After a hard day making a compost bin out of pallets in the rain what could be better than a good meal with a fine wine? Sadly I had to make do with the meal but it was by no means a bad deal. Oysters as a starter followed by seared scallops with king prawns, rice in a scallop coral cream sauce with fried, sliced squash and cauliflower, then a  French cheese board  rounded of by an orange souffle.

Ah, but what was the wine? A Vouvray sec from Huet, Le Haut Lieu 1988. Elegant, lime and honey, mineral and impressively long. A little faded maybe but still a great match for the seafood.

Coffee and truffles were accompanied by a glass of Tanatis from Domaine Berthoumieu in Madiran. This is a fortified wine made from 100% Tannat.

After an energetic weekend wine was definitely on the agenda.

Saturday night matched salmon with  De Lucca, Sauvignon Blanc, Reserva 2009 from Uruguay.


This was very smooth and fruity, missing a bit of the French style minerality, but still an excellent match for the fish. Uruguay is one of those countries that is on the up. See www.winesofuruguay.co.uk for some excellent wines. I prefer the red wines, perhaps it's the Tannat fix that I need, talking of which...........

Sunday and it's a bottle of Le Faite, Producteurs Plaimont, Saint Mont 2007. 


This red from the local and excellent co-operative is Tannat with Pinenc and Cabernet Sauvignon. It's style reminds me of the modern style of Madiran, one of its neighbours. Deep and dark with sweet red and black fruits with a touch of vanilla on the nose the wine is surprisingly sweet and elegant with smooth tannins. It is long on the finish with a dryness but not in the least excessive. The fact that it was developed in consultation with local restauranteurs suggests that Plaimont were trying to make an early drinking wine for consumption with food. They have achieved that beautifully. The presentation is somewhat idiosyncratic, with a wooden tag attached to a wax stamp rather than a label.

We visited the co-operative in July, they produce 98% of Saint Mont and do a fine job with excellent reds and whites and also Madiran and Pacherenc, all at very competitive prices.It would be nice to see more imported.

Massaya Gold Selection 2007

Lebanese wine has had a standard bearer in Chateau Musar for some years, excellent as the red is there are also new makers challenging for the headline spot. One of these is Massaya from the Bekaa valley. I have sampled a couple of their red wine, the Gold Selection is far and away the best.

Made with 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Mourvedre and 10 % Syrah, the wine is built to last with plenty of structure, ripe fruit and a long finish. Predominantly red fruits, strawberry and raspberry on the nose which comes through in the mouth along with a grippy finish from dry tannins suggesting there is more to come, if you have the patience.The mourvedre adds a gamey flavour, I would think it ripens more consistently here than in France; where in wine like Tempiers' Bandol cuvees it can be superb.

This went beautifully with lamb and continued to yield more fresh fruit flavours as it opened up further in the glass. It definitely benefited from decanting for an hour, could have done with more and leaving for another couple of years. But the bottle had been calling to me for some time and I could not resist.

Thanks again to D. Byrnes of Clitheroe for feeding my habit!!

A selection of half bottles

Wanting to control your alcohol consumption, get some half bottles!

Daniel-Eitenne Defaix Chablis 2000 Vielles Vignes


I've always liked my Chablis green, austere and mineral. This didn't quite do it for me, it seemed more in the modern style with a bit too much oak for my liking. It retained the drier quality of chardonnay, not one for the Aussie chardonnay crowd, the flinty flavour I found to be slightly masked.

Decent

J Moreau & Fils Chablis La Croix de Saint Joseph 2009


Probably a bit young but still more to my liking, green, mineral with some background fruit. Could do with a bit more time, worth keeping for a couple of years to see how it will evolve.

Pieropan Soave 2008


Soave isn't often seen as a fine wine but Pieropan make excellent wines and this is no exception. This is medium bodied, quite elegant with a hint of lemon and almond on the finish. Good with fish.

