Il Grigio Chianti Classico Reserva reduced to 15.99

Just a quick note to say that O'Brien's have reduced San Felice's Il Grigio Chianti Classico Reserva 2005 from a princely 17.45 to a pauper-ish 15.99. This cheeky bearded gentleman is reviewed below. Ninety points from Wine Spectator, five stars rating from Decanter and, most importantly, a big Christmas tickle from the Fenster. Get your scabby chops around this fella, you won't regret it.

Five Good Italian Reds (some quite scabby)

That lethargy is a personal failing of mine should be clear to anyone who has a passing acquaintance with this blog. To counteract this I have resolved to maintain my dizzying one-posting-a-month average with a note on a couple of Italian reds tasted recently.

First up is a Nebbiolo d'Alba 2006 by Umberto Fiore from Marks and Spencer at 10.49. Nebbiolo is the native Piedmontese grape used to make Barolo and Barbaresco. Obviously at this price you aren't going to get any of the complexity associated with these great wines, but this is good stuff and an ideal way for people to find out that they don't like Barolo without dropping 60 euro! For me Nebbiolo is more of a head wine than a heart wine, meaning that very few people will experience love at first sip with this varietal. High acidity and gum wrenching tannins generally eviscerate whatever fruit filled enjoyment lies at the heart of the wine. Nebbiolo is hard work and definitely requires food, but if you- and your wallet- persevere you will be rewarded with some of the most complex wines the world has to offer. That is not to say that this sub 11 snots gem is going to fill you with wonderment, but it is a perfect illustration of the contrast between cherry. raspberry and sloes and mouth drying tannins which lie at the heart of this king of italian grapes. I recently used this in the Piedmontese classic Stracotto al Barolo, a pot roasted beef traditionally braised in a sauce of onion, carrot, celery, barolo and stock and it was fantastic. Have to admit that I served the meat with a 1996 Aldo Conterno Gran Bussia though!

Next up is another great value Marks and Spencer's Italian, a Friuli Merlot 2007 from Arigo Bidoli 14.99, currently reduced to 11.79. Friuli, in the very far east of Northern Italy is home to some of the most aromatic white wines in all of Italy, but good red wines are also produced here. This is a lovely Italianate Merlot, where the juiciness of the varietal are held in check by the cool climate in which it is produced. No Chilean Merlot jaminess here but rather cherry, plums and a hint of vanilla from 10 months in French oak. This is an absolute steal at 11.79, and I consider it very good value at the regular price of 14.99.



Yet more Marks and Spencer's Nebbiolo with a Renato Ratti Langhe Nebbiolo 2008. The late Renato Ratti was amongst the first innovators in Barolo in the 1970s, and made a great contribution to both winemaking in the Langhe and the mapping and classification of the great Barolo vineyards. He experimented with shorter alcoholic fermentation and more controlled malolactic fermentation and limiting traditional wood aging, all in the aim of making more appealing, fresher, rounder and younger-drinking wines. Their Langhe Nebbiolo 2008 is a gorgeous, early drinking Nebbiolo full of cherry and raspberry, the dryness in the finish is tempered by a hint of oak. This is lovely stuff and has great complexity for a wine at this price point. Thoroughly recommended.

For all of you who think that I am a northern Italian whore from M&S, I will now confuse you with the inclusion of two Tuscan wines from O'Brien's and Sheridans Cheesemongers respectively. First up is the San Felice Chianti Classico Reserva, Il Grigio 2005, O'Briens 17.45. Don't let the Tintoretto on the label fool you, this is good. Medium to full bodied Chianti from select parcels on the estate. The nose is full of cherry and dusty tea, with some vanilla too. Highly enjoyable. Serve with roast pork or a strip loin steak.

Finally, an unbelievable Rosso di Montalcino from Canaliccio di Sopra, Sheridan's, 22.00. Rosso di Montalcino is all too often a mere cash cow for Brunello di Montalcino producers, who have to wait 3-4 years after the vintage before they are permitted to sell their Brunellos. These lesser wines can be overpriced for what they are, as is often the case with regions where producers are used to getting a premium for their main, big name wines. This is not the case here, Canaliccio di Sopra's Rosso di Montalcino is the quintessence of Sangiovese. Ripe red cherry fruit with a touch of tea chest and a refreshing acidity. Plato would put it in his cave under sangiovese. I can't wait to try Canaliccio di Sopra's Brunello di Montalcino 2005, which Sheridans also carry. This is perfect main event dinner party wine and worth every penny of the 22 euro. Can't recommend this highly enough. Serve with hard sheep's milk cheeses such as Ardi Gasna, or roast pork.

