THE GOOD OLD DAYS

The winning wine

Our August Tongham Tasters evening was special in many respects. As Jane and I are leaving Tongham as soon as we sell our house it was a bit of a farewell party. Also Sheila was returning to the group after a period of convalescence.  For the first time ever we had fourteen of the regular tasters around the table.  We also blew the budget, and spent the remaining kitty on this event and had more expensive wines and a full ten course tasting menu, courtesy of Jane and her Thermomix, to accompany it.

Following the success of our Chinon and Chablis evenings I thought it would be a good idea to have another event where we tasted some older aged wines, and what better region to choose for aged wines than Rioja?  I lined up eight wines from eight different years with the youngest being a 2006 and the oldest being from 1984.  Included in this was a true mini-vertical of three wines of the same cuvee from three different years.

So how did our tasting group find the aged Riojas we served up to them and would they all still be in perfect condition:  For once we did not taste blind as I wanted everyone to appreciate exactly what they were tasting.  All scores quoted are out of 20 and are in the order of John E, Steve S, Ian, Chris, Andy, Kathryn, Steve W, Yvonne, Clive, Sarah, Sheila, John S and Jill.   How would some of tasters who tend to drink New World wines find these old traditional Riojas?  Woould the more expensive wines fare better?  Read on to find our favourite in descending order of preference.

Our Mini-Vertical of Conde de Valdemar

1. Conde de Valdemar, Gran Reserva Rioja 1984, Spanish Red 13%, Majestic £12.50.

Not an expensive wine as it came as part of a £75 case of six, the Rioja Vintage Explorer case – well done Majestic!  This proved popular as it had a big strawberry hit but had more acidity than the other wines in our mini-vertical.   Four of us (Chris, Andy, Steve W and Jill) voted it their favourite wine of the evening and another six had it in their top three.  However, Yvonne liked this wine the least of all.  We served it with some mature Cheddar cheese - a nice and classic match.  Scores were 16.25, 13.5, 14, 17.5, 14, 17, 12, 10, 17, 19+, 11.75, 15 and 16.5.  Amazing scores for a wine at this price.

2. Marques de Murrieta Ygay, Reserva Rioja1994, Spanish Red 12.5%, Majestic £22.

Just scraping into runner’s up slot was this lovely wine that reminded Ian that he had been in Rioja whilst this was being harvested in 1994 and he had bought some older vintages of the very same wine.  Whilst only two of our team (Steve S and John S) voted it their top wine, five of us had it in second place.  You could tell this was an old wine but it was a beautiful Strawberry and Vanilla Rioja.  it was perhaps slightly over-powered by Jane's wonderful Mushroom and Chestnut soup.  Scores were 16.5, 17.75, 18, 13, 10.5, 16, 13, 12, 19, 14, 12, 16 and 15.  Scores that indicate your £22 would be well spent on buying this to accompany your Sunday roast lamb.

3. La Rioja Alta 904, Gran Reserva Rioja 2001, Spanish Red 12.5%, Wines Direct £29.

I had billed this as the wine to beat as Robert Parker had given it a score of 96/100. It received three votes for the top wine of the evening (from John E, Ian, and Clive) and another three as second best wine.  It had a smell of oak and strawberries and then a big fruity taste and vanilla after-burn.   Beautifully smooth it had high acidity that made it a great food wine.  We served it with cumin and mint encrusted rack of lamb – yum!  Jane had slow cooked the racks and then cut them and grilled them to a pink perfection on the same grill as the chorizo – well-done Jane!   Scores were 17.25, 17.5, 18.5, 14.5, 11.5, 17, 10, 13, 20, 16, 10, 13 and 16.  Note that Clive scored this a perfect 20 out of 20.  Another weekend wine worth investing in.

4. Conde de Valdemar, Gran Reserva Rioja 1989, Spanish Red 13%, Majestic £12.50.

This was the second wine in our mini vertical and it had an oaky strawberry aroma and then a huge strawberry kick when you tasted it.  Mt complaint would be the lack of complexity, it was all strawberries and vanilla.  However, it proved quite popular and it received two votes for best wine of the evening (from Kathryn and Sarah) but also one vote for the worst.  We served this with two lovely Spanish cheeses from Tesco  –an Albacete Manchego and a Queso de Romero (rosemary encrusted). Scores were 15, 13, 13, 15.5, 13, 17, 11, 10, 15, 19+, 11.5, 13 and 13.5.  A lovely old wine.

