January Wine of the Month

I wasn’t sure if I would do a Wine of the Month for January as typically I don’t drink in January. However, this year in January, there have been five occasions during which I haven’t managed to resist a tipple and I have tasted about 20 wines! A couple stood out as really stunning, including the Canadian Icewine I was telling you about yesterday.

A wine that brightened up my January!

However, my vote goes to a Spanish Rioja red wine which we tried whilst Jane was practising her recipes for the Tongham Tapas Fiesta which is being held on February 12th. This good value wine at just a tad under £10 from Marks and Spencer really wowed me with its powerful balance of berry fruits, vanilla and an underlying earthiness.  My score for this wine was 17 out of 20. Which Rioja? I hear you ask. The answer is Marques del Romeral Reserva 2005. As you will discover if coming to our Tongham Tapas Fiesta, a reserva Rioja is one that has been kept for two years in oak barrels and a further year in the bottle prior to release. If you like Spanish wines pop along to M&S and buy some of this, or pick up a one of the few remaining tickets for our Tapas Fiesta where we’ll be tasting another 7 Spanish wines, along with 12 Tapas dishes. Great value for £22.50 a head. If you want a ticket ring me on 07717 876743.

Icewine and Haggis!

My thanks to a column by Beppi Crosariol in the The Globe and Mail for suggesting that Icewine would go well with haggis. It sounds like an odd couple but it really works!

Haggis, Neeps and Tatties

At our local Burns Night supper we tried 3 different drinks with our haggis; a whisky, a French Cabernet Franc Bourgueuil and a Canadian Icewine. Although traditional, personally I don’t like to drink whisky with haggis as it is too alcoholic, although it does make nice gravy to pour on top. I was expecting great things of the Cabernet Franc pairing but it didn’t really work either. So finally we brought out the icewine, nicely chilled. Wow! This was a match made in heaven. The sweetness, acidity and fruity flavours of the icewine enhanced the haggis no end whilst the haggis didn’t spoil the flavours of the icewine. Ten out of ten Beppi. Do try this the next time you have haggis and you will be amazed.

So what is icewine? Icewine from Canada or eiswein from Germany is made from grapes that are picked and pressed whilst frozen. This results in amazing concentration of the grape juice as the water captured in the ice does not go into the wine. In a way it is similar to what happens with Noble Rot. Due to the low yields the resulting wine is always expensive.

So what wine did we drink with our haggis? It was a Jackson-Triggs Proprietor’s Reserve 2005 Vidal Icewine from the Niagara Peninsula in Canada. We sourced it from Winedirectco.uk for £16.50 a half bottle. This is actually quite cheap for icewine but an absolutely delicious introduction.

For me it just goes to show that you can be adventurous with wine and food pairings and that it is not always intuitive.  Certainly, it is another example of how sweet wine can match very well with savoury dishes.  For other sweet / savoury pairings go to my recent blog on Bordeaux Sweet White Wines.

If you want a savoury recipe that goes well with Icewine why not try my duck with orange sauce recipe which is very easy to make.

We'll be pack with some other fun food and wine pairings in the next few weeks.

TonghamTaster’s French Wine Tasting Course – week 5 Bordeaux Sweet Whites

The 12 month on-line course to help you learn about French wines - Top tips on how to get value when buying them - Reasonably priced up-to-date recommendations of what to buy and try in the UK - Bringing you the best of Tongham Village Hall wine tastings.

INTRODUCTION
Nearly 90% of wine produced in Bordeaux is red but the region is also very well known for its sweet wine wines, especially Sauternes.

LOCALITY
Most of Bordeaux’s better sweet white wine is produced on the left bank below Bordeaux near the Graves region. The best are produced in the undulating hills close to where the cooler Ciron river merges with the warmer Garonne. This terroir produces the early morning mists that leads to the noble rot. Other sweet wines are produced in the Entre-Deux-Mers region we discovered last week but with different AOCs on the label which we will discuss below.

Chateau d'Yquem in Sauternes

VARIETALS
The main white grapes grown in Bordeaux for sweet wines in order of preference are the Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle grape varieties. The Semillon grape is particularly valued because of its thin skin that makes it susceptible to noble rot or botrytis. Noble rot is a mould that shrivels the grape up until it is almost raisin like and leaves the grape juice as a very concentrated liquid.

THE WINES

Bottles of Sauternes and Cadillac

The two most famous Bordeaux AOCs for sweet wines are Sauternes and Barsac. These were classified back in 1855 and the top wine was Chateau d’Yquem and others were given the right to put Grand Cru Classé on the label. I remember asking my mum back in 1976 what her favourite wine was, as I thought I might buy her a bottle for Christmas. Unfortunately, having worked in the wine trade, she replied Chateau D’Yquem and at that time the £16 price per half bottle was completely out of my price range. It would seem quite a bargain now but the price of good sweet wines can still be off putting. However, there are less expensive and but still potentially good, sweet AOCs on the left bank such as Cerons and Loupiac.

In the Entre-Deux-Mers region just on the other side of the Garonne river from Barsac and Sauternes you get the sweet appellations Cadillac, St Croix du Mont. and Premières Côtes de Bordeaux. These can be well priced and thus variable but in a good year or from a good producer are well worth trying.