Domaine Berthoumieu, Cuvee Charles De Batz, Madiran 2006

One of my favourite makers from my favourite appellation. Didier Barre, considered one of the best vignerons of the area treated us to a wonderful tasting in June 2010. This wine, a premium cuvee named after the real life D'Artagnan is a good example of the Tannat grape. The wine includes 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and is deep red with a spicy nose of black and red fruits. This delivers in the mouth with a deep, smooth texture with black fruit and briar flavours and a hint of pepper. May improve for a couple of years yet, the bonus being the price £7-8.

Louis Latour, Fleurie, La Garans 2007, Beaujolais.

Beaujolais, much like Soave, is not seen a serious wine by many, however a good example will be fruity, light and very enjoyable. This is one of those, the Gamay grape giving good fresh red fruit on the nose which is reflected in a surprisingly rich, yet floral and smooth. Good summer drinking or accompaniment to white meats.

The boast of Bodmin

Forget pasties, Cornwall's new signature product.

Time was when you packed your bags and sauntered down to Cornwall in about 10 hours, if you were lucky. Now NW England to Penzance can be done much quicker, even if the drive is a little less interesting as dual carriageway follows motorway. Stops are necessary but where? This May we decided our last stop en route should be the Camel Valley vineyard near Bodmin.

Finding it was not that easy, we were assisted by a friendly gentleman who seemed to be mowing the road in the valley bottom. He pointed back the way we came "art be back thaat aways" he said,. Actually he gave us detailed directions in totally comprehensible english but you get my drift, it's in the country, down winding lanes.

We entered the tasting room/shop which has a pleasant verandah overlooking the vines and the valley. The views are lovely and calming. We tasted the full range available, of course, and were particularly struck by the elegant non vintage Brut. The purchase boxed we headed for the fleshpots of Penzance and the Penwith peninsula. Although I've not always been that impressed by the food in the wilds of far west Cornwall I would recommend the Porthminster Cafe on the beach near St Ives railway station where I had some lovely Helford river oysters.

Camel Valley have been receiving rave reviews from all and sundry of late, winning a number of national and international awards. Comparisons are made with Champagne though my first taste didn't suggest that there is any great similarity except they are both white and bubbly. I thought this was a benchmark for an English style of sparkling wine.

Anyway, 3 months on I dusted off the remaining bottle of sparkling Brut Non Vintage to enable me to retaste and write the review. What other reason could I have?

Camel Valley Brut retails at £19.95 and is made from Seyval, Reichensteiner and Huxelrebe grapes. It is made in the traditional champagne method

On the nose it is restrained with gentle aromas that remind you of walking through Cornish hedgerows. The pale straw liquid explodes with a volatile mousse in the glass but doesn't prickle on the tongue like some sparklers, not a bad thing as sometimes I find that masks the flavour. The wine is elegant and long with a lovely apple flavour against a background of white peach. The Seyval dominates on the palete and ensures that the apple and peach flavours have a background minerality rather than becoming unctious.

This is a splendid sparkler and well worth seeking out, the best I have tasted from an English vineyard.

Have you heard the one about the Scotch, the Welsh and the English.

Dirty work but someone has to do it.

Whisky, often referred to as 'scotch', is as you will all know actually a globally produced product. But most people would be surprised to hear that whisky was produced in Wales and now, in England. The three examples tasted here are very different animals. Springbank is the oldest family owned distillery in Scotland, Penderyn has been in operation in the Brecon Beacons for just over 10 years and is thought to be one of the smallest distilleries in the world. The English Whisky Company in Norfolk is the first to produce whisky in England for over 100 years.

Before Scottish readers cry foul it should be noted that England probably contributes more barley to Scottish distilleries than anywhere else. Both Springbank and EWC use local barley, I don't know if Penderyn does.

The English Whisky Company, Chapter 6, 3 year old unpeated whisky. March 2010, 44%


This is the first publicly released whisky in over 100 years. It is a pale straw colour, on the nose there is a little creamy fruit but not the most expressive aroma you will find in a whisky. There is an apple, toffee flavour that lingers with perhaps a little floral touch on the finish. Whilst not the most complex whisky on the market it is remarkably smooth and enjoyable for such a youngster.

I think there is little doubt that there is a very bright future ahead, being the only distillery in England won't do it any harm in the marketing; rarity usually guarantees a market especially when you have some a good product.

