Participare la Forumul Vinul.ro din 14 Aprilie 2013

Duminica am participat ca si guest speaker la Forumul Vinul.ro ce s-a desfasurat la hotel Marshal Garden in perioada 13-14 Aprilie 2013. Alaturi de colegul meu Nicusor Cazan am avut cele 30 de minute de glorie in care am vorbit despre “Cine sunt Bloggerii de vin si vor ei”.

Desi audienta se mai rarise, la sfarsitul prezentarii au fost multe intrebari din partea audientei care a dorit sa afle urmatoarele:

– de ce nu ne tragem de maneca intre noi cand unii sar calul si exagereaza cu comentariile rau intentionate?

– exista un cod de etica care ar trebui respectat de aceasta comunitate ? Aparent audienta nu crede ca exista un astfel de cod urmat de toti bloggerii de vin din Romania.

– eu am semnalat dificultatile pe care le-am intampinat din dorinta de a urma un curs specializat de degustare si faptul ca desi am trimis faxuri de inscriere si am incercat sa contactez membrii din ADAR, de 6-7 luni nu am primit nici un raspuns.

Dl Grigorica a promis ca daca strangem un grup de 10 persoane se va ocupa personal de organizarea acestui curs. Aceasta initiativa vine dupa incidentul neplacut pe care l-am intampinat anul trecut cand am fost invitat alaturi de alti colegi bloggeri de vin de catre Vinul.ro sa fac parte din juriul concursului de vinuri organizat impreuna cu Asociatia Producatorilor de Vin din Dragasani, cand anumiti membrii din aceasta Asociatie s-au impotrivit vehement unei astfel de participari.

De asemenea dl Catalin Paduraru a lansat invitatia de a forma o comisie separata din bloggeri de vin care sa participe la concursul International Wine Contest Bucharest din 23-26 Mai 2013.

Au fost multe intrebari si eu sper ca vor iesi multe lucruri bune de acum din punct de vedere educational si de implicare a acestei comunitati mici de pasionati.

Mai jos este prezentarea noastra.

Interview with Francois Bannier from Hecht&Bannier (Video in English)

Francois Bannier, one of the partners and winemakers of Hecht&Bannier, was present at the end of February 2013 in Bucharest, Romania. He was kind enough to accept an interview and we tasted several of his wines labelled as “Les Crus”. Each wine from this range comes from a single Appellation (ex: Minervois, Saint-Chinian, Bandol, Cotes du Roussillion Villages, etc) and is aged for 24 months in demi-muids.

On this episode we tasted:
2009 H&B Minervois
2009 H&B Saint Chinian
2009 H&B Bandol

Enjoy the video !

Degustare Hecht & Bannier

Articol publicat pe site-ul revistei Millesime.

Miercuri 20 februarie a fost prezent in Bucuresti Francois Bannier, unul dintre cei doi oenologi si proprietari ai producatorului de vinuri din sudul Frantei: Hecht & Bannier. Cu aceasta ocazie, importatorul si distribuitorul acestor vinuri in Romania – compania Le Manoir – a organizat o degustare la Wine Bar-ul pe care-l detine pe strada Episcopiei 2-4, langa Ateneul Roman in Bucuresti. In cadrul acestei degustari Francois Bannier a prezentat vinurile pe care le produce impreuna cu partenerul sau Didier Hecht. Francois Bannier provine din Bordeaux, Didier Hecht din Alsacia, ambii au lucrat la diferite crame in Burgundia, dar s-au indragostit imediat de sudul Frantei si au decis sa inceapa un parteneriat impreuna.

Hecht&Bannier este o societate relativ tanara, stabilita in anul 2002 in sudul Frantei, producand vinuri in regiunea Langeudoc-Roussillion si Provence, care s-a remarcat rapid prin calitatea vinurilor sale, atragand atentia presei internationale de vin si obtinerea constanta a unor punctaje mari.

Hecht&Bannier este un negociant eleveur, ceea ce inseamna ca societatea nu detine vita de vie proprie. Achizitia de struguri are loc atat de la producatori tineri, cat si de la diverse cooperative si domenii cu renume. Hecht & Bannier achizitioneaza de asemenea vinuri care au terminat fermentatia si care sunt apoi transportate in locatia lor pentru a fi cupajate si maturate. Un negociant eleveur controleaza intreg procesul de la cupajare la maturarea vinului, prin alegerea tipului de butoaie de stejar, durata, imbutelierea si invechirea lui in sticle inainte de a fi pus pe piata. H&B sunt specilizati in producerea vinurilor rosii.

Francois Bannier a declarat ca, desi nu au contracte pe mai multi ani cu nici unul dintre producatori, ei achizitioneaza struguri sau vin de la aceleasi surse in proportie de 80% in fiecare an, continuand insa sa prospecteze si sa descopere furnizori si zone noi. H&B produce vinuri din Minervois, Saint Chinian, Faugeres si Limoux in Languedoc, Cotes du Roussillon Villages si Maury in Roussillon, Bandol si Cotes de Provence din Provence.

Sunt preferate achizitiile de struguri sau de vin ce provin din parcele cu vita de vie ce ajung si la 100 de ani vechime din micro-climaturi mai racoroase, scopul urmarit fiind obtinerea unor vinuri dense, dar care pastreaza prospetime.

Procesul de maturare se face in diferite vase de ciment si de lemn, baricuri de 225 l dar si butoaie mari de stejar de 600 l, denumite demi-muids si comune in aceasta parte a Frantei. Acest proces dureaza pana la 24 de luni pentru vinurile numite sugestiv les Crus: cupaje de vinuri ce provin din mai multe parcele diferite din aceeasi apelatiune (ex. Minervois, Saint Chinian, Cotes du Roussillon Villages) si reunite fiecare intr-o singura eticheta.

Cei doi asociati din Hecht&Bannier se mandresc cu faptul ca vasta majoritate a producatorilor cu care lucreaza controleaza vite de vie ce ofera struguri certificati organic, acest lucru demonstrand atentia crescuta pe care o primesc plantele. Recunosc de asemenea cu mandrie ca sunt cei care platesc cel mai mult pentru strugurii sau vinurile achizitionate.

 Vinurile pe care le produc se caracterizeaza prin accesibilitate si expresivitate, chiar din momentul lansarii, arome de lemn de stejar foarte bine integrate si care lasa expresia terroir-ului sa se afirme, echilibru intre densitate, fruct si prospetime. Sunt vinuri bine structurate, cu taninuri coapte si polisate, per ansamblu placand imediat.

 Impreuna cu Francois Bannier am degustat si comparat expresii diferite de Syrah din Minervois, Saint Chinian si Faugeres din Languedoc, de Grenache din Cotes du Roussillon Villages si de Mourvedre din Bandol:

• H&B Minervois 2009: un vin inchis la culoare, expresiv, cu arome bogate si intense de fructe coapte, note de cacao si condiment, in gust echilibru intre finete si putere, structura densa, final mediu spre lung, cu note de ciocolata neagra si condiment.
• H&B Saint Chinian 2008: note florale si lemn dulce aromat, frumos imbinate cu cele de fruct si scortisoara. Structura mai densa, taninuri coapte si postgust mediu spre lung. O expresie a Syrah-ului mai proaspata decat Minervois-ul.
• H&B Faugeres 2008: cea mai impozanta expresie a Syrah-ului majoritar dintre cele trei vinuri. Un vin inchis la culoare, concentrat si voluptos in gust, echilibru excelent intre aromele bogate de fructe negre, ciocolata si carne macra, taninuri si prospetime, cu un final lung si postgust de-a dreptul picant.
• H&B Cotes du Roussillion Villages 2009: cupaj majoritar de Grenache Noir alaturi de Syrah, Carignan si Mourvedre, merge o treapta si mai sus in concentratie si densitate. Un vin puternic, masculin, cu taninuri ferme dar coapte si imblanzite, avand clasa si putand face fata cu mandrie unui vin mai scump din Chateauneuf du pape. Final lung ce lasa arome dense de cacao, fulgi de ciocolata si condiment in postgust.
• H&B Bandol 2009: provine din Provence unde 80% din vinul produs este roze; Francois se declara pe buna dreptate extrem de incantat de rezultatul final din sticla. Vinul este majoritar Mourvedre (peste 80%) si exprima perfect atributele acestui strugure: arome intense de pasta de masline negre usor amaruie, fructe rosii proaspete si note bogate de vanat si pamant proaspat arat. Maturarea indelungata a imblanzit taninurile ferme si mai salbatice specifice Mourvedre-ului, oferind un vin expresiv si accesibil. Este primul vin rosu lansat de H&B din Bandol. In general, vinurile provenind din Mourvedre sunt expresive si deschise in primii 2 ani de viata, urmand o etapa de ,,inchidere” de 3-4 ani, timp in care vinul este “zgarcit” in arome, pentru ca apoi sa se redeschida mai complex si mai evoluat. Sunt vinuri cu un potential bun de pastrare.