The better wines will improve with age and after 10 to 15 years will be at their peak.

THE TASTE
The taste of sweet white Bordeaux can vary in terms of use of oak, the richness and proportion of the different grape varieties. The weather also makes a difference as a successful end product depends on the early morning mists to cause the noble rot and sunny afternoons to ripen the grapes. A really good wine will demonstrate a rich, perhaps honeyish sweetness but cut through with an amazing acidity to create the balance any good wine requires. Many people think they don’t like sweet wine but when they try a good Sauternes or Barsac they are thrilled by the acidic balance. It is no surprise that many of my wine friends actually profess to liking Sauternes more than any other wine.

TOP TIPS
• A darker more golden colour can often distinguish a better sweet Bordeaux wine. Remember, sweet Bordeaux are sold in clear not green bottles so that you can really see the colour before you buy.
• Don’t just drink sweet Bordeaux with pudding or other deserts. They go equally well with many savoury food pairings.

HOMEWORK
For your homework this week you need to buy and try any sweet white Bordeaux which might include one of my recommendations below. Most of these wines are sold in half bottles and this is often sufficient. Do try with different foods to really get excited about the food pairing possibilities.

Waitrose – Waitrose in partnership by Chateau Suduiraut 2006 –Sauternes – about £14 a half bottle
or, Tesco – Tesco’s finest Sauternes 2004/5 – about £13 a half bottle.
or if feeling flush, Oddbins – Chateau Filhot 1999 Sauternes – about £19 a half bottle.
or, if on a budget, Sainsbury’s – Premières Côtes de Bordeaux – about £4 a half bottle.
or, if on a budget and you want a whole bottle, Tesco - Premières Côtes de Bordeaux - about £7.

FOOD PAIRINGS

Tandoori chicken makes an unusual but effective pairing

Starters –The classic starter pairing for Sauternes or similar wines is Foie Gras. The sweetness goes rather well and is the liquid equivalent of a sweet chutney. However, if you don’t like Foie Gras or want to be more adventurous why not try with a spicy Tempura starter or even tandoori chicken. A sweet Bordeaux can be an amazing wine pairing for lightly spiced food as it gives you an incredible afterburn across your palate that is really unusual. Crab and other seafood can also work well.  For more information about the tempura pairing click on this link Tempura, Tempura!

Main Courses – The classic main course pairing for Sweet Bordeaux is duck a l’orange. The orange flavour makes it a great pairing and the acidity of a Sauternes can cut through the fatness of the duck. This is another you must-try. Duck breast with orange sauce is really easy to cook if you follow the recipe that accompanies this blog. If this isn’t your cup of tea then try with some lightly spiced Indian food – Tandoori or Tikka chicken both work well.

Cheese – One of the best pairings for Sauternes is Roquefort Cheese. You might also want to experiment with other favourite blue cheeses or even hard mature cheeses. Experiment – it's fun.

Desserts – Most desserts other than chocolate work with Sauternes. If you are a chocoholic then try a white chocolate and orange dessert, perhaps served with Langue de Chat biscuits. Probably the classics are Crème Brulee or fruit tarts or orange pudding. However, why not try with cheesecake or a baked apple with cinnamon.

COMING SOON
Next week we continue our wine tour of France by visiting the Loire Valley. Whereas Bordeaux wines are dominated by blends, most Loire wines are single grape varietals…….
If you missed the early weeks of this course, it is not too late to catch up - just click on the link below:
Week One – Bordeaux Basics
Week Two – Right Bank Bordeaux Reds
Week Three – Left Bank Bordeaux Reds
Week Four – Dry White Bordeaux

Tongham Duck with Orange Sauce Recipe

Tongham Duck with Orange Reduction (makes a meal for two).

This is a great recipe and much easier than most traditional duck a l’orange recipes. You do not need an oven and you can do this with boneless duck breasts rather than a whole duck. Also no need for ingredients like marmalade which add to the cost.

Shopping List
2 Large Duck breasts off the bone but with skin on.
2 Juicy Oranges
About 250ml of fresh Chicken Stock

Store Cupboard Ingredients Required (check before you go shopping)
Dijon Mustard
Brown Sugar
Piment d’Espellette or Chilli Powder
Sea salt
Black Pepper

Step 1 – Starting the Sauce
First start the sauce by zesting or grating the skin (without pith) off of two oranges. Reserve this for later. Then halve the oranges and squeeze into a small saucepan. Add about 2 teaspoons of sugar and a heaped teaspoon of Dijon mustard.

Step 2 – Preparing the Duck Breasts
Take both the duck breasts, dry on kitchen paper and score the skin deeply in a diamond pattern. Then season them both with plenty of freshly ground pepper and a little salt.

Step 3 – Cooking the Sauce
Take the saucepan of orange juice and bring to a rolling boil. Continue boiling until it has reduced by about one half.  Then add about the same quantity of chicken stock to the reduced orange juice and again bring to the boil and reduce by about a half. At this point start cooking the duck.  Taste and season the sauce as required with the chilli, salt and pepper. Taste again and adjust seasoning until satisfied. Add the orange zest and keep the sauce warm while cooking the duck.

