Leyda Reserva Syrah from the DO Letda Valley in Chile. 2011

Savoury, complex and a happy mix of New and Old World. The peppery Syrah grape from the Rhone figures heavily here, but don't be mistaken, this is a New World Syrah ( or Shiraz if you like) and is a drop dead gorgeous option if you like fruity but also traditional cooler old world area wine. Black fruits, meatiness, pepper, mint and a freshness that surprises you on first, second..... tastes.....
And all this is from the Leyda Valley in Chile, cool breezes resulting from the Humbolt current in the Pacific keep the freshness in this wine, it has that Rhone peppery, savouriness not found in warmer climes. Quality through and through.
Score 93 and you can find it at Majestic Wine at under a tenner!!! A bargain so enjoy guilt free.

Pinot Noir - Cono Sur biggest Pinot producer?

The last harvests from both New Zealand and Burgundy have been greatly reduced, New Zealands by 18% due to bad weather and Burgundy has seen its smallest harvest since the 1950's due to frost, hail, mildew and poor flowering.
Cono Sur launched its Pinot Noir project to champion its flagship variety in the late 90's and this year sees 292ha of Pinot Noir under vine, compared with its biggest rival, New Zealand's Brancott Estate, with 58ha, it  sold 34,306 9-litre cases o the UK off-trade ( shops etc...) in 2012, while its closest rival, Brancott Estate, sold 33,463 9-litre cases. In total it exported 51 000 9-litre cases to the UK which is its top export market and is followed by US, Canada, Japan and Finland.
Cono Sur's winemaking manager Matías Ríos has been at Cono Sur since 2000 and says the wine produced has been very consistant with little variation, good weather/climate plays a part in this. He described the Chilean style of Pinot Noir as "fresh and elegant, with ripe, complex tannins and delicate notes of black cherries".
He uses the Burgundian method of vinification to produce eight different versions of Pinot Noir in its portfolio including its entry-level Bicicleta range, Reservas, Organics, sparkling, an ultra-premium label called 20 Barrels and icon wine Ocio.

Cono Sur Reservas Pinot Noir from the Casablanca Valley in Chile is my mainstay wine - a good value drinking wine which seems to always give me a hug. This is on special offer in Waitrose at the moment for £7.99.

J Bouchon Merlot Reserva 2011 Maule Valley Chile

I joined a local wine group this week for a tasting and David - one of the members had very kindly picked 6 wines to taste blind - some were easier than others, this was the last and sixth wine tasted that evening.

This was my least favourite of the wines we tasted, it had less to recommend it. It lacked intensity, any real personality and seemed to me to be a poor example of a Chilean Merlot. Drinkable but not memorable.
The fruit on both nose and palate was red, cherry, plum and  redcurrant, and the lack of freshening acidity, high alcohol and insignificant tannins, left this wine flaccid and lush, one that you will not come back to at a later date thinking you want more. Maybe time will allow to improve - though I doubt this due to the low acidity and tannins..... it will not age well.
It is a wine made in the Maule Valley in Chile and the maker is Julio Bouchon.
Score : 70 and the cost was £5.79 from Underwoods in Warwick.

Paisaje de Barrancas Finca Flichman 2005 Mendoza Argentina

Over the weekend we had a bottle of  Paisaje de Barrancas  2005  from Maipu, Mendoza in Chile, it is a red wine made from 55% Syrah, 35% Malbec and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, all handpicked then fermented in stainless steel. After fermentation and 12 days maceration to improve the flavour character, the wine was matured in 50:50 American and French oak and then 6 months in bottle. All this leads to a wine that shows that it has been oak aged, the spice and bitter tannins are well integrated, the black and red fruits are mellowing with the 6 years it has aged in bottle, smokey coffee and chocolate play with cedar and ripe fruits, the overall finish is long but with a bitter edge and over extracted flavours, oak plays a big part in this wines makeup - and it does it no favours in this case, the fruit takes second place, the bitter tannins over power the mellowed fruit - shame...... but we still managed to finish the bottle, and enjoy it all the same.
Great with the stir fried spicy duck dish served with noodles, but I think this would be great with steak, pigeon, venison..... rich foods with some fat ! We still have another couple of bottles in the cellar....... I will sacrifice myself.


