Pinot Noir

Wine & Food Pairing with Classic French Dishes

Published by James Flewellen + Monday, August 19, 2013 Permalink 0

James Flewellen: Wine & Food Pairing with Classic French Dishes

: Strawberries with red wine3liz4 / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Cassoulet

This depends on the choice of meat in the dish. Try a Chianti or another Tuscan wine, with more savoury notes for deeper-flavoured meats. Or a Barbera, or even a youthful claret if there’s more pork than game in the dish.

Choucroute garnie

If you stick to local Alsatian wines for this dish you really can’t go wrong. Use the same wine you’ve used in cooking if possible (typically Riesling), or go for a Pinot Gris.

Confit de canard (duck confit)
(from Southwest, cooked over
a fire in its own fat)

For this rich dish we have two options. One is to stay local and go for a spicy red wine from the south-west of France – a Tannat from Madiran or a Malbec from Cahors. Alternatively a full-bodied, oaked Chardonnay would also work. The acidity of the white wine will cut through the duck fat nicely. Choose a robust wine with enough body to stand up to the rich flavours though – Meursault from Burgundy, or a Californian pretender.

Coq au vin

While red Burgundy is the classic pairing for this dish, a claret will also go very well. Choose one with a few years’ bottle age so the savoury developed notes complement the complex herbs in the sauce.

Andouillettes (sausage
made with chitterlings)

A tough dish to pair with on account of its strong flavours and somewhat acquired taste! Both reds and whites could work here. Light reds such as Beaujolais or Chinon will do well to complement the dish without dominating it with too much tannin. On the white side, a light, fresh style is best: perhaps Chablis, or the mountain-air notes of an Arbois from the Jura.

Escargots de Bourgogne (snails
baked in their shells with
parsley butter)

My favourite pairing for escargots in butter is champagne. The acidity helps out with the fat in the butter but the wine does not overpower the delicate flavours of the snail. A Chablis or other unoaked Chardonnay would also work.

Quenelle (flour; butter; eggs;
milk; and fish, traditionally pike,
mixed and poached)

The wine pairing depends on the fish used in the quenelle, typically pike. A fish quenelle would go very nicely with a Picpoul de Pinet. The lively, clean flavours of this wine complement fish nicely, and there is great acidity to cut through the butter and eggs.

Brandade de morue (puréed
salt cod)

Strongly flavoured fish dishes can be hard to find wine companions for. I’d suggest a very dry Alsatian or German Riesling. Being a bit more adventurous, you could also try a white wine from the Rhône – something based on Marsanne or Rousanne.

Bouillabaisse (a stew of
mixed Mediterranean
fish, tomatoes, and herbs)

For Bouillabaisse you want a wine that keeps pace with the rich flavours of the dish, but doesn’t detract from them. Keeping local, I would go for a Provençal rosé, or possibly a quality white wine from the south of France. If you’re in the mood for reds – try a light-bodied, acidic wine such as a Cabernet Franc from Chinon or a German Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir).

Ratatouille (a vegetable stew
with olive oil, aubergine, courgette,
bell pepper, tomato, onion
and garlic) with white fish

I go Italian when matching wine to tomato-based dishes. Try a juicy Dolcetto, Barbera or Primitivo. You could also go for Primitivo’s Californian cousin: Zinfandel.

Duck à l’orange

Pinot Noir is the classic pairing for duck, however I find the orange in this dish doesn’t quite gel with the flavours in Pinot. Try a Grenache-based wine from the Southern Rhône, such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The extra spice in the wine complements the orange.

Pot au Feu

A hearty red wine is just the ticket for this meal. I’d go for a Merlot-based Claret from Pomerol in Bordeaux, but wines based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Malbec, or Grenache will also do beautifully. Just avoid something that is too jammy in fruit profile.

Blanquette de veau

I can’t go past an Alsatian Riesling for this dish. Dry, austere, acidic – the perfect foil for the cream – and the fruit profile won’t obscure the meat.

Sole meunière

This dish cries out for a fruity, crisp, light white wine. My pick would be an Albariño from Galicia in Spain.