Vinurile Hecht&Bannier sunt disponibile in Romania prin importatorul La Manoir si in reteaua magazinelor Comtesse du Barry la preturi intre 59 Ron pentru gama entry level – denumite generic Languedoc – si 83-148 Ron pentru les Crus.

Articol scris de Cosmin Grozea

Biondi Santi Brunello di Montalcino – a vertical of 4 vintages

The first wine event of this year sounded extremely tempting from the moment I got the invitation so I had great expectations and looked forward to the event. The tasting was organized by Mr Marian Timofti, the importer of Biondi Santi to Romania, at the fancy new restaurant from Soseaua Nordului: La Brasserie Bistro&Lounge. The wines were opened with about 1-2 h in advance but they probably needed more time to breath.

The wine tasting consisted of 4 vintages of Biondi Santi Brunello di Montalcino: 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, and 2 other wines representing a modern and different style: 2002 Col d’Orcia Olmaia Cabernet and 2006 Jacopo Biondi Santi Sassoalloro.

2004 Biondi Santi Brunello di Montalcino

Saturated ruby red color. Developed nose, discreet sweetness, aromas of red fruits and green tomatoes and not very expressive. Medium body, lively, well structured, firm and assertive tannins, rather closed on the palate and feels very tight. A classic profile with a medium finish. The wine has high acidity that makes it feel too thin on the palate and as much as there are tannins and there is structure, the wine feels like it does not have enough substance. A bit of a disappointment considering that 2004 was an excellent vintage all over Italy. The acidity seems to give  most of its structure and as much as it can age for several more years I would be extremely curious to see if there is going to be any considerable improvement for this wine. (86-87/100)

2005 Biondi Santi Brunello di Montalcino

Same saturated ruby red color. The nose is well developed, more expressive and pleasing than 2004, with aromas of game, leather and generous red fruit. Slightly fuller bodied, but remaining on the medium plus body, well structured and balanced, lively acidity, elegant profile, with smoother tannins and pleasant flavors of coffee, black tea and red fruits preserves. Medium-long finish with good freshness. Better to drink now. (88/100)

2006 Biondi Santi Brunello di Montalcino

Same saturated ruby red color. The nose is developed but is not very expressive at this moment. Aromas of green vegetables and green tomatoes, hints of refreshing eucalyptus underneath discreet red fruits fill the glass and, as it aerates, aromas of mushrooms become evident. Medium plus body, this vintage has more substance, better structure and balance, remaining on the same path of elegance. It rewards the palate also. Medium to long finish, with black tea flavors. This one has all the components to age well and get better. (90-91/100)

2007 Biondi Santi Brunello di Montalcino

Saturated ruby red color. A well developed and expressive nose already, with balsamic notes, good complexity, and intense aromas of red fruits preserves, spices and leather. Medium plus body, good extraction but remaining elegant, structured and expressive on the palate. Long aftertaste with a classic profile and very good freshness. There is a pleasant mild sweetness on the palate that seduces you unconditionally. An already expressive wine. (90-91/100)

2006 Jacopo Biondi Santi Sassoalloro

Deep dark garnet color. Developed on the nose, with the right amount of fruit, floral aromas, plums and spices. Medium to full body, assertive and dry tannins, flavors of red and black cherry, tobacco and mineral on the palate. Medium finish. While this is not a really complex wine, it will please a larger number of consumers. (88/100)

2002 Col D’Orcia Olmaia Cabernet

Dark red garnet color with minor signs of evolution. A well developed and maturing nose, really lovely, expressive and fresh. There are still plenty of primary, red fruit aromas, spices, leather and a charming freshness given by eucalyptus. Full bodied, expressive, structured, but tannins are very smooth and fully blended, a wine that feels at its peak now and acting accordingly. It has a lengthy finish preserving the same freshness. Perfect to drink now. (90/100)

After the tasting was over, one of the persons at my table offered to bring 2 bottles of older Bordeaux that were also served to some of the participants that were still present.

1982 Chateau Beaumont Haut Medoc

I managed to safely uncork the wine in one piece. Coming from a stellar 1982 vintage this was not only alive, but still very good. The color is ruby red with a brick rim. The nose was initially closed and offered intense aromas of horse sweat and brett, but as it breathed these aromas lost their intensity and let the pleasant ones to shine: cedar, subdued sweet red fruit, graphite, smoke, tobacco and earth. Mature wine, still structured and very much alive on the palate, lively acidity, discreet red fruits and black tea. A medium finish, refreshing. Better to be consumed now. (88/100)

1983 Chateau Haut Surget Lalande de Pomerol

The cork came out in one piece also. Ruby red color with brick meniscus. A more intense mature nose, with pronounced red fruits aromas, there is however a metallic-rusty aroma that makes it less interesting. It also seemed a bit more fuller on the palate, completely mature, lively acidity, denser red fruits also, with a medium finish reminding of black tea and dried cherries. Lesser pleasure for me than the 1982. (84/100)

It was definitely a great event and I was glad that it gave me the chance to get accustomed with the elegant and classic Biondi Santi’s wines. 2006 and 2007 are still available at the importer Arte&Vino shop near Carol Park in Bucharest.

Goodwine Noiembrie 2012

Desfasurat intr-o noua locatie mult mai spatioasa: Romexpo complex C1, editia din toamna a targului de vinuri Goodwine face pasii necesari pentru a se apropia gradual de standardele targurilor internationale de vinuri. Standuri mai mari si mai aerisite, iar efectul a fost imediat resimtit: desi sambata era lume multa te puteai misca in voie pe culoare. De asemenea avand standuri mai mari, am observat ca fiecare producator a crescut numarul personalului astfel incat nu trebuia sa stai prea mult la coada sa poti degusta ce doresti. Trebuie sa salutam initiativa organizotorilor Goodwine pentru schimbarea locatiei si sa speram ca vom vedea urmatoarele editii in format si mai extins.

Am apreciat de asemenea initiativa unor noi producatori care au decis sa participe la acest targ pentru prima oara: Cramele Halewood, dar si crame sau distribuitori din tara sau din afara tarii: Ecoreca, Vinitaly Deluxe si Smartdrinks din Romania, si Crama Borha importator de vinuri spaniole.

Am descoperit si redescoperit vinuri noi si vinuri mai vechi care au evoluat surprinzator. Doresc sa le multumesc tuturor producatorilor si distribuitorilor pe care i-am vizitat pentru disponibilitatea si timpul acordat, dar si pentru explicatiile detaliate si prezentarile oferite.

Ca sa rezum ziua de sambata pe care am petrecut-o aproape in totalitate la Goodwine voi mentiona vinurile care m-au surprins si mi-au placut in mod deosebit.