Step 4 – Cooking the Duck
Pre-heat a frying pan to a high temperature and then put the duck breasts in skin side down and cook without turning for up to 7 minutes dependig on the breast size. Then turn the heat off and cover the pan. Leave to continue cooking and resting for a further 10 minutes.

Step 5 (optional) – Finishing the Sauce
If not worried about presentation you can serve the sauce as it is but if you want something more professional pass through a sieve or blitz in a Thermomix or food processor for one minute.

Step 6 – Plating Up
Take the duck breasts and carve into thick slices at a slight angle. Arrange each duck breast onto a plate and pour the sauce over the top. Add any vegetables and serve. Enjoy!



Duck with orange sauce and mash served with a Sweet Bordeaux wine

 Serving Suggestion – This goes well with my potato, parsnip and little gem mash. Take a 50/50 mixture of potatoes and parsnips and cut into pieces suitable for boiling (not too small). Put into a saucepan and cover with water and then bring to a boil and continue cooking until ready for mashing. Mash well and then add a little gem lettuce (or part of it) which has been sliced. Mash the lettuce, causing some wilting, into the parsnips and potatoes and then add seasoning and stir.

Alternative – This sauce also works well with pork, or why not try with chicken.

Wine Pairing - This will pair very well with Sauternes or other sweet Bordeaux wines.

TonghamTaster’s French Wine Tasting Course – week 4 - Bordeaux Dry Whites

The 12 month on-line course to help you learn about French wines - Top tips on how to get value when buying them - Reasonably priced up-to-date recommendations of what to buy and try in the UK - Bringing you the best of Tongham Village Hall wine tastings.


INTRODUCTION
Nearly 90% of wine produced in Bordeaux is red but as Bordeaux is such a large producing region we cannot ignore the whites. Next week we will cover the famous sweet white wines such as Sauternes, and this week we will learn about the dry whites.

LOCALITY

Vineyard in the Graves area with Sauternes in the distance

Bordeaux is near the Atlantic Coast and thus the Bordelais  need a dry white wine to go with the seafood and abundant river fish of the area, even if they don’t normally fetch the same prices as other Bordeaux wines. If you ever go to Bordeaux do try the eel which is a local delicacy – it was something I really enjoyed when I went there, although as it is often cooked in red wine it can go with a red wine pairing as well.

VARIETALS

 White Grapes growing in the Graves AOC

The main white grapes grown in Bordeaux are Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon and most Bordeaux dry whites are a blend of the two. Sauvignon Blanc can bring the classic gooseberry or citrus flavours but also grass and cats' pee. Semillon also brings grassy tastes, honey and a heavier oily texture which cuts the acidity of the Sauvignon Blanc. The third main white grape in Bordeaux is Muscadelle which normally is a smaller portion of the blend. Muscadelle brings a grapey taste to wine.

THE WINES

The two main dry white producing areas are Entre-Deux-Mers and Graves/Pessac Leognan. You will also find white wines under the generic AOC Bordeaux label. The wines of the generic appellation and Entre-Deux-Mers tend to be relatively cheap and unexceptional, but they are improving. The whites of Pessac Leognan and sometimes Graves can be gems. However, some of these gems can be quite pricey. There are other lesser known dry white Bordeaux appellations including Premieres Cotes de Blaye which contains the bland Ugni Blanc grape as well, but you will rarely see these wines in the UK or in French supermarkets. Most white Bordeaux are for drinking young but the finer Pessac Leognan can age well.

THE TASTE

The taste of dry white Bordeaux varies from a basic dry wine, through to something fresh and full of flavour, and on to some interesting complex wines. It depends on the price you are willing to pay. Due to the blend with Semillon the white Bordeaux are different to the Loire Sauvignon Blancs and depending on your taste you may find this a good or bad thing. For foodies this adds some interesting complexity for wine and food pairings.

TOP TIPS

• You can tell dry from sweet white Bordeaux as normally the dry is sold in green bottles and the sweet wines in clear bottles. Otherwise the dryness or sweetness may not be obvious to someone who is not familiar with French AOCs.
• The white wines from the Graves and Pessac-Leognan appellations tend to be more consistently good than those from the Entre-Deux-Mers and generic AOC Bordeaux appellations.

HOMEWORK
For your homework this week you need to buy and try any dry white Bordeaux which might include one of my recommendations below:

Waitrose – Chateau Saint Jean des Graves 2008 –Graves – about £9
or if feeling flush, Waitrose – Chateau Tour-Leognan 2008, Pessac Leognan – about £14 (link)
or if you want something cheaper, Waitrose –Dourthe Grands Terroirs 2009 – about £6 (link)
or look out for AOC Bordeaux or Entre Deux Mers in your favourite supermarket or wine shop.

FOOD PAIRINGS

 
Have these dry white Bordeaux wines with fish or seafood. Why not try with trout baked in the oven?

COMING SOON
Next week we discover the sweet wines of Bordeaux with a particular emphasis on adventurous food pairings.
If you missed the early weeks of this course, it is not too late to catch up
Week One – Bordeaux Basics
Week Two – Right Bank Bordeaux Reds
Week Three – Left Bank Bordeaux Reds

What is the definition of Fine Wine?

