Greybeard’s Top 10 Wines of 2009
Ξ December 27th, 2009 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Uncategorized |
When I was asked for a list of top wines I’d tried over the year I quickly went through wines that had impressed over the last 12 months and ended up with a shortlist of about 25, but deciding on the final 10 was a lot harder than I expected.
You will not be surprised to see that the list is made up of an eclectic cross-section of the wine world – some drank at home and some tried at various tastings throughout the year. The lack of a single Bordeaux or Burgundy is a testament to my budget and the dearth of good, affordable wines from these regions.
The initial list is in order of style only – each was excellent in its own right and further ranking would be overly subjective.
White/Rose
*Château Montus 2003 Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec, France
*Cossetti 2008 Roero Arneis, Italy
*Dr Hermann 2003 Erdener Treppchen Auslese, Germany
*Viña Valoria 2007 Rioja Rosado, Spain
Red
*Château Musar 1999, Lebanon
*Mont Tauch “In Extremis” Durban 2001, France
*Ferngrove 2006 “The King” Malbec, Australia
*Agur Special Reserve 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Israel
Sweet/Fortified
*Pertaringa Vineyards Full Fronti, Australia
*Boplass Cape Tawny Port, South Africa
The detailed notes which follow adds some context to each wine; where drank, how much it cost and the flavours which caused them to stand out from the crowd, however, some of the ones that didn’t quite make it were good enough to at least deserve a mention in dispatches, so;
Cascina Ca’ Gialla 2008 Roero Arneis, M&S Ernst Loosen Erdener Treppchen 2007 Kabinett, 2005 FMC Forrester Meinert Chenin, Cline Cashmere 2007 GSM, Quinta da Fronteira 2006 Douro Selecção do Enólogo, Château Pesquie 2006 Quintessence Rouge, Dominio de Ugarte 2004 Reserva, Bodegas Emilio Moro 2006 Ribera del Duero, M&S Bonny Doon 2005 Central Coast Syrah, Reschke “Bull Trader” 2004 Cabernet Merlot, Casella Family Reserve 2007 Tempranillo, Hochar Père et Fils 2002, Royal Tokaji 2000 5 Puttonyos Aszú, Kracher 2006 Beerenauslese, Jackson-Triggs 2006 Proprietors’ reserve Vidal Icewine & Henriques & Henriques 15 Year Old Malvasia Madeira, Ployez-Jacquemart 1999 Champagne…phew!
Château Montus 2003 Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec was made by Alain Brumont in Gers and bought from the Wine Society in August 2008 for £10. I drank this in February 2009 as part of a Wine Library TV Forums “Simultasting” (one of my last major contributions to the forums as it turned out).
Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec is the Madiran’s white wine, both SW France Appellations sharing the same area, and Montus is made from the Petit Courbu variety.
The 2003 was a pale lemon colour with a creamy, floral aroma. At 14.5% abv the lack of legs was surprising and the nose closed down quickly. Initially the flavour was also closed; sharp at the beginning, bittersweet (more bitter) in the mid-palate and warming peach-stone on the finish. Later it opened up into something richer, a melange of fruit with melon and honey and a long, lingering finish.
Cossetti 2008 Roero Arneis was tasted at the inaugural Newcastle Wine on the Tyne Festival in October. This classic Piemontese white was £14.99 from Castello Italian Food & Wine and showed enough complexity to stand out in a busy tasting; very fruity on the nose this was a stunning wine with dry, honeyed stone-fruit flavours.
Dr Hermann 2003 Erdener Treppchen Auslese was also tried at an October tasting, this time an Alsace & Germany tasting at the Newcastle Wine School. Opened as the last wine of the evening this Mosel Riesling, available from Majestic for £8.99, had a full-on petrol & kerosene nose with a great dry/sweet balance and a taste of lime wrapped in caramel – definitely the star of that night and confirmation of why I like rich Rieslings.
