tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24053585978290813202024-02-07T02:21:41.874-08:00Charlie's Wine CellarA list of the wines I have drunk and enjoyedCharlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-44465653514285066912015-03-10T02:16:00.001-07:002015-03-10T02:18:25.220-07:00Lazio Spring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This was our first al fresco lunch of the year outside at Checchino Dal 1887, a restaurant set into the amphora-made hillside of Testaccio in Rome. It was the old slaughterhouse district and the main gate was opposite us as we tucked into various carnivorous dishes.</div>
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Normally you would go for red with meat but although this wine is from a Roscetto grape which has a tint of pink when grown, it is a golden, straw colour in the March sunshine. </div>
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It is a fabulous wine made outside Rome in Lazio. It is crisp and mineral but without the body of a burgundy or the sharpness of a Chablis. But with a much better finish than a Frascati, for example. It is difficult to get outside Italy, although it's not expensive.</div>
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<br />Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-42981316407719006232013-02-23T09:00:00.000-08:002013-02-23T09:00:00.446-08:00Atlantic Civilisation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'd been reading in Barry Cunliffe's sweeping <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Facing-Ocean-Atlantic-Peoples-8000/dp/0199240191">history of the European Atlantic seaboard</a> how the Loire is one of the great arteries of the continent along with the Rhone and Rhine. It shifted all those good things from the Med like olive oil out to the 'Celtic fringes'. In turn tin, furs and Vikings made their way from Brittany back towards civilisation. Around Nantes at the western mouth of the Loire is the Muscadet wine region.<br />
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There are many signs of a good wine, but one rather crude one is to leave it open in the fridge overnight. Muscadets are usually 'bone-dry' but this one emerged from its chilly 20 hours with a range of flavours. Mainly apple but also a whiff of grass and not at all sharp in the mouth. Amazing value at £7.50 from the <a href="http://www.thewinesociety.com/shop/productdetail.aspx?section=pd&pl=&pd=LO8971&pc=&prl=">Wine Society.</a>Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-62051872767994899812012-08-06T15:20:00.000-07:002012-08-06T15:21:02.999-07:00Under The Volcano<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">f we're talking 'terroir' than it doesn't come more distinctive than ash and tufa does it? In fact the vines of the Auvergne don't cascade down the sides of the region's extraordinary volcanoes like lava. Instead they are mainly in the fertile valleys. This <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">rosé</span> was the perfect dish to set us up for the steaks we cooked under the pine trees camping next to the volcanic Lac D'Aydat. It's a bit like a Bordeaux <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">rosé</span>, quite full-bodied and dry. It's produced by <a href="http://www.richardkelley.co.uk/cotesdauvergne_cavesaintverny.htm">a co-operative</a> in the shadow of the long extinct Puy De Dome that towers weirdly above the surrounding landscape. I think I can detect a hint of the old fires in that lovely colour.</span>Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-26918689009151656042012-08-06T11:23:00.000-07:002012-08-06T11:24:03.448-07:00In Sancerre<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Sel De Grenier is one of those rather frilly French restaurants which can put you on edge until you realise all the diners are much more relaxed than the staff. And what could be more unstressed than eating in the garden at the heart of the lovely historic quarter of Montlucon in the Bourbonnais. That's close enough to the Loire for me to order a Sancerre. Not the classic steely white of that region, however, but this lovely cherry red. It went beautifully with some classic French food avec une twiste: beef carpaccio with a basil sorbet, par exemple.Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-64465607884640123842012-04-10T10:35:00.001-07:002012-04-10T10:35:52.545-07:00Rustic Romeiko<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-cuCHQy8niZEb3rErS3WEwl_7E__MrhEHkSGDFVW_fL6QERS2nONUK1SJRB65bgvNAyBGDOT5U3MzbIzc4uuuRUjjCmBH4FKSfzZOWN5v7H3J2Ek-FZkgHUU4TLvS3xMIbVo16vBLVfI/s1600/IMG_1015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-cuCHQy8niZEb3rErS3WEwl_7E__MrhEHkSGDFVW_fL6QERS2nONUK1SJRB65bgvNAyBGDOT5U3MzbIzc4uuuRUjjCmBH4FKSfzZOWN5v7H3J2Ek-FZkgHUU4TLvS3xMIbVo16vBLVfI/s640/IMG_1015.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>If you can't be great, at least be local. I drink a fair amount of Greek wine and struggle to find anything particularly good or interesting. Well, this one isn't that good but it was interesting.<br />