Yesterday, one of the Tongham Tasters asked me what the definition of Fine Wine is. This set me thinking as to what the real definition is, as I have seen it used in a number of contexts. A bit of research quickly showed that there was no generally agreed definition of fine wine but that definitions tended to fall into 4 main camps:


1. INVESTMENT WINE
Very often now days the words Fine Wine are used to denominate those wines that are worth investing in. However, as Fine Wines must have existed before wines looked like a good bet to invest in, this doesn’t appear to be a very satisfactory definition. Another problem with this definition is that investment wines are mainly from Bordeaux which suggests that they are few other Fine Wines in the World. I was very pleased to see in the Financial Times the other day that Fine Wine Investment is now not looking particularly good as an effective investment diversification strategy – perhaps prices will start coming down.

2. WINES ABOVE A CERTAIN PRICE
Many retailers tend to use price as a definition of Fine Wines ie Fine Wines are any wine above say £15 or £30. There was quite a rumpus recently when someone suggested that Fine Wine was anything above £10, but for most consumers who normally get 2 or 3 bottles for that price it is a potential definition. I certainly know many people who would never spend over £15 on a bottle of wine so again that leads to another possible definition. One of the problems with the price break definition is that it is not generally agreed and will change over time.

3. WINES OF A CERTAIN QUALITY
Many people use Fine Wines to describe wines of very good quality ie. those that have a good nose, a good taste, great balance and length etc. Very often included in these criteria will be the ability of the wine to improve with age and last for say 10 years or more. However, this is quite subjective and what about producers who produce a good wine every now and again or only in a good year? Occasionally, a relatively cheap wine can be as good as the famous wines of the world but does this make it a Fine Wine?

4. WINES THAT COME FROM RECOGNISED PRODUCERS IN CERTAIN REGIONS AND ARE CONSISTENTLY GOOD AND THUS DEMAND A PREMIUM
If we discount all of the suggestions above but combine the best parts of every one of them, what do we get? Essentially, a fine wine is a wine that demands a premium price because it comes from a producer that is consistently good and aims to produce a quality wine that does not need to be drunk young and is aimed at connoisseurs rather than a product aimed for the mass market and is from a wine region that is regarded as producing excellent wines such as Bordeaux or Burgundy and in more recent times California.  

If we include this last definition in a general classification of wine for Tongham Tasters, what to we get.

1. Plonk – those wines that we would prefer not to drink and are only good for bringing to parties where the host doesn’t see what we have brought along.
2. Everyday wines – the sort of wines we drink everyday and are not so expensive so as to blow our budget.
3. Weekend wines – those wines we might serve at a dinner party or if we cook a special recipe at the weekend with quality ingredients.
4. Special Occasion wines – Those wines we might serve for a birthday or anniversary or other celebration or if we really want to impress someone.
5. Fine Wines – Those wines that we rarely have as we can’t really afford them and where the prices have become inflated because of investors and increased demand from the nouveau riche of Russia and China.

At our Tongham Tasters' events we tend to have a mix of everyday wines and weekend wines.  This way we all get to discover the bargains and good value wines.

Report on our January Tongham Taster’s Get-Together

Italian themed food by Steve

Our first event of the New Year was hosted by Steve and Hazel and had an Italian theme both in terms of the wine and food. Steve had home-baked some authentic Ciabatta bread and also some pizza dough for lovely mini pizzas. Along with some olive oil, fresh tomato dips and the usual crudités this provided the food for our fun evening of wine tasting. We had four wines from Northern Italy where Steve had travelled extensively in his salesman days and two from Sicily. As usual we tasted all of the wines blind but prior to each one Steve regaled us with a story about how he had been introduced to each one.

As usual we conducted our extensive testing of each wine by looking at it, sniffing it and tasting it for taste, body, balance, length and general quaffability. For the evening there were nine of us and eight submitted their detailed score which are quoted below for each wine in the order John E, Jane, Ian, John S, Sheila, Steve S, Clive, Steve W. So how did Steve’s wine choice fare under this intense scrutiny and which ones fared the best?

1. Valdo Prosecco Extra Dry Marco Oro – Sainsbury – £7.99
Six of our nine tasters voted this their best wine of the evening. Jane thought it represented bubbly kisses in a bottle. Clive could detect Bramley apples, Ian thought it had good body and length whilst John S found a hint of liquorice. It had quite a strong initial fizz but with small bubbles. This was the second month in a row that the team had liked one of Sainsbury’s Prosecco range. Scores on the doors out of 20 were 14, 18, 14.5, 15, 16, 15, 17, 12.

2. Canti Merlot 2009, Sicilia – Tesco - £6.29
Three of our tasters voted this their best wine of the evening and another five the runner-up. The grape variety confused us for a while until John came up with Merlot. Jane thought it had an aroma of Chocolate and Cherries whilst Ian got childhood memories of Hero Black Cherry jam. Steve S thought this a very good wine but for Steve W who had bought the wine it was the opposite of what he had been expecting.. It certainly was a dry red. Scores were 15.5, 17, 14, 16, 14, 14.5, 17, 14.

