Gewurztraminer

Two Tesco Finests in a row? Surely a record.

Last week we had the robust red Faugeres and this week something completely different, to quote a strong developmental influence from my teenaged years.

Week G (2019) Tesco Finest Gewurztraminer, 2017. Tesco £9.00

Straight out of the fridge on a pleasant evening, my immediate observations were: 1) The One will enjoy this and 2) this is dangerously easy to drink.

I was right on both counts. Described on the bottle as 'exotic and fruity' I think it lives up to the billing. I would add off-dry as a defining characteristic and could be persuaded that it is sweeter than that. The fruit flavours are towards tropical, lychees usually get a mention, and there are floral notes, too. Turkish delight and roses are also frequently cited by other drinkers and I wouldn't object to them being listed here, however it is not the most richly complex Gewurztraminer to have passed these lips. Then again, it is far from the most expensive to have done so (there was a great bottle from Zind-Humbrecht's Clos Windsbuhl consumed on a beach restaurant in Mauritius that claims both of those awards).

The general advice for Gewurztraminer is that it should accompany something lightly spiced, such as Thai food, as it itself has some spicy flavours (everyone at this point has to explain that Gewurz translates as spicy) but we consumed the bottle's contents with nothing spicier than the most recent episode of Line of Duty and a few crisps, but it did the job very well indeed.

By the end of the last glass I was beginning to feel that the residual sugar content was a little more than it needed to be and perhaps the Chardonnay from Week E (2019) would have had the tension required to balance Detective Superintendent Hasting's predicament or that a bowl of Tom Yum Gai would have been preferable to the crisps so I will look forward to testing at least the second of these hypotheses at some point in the future.

Eden Valley

Having not been to Australia for two years now I have felt the odd moment of loss. Not pining for the job that took me there, that is happily consigned to history, but the privilege of visiting that big sunny island on a fairly frequent basis was one of the more enjoyable perks.

I have only visited South Australia once (so far...) and did manage to squeeze in some winery visits in McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills, but didn't have time to go further south. If I had then I would certainly included the Barossa Valley and its close neighbours of the Clare and Eden Valleys.

It is the latter of these from which comes:

Week E (2019) Hill Smith Chardonnay, Eden Valley 2018. Waitrose £8.99

Hill-Smith Family Wines have an impressive history stretching back 170 years and they are truly one of the pioneering families of Australian wine. Have a read here.

Yalumba (the first winery established by Sam Smith in 1849) wines have been a favourite of mine for a number of years and you will find examples in earlier episodes of my exploration should you have the inexplicable urge to investigate. One particular favourite is Yalumba Organic Viognier which I think is a great return on a few quid.

This Hill-Smith wine is a Chardonnay and is a good example of the restrained style that is produced with care in a cooler climate region, compared with the fruit-heavy and more oaky styles that UK drinkers no longer favour.

The fermentation was driven by wild yeasts, rather than those grown and selected for the purpose, and 40% of the wine was fermented in French oak barrels ranging from new (16%) to three years old. The remaining 60% of the blend was fermented and matured in stainless steel. The winemaker says this combination gives the best balance between vibrant fresh fruit flavours and the weight and texture influenced by the oak.

I was quite surprised how fresh this tasted, even though it is only just over a year sine the grapes were picked, and enjoyed the greater complexity that comes through in the finish. It doesn't feel like a 13.5% abv wine and has medium/light qualities that make it perfect for either a warm summer's evening or alongside a nice creamy chicken supper.

The flavours are not as intense as the Viognier referred to earlier, but at £9 (I think this was an 'offer' price) it is a very pleasing choice.

Delica

We find ourselves in the land of the rising sun and a little challenged when trying to keep things up-to-date. Not only because the technology has been limited to a mobile phone, but also because wine does not feature highly in the dining rooms of Japan. It is available but it felt wrong, even to an enthusiast such as yours truly, to diverge from the local dining practices.

One evening, however, over the card table rather than the dining table we did find a compromise:

Week D (2019) Delica, Vin de France, ¥640.

This is a basic French wine that can be bought in one of many, many convenience stores which are open 24 hours a day for the approximate equivalent price of £4.35. It is a compromise because you may just be able to read the name 'Suntory' towards the bottom of the label, revealing that this wine has been produced and bottled in France at the behest of one of the largest drinks companies in Japan. So not Japanese wine in the sense that it comes from that country, but Japanese by ownership. The actual makers are Castel Freres who produce 640 million bottles of wine in a good year, over half of which never leaves the country.

Being labelled 'Vin de France' means that it has not been produced under particularly demanding or stringently enforced rules, but has been made with grapes grown anywhere in France. In this case the fruit all comes from the South-Western part of the country, otherwise known as Languedoc.

The varieties could be any but are in fact Grenache and Carignan which are stalwarts of this and many other regions.

The wine was surprisingly enjoyable for the price; easy-drinking and the ideal accompaniment to a game of Bolivia. Do try.

Not much more to write home about expect that this reminded me of times not long past when £4.35 would buy something drinkable in the UK. Not so now, as with UK duties and VAT even if all of other elements of the cost were unchanged, this would be priced at around £7 at home and that would make it less of a bargain.

It's ok and I am glad we found something with a Japanese connection, but it is little more than a means to keep my game on the rails.