Zweigelt

Christmas arrived on time yesterday and Boxing Day did the same today. Family arrived in various combinations earlier in the week and we are now seven-strong, and that is a huge improvement on last year.

As a consequence, there have been many bottles opened in the last week and, I strongly suspect, a few more to be treated in the same way over the next, but the one that helps us to round off this latest attempt to try 52 wines in 52 weeks is:

Week Z (2021) Von Der Land Zweigelt, 2019. Majestic £11.99 (£8.99) 

It is strangely pleasing to have made it through the year from Week A (2021) to Week Z (2021) having found each of 26 reds and 26 whites (actually there were a couple of pinks, but I allow that) representing the letters of the alphabet. It is over eight years since I put myself on this trail and although there have been fallow periods I am pleased to have resurrected the habit successfully in this last year.

I don't care one jot that I am the only reader; I actually take some comfort in that if anyone else stumbles across this blog (other than the Russian and Chinese bots and the US Secret Services who have been my companions all along and about whom I couldn't care less) I might be closer to the care home than I currently imagine.

For now, Zweigelt: An Austrian grape produced as a crossing of Blaufrankisch and St.Laurent, first brought into being by Friedrich Zweigelt in 1922 so close to a century ago. To avoid me typing too much about the history of the grape, have a look at Week Z (2014) when I last selected the grape. (That would be the Red Week Z (2014) as the White one was about Zenit, another crossing from another country.)

Zweigelt is a rich and juicy chap with plenty of both red and black fruits, backed up with some nice floral flavours. Think violets and cherries, of both hues, with blackcurrants and plums and some of those flavours will be recognisable in the glass, I believe. At least they were to me.

It is medium bodied and not unlike a new world Pinot Noir which if I had regular readers, other than the aforementioned, they would know that in my world, this is a Good Thing.

Next week will be the first (wine) week of 2022 and so I wish all good things to all people for the coming year.

Buy again? yes.

Yealands

It is a week until Christmas and I have been working hard, both at the Wigginton Community Shop and at Majestic Wines. Long days and I have one day left to complete the Christmas Shopping. That's tomorrow as I will be working until 8pm every day except Christmas Eve when I will finish at 5pm.

Why am I telling you this? Because by admitting that I have felt under pressure provides some explanation of how I chose a wine for this week that I last chose as recently as August of this year. At that time I was looking for a white wine to represent Week G (2021) and it was a better fit then than it is for:

Week Y (2021) Yealands Reserve Gruner Veltliner, 2020. Majestic 

I haven't listed the prices because: i) I have lost the receipt & ii) Majestic no longer include this wine of their website.

I'm not sure I have much to say about it that would be better than my last attempt. Although having just re-read that attempt it wasn't much about the wine then as, increasingly, my ramblings read like I have just typed whatever has come into my mind in the few nanoseconds before my fingers hit the keyboard. Much like now.

Let's give it a go anyway.

I really like this wine. It has all the refreshing qualities of a NZ Sauvignon Blanc without the grapefruit-in-your-face characteristics that those wine often have. Not always; I recently tasted the Greywacke SB and it was lovely. However, in addition to the citrus flavours, Gruner Veltliner offers some softer stone-fruit notes with a light peppery kick that makes for a pleasing combination.

Last time I wrote about this wine I suggested I would almost certainly buy it again and I have, albeit in an moderately unintentional way.

Assuming Majestic are broadly competitive with other suppliers and that last time I paid £12.99 for a bottle I believe this was a good value purchase. Especially as I got a staff perk price for this one!

Not much more to add as I have to get back to the Christmas preparations other than to wish all my reader (sic) a very Merry Christmas and to look forward to the next time.

Buy again, again? Why not, I probably couldn't avoid it anyway.

Xinomavro

I was tempted to go for X is for Xmas, but I have several problems with that, none of which holds sufficient interest for anybody for me to explain further.

Therefore, as predicted last week, X is for Xinomavro. Again.

Week X (2021) Thymiopoulos Xinomavro, 2018. £14.99 (£11.99) Majestic.

This is the third appearance in this blog made by this exact wine. The label is different this time, as is my supplier of choice, but it is the same wine. That gives me something of a problem as I have already researched the producer and described the flavours and aromas on offer in previous editions.

The last occasion I wrote about it was in Week X (2015). It was exactly a year after my first review and on that occasion, as in both years the wine had been the 2012 vintage, I had the sensible idea of buying a third bottle to compare at some point in the future the characteristics revealed by additional bottle age.

Of course the road to hell is paved with such good ideas and naturally I did not follow through. Usually a good thing but on this occasion, regrettable.

As luck would have it we do at least have a different vintage to play with. It doesn't help with the benefits of ageing as this wine is being tasted three years after harvest, as it was in 2015. Having read that last sentence back I am now pondering the very idea of the benefits of ageing. My knees aren't convinced there are any to be had, but I think maybe wisdom is claimable. Dunno. 

This vintage seems to be at least as good as the 2012 at around the same age. It has lots of red fruit, cherries seem prominent, and a hint of spice. It has a similar feel to Pinot Noir and the brightness of a Northern Italian red. It has some complexity and a pleasingly long finish.

So, to sum up, much the same as previous tastings and demonstrable consistency across the years. I doubt I will buy it frequently, but am glad to know it is there should I want something from a less repeated regions.

Buy again? Eventually.

White Port

T'is nearly the season to be jolly, so I have branched out a little for this week's white wine, with something I probably would not have bought in the summer. I was in two minds as to whether or not this week's selection really qualifies, but then I decided as I had had no such qualms about including its red sibling back in Week Q (2014) I should get on with it.

Week W (2021) Taylor's Fine White Port NV Majestic £12.99 50cl (£9.99 mix six) 

Odd that I feel less likely to have bought it in the summer because it works rather well as an aperitif and especially over a little ice.

Majestic rate this as 'very dry' and other reviewers seem to agree. I don't. I think it has a distinct honey-led sweetness with some citrus notes and touches of oak.

Another source of disagreement is the varieties of grapes used. Majestic says Malvasia, whereas the producer's own website lists Arinto, Boal (Semillon), Codega, Esgana Cão, Folgasão, Gouveio, Viosinho and Rabigato varieties.

It could be that I am confusing to versions of the wine, but they are both labelled with the same name, so I don't know.

I would, under normal circumstances, investigate with more determination but I have a lamb shoulder to roast, some Christmas decorations to install and, most frightening of all, Christmas presents to organise, so this post is being done under some psychological pressure and that, real or imagined, is stemming my creative juices.

I am also somewhat fatigued as I am currently, and temporarily, employed by the organisation from whom I bought the above drink in a capacity that tests both my knowledge of wine and my decaying muscles. Such fatigue caused me to pre-select next week's wine, which needs to represent the letter X, as Baumes de Venise (Red, so that bit was good). My command of the alphabet deserted me. I will still try to avoid Xinomavro again, but will probably cheat somehow.

Buy again? Unlikley, but if The One likes it I may.