The Makrakis family who make it proudly inform us that Virgil (an Italian surely?) said that counting the number of wines was like counting grains of sand. Their particular grain, or rather grape, is Romeiko which packs a reasonable kick alcohol-wise but is a relatively subtle flavour. Even the red has a suggestion of sherry about it. Fruity but with a dry edge.<br />
It went perfectly with the fresh wild greens, smoked pork, spinach pies and rabbit with thyme that formed our diet at <a href="http://www.milia.gr/EN/">Milia, the wonderful traditional holiday village</a> in the midst of the western Cretan mountains, just 30 minutes drive from the idyllic lagoon beaches of <a href="http://heathsnatches.wordpress.com/2012/04/10/post-minoan-pre-tourism-heathsnatches-on-tour/">Elafonisi</a>.<br />
It's a charming and comfortable rustic spot and like the rest of Crete totally uncrowded at this time of year (early April) before the charter flights start to arrive.<br />
You can stroll around Minoan ruins covered in wonderful spring flowers and take your pick of the restaurant tables in charming ports like Chania. And it's still warm enough to swim.<br />
I didn't want to leave Milia. Partly because of the wood fires, sunny balconies, lovely walks, good food and even this wine. But mainly because to get in and out you have to brave a dizzy-making two kilometres of unmade mountain roads. You will need a drink after that.Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-8474120603818253922012-03-04T13:32:00.000-08:002012-03-04T13:32:28.802-08:00Changing Cairanne<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElTXPp7wz7Pz4c5bOzkergimeTi0vzAYF7WwxmIkNt6ueH32g_OiydLq7Ys16CY_YgSO2C6YjziuQGIdh7B6xJj2yO9XrvlCxKPQXmXA9qUmndCQAgmA00k_HpgQ5s2aAt9VP9I1SHG1A/s1600/IMG_1073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElTXPp7wz7Pz4c5bOzkergimeTi0vzAYF7WwxmIkNt6ueH32g_OiydLq7Ys16CY_YgSO2C6YjziuQGIdh7B6xJj2yO9XrvlCxKPQXmXA9qUmndCQAgmA00k_HpgQ5s2aAt9VP9I1SHG1A/s640/IMG_1073.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>Wine really does have a life of its own. Even in the bottle it changes over time. And once released it continues to develop new characteristics. Take this Cairanne.<br />
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I really like the various Cote Du Rhone villages. Each has its own personality and they can be better value and more interesting than many of the well-known Rhone appelations. But I have had problems with Cairanne before. To my palette it can be a bit leaden, almost steely combined with a rather jammy, full-blown fruitiness. One of the few times I have ever left a bottle undrunk (apart from it being off) was a Cairanne.<br />
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So it was when I first tasted this a couple of years ago. But when opened this week, it had taken on a more velvety, less full-blooded body. And when left open in the bottle and glass for an hour or two, it became a very civilised, quite rich wine. Even one mouthful seemed to have quite a different finish to the first impact on the nose.<br />
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I just don't know enough about wine [as you will have gathered from this blog] to work this out. But I am looking forward to opening another bottle of this in a couple of years to find out what happens next.Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-49650757228021427842012-03-03T02:27:00.001-08:002012-03-03T02:28:17.052-08:00Better Than Coal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsL3d18S-HxSxQuDrvZz8LafNu9sQ8anE28aoRyM-WWEqVRbkfveGWJDwfGSOxIiojCySFqTZk8uBuM-TVzlwann0wVUjecj3rNbHGdo_ViP-mOaR54s-RjIh8FBR0Mu-_rYx6ROGN7_fs/s1600/IMG_1064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsL3d18S-HxSxQuDrvZz8LafNu9sQ8anE28aoRyM-WWEqVRbkfveGWJDwfGSOxIiojCySFqTZk8uBuM-TVzlwann0wVUjecj3rNbHGdo_ViP-mOaR54s-RjIh8FBR0Mu-_rYx6ROGN7_fs/s640/IMG_1064.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>I confess my real wine cellar is nothing like the one in the background of this blog. It's actually a very narrow coal hole that runs under the hallway of our Victorian terrace house. It isn't ideal as the temperature is not constant and the underground tributaries of the Fleet River are just inches below in the London clay. But it holds my collection of wine bought en primeur over the last decade or so that we've lived here. This bottle is something I dragged out in the last week past the tool boxes and the ladder, up the four steps into daylight.<br />
