A pair of Pinot Gris from Heitlinger

I tasted a couple of Pinot Gris during the Weingut Heitlinger tasting. The first was their Spicy Stone Trocken of the 2010 vintage. A nice lemon yellow with an acid slightly fruity nose with a hint of sweetness and minerals, the palate was off-dry acid crisp turning fruity in the mouth. The acid remained throughout the palate and formed a nice backbone with a touch of astringency in the finish.

The other wine was a GG Spiegelberg 2012, which had a surprising hint of pink showing in its deep yellow colouration. The nose was crisp and minerally with a touch of acid and was much more tightly focused  than  the Spicy Stone. The palate was crisp yet rich with lots of minerality and acid, which persisted to form a good backbone for the wine. There was no hint of astringency in this wine's profile.

Chateau Chasse-Spleen

I mentioned Chateau Chasse-Spleen in the entry about a tasting of the 2003 vintage of Cru Bourgeois Exceptionelle in 2009. I don't seem to have blogged about this Moulis chateau or its wines though. Having drunk the 2005 vintage at dinner over the weekend, it was time to write about them. The estate was in a list of 10 wineries in Bordeaux reckoned to be consistently good value (below Cru Classe) in an article in Decanter some years ago.

Long reckoned to be a leading estate of the commune of Moulis, the estate can be traced back to 1560, when it was called Ch Grand-Poujeaux. Half the estate became Ch Gressier-Grand-Poujeaux and the rest was divided into Chx Chasse-Spleen, Maucaillou and Poujeaux-Theil. The name (meaning to dispel the melancholy or blues) was thought to derive from Byron who in the 1820s visited the estate and liked the wines, saying "Quel remede pour chasser le spleen". Planted with 73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 7% Petit Verdot, the estate produces around 28,000 cases of its Grand Vin and 14,000 cases of a second wine variously known as L'Ermitage de Chasses Spleen or L'Oratoire de Chasses Spleen.

A Weingut Heitlinger tasting

I dropped by the organic wine shop in my neighbourhood the other Sunday and they were showcasing a number of wines from this organic German estate from Baden, Weingut Heitlinger. This estate which joined the VDP a couple of years ago, has holdings in some very fine vineyards, and produces some very fine Grosses Gewaches wines from both Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir. I tried a couple of Pinot Gris wines (including the GG wine) and a Pinot Noir from their GG site, produced before the estate joined VDP (and hence ineligible for GG).

There was also a blended red called Black Tie, made mainly from Lemberger (80%), with smatterings of Pinot Noir (15%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (5%). This latter was a deep purple ruby, with a woody red fruits nose and a hint of tuna fishiness on the nose. The palate was slightly sweet with a good amount of fruity acidity on the palate, accompanied by a slight hint of savouriness. This was all held together with acid and wood.

L'Effronte Vin Mousseux with Flamuss aux Pommes

That combination was finally tried at the wine dinner I organized for the doctors' association of my hospital. Well, like the jambon persille, I gave instructions to the chef on how to cook it, but this turned out less satisfactory than the starter. My take was that it is something like a clafoutis, with butter fried apples rather then cherries as the filling. The savoury equivalent would be toad in a hole where the filling are sausages. Anyway, the batter turned out more cake-like, but it was still a satisfactory dessert.

The wine was similar to my last tasting with sweet acid botrytised nose and a hint of tropical fruit (this time pineapple rather than mango) slightly marred marred by a slight metallic note, the palate was sweet with dried apricot notes which extended into the acid backbone. The two went very well together. Similar desserts, like apple crumble, strudel etc will certainly be a good match for the wine.

An Austrian Sauvignon Blanc

I just had this wine at dinner last night. There was a very large portion of garoupa, which was sliced and steamed with ham and mushroom, and such a magnificent fish dish calls for a vinous companion, hence this wine. Sauvignon Blanc is a minor grape as far as Austrian wine is concerned and this is the first time I have seen an Austrian sample, even counting wine shows and fairs.

This 2010 example is from Weingut Nigl in Kremstal, which is mainly known for its Gruner Veltliner and Riesling. A golden pale lemon wine, it has a sweet acid grassy but also tropical fruit nose. These characteristics carried onto the palate, well supported by an acid backbone with a hint of tropical fruit. Quite reminiscent of Loire Sauvignons, except that it is more fruity (tropical).