5. Conde de Valdemar, Gran Reserva Rioja 1993, Spanish Red 13%, Majestic £12.50.

This was the first of the mini-vertical that we tasted and it had a nice strawberry smell but a big oaky taste.  For six of us it was our third favourite wine of the evening and thus up there with all the rest.  We served this with a chicken and pork Paella.  Scores were 15.25, 12.25, 12.5, 15, 12, 17, 9, 11, 18, 19, 10.5, 13 and 15.5.  Not a bad wine at all.

6. La Rioja Alta Vina Alberdi, Reserva Rioja 2006, Spanish Red 13.5%, Wines Direct £13.50.

I had ordered a Crianza from Wines Direct but a Reserva turned up.  Who was I to complain?   It was Sheila’s favourite wine of the evening but it also appeared as someone’s least favourite wine.  It was very smooth and made for easy drinking with a cherry vanilla taste. We served this with some grilled Chorizo that was absolutely delicious along side Tongham Bakery’s Sun-Dried Tomato and Parmesan bread.  Scores were 14+, 15, 13.5, 10, 13.5, 15, 10, 10, 16, 15, 14, 12 and 14.  Good value crowd pleaser.  i have had a bottle since whilst on holiday in the Sancerrois and the Veauguians liked it as well.

7. CVNE Real de Asua, Rioja 2004, Spanish Red 13.5%, Wines Direct £47.

I thought I was buying a CVNE Imperial Reserva because the picture and description on the Wines Direct website was very confusing!   This is less of a traditional Rioja than the others.  It is an unusual and special cuvee from CVNE named after the brothers who founded the company and it is more in a modern style and it is not a crianza, reserva or gran reserva despite the high price.  It is made from top grapes that are given an extended carbonic maceration process of five months in oak.  It has a total of 15 months in non-traditional French oak and then 24 months in the bottle.  The result of this process split the team.  Yvonne and Jane thought it was their favourite wine of the evening but six of us, including myself, voted it our least favourite wine of the evening.   The accompaniment was some incredible Serrano ham.  Scores were 13.5, 12, 10, 8.5, 11, 12, 13, 16, 16, 10, 6, 8 and 10.  Not worth the price frankly!

8. Lopez de Heredia Vina Bosconia, Reserva Rioja 2003, Spanish Red 13.5%, Spanish Red 13.5%,

Wines Direct £22.50.

How does a wine this good came in eighth place?   It demonstrates the crowd-pleasing quality of the other wines I served.  Don’t let its position put you off this wine; it is still a good buy.  Steve S and Yvonne had it as their third favourite. Perhaps, it was too acidic for some but this also makes it an excellent food wine.  We actually served it with a tapas dish of green beans and garlic.  The wine has spent five years in oak and had the acidity to balance it.  It had the classic strawberry and vanilla taste of aged tempranilla. Scores were 14.5+, 16, 14, 10.5, 10, 9, 8, 12, 15, 9, 11, 12 and 13.  I scored this a very high 14.5+ which means I would definitely buy more even though it came last.  

There were no dud wines in this tasting, all were in good condition and all

The corks - some of which gave us some worry but all wines were OK

were beautiful and most of us found it really difficult to score them apart and put them into some sort of order.  All the wines were from good producers and price didn’t seem to matter.  It certainly seemed that the older the wines were, the more we appreciated them.  Interestingly, the slightly higher alcohol content wines finished in the bottom three.  Do look out for some of the older Riojas at your local Majestic Wine warehouse or elsewhere and give them a try.  I think this was a night that turned some more into traditional Rioja lovers – Ian, Jane and myself were certainly there already.

We are lucky t have a good local bakers ship

A huge thank you to Jane who slaved away in the kitchen to bring us a real feast to match our great Riojas.  From the opening lemon-scented Gazpacho we had as an aperitif to the lamb racks she really hit the top notes!   Then, she topped it all with a chocolate chorizo as a dessert to go with our coffee!!!

