You boys liking in traditional wine producing countries are at a huge advantage. Tax is a big factor in Britain.
First one tonight, the Langwerth Riesling 2012 (Rheingau) - â¬9.95 - and all I can say is "rubbish". Very dry and crisp but devoid of any fruity overtones - maybe just a hint of apple or pear but really a very flat taste and the Riesling from my local supermarket (â¬4.95 a bottle) tastes better. First time I've been disappointed by a white wine with the VDP label, but you live and learn. This one won't be going in the album!!
May have been a bit young OddDog. Don't you think German Riesling has changed? The first year I bought some from the Mosel a 1989 Kabinett was 7.5% alcohol and 20g/litre of residual sugar. The last ones I bought were 8.5% alcohol and 60g/litre of sugar. That would have been an Auslese back in 1989.
I dunno Bustino, I've only been drinking Riesling for the last 4 or 5 years. Ref the Langwerth, we were wondering whether it had been fermenting in the bottle - it was a screw cap but with a plastic seal on it and made a "pop" when I opened it. Seemed quite gassy as well. Last night we had the Domaine de Reuilly Sauvignon Blanc 2012 - much better although I wouldn't rate it above the normal white we drink which costs around €6
Wine of the week: 2005 Tardieu Laurent St. Joseph. A lovely 100% Syrah (Shiraz: haven't tried the Percheron but will look out for it). St Joseph and Crozes Hermitage are the areas to head for if you like Syrah as it should be. But don't expect a huge whack of fruit. 30 years ago plus I knew some South Africans who were always going on about Roodeberg, mainly because they couldn't buy it in SA. Clever marketing/stabilising ploy by the then government owned KWV to hoover up excess grapes and only market their still wines overseas. Saw some in the supermarket the other day so bought one. Pretty disappointing, plenty of high notes (nail varnish) on the nose and green bits on the palate (unripe tannins). Either the quality level has dropped or it was always rubbish and those soutafricans were pulling my leg. The KWV Shiraz is good though. OddDog, could it just have been spritzy. You sometimes get some final malolactic in the Mosel wines. Interesting about the Reuilly, have never tasted one although have tasted the nearby Quincys and Menetou-Salons (had a good one of the latter once).
please log in to view this image Here's a merry little good-quality red wine from the Burgenland region of Austria; a halb-trocken (demi-sec) wine which I really do like a lot: Pannonia Exclusiv 'Zweigelt No.1', halb-trocken, 2011. (Best served between 16-18°C). (Pannonische Weingärtner GmbH, Burgenland, Austria). please log in to view this image
Too many white wine drinkers on here. Get a life and get some of the red stuff down yer pencil. It'll change you from a 2B to a 4H overnight! I'll always be a peasant when it comes to wine. In the early sixties our local cafe owner charged anout £1 for a bottle- when his meals were less than 50p. No takers. About seven years later I bought my first bottle in Normandy for about 70p and wondered what all the fuss was about. However, a few days later, a friend and I were going into a Caen supermarket- and I asked him what he wanted. He said..."Some of that," as he saw three French winos rolling about on the pavement- along with their empty bottles. At that time, you took an empty bottle into this supermarket and they filled it with wine for one franc- 9p in today's money, We took 2 empty bottles each into that shop most nights -and the rest is drunken history! Nowadays I just buy a dozen bottles of Blossom Hill @ 3 for £10 from my local garage and merrily rabbit on with my friends. As I said, I'm just a wine peasant. You plonkers can pay as much as you like but, whichever way you look at it, it's all plonk.
Well, plonk will always be plonk, just tried to recommend a pretty decent red wine, it really is quite good!
Bustino, good morning1 Afraid my pencil's not retractable any more. I used to have to use it a lot to make it reduce/retract. Nowadays it's neither a 2b nor a 4H. Just a permanent 4L. No prizes for guessing what the L stands for.