Tournedos Rossini

My classic pairing for this would be a juicy Left Bank claret. To take a step away from the norm, try a Tempranillo-based wine from Ribera del Duero. Unlike its cousins in Rioja, Ribera wines are more robust and full-bodied – ideal for the steak – and usually avoid the sweet-scented American oak.

Foie gras (terrine), served with
figs or onion jam

I’ve tried many things with foie gras and really don’t think you can go past the classic Bordelais pairing of Sauternes. The sweetness in the wine works beautifully with the salt in the terrine and the fruit profile goes well with the figs and onion jam.

Steack-frites with Béarnaise sauce

Let’s face it steak and red wine go together like a hand in a glove. If you want to emphasise the pepper in the Béarnaise then go for a peppery Syrah from the Northern Rhône or Shiraz from the Barossa.

Sign up for Jonell Galloway and James Flewellen’s “Celebrate the Chartres Festival of Lights & Autumnal Equinox with a Food & Wine Tasting Masterclass” in France from September 19 to 22, 2013.

_____________________

Dr James Flewellen is The Rambling Epicure wine columnist. James is a biophysicist at the University of Oxford. Originally from New Zealand, James learned his trade in taste through the Oxford Blind Wine Tasting Society, of which he was the President from 2010-2012. During his term, he represented Oxford at many international blind tasting competitions – twice winning the prestigious ‘Top Taster’ Award in the annual Varsity blind tasting match against Cambridge University and captaining winning teams in competitions throughout Europe.

James runs wine education courses in Oxford through the Oxford Wine Academy and is completing the WSET Professional Diploma in Wine and Spirits. He is the founder of The Oxford Wine Blog and co-author of the forthcoming book: The Concise Guide to Wine and Blind Tasting.

Wine & Food Pairing with James Flewellen: Boeuf Bourguignon
Top 10 Best and simple Wine and Food Pairs
Pairing Chicken with Wine
12 Things You Never Cared to Learn About Wine But I’m Making You.

Wine & Food Pairing with James Flewellen: Boeuf Bourguignon

Published by Jonell Galloway + Monday, July 8, 2013 Permalink 1

Wine and Food Pairing: Boeuf Bourguignon

by James Flewellen

Here’s our recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon

The classic wine for this hearty dish is a relatively youthful Burgundian Pinot Noir – ideally the same wine you’ve used in the cooking. The bright fruit flavours in the wine complement the savoury spice in the dish and the tannins – fine as they typically are in red Burgundy – interact with the proteins in the meat to bring overall harmony to the meal. An older Pinot Noir will have developed more subtle, complex savoury notes, which may be overwhelmed by the bold array of flavours in the stew, thus I’d stick to a more youthful example and save the mature wine until when you can enjoy it in all its glory.

Other Pinot Noirs from around the world will also work – particularly the rich, clean fruit profile of a New Zealand Pinot. You could also try a ‘serious’ Beaujolais Cru – made from the Gamay grape. These Cru wines are slightly more expensive than the infamous Beaujolais Nouveau, yet they provide a more complex flavour profile and robust, yet integrated tannins. The best, from for instance Moulin à Vent, Morgon and Fleurie, start to resemble their cousins from Burgundy to the north and as such, offer excellent value for money.

Cabernet Franc

To the west of Burgundy, the Loire valley produces a number of wines that would go very well with the dish. Sancerre Rouge is the Loire’s expression of Pinot Noir and, I feel, too light in body to stand up to a stew. A Chinon or Bourgueil, however, made from Cabernet Franc, is well up to the task. The thicker skins of Cabernet Franc make for more robust tannin, which go perfectly with beef. Meanwhile, these wines typically have a rich fruity core in their flavour profile not dissimilar to young Burgundy, although more towards blackcurrant rather than raspberry on the fruit spectrum. Cabernet Franc can also introduce leafy, minerally and peppery notes, which can serve as a lovely foil to the sweetness in the vegetables in the stew.

