Frog’s Leap Zinfandel 2004 California, USA

Slinky, a bit glitzy, satisfyingly smooth with subtle oak (think cake spice) and rich round blue and black berry flavours made this red a terrific Saturday night treat. Mathias made a delicious lasagna (with black olives, sun-dried tomato, mushrooms and lots of ricotta cheese etc..) that worked wonders with the wine. Highly recommended and actually worth the price…. Stockist: Berry Bros & Rudd, Waitrose, £19.99

Stockist update

Just a quick note to let you know that Bald Hills Pinot Noir 2006 will be stocked by www.nzhouseofwine.co.uk and Caviste (see link) shortly!

Heavenly New Zealand flavours

Today was New Zealand’s trade tasting in London and it was fun to see what’s going on in Kiwi land. Although renowned for their delicious Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand has so much more to offer. Today’s tasting really showcased the diversity of New Zealand wine: full-bodied reds from Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet; aromatic Rieslings; honeyed Pinot Gris; velvety Pinot Noir; and I even spotted a fragrant and perfumed Gewürtztraminer. Below are a few of the ones I enjoyed the most – some may be more common in the on-trade market so look out for them on restaurant’s wine lists.

Bald Hills Pinot Noir 2006 Central Otago
Lovely Pinot nose with a rich palate showing dark and ripe raspberry and cherry flavours with smoky, slightly spicy notes. A velvety texture, serious depth of flavour and a refreshing acidity (making my own mouth watering just thinking of this beauty..). It’s imported by UK company Ellis of Richmond but I am gonna have to come back to you in regards to who stocks this wine. It may be most common in restaurants. Approximate retail price: £23.95

Villa Maria Single Vineyard Seddon Pinot Noir 2006 Marlborough
Villa Maria is in my opinion a really ‘safe’ card when buying NZ wine – I have yet to try one of their wines that I am disappointed with. However, not all of their wines make me as excited as this Pinot Noir and the white below. This single vineyard Pinot Noir boasts a stunning savoury and fruity nose with a dangerously seductive palate: smooth, smoky, strawberryish – very yummy with a long length. £19.99 at www.nzhouseofwine.co.uk

Villa Maria Single Vineyard Taylors Pass Riesling 2007 Marlborough
A very enticing richly honeyed nose precedes a succulent palate showing flavours of peach, honey, lime and lemon drops. This wine has a fair bit of sweetness but that is balanced and kept refreshing by a good deal of acidity. The finish is long with some minerality coming through. £12.99 at www.nzhouseofwine.co.uk

Unison Pinot Gris 2006 Hawke’s Bay
Pinot Gris from NZ has become really popular of late and many vineyards are now producing a Pinot Gris, although in small quantities. You never really know what you will get in your glass with this grape variety from New Zealand though. The style differ quite a lot from winery to winery, which can be confusing but also very exciting as there is plenty of new, fresh stuff out there made by forward thinking, experimental and funky wine makers. This example from Unison combines the freshness of good Italian Pinot Grigio (same grape variety as Pinot Gris) with the richer Alsatian style. The result is a wine that’s fresh, rich in flavours (honey, citrus, apple) but finishes on a rather light note – I think this will be a real beauty for fancy spring/summer picnics! Approximate price is £13.95.

Vidal Reserve Syrah 2004 Hawke’s Bay
A plummy nose precedes a big, rich and succulent palate. Plum and ripe cherry fruit flavours mix with some serious spiciness (white and black pepper) with a smoky yet refreshing finish making one long for another sip! £9.99

Domaine Tempier 2004 Bandol, South of France

This is a big bad red that’s bold, spicy, fruity and absolutely delicious! If I had a fire place that functioned, this would be my fireside companion – warming and seductively dark, it will make any old cold Tuesday evening memorable. If you don’t have a fire place, a few glasses are sure to make you warm and fussy, alternatively it can be enjoyed with the heartiest of food; roasts, casseroles and stews. £14.95, The Wine Society

For the love of port…

Although a bit heavy (anyone else felt slightly tired after the tasting??), I hope you enjoyed the port tasting last Friday. Below are the wines we tasted, in the order that we did so (except for the white one, which I forgot to serve and mostly sat around on the kitchen table..).

If you found any of these ports particularly good, remember the ‘style’ you liked e.g. tawny, vintage, late bottled vintage and so on and experiment with different port houses (Taylor’s, Dow’s etc.). All of the ports below are widely available, prices are approximate. Oh, and not to forget; port does NOT keep for ever and ever when opened…so no more ‘one glass this Christmas and we’ll save the rest for Christmas 08’ – finish the bottle and get a new one for next year, your taste buds will love you for it (and so will the wine trade)!

Taylor's Chip Dry White Port £11

Serve chilled as an aperitif, perhaps with some salted nuts or similar.

Warre's Otima 10-Year-Old Tawny Port, 50cl £11

Serve chilled.

Taylor's 20-Year-Old Tawny Port £27

Serve chilled.

Graham's Late Bottled Vintage Port 2001 £12

Fonseca Guimaraens 1988 Vintage Port £20

If you liked this one I would also recommend trying Taylor's Quinta de Vargellas.

Warre's 1980 Vintage Port £47

Had a tiny bit left of this one and on Saturday night we savoured it after dinner with a Cuban robusto each – a seriously delicious experience and highly recommended!

SWIG Tasting

Thanks to Catherine and Martin I got to go to SWIG’s South Africa tasting last week. It was a great evening with an impressive line up of SA reds and whites plus some seriously delicious biltong to, eh, cleanse the palate… Below are my favourite picks and to the right is a link to SWIG's website if I manage to make you thirsty…

Takara Walker Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2006
An absolutely delicious white with crisp, fresh grassy and limey flavours with a round almost creamy texture – very good! £14.75 at SWIG

Ken Forrester Gypsy 2004
My scribbles from the evening went like this ‘Yum, rich, dark and smooth. Very nice, good long, smoky finish –warming’. This Grenache/Syrah blend costs £17 at SWIG

Rustenberg Peter Barlow 2004
Although a bit young (even the winemaker said he wouldn't touch it for at least 10 years), it is a truly sumptuous wine. A big, blackcurranty Cabernet Sauvignon with amazing depth and great intensity of flavours. Buy it now and wait as long as you can, and if that is a lot less than 10 years make sure you decant it a an hour or two before drinking so it opens up. £17 Stockists: SWIG, Waitrose

Steenberg Semillon 2006/07
Second time I try this excellent white and I still love it! It’s big yet fresh with a waxy texture and peachy stone fruit flavours and a slightly nutty finish. Think this one would go well with creamy chicken dishes. £11 Stockists: SWIG, Waitrose

Herzog, The Spirit of Marlborough 1998 New Zealand

This is a delicious Bordeaux style red that's drinking beautifully at the moment. Made me think of very ripe dark cherries that have fallen to the ground in the late summer – in a good way, may I add! It has good acidity to balance the fruit and an earthy, smoky complexity from oak ageing and bottle age. Picked up this beauty in Stockbridge, Hampshire at an excellent wine shop called Caviste, to which I would highly recommend a visit if you you’re ever in that beautiful part of the country. Alternatively, check out their website (see links). This wine was on offer for about £15 and well worth a go if there’s any left…