– la Cramele Halewood dl Muntean (foto) a avut amabilitatea alaturi de enologul Lorena Deaconu de a-mi prezenta personal noile vinuri care vor fi lansate in viitorul apropiat. As putea spune ca urmatoarele trei vinuri au fost pentru mine cateva dintre revelatiile targului: 2008 Rheea Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon (un vin “uitat” imbuteliat in crama pentru o perioada mai lunga la maturare care aminteste de un cupaj din Bordeaux de pe Malul Drept – Saint-Emilion), o noua Feteasca Neagra 2009 care va intra in gama Hyperion dar cu o noua eticheta care provine dintr-un lot situat la o altitudine mai ridicata (500 m) fata de viile care produc Hyperion FN, mult mai densa si mai interesanta, dar si noul Cantus Primus Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 care are toate calitatile unui an de exceptie (2009). Cramele Halewood pregatesc noi lansari interesante in ciuda numarului mare de etichete deja existente in portofoliul lor.

– la Crama Oprisor am degustat alaturi de o doamna, Veronica Gheorghiu, despre care am aflat ca este enologul de serviciu alaturi de Liviu Grigorica toata gama superioara: Eticheta Rosie Cab Sauv, Smerenie, Nenumita 2008 si Cutia Paleologu 2007. Pentru mine Cutia Paleologu 2007 ramane vinul de top al Cramei Oprisor.

– Crama Borha este importatorul unor vinuri de exceptie din Spania: La Rioja Alta, unul dintre cei mai consacrati producatori din Rioja, care pastreaza inca stilul Old School care a consacrat vinurile de Rioja. Preturile sunt comparabile cu cele din Spania. Am re-degustat un vin pe care il apreciez mult: 2001 La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva Especial (4 ani in baricuri americane si inca 3-5 ani maturare in sticla). Mai spectaculoase sunt 1998 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904 si 1995 La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 890.

– vis-a-vis de ei un alt importator de vinuri spaniole, crama Arzuaga, cu vinuri placute dar din pacate cu marketing ieftin. Sustineau hotarat ca vinul La Planta din Ribera del Duero (un vin tanar si fructat, un Tempranillo modern) cu pretul de 45 Ron ar fi vandut ca si vinul casei la Burj al Arab in Dubai la 300 Eur sticla. Permiteti-mi sa am anumite rezerve.

– la Crama Basilescu am gasit o Feteasca Neagra 2009 interesanta, desi destul de neimblanzita si agresiva pentru moment. Sa-i dam inca 1-2 ani si ar trebui sa observam o metamorfoza frumoasa.

– la Cramele Recas o mini verticala de Cuvee Uberland de 3 ani : 2006, 2009 si 2011, a dezvaluit un 2006 care ar trebui consumat acum si care a virat catre un profil de fruct foarte copt. Regret profund ca nu am mai ajuns duminica la degustarea unor vinuri de import de top din portofoliul Cramelor Recas care se pare ca si-au imbogatit numarul etichetelor de import: Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne, Louis Latour Chassagne Montrachet rosu si inca 1-2 etichete de prestigiu care au fost incluse in aceasta degustare. Ii invidiez pe cei care au fost prezenti acolo duminica.

– poate cel mai surprinzator si, in opinia mea, poate cel mai bun vin dulce romanesc: Dessert Stirbey vandut in sticla de 375 ml cu un nivel scazut al alcoolului: 9.5% si o aciditate de Riesling din Mosel. Probabil nici cei mai carcotasi nu au ce sa-i reproseze ca si calitate.

– Petro Vaselo surprinde din nou cu politica de preturi. Am degustat un Chardonnay maturat 6 luni in baricuri lansat recent si oferit la 78-80 Ron sticla. E bine ca industria continua sa ne surprinda.

– la SERVE am incercat noul Terra Romana Rose 2012 (nu inteleg cursa acestui producator de a scoate primul, vinul rose al noii recolte) si Cuvee Amaury 2011 (colegii mei au dreptate sa-l pozitioneze peste cel din 2010). Ca si simplu amator cred ca graba de a fi primul si a grabi lucrurile in acest domeniu nu este neaparat strategia cea mai buna.

– la standul Avincis am reintalnit-o pe Angela Prado care, intr-o romana superba, as putea zice ca a oferit cea mai buna prezentare a unor vinuri de la acest targ. Sincer, ar putea convinge pe oricine sa inceapa sa aprecieze vinul. Desigur prezentarea a fost sustinuta si de calitatea vinurilor.

Am degustat mai mult decat am scris si, ca si concluzie, as zice ca editiile viitoare ale targului Goodwine nu trebuiesc ratate. Imi pare rau ca l-am ratat pe Marc Dworkin si nu am avut ocazia sa-l salut.

Rolland’s Collection with David Lesage

I was invited to attend a very interesting tasting organized by Le Manoir, the Romanian importer and distributor of Michel Rolland’s wines. I believe, or would like to believe, that any person that likes and consumes wine, or at least is interested in wine, heard about Michel Rolland. As debatable as his wines are perceived for being too extracted or too oaky, most of the prestigious Chateaux in Bordeaux employ his consulting services. He is definitely a great blender.

Last night Mr Rolland’s son-in-law, David Lesage, presented some of the wines included in the so-called Rolland’s Collection. I actually met Mr Lesage one year ago when he conducted another wine session presenting the same Collection but some from different vintages, session organized also by Le Manoir. His presentations are interesting and engaging, filled with technical details but also spiced up with “behind the curtain” information.

I found out last night that in Bordeaux it became mandatory to mention the alcohol level on the labels starting with the ’70s. If the alcohol level is above the appellation’s rules a producer might not be able to use the AOC for that particular vintage. Mr. Lesage mentioned how Michel Rolland had the initiative to measure the alcohol level in a legendary wine: 1947 Chateau Cheval Blanc and the result is just staggering: 14.8%. Should the 1970s regulations have been in place in 1947, Cheval Blanc would have not carried the Saint-Emilion Grand Cru appelation. Interesting information for a wine geek. So the blamed high alcohol levels we see often today on Bordeaux wines are not a first.

We started with a white wine made from a 1 ha plot from Lussac-Saint-Émilion, normally a red wine appellation, labelled as a Bordeaux Blanc and produced in a relative short supply. The wine is aged for up to 12 months in new French oak barrels. The use of new French oak barrels is a common thing to all wines in the Rolland’s Collection. Chateau La Grande Clotte 2009 is a white blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Gris, Semillon and up to 50% Muscadelle. The wine is opulent, both on the nose, as on the palate, oaky and elegant is the last word that comes to my mind when describing this wine. A wine that grabs your attention immediately but a bit too much for me.

Next two wines were 2002 and 2005 Chateau Le Bon Pasteur Pomerol served in parallel from two separate glasses to better compare them. The 2002 is completely open and ready to drink, showing pronounced aromas of green vegetables, green bell pepper and grass, (2002 was a rainy and hard to ripe vintage in Bordeaux) mixed with smoke, red fruits and a touch of minerals. Full bodied and filling the palate, fresh, structured, with assertive tannins. The wine is a pleasure to drink right now and has no problem holding further years. (90-91/100)

2005 Le Bon Pasteur is at a different stage. The wine feels tempered and restraint compared to 2002, but it has a depth and a complexity not matched by its older brother. Well structured, grippy tannins, fresh, ripe, full and hiding a lot of potential. Long and best to be left alone for now. (92/100)

Next wine was Le Defi de Fontenil, a 100% Merlot made only 5 or 6 times since 1999: 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009 (if I understood correctly). Even though the property sits in Fronsac, the wine is labelled as a simple Vin de Table because INAO  did not approve the experiment started  in 2000 by Dany and Michel Rolland to place plastic sheeting on the soil between the rows of vines on some plots in Château Fontenil to prevent rain penetration during the month preceding the harvest. It is probably one of the most, if not the most expensive Vin de Table produced in France. The berries are fermented in open oak barrels custom made for the Chateau, while the temperature is controlled by the use of dry ice. Aged for 18 months in new French oak barrels, this is an opulent, super concentrated and hedonistic expression of Merlot. We had the 2005 vintage which is extremely youthful, oaky, concentrated, structured, with fine sweet and fully ripe tannins. Long finish with opulent aromas and flavors of plums, cassis and prunes. Too young to be fully enjoyed at the moment. Probably a guy on steroids would mirror the image of this wine. A style that has its own fans.

