Summer Red Wine tasting notes

Domaine de la Chevalerie “Vieilles Vignes” Bourgueil 2005 (Loire, France)

Quite different to previous wines tasted from this excellent producer, although this shouldn’t be surprising as the wines tend to be true to the vintage and this is the excellent 2005 vintage. Rather than the typical classic cab franc character usually encountered, this is still relatively primary and red fruit dominated despite 7-years of age. Enjoyable now but the best is yet to come. From previous experience this should have a good decade of development ahead of it. 16/20 currently. Will improve. 13.5% alc.

Domaine de la Rectorie “Le Seris” Collioure 2001 (Collioure, France)

Stood for an hour before opening and decanted half-an-hour before tasting (given its continuing improvement, in retrospect I would say needs 1-hour+). Served at a cool room temperature. Deep ruby but not by any means opaque. Nose gradually opened up developing quite rich fruit-cake aromas (must be Grenache dominated?)with some black pepper. Palate is broad and notably hot; the 14.8% alc does show but doesn’t overly detract given the concentration of the palate. My only criticism is that it is a little plump and the acidity is not as fresh as I would like. But then this is not surprising given its provenance. This makes for a very full and rich wine, which despite is age (11-years) does not appear that tertiary in character. Nonetheless, I think this is probably peaking and I personally wouldn’t risk keeping it further. Needs a big rich accompaniment – on this occasion steak and ale pie! 16.5/20. NB. Of note, I have also had several bottles of the 2004 vintage of this wine, all of which have been faulty. ADDENDUM: re-tasted the remainder 4-days after opening and it had continued to develop into a lovely glass of wine, much more brooding and deep on the nose without really fading on the palate. Decant well in advance and consider keeping a little longer?

Bodega Norton Malbec Reserva 2009 (Mendoza, Argentina)

Almost opaque deep ruby. Open nose, concentrated, pronounced dark berry fruits, quite rich and ripe, almost chocolaty! Palate is similarly rich and broad – weighty with some real stuffing. A touch warm, but balanced by the high levels of concentrated ripe fruit and medium tannins. At this stage it is more fruit than tannin. Could have done with slightly higher acidity levels I feel. Good medium length finish. I imagine this would go very nicely with a South American steak. 14.5% alc. Will clearly keep medium term and probably longer, although personally I like the way it comes across now and not sure how it would improve with age if it lost the appealing dark fruit character. I should note that this doesn’t really resemble your typical Cahors malbec, quite different in style and character. Needs opening a couple of hours in advance and preferably decanting to open it up, although not currently throwing any sediment (yet).16.5/20.

Chateau Chasse-Spleen Cru Bourgeois 2000 (Moulis-en-Medoc, Bordeaux, France)

Enjoyed at the O&C. Half-bottle, decanted immediately before drinking. Deep ruby, moderately open nose but still coming across as very young. None of those classic tertiary, bottle-aged notes have started to develop yet. Palate just turning towards some degree of an aged-character, softening out a little bit from the primary fruit I expected, but still a long, long way from any sort of maturity. Concentrated, full and ripe with firm tannic structure behind it. Impressively youthful for 12-years old, especially given this is from a half-bottle. Testament to the fabulous 2000 vintage, this has a long life ahead of it. I’d be tempted to open my next to taste in another 5 to 10-years. 16.5/20 (and will likely score higher in future).

Candido Duca d’Aragona 1999 (IGT Salento Rosso, Italy)

Blend of Negro Amaro and Montepulciano. Decanted in advance. Getting a little tired at 13-years old. Light ruby with brick-red rim. Nose quite dark and brambly. Not particularly open despite decanting. Earthy, coffee, tertiary notes. Palate quite firm, full bodied and intense. Powerful dark fruits and firm, dry, tannic grip. Starting to fade? Warm at 14% alc but the body of the wine easily handles it. Good length, quite a black spice finish, very drying. Needs red meat or hard strong cheese to balance it out. I wonder what this was like a few years ago? A little disappointing for an expensive, flagship wine - I think we’ve missed its prime. 15.5/20. NB. I note the 2001 received 3-stars in the 2008 Decanter World Wine Awards – I think there are better Salento reds than this to track down.

Domaine D’Aupilhac Montpeyroux 2001 (Coteaux du Languedoc, France)

Produced by the notable winemaker Sylvain Fadat. Decanted an hour before drinking, then tasted over the next 24-hours. Deeply opaque. Moderately open nose of black fruits – not showing much aged tertiary characters. Plate is all strong black olives with a touch of tobacco. Really full-bodied, a little rustic, with very firm tannins. Non-filtered, and it tasted like it. 14.5%, but doesn’t taste hot at all. This demands a big slab of meat or game, or strong hard cheese to accompany it. At 11-years old this is showing remarkable well. Which way is this going to go from here? I’m not entirely sure, perhaps as I would never have expected it to make it this far so well! Kept very well in the decanter for over 24-hours so I suspect it isn’t going to fade away any time soon. One bottle left that I will keep a few more years to see. 16.5/20.

Seghesio Barbera d’Alba 2005 (Piedmont, Italy)

Light and fruit-driven Barbera. Jammy young juicy red fruits and medium body. This is more of a pasta wine and was out-shone by anything more meaty to accompany it. Good balancing acidity and light tannins. Tasty but not too serious. Drinking well now but not for keeping further. 15/20.

Chateau Montmirail "Cuvee de L'Ermite" 2004 (Vacqueyras, Rhone, France)

Fair but unexciting. Would have been better drunk young. More of a Cote-de-Rhone than anything more special. Drink up. 14.5/20. In the list of Vacqueyras wineries, this is very middle-ranking. While producing standard wines, nothing from here have ever really caught my interest and I think there are probably better wine producers to visit in the village these days.