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After a decade of rest it's a wonderfully fruity but full and quite subtle wine from that most mixed wine region of France, the south-west. It's a beautiful part of the country, where the hills start to rise away from the Med, heading off into deeper Languedoc.<br />
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I am delighted to say that this will happily rest a couple of more years in the coal cellar and, I think, improve. The 2005 and the 2007 also awaits.Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-74308532517117437012011-12-28T05:32:00.000-08:002011-12-28T05:33:41.331-08:00Wild Wine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijaF7mh_xu1Hfg3M3rJW4HvDWTp9og0QCjRJMG70C2kNPZvGYsVk5jPmQnQ2xw0r9kf7jG4MT1MYfTsX2Us80blSAeSjYD4my89I_rUsPcvQYc2GWkghML5nGtjwn_00hGbw9xw8plgIqs/s1600/IMG_1184.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijaF7mh_xu1Hfg3M3rJW4HvDWTp9og0QCjRJMG70C2kNPZvGYsVk5jPmQnQ2xw0r9kf7jG4MT1MYfTsX2Us80blSAeSjYD4my89I_rUsPcvQYc2GWkghML5nGtjwn_00hGbw9xw8plgIqs/s640/IMG_1184.jpg" width="480" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Orford is famous for the <a href="http://myths.e2bn.org/mythsandlegends/origins63-the-wild-man-of-orford.html">legend of the 'wild man'</a>, a kind of hybrid merman/green man legend. It feels entirely in keeping with the deep historic feel of the place, a strange corner of Suffolk hanging onto the edge of some very watery landscape right next to the north sea. This wine is also a bit of an odd mix, but no monster.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This five year old English white made of German grapes has, perhaps, too much going on. It is quite full-bodied, with all sorts of notes such as a sweet peach, a sharper lemon and when well-chilled, enough minerality to compliment the Butley oysters we were enjoying. Both the wine and seafood were local to within a few miles of Orford.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0Dunwich, Suffolk IP17, UK52.278389999999987 1.626148999999941224.955434499999988 -58.139476000000059 79.601345499999979 61.391773999999941tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-19830862822136041892011-11-15T11:37:00.000-08:002011-11-15T11:38:08.446-08:00Tunisia Needs A Red Revolution<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOL2JVXG8cNhm8vcwLGqq1AAUo8Bxjftq9L6OfT9V-NQYRoE6ubuFPMD6NsZ5AoJi0SGOiYcVFz2NaN4dyXeikpIZkwffo7K6AOP672cJ_g3wR6qsi9XfzYB1W0qfxbY407d9AMaP_8esW/s1600/IMG_1073.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOL2JVXG8cNhm8vcwLGqq1AAUo8Bxjftq9L6OfT9V-NQYRoE6ubuFPMD6NsZ5AoJi0SGOiYcVFz2NaN4dyXeikpIZkwffo7K6AOP672cJ_g3wR6qsi9XfzYB1W0qfxbY407d9AMaP_8esW/s640/IMG_1073.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Tunisia needs another revolution. Nothing wrong with the democratic developments, but the wine could do with a coup.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There I am with ancient historian son in a bar in El Kef - at the furthest reaches of the Empire (Roman) watching Esperance Tunis FC win the African Champions League while tucking into some rather lovely herby crispy pastries, curried chicken etc.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The mood is liberated in every sense, less than a fortnight after their elections. The drive from the capital out west has taken us past a vast swathe of fertile farmland with vines here and there.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then the wine. Well the rose was worse which made this red seem adequate. Smooth, rounded, pleasant but entirely characterless. Certainly not Grand Cru.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Still, who's complaining at the price and the setting of the hillside medina and the context of new-found freedom.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Maybe the climate isn't perfect and perhaps the soil doesn't offer much in the way of mineral input. But with the French influence and the Lebanese example surely Tunisia can have a wine to match the glorious evocation of Carthage?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Go to the fabulous mosaics of the Bardo Museum and there's lots of evidence that Bacchus has a fantastic history here, now it needs some investment in the future.</div>Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-30620008223457394022011-10-30T09:06:00.000-07:002011-10-30T09:12:34.695-07:00Appalachian Autumn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO89MU1K4cA4jvnw28cygEJP_Aeh0rN-sZy7e8041fDu_ZmILUOo12yTnPiOjlXz4anlHLVZPRiMAW3k3SWgRHOc0vYNzJr-WwhxeX8yheW9Oybkw8IcIyaB6xufb_bIvEv3cbiNwGOl6B/s1600/IMG_0991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO89MU1K4cA4jvnw28cygEJP_Aeh0rN-sZy7e8041fDu_ZmILUOo12yTnPiOjlXz4anlHLVZPRiMAW3k3SWgRHOc0vYNzJr-WwhxeX8yheW9Oybkw8IcIyaB6xufb_bIvEv3cbiNwGOl6B/s640/IMG_0991.