E Block - Spy Valley

One of the joys of getting older is observing how various organs of the body start to perform differently. Or, to put it another way, how most body parts start to fail.

No need to be alarmed as in this instance I only have eyesight in mind. I could venture elsewhere but it is Sunday and it doesn't feel appropriate. I got to the age of 58 before I accepted that I needed prescription spectacles, having previously survived by investing in petrol station style 'readers'.

Whilst shopping for a white wine for this week my attention was caught by the label of:

Week E (2022) E Block Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc 2020. M&S £12 

I think you will be able to see what I mean if you take a look to the right. Both eyes open, no need to overdo it.

Like most people I am susceptible to the powers of clever marketing and this time, they got me. As it turns out I am quite pleased to have fallen prey to the intentions of the label designer as they led me to choose a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, which is a style I have something of a prejudice against. Not because I believe I dislike the style, but because in terms of wine exploration if feels like something of a cliché; an obvious choice.

This particular wine is fairly typical of that style, but once I tasted it I found myself reminded of why it is so popular. There are Sauvignon Blancs from Marlborough that underwhelm with weak flavours, low acidity and a generally dull impact and they are to be avoided. This is not one of those, as it bursts with citrus and floral tones and has enough acidity to make the palate tingle. The flavours last well in a lengthy fruity finish and it is rather moreish. 

This style makes a great aperitif, at least for the first glass, and went very well with a lemon and mustard chicken casserole.

Whilst the eyesight is diminishing and, I am told, the hearing may be following (I think that's what she said, I couldn't really hear...) I take some comfort that the senses of taste and smell seem to remain intact. Having said that I am now concerned that I have been led to that conclusion through sampling a wine that has bags of flavour. Hmmm,...watch this space.

The lesson from this week, as it has been from earlier weeks, is to avoid the prejudices and to try everything that's on offer, even if it may be overfamiliar.

Buy again? This style, yes. This wine? I have no reason why not.

Devil's Creek

We have reached the end of dry January and it hasn't been too bad for me. Mostly because I pay no heed to the very idea of it and haven't felt the need to moderate my intake. Keen as I am on wine and other alcoholic drinks, my consumption during the Christmas period was not excessive and I felt no need to deny myself pleasure anymore in January than I would at any other time of the year. The weather has been pretty grim for the last few weeks and wines like this week's choice do lift the spirit, I think.

Week D (2022) Devil's Creek Gold Reserve Pinot Noir. 2019. Majestic £17.99.

I am happy to have chosen a Pint Noir from central Otago, as I don't recall having tasted a bad one. This one fits the pattern nicely. It is a bright ruby colour, with suggestions of garnet which I expect would have become more prominent if I had left it unopened for a few years, smells of cherries and spice and tastes older than its three years since harvest. The tannin is smooth and the flavours hang around after the wine has been consigned to the lower reaches of the oesophagus. Happily the wine is much more elegant than the last sentence.

Devil's Creek takes its name from one of New Zealand's South Island rivers that triggered the gold rush in the 1860s, attracting people from all over the place to go and try their luck. Other than this providing the justification for naming the wine 'Gold Reserve' I can't find any significant connection with that precious metal. 

In fact, despite putting in slightly more than the usual amount of effort, I can't find much about Devil's Creek at all. There seems to be link with Foley Family Wines, who are based in Santa Rosa, California, and have 24 wineries on four continents which have become part of a single group over the last 25 years, but other than a few references in various places I can't find much more than that. 

Majestic appear to have the UK rights to the brand, or at least the distribution of it in these parts and that is helpful for me from a shopping perspective but not really enough to generate anything of interest for you, dear reader.

To summarise, I like the wine and I will certainly buy it again, especially as part of a mix six deal which would have saved me a fiver.

Chardonnay

Almost exactly a year ago I chose to write a few words about a bottle of Chablis that had been received as a gift. I had forgotten this until I looked back at my archive to check how many times before I had selected a Chablis. Once, it would seem. On this occasion I had already decided to justify my selection with the claim that C is for Chardonnay, rather than Chablis but as you know one is a grape and the other is a village where it is grown, so both work. Is it wrong of me to hope there may be a pattern emerging as this week's bottle was also generously provided as a Christmas gift? Either way, it is:

Week C (2022) Domaine Servin 'Les Pargues' Chablis, 2020. Laithwaites £18.49.

For those who are interested in such things you may be aware that the classification system for Chablis follows the structure applied nationally in France, as you would expect. That is, the regulations for labelling starting at the lower quality levels allow the fruit used in a wine to have been grown in a wide area. The 'Vin de France' designation simply requires the grapes to have grown on French soil. However, as the labelling becomes more specific the regulations become more demanding (or vice versa, perhaps). The next tier, IGP (indication géographique protégée) requires fruit from a specific region, Bordeaux would be an example, and the third, AOP (Appellation d'origine protégée) can get very specific indeed.

To be labelled 'Chablis' a wine must have been made with grapes grown within the boundaries of a defined area around the eponymous village. But not all Chablis is simply 'Chablis' as there are tighter restrictions still that allow some wines to use 'Premier Cru' and at the top of the tree 'Grand Cru' labels. These indicate that the grapes come not only from Chablis, but from specific vineyards. There are 40 that qualify as Premier Cru vineyards and only seven that can claim Grand Cru status.

