Its all Greek to me!

For our November 2011 Tongham Tasters evening we were back in home territory following our October trip to Farnborough. It proved to be another fun evening of good wine, food,conversation and laughter.  Our host was Sheila. She had gathered together six wines and some food from Waitrose. What would our six intrepid tasters think of them? Find out below with scores out of twenty in the order John E, Sheila, John S, Steve S, Jane and Ian. As usual the wines are presented in descending order of preference. All were tasted blind so that we could test our lack of wine tasting skills and score them without prejudice.

1.. Organiki Tsantali Cabernet Sauvignon Private Collection 2006, Greek Red, Waitrose £8.99. 14.5%

Two Thirds of our tasting team had this as their top wine of the evening and everyone had in their top three wines. It was a very smooth tasting wine with some raspberry, tobacco and herbal flavours. Ian wondered if it was from Portugal and John E wondered if it was an Argentian Malbec. Jane complained that she couldn’t taste the sunshine! John S spotted that it was a Cabernet Sauvignon but nobody guessed it was from Greece. Scores were 13, 13, 17, 15, 17, and 16. This was a Greek red that we can definitely recommend for slightly under £9.

2. San Leo Vino Spumante Prosecco Aromatico Brut NV, Italian Sparekling White, Waitrose £8.99. 11%.
The other third of our tasting team voted this sparkling wine their top wine. Only John E didn’t really rate it at all, and he was also the only one to identify it as a Prosecco. It has a nice bouquet and Ian thought it had lots of umph! Quite a few thought it was chardonnay but they were wrong. Scores were 10.5, 16.5, 13, 13, 18 and 14. Most of the team rated this a good sub £9 sparkler.

3. Neethlingshof Estate 2011 Stellenbosch Gewurtztraminer South African White, Waitrose £6.99. 13%.
Both Jane and Ian wondered if this from the Alsace. Others wondered if it was an Italian Pinot Grigio. With a slightly smoky taste, it was in fact a pleasant South African Gewurtztraminer from this year’s vintage. Everyone had it in there top four wines and the scores were 12, 16, 12, 12.5, 14, and13. Another good buy white wine at this price.

4. Waitrose Seriously Plummy Grande Reserve Maury, French Dessert wine, £9.99 for 37.5ml, 16%.
With some wondering if it was Spanish or Californian, John E confidently said it was French and a 100% Grenache Vin Doux; for once he was right! Steve S said he thought it was well made. What was absolutely certain was that it went perfectly with chocolate; Sheila thoughtfully providing us with some 85% cocoa chocolate pieces. Scores were 11, 12, 12, 10.75, 15 and 15. This sweet red wine is an absolute must for chocoholics.

5. Champteloup Selection Rosé d’Anjou, 2010, French rosé wine, Waitrose £6.99. 11%.
John E confidently announced this wine was a white wine, somehow totally ignoring the cough mixture colour! Sheila though it had not a lot of flavour, John S thought it floral and Ian described it as rose hip syrup. Not a popular wine with no top four votes, the scores were 10, 10, 9, 6, 8 and 11. Probably one for those who don’t really like wine!

6. Chateau Musar 2004 Gaston Hochar, Lebanese Red wine, Waitrose £18.99,
Although there was some taste of blackcurrants there was also an unpleasant taste of glue in this light coloured red wine. Nobody really liked it and when we unveiled what it was we found out it was a similar wine to the Lebanese wine that bombed at our tasting a few months ago. Scores were 8.5, 8, 8, 8.75, 12 and 8. I wonder if it tastes better and you decant as they instruct on the bottle. At this price we wouldn’t bother trying.

Thanks to Sheila for selecting these interesting wines. I particularly appreciated the Greek red and the Maury. With the wines Sheila served some cheese, Polish sausage, bread crackers and a selection of dips. Her conservatory proved another great location for one of our tasting sessions.