Finca Flichman is a winery in Barrancas, a part of the Maipu Valley of Mendoza, Argentina. It was named after a Jewish-Polish immigrant, Sami Flichman, a pioneering spirit who first planted grapes along the Mendoza river in 1873. The original winery at the foot of the Andes mountains was established in 1910, in 1998, the Portuguese wine company Sogrape ( of Mateus Rose fame) purchased the business to restore, expand and update it, with an effort to preserve the integrity of the traditional wines.
Score : 85

Estevez Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere 2011 from Aldi. Chile

Estevez Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenere 2011 is a  wine is made by Chilean mega-producer Concha y Toro for Aldi spermarkets, and at £4.99 - I can only say - stunning value! The grapes for this wine came from the Valle de Maule in Chile. The wine has a deep ruby colour with a hint at purple at the rim - this is a young wine and you often find this. There is a blackness to its depth, and the glass when swirled has slow coloured dribbles called 'legs' or 'tears' by some, often but not always due to higher alcohol content.
On the nose, smokey tobacco, black fruits that include, plums, cherry and blackcurrant, there is a hint at a stalkiness, but not a main aroma.
When I tasted it, the smoke, spice and dark fruits all vie for front position, the fruit is ripe but not lush, there is a fine grained elegance, my only niggle is that the acidity seems out of balance, it zips about the palate as though it is not meant to be there.
The length is good with stalky fruit and woody spice right at the finish.
Overall I like the wine, would buy it again at this price, but feel that the acidity and stalkiness are the only things that let it down, but in its favour, it is elegant, fine tuned with stalky tannins that have a savoury element to it.
I would like to taste this wine in 18 months time and see if the acidity has settled down and integration has begun!
Score : 85

Tabali Syrah 2007 Reserva Limari Valley Chile

Tabali Syrah 2007 Reserva Limari Valley is of course the Shiraz or Syrah grape grown in the cool area of the Limari Valley, Chile. The Limari Valley is in the north of Chile and although nearer to the equator is classified as a cool area as it  is greatly affected by the morning fog caused by the the cool Humbolt current in the Pacific Ocean which cools in the morning, but clears as the afternoon’s hot sun rises. The region is very dry – less than 4 inches of rain annually – but irrigation is allowed here and has made vine growing. The lack of water, however, encourages the vines to dig deep into the soils and, in turn, there is a pronounced effect of minerality found in the wines. There is much innovation used in these 'new' areas which have been actually making wine for many centuries.
This wine is a very deep ruby colour with a blackness too it that points to heavy extraction during the vinification and also to the high phenolic content of the skins. Blackcurrant and cherry aromas abound, all wound up with smokey spices and undertones of savouriness. Definite licquorice and earthiness aromas seemed to develop as it was allowed to breathe.
On tasting it - black fruits, cherry once more, spice and a pithy edge are pronounced and heavy, the oak is the predominant finish for me after a meaty savouriness, and although I like oak - I felt that the usage had been clumsy here. Good acidity kept the fruit fresh and jumpy and the alcohol although high at 14.5% was really well integrated. Tannins - drying but ripe and tasty, underpinning its longevity together with the refined acidity.  Overall the balance of the wine was good, the extraction was high - maybe too high, and the oak usage took control of the wine rather than gently adding structure and support, better with food than without - and choose a meaty lamb dish.
The Wine Society supply this wine at a cost of £10.95 - a good buy and one that will keep for a few years yet.

Concha Y Toro Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc from Chile

This is a Late Harvest from Chile is made by Conch Y Toro and we have been lucky enough to taste this at the vineyard near Santiago, and it is a real sweetie – and at the price £5.95 for the half bottle, a lovely finish to any meal, and we often keep a bottle in the fridge to have a small glass as an aperitif, a lovely start to an evening and the alcohol is only 12%, so not too taxing.
It is made from some noble rotted, botrytis affected grapes (about 40% are affected) and grown in the Lourdes Vineyard, Maule valley – Chile, with low yields as expected due to the careful picking regime required. They are picked late in May just as they start to shrivel so concentrating their flavour. The winemaker is Hector Urzú.