This week's wine is labelled as Chablis but it also tells us that the grapes came from a single vineyard called 'Les Pargues'. This vineyard can be found sitting between two neighbours, Vaillons and Montmains, both of which have Premier Cru designations and with whom it shares much in the way of soil, slope, orientation and the other characteristics that grant them their status. In fact, Les Pargues itself was previously accepted as a Premier Cru vineyard and only lost its accreditation after it had been abandoned during the Great War. The Servin family, who have been making wine in this northern part of Burgundy since 1654, started to restore Les Pargues in 1950 and claim the wine they produce from it is once again worthy of recognition as coming from a better site.

Laithwaites appear to be the biggest (only?) UK distributor of Servin Les Pargue Chablis and customer reviews on their website for this wine vary widely. So, what do I think?

It has an attractive, mid-yellow colour with some green tones, smells of ripe red apples and tastes of the same with warmer, stone fruit flavours. It is rich and smooth and not at all tart. It has an enjoyable lengthy finish of peach.

Each to his own, they say, and to paraphrase Lord Flasheart, I am happy that some don't like this as it leaves all the more for us real men (and women, of course).

Buy again? I would, especially when I have drunk the rest of the Chablis I have recently hidden in the cupboard above the freezer.

Brindisi

This week's choice was made easy for me by a generous friend who, along with a small number of other friends, helped us to kick-off the New Year in a gentle and enjoyable way. Not for us the post-midnight revelries of earlier years, but the New Year's Day leftovers lunch and a game of cards. He made it easy by bringing along:

Week B (2022) Sette Muri Brindisi Reserva 2017.  ~£12.50 Various.

This is 100% Negroamaro, a grape I have enjoyed previously, and comes from the eponymous town, Brindisi, on the east coast of Puglia towards the heel of Italy. It's twelve years since we went to Puglia, but the fond memories linger. I must go down to the sea again, the lonely and sky, as they say. (Spike Milligan re-finished that poem with 'I left my vest and socks there, I wonder if they're dry?', which has stuck with me since the early 1970s when I read it in a little book titled 'The little pot boiler', kindly given to me by an Aunt.) I've done it again, Dad (Dick Emery, also 1970s), by which I mean I have digressed.

I have often commented that reading about the weekly wine: who made it, where it is made, etc., leads to at least mildly interesting places most of the time. This week I have learned that Sette Muri means 'seven walls' and refers to the paths around the walls of Brindisi's vineyards that are themselves between walls. Guess how many there are? Yup. I also learned that Brindisi is one terminus of the Appian Way, one of the earliest and most famous long Roman roads. I also read that the city of Brindisi has a name meaning 'a dear's head' because of the shape of the port, but I checked that last point with Google translate and am left with some suspicion that either a) Google translate doesn't work or b) there is some degree of folk legend influencing the bottle notes. Try it.

The Appian Way itself also warrants exploration. I have deskbound exploration in mind presently, but there's a seed of an idea there for a post-plague holiday, too. Wikipedia has an interesting page on the subject.

So, to the wine. Negroamaro still means 'bitter black' and still doesn't taste that way. It is quite deeply coloured, but more red than black, it is an easy, enjoyable glass of wine ideal for sampling alongside a plate of charcuterie, cheese and sourdough crackers, as I have recently proved. It is medium bodied, has flavours of cherries, plums and cranberries, perhaps a hint of vanilla, and doesn't feel at all heavy despite its 14% abv (labeled).

I read that the grapes were harvested in mid-October and the wine fermented for 20 days before ageing for six months in French oak. All of which has produced a wine I would happily buy again. Perhaps I should and then I could allow my generous friend to enjoy it with me.

Ascheri

Happy New Year to you all. Welcome to dry January, by which I mean welcome to this week's crisp, citrus, mineral and, most fittingly, dry white wine:

Week A (2022) Ascheri Gavi di Gavi DOCG, 2020. Tesco £13. 

It has been an enjoyable festive season, with family and friends all staying well and happy. One or two infected with a mild dose of the current plague, but generally staying out of trouble. Our bottle tree is becoming nicely populated, reflecting a good effort over the recent past, and I am looking forward to adding this one to the collection.

In support of that ambition let's get tasting. Gavi is a commune in Piemonte, North West Italy. The Cortese grapes for this particular Gavi wine were grown within the boundaries of the Gavi commune itself and therefore, this bottle is labelled 'Gavi di Gavi', whereas other Gavi wines which can be made from grapes grown in the neighbouring villages are labelled simply as 'Gavi'. As I have said before, I really love the complications and subtleties of the Italian wine world.

Ascheri have been producing wines for close to 150 years and are a respected maker of the traditional wines of the region. They have a portfolio including Barolos, Dolcettos and Barbarescos alongside white wines such as this on and others made from Moscato and Arneis.

The Gavi di Gavi is made from 100% Cortese that was harvested in mid-September, fermented for 15 days and left to rest on the lees until the following Spring to add complexity and  soften the acidity.

It tastes mostly of citrus fruits, lead by lemon and grapefruit with a touch of lime, and has a long mineral finish. These flavours develop as the fruit grows in the hot summers when the cold nights allow some respite from the heat and prevents the fruit over-ripening. The winters are cold and the vines become dormant under the snow, followed by wet springs to provide he ground water that the grapes will need later in the year.

This is a really great start to the New Year and I commend this wine to the house. Which is another way of saying that I expect to buy it again.