An autumn rosé

Though I love the arrival of a new season, the relentless rain last week was a bit wearying. So the crisp autumnal sunshine on Saturday was joyously welcomed. Lunch was served next to wide open windows, not quite alfresco but with a fresh breeze to whip up the appetite.

Red seemed too sleepy for such energetic weather but after glancing down the winelist, a rosé seemed to capture the frivolity that sunshine always bestows on a weekend day, while giving us the depth of flavour to match a tomato-based seafood linguine and rustica pizza.

I usually go for the Languedoc when looking for rosé with strength of character but as we were in an Italian restaurant I chose one from the Veneto and found the same richesse.

This region, with its Amarone tradition, produces wines with ripasso technique (passing young wine over the unpressed skins of the dried grapes used to make Amarone). This has traditionally only been used for Valpolicella but with international varieties being planted and all sorts of new innovations, these techniques are being experimented with in different ways.

There is also carbonic maceration, usually associated with Beaujolais Noveau, used for Bardolino Novello which was given its own DOC a few years ago.

Rosé is not particularly traditional to this region but in the spirit of modern wines being trialled and produced using traditional methods and grape varieites in different ways, there is a very successful marriage here.

The colour was deep, the texture fleshy and ripe with the right balance of acidity and creaminess. It was bursting with juicy cherry and strawberry fruit. It was perfect for the food, just what I was looking for and I have been enthused to find some more examples of Veneto rosé which are available to buy. This one was an on-trade line only. Watch this space...

TruClos

On a recent tasting trip my friend and colleague Julie Campbell, a sommelier, and I decided to do an experiment. We had been challenged by a group of friends & acquaintances to find some wines for them which were not necessarily available in the UK, from small producers showing off local terroir. Something to prove what we're always banging on about re commercial, international styles versus individual, interesting and regional styles.

Our mission was to pick a region, find 6 outstanding producers that were unknown in this market and come back to them with an irresistible case offer. Hmmm...

The Loire was an obvious choice to us. We both love the wines, they aren't nearly as appreciated or well known as they could be among the group of people we were shopping for and, most importantly, who ever would stand up and count Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc as two favourite varietals given the bog standard searingly acidic and green versions usually offered to us by the larger retailers?

But in order to find producers which were as unknown to us as to the British public we were going to rely on local tip offs. We had a rough idea of what we were looking for and after picking up the rental car - we booked a little clio but were presented with a Citroen C8, a vehicle which dwarfed even the people carriers on the road and was unlikely to endear us to anybody driving around tiny vineyard lanes - we headed for Saumur.

Our first stop, at the Maison du Vin, put paid to the idea that all the locals would be thrilled to speak to us as a haughty lady, who was even employed to be helpful, handed us some maps with routes which bore virtually no resemblance to any roads on our map and turned her back on us. We then went for a recovery drink at a little bar down the road garnering quite a bit of attention - I was the only visible Indian the entire trip and Julie is a very blond American - only to be served two corked glasses of wine.

After much agonised "could we just get it down and not worry about it?" rolling of eyes, I finally took them inside to be told with a Gallic shrug "they could well be corked I never taste the filthy stuff." It wasn't looking promising and with faltering enthusiasm we set off along the route des vins.

I won't go into all the details here but the trip improved immensely from there as we were directed to the most gorgeous little b&b and then chased after producers with local reputations across Turquant, Puy Notre Dame, the Vendomois, Jasnieres and Vouvray. We would have liked to have made it across many of the other appellations but we ran badly out of time. We consoled ourselves that we were sure we would be sent back for more once the wines had reached their audience. TruClos is born.

We are immensely proud of the outstanding quality we found amongst many ordinary examples and are confident that our new clients are going to appreciate our crusade for individuality in wine. Next month we will pick another region and do it all again. If you would like details of our Loire case or to be put on the mailing list you can email me at aka.ashika@gmail.com

Chile Part II

Tomorrow came and went as my 3 year old broke his arm and after spending the night in A&E he has required my full and undivided attention ever since. However he is now back at nursery so on to the next outstanding producer...

Haras de Pirque is a relative newcomer, their first vintage was in 2003. The vineyards are in the Upper Maipo Valley on a splinter range of the Andes mountains. The Commercial Vice-Persident Eduardo Matte is effusively charming and enthusiastic. He has a great respect for the established wine dynasties in Chile but is totally focused on the quality of the Haras wines and his ambitions for their future.

Again what struck me here was the consistency across the range and the pride taken, that you can taste in the glass. The Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2006 was nicely fresh and crisp with none of the overblown character so easily done. The Chardonnay Reserve 2005 had great integration of oak and fresh delicate fruit with a long, smoky finish. The Chardonnay Elegance 2005 had a ripe, rich, lemon-sherbet nose. Opulent even a bit tropical but elegant. Only 300 cases are made, a very modest quantity for Chile.

The Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2005 won a gold medal in Chile and has a soupcon of Carmenere and Syrah added to it. It had a big ripe nose and was like blackberries dipped in dark chocolate with a good strong but supple structure. The Cabernet Sauvignon Elegance 2003 had a very inviting, developed yet still fresh nose. The fruit is huge but the framework supports it perfectly. The  Syrah Character 2004 had an earthy, animal warmth on the nose with a silky ripe, chocolate, spicy palate. Again, beautifully judged winemaking meant this huge surge was well-contained. Finally the Albis 2003, a joint venture with Italy's Antinori, a coup indeed to have been chosen as a partner to this legend in the business. This wine is looking to the future, it has a wondrous balance of ingredients to see it through to the long term. The satin fruit make it mouth watering already but the tight grainy textured coil promises great things to come.