3. Pinot Grigio Forte Alte 2010 Dolomiti – Waitrose – £5.32
With the top two wines being the clear favourites, the Pinot Grigio came next as four voted it their bronze medal winner. It had a lovely peachy and floral aroma but some of the team thought it lacked a little acidity. Scores were 11-, 13, 13.5, 14, 9, 10, 15, 12. Probably a safe choice for Pinot Grigio lovers.

4. La Gioiosa Pinot Grigio Blush Veneto 2009 – Tesco – £6.99
This wine got one person’s silver medal and two person’s bronze medals but it got a very mixed reaction overall. For Hazel it was a warm your body BBQ wine and Clive thought it very quaffable. The team was split on whether the fruit aromas were syrupy strawberry or galia melon. Scores for this wine were 11.5-, 7, 7.5, 15, 11, 9, 14, 12. So it seems this is wine which  people react to very differently.

5. Tesco’s Finest Gavi - £7.99
Made with Cortese grapes Gavi is the in white wine at the moment and two of the team had as their third best wine of the evening and another 5 their fourth best wine. This was a great looking and very clear wine which proved itself a good wine to pair with food. After much debate we decided that the principle taste was elderflower with a marmalade bouquet. John E said he liked the extra acidity compared to the Pinot Grigio white. Wine scoring went 11.5+, 12, 11, 10, 9, 10, 11, 9. An unexceptional but safe wine.

6. Inycon Nero D’Avola Frappato 2009 Sicilia – Waitrose – 6.49
Although the Sicilian Merlot did very well, the Sicilian wine made with the local Nero D’Avola grapes did less well. Although one person had it as their bronze medal winner, a resounding five had it as their least favourite wine of the evening. The reason for this was that, although it has a great start when you put it in your mouth, it disappeared to nothing almost immediately and had no linger. It had quite a lot of tannin and appeared to need food. A very purple wine, the aromas were of tobacco, nutmeg, coffee and dark chocolate. Due to the poor length the scores were 7.5+, 10, 10, 9.5, 9, 10.5, 8, 9.

Thus nearly ended a really good evening that was probably one of our best Tongham Tasters yet. Some of us then started tasting the Olive Oil and Tesco’s Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain got a big thumbs-up – very green in colour and fruity in taste. Great for dipping bread into and very reasonably priced. Then the conversation went totally off food and wine altogether.

John S volunteered to provide the wine for our April evening and we might expect some South African wines to creep in then. However, next in the firing line is Clive who is buying for our next event on Thursday February 17th. The evening cost our 9 participants just £5.48 each, which as we all put £10 in the pot, leaves us a growing kitty for something special later in the year. If you want to have a fun wine tasting evening for a maximum of £10, do join us at one of future events:

Thursday 17th February – Clive’s wines
Thursday 10th March – Steve S’s wines
Thursday 14th April – John S’s wines

If you want to join in the fun, just email us at tonghamtaster@gmail.com. We really welcome new members. If you want more details, request them by email or ring John on 07717 876743.

Thanks to everyone for turning up in a month when, supposedly, three of us are not drinking!

TonghamTaster's Wine Tasting Course Week 3 – Bordeaux Left Bank Reds

The 12 month on-line course to help you learn about French wines - Top tips on how to get value when buying them - Reasonably priced up-to-date recommendations of what to buy and try in the UK - Bringing you the best of Tongham Village Hall wine tastings.

Introduction

Evidence of our research!

For our third week we are on to some of the best red wines in the world – the wonderful Medocs from above Bordeaux and my favourite Graves from below Bordeaux. These are the wonderful Cabernet Sauvignon blends that the rest of the world from Australia to Chile and California try to copy.

Locality
These wines are from the left bank of the Gironde estuary and Garonne river above and below the city of Bordeaux.

Varietals
The left bank wines tend to be dominated by Cabernet Sauvignon, although some Chateaux and appellations also contain a significant amount of Merlot. Other grape varieties that are allowed and used include Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot.

Not all the wines will have their grape varietals on the label; if not visit the website of the Chateau and you may get more detail.

 The Wines

Where better to start than the Haut Medoc which covers the area from St Estephe south to Bordeaux. This area contains many of Bordeaux’s most famous Chateau and all but one of the 1855 classification of classed growths. This classification was based on wine prices at the time and tried to determine the best left bank wines. Because the quality of wine is at least partly determined by position of the vineyard it is still relevant today. Haut Medoc is an AOC itself but its general area also contains many other famous AOCs such as Pauillac, Margaux, St Julien, Listac-Medoc, Moulis en Medoc and St Estephe. These wines can be magnificent but often expensive and need ageing to be at their best. North of the Haut Medoc is the Medoc which tend to be wines of slight lower quality.

Most of the Cru Classe wines tend to be irrelevant to the normal wine drinker due to their inflated prices which can be hundreds of pound a bottle. However, this region can still be of interest to us and good quality and value can be had from the Cru Bourgeois designation which is on the labels of over 200 Medoc Chateaux. As usual it is a guide that cannot be totally relied on but I find that you usually get reasonable value for the price from most Cru Bourgeois wines. The designation includes top examples such as Chateau Chasse-Spleen which are rated Cru Bourgeois Exceptionnels, through examples like Chateau Maucaillou which are rated Cru Bourgeois Superieurs, to examples such as Chateau Haut Canteloup which are just labelled Cru Bourgeois. You will find examples of Cru Bourgeois in wine shops such as Majestic and occasionally in the supermarkets, most notably Waitrose which has an excellent selection of French wines.