Jonell Galloway and James Flewellen will be giving a food and wine tasting Masterclass in Chartres from September 19 to 22. Here is a thorough description: Celebrate the Chartres Festival of Lights & Autumnal Equinox with a Food & Wine Tasting Masterclass. Click here to reserve your place!

About James Flewellen

Dr James Flewellen is a biophysicist at the University of Oxford. James learned his trade in taste through the Oxford Blind Wine Tasting Society, of which he was the President from 2010-2012. During his term, he represented Oxford at many international blind tasting competitions – twice winning the prestigious ‘Top Taster’ Award in the annual Varsity blind tasting match against Cambridge University and captaining winning teams in competitions throughout Europe.

One of James’s goals is to clarify the complex and hard-to-navigate world of wine for both novice and experienced tasters. He applies his scientific training to wine education, illuminating concepts of taste, tannin and terroir in an approachable, entertaining manner. James runs wine education courses in Oxford through the Oxford Wine Academy and is completing the WSET Professional Diploma in Wine and Spirits. He is the regular wine writer for The Rambling Epicure and is the founder of The Oxford Wine Blog. He is also currently co-authoring The Concise Guide to Wine and Blind Tasting – a book surveying the wine regions of the world and how to blind taste.

The Art of Tasting Wine with James Flewellen: Top 10 Red Wine Grapes

Published by James Flewellen + Thursday, May 23, 2013 Permalink 0

The Art of Tasting Wine with James Flewellen: Top 10 Red Wine Grapes

by James Flewellen

My last post covered what I consider the ‘top 10’ white wine producing grapes. Finding a similar list for the top 10 red wine grapes is no less difficult — perhaps even more so with the propensity for red wines to be a blend of a number of different grapes. Again, the order is my own preference, based on commercial importance, potential quality of the grape, and whether it produces a ‘classic style’.

TOP 10 RED WINE GRAPES

10. Malbec

Malbec is one of the six permitted red wine grapes in Bordeaux, although few producers take advantage of its rich, plummy flavours. You are more likely to find Malbec predominating in blends of southern French appellations, such as Cahors, where the grape is called ‘Cot’. These wines are typically full-bodied, deep in colour, with plum flavours alongside ferric, inky notes too. Malbec has found a second home in Argentina, where it is the country’s signature red grape. In Argentina, the mineral notes subside somewhat, and a purer fruit note comes to the fore. The tannins, plentiful in Cahors, are softer in the Argentinian expression.

8. Sangiovese

This rather romantically named grape (‘Blood of Jupiter’) is the key component of wines from the Chianti region in Tuscany — arguably Italy’s most famous red wine export. The grape produces ruby-coloured wines with notes of cherries and almond. The palate can show high acid with tart cherry flavours, medium to high levels of alcohol and drying, austere tannins. The best examples develop savoury, tea-like notes with age and undeniable complexity. Brunello di Montalcino is perhaps the most interesting expression of Sangiovese, from a wine-lover’s perspective. Best served with food on account of the fierce tannins though! Sangiovese is also a component in many of the so-called ‘Super-Tuscan’ blends, along with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Sangiovese ready to harvest

7. Tempranillo

As Sangiovese is to Tuscany, Tempranillo is to the Rioja region — and indeed to many parts of Spain. Rioja is now perhaps Spain’s most famous wine export after Cava and within this region the Tempranillo grape has found a plethora of styles. The traditional style of Rioja saw ageing in mostly American oak barrels, complementing the strawberry notes from the grape with a sweet vanilla and coconut aroma from the oak. The balance between oak and fruit notes depends on the length of time the wine is aged in the barrels. With age, these wines develop pleasant grassy and ‘farmyardy’ aromas. A ‘new’ style of Rioja has emerged in recent years, favouring French oak and pushing fruit notes to the fore. Tempranillo is also a key component in many other regions of Spain, such as Ribera del Duero, and in Portugal too, where it is known as Tinto Roriz.

