Vendredis du Vin no 8, gros bonus points pour moi!

C'est pas moi qui l'ai dit, c'est Lisa, notre hôte du mois, qui l'a voulu ainsi. 'Gros points bonis pour les hybrides de l'Amérique du Nord' qu'elle a dit, et comme je viens du Canada, tout comme Lisa, je vous fais la revue d'un vin dessert canadien tout à fait sympa, un 'vendange tardive' élaboré à partir de Vidal, cépage canadien par excellence. Issu d'un croisement entre l'Ugni blanc et le Seyval blanc, ce cépage sait résister aux froids intenses qui sont monnaie courante au pays de l'érable . Il pousse bien sur des sols inadéquats pour la culture de cépages de la famille vitis vinifera (tous les cépages connus, les classiques) et assure ainsi aux producteurs un profit non-négligeable. Il mûrit tout doucement et régulièrement et il a la couenne dure (la peau épaisse) comme on dit chez nous, ce qui en fait un candidat idéal à l'élaboration de vendanges tardives et de vins de glace. Sans plus tarder, le voici, le voilà, mon vin des grands froids:

2005 Late Harvest Vidal, 20 Bees, VQA Ontario, Canada

Le nez est attrayant, avec ses notes de poivre blanc, de fruits à chair blanche cuits et de miel, accompagnées d'une bonne minéralité. Puis, en bouche, il est d'une fraîcheur étonnante, il est jeune et vigoureux, avec une belle acidité et du poivre à revendre, tellement qu'on a l'impression qu'il nous mordille. Tout se tient, avec ce vin : l'étiquette, simple et amusante, ce regroupement de 19 cultivateurs et d'un oenologue (de là les 20 bees) ayant pour but de produire un bon vin savoureux sans prétention et à prix doux, et le produit final, ce vin équilibré, simple, mais non simplet et très bien fait. Réussi!

Sweet Zins and muscular Cabs

At a tasting of the Cellarmistress of the Professors' dining club at UCL last Tuesday, we tasted some Californian wines. 'Cellarmistress' is quite the title but our

hostess and manager of the club's cellar is called Kathy in real life, and she is far from being as scary as her title may suggest. Kathy had selected 11 wines from local merchants, of which Majestic and Imbibros played a big role.

My favourites were the two Cabernets Sauvignons. the Newton Red Wine 1997, Sonoma, still had plenty of youthfull fruit, it was fresh and was drinking rather nicely. The Laurel Glen Counterpoint Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 was even more fresh, although not devoid of Cabernet Sauvignon's typical structural attributes, but balanced by lovely floral and mineral notes. A finer example than the Newton, and one of the least alcoholic wines of the evening at 13.5%, it was also sensibly priced for a Cabernet from California at £14.70.

We finished the tasting with 4 Zinfandels, a struggling variety for me. I have to admit that they were good, well-made wines. Even if the Ravenswood Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel 2005 was all sweetness and alcohol on the attack, the finish was not too big and bruising, and for lovers of beefy, fruity wines, it is excellent value at £6.79. We can not say the same of the more expensive bottles of Zin tasted that evening. The Seghesia Sonoma County Zinfandel 2005 (£16.95) was certainly more together than the Ravenswood but at almost three times the price, it was a little warm and jammy and fell flat rapidly. Cult Ridge Lytton Springs 2000 (£26.85), was super rich and sweet, but did not display much finesse, which you would expect if paying over £20.00. If Ridge can not do it, than Zinfandel is simply not a variety to use for making fine wines. It seems Zinfandel's attributes of great sweetness and high alcohol are better used in blends and in bottles with less aspiration. This is precisely what my favourite Zin of the evening had to propose. The Walker's Pass Private Reserve Zinfandel 2002 (£8.95), is a blend of 77% Zinfandel, 18% Petite Syrah and 5% Carignane (takes an 'e' in the US). It had the most exciting nose of the Zins and had plenty of juicy dark berries with Zin's over-the-top sweetness being the most intergrated. This wine is bound to be a crowd pleaser: bold enough for lovers of big wines but balanced and not too alcoholic (13.5%) for the more delicate palates. Well done!

Be secure… and lose all your tasting notes

It happened again last Wednesday. We were tasting Spanish reds. A vast subject, one might say, but on second thoughts, so much of Spanish reds are made of Tempranillo that the tasting could have been a varietal one. Indeed, once all had been tasted and the bottles had been let out of their protective bags, we did realise that all of the wines were made mainly with Tempranillo.

It was a good tasting night. As usual, my two buddies helped me: Jack, my little pda, and TastingBuddy, a wine tasting note software designed to bring the wine trade and wine enthusiast into the 21^st century. I have been using the software for a year now and it was one of the best nights of tasting notes ever as all was in harmony: tasting was relatively easy as the wines were more talkative than usual, my newly repaired pda was responding quickly with the stylus now being very precise. It was a real pleasure, wine, machine, technology and man working well and easily together.

I finish tasting all of the wines and fill up my plate of cheese and salad. Others do the same and we chat a little before reviewing the wines. When the time comes, I grab Jack, see the dark screen indicating more than 5 minutes of inactivity, and press the power button. It comes back on but rather than seeing the TastingBuddy Software, I am asked to enter my pin code, to unlock the device. Then, no sight of TastingBuddy, and no response when I try to open the software again. Only by rebooting was I able to open the software again, but my tasting notes were nowhere to be seen...

The point of this post is this:

Security code + device set up to turn off after a few minutes = loss of tasting notes

So beware and do not set up any security systems on your device if you can avoid it. In my book, security set ups, on a device, on a file or a programme, only bring complications (and I could extend this to include security in the work place, on the roads and on the streets). Both heightened technology and security are phenomenons of the 21^st century, but the former is a boon while the latter is a curse. Stay well clear of it as much as you can and you will be much happier.

More of Maury

Nous étions dans le Roussillon, à la recherche d'une maison. Je n'avais pas compté déguster ni visiter des domaines ou des coopératives, mais le Roussillon oblige, chaque village, que ce soit Saint-Paul de Fenouillet, Lansac ou Cases de Pènes, étant peuplé en partie de vignerons. Sur la D117, le long de la vallée de l'Agly, qui jouit maintenant d'une réputation hors pair auprès des amateurs du Languedoc-Roussillon, nous nous sommes arrêtés à la cave des vignerons de Maury, en plein après-midi, en plein soleil aussi. Et hop, on passe à la dégustation. Un muscat sec de l'année retient notre attention : style rarement vu à Londres, c'est sympa, très frais et fruité, et, comme c'est tout récemment vinifié, le boire nous donne l'impression de rattraper le temps perdu, d'avaler une synthèse de l'année qui vient tout juste de s'écouler. Le rosé aussi est exemplaire, simple, bien fait et fruité et serait aussi sympa que le Muscat si, de style, il était aussi original, aromatique et exhubérant. Ensuite, place aux vins doux naturels, l'une spécialité du Sud de la France. Après un Maury blanc riche à souhait, le Maury réserve 1995 a terminé royalement la dégustation. Bien qu'il soit vieux de 12 ans, c'est une impression de jeunesse et de fraîcheur qui se dégage de ce vin rouge doux et bien alcoolisé. Moi qui aime mes vins plutôt jeunes dois avouer qu'ici l'âge fait bien les choses : sans avoir perdu de son fruit, les tannins sont devenus bien souples et la sensation de douceur a diminué. Bien que ce soit du costaud, ça se boit tout seul. Avec des copains, en fin de soirée, faut pas tourner le dos une minute, parce que vous ne mettrez la main sur la bouteille qu'une fois vidée!