Summer Tasting Star Wine - Amarone Classico Costasera 2006 Masi

The summer tasting was a success with around 50-60 of our customers attending to try some fantastic wines we had open to taste. I will be slowly posting tasting notes on most of these wines over the next few days. But I want to start with the highly anticipated Masi Ameroni that we tasted. This was our most expensive bottle open at £30.
This wine comes from Valpolicella Classico regions in Italy. Grapes used come from the best south west facing slopes, facing the sunset for maximum sunlight and ripening hours. It is70% Corvina, 25% Rondinella, 5% Molinara. Amarone uses a special process called  "appassimento", which is basically grape drying. The grapes are left out to dry on bamboo racks until January, by this time they have lost 35% of their weight and become super concentrated. After this there is an 80 day fermentation period. All this contribute to its massive body and super concentrated flavours and fruit.

A nose of ripe red cherries, liquorice, sage, coffee and tar. This leads the way for a palate of equally rich proportions. Richly textured, it has a sleek, refreshing finish – and will spend the next decade or more improving. Good to drink now, but keep for a decade to see what happens. Overall an epic wine.

Ageing potential of 30-35 years.

I have been told its not worth spending under £20 on a bottle of amarone, mainly because you wont find a bottle for under that! The cost and time it takes to make this wine contributes to its price tag. However, good things come to those who wait, and to those who spend!

Wine Rating: 5

Tomorrow's Summer Tasting

Tomorrow we are holding our annual summer customer invite tasting. The great thing is that the tasting is free for any of our customers, a fantastic chance to try some superb wines. We will be featuring many of our new wines and some of our old favourites, including the 2007 Masi Amarone! The full list of wines is at the bottom of this post and I will be posting tasting notes on these wines sometime next week.
We are having a stand dedicated to my favourite producer Saint Clair where we will be featuring their Sauvignon Blanc Pioneer Block and their Estate Sauvignon. We will also have open a bottle of the Saint Clair Pioneer Block Pinot Noir, which I'm particularly looking forward to!

The wines are as followed (in order of how they should be tasted! i.e. light bodied to full bodied, as a general rule so the previous wine doesn't dominate the next):


Prosecco La Marca Cuve

Reuilly Cuvée Nathalie 2010 Nathalie LafondBerne
Grande Récolte Rosé 2010 Côtes de Provence
Marsannay Blanc 2009 Louis Jadot

Saint Clair Sauvignion Estate 2010

Saint Clair Pioneer Block Sauvignon 2010

Saint Clair Pioneer Block Pinot Noir 2009

Brouilly 2009 Domaine des Maison Neuves

Avignonesi Rosso 2007 IGT Toscana

Chateau Musar 2003

Masi Amarone 2007

Tasting Notes and the outcome of the tasting evening  to come early next week!

4 Steps to Tasting Wine

Want to taste wine like a professional!? Have a read of my '4 Steps to Tasting Wine' Guide .

Viu Manent Have Done It Again!

Viu Manent Reserva Carmenere 2009 Colchagua

They have done it again. The Viu family have impressed us with another fantastic wine. A brand new wine to our range at work. This wine comes from chile's central zone in the Colchagua. Made using Chile's signature red grape Carmnere, made by one of Chile's best-loved producers. Remember the Rayuela Cabernet I reviewed last week? Well this wine is from the same producer. This is from their Reserva range, meaning its been matured for a while before release. The fruit is hand picked and carefully matured for 10 months in French and American Oak.

Appearance: Deep ruby red in colour.
Nose: A nose of black cherries, plums and sweet herbaceous notes.
Palate: A complex mix of leather, dark chocolate, mocha and dates. Plenty of blackcurrant fruit in there as well! Balanced well with rounded tannins and a lengthy warm finish.
Try with: Strongly flavoured cured meats such as salami or Serrano ham, strong cheeses, or well seasoned lamb chops.

Summary: This is another example of great wine at affordable prices from Chile. There's a hell of a lot in this bottle for £7.99! (when you buy two or more).

Wine Rating: 4

The Ned Sauvignon Blanc 2010

In my opinion, my colleagues and my customers, The Ned is up there with one of the best sauvignon blanc's around for £6-£7. A pleasure to drink, this wine offers so much more complexity and elegance than other sauvignons at this price mark. It's something you will find in many supermarkets and wine merchants from anywhere between £6 and £10, but if you do your research you will find you will always find it somewhere on offer between £6-£7 pounds.


Appearance: Pale straw colour with a green tinge.


Nose: Classic NZ Sauvignon aromas of gooseberry and grassy nettle like smells. A lovely minerality that for me sets this wine apart. A good intensity also.


Palate: Zesty on the palate with a clear French-like minerality which makes this wine what it is. On the lines of a Sancerre or something similar. A green grassy edge, giving it a wonderful freshness.


Wine Rating: 4

Condrieu Villard Vallon 2007

As I mentioned in a Condrieu blog post a few days ago, we opened a bottle of Villard Vallon 2007 for our Fine Wine Friday Tasting. Here is what I thought of this wine:


Appearance: Pale Golden colour. 
Nose: Powerful apricot and peach aromas, with a floral vibe in there as well. This is one of those wines that I can enjoy by simply smelling it!
Palate: Subtle oak and a lot of substance. Weighty in the mouth and full bodied. The fruit flavours are very rich and powerful. They are also very clear defined flavours that stand out well. Only downside is that in some people's opinion it may be lacking some acidity...but this is down to personal preference. It's not like there is no acidity what's so ever, just not as much as say a NZ Sauvignon for example. As these wines are for drinking young, this 2007 is at its prime.
Summary: It didn't produce any major surprises but I'm glad it turned out to be what I'd hoped. I personally liked it a lot and its certainly the best Viognier I've had to date.  £30 is the price tag....whether I could part £30 for this wine is another matter. Perhaps if I was a little richer then there wouldn't be much to think about! But for most of us I think many would choose not to, unless this wine really is your thing!

Rating: 4

Rayuela Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 Viu Manent

This wine comes from the Viu Family in Chilie. Their vineyards are in the Colchagua Valley - Chile’s Central Zone. It has been talked about that this area is arguably one of Chile's best developing regions proven by its quality yields of grapes.
Rayuela is Spanish for 'Hopscotch', a game you are probably all familiar with. The wine is named after this because its simple and fun just like the game...and that it is.
A straightforward fruit driven wine, soft for a Cabernet, but a definite tannic element - ideal for glugging with grilled meat, perfect for the time of year! I tried this and instantly liked it. There's not much to think about, but I don't always want to think about a lot when drinking a wine. There's nothing to say a good wine has to have lots of elements and complexity to think about. As long as the elements it has are good. It's got a simple, yet perfect fruit balance, a nice acidity and soft tannins. And on top of that the fruit flavour lingers! 


Appearance: Ruby red.
Nose: Intense nose of plummy fruits and raspberry.
Palate: Simple, yet perfect juicy fruit. Soft tannins, medium bodied. Nice acidity. Length is good and lingers for quite a while. 
Summary: For me, an example of the outstanding value Chile can offer. £5.99 at Majestic! A wine really for one occasion... a party!
Rating: 3


Useful links: Viu Manent's Vineyard Location and Vine proportions