All the wines are available from Friarwood Ltd 020 7736 2628.

And finally to something confusingly negative. First of all, this is the confusing bit for me, I have to say that this producer has been loudly praised  by several very well-respected (including by me) and senior figures in the trade. This is the third time I have tasted these wines this year and my opinion hasn't changed except that this time the wines showed even worse than before.

The producer is Matetic and the wine is the Syrah EQ 2004. The team behind Matetic is impressive with  biodynamic, winemaking and viticultural consultants on board since 2000. The wine though each time I have tasted it has been stinky, unclean, burnt and bitter tasting, with a thin mouthfeel and a nasty short finish.  Extreme, no? I just don't understand what everyone else is tasting. I guess it just goes to show the extraordinary differences there are between palates. The Pinot Noir EQ 2005 had a bright cherry, New World Pinot nose which was pleasing but the palate was watery, lacked structure and again there was a bitter short finish.

The whites were more successful in my opinion. The Sauvignon Blanc EQ 2005 was beautifully ripe with a hint of sweetness which was lovely with the tang of the Sauvignon. I did notice an odd finish though. The Chardonnay EQ 2005 was ripe, tropical and oaky. Weighty with good smoky fruit it was a commercially correct style but perhaps not one for purists.

Well, vive la difference! I will continue to taste the Matetic EQ range whenever I get the chance because I am truly baffled.

The range is available in limited form from Stone, Vine & Sun 01962 712351 or WineXcel 01685 871384. 

The Annual Chile Gathering

Wish it had been in Chile but actually took place in North London at Lord's cricket ground. It's always quite daunting not just because of the number of wines and stands - where to start - but because despite it's Eden status in viticultural terms, the mass production and crippling price points it has been subject to in the UK mean that Chile is responsible for a lot of the numbingly bland alcoholic grape juice that makes me roll my eyes in anguish.

Now it is true that I came across a few of these among the room - are these crowd pleasers? I guess people are buying them, but why? - however, with the help of some outstanding recommendations from colleagues and pure luck I found a couple of producers whose entire range reflected everything that is good about Chile and its wines.

Vina Leyda was the first and I hardly know what to write here as I tried their 8 wines and thought they were all superb. The Sauvignon Blanc Garuma Vineyard 2006 was fermented in oak which is a very tricky thing to pull off with this variety but was classic, fresh, with great texture and long length. 

The 3 chardonnays were all about the fruit and manipulating the fermentation to produce richness and complexity without oak dominance. So battonage (stirring of the fine lees to accentuate the creamy yeast) gave great depth to the Classico Reserva 2006 and wild yeasts gave the Lot 5 2004 a gorgeous layering of fruit.

Similarly the reds stood out for their purposefulness. All of them were rich and intense but they were all tightly contained and structured, there was absolutely no flabbiness or high alcohol perception which so often spoiled other wines in the room.  The Pinot Noir Las Brisas 2005 was spicy and complex but very fine and made with a light touch. The Pinot Noir Lot 21 2005 was rich with a tight coil and a great future.

The Cabernet Sauvignon Classico Reserva 2005 was classic Cabernet, herby and minty and easy to drink. The Single Vineyard 2004 was really special. Inky, minty, cheesy nose, sweetly seductive with grown-up herbaceousness. Gorgeous. The winemaker Rafael Urrejola  knows what he is doing and is ambitious for his wines finding a consistent path between the Old and New world styles.

I'll spend some time tomorrow on the other domaine I particularly like as well as one I don't...

Modern Rioja

I went to Bilbao for a long weekend, catching up with some old friends from winemaking days in nearby Rioja.  Hugely hospitable as is the Spanish way, I seemed to consume vast amounts of foie gras, jamon (Alita Iberica) and salt cod. They also opened many bottles of wine as we discussed how styles were rapidly changing in this enduring region.

There seems to be a definite trend for fruit forward, rich and thick wines quite different to the delicate, distinctive clear red cherry and oak wines I associate with Rioja. The locals I was with embraced this change and found the wines more powerful and pleasing. It's true they are luscious, lip smacking wines such as Rioja Santiago, Vendimia Seleccionada Alta Expression 2003 the name itself gives a strong message of intent. Similarly the Contino, Vina del Olivo 2001 had a new depth and strength deliberately pursued by the flamboyant winemaker Jesus Madrazon to capture the imagination of the young international market.

Still making wines more traditionally is the Muga dynasty. Their Prado Enea, Gran Reserva 1995 a stunning example of how Rioja made its reputation. Similarly the Muga, Crianza 2002 is romantically mellow and wonderfully easy to drink.

The new style reflects the growing trend for people to drink red wine outside a food context which was unusual even just a few years ago. The intensity of the fruit in the modern wines would make them harder to pair with the local dishes which so beautifully complement the traditional Riojas. However they can be gorgeous, with great purity and mouthwatering richness. They are also, importantly, well-balanced with enough acidity to keep them from turning flabby while maintaining weight.

Look out for my forthcoming article on the Marques de Riscal, Frank Gehry designed, Hotel & Spa.