3 more obscure grape varieties. Counoise (S. France), Elbling (Mosel) and Kadarka (Hungary). Grape varieties no 224/5/6 in my WIne Century.
All obscure for a reason, but I'm doing this so you dont have to! I wouldn't bother with any of the 3 again, quite frankly.
Counoise is a dark-skinned wine grape grown primarily in the Rhône valley region of France. Counoise is also grown in California and Washington. Counoise adds a peppery note and good acidity to a blended red wine, but does not have much depth of colour or tannin. There were 638 hectares (1,580 acres) of Counoise in France in 2000.
Counoise is one of the grapes allowed into the blend of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine. In 2004 only 0.5% of the appellation's area was planted with Counoise. Some producers who favour the variety use about 5% of it in their blends, and those account for most of the plantings. One such producer is Château de Beaucastel, which is noted for using all the 13 allowed varieties.
It appears in this wne from the Wine Society:
Côtes-du-Rhône, Château de Montfaucon 2017
Made from a big blend of Chateauneuf varieties, inculuding counoise, this exudes warmth and well being! Richly flavoured, concentrated and long Rhône red that is perfect winter fuel.
Well, its 5th on the list of Grapes in this wine - so less than 5% at best.
Was it any good? - OK. But not great. Better Cotes de Rhone are out there.
Would I buy again? No.
Cadarca or Kadarka or Gamza is a dark-skinned variety of grape used for red wine. It has a long history and is popular in Romania and Bulgaria, where it is known as Gamza. It used to be an important constituent of the Hungarian red cuvée Bull's Blood of Eger or Szekszárd, but has long been in decline in Hungarian plantations, to be replaced by Kékfrankos and Portugieser.It is also grown in most other central European and balkan countries where it is sometimes known as Cadarca or Skadarska.[3]
Cadarca (Kadarka) wine is characterised by full, easily recognizable taste, deep aroma and dark or medium dark colour. Kadarka is often used for cuvees including some of the Egri Bikavérs, and also for production of table wines. The best Kadarka is grown in Minis, Romania from 17th century.
In Bulgaria, Gamza is mostly cultivated in the northwestern and central northern regions, in the Danubian Plain. Until the recent decades, Gamza was the dominant grape varietal in these Bulgarian regions. The main features of Gamza are a large yet compact cluster of small, almost spherical grapes, dark blue to black in colour.
It appears in this wine from the Wine Society:
Áldás Egri Bikavér, St Andrea 2018 - £12.50 Bottle
This Hungarian blend of eight varieties including kékfrankos (a.k.a. blaufränkisch) and pinot noir is a brilliant expression of the traditional 'bulls blood' style. Packed with dark-cherry, bitter chocolate and bramble flavours, with a cedar and bay leaf note on the finish.
Well, its 6th on the list of Grapes in this wine - so less than 5% at best.
Was it any good? - Not great. Better red wines out there.
Would I buy again? No.
Waitrose Elbling £6.99
The Waitrose blurb: - Elbling. Mosel Qualitätswein. This is a truly ancient variety from the Mosel Valley, with historic family links to Riesling. Zingy, aromatic, and full of vibrant sherbet, lime and floral flavours, it has been brought back to the limelight here to show off its zippy refreshing style.
Elbling is a variety of white grape which today is primarily grown in the upstream parts of the Mosel region in Germany and in Luxembour. The variety has a long history, and used to cover much of Germany's vineyards from medieval times and was that country's most cultivated variety until the early 20th century, but has been in decline ever since. As of 2006, there were 583 hectares (1,440 acres) of Elbling vineyards in Germany, which made it the country's 23rd most grown variety of grape. Of that vineyard surface, 575 ha or 98.6% was found in the Mosel region In the same year, there were 122.9 hectares (304 acres) of Elbling grown in Luxembourg.
Was it any good? - Not great. I suspect it went out of fashion as Riesling is better.
Would I buy again? No.