On the nose this Sauvignon Blanc is immediately identified as not a typical dry Sauvignon as there are aromas of tropical fruit primarily pineapple as well as honeyed pear which are typical aromas associated with Botritic wines. It is full bodied and offers flavours of pineapple, marmalade and pear which all bounce around the mouth and it is generous on the palate, the fresh well integrated acidity keeps the fruit fresh and the sweetness clean and uncloying – in fact it is rich, delicious and enticing.  Great with a fruit pudding or milk ice cream – a delight!

Cousino Macul Sauvignon Blanc 2011 from the Central Valley in Chile

Cousino Macul Sauvignon Blanc 2011 from the Central Valley in Chile

 This is a wine I have tasted in Chile at Cousino Macul – a different vintage, but similar in style, this again is a wine that would benefit from cooler climes to preserve both the acidity and fruit aromas/flavours. It is pale lemon and crystal clear as expected with aromas of melon, green apple and grass over-tones.It also has some biscuit nuance – which was unexpected.

The acidity was merely medium not enough to keep the fruit fresh and clean, and the body felt quite heavy and clunky.  Flavours of grass, citric flavours which include lime and grapefruit, have a medium to long finish which stays reasonably fresh until the end.

My overall thoughts on this wine are – fresh and fruity but could have been fresher and fruitier if the grapes had come from a cooler area.

Valdivieso Pinot Noir 2011

Valdivieso Pinot Noir Casablanca Valley, Chile 2011

Having ploughed our way through the Pinot's of the world ( well somebody has to do it..... we sacrifice ourselves), we decided to go back to one of our every day drinking Pinots - in the affordable bracket of £9.00'ish. It has a pale ruby core with purple tints in the wide rim - hinting at its youthfulness. Then comes plenty of uplifting fruit notes on the nose, cherry, strawberry and ripe plums intermingled with vegetal spices and tea for me..... my husband thought slightly medicinal ( I thought ......that was my kind of medicine ! ). On the mouth was an abundance of ripe red fruits mixed with sweet spices and a definite vegetal note all kept fresh by the clean acidity. The tannins were low, silky and ripe and the alcohol, though tasting a little warm, was enrobing and a building block of this wine that has its own stylistic character, this is a benchmark new world Pinot Noir, smooth and silky with a touch of warmth. The finish was quite long and had a slightly herbal end intermingled with the sweet red fruits. Overall it stood up well to the previous set - at the price, we often buy this from Waitrose when there is an offer, bringing it down to under £7 - an absolute steal!

Brett Jackson the winemaker - a Kiwi - is based in Lontue though these 7 year old vines are planted in the Casablanca valley to the north of Santiago  (Chiles wine capital), what is termed as a 'cool area' with cold breezes coming in off the coast due to the Humbolt current which flows from Antartica. This keeps the fruit fresh and the acidity relatively high.

Pinots of the World

I went to a Pinot Noir tasting recently, it was 8 Pinots of the world compared, really interesting especially when you look at the quality and the prices ( Connollys Wine Merchants ). Different styles due to varying climates, soils, viticulture as well as the way the wine is made, matured and aged.....


Calusari Pinot Noir 2011 from Romania £6.95

A modern wine from an old world country, Phillip Cox bought land after the fall of the regime and then set about ensuring the deeds to the land were bonafide before planting vines 12 years ago, under the Calusari heading for the Cramele Recas winery in Western Romania. The winery itself uses Stainless steel, and cold soak before fermentation to help extract as much flavour and colour from the grapes ( also may help the longevity of the wine as well as improve the structure ). It produces a classic style of Pinot with no oak ageing used, this is a clean fresh Pinot at a great price.

The pale ruby core with some purple tints indicated that this was a young wine, the fresh red fruits on the nose have a slightly baked - ripe quality and some florality. On tasting it the red fruits are the dominant factor in the wine, the texture has a silkiness to it and the acidity keeps it fresh. The alcohol at 13.5% seems well integrated and
helps bolster the body of this wine, but at the end of the longish sweet finish one is left feeling that the wine lacks what it takes to make a lasting impression, at the price though - a bargain, great for a party....... and drinking at home in the summer! I would try it slightly chilled with a cold chicken salad or fish - great little wine.