The other main area of left bank Bordeaux reds is the area south of Bordeaux. This is the gravelly area called Graves. Most of the top expensive wines from here come from the AOC Pessac-Leognan which is the area very close to the city and suburbs of Bordeaux and contains the classed growth Chateau Haut-Brion. There are also 16 Grand Cru Classe de graves within the Pessac Leognan appellation which date from a 1950’s classification rather than the main 1855 classification. The other wines, outside of Pessac-Leognan, are just classified AOC Graves. Whereas the Medoc region produces almost entirely red wines, the Grave regions also produces white and also sits very close to the sweet white producing areas of Sauternes and Barsac. The red wines of Graves have a subtlety different taste to the Medocs, a juicy, soft and earthy taste that many people including myself really like. There are also some great up and coming Chateau such as Villa Bel Air that taste really good without costing over £25.

The Taste
So what should we expect from these left bank Bordeaux reds. The Cabernet Sauvignon will give the wines a classic blackcurrant and even minty taste, the Merlot will add black cherry and plum and the Cabernet Franc some raspberry and tobacco. The younger wines will be very tannic and thus astringent but this will soften with age. Age will also bring on the non-fruit flavours such as leather. These wines are not always as approachable as new world wines or the right bank Bordeaux reds and it may take you a while to appreciate them.

Red Wine Ageing in the Graves - Chateau Plantat

Top Tips

• If looking to buy a left bank Bordeaux red you can often get quality and value by buying a Chateau with the Cru Bourgeois designation on the label. Good quality and value wines can also be obtained from the Graves AOC.
• Most good Bordeaux need at least 5 years ageing and sometimes 10 years before drinking. Some cheaper Bordeaux can be drunk younger after some aeration.

Homework
Unfortunately, your homework this week could cost a little more but you should find the experience rewarding and you will only learn by tasting. Do buy and try one of the following wines or pick a Cru Bourgeois Medoc or Graves wine of your own:

Majestic – Chateau Griviere 2001 – Cru Bourgeois Medoc – about £12 or £8 if you buy two bottles.
or Majestic – Chaeau Lachesnaye 2002 or 2004 – Cru Bourgeois Haut-Medoc – about £10 or £7 if you buy 2 bottles
or if you don’t want to buy 6 bottles (as Majestic require a minimum buy):
Waitrose – Chateau Moulin Riche 2006– Cru Bourgeois Saint Julien – about £18
or Waitrose – Chateau Haut Nouchet 2005 – Pessac Leognan – about £14

Food Pairing
The wines of the left bank are great with food and particularly lamb so try this with any lamb dish from roast lamb to lamb chops. I’d particularly suggest a nice mint and parsley encrusted rack of lamb, still pink in the middle. Enjoy!

Coming Soon
Next week we are on to the dry whites of Bordeaux.
If you have just caught up with our wine course it is not too late to catch up:
Week 1 Bordeaux basics

Week 2 Right Bank Bordeaux Reds

Tongham Taster's Wine Tasting Course Week 2 – Bordeaux Right Bank

The pretty town of St Emillion



The 12 month on-line course to help you learn about French wines - Top tips on how to get value when buying them - Reasonably priced up-to-date recommendations of what to buy and try in the UK - Bringing you the best of Tongham Village Hall wine tastings.

Introduction

This week we cover the Right Bank reds of the Bordeaux region.
  

Locality

 Bordeaux is near the Gironde estuary where two rivers, the Dordogne and the Garonne, join. The left bank of the Gironde and Garonne is the most famous part of the Bordeaux region that we will be covering next week. The right bank of the Dordogne and Gironde also contains some famous names such as St Emillion and Pomerol. In between the Dordogne and Garonne rivers is the area known as “Entre-Deux-Mers” or literally between two seas; this area is well known for cheap whites but nowdays also produces some good reds that we will be covering this week as they fit in well with the right bank wines. Very often the right bank wines are known as “Libournais” after the nearby town of Libourne.


Varietals

Like last week’s generic appellations, the right bank red wines are Merlot dominated but many also contain a significant amount of Cabernet Franc and a little Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Wines

Although, I tend to regard most of the Bordeaux generic wines as somewhat safe and unexciting, there are some good value gems as well as expensive stars on the right bank. Lets start with the good value gems – The Cotes of Bordeaux. These wines are well worth trying, particularly if you get one recommended to you and are normally much better value than other Bordeaux wines. These appellations include:



• Cotes de Blaye

• Premieres Cotes de Blaye
• Cotes de Bourg
• Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux
• Bordeaux Cotes de Francs
• Cotes de Castillon

Grand Cru Classe St Emilion



Perhaps, the best known wine on the right bank is St Emillion. These are quite variable due to the different soils but can be excellent. The better wines are labeled Grand Cru, the best wines Grand Cru Classes and the very best Premiere Grand Cru. It should also be mentioned here, the St Emilion contains the wines of the garagistes – the micro-wineries who produce expensive boutique wines. I once spent €60 on a bottle and it was very good concentrated wine but this price is normally outside of my budget. The village of St Emilion itself is beautiful and well worth visiting. As well as the wine of St Emillion there are the wines of its satellites:

• Lussac-St-Emillion
• Montagne-St-Emillion
• Puisseguin-St-Emillion
• St Georges-St-Emillion

These wines are very variable but I have a soft spot for St Georges-St Emillion as I had a bottle on the night I got engaged to Jane (following a bottle of Champagne on the Pont Neuf in Paris). At the other extreme is the Roc de Lussac sold by Sainsbury’s which I don’t like at all.