The Sampler, Islington 2

Another trip to London and another unwilling companion forced through the doors of the Sampler in Islington. This time the victim is my wife, who I have forced to walk from St Paul's for added hatred points. Actually the missus is not that unwilling, particularly after experiencing the joys of good white burgundy last night in the form of Jean Louis Chavy's Puligny Montrachet Les Forestieres 2007. Unfortunately our first sample, a Chassagne Montrachet Vielles Vignes, Domaine Jouard 2007 couldn't live with this level of competition and was dismissed by as ' nice but not really special.' I couldn't really argue with this.

Next up was a banker, Clos Ste Hune 2004. This was initially muted on the nose but opened up in the glass and was full of white peach, petrol and minerals- in a good way. The finish was incredibly long, this will be outrageous in a decade or so.

With the exception of these two above the dry white selection wasn't overly top end. Lots of nice wines if you were sampling to buy, but seeing as I was busy accumulating further millionaire's memoirs we went on to the reds.

First up was Dujac's Gevrey Chambertin 2006, which was obviously too young, lots of cherries and earthiness but I thought lacked the sort of class you'd expect from even entry level wine from this level of producer. Still Jancis gave it 16.5, so perhaps I am a plum fool. Having said that though anything scoring below 16 from JR tends to have negative comments attached. Next up Chapelle Chambertin 1998 from Pierre Damoy, another respected producer and also disappointing for a Grand Cru. My scribble says 'developing, a little short'- a description more apt for a teenage Gary Coleman than a 12 year old Grand Cru Burgundy. There was some nice undergrowth-y stuff going on, but my scabby hand will stay in my scabby pocket.
Next up was a Volnay Santenots 1979 from Clerget ( their website says 1978, but I think it was '79). This was okay, with a tawny colour, very smooth with sweet fruit, but again for what it was... So all in all pretty disappointing red Burgundy but then again the joy of the Sampler is being able to taste wines like this without having to will them into being good just because you have cellared the wine yourself for years or spent a fortune on it.

Things perked up considerably with the Syrahs- for me, not so much for the wife who now sat at a table in the back of the shop sniffing and dismissing each sample with her new catch phrase- 'I hate red wine'.

First up was a Washington State Syrah, L'Ecole No 1 2006. Sixty Four Wines are selling their Cabernet Sauvignon. I am definitely going to check it out because this was lovely. Ripe, round and elegant despite hefty alcohol. I would buy this.

At this point I should declare my love of Northern Rhone Syrah and was fully aroused by the sight of two 1978's from Jaboulet, a Cote Rotie Les Jumelles ( 130 stg a bottle), and a Cornas ( 80 stg) . Weirdly a pub in Leeson Street has two bottles of 1978 Jaboulet Cornas in their diddly aye display, alongside old sewing machines, jugs and faded biscuit boxes. I have never worked out how the hell that happened. Enough nonsense, suffice to say that both wines were superb. It was fascinating to see the difference between the two areas with fully mature wines, from a top vintage. The Cornas still had that road kill, shaved dried coconut thing going on but in a very toned down and elegant way, the Cote Rotie did not but the fruit was similarly sweet and smooth- bloody lovely. I had never tasted a 1978 before and have to say these were fabulous.
Incidentally Michael Broadbent gave this wine five stars in his 'Vintage Wine' tasting note book describing a magnum in 1998 as ' Rich, full and lovely'.

This was going to be a hard act to follow, but I persevered bravely with an Aldo Conterno Barolo Colonello 1998. This had far more developed character than I had expected and was, it seemed, quite similar in profile to the Jaboulet's. I am sure this is heresy, or at least treason, but that is what happened. I wasn't wildly impressed by this, although it had a lot to live up to.

The last red was the best of the lot, a 1983 Penfold's Grange ( 255 stg). I have a traditional aversion to Australian reds which I have, only occasionally managed to overcome. Any hint of eucalyptus and I'll run a mile though. The nose was fabulous, think secondary aromas and a sprinkle of black fruit pastilles. On the palate the wine was full and sweet with a beautiful caramel aspect, and everything in perfect balance. 13% alcohol too. This was so good that even the missus liked it.