Indomita Duette Pinot Noir 2010 Chilean  £10.00
This Pinot Noir follows many others grown in the Casablanca Valley north of Santiago, but this one won an award at the Decanter WWA. The lovely pale ruby wine with wide rim, has a cherry,  strawberry and earthy aromas with a touch of spicey smokey oak, complimented by herbal, vegetal notes. On tasting it the high, 14% alcohol is well integrated and adds broadness to the body and enables the texture to have a silkiness that a lesser wine may not have. The acidity keeps the  sweet red fruits ( cherry and strawberry) fresh and the tannins are soft and ripe. The finish is a little short but  pleasant. The wine has good structure from the added 12 months maturity in used French oak barrels and vibrancy which combines the ripe fruits with the elegantly used oak. A good wine at the price ( but so are many of the Chilean Casablanca Valley Pinots and some at a better price ). Enjoy!




Esk Valley Pinot Noir 2010 Marlborough New Zealand £14.49

This is a Pinot Noir from the Wairau and Awatere Valleys in Marlborough ( The Hawkes bay - Esk Valley Estate winery.) and has good quality fruit in it, this adds to its structure and finish. The fresh ripe fruity aromas are like concentrated raspberries with a touch of smokey spice, the nose is intensely perfumed. On the mouth one is rewarded with balanced fruits which include cherries and soft red fruits complimented by spices and a certain vegetal quality. The well structured fruit driven wine has soft, ripe tannins and a silky texture, both of these supported by the 14% alcohol. This is a well made wine with supple oak ageing, hand picked  followed by a cold soak before fermentation. The wine has won a Gold Medal in the IWSC, for me the end palate failed to build on the imposing sweet fruit start.


Palisser Martinborough New Zealand Pinot Noir 2009 £15.59
This wine is from Martinborough (south end of North Island) - across the bay from Marlborough, this bay has its own microclimate and produces a riper fruit, fuller bodied wines result.

This wine although only 1 year older than its Marlborough cousins, has a slight garnet tint at the rim of the ruby core and also has a greater depth of colour. The uplifting red and black fruit aromas (especially black cherries) have a  rounded quality and a restrained floral edge, they promise of what is to come. On tasting it the fruits give much and are kept fresh by the quite high acidity, the body in balanced and the tannins are structural but soft and tasty! The gentle subtle spices are due to the 12 months in used french barriques and adds greatly to the overall character of the wine.There is a streak of minerality that runs through the wine which adds pedigree to it as does the vegetal quality obvious on the palate, the only aspect of the wine that I feel is not in balance is the alcohol, it stands at 14.5% but does not feel well integrated, it has an over warm finish which with the fresh acidity seems out of kilter.  This is not indicative of this wine as we have tasted this before with no issues..... so maybe this was a hot year? The winemaker Allan Johnson does aim for a "ripe, full and rich" Pinot Noir and maybe this is where the higher alcohol than expected comes from.

Three Choirs England Pinot Noir 2009 £21
Ruby core with darker tints, this wines subtle aromas are of sweet red fruits over-ridden by medicinal elastoplaster and a streak on minerality, not altogether pleasant. On tasting it the red fruits are echoed, the acidity is quite high and the alcohol low resulting in a light bodied wine with a slightly acidic feel. The tannins are soft and silky and the length is short with an acidic,licquorice finish..... again this wine leaves one feeling that at these prices you would want so much more, yes it does have some structure and mineratliy showing it has pedigree..... but.....




Gsellmann and Hans Austria Pinot Noir 2009 £17.99
This is an Austrian wine, and one made naturally south of Vienna in Burgenland near the Hungarian border by the family of Gsellmann and Hans. The 20 year old vines are on south facing slopes and  picked early after a warm autumn to retain the acidity, then is subject to cold soak before fermentation then maturation in used french oak barriques.
The wine is pale ruby with a wide rim, indicating lack of age, restrained aromas of red and black fruits with a slight medicinal slant rule this wine. On the mouth the fruit element is echeod and balanced by the nervy acidity, but has a slightly baked quality, in addition there are  medium supple tannins with flavours of cigar box spices all supported by good strutural minerality, which is layered with fruits. This is not a punchy wine, but one that has sweet fruity spices and a good finish.