Thanks to Clive's excellent photos of the evening that appear below:

Jane serves her Lemon scented Gazpacho

Jane and John discuss the gazpacho

We raise a glass to our new life

We open the gifts from Tongham Tasters

Two Johns ready for the tasting

Jill shows us how to pour exactly 50ml each

Sheila shows ff a different style

...and John enjoys pouring another

Jane shows of her paella

Jane unwraps the chocolate chorizo

Very special heart felt thanks to the whole tasting team who presented Jane and myself with a going away present of two 2014 homemade calendars with memories of Tongham Tasters printed all over them.  Very much appreciated.  We will miss you all.

Good news is that the group is continuing and that they are giving each other bigger budgets for future.  Next up are Clive and Sarah who will be hosting in Tongham on Saturday September 7.  The following month the event will be in Farnborough at John and Jill’s place on Saturday October 12^th.   Also in Farnborough will be the November 9^th event to be organised by Ian and Kathryn.  We will bow out of 2013 with a 25% off bubbly extravaganza at Sheila's place in December.

The lovely eight Riojas that we tasted

Here are some Rioja wine facts that I presented to the group at the start of the evening.

TRADITIONAL  RIOJA  RED  WINE  FACTS
1	Rioja comes from a DOC region in Northern Spain
2	Rioja tends to represent the best value for aged wines in the world
3	Oak is a big part of the traditional Rioja taste imparting the vanilla overtones
4	Traditionally Rioja producers use American oak rather than French oak and this gives them a different character
	with perhaps more vanilla, more sweetness, less fruitiness and less harsh tannins.
5	Tempranillo tends to be normally over 50% of the grapes in a Rioja blend and sometimes 100%.
5	Other grapes used include Garnacha Tinto, Graciano, Mazuelo and sometimes Cabernet Sauvignon
7	A Rioja Crianza is a wine aged for at least 2 years of which at least one has been in an oak barrel
8	A Rioja Reserva is a wine aged for at least 3 years of which at least one has been in an oak barrel
9	A Rioja Gran Reserva is a wine aged for at least 5 years of which at least two has been in an oak barrel
10	Once released a very old aged Rioja should normally be drunk quite quickly
11	Today Rioja is split in two between the traditional Rioja producers and the modern Rioja producers who produce
	a fruitier new world style wine perhaps using less oak and more French oak.
12	Amongst the best of the traditional Rioja producers are Lopez de Heredia, CVNE, Muga, La Rioja Alta,
	Marques de Murrieta, Valdemar and Marques de Riscal.
13	A good traditional Rioja is not a big powerful wine but it will be smooth and complex. The flavours should be
	dancing across your palate.
14	There are three regions Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja and Rioja Alavesa.  Rioja Alta produces perhaps the best of the
	old style traditional wines.  Many wines are blends of all three regions.
15	The main fruit characteristics of Rioja tend to be strawberry or cherry but cedar, leather, coffee and spice tend to also be
	readily detectable.
16	Good Riojas have high levels of acidity that make them good food wines to match with lamb etc.
17	Poor traditional Riojas are flat, dusty and oxidised

We tried a wine with 96 Robert Parker points

Postcards from Reuilly

A beautiful Chateau near Reuilly on the wine route

Reuilly is a small appellation in the Loire Valley where most of the wine is drunk locally, but a little is exported and it is possible to buy some at Majestic and other specialist UKwine shops.  We have had them at our Tongham Tasters' wine evenings on at least one occasion.  If you are wondering what Reuilly looks like here are a few pictures I took when visiting there is April 2012. 

Reuilly is west of the Cathedral town of Bourges and South of Vierzon and close to its sister appellation of Quincy   Although relatively far from the Loire it is considered as a Loire valley appellation.  The soil can be gravelly sand, clay or sand and silt, all of which are on top of the limestone base.

Reuilly is quite unusual for such a small appellation in that it produces red, white and rosé wines and grows three different varietals - Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. 

