Encruzado

Our search for interesting wines, based on a never-ending circular walk through the alphabet of grape varieties (or similar) has this week lead us to Portugal. We've been to the country before, in weeks L (2013) and Q (2013), but not to the Dao region.

The region has to emerged from a long, over-regulated environment where regulations gave the co-ops a monopoly by insisting all grapes were processed by them. Since this has been relaxed, over the last thirty or so years, methods have modernised and wines improved. I only know this through book-learning as I have not been a student of the vine in any part of the world long enough to claim having spotted this through personal experience. Nonetheless, it is within this context that wineries such as the producer of this week's wine have emerged.

Week E (2104) is Quinta do Perdigao, Branco 2012. £12.15 The Sampler.

'Quinta' is is the Portuguese equivalent of the French Domaine or Estate and this one is a small, family run business that was established in 1999. They produce organically grown grapes on seven hectares, including one white variety: Encruzado.

 The grape is not widely found outside the Dao region and is often used there as a blending partner to other varieties such as Malvasia and Verdelho, but is becoming more frequently seen as a single varietal, such as this wine.

Perdigao devote one of their seven hectares to Encruzado from which they produce around 5,000 bottles a year with the whole process from vine to bottle taking place on-site.

The personal care taken in production is well rewarded as the result is a medium intensity lemon yellow/gold wine, with aromas of citrus fruits, peaches and pears. I found the pear most noticeable in the finish, along with evidence of the French oak in which it had matured and from which the wine gained a rounded and smooth feel. The producer's website explains, rather charmingly, that their wines are 'educated' in French oak although I don't know if this is as a consequence of website translation.

I like the wine and I like the presentation. The front label is taken up with a painting entitled 'Jardim Efemero' (Ephemeral Garden)  by Vanessa Chrystie, who is both the vienyard's 'artist in residence' and the producer's wife. The previous vintage had 'Cheeky Chickadee' (a bird resembling a Great Tit) by the same artist this would appear to support the philosophy that can be found on the home page of the website:

'Wine is an art form! Going hand-in-hand with painting, music, poetry, architecture...Where we search to find the perfect balance'.

The back label, on the other hand, stretches the idea of balance to breaking point by suggesting the wine be drunk 'as an aperitif or with 'cheese, salads, seafood, sushi and sashimi, Italian cuisine, curry, meat and fish dishes, desserts, fruit pies, and creme brulee'. 

Dolcetto

I spent the weekend in South Wales, a region not known for its wine, on some form of retreat. I didn't know why we were having to retreat, from whom or what, but as we were never caught I assume we did a good job.

A high point of the trip was the walk over the Mynnydd Preseli, a range of hills that in prehistoric times was a source of Bluestone, used in the construction of Stonehenge. The trip North and towards the pub (The Golden Lion, Newport), where the Irish waitress managed to sell burgers to five of the eight in the group, was much easier than the steeper walk South and away from it. Probably something to do with the Yorkshire brewed beer.Very cosmopolitan in retrospect.

The high point was, in fact, a little over 500m above sea level and I am surprised to discover that is around twice as high as the vineyard that produced the grapes for this week's wine.

Week D (2014) is Roagna, Dolcetto d'Alba, DOC, 2012. £15.95 from Uncorked.

The hills where the vineyard can be found are in Piemonte (translates as 'foot of the mountain', so perhaps I should not have been surprised) and known as the Langhe. These hills are the home to three great red varieties: Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto.

The first of these is responsible for both Barolo and Barbaresco, ripens late in the season and produces wine that usually benefit from ageing. The second is Italy's third most planted red grape variety which ripens a couple of weeks earlier and is increasing in reputation as growers move to lower yields (less but better fruit) and the last, Dolcetto, ripens earliest of all.

This early ripening ability gives the grower the option to use less favoured, North-facing sites to produce wines earlier in the year than the more highly prized Nebbiolo which can be allowed to bask in the sun that shines on the prestigious South-facing side of the hills, until it is ready to refill the fermentation vats that will have been recently vacated by the Dolcetto, made to be drunk young. (I was a bit like that.)

