March 2023. US Wines - Jen Connan

 

March 2023 – Jen Connan Hertfordshire Wine School

Wines from the USA – Well, that basically means wine from California. 80% of US wine by volume comes from California – the rest from mostly Washington, Oregon and NY State. The USA is the 4^th largest wine producer in the world after Italy/France/Spain. It is also the largest national wine market. Americans may not be individually large wine drinkers but there are 300million of them.

So, 4 whites, 4 reds. All the stuff you’d expect, 6 from California, 2 from Washington. Almost all available from well known suppliers. A very good selection.

DOMAINE CARNEROS VINTAGE BRUT 2016 – 12%, £28. Napa Valley, California (owned by Taittinger)

A Champagne style fizz. Classically bready/biscuity Methode Champagnoise style. From the Champagne Company. 9/10

CHATEAU STE MICHELLE DRY RIESLING 2020 – 12.5%, £10. Columbia valley, Washington state

A very nice well bodied Riesling, citrus, floral hints of petrol. High acidity. Waitrose - 8/10

SAND POINT SAUVIGNON BLANC 2020 – 12.5%, £9.95. Lodi, California

Not like a NZ SB at all. A very different style. Quite acidic. Least popular wine of the evening. The Wine Society. 6/10

BONTERRA ESTATE COLLECTION ORGANIC CHARDONNAY 2020 – 13.5%, £14. Mendocina Valley, Washington State

A classic old school oaky, buttery chardonnay. Malolactic fermentation. I loved it. 8.5/10 Waitrose

EDNA VALLEY VINEYARD PINOT NOIR 2019 – 14%, £13.99. Central coast, California

This is the wine from the film “Sideways”. A warm weather Pinot noir. Very full bodied. No tannins. Some oak. 9/10. Majestic

BOGLE VINEYARDS MERLOT 2019 – 14.5%, £12.95. Clarksburg, California

Very smooth and solid. Hides the high alcohol well. Hints of smokiness, toast, cedar. 9/10. Wine society

FREI BROTHERS CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2019 – 14.5%, £20. Sonoma county, California

Oaky, plum & black cherry. Smooth tannins. 9/10. Waitrose

RAVENSWOOD ZINFANDEL 2021 – 14.5%, £14. Lodi, California

Now owned by Gallo. Dry farmed with no irrigation, so low yields. A fair bit of residual sweetness. Pretty good but not the best red on the night. 8/10. Majestic

One point about the Reds is that they all have that slight hint of sweetness/residual sugar typical of American red wines. I guess that’s how the US market likes it. Occasionally it does tip over into an almost sweet red style.

A good evening. Jen is an excellent speaker.

Feb 2023. Australian Wines by Duncan Ross of Berkmann WIne Cellars.

 

An Excellent presentation by Duncan Ross of Berkmann Wine Cellars who are a wine importer, serving mostly the On-Trade. https://www.berkmann.co.uk/

These wines are a selection of their Australian portfolio.

Duncan is actually a New Zealander, and gave us a great presentation. We had a full house for this evening, at the maximum room capacity.

At the end Duncan asked for an impromptu show of hands as to how we might score the wines. It was comforting for me to find that my scores were in line with overall consensus. 6 very good wines, but 2 wines that did not quite hit the spot.

As Berkmann supply the on trade, the wine prices are the wholesale prices. If you were to find them retail the price might well be around 15% higher + Inflation which is rampant right now!

White Wines:

Deakin Estate Viognier 2022 – 12%, £9.60 

7.5/10 – A lighter style viognier, not as “oily” or pungent as most.

Jade & Jasper Fiano Unico Zelo 2021 – 12.5%, £15.60

 

6/10 – Not everyone's favourite, sadly. Rather acidic. An Italian variety selected to need little water.

Wattle Brae Eden Valley Riesling – Langmeil – 11.5%, £16.60

8/10. A classic Riesling, with a tiny bit of classic petrol on the nose/palate. Should last 10 years in the bottle.

Lethbridge Chardonnay 2019 – 14%, £28.40

8/10. A classic mature White Burgundy style, quite oaky. Should be compared to Mersault or similar.

Red Wines

La La Land Pinot Noir 2021 – Langmeil – 12.5%, £11.20

6/10. An extremely light P-N, almost a rosé. Not widely liked.

Brash Higgins Gr/M - Grenache/Mataro 2018 – 14.5%, £20.70

8/10 Mataro is AKA Mourvedre. Easy drinking, not too hefty.

Clementine Cab/Merlot/Malbec/Petit Verdot 2017 – Woodlands - 13.5%, £18.00

8.5/10. Hefty but well balanced. Excellent, but maybe just lacking that magical something.

Shay's Flat Vineyard Shiraz – Tournon – 14.5%, £15.35

9/10. Inky and super hefty. The evenings star wine.