Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut

I had always wanted to try Perrier-Jouet, especailly their prestige cuvee Belle-Epoque  in a painted bottle with an Art Deco flower design. It was the welcome drink at Valentine's dinner and was served from magnum. I must say I was a tad disappointed that night. The bubbles after the initial effervescence were plentiful but rather larger than I would have expected from a well known house. Only after a significant time did it settle into delicate streams of fine bubbles I was expecting. There is always an acid prickle with sparkling wines and champagnes, but the best wines settle into a nice creamy mousse, which failed to happen on this occasion. May be it was the bottle; it could even have been less than scrupulously clean galsses as far as the bubbles in the glass was concerned, but they rather detracted from my enjoyument that night.

Brunello La Magia 2007

I had this wine a few days ago, from an estate which was unknown to me. What struck me initially on looking them up on the Web was the name of the owners - Schwarz, German! It transpired that they bought the estate some 40 years ago, and the vines (entirely of the Brunello clone of Sangiovese) are now grown on organic principles, and matured in a cellar powered by sustainable energy! Four wines are made, a Rosso, two Brunellos (one a special cuvee) and a Riserva.

The Brunello was aged for 3 years in 500L French oak barrels and one year in bottle before release. The 2007 was a nice ruby colour with a sweet acid fruity nose. This carried onto the palate with a touch of smokiness, supported by a mildly tannic backbone. It went well with the beef and lamb we had that evening.

Ornellaia 2006

I tasted this wine at a reunion dinner the other day. I have tasted Ornellaia before and even mentioned attending a special winery dinner on a blog about mismatched wines, but I don't seem to have blogged about it  as yet. One of the famous Supertuscans, it was founded by Marchese Ludovica Antinori in 1981, producing its first vintage in 1985. Various changes in ownership followed but now (after a period of part owner by Mondavi) it is now fully owned by Frescobaldi since 2005.

The 2006 vintage was purple ruby at the rim surrounding a dark core, with a sweet acid fruity nose. The palate was sweet fruity and tannic with just a hint of leafy greenness and the whole was well supported by an acid tannic backbone.