Cremant de Bourgogne

I cannot remember when I first tasted a Cremant de Bourgogne, but it must have been around 10 years or so; at least I remember buying one at a supermarket in London and drinking it later maybe or it could even be up to 20 years ago. I faintly remember that this first example was a rose rather than a white sparkler.

My latest encounter was one sold by M&S, a pure Chardonnay offering which was the welcome drink at the doctors' association dinner. Cremant must contain a minimum of 30% Chardonnay with Pinot Noir as a second major grape. Minor grapes include Gamay (maximum 20%), Aligote, Melon de Bourgogne (the grape of Muscadet) and Sacy.

Vigne de l'Enfant Jesus 2010

I blogged about this vineyard a fortnight or so ago, but have not blogged about the two or more times I had tasted this wine. I had tasted this wine before the dinner in mid September, but I have not yet located those notes. I had also read a description of this wine as well and my impression from the previous tasting would agree with that account that this is indeed a special wine. As for the 2010 tasted the other day, it was a limpid deep rose, with a sweet strawberry fruity nose. This sweet strawberry fruit continued on to the palate, supported by a mainly acid backbone with minimal hint of tannin. Nice now, but would love to know what treasures further age will reveal (say in 2020!)

Pairing Jambon Persille with Bourgogne Aligote

I finally got to match proper Jambon Persille with Bourgogne Aligote, well nearly, but it was a good attempt anyway. As I lamented last July, my first encounter with the classical Burgundian dish was not successful, so I decided to get someone to cook it for the doctors' association wine dinner. Well we almost hit the nail squarely on the head. Although I had got an extra bottle of the Aligote that we were drinking on the night for the dish, there was the extra addition of cornichons (little gherkins) within the dish. As it was, it fitted in perfectly with the rest of the dish, the jelly being a touch acidic too. The other moan would be the low-ish level of parsley encountered. That said, it was definitely better than the other restaurant version (and the chef had only my verbal recipe for reference). Needless to day, that went well with the wine we drunk that night.

Cava 1919 vintage 2010

We bought this bottle of cava 1919 of the 2010 vintage at the lobby of the Manila, on the way to dinner at a nearby restaurant. Of the selection they have, this seemed to be a reasonable wine at a reasonable price. Dinner did not merit opening the bottle, so we brought it back to the hotel. The wine is made by Casa Rojo and more info could be got from their Website. The wine-making concern grows and makes wines across Spain, with wines from a large variety of DOs. This vintage cava only uses one of the traditional triad, and is made from pure Maccabeo (or Viura), and was bottle matured for 12 months. The other white cava from this estate is made from the international Chardonnay grape. Both are Brut Nature wines. I shall look forwards to tasting this wine.

Champagne Philippe Gonet Roy Soleil Grand Cru NV

I have had Philippe Gonet's Reserve Brut (their regular NV, which was my "house"  champagne for the  PWC wine dinner) for some time and have tasted this Roy Soleil once or twice before. Looking it up again, I found that this Roy Soleil is a special Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru cuvee. First produced in 2003, the fruit comes from special parcels of Chardonnay in the Grand Cru village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. 30% of the wine is aged in half hogshead oak barrels (one quarter new) and the rest in stell or epoxy lines containers beofre bottling and a further 4 years of cellar aging.

I had this wine in theBurgundy tasting at the end of July. The wine was a golden yellow with good streams of fine bubbles. The nose was sweet and fruity with notes of bamboo shoots. The palate was dry, acid and slightly fruity, sporting an initial acid prickle developing into a nice soft mousse. An acid backbone provides sterling support.

The organic Santenay from Muzard

I had already tried a wine from Muzard's rented vineyards; this time I got some wine from their own holdings from Santenay for the doctors association wine dinner. Their holdings include a village level lieu-dit Champs Claude with old vines and three premier cru vineyards, Clos des Mouches, Clos de Tavannes and Maladieres. The limited budget for the dinner meant that I went for the Champs Claude Vieilles Vignes.

The wine was a dark ruby, with a rich berry nose. The palate was sweet acid with berry notes, with a dried plum (話梅) acidic backbone. This was paired with the boeuf bourguignon, and it did not clash, though a bit light for the stew.