windmill tasting room. All the usual English-grown grape varieties can be found here including Bacchus, Reichensteiner and Schönburger as well as some more unusual ones such as Kerner and the mysterious ‘Experimental’ row of vines.

Owners Bridget and Peter Gladwin have owned Nutbourne since 1992. They use many of our favourite winemaking methods including handpicking grapes and unusually using seashells to filter some of their wines.

Winemaker Owen Elias oversees the process and we have to say thanks to him – the wines here are great. A fine example of how good English wines can be when made with care and attention and with terroir at their heart.

I’m not a fan of long rambling blog posts so I thought I’d choose my three favourites from the selection we tried. So, here goes:

Nutty Sparkling
Made from Pinot Noir, Reichensteiner and Chardonnay, this is a veritable party in your mouth with strong fruit and a great acidic backbone. I’m not normally a fan of sparkling wines – which I know is bad for a wine enthusiast – but I loved this one.

It had a real accessibility about it – less of the breadiness, more of the fruitiness. It would be great as an aperitif on a spring evening or with food such as cream cheese and smoked salmon blinis.

2011 Bacchus
Ah Bacchus, my love. It’s my favourite  grape variety found in England. This one recently won a well deserved silver at the International Wine and Spirits Challenge.

Typical elderflower and English hedgerow flavours show through first, followed by some tropical fruit. This tropical note would make it a great wine for grassy Sauvignon Blanc lovers. The acidity is there but the wine is balanced, meaning drinking a whole bottle wouldn’t be much of a challenge. Good news for the Brown household.

A fragrant chicken salad peppered with coriander, lime and ginger (hold the chilli, it will overpower) would be a perfect food accompaniment.

Sussex Reserve
Sussex Reserve is a blend of Bacchus, Huxelrebe and Schönburger. The blend makes this a complex and aromatic wine. The palate is more full-bodied than the Bacchus but still retains a crispness on the finish.

Drink with fish – the fruitiness would really compliment a dish like haddock with an orange rind crust.

Nutbourne also stocks a rose called Blush which is summery and light and Hedgerow which has a little more residual sugar in its midst.

A great day, a great selection of wines and a very happy Charlie.

You can buy Nutbourne wines direct from their website.

Review: Tilimuqui Single Vineyard Torrontes 2011

Although I don’t normally buy wines on special offer in supermarkets, when I saw this Tilimuqui Single Vineyard 2011 Torrontés on offer in Waitrose the other day I had to pick up a bottle. I reviewed the Tilimuqui Cabernet Sauvignon Bonarda last year and was impressed, so I was keen to see how the Torrontés matched up.

It is produced in the region of La Rioja (not that Rioja…) by La Riojana, Argentina’s leading Fairtrade co-operative. Essentially what this means is that they ensure a fair price for lots of small growers who on their own could not produce a commercially viable product. La Riojana has a real commitment to sustainability; not only financial sustainability for their growers but also environmental sustainability. They have been certified Organic since 2000 and have recently implemented a carbon-neutral initiative. It scores very highly on the ‘feel good’ factor then.

But what about the wine itself? Well, in the glass it’s a very bright pale straw colour with an ever so slightly greenish tinge. Looks fresh and inviting. Give it a sniff and you’ll get a big hit of pineapple, orange zest and some really nice floral notes, reminiscent of springtime blossom. Stick your nose right in there and you might pick up a slightly spicy note too. In the mouth it shows good acidity but a slightly rounded mouthfeel takes the edge off any harshness. I’d say it’s had some time on its fine lees but however the roundness came about it makes the wine a pleasure to drink.

Torrontés is Argentina’s signature white grape and is understandably rapidly gaining popularity. It is more than a match for spicy food and I’d recommend trying this one with south Indian or Thai. Sadly the special offer has now ended but it is still available online or in store at Waitrose priced at a very reasonable £7.49.

Sharpham Vineyard

There are few better ways of spending a sunny day than in a vineyard. There’s something about wandering through vines that is so special, and it’s not just the promise of wine at the end!

Sharpham Vineyard, near Totnes in Devon, is stunningly beautiful. Set on a picturesque steep hillside overlooking the river Dart, it is a 80 hectare estate, although only 6 hectares are given over to vines. Most of the rest is taken up by their herd of dairy cows, who were moooved (sorry) down here from their original home in Essex – my home county –  many years ago.