Being a Vin de Table the producer is not allowed to mentioned the vintage on the label, however on the back label it is specified differently this information: 2005 appears as 05 and similarly for other vintages.

The 2003 Remhoogte Bonne Nouvelle made in South Africa, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinotage shows a more classic line, in complete antitheses with Le Defi de Fontenil. It is a style that I like more and it is hard to stay away from its pleasant smoky profile. Really balanced and perfectly enjoyable. At almost 10 years of age it is youthful and capable to hold many more years.

Last two wines were both Malbec’s made in Argentina: Val de Flores 2004 from vineyards sitting at 1000 m altitude, and Yacochuya 2004 from vines sitting at over 2000 m altitude. The climates are completely different as the properties are separated by over 1000 km. Both wines show an incredible high alcohol level: 15% for Val de Flores and a staggering 16.5% for Yacochuya, both are powerful wines but show amazing balance, ripe sweet tannins, structure and concentration to hide the heat.  Yacochuya is massive and super-concentrated, probably one the most concentrated wines I tasted so far and yet silky on the palate. (91-92/100) for Val de Flores 2004 and (93-94/100) for Yacochuya 2004.

There was also a Spanish Tempranillo made in Toro: 2003 Campo Eliseo (Champs Elysées in French), a wine made together with Jacques Lurton. A modern expression of Tempranillo.

The tasting was fun and interesting and after so much alcohol I left home a happy man. Before this event I actually had the chance to taste 3 other great wines: 2001 Masi Mazzano (92-93/100), 2006 Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco showing already a good approachability (91/100) and a very young and woody 2009 Tignanello (91/100).

A new visit at Cramele Recas

Philip Cox, one of the proprietors

It does seem to me that this starts to become a regular annual event. Just like about one year ago, I received an invitation to visit Recas Winery at the beginning of March. The same means of transportation: one hour by plane as they are situated 550 km NW from Bucharest, but this time the crowd invited was slightly different than in the past. If last year the guests were only people writing about wine in a professional or amateur way, this year’s group was far bigger (25 people) and far more varied. There were also journalists from financial and food publications, owners or part-owners of restaurants from Bucharest and people from marketing agencies. You could not get a more diversified group of people visiting a winery.

The purpose of our visit was to taste their new wines, with emphasize on the new Castel Huniade range. Castel Huniade replaces the old Castle Rock brand and it covers the range of 15-17 Ron wines. Just as the management mentioned, this seems to be the preferred range of wines for weddings and it is demanded by most of hotels, restaurants and other enterprises involved in the hospitality business.

Mr Philip Cox was, just like last year, our host during the visit. The visit started with a tour of the premises and detailed explanations about each step involved in the wine making process. It seems that Recas winery is among one of the few very successful producers in Romania as last year they faced more demand than their actual production for some of the wines. Their premium wines: the red Cuvee Uberland and the white Solo Quinta were real blockbusters, completely sold out way before the new vintage was even harvested. Mr Cox explained that currently they produce about 12 Millions L of wine per vintage and the aim is to increase to 18 Millions by 2015. Their exports increased significantly – 130%, last year they sold about 1 Million bottles in UK through Tesco. The exports are expected to increase from 40% of the total production to 50%. The most most notable success, that Mr Cox is very proud of, was the selection of Solo Quinta 2011 by Maze – a British Michelin star restaurant belonging to Gordon Ramsay – as one of their white house wines.

this label can be found in Tesco stores

Mr Cox was very transparent about the company’s strategy and mentioned they are always looking in advance what are the global fashionable trends in wines and they try to go along those lines. This is a fairly big winery,with around 950 ha under production, and they started to extend more with acquisitions in Minis, near Arad area.

The visit was structured to start with an initial tasting of the Castel Huniade range in the morning, lunch, visit in the vineyard and then a tasting of Cocosul and Sole range, Cuvee Uberland and Solo Quinta in the afternoon. Castel Huniade range comprises of 8 wines: whites are Riesling, Feteasca Regala, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, a rose and three reds, Merlot/Feteasca Neagra, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot/Pinot Noir. Many of these wines are off-dry and semi-sweet which I find fatiguing to enjoy, but it does seem to appeal to a vast majority of consumers. If I were to point some favorites of this range I would choose the only dry of the reds: the Cabernet Sauvignon and the off-dry Feteasca Regala from the whites.

Lunch consisted of a five course menu prepared by their own chef that heads the winery’s restaurant. The dishes were matched with foreign wines, the winery having a significant portfolio of imports consisting of top International brands: MASI, Robert Mondavi, Piccini, Planeta, Louis Latour and many others.

The menu: salmon carpaccio with salad and parmigiano / grilled shrimps with green beans soup / duck breast with Gorgonzola, nuts, quince jam, rice and baby carrots / beef steak with cheese and black truffles sauce, tagliatelle and endives / dessert: pastry with apple and vanilla sauce.

The wines served during the meal were: 2010 Nederburg Chardonnay South Africa, 2007 and 2010 Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc New Zeeland, 2009 Planeta Chardonnay, 2009 Cono Sur Carmenere Reserva, 2005 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley and for dessert we had, just like the previous visit, a sweet 2005 Traminer produced from vines that are no longer existent.

I particularly enjoyed 2009 Planeta Chardonnay: gold yellow color, expressive nose, elegant, with plenty of flavors of butter, vanilla, yellow flowers,ripe yellow fruit, honey, unctuous on the palate, an oxidative character, rich, with a long finish (91/100).

2005 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon was a perfect choice for the truffles infused sauce served with beef. The wine has a rich nose, with plenty of aromas of truffles, meat, peppery, but also generous ripe black fruits and bell pepper like typical Cabernet Sauvignon aromas, finely grained tannins, good structure and, considering the 15% alcohol, it feels pleasantly balanced, with a medium long spicy finish. It is however the type of wine that feels too much after 1 or 2 glasses. (91/100)

2005 Traminer does not have a label. The wine was made in very limited quantity, was never released on the market and nor will it be. It is gold colored, and has very nice aromas of kerosene, smoke, apricot, lime and pear, rose petals, a vibrant acidity that balances very well the natural sweetness and an intense long, lively finish. It goes very well with the dessert. (91/100)

After such a generous lunch, a walk into the vineyards was most welcomed. We also got the chance to take some nice pictures of the area that provides the grapes for Cuvee Uberland. The soil is rich in white clay and can be easily seen in the middle of the hill next to the winery.

Back at the winery, we started the next tasting. The former Cocosul brand was also re-branded and is now called Cocosul dintre vii. We tasted a Sauvignon Blanc, a Dry Muscat and a Pinot Noir from this range. I enjoyed the Dry Muscat the most. We tasted Sole Feteasca Regala and Chardonnay 2011, Solo Quinta 2011 and Cuvee Uberland 2009 and 2011. I confess liking more the 2011 Sole Chardonnay than the 2011 Solo Quinta (which contains up to 80% Chardonnay). The Sole Chardonnay comes along as a more serious wine to me, not having the Muscat like profile of Solo Quinta.

2009 Cuvee Uberland is a lot more different than last time I tasted it from barrel more than 1 year ago. Back then, it felt really big, with a body builder like profile and very ripe fruit flavors. Now, the wine seems to have lost a lot of its over-the-top muscles and metamorphosed into a more supple wine. It is however very young, it has a wide spectrum of flavors, but I find it hard to enjoy at the moment, due to a pronounced presence of its tannins on the finish.

2011 Cuvee Uberland from barrels has all the attributes of a wine situated in full transformation. The acidity is over the board, but the layers of fruit are there, the structure is in place and it seems to have a supple, but yet full body.

Cuvee Uberland’s style varied a lot from its inception. The first vintage produced – 2006, was supple and marching on elegance rather than power. Then, 2007 was powerful more than anything else, closer to an Amarone, as they employed a similar technique of drying the grapes ( cut and left on the vines for 3-4 weeks). The next vintages are more of a balancing between the two different styles, using with the same technique of drying the grapes. Cuvee Uberland was produced in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011. The 2010 vintage did not offer the right conditions to produce grapes of the quality required to make Cuvee Uberland.