Finally, poorer yet wiser I couldn't resist a Clos du Bourg 1989 from Huet. The sweetest honey combined with searing acidity to produce a Vouvray with a long, long finish which I was still tasting walking down the street afterwards. Superb.

Another bloody good trip to the Sampler, highly recommended.

Scab Special 'St Romain, Les Senteurs 2007'

Marks and Spencers strikes again with the latest in the scab series.
This time we have a St Romain, Les Senteurs from the ever increasing portfolio of Nuits-Saint-Georges based negotiant-winemaker Nicolas Potel. Bettane and Desseauve give a figure of 450,000 bottles a year production for Monsieur Potel, making him a sizeable player on the modern Burgundian scene.



Non-freaks may not know that St Romain is a small village in the Cote de Beaune in Burgundy, located to the west of Auxey-Duresses. The vines are located at 300-400 m above sea level, higher than usual in the Cotes d'Or. As a result St Romain has a cooler climate than its illustrious neighbours of Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet, and fares best in very hot vintages such as 2003, where these better positioned areas get too fat and ripe.

2007 was not such a vintage, as M&S's St Romain definitely demonstrates. The wine has high acidity- incisively described on the back label as whitecurrant, a smart descriptor for non-citrus type acidity. Yet there is more there too, some cream, a little hazelnut as well. This was very good with roast chicken yesterday and a sweet bargain at 13.45 a bottle, down from 16.99. It was also good with some 14 month Comte. As always the pricing in Northern Ireland will make you cry, a little over 8 stg each if bought by six! Recommended as good but not incredible white burgundy, but a give away at less than 14 snots.

Funnily the back label also suggests serving it with barbequed turbot. Who is the millionaire who barbeques turbot, and wouldn't they drink Le Montrachet instead of bargain bin ?

The Wines of Bodegas Ribas, Mallorca

Mallorca's Bodegas Ribas is the third oldest winery in Spain, according to Ribas family member and current winemaker Araceli Severa. The estate now produces 130,000 bottles a year from their 40 hectare holding around Consell, near Binissalem, the island's main wine town.



We were fortunate enough to be given a tasting by the lovely Araceli when we visited the bodegas on a very hot day in June. For her part she was forced to suffer the misfortune of witnessing two large, doughy Irish boys drip sweat all over her air-conditioned tasting room. There are some things which science cannot explain, eg why my sternum sweated profusely throughout the tasting. Anyway...

Araceli is the chief winemaker at Ribas and has an impressive pedigree, having worked with Clos Magodor, Clos Erasmus and Mas Martinet in Priorat, Achaval Ferrer in Argentina and Harlan Estate in Napa. This is an incredible array of some of the world's very finest estates, albeit all perennial high scorers with a certain American gentleman.

Ribas were amongst the first producers to plant international varieties in Mallorca, blending them with native grapes to compensate for some of the short comings of their indigenous varietals.

Prensal Blanc or Moll is the primary native white varietal on the island. Araceli explained that Prensal is a fairly neutral grape and tends to lack structure and aroma. As such it definitely benefits from blending with more aromatic varietals. Chardonnay is the main partner used in such blends throughout the island, see for example Macia Batle's blanc de blanc and Ribas' own Ribas Blanc.

As is often the way with tastings at family run winerys, things started in fairly shambolic fashion. We were offered a tasting of the Ribas Blanc 2009 upon arrival whils one of the staff who then left to fetch Araceli. Although it wasn't oxidised the wine was dead in the glass, and flat-lining on the palate. I glanced at my companion who was making a similar 'this is going to be terrible'grimace.

Still no sign of Araceli, and we were poured a glass of Ribas Rose 2009, which was equally dead. A long, and dreadful afternoon loomed ahead of us.

All this changed with the arrival of Araceli. Taking a sniff of our glasses, she dumped everything in sight with profuse apologies. She and the wine team had just returned from a week's trip to Bordeaux and no-one had bothered to check the freshness of the sample bottles in their absence.

She opened a fresh bottle of Ribas Blanc, which was unfortunately badly corked, and dumped this too. A third bottle of Ribas Blanc was opened and was utterly different from the first two. The defective cork was pocketed to be shown to her brother, who is in charge of cork purchasing, and the tasting began.