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This was one of the better Virginian wines that I tasted on a very brief trip down the Blue Ridge mountains. Most of the good wine is on the east of the Shenandoah national park, especially around Charlottesville. But this <a href="https://www.villaappalaccia.com/store/agora.cgi?product=Wines">winery</a> is a bit further south near Roanoke.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Their wines are mainly Italian but this one is, of course, a French grape varietal and so not suprisingly it evoked Claret rather than Chianti.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A soft, smokey texture and nose, fruity but not over-powering. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I actually drank this with a very good dinner at the charming and very hospitable <a href="http://www.gristmillsquare.com/">Gristmill Inn</a> in Warm Springs. As the name suggests, this lovely village in a valley of the Appalachian Hills has wonderful bathing in <a href="http://www.gristmillsquare.com/jefferson_pools.htm">America's oldest spa pool.</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So all round it made for a day of real liquid refreshment.</div>Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-89823411469483677812011-07-16T11:21:00.000-07:002011-07-16T11:23:06.296-07:00The cocktail now arriving on platform three<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0r0yDYR86cN85CGvq0sNfP2WDNSEoDhhq3_H7Fj56VxAPqqxli2Z9uovZMB-32LR20XaQVxDNJcR1mH7k1BuHV1-s2q0Zr8sJoRapmBQ7g1wSYclxSi1-IfAfCLyDBWwBJxz2D2p5-CA/s1600/IMG_0638.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0r0yDYR86cN85CGvq0sNfP2WDNSEoDhhq3_H7Fj56VxAPqqxli2Z9uovZMB-32LR20XaQVxDNJcR1mH7k1BuHV1-s2q0Zr8sJoRapmBQ7g1wSYclxSi1-IfAfCLyDBWwBJxz2D2p5-CA/s640/IMG_0638.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I know this is a wine blog and this is a cocktail but there's sparkling wine in there. Plus Russian vodka, peach schnapps and some 24 carat gold.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We were celebrating with friends over from Australia at 'Europe's Longest Champagne Bar' at the St Pancras Eurostar terminal. Their kids were due back from a visit to Paris with Aunties.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The cocktail looked rather better than it tasted. Much too sweet. But it is a civilised joy to booze in a great modern station set within one of my favourite London buildings.</div>Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-60783928037265321432011-07-04T14:58:00.000-07:002011-07-04T14:59:59.261-07:00She's Forever Blowing Bubbles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHnYSBZ8XentCcMKfWXCI66NIzAhh_znJcU2ptsn1YoX0zCfn4YWPaDxXMnwCh11xcvaOuQNMsfiHIC4XkEjKholB5Wae07DVJdAiD4jNm_W6hvJNlavye-zJwUwbYUK5yfC2Gh42CVYc/s1600/IMG_7412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHnYSBZ8XentCcMKfWXCI66NIzAhh_znJcU2ptsn1YoX0zCfn4YWPaDxXMnwCh11xcvaOuQNMsfiHIC4XkEjKholB5Wae07DVJdAiD4jNm_W6hvJNlavye-zJwUwbYUK5yfC2Gh42CVYc/s400/IMG_7412.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>This is not about the wine, it's about the moment. Champagne is for celebration and what more joy than a good friend who cheats serious illness?<br />
And location and timing helps. In the middle of the Black Mountains near Hay On Wye, in the warm glow of a quite extraordinarily sunny early July weekend. Half way up Tympa.<br />
This was a relatively inexpensive bubbly picked up from the very lovely <a href="http://www.corksof.com/">Corks of Cotham</a> independent wine merchants in Bristol en route to Wales. I am not a huge champagne fan, but this was dryish, with a nice biscuity flavour. Not too sharp or too fizzy.<br />
Cheers to one of my oldest and dearest friends.Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-79114532883328653682011-06-30T15:20:00.000-07:002011-06-30T15:20:33.117-07:00Coarse Corse<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwrYrKsXgFIKMF6f3C8TzPI6iN72FOLld18R47FDxUieaDhxsl1WhXVl7738VvmiRD06MNf3iElNxXTzdddeowoeCkqBJIN_Xdh9hWqx2UYg8ySKsPq7VPDuFsHf0m08hm6yDybTWnOkRL/s1600/IMG_0607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwrYrKsXgFIKMF6f3C8TzPI6iN72FOLld18R47FDxUieaDhxsl1WhXVl7738VvmiRD06MNf3iElNxXTzdddeowoeCkqBJIN_Xdh9hWqx2UYg8ySKsPq7VPDuFsHf0m08hm6yDybTWnOkRL/s640/IMG_0607.