For more pictures from this visit please click here.

Year end reflections – highlights of 2011

Looking back at what 2011 meant for me, from a wine related perspective, I can only be grateful and cherish all those special moments I lived visiting exciting places, attending interesting wine tastings and meeting amazing people in Romania and abroad.

I visited 15 wineries in 4 wine regions from 2 different countries – France and Italy, plus the 7-8 visits to Romanian wineries(Lacerta’s new winery is the most exciting of all with its modern design). I am looking forward to visit Avincis in 2012, as they also built a state of the art winery.

The wine trips started in April with a visit and a dinner at Masi in Veneto, then immediately followed by a weekend spent in Champagne where I could only visit Moet Chandon’s cellars, but also the small Grand and Premier Cru producing villages; in June I managed to visit 9 prestigious producers in Bordeaux – with emphasize on Petrus and the stunning lunch at Cheval Blanc, the others were: Ducru Beaucaillou, Figeac, Leoville Poyferre, Gloria, St-Pierre, Pontet Canet and Cos d’Estournel; in September I was impressed by the gorgeous landscape of Barolo while visiting Luciano Sandrone, Cavallotto and G.D. Vajra, and Braida in Asti area.

I attended two International wine fairs: Vinitaly in Italy in April and Vinexpo in Bordeaux in June that completely changed my perspective of what a wine fair experience should be and, sadly, also made me realize how far away we are from having a similar situation in Romania at this moment.

I visited the impressive cellars of two negociants: one in Bordeaux with over 4 Million bottles that is just like a Bank dealing with a different currency, sometimes more valuable, and one in Belgium that works strictly with rare and old vintages of both Burgundy and Bordeaux. It is always exciting for a wine geek to see piles of cases of the most sought after wines – Petrus, Romanee Conti or 100+ years old Yquem in one single place.

I attended several Wine-dinners in Bucharest with older vintages of Bordeaux and Spanish wines and, in December, I actually organized such an event myself. Always nice to meet new people having the same passion and I am certainly looking forward to repeat this experience in 2012 as often as possible.

I had a few articles published in the Romanian wine magazine Vinul.ro about my wine trips (here and here) and the investment in wine, the monthly wine recommendations, and also an interview structured as the portrait of a wine collector published by the Good Food magazine.

The number of wine events organized in Bucharest increased exponentially compared to 2010, ranging from launching of new local and imported wines, new wineries and verticals of several years organized by the very few producers that can do that. However, the most distinguished of all was the event organized by Le Manoir, where major International wineries had representatives showcasing their wines during dedicated seminars. It was a first to see La Spinetta, Ch Canon and Rauzan Segla, all Joseph Drouhin’s range of wines, Michel Rolland collection presented by his son in law, Michel Redde, Ch Laubade and some similar producers present in one single room in Bucharest. A similar event was organized later by the importer of Banfi wines, but at a much smaller scale.

While writing this article, I made an attempt to establish a top of the wines I had during this year, but it was impossible to do it. There were so many outstanding wines that it would take too much time to even try to make it. I started to enjoy more and more older vintages and I made a new year resolution to drink wines that are at least 4-5 years old. Ideally, starting from their 6-8th year from the vintage.

There is however one wine that I particularly enjoyed while having lunch at Cheval Blanc: the 1996 Chateau d’Yquem that, so far, is the best sweet wine I had. I am just glad that this year I had wines from 1966, 1969, 1970, 1975, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990 and a few more recent vintages. I can just hope that next year brings at least similar experiences.

To finish on the same note as the beginning of this article, I am grateful for all these experiences shared with special people and all those amazing wines I had.

Happy New Year and all the best to you dear Reader !

The International wine round table reloads

On May 14th, this coming SAT, the The International wine round table will meet again for a new session of tasting old wines. This session’s wines will be the following:

1st Flight

1991 Vina Tondonia Reserva white Lopez de Heredia
1992 Meursault 1er cru Blagny Louis Jadot
1999 Grand cru classé (white) Chateau Carbonnieux

2nd Flight

1981 Grand cru classé Chateau Giscours
1981 5er cru classé Chateau Batailley

1989 Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Marqués de Murietta
1989 Reserva “Vina Ardanza” La Rioja Alta

3rd Flight

2001 Septentrion Bodegas Orvalaiz

1999 Merlot “Privat Cellar” Veenwouden
1996 Grand cru classé Chateau La Tour Figeac
1998 Alion Reserva Tinto Bodegas y Vinedos Alion
4th Flight

1995 1er cru classé Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes

The ticket to attend the wine tasting is 200 RON and includes a dish with various types of cheese and charcuterie products and a bottle of water. The event will take place at Tratoria Roma and will start around 18:00. There will be a fixed number of 14 participants. People interested to attend can mail me at cosmin.grozea@gmail.com or info@cellartales.com. Payment will be made the latest on WED, May 11.

There are about 3 more places available for the moment.

Vinitaly 2011

I was in Verona at the beginning of April for a couple of days to attend a dinner organized by Masi at Serego Alighieri estate and visit Vinitaly – the biggest Italian wine fair. It is my first visit to a wine fair outside Romania. There were about 11 huge hangars with hundreds of booths, each representing one or more wine regions in Italy. There were a few producers from other countries too but very poorly represented. At the end of the day Vinitaly is only about the Italian wine.

Our group, the same that attended the dinner organized by Masi, arrived at the fair’s entrance early in the morning just when the wine fair was about to open and there was already a huge queue of people waiting to get in. As there was only one day reserved for visiting the fair I tried to see and taste as many wines as possible. Even though I was at the fair from 9:30 and left at 19:00 running on those corridors from one booth to another, and from one hangar to another, tasting over 300 wines, I would say that I probably visited about 20-25% of the fair. I tried to focus on the big and known producers and unfortunately some of them were very restrictive about tasting their wines and accepting your visit unless you were their partner. But on the big ocean of producers that was just a small percentage. The rest of them were gladly presenting their wines.

Masi’s recetion at their booth

I attended the presentations and the tastings of all the wines of Masi, Piccini, Planeta and some producers of Barolo and Barbaresco from Piedmont. There was very little time to write tasting notes for most of the wines as I was literally running from one hall to another, however I did manage to get notes for some top Masi wines while I spent more time there resting a bit and enjoying some good wines.

Masi Campolongo di Torbe 2004

Deep dark ruby red color. The nose is rich, complex and developed, with rich layers of cocoa powder, black and red cherry liquor, caramel and prunes. The taste is full body showing a velvety structure, concentrated, with flavors of black and red cherry jam and mint. The finish is long and intense with mint and cocoa flavors in the aftertaste. Young wine that already offers a great drinking pleasure. 91-92 points

Masi’s representative on the left

Masi Mazzano 2004

Deeper ruby red color. A balanced nose, round and developed with earthier aromas, mushrooms, dark and red cherry liquor and mintier aromas, sandal wood and cocoa. A full body wine, with a much sweeter sensation in the mouth than the Campolongo, very minty, with more aggressive tannins, flavors of red cherry liquor, mocha and earthy tones. The finish is long, the powerful tannins drying the mouth. A closed wine that comes a bit more rustic at this stage but having plenty of potential. 91 points

Masi Amarone Costasera Riserva 2006

Dark red velvet color. A sweet, round and developed nose. Taste is full body with plenty of ripe red fruits, black cherry liquor, mint, firm tannins and a long minty finish. A better value now that the 2004 Mazzano and a real favorite for most of the people tasting it. 91 points

At Planeta’s booth, the Sicilian wine producer, we tasted all their wines and the olive oil. I enjoyed the white Chardonnay and the red Bordeaux blend – Burdeos. The olive oil is spectacular as well.

places in Sicily where Planeta makes wine

At Piccini we tasted many Brunello’s and IGT wines from different vintages, including a new wine made in an commercial International style from grapes coming from several geographical regions in Italy and blended as a table wine, that was just launched at the fair. The 2004 Brunello Riserva stood out in the group.