A vineyard in the Reuilly AOC

The white wines are normally the best and in good years, from good producers (such as Claude Lafonde), can compete with the other better Loire appellations.  I also like the pale rosé wines that some of the producers produce and on a hot summers day a glass of Gris de Pinot Gris (such as that by Valerie Renaudat) can be very pleasant and are unique to this appellation in France.  The reds can also on occasion be good and are a good value easy drinking Pinot Noir at worst.  Last year I tried a particularly good 2009 Reuilly red from Domaine Pascal Desroches, who has his wines made at the local co-operative.  2009 was apparently a good year in the region.  The co-operative, Le Chai de Reuilly, is unusual in that the producers' grapes are not mixed but just vinified at the co-op and then sold under the growers' label.  Many of the top growers have joined this venture which helps keep costs down and quality up. Sometimes the reds and rosés are a blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris but I prefer them to to be 100% Pinot Noir or Pinot Gris respectively. 

April 2012 vine bud in Reuilly

Go tasting at Valery Renaudat

Look out for wines by:
Domaine Bigonneau
Domaine Claude Lafonde
Domaine Jacques Vincent
Domaine Jean-Michel Sorbe
Domaine Henri Beurdin (the white is available in Majestic and is good value)
Domaine Valery Renaudat (often available in the past in French supermarkets)
Domaine Jacques Vincent

Public building in Reuilly

With many of the Reuilly whites it is best not too over-chill as you will kill the good flavours and emphasize the poor characteristics.

In the town of Reuilly on an April day 2012

In terms of food pairings, why not try some of the following:
White - Goats cheese (of course), seafood
Rosé - Foire Gras, local potato pastries,
Red - Game, Roast Chicken

A vineyard on the wine route in Reuilly

A Perfect Score

Let the tasting commence!

For our February Tongham Taster’s evening we were invited around to Steve and Yvonne’s place in The Street, Tongham.  Steve had arranged a little tasting competition for us to see how much we had learnt in 16 months of our little group.  Despite a cold and snowy evening, eight of us gathered around their dining room table for an excellent evening of wine, food and chat, spiced up with Steve’s little fun competition.



A snowy day in Seale and Tongham

For our “Red All Over” evening, Steve had gathered together six single varietal red wines and we had to guess which grape varietal each was.  As we are not Masters of Wine, Steve gave us a chance by telling us in advance that he had a French Gamay, an Australian Cabernet Sauvignon, a French Malbec, a New Zealand Pinot Noir, an Italian Sangiovese and a Spanish Tempranillo.   As usual we were blind tasting but we did get a little clue from whether the wines were a screw cap or not!

So how well did we do in identifying the wines and how did we rate them?  As usual the wines are listed in a descending order of preference and all of the scores noted are out of twenty.  Score are listed in the order John E, Jane, Steve S, Ian, John S, Clive and Sheila.

It was such a cold night outside that we really appreciated Steve's choice of doing all reds for this evening.

1. Katnook, Founder’s Block Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra Australia 2009, 13.5%, Waitrose £11.00

Everyone had this wine in his or her top three bottles of the evening and three had it as their top wine.  For those of us trying to guess the varietal is was relatively easy with its dark colour and classic plummy cassis with notes of tobacco and herbs taste.   This was the most expensive wine of the evening but one, which we can recommend.  Scores were 13.5, 15, 14.75, 13, 14, 14 and 12.  The region of Coonawarra in South Australia is the best in that country for Cabernet Sauvignon and Katnook Estate is a well know and respected wine maker and thus no surprise that this wine pleased our educated palates.

2. Marques de la Concordia Crianza 2007 Signa, Rioja Spain, 13.5%, Majestic £7.00

This wine had two top votes from our panel and three second places.   It was the last wine we tasted and had the classic taste of an oaked Rioja with vanilla notes and an aromatic elegance and was a relatively easy “spot” for some of us.   Marques de la Concordia produces some good value wines that are sold in Majestic.   Scores were 14.5, 14, 14.75, 14.5, 13, 19 and 11.  Another wine we can recommend.

