8/31/12

Trimbach news and its Wines


Spending some time with one of the best wine producers i Alsace and to try all the wines that Lovely Anne Trimbach puts in front of you is pure magic.

To taste the latest vintages ( some are not realised yet) is always useful and when to understand all the climate changes that’s going on and all the weather impact that’s going on in the vineyard, great fun.

I tried the new silver line that is made of the Riesling from old vines and use to be a part of the yellow line Riesling reserve before and now it is in its own bottle with the new label, great wine that I hope will be in stores very soon.

Clos Saint Hune is always memorable and a fantastic treat, mystical wine that will develop for decades, I wish I could wait J

It is fun to compare different vintages and I always love the lesser (bad) vintages like the 06 Cuvee Frederic Emile Riesling because Trimbach wines always show up more easy in those years and I hate to wait as you know.

The 2005 Pinot Gris Reserve Personnelle and the 2005 Gewurztraminer Cuvee des Seigneurs de Ribeaupierre is fantastic right now and will age for a very long time so buy and store for great moments.

Thanks Anne for always taking such a good care of us.





Cote Brun et Cote Blonde With Ogier


Visiting the Cote – Rotie and spend a whole day out in the vineyards with one of the best producers is truly an satisfying time, great to know more and to understand all the small secrets what makes the wine from this area truly amazing.

My great friend Stephane Ogier and his Swedish fiancée Stina who lives in Ampuis greeted us with the nicest stops on our wine road trip thru France, thanks you guys.

Be able to dig in to Stephane’s barrels and to taste all the samples that will be blended later on is magical and to understand the different terroirs and parcels that he owns around the area including some small parcels in Condrieu, best white wines in south of France I must say.

I am so looking forward to try the bottled wines from these barrels and I can recommend you to try and find some of his wines, you will be surprised of the elegance, fruitiness, complexity, full bodied and polished tannins even at young age.

We both agreed that there are some similarity in the Cote – Rotie wines and great Barolos.

“One of France’s most brilliant small artisanal wineries… Ogier’s wines just keep getting better and better, so if you haven’t yet jumped on the Ogier bandwagon, it’s time to do so.” –Robert Parker
 







 

8/27/12

Chateauneuf du Pape


Travelling thru Rhone valley is a true awakening for the spirit, a wonderful countryside, friendly people and fantastic wines in all the beautiful villages where my favourite is Chateauneuf du Pape,

I could live there for the rest of my life so if anybody want to buy a small hotel that I can run J please get back to me.

We started our trip in south of Rhone and travelled thru Banyuls and Rivesaltes where they have some of the best fortified wines in the world, nice stuff.

The next stop was in Chateauneuf du Pape and the famous castle of the Pope, fantastic view from the old castle overlooking all the vineyards in the area.

I meet up with the lovely young winemaker at Domaine du Pere Caboche Emilie Boisson who let us taste all of her wines, very nice and beautifully balanced wines where she used all of the 13 allowed grape varieties in her red blends.

After a nice stroll in the small village it was time to try some more CnDP wines to really understand all of the greatness and potential this area have to offer, stop by if you can and let me know if I can assist you in any way to find some good producers.

There are so much to say about this area but the best way is to get there and experience on your own.

 

Cheers guys

 












Best Spanish Bobal wine made by Bruno


Bruno Murciano trained to become a sommelier in Toulouse.He quickly moved to England, first Oxford, and then London where he became head sommelier at the Ritz and was voted the best Sommelier in Spain 2008.

I don’t know Bruno that much but I like his wines a lot and he is like me, we are both wine guys who was born in it and drinks it.

The wines that Bruno and David is making are wine for wine drinkers to share with dear friends and loved ones, remember that great wines are for sharing J

Why the name La Malkeria? Because this table wine, born on the borders of the Utiel-Requena denomination, contains only Bobal (grown as a low bush) and it is written on the label (in the same way that it proudly claims its national origin). Bobal is the old varietal used in this part of Spain.
Bruno Murciano wrote in ‘El Mundo Vino’: “when I cut myself, I don’t draw blood, but juice of Bobal”. I love that !

Some years ago Bruno and his partner David Sampedro Gil winemaker in Rioja invested in some 7 hectares of old bobal vineyards to produce the dream wine with this fantastic grape variety.
 
They produce two wines – “La Malkerida” (which means ‘the unloved girl’ in Spanish) and “El Sueno” (which means ‘dream‘in Spanish).

2011 La Malkerida is juicy, fresh and youthful with a vibrant and fruity flavour full of dark plums, blueberries and fig jam. The wine has been made from 100% Bobal without any oak. At 12.5% alcohol is perfectly-balanced with a long finish

 
The 2010 ”El Sueno” is essentially Bruno’s homage to his twelve years as a sommelier working in top-class restaurants in the UK. It is also produced from 100% Bobal, but in smaller quantities coming from older vines (around 80-100 years old) and it shows the grapes potential.

The wine have been produced to show the unique expression of the grape and its land, the wine are aged in 500 litre French oak barrels for 14 months. The colour is vibrantly red and the nose is just amazing after 2 hours in a decanter, the taste is pure power with great structure and a silky texture packed with spicy black cherry, herbs, vanilla and dark mouth watering chocolate with a long elegant finish.

I just came back from Spain and I have tried many Bobal wines without finding them this good so please try to find and enjoy.

 

Back from holliday //Dragan
 

 

Bruno Murciano trained to become a sommelier in Toulouse.He quickly moved to England, first Oxford, and then London where he became head sommelier at the Ritz and was voted the best Sommelier in Spain 2008.

I don’t know Bruno that much but I like his wines a lot and he is like me, we are both wine guys who was born in it and drinks it.

The wines that Bruno and David is making are wine for wine drinkers to share with dear friends and loved ones, remember that great wines are for sharing J

Why the name La Malkeria? Because this table wine, born on the borders of the Utiel-Requena denomination, contains only Bobal (grown as a low bush) and it is written on the label (in the same way that it proudly claims its national origin). Bobal is the old varietal used in this part of Spain.
Bruno Murciano wrote in ‘El Mundo Vino’: “when I cut myself, I don’t draw blood, but juice of Bobal”. I love that !

Some years ago Bruno and his partner David Sampedro Gil winemaker in Rioja invested in some 7 hectares of old bobal vineyards to produce the dream wine with this fantastic grape variety.

 

They produce two wines – “La Malkerida” (which means ‘the unloved girl’ in Spanish) and “El Sueno” (which means ‘dream‘in Spanish).

2011 La Malkerida is juicy, fresh and youthful with a vibrant and fruity flavour full of dark plums, blueberries and fig jam. The wine has been made from 100% Bobal without any oak. At 12.5% alcohol is perfectly-balanced with a long finish

 

The 2010 ”El Sueno” is essentially Bruno’s homage to his twelve years as a sommelier working in top-class restaurants in the UK. It is also produced from 100% Bobal, but in smaller quantities coming from older vines (around 80-100 years old)

The wine have been produced to show the unique expression of the grape and its land, the wine are aged in 500 litre French oak barrels for 14 months. The colour is vibrantly red and the nose is just amazing after 2 hours in a decanter, the taste is pure power with great structure and a silky texture packed with spicy black cherry, herbs, vanilla and dark mouth watering chocolate with a long elegant finish.

I just came back from Spain and I have tried many Bobal wines without finding the this good so please try to find and enjoy.

 

Back from holyday //Dragan