It turned out that Araceli had spent time in the rural county Cavan in her teenage years. Her father had decided to spend a couple of months fishing in the lakes and a thirteen year old Aracelli was forced to accompany him on this adventure. I am not sure that she remembered this trip with a particular fondness! We apologised as best we could and went on with the tasting.

Ribas Blanc 2009, Bodegas Ribas. 13% alc, 7.60 euro.
' Peachy and lactic with faint whiff of emmental. Nice lifted aromatics and some minerality too. Not hugely complex.'

The unoaked Ribas Blanc is currently a blend of 85% Prensal around 10% Chardonnay and the remainder is unlabeled Viognier. Araceli explained that Ribas had been amongst the first to plant chardonnay in Mallorca, and were now the first to start grubbing it up. The family have been experimenting with Viognier, but are now also looking into Chenin which can be used to add both aromatics and acidity to the Prensal.

The 'Ribas' entry level range also has as tinto blend of Mantonegro, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot ( previous vintage sold out, 2009 not yet released), and a rosado ( Mantonegro, Callet and Merlot) which we decided to forego tasting.

The upper range is called Sio.

The Sio Blanc 2007 is a blend of Prensal, Chardonnay, Viognier and unlabeled Chenin. The wine spends 6 months in new French oak. Unsurprisingly this was more complex than the Ribas Blanc. The aromatics were more interestinng, and complex and there was a salty lick of minerality on the palate. This was medium weighted and pretty good, although it failed to shine served with seafood paella at a dinner later on that week. The 2007, was being replaced by the 2008 the week we were tasting.

The Sio Tinto 2008 14.5%, 13 euro (?) is a blend of 55-60% native Mantonegro coupled with Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Mantonegro is one of the two main native varietals used in the production of red wines, the other being Callet.
Mantonegro is a clone of Grenache, and suffers from the same tendencies towards lack of structure and high alcohol. It is bloody hot on the planes in Mallorca, where the majority of wines are grown, and this definitely comes out in the alcohol levels in the wine.

Sio Tinto spends 12 months in French oak, 50% of which is new, and 50% of which is 2nd use. The Cabernet certainly came through on the nose, as did a fair whack of alcohol. This was ripe, with plenty of black fruit and some plums too. Big alcohol but very pleasant, with a big dollop of oak into the bargain. I have a bottle stashed for winter- or later this summer depending on the weather, and will add a note in due course.

Ribas de Cabrera 2006. This is the luxury cuvee from Ribas developed in conjunction with the Perez family from Clos Martinet. This is a blend Mantonegro, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. 14.5% alc. 15 months in new French oak and 45 euro, an incredible amount for a wine from the island. This smelled and tasted of far more than anything near 14.5% alc, even with the permitted .5% margin of error. I asked Araceli and she was honest enough to admit that this monster weighted in at a massive 15.3% alcohol! The nose was full of big gobs of alcohol with minerality, Bovril and new oak. Definitely not my sort of wine, and I really don't see how this is going to come together into something more elegant, especially given the short aging capacity of most Mallorquin wines. There is plenty of flavour here but the alcohol is overbearing. Not my style of wine at all. No thank you.

In conclusion, we couldn't have asked for a more pleasant, informative and accomodating host than Aracelli. The wines are definitely good, although the alcohol levels take some getting used to. For me the Ribas de Cabrera is just too big and overblown. I am looking forward to trying the Sio red again and seeing how it is. The wines are definitely worth looking out for if you are in Mallorca.

The Wines of Paul Kubler

The Kubler family have tended vines at Soulzmatt, south of Colmar since 1620. Such lengthy tenure is not unusual in Alsace, where wine families such as Trimbach, Hugel, (Leon) Beyer and (Paul) Ginglinger can all trace their wine connections as far back as the 16th and 17th centuries.



South of Colmar is definitely Gewurztraminer country. The main Grand Cru in Soulzmatt is Zinnkoepfle. The steep clay-limestone and sandy clay soils of the 68.4 ha Zinnkoepfle rise to 420 m and face southeast/south. The hot, dry microclimate is particularly suited to Gewurztraminer, which is the main varietal planted here. Pinot Gris and riesling are also plantes, alongside a smaller amount of illegal Sylvaner, which cannot carry the name Zinnkoepfle.