Other wines that impressed me were from Querciabella – most aged for 12-18 month in French oak,

wines from Tenuta di Trinoro – they also sell their wines en-primeur,

Castello dei Rampolla – stunning 2003 d’Alceo,

the producer Castello del Terriccio making the amazing Lupicaia and Tassinaia wines – young but really intense and powerful wines from 2006 and 2007,

Bricco dell Uccellone – all their wines are really good and the owner was priding herself with the Romanian skilful workers she employs both in the basic labor, as in the management and wine making process. I felt really good hearing such kind words coming from an important Italian producer about Romania and Romanians.

The most inspiring wines for me were the Barolo’s I tasted in the Piedmont section. Overall there is great quality and homogeneity in most of the wines tasted from the vintage 2004. This is an area I would surely love to visit and explore during a vacation.

There are a few important things to say after this experience. Any wine lover should seriously consider visiting any of the big International wine fairs that take place every year in Europe: Prowein in Germany, Vinitaly in Italy, Vinexpo in Bordeaux or the one in London. It is a great experience that is worth living. However, more than just a day should be allocated in order to properly and peacefully taste most of the wines and visit all the producers. For me spending only one day was a real marathon but I am still grateful I managed to taste, as mentioned before, over 300 wines.

Italy is a country with hundreds of years of history in wine making and that is a fact. The size of this fair, the big number of producers and visitors that attend this fair each year are a clear proof of how important the wine is, in this country. Hopefully, Romania will manage to emulate the same culture for wine widespread among its citizens as the Italians have at a certain point in the future. Let’s hope that future is close enough.

For more pictures from my Vinitaly 2011 experience please go here.

Thanks for reading!

Gleanings from week 11

spot the most profitable asset in this chart

Mr Alfred Binder organizes courses about wine and I was invited, last THU, at the session dedicated to France, to talk about the investment in wine as a guest speaker. You can read more about his courses here.

The people attending the course were receptive at the idea of wine as an investment and pertinent questions were raised. Using charts and comparisons between the performance of different assets including Dow Jones Industrial(DJI), Gold(an example of a passive investment in gold as an Exchange traded fund-ETF), Emerging markets index and Fine wine index(plotted by Liv-ex) for the 2000-2011 interval, one might have a big surprise to find out what were the best two performing sectors. Charts are easy to understand and they say the story better than a million words. Naturally, like any other asset, investment in Fine wine has its own risks, rules that need to be followed and cautiousness is mandatory. Exponential increase is the best thing that can happen to your investment, but assets cannot go up forever either. Unfortunately, I believe that in Romania this concept is still a bit too revolutionary and time will have to pass until it will be taken seriously.

Coming back to wine tasting and the pleasure it can give simply as a drink, I could say that I had some great moments this weekend with fantastic wine.

On SAT, with home made food I had a Chardonnay from Pouilly Fuisse accompanied by seared St Jacques, plenty of salads and spinach. A sweet Sauternes was opened to match the foie gras.

seared St Jacques

2007 Daniel Barraud Pouilly Fuisse En Buland Vielles Vignes

There is a deep gold color. The nose is clean, medium intense, with generous aromas of butter and vanilla sticks, yellow flowers, lemon peel and a sweet touch of stone fruits. In the mouth the wine is medium to full body, with a good roundness, a bit heavy on the palate, but with good concentration, and echoing flavors of the aromas from the nose. There is a touch of minerality that balances the low acidity. The finish is medium and a bit too oaky for me. 88 points

This Pouilly Fuisse went well with the St Jacques and I wanted to do a little experiment and see how it matches the foie gras. That wasn’t a bad combo either. However, both my wife and I liked more the sweet Sauternes with foie gras.

2006 Chateau Lafon Sauternes

I received this wine as a sample from Le Manoir to taste it.

The wine has a deep gold color with shades of amber. The nose is clean and intense, with rich layers of apricots, saffron, ginger, pineapple and a nice mineral aroma. This full bodied wine is unctuous in the mouth, rich, with a reinvigorating mineral flavor that balances well the sweetness and leaves a long tropical fruits aftertaste. The wine has good balance, it is not flabby and the sweetness not over the top. 89-90 points

Later the same day we visited our good Greek friends, Christiana and Iannis, for an extended home cooked dinner and a game of cards. The meal, as always when cooked by Christiana, was utterly delicious and the only fault I can see is that it is so good that I cannot stop from eating. There is something special about every dish, even on the most simple ones, that makes it so delicious.

mashed potatoes baked in the oven

meat pie

chicken with gravy

The wines we had were a real treat. We had a Syrah from the Northern Rhone and a Riesling from Nahe, Germany.

2008 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Spätlese

This was praised by all the people around the table and the ladies were instantly seduced by it. A bright yellow lemon colored wine with intense aromas of petrol, tropical fruits, quince, litchi, caramelized pineapple, lemon peel, spices box and a great balance in the mouth with a refreshing high acidity and depth. A long and intense finish with an off dry aftertaste and thick layers of tropical fruits and lemon peel. Incredible balance between the sweetness in the mouth and the off dryness in the aftertaste. 94 points

2006 Thierry Allemand Cornas Reynard

The Reynard cuvee is made from grapes harvested from vines of Syrah older than 40 years and aged for about 18 months in French oak. The color is an opaque purple–dark red. The nose is clean, intense, elegant and complex but still tight, with black pepper, bacon fat, juicy beef steak, a beautiful minerality, everything mixed with aromas of dark fruits: cranberries, plum and red currant on the background. The dark fruits aromas are not dominating, on the contrary, they just add more complexity to the spicy-mineral-meaty nose. In the mouth, the wine is medium to full bodied, well balanced, with a great back bone built around a high acidity and ripe tannins, with flavors of bacon fat, black pepper, an absolute refreshing minerality and layers of cranberry and blackberry. The finish is long, intense and spicy, with a touch of dryness without being aggressive. This masculine wine exhibits a perfect balance. The right acidity make it outstandingly easy to drink. A spectacular wine that can easily last for 15-20 years. 95 points

For the moment, the wine is quite closed. I have no doubts that in 10 years time this wine will build even more complexity and easily reach 97-98 points. Even at this stage the wine is irresistible and the hand wants to reach for the 2nd, the 3rd and the 4th glass from this absolutely balanced wine. 

It is useless to say that all people enjoyed both wines and together with the food and the good company we had, SAT evening was fun and entertaining.

The dessert marked the end of this tasty dinner, but not the evening.

Thanks for reading!

The International wine round table Ep 1

Last SAT, on March 12th, about 14 wine lovers, some accompanied by their wives or girlfriends, got together at restaurant Trattoria Roma Opera for the 1st edition of the International wine round table for 2011 in Bucharest. The event started at 18:00 and while there were still a few people to come, all guests had the chance to taste the sparkling from Stirbey while the introductions were made. The event brought together two winemakers: Oliver Bauer and Ghislain Moritz, seven wine bloggers and the rest of the attendants simply wine lovers. The wine bloggers that attended this gathering were: Ciprian, Sorin, Mihnea, Nicusor, Raluca and Oliver and myself. The atmosphere was warm and friendly and everybody excited in the expectation of the actual tasting.

Together with Oliver, I started to uncork the wines and I have to say that three bottles were a bit of a challenge to get the cork out in one piece. Oliver pulled the cork on the 1970 Magnum and as the cork was completely soaked it just did not want to come out in one piece. I experienced the same challenges with the 1985 Smith Haut Lafitte and the 1996 d’Angludet. Both corks were soaked and just broke into two pieces. I managed to get the 2nd remaining part of the cork from the Smith Haut Lafitte clean and smooth but not in the case of d’Angludet. All the wines were put in decanters while we had the first 2 flights with Champagne and Riesling.

uncorking the 1970 Magnum

Oliver was a great host and told the story of each wine before being poured in glasses. His explanations were right on point, informative and easy to follow even for beginners. We started the tasting with the flight of Champagnes and they were served in the exact order of my tasting notes.