6. Cabernet Franc

The second Bordeaux grape on the list, although in Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc usually plays second or third fiddle to Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Merlot. This by no means diminishes its importance for the region, however. For a classic expression of a varietal wine we head north to the Loire valley — to classic regions such as Saumur, Chinon and Bourgueil. Here, the grapes produce a medium-bodied purple wine with high acidity and fine, powdery tannins. Due to the cooler climate in the Loire, these wines have leafy, herbaceous notes to go with blackcurrant, blackberry and a distinctive mineral note many describe as ‘pencil shavings’!

5. Grenache

Grenache is the stalwart of the Southern Rhône, where it makes up the dominant component of blended wines along with Syrah, Mourvèdre and many others. This grape is a the heart of famous appellations such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas and Vaqueyras. Unusual among grape vines, it can tolerate heat and drought remarkably well with its ability to close its stomata to minimise water loss through evaporation. This feature also explains its success in South Australia — another hot, dry part of the world. The Aussies have followed the Southern Rhône model and produce similar blended wines — typically called ‘GSM’ after the three major grape components. Grenache is also to be found in Priorato and other parts of Spain, where it is known as ‘Garnacha’ and typically blended with Cariñena (a.k.a. Carignan). Grenache produces wines with high alcohol, low acidity and fine, dry tannins. The flavour profile is usually of strawberry with a characteristic white pepper spiciness.

the-color-of-grenache-wine-and-grenache-grapes-770x536

Photo courtesy of WineFolly.com

4. Merlot

Merlot was much maligned by Paul Giamatti’s character in the film Sideways – although in an ironic twist, his prized bottle of 1961 Cheval Blanc contains a major component of Merlot. Perhaps Merlot’s unfairly poor image comes from the many mass-produced French and New World wines where the grape is used to make soft, undemanding, plummy, easy drinking wines. However, at its best, Merlot produces elegant wines with savoury flavours combining with juicy plum and fruitcake spice notes. While the grape does not lend to the most structured wines, there can still be relatively firm, drying tannins, allowing the best examples of Merlot to age very well. The most famous examples of Merlot come from the Right Bank of Bordeaux in appellations such as St Emilion and Pomerol. Here, Merlot is typically blended with Cabernet Franc to produce some of the finest wines in the world. Merlot is, of course, a component of the Left Bank Bordeaux wines, although here it comes in second to Cabernet Sauvignon. Merlot can also be found in Bordeaux-imitation blends around the world and as a varietal wine in parts of the New World – especially California, New Zealand and Chile.

3. Syrah/Shiraz

Whereas the Southern Rhône follows the model of blending many grapes to create Grenache-dominated wines, the Northern Rhône sticks to a single grape: Syrah. Historically, Syrah has produced the most revered wines in France — emanating from Hermitage, Côte-Rotie, St Joseph and Cornas — and it has only been relatively recently that the focus has shifted to Bordeaux and to Burgundy. The best examples are very long-lived and offer very good value to the fine wine connoisseur. Syrah from the Rhône is medium- to full-bodied, with firm, slightly coarse tannins, crisp acidity and complex notes of plum, blackcurrant, black pepper, roasted meat, liquorice, treacle, herbs, among others. Syrah is, of course, equally famous in Australia, where it is known as ‘Shiraz‘ and found throughout the entire country. In fact, Australia has the oldest Shiraz grape vines in the world, with a number of regions unaffected by the phylloxera blight that destroyed European vineyards in the late 1800s. The classic style is that of the Barossa Valley or McLaren Vale — jammy black fruits, often with notes of spicy salami, black pepper, and eucalyptus. Australian Shiraz is usually more full-bodied with lower acidity than that of the Rhône, although wine from the slightly cooler region of the Hunter Valley can approach a Rhône-like style.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/8706849/Syrah-from-Chile-and-New-Zealand.html

Photo link to the Telegraph

2. Cabernet Sauvignon

The predominant grape in some of the world’s most revered and expensive wines: those of the Left Bank of Bordeaux. In the right climate and on the right soils, Cabernet Sauvignon offers elegance, power, structure and harmony that few other grapes can match. However, in search of the perfect structure the grape can produce austere flavours in the wine, which is why this grape is best suited to blending with others. This is the origin of the ‘Bordeaux blend’, which sees Cabernet Sauvignon melded with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Cabernet Sauvignon brings classic notes of blackcurrant, cedar, and bell peppers alongside vanilla and nuts from maturation in new French oak, which is typical in Bordeaux. On the palate, the grape brings crisp acidity and firm, structured tannins, and both of these can ensure a long ageing potential. The Bordeaux style has found favour in many other parts of the world, from the ‘Super-Tuscans’ of Italy to equivalents in Spain, California, Australia and South America. The best examples of these are among these nations’ finest wines also.

