Barberesco Reserva 1996 Allini DOCG. This wine was given to me by a friend who had just emptied his cellar. The wine had been accidentally kept for a long time. My friend cannot remember where he got it from and when he bought it . It might have been a gift. This red wine is from the Piedmont region of North West Italy and is produced from the Nebbiolo black grape variety. The Nebbiolo variety is very tannic and this can lead to well structured wines which are able to mature for a long time. Not so with this wine as it was well past its best and had completely lost its fruit but retained a vegetal character reminiscent of a very well aged Burgundy or Bordeaux. It was just about drinkable. It was sixteen years old. You should always be careful to drink wines before they are past their best. A very good quality Barbesco Riserva should mature well for as long as this but if I had any in my cellar I would drink it now. A related wine Barolo is also from the Piedmont area but is generally of higher quality. It is also made from the Nebbiolo grape. I have drunk some which were twenty years old and still going strong.
Benoit Lahaye Brut Essential Grand Cru Chamapagne which was disgorged 15/12/2010. This non-vintage champagne is made from 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay grapes. Bouzy, where it is produced, has one of the finest terroirs on the Montagne de Reims, the climate and soil here is exactly suited to the production of the finest champagnes. Benoit Lahaye is a "recoltant manipulant" which means that he makes his champagne from his own grapes. He does not blend his wine with that of other growers. Most of the top houses blend their champagnes. Since Benoit took over the running of the vineyards and wine production from his father Serge in the mid-nineties he has changed the viticulture to organic and bio-dynamic. This has changed the flavour and style of the wine so that it is now lighter and less intensely flavoured. This style appeals more to international tastes and needless to say the French people that I know prefer the older style. My wife and I can see the attributes of both styles. I shall still buy this wine for years to come. This wine and all his others, especially the vintage champagne, are certainly ones to watch.
Côtes du Brulhois 1808 vintage 2008: this red wine is from the Garonne "region" or area in the South West of France. It is concentrated red wine which is full of fruit and even had a slightly smoky or empyreumatic flavour which adds to its complexity. It is made from the Merlot, Tannat, Cabernet and Cot black grape varieties. This wine is of very good quality and is very good value for money. I wish I did not have to go to France to find it.
Côtes du Brulhois Chateau Grand Chene 2006, this wine is very similar to the 1808 but it has matured a little longer and shows a little bit more complexity. I obtained both these wines on a recent trip to South West France. I have not seen them in any wine merchant or supermarket in the London area including Nicolas. I recommend these wines with good strong tasting food such as beef stew.
Bouchard Pere and Fils 2007 Echezeaux Grand Cru: this was bought for me as a birthday present perhaps I should not have opened it so soon. I was not disappointed neither was my wife. This is classic red burgundy with all the elegance, finesse and concentration of flavours that I would expect. Of course, it is readily available at its high price but for me it is worth the 80 or so Euros which you have to pay. It was a birthday present so even better value for money.If I had kept the wine it would have improved in the bottle for many years to come. So what, one of my good friends, who rates himself as a Burgundy expert, gave it full marks.
Cheurlin-Dangin Non Vintage Champagne from Celles-sur-Ource. This is one of my favourite chamapagnes from the Aube region south of Troyes. Celles-sur- Ource is a small village situated between Bar- sur-Seine and Bar-sur-Aube. This area is regarded as being a "second class" producer of champagne and much of the wine ends up being blended into the Champagne offerings of the negociants further North in Reims and Epernay. The soil in the Aube is more akin to the the Kimmeridgian soils found futher to south east in the Chablis area which is in the Burgundy region. The chalky limestone marl soils of the Aube produce wines which are different in character and taste to the wines produced by the cretaceous chalk soils of the classic champagne areas in the North. Dare I say it, they remind me of Cremant de Bourgogne. Never the less, Cheurlin Dangin produces the finest sparkling wine and this elegant Champagne it is well worth trying if you can find it outside of the Aube area.
