BudBurst

Well it has been a few weeks since my last entry and although I could tell you all about   the Rhône and Burgundy en primeur campaigns, the New Wave Spanish wines I've    been trying, or the South African Reds to match the last entry of South African Whites that my father has been religiously clicking on to, only to discover nothing of what his daughter has been up to in the Big Smoke, I won't.

I am very tempted to tell you about having to pay an Australian, let's say friend, in wine for a lost - no, thoroughly thrashed - bet over the Ashes (this was his first return to England since that sorry episode). A fairly painful experience for both wallet and liver BUT let's move on to the future.

Wine Relief is upon us www.rednoseday.com/partners/wine-relief/ and there are several different bottles widely available to buy from which retailers are donating some of the profit to      Comic Relief. How easy is it to open a bottle of wine and make a difference?

For my part I have been enthusiastically working my way through the offerings and on March 3rd, this Saturday in fact, I will be a guest panellist on the Virtual Wine online tasting of the 6 best on offer. The team at Virtual Wine have also studiously tasted and deliberated to come up with the finalists which will be tasted by a select (!) panel live from 7.30 pm.

The idea is that you at home can order the taster packs of 6 wines from Virtual Wine (10% still going to Comic Relief) or buy them from the various retailers, and taste the wines at the same time. You can then send belligerent, loving or simply drunken messages to us via email and your concerns will be addressed immediately. What a laugh...

So get some friends round, you must have some, put on some nibbles and sharpen your tongues. Take a look here www.virtualwine.co.uk to download instructions and tasting notes.

These people like wine and have a laugh with it, their contribution to the cork vs screwcap debate was to race bottles down river to see which was fastest, the loser then wrestled the winner to the ground in an unscripted, but thrilling, finale.

   

At a recent tasting of South African Great Whites I was really excited by the wines I tried.

In the past I have sometimes been disappointed that in general the wines could seem out of balance, either too acidic or flabby, the fruit almost a cariacature of itself and even in the worst cases just dirty.

These wines however showed exuberant fruit, great balance of refreshing acidity with richness and depth and really distinctive character. I thought they showed very well and certainly will lead me to the South African shelves when I want good value white.

My favourites from each section as follows, full tasting notes seem to a bit of a dream at the moment but one day I hope to get them all up!

Jan Daneel Chenin Blanc 2005 Napier: Very simple but stylish label would have great shelf presence. Pretty, sunny apricot nose. The broad oak at the front palate is a touch too heavy but underneath is gorgeous fruit. Well-rounded, almost heavy, weight in the middle with enough crisp acidity to take you back for another sip. The fruit pushes right through to the end and lingers for ages. Lovely. 17  Stockist -Jeroboams £15

Tokara Sauvignon Blanc 2005 Stellenbosch: Fresh, flower petals delicacy on nose followed by vibrant, exciting fruit on the palate. Well-handled oak comes pouring through on its tail but is integrated and adds complexity. Balanced and fine with a crisp, juicy finish. 18 Stockist - Wimbledon Wine Cellars £17.99

Other very good Sauvignon Blancs - Quoin Rock 2005 Stellenbosch £9.49 Andrew Chapman Wines; Cape Point Vineyards 2005 Cape Point £14 Jeroboams; Neil Ellis Groenekloof 2005 Stellenbosch £9.99 Christopher Piper Wines,  Villeneuve Wines, SA Wines Online

Jordan Nine Yards Chardonnay 2005 Stellenbosch: Up front fruit balanced with a sure and light touch. Fine and nutty with integrated oak tannins backing it up. Silky mouth feel kept frech with tangy acidity. 17 Stockist Laytons; SA Wines Online £17.25

Other recommended chardonnays - Glen Carlou Quartz Stone Chardonnay 2005 Paarl £11.99-12.49 Oddbins, Christopher Piper, SA Wines Online, Genesis Wines; Quoin Rock Chardonnay 2002 sent by mistake but very high scoring, see previous info for stockist leads.

Fairview Viognier 2006 Paarl :Very aromatic nose but avoids parody. Crystallised fruit, nice levels of acidity. Not just floral but lively and fresh. 17 Stockists Harrods; Noel Young Wines; Valvona & Crolla £9.95

Also very good was the Bellingham Maverick Viognier 2005 Wellington £8.49 Majestic, SA Wines Online.