3. Chateau Cos Suzanne Vielles Vignes 2006,  Cahors France, 12.5%, Auchan €6.50

This wine got one top vote but split the rest of the panel with some liking it and some not so sure.  It was one of the most difficult of the varietals to spot and probably wasn’t 100% Malbec but we had fun tasting it.  Initially some of us had this down as the Tempranillo as it had a distinct oakiness.  Clive loved it and thought it would be ideal for sitting beside the fire and supping throughout the evening.  Scores were 13, 14, 15, 11, 10, 18 and 10.  I’m rather disappointed that I missed this wine from an independent vigneron at the last Foire aux Vins in Auchan!

4. Majestic Peaks Pinot Noir 2009, Central Otago New Zealand, 13.5%, Majestic £7.00

This wine also got one top vote but not all of us appreciated this relatively cheap Pinot Noir from New Zealand.  For most of us it didn’t have the classic New Zealand Pinot Noir taste but the light colour of the wine and cherry taste helped identify the grape.  Scores were 10, 16, 12.5, 11, 10, 14 and 6.  Jane liked the taste of this one but Sheila found it too light and gave it a very low score.  At the price it may be worth trying.

5. Hospices de Beaujeu Beaujolais Villages 2010, 12.5%, France, Waitrose £8.50

Our first wine of the evening, Steve was very generous and slightly chilled this Beaujolais made with the Gamay grape.  It was relatively easy to identify with its light purple colour and classic Beaujolais taste.  Yvonne thought this was nice and like most Gamay wines is an easy match for many foods.  Scores were 10.5, 12, 10, 10.5, 10, 12 and 8.  This is a wine to drink and enjoy with snacks or food rather than to savour.

6. Mandrielle Sangiovese 2010 Banfi, 12.5%, Toscana IGT Italy, Majestic £6.00

This was the second wine of the evening ad definitely didn’t really have the classic taste of a good Chianti or Brunello for instance.  However, the colour helped give it away a little and if you have drunk enough cheap Italian wine over the years it did have a certain characteristic that gave it away.   Scores were 10, 8, 10.25, 9, 9, 13 and 9.  There weren’t really any fans for this but at last it wasn’t too

I claim my prize!

When we got to the end of the evening, Steve was rather surprised that three of us, Ian, John S and myself had all managed to identify all six wines and thus got the perfect score!   A tie break meant that I won the prize of a  really nice bottle of Mas de Cynanque 2008 from Saint Chinian, but I shared it with the rest of the team as it was a Friday evening, by which time we were discussing Vladimir Putin, and it probably gave everyone a Saturday morning hangover!

Chorizo and Saucisson

Steve and Yvonne had put on a really great spread including some lovely bread from Tongham Bakery, some lovely saucisson and chorizo and some amazing Comte and Ossau Iraty cheese from Waitrose, not too mention the usual palate cleansers.  A great fun evening.

Next up is  a Tongham Village Hall wine tasting dinner on Saturday March 3^rd when we will be having seven Mediterranean wines matched with seven Mediterranean dishes  for just £22.50 a head.  This event is open to up to fifty or sixty people depending on demand.  Give Jane a call on 07983 154 295.

Following this, our next Tongham Tasters’ evening is on Friday March 16^th when I will be presenting six, hopefully stunning,  Italian wines (two white and four red) along with some Italian pasta dishes.  This evening will cost the normal £10 per head and will be limited to our normal ten or twelve participants.  We love seeing new faces so if you live near Tongham and want to join in the fun ring me, John, on 07717 876 743.  For our other dates and more information, click on Wine Circle above.

As usual thanks to Clive for his excellent photographs of the evening.

New World Wines for the New Year

Our Tongham Taster’s New Year started with one of our regular trips to Farnborough where John S treated us to a fantastic evening of New World wines.  Five of us travelled up from Tongham where we met up with four of our Farnborough regulars for this entertaining evening introducing us to six wines from four countries accompanied by an interesting mix of food and appetisers.



Happy New Year!

New World wines cover North and South America, Australia and New Zealand plus Asia and Africa.  They tend to be more fruit driven and powerful but would John’s selection appeal to our refined palates!?   It was certainly well sourced and we got a very good £10 worth as John had picked most up as special offers – all prices quoted below are what John actually paid.  Find out below our thoughts on all the wines we blind tasted, which are listed and described in descending order of preference.  Scores mentioned are out of twenty and are presented in the order John E, Jane, John S, Jill, Ian, Kathryn, Steve S, Sheila and Clive.