2000 Grand cru Blanc de Blancs Demiere Ansiot

A Champagne made from Grand Cru vineyards from le Mesnil sur Oger. This producer makes only 3 wines from 2.5 ha and this is a 100% Chardonnay sparkling.

The color is yellow light gold color with smooth and rich bubbles. The nose is elegant, medium intense, rich, yeasty with a mineral-stones touch, lime, stone fruit and an interesting aroma of caramel. The taste is medium+ body with a pleasant mouth feel, the smooth bubbles show absolute no aggressiveness, intense flavors, mineral palate, with a medium(+) finish and nice flavors of rock, lemon and green apple in the aftertaste. The most mineral sparkling of the flight. 89 points

H. Goutorbe Cuvee Prestige 1er Cru NV brut

Blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The color is pale yellow-gold, a bit more intense than the first one with smooth bubbles and less bubbling. The nose is medium intense, with aromas of yeast, brioche, baked apple, apricot and lemon showing a more developed wine. The taste is rich, with higher acidity and a bit more aggressive than the first one, medium(+) bodied, with flavors of apricots, lemon, a creamy palate, feels more concentrated, with citric fruits and biscuit in the aftertaste.  88 points

Rose brut Loriot-Pagel NV

The color is light pink salmon, bigger bubbles, a rich and intense bubbling. The nose is yeasty, round, with rich aromas of light red fruits, strawberry, brown sugar and brown apple. It tastes full body, intense, mineral, with light red fruits, grapefruit, a creamy palate and a medium(+) finish with red fruit and grapefruit peel in the aftertaste. My favorite of the flight. 90 points

The group rating was 1. 2000 Demiere Ansiot 2. both Loriot-Pagel NV and H. Goutorbe Cuvee Prestige 1er Cru NV with the same number of votes.

Next flight was Riesling from Austria.

2007 Riesling Smaragd Kellerberg Domaine Wachau

Light gold clear color. The nose is medium with aromas of lemon, wet stones, mineral, warm rubber, pineapple, light peach. A medium to full body wine with an intense sensation of sweetness on the initial attack, good acidity, and flavors of petrol, rock and pineapple. It is a bit bitter in the finish but a nice dry lemon-apple aftertaste with a reinvigorating acidity. 88-89 points

2007 Riesling Hochacker Nigl

The color is lighter and paler compared to the first wine with a yellow lemon color. The nose is more mineral, with citric aromas and chalky. In the mouth this wine shows a great contrast compared to the nose: rich sweetness, flavors of petrol-tire, pineapple, peach, a pleasant mouth-feel with a mineral palate, high acidity and a medium intense finish. 88-89 points

2000 Riesling Smaragd Loibner Berg F.X. Pichler

There is a beautiful deep gold color with an oily appearance. The nose is intense, with Riesling typicality, great aromas of petrol, warm tire, apricot, peach, pineapple, overall a nice and elegant nose. The initial attack shows an intense sensation of sweetness, balanced by a high acidity, a full body mouth feel, good mineral flavors intermixed with citric and stone fruits aromas. The finish is bald, with good minerality and tropical fruit flavors. A rich and intense Riesling. 91 points

Group’s favorites: 1. 2000 FX Pichler 2. 2007 Nigl 3. 2007 Domaine Wachau

With this wine we started our Bordeaux wine tasting, the actual purpose of our event.

1970 Chateau La Tour Figeac Grand cru classe in Magnum

The color is surprisingly young of dark ruby red with a bit of brick tones on the rim. The nose is clean, elegant, intense, mature and well developed, really classic Bordeaux, with beautiful aromas of cedar wood, blackcurrant, cassis, warm forest floor, truffles, sweet earthy red fruit flavors and cigar box. The taste is medium bodied, very youthful considering its age, with already dissolved tannins, but an absolutely silky mouth feel. There are flavors of red fruit, coffee, a bit of vegetables, leather and chocolate. The finish is medium(+) long with a minty red fruit flavor and good freshness. This wine is characterized by great balance and now at its peak. 93 points

The wine of the night for me this 1970 La Tour Figeac.

1985 Grand cru classe Chateau Fonplegade

There is a ruby red color with a bit of an orange rim. The nose is a bit off for me, the smell of a dump old cellar, a developed nose, showing light red fruit and more earthy aromas. The wine is medium to full body, with a contrasting sweet sensation, red fruits, a bit of heat, anise, ginger bread and a medium finish. 85 points

1985 Grand cru classe Chateau Smith-Haut-Laffite

Unfortunately this wine was cooked, on the nose and the taste the wine was maderized. Not rated.

1996 Cru bourgeois exceptionelle Chateau d’Angludet

The color is ruby red with light signs of aging. The nose is clean, appears the least developed, with some pronounced shades of vegetables, spicy, with marzipan, dry tomatoes, asparagus, mint-eucalyptus and red fruits. The taste is medium body with spicy red fruit, a lively acidity and a medium finish. 87 points

1996 Grand cru classe Chateau l’Arrosee

The color is ruby red with a bit of a light brick rim. A much nicer nose than the d’Angludet, with a beautiful Margaux typicality, clean, developed, showing a bit of cork taint, with nice aromas of leather, cedar and plum. The taste is medium body, really youthful, with good flavors of cedar wood, red currant, coffee bean, a light touch of vegetables, but an overall good and pleasant mouth feel. There are firm tannins, but not aggressive, that give a good structure to this wine and a nice mocha aftertaste. 89 points

2000 Chateau Rayne-Vigneau Sauternes 1er cru classe in Magnum

There is a beautiful clean amber color. The nose is clean, developed and intense, with rich aromas of stone fruits: apricot, peach,with caramelized like pineapple, honey, orange peel and a mineral oily tone. The taste is full body, a lovely mouth-feel, unctuous without being sticky, well balanced, intense flavors of apricots, honey, caramel are very well invigorated by a good acidity. The finish is lively and crisp with floral aromas. 92 points

My favorite wines of the tastings were:

1. 1970 La Tour Figeac, 2. 2000 Rayne-Vigneau Sauternes, 3. 2000 FX Pichler, 4. L’Arrosse, 5. Rose brut Loriot-Pagel NV, 6. 2000 Demiere Ansiot

Once the thematic tasting was over, Oliver and Raluca prepared two of their whites: a 2006 Feteasca Regala Genius Loci and a 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Vitis Vetus for the ones still in need for some more wine. I found it impossible to have any more dry wine after the sweet Sauternes.

The atmosphere during the wine tasting was relaxed, but also spiced with pertinent discussions about each wine. I am certainly looking forward for the next gathering.

To see more pictures from this event you can go here and here.

Thanks for reading!

Lacerta winery

winemaker Mihai Banita

On THU evening Le Manoir hosted the launching event of the Lacerta wines. It was a great chance for me to meet Mr Mihai Banita, their winemaker, to get first hand information from him and taste all their wines in his company.

Lacerta has about 80 ha of land, the oldest vines they have being planted in 2005. Mr Banita mentioned they have about 5000 vines planted per ha and a brand new winery was built. The last part still under construction is the tasting room that should be ready by April-June this year. Their label shows a lizard that, according to Mr Banita, it is very common in the region and a sign of healthy terroir and low chemicals usage.

In the cellar they work with four-five types of oak. The wines we had were recently bottled(between 1st and 10th of February) and the wines showed signs of bottle shock. While the nose of each wine was clean and revealing distinctive aromas for each grape variety, the taste and the aftertaste were unusually uniform. There are five white wines made from single varieties: Pinot Gris, Rheinriesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Muscat Ottonel and a sixth white blend named Cuvee X, made of all five varieties. Overall, the wines show good concentration and length in the mouth, with clean and charming aromas on the nose. Hopefully after 1-2 months they will get over the bottle shock and lose the undifferentiated taste that characterizes them at this stage.

