Dear All
New arrivals.
We’ve recently taken
delivery of three new whites, two from Alsace and one from
Languedoc:
Domaine Fonne-Meyer Gentil d’Alsace 2009
£8.75
Within few years, Felix
Meyer has built a solid reputation in Alsace. Working extremely
hard in the small (11 hectare) vineyard, keeping yields
ridiculously low, and making the most of the great soil quality,
he is now making some outstanding wines. Vinification takes
place in traditional large “foudres”, with wines being aged on
the lees. This classic blend is a mix of Muscat, Pinot Blanc,
Riesling and Gewurztraminer. This vintage is very aromatic. It
is a dry and well structured wine to enjoy now or in a year or
two’s time.
Domaine Fonne-Meyer
Riesling Reserve 2008
£9.95
Not widely grown (it’s
the 20th most grown variety in the world) but with a
huge reputation, Riesling is an
aromatic
grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as
well as high acidity. Riesling is a variety which is highly "terroir-expressive",
meaning that the character of Riesling wines is clearly
influenced by the wine's place of origin. This example has a
pure, elegant nose, with mineral notes of aniseed and citrus. As
a dry, mineral wine it is ideal for serving with fish, seafood
and shellfish, as well as dishes typical of Alsace (such as
choucroute, or coq au Riesling)
The influential Wine
Advocate says that “Felix Meyer is one of the more ambitious and
successful young vignerons of Alsace. Furthermore, his prices
are very reasonable.”
Dom Girard Chardonnay
2008 Côtes de la Malepère Vin de Pays d’Oc £6.15
The region of Malepère
has had a VDQS classification for many years but the consistent
high quality of the wines resulted in its elevation to full
appellation status just two years ago. Vine growing had been in
the family for several generations with the grapes being sold to
the local cooperative. More recently Philippe, one of two
brothers of the new generation has started to vinify and sell
his wine separately. Every year the quality seems to improve
and this year we have shipped this lovely, unoaked, pure
Chardonnay. It makes a wonderful aperitif, and is the perfect
partner for fish dishes. Growing the grapes at 200 metres of
altitude allows them to maintain their acidity, avoiding the
frequently overblown, blowsy style of some Languedoc
Chardonnays. It has a vibrant green apple nose with hints of
summer hedgerows, while on the palate there is good
concentration with great purity of fruit, and steely acidity.
Delicious!
Producer profile –
Domaine de Miselle
Situated
in the extreme south west of France between Bayonne and
Toulouse, Domaine de Miselle is a small (28ha) property
producing some outstandingly good value wines. Miselle is one of
those estates which seem to have been built to last for
centuries and whose vineyards have been built slowly with
patience and a lot of passion. This ancient Gascon property,
dating from the 18th century, has been for a long time dedicated
to wine-growing, Armagnac having been produced here since the
19th century. After several successive owners, Miselle was
acquired in 1974 by Luis Ocaña, the 1973 Tour de France winner.
More recently, in 1998, the Chevallier family, originally from
the north of France, decided to revive this typical Gascony area
winery. A modern winemaking facility was inaugurated and the
first Estate-bottled wine range was launched the following year.
Today, Julian Chevallier’s aim is to produce great wines that
give full expression to the terroir of the Gascony region. We
bring in two wines from this producer – Soleil de Automne, a
great dessert wine made from late picked Petit Manseng grapes,
and a more traditional Cotes de Gascogne white.
Vinitaly
Earlier this month John
spent a day visiting Vinitaly, the world’s biggest wine fair,
held this year in Verona. Once past the huge scrum at the
entrance this was a great day sampling vibrant verdicchios,
brilliant bardolinos, supple soaves and amazing amarones [enough
– Ed]. Set in over 80,000 square metres, with 4,200 producers
and with over 29,000 wines available to sample one can only
achieve so much, but two producers in particular caught our
interest, so watch this space!
Tastings
With recent outings to
Leeds, Hull and York, and forthcoming events booked in Bingley,
Derby, Whitby, Leeds and Beverley we’re always happy to discuss
tastings in all kinds of formats for a variety of groups
including private parties, wine tasting societies, charity fund
raisers and corporate events. Do get in touch if you’d like to
know more.
Domaine Treloar
Those
of you who have enjoyed Domaine Treloar’s Three Peaks and One
Block Muscat, made by Yorkshireman Jonathan Hesford, may be
interested in the profile in the latest issue of Grapestalk.
We’ve recently taken delivery of a further shipment of Three
Peaks and it continues to get better and better!
Grapestalk is an online
magazine written principally by UK independent wine merchants,
and can be found here:
http://www.asdw.co.uk/Grapestalk.10%20%202009.pdf,
April/May 2010 Newsletter