1. Pinot Noir

As Chardonnay is the Burgundian king of white wines for me, so Pinot Noir is the queen of reds. Fickle, hypersensitive, ill-tempered, yet oh-so-magical when it all pays off, tasting a great Pinot Noir is an unforgettable experience. At its best the grape offers up swirling, subtle aromas of raspberry, strawberry, cherry and blackberry, a refreshing minerality and an earthy, leafy quality that is quite indescribable, yet summed up beautifully in the French term sous-bois – or ‘forest floor’. Burgundy still holds the crown for the most desirable Pinots – indeed wines – on the planet, due in no small part to its 1,000-year history in growing the grape. The grape is notoriously difficult to work with and susceptible to very minor changes in climate. Various places around the world have taken on the challenge of making great Pinot – New Zealand, Oregon and Tasmania are considered the best pretenders to the crown and can produce some very good (and much better value-for-money) wines. But these are all new kids on the block, and have a few centuries ahead of them to really get to know the grape, and for the grape to get to know their new homes.

__________________

James Flewellen is The Rambling Epicure wine columnist. James is a biophysicist at the University of Oxford. Originally from New Zealand, the huge range of wine James discovered in Europe spurred his interest in all things vinous. He became involved in the University’s Blind Wine Tasting Society and has recently completed a two-year term as its President. During this time he represented the University in a number of domestic and international wine tasting competitions, winning several awards. He is currently completing the WSET Diploma in Wine and Spirits. James has a passion for wine communication and education and runs the Oxford Wine Blog and wine tasting courses through the Oxford Wine Academy.

The Art of Tasting Wine with James Flewellen: Spotlight on Pinot Noir

Published by James Flewellen + Monday, April 15, 2013 Permalink 0

The Art of Tasting Wine with James Flewellen: Spotlight on Pinot Noir

by James Flewellen

Pinot Noir is a light-skinned red grape originating from Burgundy in its modern form. Although, the Burgundians have been working with Pinot for around a thousand years, so the term ‘modern’ should be taken with a grain of salt!

The grape typically produces light-bodied wines with aromas ranging from fresh red fruit (raspberry, strawberry, cherry) to black (blackberry, mulberry) depending on the local climate of the vineyard. Warmer sites tend to produce wines with ‘blacker’ and riper fruit flavours. Alongside the fruit, good Pinot exhibits a fresh minerally, or even pleasantly ‘grassy’ character – complemented by the grape’s naturally high acidity on the palate. With bottle maturation, the wine develops notes of mushroom and decaying autumnal leaves — expressed evocatively by the French term sous-bois — which translates as ‘forest floor’. The thin skins of the grapes mean that the wines are generally low in tannin, though tannins are usually very fine-grained and punctuate the wine sufficiently so it can be enjoyed with food.

Pinot Noir is a notoriously fickle grape and is very difficult to handle. Burgundy’s millennium of association with Pinot Noir means that it produces the best in the world — and that the Burgundian clones of the grape are ideally suited to Burgundy’s continental climate. Explaining Burgundy’s appellation system would take an entire post of its own, but there are two main subregions for Pinot Noir there: Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits. These are further divided into villages, which may be further identified by vineyard — and these can be classified as either Premier Cru or Grand Cru indicating the quality level of the grapes.

Pinot grapes in Burgundy going through the pro...