Volnay Domaine Michel Lafarge 2003 £29.99
2003 was a very very hot year in mainland Europe and Volnay in Burgundy was no exception, temperatures of 49+ were recorded and people in Paris collapsed and died with the heat - and the wines to a certain extent bear witness to this. Pick time was critical, getting the grapes to be physiologically ripe, retain acidity and have good balance was difficult and many wines resultingly had quality issues and generally they were earlier drinking wines - not for the keeping! Many winemakers had to acidify this year - Frédéric Lafarge says he did not - that the wine will always find the right level. Biodynamic production is at the core of their principles, maybe this made the difference.
A garnet core indicates the age of this wine, repressed aromas of licquorice, spices, red fruits and a sweet smokiness are followed by silky texture on the mouth, cigar box spiciness and low level dulling black and red fruits. Tannins which are ripe and silky underpinned good acidity and well integrated alcohol shows how this wine must have been before the fruit life dulled, still a lovely wine - but was it even lovelier? It is well structured, has minerality that hints at its heritage and well integrated oak spice flavours due to typically aging for 15 to 20 months in used oak barrels, but there is still the issue of what might have been!






Volnay Domaine Michel Lafarge 2004
As the 2003 did not have the life we thought it should have done - a bottle of the 2004 was opened to compare with it. The garnet ruby core  gave way to cigar box aromas and sweet red more obvious fruits, on the mouth the silky texture, silky berry fruits were supported by the acidity which underwrites its longevity, this wine still has spring in its step! Medium body was enrobed by the balanced and well integrated alcohol, the ripe natural tannins add to the whole wine - joining up the dots. There were sensible firm, structural tannins from the supple fruit extraction and the sweet oak well integrated, minerality played it part in this wines character and points to the quality of the terroir. This wine is at an enjoyable stage of its maturity - drink in the next few years.


Morey St Denis 1er cru La Riotte Domaine Perrot-Minot 2003 £57.25
This winemaker Christoff Perrot-Minot makes Red Burgundy in a modern style, riper grapes, higher degree of extraction, all in all what has been termed as a New World style! The vinyard, La Riotte in the Cote de Nuits, Morey St Denis appellation a 1.3+ acre site,  is top quality, it is Premier Cru, near the top of its tree, and is next to Clos la Roche. Natural viticulture is practiced wherever possible and some of the vines are over 100 years old, hence the quality of the wines produced. Careful selection in the vineyard, destemming, cold soak for 1 week and natural yeasts, then gentle pumping over rather than pigeage followed by settling for 48 hours after fermentation has finished, further 12-15 months maturation in oak barrels (40% new oak for Premier Cru's).
The wine is immediately seen to be different to all the other Pinot Noirs that have been sampled here, it is much darker, has a deeper ruby core with black tints, and a garnet edge to the rim. Aromas of dark fruits ( cherry, blackberry and Kirsch ) and spice, vanilla, minerality all layered to form this complex carcophany of aromas which are both elegant and abundant. On tasting it, one finds that all that was expected from the first sniff, is paid in abundance on the mouth, the succulent dark fruits are supported  by the medium well integrated alcohol and kept fresh and underpinned by the acidity which has, and will continue to ensure this wines longevity. The texture is silky and rich, the tannins are ripe being polished by age, the black fruit and licquorice, sweet spices continue right through the long layered finish - this is a wonderfully structured, complex wine - Buy, Buy, Buy.

Cono Sur Vision Viognier 2008

Cono Sur Vision Viognier 2008 from the Colchagua Valley comes from a block of vines which in 1997 had been grafted onto 50 year old Chenin Blanc  - hence its freshness. Adolfo Hurtado is the winemaker - a name that is heavily linked with improvements in the Pinot Noir coming from Chile these days.

This wine is a delight, it is pale golden straw, a hint at the high alcohol associated with Viognier is seen in the fast legs that form after swirling the glass.
Aromas of tropical fruits mingle with apricot and an overiding waft of citrus and solid minerality.
On the mouth once more - tropical fruits, a hint of oak ( spice and richness), kiwi and melon and citrus - followed by a long citric finish with a cleansing bitter edge with structural minerals playing their part. The wine is fresh ( for a viognier) and has good body along with quite high but integrated alcohol , 13.9%, typical of the grape again. At the price - about £6-7, an absolute bargain - a wine to be enjoyed with or without food!

Another plus point with Cono Sur is that they have been working towards being carbon neutral for many years, and that can only be good for the environment - so I say drink more :-)