We started the tasting with:

– Pinot Gris 2010: at 14.8% alcohol the wine shows a serious unpleasant bitterness in the aftertaste;

– the Rheinriesling 2010 is mineral but maintains fruity aromas;

– the Sauvignon Blanc 2010 has a reductive nose and good concentration while showing mineral flavors;

– the Chardonnay 2010 appears too shy;

– the Muscat Ottonel 2010 is fresh and intense on the nose;

In my opinion, the most balanced and attractive of their whites is the white Cuvee X (there is also a red Cuvee IX). A really fresh and clean nose, a wine with good acidity and balance, clear and intense aromas, both on the nose and the mouth, with a refreshing appealing aftertaste.

Lacerta produces three different red wines, each of them aged for 12 months in 4-5 types of oak:

– a Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz 2009 showing a youthful nose, with sweet candied like fruit and lactic aromas;

– the Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 was the most interesting of the three. The nose is youthful and developing. The wine shows a nice Cabernet typicality.

– the last red is Cuvee IX 2009 – blend of Cab Sauv/Merlot/Shiraz- youthful nose with oaky aromas, a type of mix between the first two wines.

white Cuvee and red blend

The prices for these wines – at the winery – will be between 39 – 59 Ron (9.2 – 14 Eur) per bottle. In wine shops and restaurants they will probably be double that price. There is no doubt that the wines have potential and hopefully in 6-8 weeks they will start to shine.

Thanks for reading!

Wine event organized by the French Embassy

On March 3rd, the French Embassy organized at Hotel Novotel, in Bucharest, a wine event inviting different producers from France to introduce their wines to the Romanian market. The event was structured in two parts: the morning was reserved for importers and distributors and the afternoon for press and people in HORECA. There were about 9-10 different booths, hosting the wines of each participant.

There were wines from Alsace, Bordeaux, Cotes du Roussillon and Cotes du Roussillon villages, Cote du Rhone, Bourgogne and Val de Loire, ranging from 1.5 EUR to a maximum of 17 EUR(ex-cellar). There were about 40-50 different wines and I managed to taste pretty much all of them. The quality was rather average and the best wines being the wines of Domaine Boudau from Languedoc-Roussillon.

Veronique Boudau, the winemaker

Domaine Boudau wines

I liked particularly two of their wines: a Syrah-Grenache Noir blend (Cuvée Henri Boudau 2009) and a Mourvedre based cuvee (Cuvée Padri 2008) both aged for 12 months in French oak. The prices for their wines vary between 2-3 EUR to a maximum of 10 EUR for the wines brought at this fair. The lady mentioned they also have an old vines Grenache Noir cuvee that they sell for 14 EUR that unfortunately she did not bring. All prices are ex-cellar – do not include VAT and shipping cost.

wines of Blasons de Bourgogne

wines ranging from 1.5 eur to 12 eur

It was a good initiative for the French Embassy to organize such an event and hopefully they will make it a habit and invite more producers with better overall quality in the future.

Here is the list with all the French participants:

www.orsan-vignerons.com

www.domaineboudau.fr

http://www.domaine-ericblanchard-49.com (DOMAINE ERIC BLANCHARD)

www.patrick-clerget.com

www.blasonsdebourgogne.com

www.maisonriviere.fr

www.vignoble-muhlberger.fr

www.cave-orschwiller.fr

Thanks for reading!

Last weekend’s wine event organized by Vinul.ro

the star of the wine fair IMHO*

Last weekend, on SAT and SUN , I did attend the wine fair organized by Vinul.ro, the Romanian wine magazine, in the old center of Bucharest. The event was held at the same location as the first edition of this event. While the participants were pretty much the same, there were also some new wineries from Dragasani with stands introducing their wines. In my opinion, the star wine of the event was the newly launched sparkling wine from Crama Stirbey/Stirbey winery made from 100% Cramposie (a local indigenous white grape variety).

smooth and intense bubbling

Stirbey’s winemaker, Oliver Bauer, managed to produce a very good sparkling with really smooth bubbles,  persistent acidity, zero dosage, clean and fresh with citric aromas and a nice overall mouth-feel. Someone found it lacking enough flavors and blame it on the poor aromatics of Cramposie, but for me this is a wine that goes perfectly with food, while still remaining very enjoyable on its own. Some may find the wine pricey – it sells for 65 RON/15.5 EUR at the winery-  compared to other Romanian sparkling wines, but it is, in my humble opinion(IMHO*), the best one made so far.

There is consistent quality in all their wines as I got to taste 6 more wines they had available for tasting: Sauv Blanc 2009, Sauv Blanc Vitis Vetus 2008, Genius Loci Feteasca Regala 2007, Merlot 2008, Cab Sauv 2008, Feteasca Neagra 2008.

There are two more wines I found very interesting from Vinchile at this fair: 2006 Villard l’Assemblage grand vin and 2006 San Pedro Malbec 1865 single vineyard. It is very hard not say that these wines do not come from Chile as they have that distinctive Chilean bitter-mineral aroma. This time I managed to get tasting notes so here they are:

2006 Villard l’Assemblage grand vin

Blend of Cab Sauv-Merlot-Petit verdot aged for 12 months in French oak. A dark red colored wine with a medium intensity nose, developed aromas of cocoa, dark fruits and sweet oak while still preserving the Chilean Cabernet flavors. This medium bodied wine is balanced with flavors of sweet dark fruits, chocolate, mocha and has a medium finish with a pleasant dark chocolaty aftertaste. While the wine is loaded with sweet fruit it is not in excess. A nice wine but I do not know its price. 88-89 points

2006 San Pedro Malbec 1865 single vineyard

A dark red velvet color. It has an elegant nose with medium intensity, a typical Chilean petrol-bitter aroma and dark fruits. The taste is medium body, with dry and firm tannins, coffee, dark chocolate and red fruits. There is a medium finish with interesting minty-eucalyptus and espresso aftertaste. The drying tannins are a bit too aggressive for my taste, but would probably go well with rich food. Just like the previous wine, as much as there is rich fruit, this is not overpowering the rest of the flavors. A really well made Malbec. 88 points

On SUN evening, after the wine fair, I had dinner again with the Bauer’s and tasted together more wines. After this weekend and the few conversations and wines tasted together with Oliver Bauer, I can say that I got a certain understanding of his wine-making style regarding his reds. I have to say honestly, that I very much prefer his whites and I always found the reds the least approachable and unappealing in the first few years after release. According to his beliefs and based on the wines and the tasting comments we shared during this weekend, he is a fan of old style Bordeaux wine-making. His wines are not built to please immediately upon release, but to reward on the long term. The first wines made at Stirbey were in the 2003 vintage therefore it is too soon to say if he is right or not and how these red wines are evolving. The oldest wine I tried from Stirbey was a 2004 Merlot, tasted last year in May when I visited the winery. Popped and poured, the wine seemed closed and unapproachable, but people that tried this wine the second day did find it more appealing and charming.

During the SUN dinner, we tried three different wines that were very far away in quality compared to our FRI evening tasting.

2007 Ktima Biblia Chora

I bought this wine in September 2010 from Greece. A dark red colored wine. The nose is oaky, medium(-) intensity, youthful, simple with red cherry and lactic aromas. The taste is medium body with a firm tannins structure that I found quite aggressive, with flavors of mocha and red fruits. The finish is medium(-), drying the mouth and a bitter coffee aftertaste. 84-85 points

2007 Masi Campofiorin Ripasso

I received this wine from Recas winery as a free sample to taste it some while ago and it was only now that I got the chance to open it. A ruby red colored wine. It has a clean nose with medium(-) intensity with red cherry and raspberry aromas. A medium bodied wine with flavors of red fruits and dark chocolate, finishing with a short to medium dark chocolaty aftertaste. 77-78 points

2009 Gramma Feteasca Regala

A pale yellow lemon color. The nose is fresh and clean with lemon, green apple and light spice. The taste is medium body, feels fat, not enough acidity giving a heavy mouth-feel, with lemon peel and grapefruit flavors. The finish is short with grapefruit and a strong sensation of unbalanced alcohol(14%). I find it heavy, lacking a sustainable balance. This wine feels like it’s rushing on a downhill slope from the moment you uncork it gradually losing its freshness and balance. 65 points

Busy but fun weekend.

Thanks for reading!