The Art of Tasting Wine with James Flewellen: The Waipara Wine Region

Published by James Flewellen + Tuesday, February 19, 2013 Permalink 0

The Art of Tasting Wine with James Flewellen: The Waipara Wine Region

by James Flewellen

About 45 minutes drive north of my hometown of Christchurch, NZ, lies the North Canterbury wine region of the Waipara Valley. The valley is nestled between the Teviotdale Hills, which shelter the region from the cool Pacific, and the foothills of the Southern Alps. The everchanging interplay of light and shadow on these surrounding hills and the immense Cantabrian skies make this one of my favourite places to visit.

Hills in the Waipara wine region

New Zealand’s wine industry is still very young (about 30 years) by global standards, yet the Waipara region has been recognised for less than half of that. While there are some well-established names in the area (Pegasus Bay, for instance), many of the wineries have only been around a decade or so, and a whole host have sprung up in the last two or three years. I’ve long been impressed with the quality of wine issuing from Waipara’s small-scale, boutique wineries. A recent visit over the New Year reconfirmed for me why this spectacular region is receiving a surge of interest and that the future looks stellar for quality wine production.

Inasmuch as such a young region can be ‘known’ for a particular style of wine, Waipara is fast becoming a home to Riesling in New Zealand, an alternative base for Pinot Noir, and a lighter, less pungent style of Sauvignon Blanc. Chardonnay is also planted and there are small plantings of other reds including Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec.

Unfortunately, my visit coincided with a public holiday, so I was unable to see many of the region’s top wineries on this trip; however, we had a lovely tasting and lunch at well-established winery Waipara Springs, newcomer Black Estate wines opened their doors up especially for us, and a trip to a family friend’s farm at Limestone Hills resulted in a tasting of their very small-scale (and delicious) Syrah and seeing a champion truffle-sniffing dog in action!

Waipara Springs

Waipara Springs is one of the more established wineries in the region. They have a well-equipped tasting room and a charming garden restaurant serving delicious food designed to match with their own wines. Waipara Springs produces a wide variety of styles. I was most impressed with their 2012 Sauvignon Blanc, which was very smartly-made, melding fresh gooseberry and passion fruit flavours with a high-acid, dry palate and a long, lemony finish.

Their ‘Premo’ series wines all showed great character and were a significant step up in quality from the house wines. The Premo Riesling, 2008, showed toffee notes of bottle age, zesty lime fruit, and was medium-sweet. Quite a full, luscious body for a lowish alcohol wine and a refreshing tartness to the finish. The Premo Chardonnay, 2011, I found to be a rather light, elegant wine. Perhaps not one for those who like their Chardonnays to be bold and assertive, but a very pleasing wine nonetheless. The Premo Pinot Noir, 2010, seemed to me to have a bit much oak on the nose; the wine is aged in French oak for about 15 months, 20% of the barrels are new wood. But this is something that will resolve with time. Otherwise, the wine showed lovely concentration of dark plum fruit on the nose, an appealing sour cherry palate with green, herbal notes, crisp acidity and finely-etched tannins.

You can find a list of their overseas distributors here.

A delicious light lunch at Waipara Springs

Black Estate

While the Black Estate winery and cellar door is reasonably new, the site was planted back in 1993 with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The purchase by the Naish family in 2007 has seen the estate extend its plantings, with a constant eye on terroir and what the soil and mesoclimate bring to the wine. Their first Riesling release was in 2008, and I tried their 2011 incarnation. A beautiful nose with lime blossom, cream, mint leaf and sage was followed up by a rather intense lime sorbet palate. Crisp acidity was balanced nicely by the off-dry sweetness; medium alcohol (11%) and a medium length, but very pleasant finish.

Interestingly, the winery releases two different Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs: Black Estate and Omihi Series. Each comes from separate plantings with artisanal winemaking techniques (such as foot treading, and avoiding pumping) designed to bring out the terroir character in each wine. I enjoyed all of the wines and it was fascinating to see the difference the vineyards made. The Omihi Series Chardonnay, 2011, was a lean, delicate and very well-balanced wine. I discerned lighter, floral notes, with apple, cream and some truffle hints on the nose. By contrast, the Black Estate Chardonnay, 2011, had more apricot and peach notes on the nose and a heavier, more rounded body.