John and Jill enjoying their evening

Lindauer Special Reserve Blanc de Blancs, New Zealand Sparkling White NV, 11.5%, Majestic £7.20.

Six of our team voted this their top wine of the evening, which was no surprise as it had a wonderful biscuity nose and a very subtle smooth dry taste – in fact not obviously New World at all.  Some of our team guessed that this was from New Zealand and even got the producer.  This wine is made with Chardonnay grapes and thus is the same as a classic Blanc de Blancs Champagne but much cheaper.  We can certainly recommend this as a good value sparkler.  Scores were 13.5, 20, 11, 15, 12, 18, 15.5, 13.5 and 18.

Hahn Winery Pinot Noir, Monterey California Red 2010, 14.5%, Waitrose £10.44.

This wine got two of our team’s top votes and was probably the best USA wine we have had at one of tastings to date as everyone had it in their top three wines.  Few, if any, realized that it was a Pinot Noir but it was a lovely spicy pleasant wine.   Scores were 14.5, 16, 14, 14, 15.5, 16, 13.75, 13 and 16.

John and Steve discuss he finer points of sparkling wine

Villa Maria Private Bin Dry Riesling, Marlborough New Zealand 2011, 12%, Majestic £7.20.

With five of our team including this in their top three wines, this lovely New World Riesling just scraped into third place.  Initially, some of us thought it was a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc but we could see from John’s face that we wrong and so plumped for a Riesling instead and capped it by even getting the producer.  This wine just missed out on getting into our recent Village Hall tasting and we can certainly recommend it for its limey taste, although Kathryn found it slightly soapy.   Scores were 14, 19, 12, 14, 12.5, 12, 12.75, 8 and 15.

Flaxbourne Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough New Zealand 2011, Marks and Spencers £8.49.

One of our team had this as their top wine and it was obviously a Sauvignon Blanc.  Rather like The Ned we served at the Village Hall it has some minerality as well as fruit.  As for the fruit our team named everything from Apples to Pineapple.  Scores were a 14.5, 13, 10, 13, 14, 11, 12.5, 10 and 17.   A good buy at this price.

Boschendal SMV, South Africa 2009, 14%, Morrisons £6.95.

Although only our fifth best wine of the evening, this wine was still very well received.     It had a good herby berrylike taste but some thought it was a Pinotage rather than a Syrah, Mouvedre, Viognier blend.   Scores were 13.5, 14, 10, 15, 14, 12, 12, 10.5 and 13.  A nice wine for this price and good to see a wine from Morrisons for a change.

Casa Leona Cabernet Sauvignon, Rapel Valley Chile 2011, 13.5%, Marks and Spencers £5.49.

The cheapest wine of the evening was the only one that didn’t impress and everyone had it in last place.  Scores were a very lowly 7,10, 7, 8, 6, 6, 4.5, 6 and 9.   After all the beautiful aromas of the other wines, this one had a quite horrible smell and a metallic taste.    Obviously something wasn’t right with this bottle as we have had some nice Casa Leona in the past.

With all these wines we were served some lovely cheese, some homemade cheese straws, humous, bread, Thai spring rolls, Prawn crostini, Satay and more!  An excellent spread.

Peppered Prawn Crostini

As usual the conversation flowed alongside the wine and we had another great evening.


As usual thanks to Clive for the more professional pictures that accompany this blog post.

Next up is Steve S’s choice of wines on Friday 10^th February, John E’s Italian wines and pasta evening on Friday 16^th March and Clive’s wines on Thursday 12^th April 12^th.  All of these events will be held in Tongham, before we return to Farnborough again on Saturday May 19^th for Ian’s wines.  Jane has plumped for our midsummer date of Thursday June 21^st.   Feel free to join us at any or all of our events– contact details are in Wine Circle at the top of this blog.   Our next big wine tasting dinner in Tongham Village Hall will be on Saturday March 3^rd – more details coming soon but the theme is The Mediterranean (Greece, Sicily, Catalonia and the Languedoc).