Despite this long history Paul Kubler's wines has recently taken a huge leap forward in quality thanks to the return of young Philippe Kubler to family's 9 ha in 2003. Philippe's own pedigree is impressive. After completing his diploma in Oenology at Bordeaux university he spent time with Denis Debourdieu- probably the best known white wine consultant in Bordeaux. Debourdieu gave Philippe the opportunity to gain hands on experience at, inter alia, Yquem, Doisy Daene and Clos Floridene. From there he headed to Burgundy, where he apprenticed with Colin-Deleger at Chassagne Montrachet before finishing his training with a stage at Cloudy Bay. His first vintage was 2004, of which I still have one or two bottles.



Philippe works organically, observing certain bio dynamic practices. He is not certified, and intends to remain so as he feels that his clients should be able to trust his integrity as a winemaker. He doesn't wish to be constrained by the impositions of certification bodies, or to pay for certification. All vines are picked by hand. Vinification takes place in old foudres. Philippe allows plenty of time on lees and uses battonage.

The Range:

The K range: these are good, restrained varietal wines available Pinot Blanc; Gewurztraminer; and Pinot Gris. They are dry, balanced and elegant, and perfect for the table.

Lieu dit:
The Lieu dit, or named place is increasingly common in Alsace, where many producers now offer a terroir-based range below Grand Cru level. Rieslings from Lieu dit are likely to be drier than their grand cru counterparts, although this is only really a rule of thumb. Sweetness in riesling is murdering the reputation of Alsatian riesling as one of the world's great white food wines, and as an outsider it is virtually impossible to know whether a given riesling contains 2g per litre or 20g per litre of residual sugar. Whilst some producers, eg Zind Humbrecht and Jean Paul Schmitt, provide some information on the label as to the dryness or otherwise of the wine this is the exception rather than the rule.

There is no pan-regional requirement for labeling of this kind. Hilariously the generic/ tradition riesling from most producers is invariably bone dry. This would appear to indicate that producers are aware of the demand for dry riesling to pair with food, yet practically all persist in producing wines with sugar levels well in excess of 5g/ l of RS. Despite asking many producers why this is the case, I have yet to get a satisfactory answer. Most claim that global warming, and the exposure of the better sites means riper grapes and therefore higher sugar. This is clearly an unsatisfactory explanation. How does Trimbach manage to produce bone dry riesling year upon year?

A quick tip for RS level verification is to see if the riesling is featured in the Guide Hachette, which gives the Residual Sugar figure at the end of each Alsace entry. This is available online (2008, and 2009 eds) on the Hachette website.

Back to Monsieur Kubler:


Philippe's Riesling Breitenberg 2006: is drier than the month-old, vulture-picked corpse of a screechy lemon-juice mouse in the Sahara. Nose full of lemon, sherbert, honey, apple, stone fruit( apricot) and a little kerosene. Medium minus body. Elegant, high acidity. Good, but not overly powerful.(Jan 2010)

The acidity here is searing, in a hurt your tummy way. This is definitely good, but still needs time to see if the acidity will integrate further. However 2006 was a dreadful vintage in Alsace for rot and there is not a hint of mushroom to be found here, which is an achievement in itself.

Weingarten Gewurztraminer 2005:
Philippe is, understandably, less concerned about residual sugar in his Gewurztraminer. This is demi-sec with a lovely floral nose full of rosewater.
A nice mineral hint to it too. Fairly elegant for this most inelegant of varietals.

Grand Cru:


GC Zinnkoepfle Gewurztraminer 2004:
Light, greenish gold colour. Lovely nose, quite restrained with lychees and pain d'epice spices. Quite sweet, beautiful weight and restraint on the palate. Bitter/ spicey finish crying out for food. Lovely with clear smokey minerality, hinting at long development ahead.

GC Zinnkoepfle Pinot Gris 2004:
Not tasted since domaine visit. No note.


Sylvaner 'Z' 2006 (13%): ( from the Zinnkoepfle)
Rich and honeyed nose. Leesy with milky/ caramel note on palate. Spice. Flat lining a little in terms of flavour profile/ lack of acidity? After 1 hr: Honey, spice, quince, nuts. Mango skin, tropical stone fruit. Salty caramel/ mineral aspect. Ice tea with lemon, miso soup?( I know, I know). A strange, fascinating wine. Really unusual and interesting.

Exams put blogging on hold

Just a quick note to say that I am up to my bubbies for the next couple of weeks with exams, so no blogs. Off to Mallorca for two weeks after that so hopefully will be able to put up a couple of related bits and pieces about the lovely wines of Binissalem.
In the meantime all prayers gratefully received!