The Omihi Series Pinot Noir, 2010, was very aromatic, with a bright slightly estery, raspberry note along with hints of mushroom. The palate began with this bright fruit character and evolved savoury, stemmy notes all the way through to a crunchy, firm yet quite finely-etched tannic finish. Delicious, though my one criticism was the finish came through a bit hot. The Black Estate Pinot Noir, 2010, had more boysenberry on the nose, was less estery, with appealingly Burgundian ‘cooked carrot’ and white pepper hints. The palate showed a riper entry than the Omihi, with less of a progression to savoury (at least at this stage in its evolution); however, a slightly fuller, ‘gutsier’ body I felt balanced the alcohol on the finish more.

Black Estate wines are imported to the UK by Lea & Sandeman.

Limestone Hills

A highlight of the day was seeing Rosie the truffle-snuffler unearth an enormous truffle at the Limestone Hills farm. Well, I thought it was enormous, though Gareth Renowden, our host, assured me it was probably only a about 200 grams and therefore just a ‘medium sized one’! Gareth also grows Pinot Noir and Syrah grapes for his own wine made in vanishingly small quantities. I tasted the 2011 Limestone Hills Syrah and found a very interesting complex nose: black plum and berry fruit with medicinal, peppery hints alongside lavender and manuka honey. The palate showed only a medium body – a far cry from the full-bodied Shiraz of much of Australia, and even lighter than many Northern Rhone examples. Green, herbal flavours came through on the palate with a rich concentration of spicy strawberry and peppery plum. The wine had moderate acid, well-integrated alcohol and the classic, ‘ragged’-textured tannin profile I associate with Syrah. Overall a fascinating and very palatable wine.

Rosie the champion truffle-snuffler unearths some black gold at Limestone Hills farm

Waipara certainly is a region to watch in the very near future. One of the risks with hyped-up new regions is that many people can flock to invest there, resulting in huge increases in quantity and a dramatic decrease in average quality. However, as Bob Campbell MW suggests in this article, the difficulty of securing reliable yields in Waipara means that viticulturists and winemakers really do need to focus on quality to bring about a return. Long may this continue!

The Art of Tasting Wine with James Flewellen: Using your nose: Aromas in red wines

Published by James Flewellen + Friday, August 31, 2012 Permalink 0

by James Flewellen

Like white wines, the aromas of reds can similarly be broken up into ‘fruity’ and ‘non-fruity’ categories. Rather than a fruit ‘spectrum’, however, I tend to think of red wines in terms of red fruit and black fruit. Some of the lighter, more ethereal red wines have notes of redcurrant, cranberry, raspberry and strawberry, while in fuller-bodied wines you’ll often find luscious blackcurrant, blackberry and damson. Some wines, notably Pinot Noir can straddle the red fruit-black fruit divide, while I often find cherry and red plum notes specifically in Italian varietals.

I mentioned that with white wines, the position of the wine’s aroma profile along a ‘spectrum’ can indicate the ripeness of the fruit, and thus the climate in which the vine has grown. There is an analogue with red wines, where wine from cooler climes may smell (and taste) more of tart, fresher fruit while wine from wamer places will have notes of ripe, jammy or even baked fruit. Think of the subtle notes of fresh raspberries versus the heady aroma of a pot of homemade raspberry jam on the boil. Grapes from very hot places can have yield wines with dried fruit notes such as raisin, prune or date.

Some fruit aromas found in red wine

It’s perhaps worth mentioning here, that other than flavouring added by maturation in oak barrels, the flavours and aromas in wine come entirely from the fermentation of grapes. Grapes are not so far removed from other fruits on the evolutionary tree that it should come as no surprise that we might find some of the same chemicals in grapes as we do in apples, cherries or blackberries. Over millennia humans have domesticated the vine and carried out a series of genetic selections to bring forward different characteristics in what we now term different ‘varieties’ of the vine.