So this place makes wine and cheese. I think I am in heaven.

A wander through the vines reveals that they have extensive plantings of Madeline Angevine, along with several other varieties including Pinot Noir, Dornfelder and Phoenix; a variety I have not come across before. Sharpham have also built up relationships with other grape growers in order to source other varieties that they are not able to grow themselves. It is clear that they take a very hands-on approach in the vineyard, and although they are not Organic, they only spray when absolutely necessary. What the French would call ‘lutte raisonee’

I was fortunate enough that the MD, Mark Sharman, took me through a tasting of all their wines. He admitted that being the MD, he no longer gets much time to do this sort of thing anymore, but it’s clear that he is very passionate about their wines and his enthusiasm is infectious.

Always best to start with the bubbles.

Sharpham’s Sparkling White is made from a blend of Pinot Blanc and Seyval Blanc. I have to admit I am not normally a huge fan of Seyval but in this blend it works well. A very light, fresh and zesty wine that would be a great aperitif. Sharpham have only been making sparkling wine for a few years but they have obviously got to grips with it very quickly.

Whilst I enjoyed the Sparkling White, the Sparkling Reserve was, even better. It’s a blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. A palish straw colour with the slightest green tinge. The purity of fruit really shows through here as it has not been overpowered by excessive yeasty lees influence. In the mouth it has very fine bubbles and fresh acidity. Yum.

Last of their sparkling wines was the Sparkling Pink. Mark told me how they debated how to package it and in the end decided to go all out on a garish bright pink label and foil. To me, pink fizz is a fun drink and I think they made the right decision. The wine itself is actually quite a delicate salmon pink colour, which comes from a small amount of Pinot Noir skin contact. It is fresh, fun and summery with hints of strawberry.

Onto the whites. Mark explained that their Estate Selection 100% Madeline Angevine was the first wine they made and it is clear that it is very special to him. Rightly so. It’s fantastic. I don’t recall ever having a 100% Madeline Angevine before, but I have to say this was a revelation. On the nose you get elderflower, so typical of English wine, but there’s incredible tropical fruit aromas too. A herbaceous note too. Delicious. Great with the local crab too, so I am told.

Their Dart Valley white is a blend of Madeline Angevine and Phoenix. They describe it as off-dry but it only has 4g/l residual sugar, so it is certainly not overpoweringly sweet. It is very aromatic on the nose, almost reminiscent of a Riesling or Gewurztraminer. Again there is some tropical fruit, along with a nuttiness on the finish. It would go great with Thai feasts.

Next up was one that I have tasted before, the Barrel Fermented Madeleine Angevine. Reminiscent of white Burgundy in style, it has quite a rich, creamy texture. Delicate stone fruit on the nose along with notes of almond on the finish. The 2010 has a lot of life left in it and it woud be interesting to see how it develops in bottle over a few years.

Last of the whites was their Bacchus, the quintessential English wine. The grapes are not grown on the estate, but at another vineyard in East Anglia. On the nose there is a big hit of elderflower and hints of green apple. Light, fresh and summery.

The Whole Berry Rosé was a real revelation. Produced entirely from Dornfelder it’s an intense strawberry pink colour. It’s quite a weighty rosé with real intensity of strawberry fruit aromas and a rounded mouthfeel. There’s just a touch of residual sugar, but it feels well balanced.

As their 2009 Pinot Noir (one of my favourite English reds) has all sold out and the next vintage hasn’t been bottled yet, the only red on tasting was their Summer Red, made from Rondo grapes. Although it has quite intense colour it is, as the name suggests, quite light in the mouth. Attractive cherry aromas are complimented by subtle hints of oak. Soft and long in the mouth, it could probably handle being served slightly chilled if you so desire.

After a tour of the winery, Mark gave me a sneak preview of the new Pinot Noir straight from the tank. It’s surprisingly full-bodied with elegant tannins and intense cherry aromas. Can’t wait to get my hands on a bottle of it.

Review: Brazin (B)old vine Zinfandel 2009

On the spur of the moment I picked up this Brazin (B)old vine Zinfandel 2009 from Waitrose the other day, having seen Olly Smith recommend it on Twitter earlier in the day. Regular readers may have noticed that although I am a lover of the more restrained styles of old world wines, I am still a sucker for a Californian Zinfandel.