Next to St Emillion is Pomerol which is a smaller appellation and has some very expensive wines such as Chateau Petrus and Chateau Le Pin. Pomerol can be very good but some better value can be obtained from Lalande-Pomerol. Other value wines from the right bank can be had from Fronsac. Other appellations you might see on red wine bottles includes Graves de Vayres, which is not to be confused with the left bank Graves, and Ste-Foy Bordeaux.

Taste
So what should we expect from these right bank Bordeaux reds? Being Merlot dominated you can get the flavours of plum and black cherry. Sometimes they are balanced with Cabernet Franc and its classic tobacco and raspberry flavours, or sometimes Cabernet Sauvignon with its blackcurrant flavours. Unlike the generic appellations, these wines are usually oaked. Eleve en fut de chene indicates oak on the bottle. Many of the wines improve with age and expensive ones should not be drunk too young. Unlike the left bank wines the wines of St Emilion and other right bank wines have a softness that many find appealing and are more approachable when young.

Top Tips
So to this week’s top tip is to look out for value wines from Cote de Bourg, Premieres Cotes de Blaye and Cotes de Castillon.

Homework
So your homework this week is to buy and try one of the following wines:

Majestic – Chateau St Colombe 2004 Cotes de Castillon, about £10 or £7 if you buy two bottles
or if you don’t want to buy 6 bottles, Co-op – Chateau L’Estang 2007 Cotes de Castillon, about £9,
or if you want to splash out Morrisons – Chateau Cardinal Villemaurine 2002 St Emillion Grand Cru, about £11,

Now which St Emilion do I like best?

or Waitrose – Seigneurs d’Alguilhe 2006 Cotes de Castillon, about £11,
or if on a budget, Tesco – Finest St Emillion 2008, about £8

If trying the younger wines, pour into a jug before serving to aerate the wine a little.

Food pairings
Like most French wines these Right Bank reds are good with food. This week, why not try them with roast beef or some lamb chops or perhaps an escalope of veal.

Coming Soon
This is part two of a year long introduction to French wines. Next week we will do the Left Bank red wines of Medoc and Graves, with yet more homework!
Go back to our January 1st entry for basic generic red Bordeaux.

Invitation to the January Tongham Tasters’ Get-together

Only about two weeks to go before another Tongham Tasters’ Get-together. As usual we will be tasting six interesting wines brought along by one of our circle – this month they will be the choice of Steve and Hazel who will also be hosting the event. So make sure you have Thursday January 13th 2011 at 8.00pm in your diary. As usual we will be serving some simple food including palate cleansers.  The theme this month will be Northern Italy.  So we should get some interesting wines and if we get lucky some of Steve's homemade ciabatta.

Glasses waiting to be filled with lovely Italian wine.

It really helps if you can drop us an email as soon as possible to let John know you are coming. Usual email address – tonghamtaster@gmail.com. If you prefer the phone, ring John on 01252 783447.

We always welcome new people coming along to our get-togethers. No knowledge of wine is required, just an enthusiasm to try different wines and join in the fun of our monthly gatherings. So whether you know us or just happened upon the website, and fancy coming along, contact us to reserve your place. Spaces are limited to 14 as we hold our get-togethers in our homes.

All of our meetings are held in Tongham near Farnham in Surrey, UK. We share the costs of the wine and food between all the attendees, and this is set at a maximum of £10 per person.

...and I mustn't forget

HAPPY NEW YEAR

to all Tongham Tasters whether we meet you in person or on-line.

Ideas for Tongham Wine Tasting Flights

For our first three Tongham Wine Tasting Get-togethers we have had three different places to buy wine as the theme – Tesco, The Wine Society and Sainsbury’s. Soon we need to move on to different themes. If you need some ideas, how about these;

• Wines from one country or region eg Australia, Chile, New Zealand, Argentina, Rhone Valley, Rioja etc
• Wines made with the same grape variety eg Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Tempranilla, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio etc.
• A battle of the vines eg Old World versus New World, France versus Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon versus Merlot etc.
• Wines recommended by a particular wine critic eg Oz Clarke or Olly Smith of the Daily Mail or Victoria Moore of the Guardian or Jonathan Ray of the Daily telegraph etc.
• A battle of the critics eg six wines each suggested by a different critic, or perhaps a head to head between two critica with three wines each.
• Wines of the same style eg six dry whites, or six full bodied reds.
• A supermarket comparison eg six own brand clarets each from a different supermarket or 6 Chablis each from a different retailer.

 Etc etc.   Most of all have fun choosing your wines and remember that the internet is a great source of inspiration.   For instance visit sites like Supermarketwine.com or read the wine reviews in the papers.