Viña Valoria 2007 Rioja Rosado is the only Rosé in the Top 10 and came from Corkscrew Wines in Carlisle for £5.99. This 100% Tempranillo was bought and consumed in August and was sublime drunk outside with family on the one and only sunny Saturday afternoon that month. It had a gentle nose with some forest fruits and in the mouth was dry, smooth with a savoury watermelon taste – extremely well balanced with a mixed fruit finish.
Château Musar 1999 – Bought in June 2007 from Waitrose for £13.99 and drank with friends at home in June. The ’99 Musar was my first exposure to this cult Lebanese producer and, so far, the best (the ’00 and ’01 vintages haven’t excited me as much). A quick decant and pour released some beautiful aromas including smoke and tobacco with a subtle hint of V.A. and barnyard. Sweet and savoury in the mouth this had a Rhône style and was very, very smooth with fine-grain tannins and a long finish – a sublime wine drinking beautifully.
Agur Special Reserve 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon – I bought the bottle during my visit to this Judean Hills winery in February 2008 for the equivalent of £13.00. This is a last minute entry to the list as I only opened it mid-December to drink with family at home, but as soon as I tasted it I knew it was one of the best wines of the year.
It had a thick, dark purple colour, almost inky while the nose was enticing, smoky with some liquorice, vanilla and a hint (just a hint) of horse-manure. Supremely well balanced in the mouth both acidity and tannins were obvious but in synch. There was some sour cherry in the mid-palate and long chewy finish with some sweet berry fruit, this was an excellent wine, drinking well but probably could have improved with several more years in the bottle.
Mont Tauch “In Extremis” Fitou 2001 – was tasted at the August North East Wine Tasting Society (NEWTS) meeting and was bought for £18 on a visit to the region a few years ago by Harry Rose who gave the presentation on the Western Languedoc. This was my best wine of the night; a blend of 40% Syrah with 60% Carignan & Grenache which had a tarry nose with strong liquorice, a floral twist (maybe violets) with a touch of raisins. It was very smooth in the mouth with gentle tannins showing moderate length and a touch of sweetness.
Ferngrove’s 2006 King Malbec from Western Australia was another wine tasted at the Wine on the Tyne October Festival and cost £13.95 from local retailer The Hop, The Vine. As my first ever Australian Malbec I was impressed by its elegance – it had a spicy, complex nose good grip and subtle flavours. This was much better than the Argentinean and South African Malbecs also at the tasting and was yet another wine I liked that was drinking well but had ageing potential.
Boplass Cape Tawny Port, a 100% Tinta Barocca matured for 12 years in Portuguese oak barrels, was bought in Nov 2007 for the paltry sum of £4.50 from Bootleggers Bottleshop in Johannesburg.
I drank this in August and found it an equal to many a 10-15 year old tawny I’ve had from Portugal, which shouldn’t be surprising as South Africa has a tradition of fortified winemaking stretching back hundreds of years and this was from Calitzdorp in the Klein Karoo, where the Terroir is very similar to the Douro. Note that local producers can still use “Port” for wines sold in South Africa until 2014, but an agreement with the European Union phased out its use for the export market for 2007.
The wine was a burnished, autumnal colour, relatively clear, with a nose of warm raisin, sweet toffee and a tickle of alcohol on the sinuses! Sweet and luscious on the tongue the raisins came to the fore and the alcohol spread out over the palate. There was good acidity into the finish, with a medium length and a touch of heat on the throat.
Pertaringa Vineyards Full Fronti brings my list to a close. This was also tasted at the October Wine on the Tyne Festival and cost £11.50 a bottle from The Hop, The Vine. The Fronti refers to Frontignac, aka Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains, named for the Languedoc town of Frontignan which is famous for its fortified Muscat. Australia has taken the variety and style to heart and the Full Fronti from McLaren Vale is a powerful 20 year old wine with a massive attack of raisins on the nose which continues into the thick, sweet taste with toffee and chocolate aspects. It was such a perfect end to a busy tasting that I returned for a couple more refills!
So that’s my modest list, an affordable mix of good New and Old World wine that tasted great on the day – isn’t that what wine drinking is all about?
Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year,
Greybeard