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is the one you fear. This is the attractively labeled holiday buy lurking at the back of the drinks cabinet. OK, it's not a wine, so it shouldn't even be on this blog. But it's alcoholic and as redolent of terroir as any Claret or Burgundy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Look at that beautiful label with the lovely calligraphy and that exotic head of the black Corsican. Enjoy the powder pink colour and the inky blue. But note the main ingredients.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">'Sucre'. Sugar. Lots of it. This is sweet, but not in the good way that a Sauternes might be.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Corsica is one of my favourite places. Wild. Hills. Family seaside or strange beaches. Odd megalithic circles and a menacing flavour of mafia, pied noir and rich, herby meats and cheeses. Some rather good wine, too. Especially from the northern peninsula.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One of most enjoyable voyages was on the night ferry. We were one of a tiny handful of non-French people in a bateau en voyage to this island that is a mixture of Italian, French and something odd of itself. A bit like this dreadful drink.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And yet. That other ingredient. Myrte. And then you are reminded of the maquis, the dry, haunting smell of the scrub that bakes in the sea-salt sprayed coastal fringes. Plus the bitter fruits of this strange isle.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So what? it's still a rubbish drink. There must be something to have it with, apart from desperation, that makes it palatable, but I don't know what.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Still, it reminds me of Corsica and that's enough.</div>Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-55493879456382316932011-06-09T13:30:00.000-07:002011-06-09T13:32:08.456-07:00Pull Over<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7tpBLj7G-5nTLMehXyDthFAQOZttmy4FHgf-ay110WlvPrJsDoUSqLNt6wNR50TUq0aVT5v-qsTerTh6hLzruJcB6XdTDhOIwcRaOfFEmIo9IKroRtCyel2hWMPRNEjor07OFcVpKoOG/s1600/challonaise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV7tpBLj7G-5nTLMehXyDthFAQOZttmy4FHgf-ay110WlvPrJsDoUSqLNt6wNR50TUq0aVT5v-qsTerTh6hLzruJcB6XdTDhOIwcRaOfFEmIo9IKroRtCyel2hWMPRNEjor07OFcVpKoOG/s640/challonaise.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You are on the E21 about 100+ KM heading north of Lyons when on the left appears the ridge with signposts to some of the best wine villages of Burgundy. You have a car full of kids and unwashed holiday clothes. What you really need is a cool (but not chilled) glass of white.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have always thought it paradoxical that one of the most reviled and misused grapes - Chardonnay - can reach such heights on those stony slopes just off the motorway.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is not a particularly outstanding example. It was just a tenner en primeur. But it does have that minerally, slightly acidic quality (imagine sucking a pebble with a slice of lemon - on the other hand don't) but with the oleaginous body of the Chardonnay grape. This one was was slightly oaked with a lovely fresh apple taste (Bramley not Pippin).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This year, I will pull over.</div>Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-36444868158366569052011-04-25T05:33:00.000-07:002011-04-25T05:33:59.065-07:00Jordan Red<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6HxKr3tmOHkjCryAQNFRFJ3MCaYfukv-RhkvG1ymMtsgLNhkc8B8AFoCSaPPACXGgbP2flkAkjH2cJVI4zYOIyw7EUrSIFXexbMBawuvorHoRGne40lItPY8XPHpQ7YJ7XesPP7jj7Aw/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6HxKr3tmOHkjCryAQNFRFJ3MCaYfukv-RhkvG1ymMtsgLNhkc8B8AFoCSaPPACXGgbP2flkAkjH2cJVI4zYOIyw7EUrSIFXexbMBawuvorHoRGne40lItPY8XPHpQ7YJ7XesPP7jj7Aw/s640/photo.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Mount Nebo is one of those Biblical places where religious history of a number of faiths comes together in a spectacular setting. But I am afraid this is not the Promised Land for wine-lovers, yet.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We were here because our Syrian holiday was put on hold by the forces of democracy sweeping across the region. Jordan was a beautiful, hospitable and fascinating alternative. Safe, comfortable and full of interest. Sadly, this wine was no miracle.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A little sour with an indeterminate flavour that was neither novel nor reassuring. Lebanon shows that even countries with small internal markets can produce excellence but it takes a lot of investment in wine-making skills.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">At least it wasn't as sickly sweet as the Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc from the same company. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So go to Jordan for the amazing archeology: the extraordinary city of rock tombs at Petra; Crusader and Muslim Castles, Roman Cities, Byzantine Churches, and Hellenistic Palaces. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Go for the stunning landscapes from the desert to the Dead Sea, from the green hills of the north to the coral reefs of the Red Sea. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Go for the cultural mix that included a Christian Easter as well as Islamic and Bedouin music for our delight.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Toast all these delights with some of the local plonk by all means, but perhaps have some water with your wine. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-87779674860174363752011-03-25T13:34:00.000-07:002011-03-26T05:24:29.640-07:00Dramatic Rasteau<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbyhLOCVtEAhFiHB_m3OHNcEJzwJHpHC4xHZTAL6tiSYmWw1SdOqgl2HtHPaNoxTM5J6FYo_NgWatdFKwWKj9zQ8eCYc0uH6gX00EPOjHSBC1JRNci2oFC3vtDcGa4PZhmCg8Mt8Q50CgE/s1600/WIne.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbyhLOCVtEAhFiHB_m3OHNcEJzwJHpHC4xHZTAL6tiSYmWw1SdOqgl2HtHPaNoxTM5J6FYo_NgWatdFKwWKj9zQ8eCYc0uH6gX00EPOjHSBC1JRNci2oFC3vtDcGa4PZhmCg8Mt8Q50CgE/s640/WIne.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Rhone is the spinal cord of western European history, linking the civilisations of the Med to the cold, grapeless North. Head south nowadays down the Route de Soleil that follows that river's course and turn left about 100 km before Marseilles and you'll find Rasteau.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's not actually on the Rhone, but it's one of those wonderful places that make up the superior appelation of Cotes De Rhones Villages. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I love the words Vacqueyras, Gigondas, Tricastin and Rasteau. I spent a wonderful evening once on a terrace outside a farmhouse in the Ardeche with a top Dutch theatre person supping these fruits of the south. Short, wrinkled, moustache. Great raconteur and lover of the wines of the southern Rhone.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Those sensuous names, when rolled around his gutteral Nederlandish mouth, sounded even more dramatic and full of flavour.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And at their best, that's what these wines are like.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Very local. Full of the stones and herbs that make up that almost-Provence landscape.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This little number was a relatively modest bottle bought en primeur from the Wine Society that I've had in the coal cellar for five years. Hence, all the dust and cobwebs on the label. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But it's a lovely drinkable red which given some time in the air, opens up nicely from a very concentrated, deep red, almost sharp, into something quite wonderfully sunny and relatively sweet. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I dedicate this little blog to the memory of Ric Van Hulst.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-20554181825833821332011-02-17T12:34:00.000-08:002011-02-17T12:35:08.957-08:00Jugendstil Veltliner<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIivIjbimDC9-eVv8uohcCwFWmNZ7cruOStpVQTSIkLHJuGFgoLl_Lj1w3XmPRJZmJsePPwQCeXlAl4K1wPB3A24W2hQrn6E0P8FXbktyDOIUubC1los4LD8bGhxuiX-G2NzJdrX5zyOQC/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIivIjbimDC9-eVv8uohcCwFWmNZ7cruOStpVQTSIkLHJuGFgoLl_Lj1w3XmPRJZmJsePPwQCeXlAl4K1wPB3A24W2hQrn6E0P8FXbktyDOIUubC1los4LD8bGhxuiX-G2NzJdrX5zyOQC/s640/photo.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br />
This is a lovely Gruner Veltliner from Austria. It's not green at all. Instead it's a lovely thin golden colour.<br />
Like most Veltliner it has a refreshing, sharp, dry but full taste. This one had a slight fizz to it as well.<br />
I confess I chose it for the beautiful label. I adore that Jugendstil type-face and the charming folksy wood-cut illustration. Very Austrian.Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-37777469737972737992011-01-31T01:10:00.000-08:002011-01-31T01:16:27.438-08:00Vin De Pays, Suisse<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgumBl5E-PYeYyaAy0TM8EplIwDJv-RcQN97fZqwbeCfr2ai5S_eVK9dU1W3se5QGMr5nZZxSXgNLeaM5oruTg7Epe4zKBR2e67qAuE_DI7mGi4N9WQIFqHulJC3lTqtkPjwr-SH6eHSxhF/s1600/IMG_0228.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgumBl5E-PYeYyaAy0TM8EplIwDJv-RcQN97fZqwbeCfr2ai5S_eVK9dU1W3se5QGMr5nZZxSXgNLeaM5oruTg7Epe4zKBR2e67qAuE_DI7mGi4N9WQIFqHulJC3lTqtkPjwr-SH6eHSxhF/s640/IMG_0228.