Next month is our Christmas party on Thursday December 15th in Grange Road Tongham. Three of our group will be competing to find out who can produce the best mulled wine. We will also be having a raclette cheese dish served with some Savoie and other French wines. If you want to join in the fun, click on Wine Circle at the top of this blog. Cost will be slightly more than the normal £10 for our December evening but everyone is welcome if they have an interest in wine, food and socialising.  Before this we have our New Zealand wine tasting dinner in Tongham Village Hall for which we have already sold out our 57 tickets.  See you there!

Languedoc-Roussillon’s White Wines - TonghamTaster’s French Wine Tasting Course – week 13

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, after 3 weeks of discovering the red wines of Languedoc-Roussillon, we discover their other wines – the whites, the sparkling wines and the fortified wines.

A White Coteaux du Languedoc

LOCALITY
White wines are found all over Languedoc-Roussillon, the sparkling wines are just from around Limoux south of Carcassonne and the fortified wines mainly come from the Roussillon area

VARIETALS
Sparkling – The sparkling wines of Limoux are made from Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Mauzac plus sometimes some Pinot Noir.
Dry White – The dry white wines may contain Clairette, Roussanne, Marsanne, Ugni Blanc, Bourboulenc, Viognier, Chardonnay, Picpoul de Pinet and other grape varieties.
Sweet White Vin Doux Naturels – These tend to be made with the various Muscat grapes.
Red Vin Doux Naturels – These tend to made of the various Grenache grape varietals,

THE WINES
Limoux claims to have been making sparkling wines since the sixteenth century and this is well before Champagne produced its first sparkling wine. The area around the town actually produces 3 different sparkling wines – in descending order of preference – Cremant de Limoux, Blanquette de Limoux and Blanquette Methode Ancestrale. The dull Mauzac grape can make up too much of the latter blends. The Cremant de Limoux can be the equal of any other Cremant wines in France.

Still and Sparkling wines from Limoux

Limoux also produces a dry white wine which is based around oaked Chardonnay and these can be quite a pleasant and cheaper alternative to Burgundy.

You will find light dry white wines made in the generic Languedoc appellations – AOC Languedoc, Coteaux du Languedoc. In my view most are fairly unexciting unless you are on holiday in the area and they are accompanying the local seafood.

Fortified sweet white Muscat wines come from Frontignan, Mireval, Lunel, Rivesaltes and St Jean de Minervois. They are made in great quantity by a number of cooperatives. I have to say that I prefer Beaumes de Venise from the Rhone valley. Again, worth trying if in the area with an appropriate desert.

In the Rousillon area you will find the vin doux naturels of Banyuls and Maury. These can make pleasant aperitif wines or the red ones make a great desert wine to pair with chocolate.

THE TASTE
The Muscat grape produces quite grapey wines.
The red vins doux naturels are quite raisiny.

TOP TIPS
• If you like oaked Chardonnay look out for a good Limoux still white. Last time I was in Boulogne Auchan I managed to pick up a Toque et Clochers wine from the Sieur d’Arques cooperative – rather nice and not too over oaked.
• Cremant de Limoux can sometimes be a pleasant value sparkling wine – again buy in France to get a good deal.
• For Chocoholics look out for a good bottle of Red Maury – easier to find in France than the UK.

HOMEWORK
For your homework this week you need to buy and try a white, sparkling or fortified Languedoc-Roussillon wine. As usual I have found it easier to find good ones at Waitrose:

Waitrose - Cuvee Royale Brut NV Cremant de Limoux - about £10.
Waitrose - Domaine de Felines Picpoul de Pinet 2009 Languedoc - about £8
Waitrose - Domaine Pouderoux Vendange Tardive 2005 Maury - about £11 for 50cl

Seafood lunch in Sete with Muscat and dry white wine

FOOD PAIRINGS
The whites go well with seafood.
The sparkling wines make a good aperitif and can also pair soft cheeses.
The Vins Doux Naturels reds are great wines for chocolate deserts or strong hard cheeses.
The Muscats make a good accompaniment to an otherwise healthy fruit salad.

COMING SOON
Next week we move on to the wines of the South West of France. If you missed the early weeks of this course, it is not too late to catch up. Just click on the Frech Wine Course link at the top of this page.