Ok, first thing’s first this is not a subtle wine to pontificate over for hours. It’s a hefty 15% alcohol and when you stick your nose in the glass the aromas positively leap out at you. This is a Big Wine. Bucket loads of jammy dark fruits along with dollops of chocolate and coffee. The time spent in American and French oak has lent the wine aromas of vanilla and smoke too.

There’s a lot to like about this wine; it’s full of big, mouth-filling flavours. However it is tinged by the somewhat ‘obvious’ wine-making style that’s so prevalent in California; It’s big and bold but ultimately a bit predictable. At £9.99, it would make a good accompaniment to a meaty midweek pizza or a BBQ but I’d also suggest seeking out wines from other Californian winemakers that make less obvious, more terroir-driven wines.

Louis Sipp Alsace tasting

A couple of nights ago I had the pleasure of attending a tasting of Alsace producer Louis Sipp’s wines at Amathus in central London. I thought I would share my thoughts of this great tasting with you, dear reader.

The night was presented by Etienne Sipp, the 4th generation winemaker of the family. His first career was as a chemist. However when he joined the family business of winemaking he decided that he wanted to leave chemistry behind, so he converted the vineyard to organics and persued a low-intervention philosophy in the winery. His aim is to produce wines that express terroir  and vintage variation. Louis Sipp now comprises of 40 hectares of vineyards around the village of Ribeauvillé including sites in 2 Grand Cru villages, growing all traditional Alsace varieties (for fact fans, that’s Auxerrois, Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Sylvaner).

The tasting started with the Louis Sipp Cremant d’Alsace NV sparkling wine. It’s a blend of equal parts of Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois and Chardonnay with the remaining 10% being Pinot Noir. As the grapes are naturally low in malic acid, the wine did not undergo malolactic fermentation. I’m not sure if that was the reason but it was certainly very fresh and light bodied. A great aperitif.

Next up was the Louis Sipp Riesling “Nature’S” 2008. Etienne created the Nature’S range to emphasise the organic methods and although they started organic farming in 2005, this one from 2008 was the first vintage that was certified organic. Etienne said that since moving to organics the fruit is laughing. And I think it shows through in the wine. There’s a wonderful freshness. Stone fruit and possibly a hint of hay on the nose. Good acidity and a long finish.

Next up was the Louis Sipp Pinot Gris “Nature’S” 2008. I love pairing Alsace wines with spicy food and this Pinot Gris was matched perfectly with a (rather good) chicken tikka from The Red Fort. Aromatic with a hint of pear on the nose, it has a bit of residual sugar that gives it quite a rich texture and the ability to handle spice, but there’s enough acidity to give it balance.

From the same range as the Riesling and the Pinot Gris, the Louis Sipp Gewurztraminer “Nature’S” 2009 was everything I love about Alsace Gewurztraminer. An aromatic nose of rose petals and lychees. Just a touch of sweetness on the palette. Really nice. It could more than handle some spiced spinach & fenugreek patties filled with cheddar, onion and coriander.

Next we were treated to a back-to-back tasting of Louis Sipp Grand Cru Kirchberg Rieslings, one from 2008 and one from 1999. The 2008 had green apple freshness and a chalky minerality, whereas the 1999 was richer with a hint of beeswax. Possibly a bit of honey too. A real treat.

The main course of spiced roasted rabbit was matched with the Louis Sipp Pinot Noir “Nature’S” 2009. Although I was in the minority on this, I didn’t think it could quite handle the (admittedly pretty intense) chilli. Alsace Pinot Noirs are relatively rare so I haven’t tried that many but this was the best one I’ve tasted. Sweet red cherry on the nose with quite a crunchy texture. Possibly a slightly (pleasant) medicinal note too.

The tasting ended with the Louis Sipp Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives 2007. Etienne explained that although it is a late harvest wine, the grapes are actually picked earlier than you might expect to retain freshness. Typically Gewurztraminer aromas of rose petals and tropical fruits were a good match for a dessert of mango Kulfi. Although it is a sweet wine it’s not as sticky as some and it’s got good acidity leaving your palette refreshed rather than being cloying.

Apologies if this post sounds a bit over enthusiastic but I really think these wines are something special. Check them out for yourself at Amathus.