December 2024. Jessica Summer, Mouse & grape. Wines for Xmas

 

Jessica has presented to us before, she’s a local girl from Pinner and has set up “Mouse and Grape” in Pinner as a wine bar and Cheese emporium. 

 

It was a very good evening with some excellent wines. They can all be tried at the Wine bar should you be in the area, and some cheese too…The prices are fairly accessible so I might even pop along myself from sunny Uxbridge.

The wines were:

1.       NZ Sauvignon – Round Stone, Marlborough. 2023. 12.5%. £13

A classic NZ Sauvignon – gooseberry, green apples, acidic, but very much on the right side of the balance. I liked it. A lot.

2.       Pecorino Oltremare Piandimare, Abruzzo, Italy, 2023. 12.5% £15

A food wine, nice balance, very little on the nose. Not for me, but many did like it.

3.       Chablis, Domaine Louis Moreau, Chardonnay,  Burgundy 2023. 12.5%, £28

A superb example of Chablis – tastes very mature for a 2023. Very rounded and well balanced. Apparently the most popular wine by the glass in M&G, even at that price.

4.       Beaujolais Villages, Domaine Chevrier 2023. Gamay

Very bubble gum & cherries. I found it to be lacking balance with an odd taste profile. Sorry, not for me.

5.       Rioja Crianza, Bodegas Marques de Reinosa, 2021. 14.5%, £14

I loved this one. Very rounded, smooth, black fruits, vanilla, spice. Their best selling wine at M&G

6.       Haut Medoc, Château Cissac Bordeaux 2017. 13%, £25.

Classic Claret. Very good. A blend of Cab Sauv, Merlot, Petit Verdot + Malbec

7.       Le 2 De Romer Du Hayot, Sauternes 2018. 13%. £20

A classic sauternes. Can’t really say more. 90% Semillon, 10% Sauvignon

8.       Brannland Apple Ice Cider, Sweden 2023. 9%, £20

Something from the left field here. A sweet “ice” cider – like an Ice-wine. Very interesting. Clearly from cooking apples. Sharp & sweet. Worth a punt of you are looking for something unusual.

November 2024. Chateau Ksara (Lebanon) - Duncan Ross

 

This Month we had Lebanese wine presented by Duncan Ross of Berkmann Wine Cellars. 

 

Lebanon has a very long history of wine making – one of the very oldest going back several thousand years. However, the modern tradition is very French, coming from the time when Lebanon was in the French part of the carve up of the middle east post WW1. Chateau Ksara predates that somewhat, founded in 1857 and is Lebanon’s oldest winery. Almost all the grapes are classic French varieties, but there are some indigenous varieties making their way into the mix.

Some excellent wines – mostly very French in style but with some local grapes in there. Note: All prices are wholesale and rounded up/down

Whites :

Blanc de l'Observatoire, 2023. Sauvignon Blanc,  Muscat, Clairette, Obedieh. This works very well. Easy drinking, and a little unusual. The Muscat adds florality and aromas. 13%. 13.50

Blanc de Blancs, 2023. Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Chardonnay. This is an unusual blend of Bordeaux and Burgundy grapes. Personally not really for me. 13%, £16.20

Merwah, 2023 100% Merwah 13%, £16.93. This is an indigenous variety, very old, very hardy, from old vines. The first ever time its been imported to the UK. I rather liked it. It offers intense citrus and white flowers with mineral notes, apparently. 13% £16.90

 

Reds :

The French influence in the red wins is enormous. In fact, you might say these ARE French wines.

Le Prieuré Rouge, 2020  30% Carignan, 30% Cinsault, 20% Grenache, 20% Caladoc. Pretty beefy and tannic. A good blend. 13.5%, £13.50

Reserve du Couvent Rouge, 2020. 40% Syrah, 30% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. Quite tannic, perhaps not quite ready to drink. Would definitely be a food wine. 13.5% £14.80

Old Vine Carignan, 2021 - 100% Carignan. A pure 100% Carignan is unusual. This one is very good. 13.5% £16.80

Cabernet Sauvignon, 2019 - 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. 13% £22.60

Château Ksara Rouge, 2019 -  60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Petit Verdot. Essentially a classic Bordeaux. 13.5% £23.10

October 2024. Wines of Calabria - Giusy Andreacchio

 

This month we had Giusy Andreacchio, a Calabrian native, presenting…. Wines from Calabria. She’s been in the Wine Industry here for a couple of decades and is also a Wine Educator and holds the WSET Diploma

She’s clearly very enthusiastic about her wines, and we didn’t get to taste the first wine for a full 30 minutes, which did mean the next few were rushed somewhat.

Most of these wines aren’t readily available in the UK although some cane be got from Enotria in London.

The Calabrians don’t export much wine yet – they produce for local or at least Italian consumption. And if you were tempted to  visit you’ll find English isn’t spoken much and the locals speak local dialect, not Italian.

Several of the grape varieties are new to me, and again shows just how many local varieties there are in Italy. The Greco Bianco (not the same as Greco di tufo) and Gaglioppo are both essentially unique to Calabria.

The Wines Were:

Whites

Cirò Bianco DOC 2023 Enotria - Greco Bianco. 13% £ 18

Pecorello Calabria IGT 2023 Enotria – Pecorello. 13% £ 20

Alfieribianco IGT 2023 Zagarella - Greco Bianco. 13,5% £ 17

Ansonica IGT 2022 Calabretta – Ansonica. 12% £ 21

Reds

Alfierinero IGT 2022 Zagarella - Malvasia Nera. 14% £ 17

Cirò DOC Rosso Classico Superiore 2022  Enotria – Gaglioppo. 14% £ 24

Il Rosso Calabria IGP 2021 A' Vita - 92% Gaglioppo/8% Magliocco. 13,5%. £ 31

Cirò DOC Rosso Classico Superiore Riserva BRINIFÉ 2016 Pirito – Gaglioppo. 14%. £ 44

 

If I had to choose 2 I’d go for the Alfieribianco white and the Ciro DOC Rosso.