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Swiss wine has appeared on this blog <a href="http://cbwinecellar.blogspot.com/2010/10/swiss-rolle.html">before</a>, noting its quirky charm. But this refreshing little white vin de pays consumed on a Swiss Air flight back from Zurich after the <a href="http://www.charliebeckett.org/?p=3945">Davos</a> meeting proved that they can also do a very sensible and pleasing commercial blended tipple.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-20983599280063108902011-01-07T03:49:00.000-08:002011-01-07T09:09:21.840-08:00Taurasi: the taste of history<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAkmNVMvFblg0io7oUEvob8YGwXXfwBMuyBQzI90hBY5kMtwmFyzpCIeK0JyyDjUGcJlavghpGWN4VmBguSFLFDFZf_quCnEHSVN3E9ThTaUNWZwRF6Q11FvL9i1L-K_rqjDF0ma3eG8f/s1600/IMG_0154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAkmNVMvFblg0io7oUEvob8YGwXXfwBMuyBQzI90hBY5kMtwmFyzpCIeK0JyyDjUGcJlavghpGWN4VmBguSFLFDFZf_quCnEHSVN3E9ThTaUNWZwRF6Q11FvL9i1L-K_rqjDF0ma3eG8f/s640/IMG_0154.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Taurasi is one of those little known Italian OCGs tucked away in the Campania region south of Rome. So it is a wine at the cross-roads of history. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The Aglianico grape probably came from ancient Greece while the founding fathers of the main town were from imperial Rome. A Longobard castle shadows Taurasi which also saw the Allied forces sweep past in the Second World War.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The wine is a classy production that requires a minimum of three years maturation, one of which must be in wood.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This bottle from the Terredora producers has had a decade to reach what I think is near perfection for a moderate Taurasi. Imagine a Barolo heading towards a Montalcino Reserva.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The first taste can have a Burgundian edge but given time to open up it has wonderful flavours of dark red cherry.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div>Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-53616060424055085002010-12-19T05:51:00.000-08:002011-01-07T09:10:29.084-08:00Claret not blue<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaVqydiB5ptqYZrgEyO9PLnJyp8XsnQ9Pf9JS7vkVm-m68XQHXh_p1Kf0hOFrz7UMZ0wXbYX0Y5C13eYSlqdyFowzNL6VY4I-v9qM2jEqlEEvsHSLelKCxQvzaCIlWAo9-h4DCdNqMJGGc/s1600/claret.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaVqydiB5ptqYZrgEyO9PLnJyp8XsnQ9Pf9JS7vkVm-m68XQHXh_p1Kf0hOFrz7UMZ0wXbYX0Y5C13eYSlqdyFowzNL6VY4I-v9qM2jEqlEEvsHSLelKCxQvzaCIlWAo9-h4DCdNqMJGGc/s640/claret.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The weather's getting colder, the food is getting more substantial, and we're all getting into a more celebratory mood. In this season of snow, steak and Christmas trees, claret is the ideal wine. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Claret is French, of course, but it has always been a favourite of the English, going right back to the happy times when we actually ran a large slice of the vineyard-packed south-west of France.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This Haut-Medoc from Chateau Tour Du Haut-Moulin has all the typical characteristics. Not a lot of fruit and the dry slightly mouldy tone may not be to everyone's taste. However, those spicy, woody aromas and the long, grape flavour works for me.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My claret-wearing football team may be bottom of the league this Christmas but after watching their hard-won draw at Blackburn I celebrated with few glasses of this Medoc. It's difficult not to feel things can only get better.</div>Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-21065060620448879802010-12-09T16:21:00.000-08:002011-01-07T09:11:20.893-08:00Go West!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA75_ux3H8cV2LQAID7UxrKHihGN9EuUwBC65MJwuwAdjNpSvbsXTIYRaLNiR_som6NySTcfgvs7Aa8unHdLUSQDrAW6tom3A0P5TZwAsTMxJq77PbWqAkXW8jIlVOVCEeaGav18NoX-IZ/s1600/photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA75_ux3H8cV2LQAID7UxrKHihGN9EuUwBC65MJwuwAdjNpSvbsXTIYRaLNiR_som6NySTcfgvs7Aa8unHdLUSQDrAW6tom3A0P5TZwAsTMxJq77PbWqAkXW8jIlVOVCEeaGav18NoX-IZ/s640/photo.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">When I think of Oregon I think of wagon trains about to tip off the west coast of America. But of course it's also host to some of the most sophisticated and pioneering new media folk in the world. So no surprise that this is a smooth, clever and rich wine.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am a fan of Pinot Noir. Not to Sideways levels of fanaticism. But you will see from this blog that I enjoy its different manifestations according to climate and culture.