I recommend the Villiera Inspiration 2006 Stellenbosch £9.99 Tesco This desert wine has an unctuous, lovely texture, a nose of marmalade ice cream, very fresh and fine. Rich and great value.

After having a look through the supermarket shelves for the first time in ages I was actually pleasantly surprised that there were quite a few decent mid-range wines on offer.

I don't think that makes up the majority of wine sold to their customers and if you regularly go to just one supermarket branch I think you'd get bored quickly.

However the point is that there are some good even great wines being offered. I have been especially impressed with Tescos and Sainsburys premium own brands which have gone to specific regions and made authentically regional wines. Sounds easy but too often I have drunk a winemaking- rather than wine- style.

Over the past three weeks Waitrose put on their annual press tasting showing their 270 wine range. For the first time all the fine wine was shown together  with the everyday drinkers. This was an admirable show of confidence in all of the wines but did lead to a couple of unfairly marked contrasts - a 2005 Fitou after a 2003  Ch Mouton Rothschild 1^er cru Pauillac (delicious, by the way).  However despite this I think it was a brilliant way to show the wines and a thoroughly enjoyable tasting.

It would be too long to list all the wines here so I will add a new section to the site for tasting notes from various merchants etc and publish them all together. As soon as time allows. Highlights though for me, apart from the Mouton Rothschild were Corton-Pougets Grand Cru 2003 from Louis Jadot, Ch Lagrange 2000 St Julien, Ch Rauzan-Ségla 1998 Margaux, Ch Cos d'Estournel 2003 St Estèphe.

Yes ok, not exactly hard to have picked those out, there were also lots of more affordable lovely reds, Ch d'Aiguilhe 2002 Côtes de Castillon - a former neighbour of mine though I didn't hang out with the Count, Cuvée Constance 2004 VdP des Côtes Catalanes + lots more - 2004 Gigondas from Gabriel Meffre, CNdP 2004 from Perrin et Fils and I haven't even left France yet. Ormanni Chianti 2003, Viña del Olivo 2001 from Contino in Rioja, Columella 2004 from South Africa, Craggy Range Le Sol Syrah2004 from New Zealand, Cape Mentelle Cab/Merlot 2004 from Margaret River in Western Australia and the fabulous O'Leary Walker duo with their Claire O'Leary Reserve Shiraz 2002.

The whites, tasted the week before, were of a similarly high standard. There was a consistent level of quality and of typicity across the range. Again some fabulous Burgundy leading ladies but also a Ch Jolys Jurançon Sec 2005, another VdP des Côtes Catalanes Matassa Cuvée Marguerite 2005, CVNE Monopole Rioja Blanco 2005 a super food wine, Cono Sur's dependable Limited Release Gewurztraminer 2006, Villa Maria Single Vineyard Graham Sauvignon Blanc 2005, Torbreck Woodcutter's Semillon 2003 - outstanding, I thought. O'Leary Walker Polish Hill River Riesling 2006, Paul Blanck Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg 2002 from Alsace.

Some of the top wines are only available in a very few stores, even only one store in a couple of cases and clearly there are limited stocks. However Waitrose are taking themselves very seriously as wine merchants and are doing a better job than any of the other supermarkets on current evidence. Their new winelist is as good as anything a very good independent merchant would produce with introductions to countries and regions, tasting notes and lots of helpful information.

It is no surprise that this year they scooped two top awards : the International Wine Challenge Supermarket Wine Retailer of the Year 2006 and Decanter World Wine Awards Best Supermarket 2006.  Congratulations.

Tomorrow came and went as my 3 year old broke his arm and after spending the night in A&E he has required my full and undivided attention ever since. However he is now back at nursery so on to the next outstanding producer...

Haras de Pirque is a relative newcomer, their first vintage was in 2003. The vineyards are in the Upper Maipo Valley on a splinter range of the Andes mountains. The Commercial Vice-Persident Eduardo Matte is effusively charming and enthusiastic. He has a great respect for the established wine dynasties in Chile but is totally focused on the quality of the Haras wines and his ambitions for their future.

Again what struck me here was the consistency across the range and the pride taken, that you can taste in the glass. The Sauvignon Blanc Reserve 2006 was nicely fresh and crisp with none of the overblown character so easily done. The Chardonnay Reserve 2005 had great integration of oak and fresh delicate fruit with a long, smoky finish. The Chardonnay Elegance 2005 had a ripe, rich, lemon-sherbet nose. Opulent even a bit tropical but elegant. Only 300 cases are made, a very modest quantity for Chile.

The Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2005 won a gold medal in Chile and has a soupcon of Carmenere and Syrah added to it. It had a big ripe nose and was like blackberries dipped in dark chocolate with a good strong but supple structure. The Cabernet Sauvignon Elegance 2003 had a very inviting, developed yet still fresh nose. The fruit is huge but the framework supports it perfectly. The  Syrah Character 2004 had an earthy, animal warmth on the nose with a silky ripe, chocolate, spicy palate. Again, beautifully judged winemaking meant this huge surge was well-contained. Finally the Albis 2003, a joint venture with Italy's Antinori, a coup indeed to have been chosen as a partner to this legend in the business. This wine is looking to the future, it has a wondrous balance of ingredients to see it through to the long term. The satin fruit make it mouth watering already but the tight grainy textured coil promises great things to come.

All the wines are available from Friarwood Ltd 020 7736 2628.

And finally to something confusingly negative. First of all, this is the confusing bit for me, I have to say that this producer has been loudly praised  by several very well-respected (including by me) and senior figures in the trade. This is the third time I have tasted these wines this year and my opinion hasn't changed except that this time the wines showed even worse than before.

The producer is Matetic and the wine is the Syrah EQ 2004. The team behind Matetic is impressive with  biodynamic, winemaking and viticultural consultants on board since 2000. The wine though each time I have tasted it has been stinky, unclean, burnt and bitter tasting, with a thin mouthfeel and a nasty short finish.  Extreme, no? I just don't understand what everyone else is tasting. I guess it just goes to show the extraordinary differences there are between palates. The Pinot Noir EQ 2005 had a bright cherry, New World Pinot nose which was pleasing but the palate was watery, lacked structure and again there was a bitter short finish.

The whites were more successful in my opinion. The Sauvignon Blanc EQ 2005 was beautifully ripe with a hint of sweetness which was lovely with the tang of the Sauvignon. I did notice an odd finish though. The Chardonnay EQ 2005 was ripe, tropical and oaky. Weighty with good smoky fruit it was a commercially correct style but perhaps not one for purists.

Well, vive la difference! I will continue to taste the Matetic EQ range whenever I get the chance because I am truly baffled.

The range is available in limited form from Stone, Vine & Sun 01962 712351 or WineXcel 01685 871384. 

Wish it had been in Chile but actually took place in North London at Lord's cricket ground. It's always quite daunting not just because of the number of wines and stands - where to start - but because despite it's Eden status in viticultural terms, the mass production and crippling price points it has been subject to in the UK mean that Chile is responsible for a lot of the numbingly bland alcoholic grape juice that makes me roll my eyes in anguish.

Now it is true that I came across a few of these among the room - are these crowd pleasers? I guess people are buying them, but why? - however, with the help of some outstanding recommendations from colleagues and pure luck I found a couple of producers whose entire range reflected everything that is good about Chile and its wines.

Vina Leyda was the first and I hardly know what to write here as I tried their 8 wines and thought they were all superb. The Sauvignon Blanc Garuma Vineyard 2006 was fermented in oak which is a very tricky thing to pull off with this variety but was classic, fresh, with great texture and long length. 

The 3 chardonnays were all about the fruit and manipulating the fermentation to produce richness and complexity without oak dominance. So battonage (stirring of the fine lees to accentuate the creamy yeast) gave great depth to the Classico Reserva 2006 and wild yeasts gave the Lot 5 2004 a gorgeous layering of fruit.

Similarly the reds stood out for their purposefulness. All of them were rich and intense but they were all tightly contained and structured, there was absolutely no flabbiness or high alcohol perception which so often spoiled other wines in the room.  The Pinot Noir Las Brisas 2005 was spicy and complex but very fine and made with a light touch. The Pinot Noir Lot 21 2005 was rich with a tight coil and a great future.

The Cabernet Sauvignon Classico Reserva 2005 was classic Cabernet, herby and minty and easy to drink. The Single Vineyard 2004 was really special. Inky, minty, cheesy nose, sweetly seductive with grown-up herbaceousness. Gorgeous. The winemaker Rafael Urrejola  knows what he is doing and is ambitious for his wines finding a consistent path between the Old and New world styles.

I'll spend some time tomorrow on the other domaine I particularly like as well as one I don't...