TT Wine Tasting Course Week 1 – Bordeaux Basics

Old Bus in Bordeaux 2003

Bordeaux is one of the most famous wine regions in the world and some of its wines amongst the most expensive and sought-after. The red wines are perhaps the most well known but the sweet whites are also amongst the World’s best. However, Bordeaux actually covers the whole gamut of wine so you can get Sparkling wine, Rose and dry white as well. They also do Bordeaux Clairet which is a wine in between Rose and Red.

The red wines of Bordeaux are often known in England as Claret but this is not a term used very much elsewhere in the world and rarely do you see this on a bottle in France. It dates back from the time when Bordeaux wines being imported into the UK were considered a lot lighter than the dark wines of Gaillac - Clair means light in French.

Bordeaux Vineyeard 2003

The basic Bordeaux reds are labeled either AOC Bordeaux or AOC Bordeaux Superieur. The AOC Bordeaux tends to be supple and fruity and not very full bodied. They can be very pleasant easy drinking or sometimes rather disappointing. Many basic House Clarets will be from this appellation. The AOC Bordeaux Superieur can be more concentrated, complex and powerful but again are a mixed bunch. Don’t expect the same that you would expect from an expensive Medoc.  

The grape varieties used in these basic Bordeaux reds can be Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and occasionaly Malbec or Petit Verdot, but most are Merlot dominated. These basic reds are generic in that they don’t have to come from any particular part of the Bordeaux region – they could be a mix from many vineyeards. The famous Bordeaux comes from specific areas such as Saint Emillion or Saint Estephe. Thus these basic Bordeaux have the labels of  cooperatives and very often brands or supermarket own labels. Prices, however, can be affordable.

Bordeaux is in the south west of France on the Atlantic Coast and the maritime climate protects it from the extremes of temperature. The soil types and terrain are very variable, thus contributing to the different characters of different AOC Bordeaux wines.

Your homework this week is to buy and try a bottle of basic Bordeaux red. My suggestions are in descending order of preference are:

Waitrose – Calvet Reserve 2009 Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon about £6
or Marks and Spencers – Classic Claret 2008 AOC Bordeaux about £7
or if budget conscious - Sainsbury’s – House Claret NV about £4.

NV = Non-Vintage or a mix of different years.

2009 was a good year for Bordeaux wines, probably the best since 2005.

AOC = Appellation d'Origine Controllee

Don’t expect too much but this will show you what a basic Bordeaux or Claret tastes like. You need to taste to understand. Try with food such as a roast dinner, pork chops or even hamburger and chips (no need to be posh when drinking cheap claret).   In  my view the typical house claret is for less adventurous drinkers but in past times when the Euro was weaker it could provide an everyday reliable easy drinking red wine. 

Next week – understanding the terms Right Bank and Left Bank and what to expect from Right Bank wines such as Saint Emillion.

TONGHAM TASTERS FRENCH WINE TASTING COURSE

During the next 52 weeks, I’ll be doing a weekly blog on the wines of France, gradually covering the main wine regions. If you follow the course over 2011 you’ll gradually learn the basics of French wine. The blogs will be short and to the point. The best bit is that I’ll be setting you homework each week – a bottle of wine from the region to buy and try. This way you can gradually catch-up on the Tongham Village Hall wine tastings you may have mixed over the years. The wines will all be available in UK supermarkets or national wine shops such as Majestic so anyone in the UK should be able to do their homework diligently.

So what do we have to look forward to over the next 12 months -

Sancerre Pinot Noir Grapes

January - Bordeaux

February – Loire Valley

March - Languedoc-Roussillon

April - South West

May - Rhone Valley

June - Provence

July - Alsace

August - Champagne

September – The East, Jura & Savoie
October - Burgundy
November - Beaujolais & Macon
December - Vins de Pays

And this month :

January week 1 – Bordeaux Basics
January week 2 – Bordeaux Right Bank
January week 3 – Bordeaux Left Bank
January week 4 – Bordeaux Dry Whites
January week 5 – Bordeaux Sweet Whites

TONGHAM TAPAS FIESTA

Tickets are now on sale for our Saturday February 12th Spanish wine tasting dinner in Tongham Village Hall. Seven superb Spanish wines and twelve tapas dishes to taste should make for an excellent evening and represents tremendous value at just £22.50 per head. We should also be able to raise a few hundred pounds to help the continuing renovations of the village hall – hopefully you will notice quite a few changes since our gala champagne dinner last year.

In some parts of Spain they have Tapas festivals or fiesta during February as part of the lead up to Lent. This may be the first time we have had a Tapas Fiesta in Tongham.

As this is fiesta time, the emphasis this time will be on fun rather than formal so Spanish Tapas is ideal as it is little dishes made for sharing. Rather than black tie this time, we want some colour so wear something red and yellow – the colours of the Spanish flag. There will a bottle of wine for the best dressed person following this theme.

As usual we will include a large educational element so that you will leave the evening with the history of tapas and an introduction to the main Spanish wine regions. Wines will include Rioja, Priorat and Albarino and we will also be reintroducing you to Sherry.

We always sell out, so book early to avoid disappointment. As my mobile phone is broken at present, ring 01252 783447 or 07983 154295 for tickets. We need cheque or cash within one week of booking.

Don’t miss out on the Tongham Tapas Fiesta. Ring today!