On the whole, red wines are more suited to oak ageing than whites. Thus we’ll often get the characteristic vanilla or coconut notes from wines that have seen, respectively, new French or American oak. More red wines will be aged in what is termed ‘old oak’ or ‘second use’ barrels. These are barrels that have already been used for one vintage and have thus imparted most of their bright, toast and vanilla aromas to a previous wine. Their effect on a subsequent wine is thus more subtle, and in such wines you’ll often find aromas of nuts — hazelnuts and walnuts are the two I find more commonly — and also coffee, mocha and chocolate.

Image Copyright James Flewellen. All Rights Reserved.

French oak barrels used for maturing red wine in Bordeaux.

Red wines too have a broad spectrum of non-fruit aromas. Wine writers and critics have come up with all sorts of interesting descriptors to attempt to communicate these sensations to their readers, and although they may sound rather rude, they are in fact (usually) complimentary. Some that spring to mind are farmyard, wet wool, horse manure, charcoal, ash and earth.

Spices too are a rich vein to tap for red wine aroma descriptions. Licorice, anise, Chinese five-star, pepper – both white and freshly ground black, juniper, cloves, nutmeg to name a few.

Some red wines have a herbaceous aspect to their aroma profile. Cabernet Sauvignon from a relatively cool climate famously has a note of ‘green bell pepper’. Cabernet Franc can smell grassy and leafy while Pinot Noir can bring forth hints of mushroom or autumnal leaves. Others still have floral aromas.

The most interesting wines will smell of many things; the aroma will swirl, morph and change over time in the glass; with bottle age, even more aromas come to the fore while other recede into the background. And of course different people will notice different things in the same glass of wine. Smell is a very powerful trigger for memory — which perhaps explains some of the more poetic descriptions for wine aromas. The great thing is that there are no wrong answers — nobody else has your olfactory sense nor your memories top draw upon. What can be frustrating to begin with is not to have the right vocabulary for describing what you smell. The best way to solve this is to buy some fruit, or some flowers, or some spices and just smell them! It might seem a bit mad but surely, not to notice what your wine smells like is to miss out on at least half the fun!

__________________

James Flewellen is The Rambling Epicure wine columnist. James is a biophysicist at the University of Oxford. Originally from New Zealand, the huge range of wine James discovered in Europe spurred his interest in all things vinous. He became involved in the University’s Blind Wine Tasting Society and has recently completed a two-year term as its President. During this time he represented the University in a number of domestic and international wine tasting competitions, winning several awards. He is currently completing the WSET Diploma in Wine and Spirits. James has a passion for wine communication and education and runs the Oxford Wine Blog and the Oxford Wine Academy.

Spanish Cava or Champagne: Both Bubbly, but Distinctly Different

Published by Jonell Galloway + Monday, March 26, 2012 Permalink 0

by Raquel Pardo

Translated into English and adapted by Jonell Galloway

Para leer la versión en español, pinche aquí

I risk sounding like a schoolteacher (or a wine snob), but I shall continue. My hair stands on end when I hear people confuse Champagne and Spanish cava, or bubbly (I hide my annoyance, of course).

I can no longer maintain my silence, so I will hastily scribble out a few lines to remove all doubts about the difference between cava and Champagne, and you can face up to the test. You only have to worry about perhaps finding yourself at a blind tasting with people who always know how distinguish one from the other, who never get it wrong. Otherwise, you’re set to roll.

Cava o champán: Mismas burbujas, distinto nombre

Published by Jonell Galloway + Tuesday, May 10, 2011 Permalink 0

por Raquel Pardo

Click here to read English version

Sé que puede parecer una gafotada (esta palabra me la acabo de inventar, sustituyámosla por esnobismo), pero me sigue ocurriendo: se me erizan los pelos (a escondidas, eso sí) cuando oigo que alguien confunde el champagne (o champán) con el cava.

Así que hoy me hadado por garabatear unas líneas didácticas para el que quiera leerlas y no confundirlos nunca más, a no ser en una cata a ciegas (que puede pasar, doy fe, a pesar de que haya quien asegure que siempre distingue uno de otro).