This particular wine is made in a very traditional domain, Roagna, who have a keen interest in biodiversity in the vineyard. They are based in Barbaresco and produce a range covering all of the Piemontese varities.

Dolcetto is a naturally low acid grape and known for producing soft, fruity and darkly coloured wine. It's name means 'little sweet one', but this is believed to refer to the berry rather than the resulting wine. This particular bottle is a little puzzling as the colour is as expected, but the 12.5% abv wine has noticeable traces of volatile acidity. Sadly, 'VA', as it is known, is the type of acidity that is reminiscent of the Down Town Fish Bar. It is not so noticeable to make the wine unpleasant, but it is disappointing. I had expectations of 'soft, round, fruity, fragrant licorice and almonds', but for the price it is too far off the mark for me to buy again.

Chenin Blanc

Although I have crossed the Loire on a number of holidays, I have never stopped and explored. This is a serious omission and one that I hope to address in the not too distant future. Apart from the great chateaux, stunning countryside and traffic-free roads (compared to the South-East of England) there are a number of very interesting wines from all parts of France's longest river.

From the central vineyards in the East, where Sancerre and it's neighbours produce great wines from Sauvignon Blanc right through to the Pays Nantais, famed for it's high acid and shellfish-friendly Muscadets, the range is extensive. Reds, whites, dry and sweet, sparkling and still, they can all be found.

Around the town of Anjou is a region that produces a wide variety of styles. Key amongst them are wines made from one of the world's most versatile grapes: Chenin Blanc.

Week C (2014) is Loupart, Vouvray AOC, 2011. £13.99 Naked Wines. It is a dry wine.

The One, who has great taste in all things (she married me), places off-dry Vouvray on her list of favourite wines and although I doubt we have yet shared a bottle of Coteaux du Layon, I am sure that would be well received too. That one is a sweet wine, by varying degrees.

This wine is 13% abv, but doesn't fee like it. It is fruity, with a mix of citrus, apple and stone fruits. There is enough acidity to make it crisp but not enough to make the drinker wince. The maker stresses that it will develop with age, but there is no reference on his current website that refers to Vouvray. Curious.

The grapes are grown on a plateau of limestone, locally known as Tuffeau, a rock mined to provide building materials for the great houses I mentioned earlier. The mining has created a large number of caves that have been used for all manner of uses from living in to, more interestingly to us, maturing wines as the temperature inside remains very stable throughout the year.

Chenin Blanc also goes by a number of pseudonyms. In France it can be called Pineau de la Loire and South Africa, Steen. It is also grown in California and it's international appeal is probably due to its naturally high acidity that makes it possible to grow in warm climates, where it will ripen fully but retain good balance.

This dry version is good, but there are so many similar wines with which it has to compete that I think I will agree with The One and favour the off-dry style as it provides a more distinctive character.

Blauer Portugieser

If you have looked at the 'We got both kinds...' page you will know that as well as enjoying wine I am also fond of cheese.

My most recent purchase was some Manchego from a market stall in Barcelona at the end of a very enjoyable long weekend spent celebrating the forthcoming special birthday of good friend, with some other good friends.

Today I was back at the day job and I had the opportunity to nip out at lunch time to one of my regular suppliers to pick up a mature cheddar and salad torpedo. £3.70, which is at the top end of the local competitor's price range, but the cheese is very good. They also had some Old Amsterdam, being a mature Gouda and a personal favourite.

My supplier is The International Cheese Centre on the concourse at Liverpool Street Station. It would be tempting to suggest that delusions of grandeur are at work here, as the centre is an open-fronted shop with room enough for two and a half people behind the counter, but that would be missing the point. That is, they sell great cheeses from international sources and that, for me, more than justifies the name. I suspect they may be a somewhat larger behind-the-scenes operation, using their three station-based shop fronts as, well, shop fronts.

They supply not only cheese but also a small selection of related items (including a cheese curler which is something I had no idea I needed until I read about it) such as wine.

