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.

 

August 2024 - Women in WIne - Carole Hazlehurst

 

Women in Wine, presented by Carole Hazlehurst.

 

Apologies for the lateness of this post – I went on holiday the day after and completely forgot.

The wines are listed by the wine maker first as this presentation focused on the Women making theme.

The wines were:

 

Nat Christensen, Yealands Albarino New Zealand, 2022  12.5% £14.65 - Rare. From ‘All about Wine’

Susana Balbo,  Crios Torrontes Argentina, 2023 13.0% £15.95 .The Great Wine company, Bath, but occasionally in supermarkets

Ntsiki Biyela, Aslina Sauvignon Blanc Western Cape,  South Africa, 2022 13.5% £18.99. The Wine Society (TWS)

Louisa Rose, Pewsey Vale Riesling Eden Valley, Australia, 2022 12.5% £17 Waitrose

Sara Banuelos, Ramon Bilbao Seleccion Especial Rioja, Spain, 2021 14.0% £11.99 Majestic

Katie Jones, Domaine Jones Fitou, France, 2020 14.5% £14.50 TWS

Rosa Kruger, Boekenhoutskloof, The Wolftrap Shiraz, South Africa, 2022 14.5% £9.99 Majestic

Laura Catena, Bodegas Catena, Malbec, Argentina, 2021 13.5% £13.99 Waitrose

 

A very informatinve and interesting evening, Carole is an excellent presenter.

 

To pick out 2 wines – the Katie Jones Fitou and the Rosa Kruger Shiraz were both reckoned to be very good indeed, even excellent.. Rosa Kruger is part of the Old Vine project which looks to preserve old (35yr+) vines which give a much greater depth of flavour. Look it up! She’s also a descendant of Paul Kruger the president of the South African republic at the end of the 1800’s and a key person in the Boer War.