Penderyn, unpeated single malt whisky, April 2008 44%


Light straw but darker than the Chapter 6. Fuller on the nose with a molasses cream aroma. This doesn't quite come through in the mouth but there is still a pleasant toffee flavour with barley on the finish.This is a light whisky in some ways in  a similar mould to English but the madeira casks give it a fuller flavour.

Springbank, 11 year old, Madeira wood, January 2009, 55.1%


With 11 years in madeira casks this is obviously a completely different beast to the other whiskies. Deep gold in colour it has a nose that reminds me of my wife's excellent pear tatin, that is caramelised fruit but with a hint of leather. The first hit on the tongue is spice and then the caramelised fruit with a saltiness that reminds me of fleur de sel caramel ice cream.

So, all I can conclude is that the whisky industry is alive in all three countries. It will be very interesting to see how the English whiskey develops over the next few years.

 I enjoy all three whiskies, the Chapter 6 and Penderyn, surprised me with their quality on first tasting. Both are easy, dare I say everyday drinking, the Springbank one for the fireside.

I will turn next to some brandies that I have in the cupboard.

Tasting at Domaine De Souch, Jurancon June 2010

What... no pig?

Jurancon is not the name everyone thinks of when searching for French fine wines. When people think of sweet wines they think Sauternes, Alsace, Loire or even Banyuls. Jurancon offers an elegant, lighter alternative that can be enjoyed as an aperitif, dessert wine or drunk with main courses. The dry version, still seen by some locals as an abomination, is usually fresh, floral with hints of fruit that sometimes hint at the tropical fruitiness of the sweet wines.

Armed with Paul Strangs, Wines of South West France my better half and I headed for the hills. One of the destinations we had in mind was the highly rated Domaine De Souch. In the hills it certainly is, winding through the woods from Laroin you would never know that Pau is so close. As we pulled into the car park we were met by Madame Yvonne Hegoburu, owner and star of the film Mondovino. A lovely lady, who, realising we were English summoned her vineyard manager, Manu to continue the tour.

We were treated to beautiful views of the Pyrenees, a tour of the estate and a tasting of some wonderful wine. We also met other stars of the silver screen, the three huge Pyrenean Mountain dogs. As we walked in front of the beautiful residence above the vines a snake hurried away, perhaps it thought the dogs were going to chase it, we were told that that was one of their jobs. I presume that was for the few minutes a day they didn't eat, sleep or keep visitors company.

The vines stretched down the hillside leading the eye south to those gorgeous mountain vistas. Despite the closeness of the peaks Manu explained that they worked on the vines in shirt sleeves, even in January. The vineyard is planted with the local varieties Gros and Petit Manseng and Petit Courbu and run on the increasingly popular bio-dynamic principles which limit the use of chemicals. Madame was a great friend of the late lamented Didier Dagueneau, who himself had a small vineyard in Jurancon, Les Jardins de Babylone making an expensive moelleux. I haven't had the pleasure but I suspect it is likely to be amongst the best of the region.

The wines, sec made from Gros Manseng with a little Petit Manseng and Petit Courbu was vinified in steel vats, as was the basic moelleux though this was 50/50 Gros and Petit Manseng. The special cuvee is 100% Petit Manseng vinified in barrels.

The sweet Jurancons had a citrus aroma with hints of pineapple and lychee which came through on the palette without cloying. The special Cuvee Marie Kattelin, of which we tried some older vintages, were richer with almost mango/tropical flavours but still light and amazingly fresh.

The sec was delicate with a hints of melon and pear, ideal for white fish or scallops. The only problem we have is drink now or leave to develop, I imagine the sec will improve for 4 or 5 years, the moelleux for far longer.

Manu was a delightful and informative host, showing a warmth and friendliness that seemed so typical of the people of the Bearn and the Pays Basque. We left, wine in the boot of the car thrilled with the reception we had received, one of those life affirming experiences that don't come along that often. If you can't get there yourself I recommend you seek out the wines.

Madame Hegoboru is in her 80's and should be seen as a national treasure. Long may she continue.

Coming soon, Clos Lapeyre, Chateau Montus, Domaine Berthoumieu and Chateau Laffitte-Teston