Therefore, week B (2014) is Wollsteiner Rheingrafenstein Rotwein QbA, 2011. Produced by Weingut Hermann J. & Jutta Muller. £9.95.

It is, as far as I can tell, 100% Blauer Portugeiser, a grape found mostly in Austria, but also in Rheinhessen, the German 'Anbaugebiete' (wine producing region) from which this example comes.

The back label is wonderful, saying 'serve this nice red wine between 15-18 degrees C, e.g. to meat, duck or pheasant, lentil dish, veal fricassee, or Bleu de Bresse, Gorgonzola and Taleggio cheese. Enjoy flavours of cherry, berries, elder, common juniper and orange, etc.'. I particularly enjoyed the 'etc.'!

As I write this I have yet to pull the cork and have to admit to having fairly low expectations. It is a QbA rated wine, which is the level below Germany's QmP. Think of this as the equivalent to the French Vin de Pays, but make it more complicated. It also comes in a bottle with a very flat bottom. This is sometimes a clue that the bottle itself did not cost the winemaker very much and possibly hints that s/he does not consider the wine worthy of the extra expense that accompanies a nice dimpled bottom.

I can also see that there is a ring of bubbles on the top of the wine inside the unopened bottle. Curious. Ok, I'm going in.

First thoughts are that it is an interesting colour. Pale to medium ruby/garnet which could be a concern for a mid-priced wine of only 2.5 years old. Mild aromas of red fruits. On the palate it is dry, but fruity and fairly simple. The 13% alcohol doesn't show itself too conspicuously and the finish is longer than I expected.

It is light and very easy to drink. It does not have great depth or complexity and would probably disappoint if served with a hearty meal, however, lightly chilled on a warm summer's afternoon I think this could be quite enjoyable. At a touch under £10 it is expensive compared to other wines that might be chosen on similar occasions, but this game is all about exploration and the name alone makes it more exotic than most supermarket plonk.

Albarino

A few weeks ago I lead a tasting of the wines of North West Spain for a group of 25 or so students at the University of the Third Age (U3A). These students are not the young and ready to drink anything as long as it costs less than a fiver type, but those of a certain age who are no longer bound by the responsibilities of full-time education or babysitting duties. Consequently, they are a little more discerning. A little.

I started with four white wines, followed with seven reds and finished with a sweet Mencia from Bierzo. The preference was clearly for the reds, but of the whites the first was the favourite. This was an Albarino from Martin Codax. I also showed a Godello which the manager at Majestic told me he had, in a blind tasting, mistaken for a white Burgundy. My new friends decided they were more likely to mistake it for the juice that collects at the bottom of a recycling bin, which was a little harsh, but they knew what they liked.

Week A (2014) is Pazo Torrequintans, Albarino, Rias Baixas DO 2012. £7.95 at Tesco. This one also is produced by Bodegas Martin Codax, but is not their first wine.

It falls very neatly into the easy drinking category, being aromatic and clean, but mostly fruity with some floral tones. It is last year's wine so it would be unreasonable to expect more complexity. I like it and think at £7.49 it represents good value. It is 12.5%, which is a refreshing change form the 14% reds that are so common, and the flowery-fruity aromas linger for a pleasing amount of time.

Albarino is the star white grape of the region, Galicia, and Rias Baixas is the DO that tends to take the limelight. It produces wines with typical flavours of apricots and honeysuckle and the better examples compete with Viognier and Gewurztraminer for the attention of those who enjoy aromatic whites. It is also very fashionable.

The region has high rainfall and the climate is moderated by the Atlantic ocean, so there are not many red wines produced until you get further into the mainland where there are many great options available.

Martin Codax may sound like he is the man responsible for the production of this wine and the one I showed to the U3A but he isn't really. He was a thirteenth century minstrel who was responsible for something akin to Now That's What I Call Music 1258. How this qualifies him to represent a group of small winemakers with a passion to promote a local grape variety I am not sure, but he, and they, do a good job.