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This one is velvety but with a lot of adjectives to follow: blackcurrant, warm, dry, full, deep but not too sweet. Perhaps not complex enough to be a classic but for a rounded and characterful drink. Well worth the wagon ride.</div>Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-4630720363399984452010-11-01T08:05:00.000-07:002011-01-07T09:12:00.369-08:00The Eiswein Cometh<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8H84HwgEmaenCc4CvndHyCVD8-3TZd2OrhwKpIXEfnIaZJiGqbQJb9lH1uFtkL-vfY15CgqTIz16kAGBiQAVC8XADcbDfcxAeOn38PtMGnVS1n_qiAkmPnTl4aotqmSQkqoBRDZvBmfv/s1600/IMG_0286.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP8H84HwgEmaenCc4CvndHyCVD8-3TZd2OrhwKpIXEfnIaZJiGqbQJb9lH1uFtkL-vfY15CgqTIz16kAGBiQAVC8XADcbDfcxAeOn38PtMGnVS1n_qiAkmPnTl4aotqmSQkqoBRDZvBmfv/s640/IMG_0286.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The grapes for this sweet German Riesling are harvested early in the morning around Christmas when temperatures drop to as low as minus eight degrees near the Rhine in western Germany.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I love sweet pudding wines like Sauternes. But what is magical about this Eiswein is the combination of sweetness with a refreshing fruitiness that almost sparkles on the palate. Like ice.</div>Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-79381006042175164332010-10-28T04:09:00.000-07:002011-01-07T09:12:37.518-08:00Schloss Vollrads - glass stopped gold<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSDGGaOhq4ojHqgMv5KyCPRCyuTY6twzGFr0geB8hL2TgF_OXAWUouEQZtYBlOMByMAGk50ozU9S3F3WxclPnoY9OAMMn1CEHY-IUso1NABZTFqxp5MmBiE4z57J1zNVzbX7B0U2BSldxb/s1600/IMG_0217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSDGGaOhq4ojHqgMv5KyCPRCyuTY6twzGFr0geB8hL2TgF_OXAWUouEQZtYBlOMByMAGk50ozU9S3F3WxclPnoY9OAMMn1CEHY-IUso1NABZTFqxp5MmBiE4z57J1zNVzbX7B0U2BSldxb/s640/IMG_0217.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">This Rheingau Riesling was a beautiful colour - I described it as 'thin gold', my partner used the word 'urine'. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">As it says on the label this was dry. But it had a good grapey flavour. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Oddly it has a glass stopper under the foil. What's that about? </div><div><br />
</div>Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-8400775252669279352010-10-16T03:11:00.000-07:002011-01-07T09:13:06.638-08:00Kloster Eberbach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFaO-8mXoKw8ggkuazRPLMKzll3_TxTOC4AlYuG8HKh1_mLOU_5FKn3PvDX1BtK2QWezk-_vXI1kve6YvSovDxXz6l-yK5TEeMhQ9W6yrj2MfNG114gUkzu2Y9jwS-reFvdaq13NPVEHim/s1600/IMG_0165.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFaO-8mXoKw8ggkuazRPLMKzll3_TxTOC4AlYuG8HKh1_mLOU_5FKn3PvDX1BtK2QWezk-_vXI1kve6YvSovDxXz6l-yK5TEeMhQ9W6yrj2MfNG114gUkzu2Y9jwS-reFvdaq13NPVEHim/s640/IMG_0165.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>German reds are unfamiliar in the UK but this Pinot Noir from Hesse is a good example of why we should be drinking more. If you enjoy New World Pinots then this dry red with a lovely berry taste might suit. It's from a <a href="http://www.kloster-eberbach.de/content/portal_bereich/index_ger.html">vinyard</a> near the Eberbach Abbey where Name of The Rose was filmed. Rather more romantic than Frankfurt Airport where I bought this.Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2405358597829081320.post-68037296978550622782010-10-08T09:15:00.000-07:002011-01-07T09:13:52.577-08:00Swiss Rolle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18sYzkaQF4G_3P7m4PXQyhZdYI2RtKl84uRbstJ9JIqolvlLauhRXoqat_ffsi1i3KG_dZnC7epafyjBndr5ZgZfznc-Emz9Tb1GvVmcXH-iDoemZ3SE2fwPOoKTDsgEA4OeKSyC_lNgs/s1600/IMG_0108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18sYzkaQF4G_3P7m4PXQyhZdYI2RtKl84uRbstJ9JIqolvlLauhRXoqat_ffsi1i3KG_dZnC7epafyjBndr5ZgZfznc-Emz9Tb1GvVmcXH-iDoemZ3SE2fwPOoKTDsgEA4OeKSyC_lNgs/s640/IMG_0108.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>This is a very Swiss wine so it was appropriate that I drank it on the terrace of the European Broadcasting Union's HQ in Geneva with a fine view of Mont Blanc. This Mont Sur Rolle comes from the shores of Lake Geneva and is made from the Chasselas grape, believed to originate in Switzerland.<br />
It's a wine that reflects Switzerland's make-up. It's fruity but not as sweet or rich as a German wine. It's dry but not as crisp as a good French Alsace, for example. And it has something slightly eccentric about it like some of those more obscure north Italian varietals. A little too sweet for my taste but very good drinking in the autumn sunshine and, I am told, with fondue.Charlie Becketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10509411548717912635noreply@blogger.com0