February Sampling Club Selection

Your red this month is a winter warmer made from a grape that Chile is getting quite exercised about.  Carmenère was once widely grown in Bordeaux and contributed considerably to the golden era around the 1870’s before phylloxera, the vine root munching louse, devastated the region.  Grafting the superior European top stock onto the inferior but phylloxera immune American root stock rescued the vineyards from extermination, however Carmenère did not take to grafting as successfully as other varieties and Merlot, which worked well and produced decent quality, took over.  Cuttings found their way to Chile which, with its unique geography, has no phylloxera and so commercial plantings were established.  Now it is regarded as a grape of true quality and some of the country’s top wines contain significant quantities of Carmenère.  This is a pure, unblended version which illustrates just how much flavour well made Carmenère can generate.  Drink with dishes that can take a kick of full throttle fruit - try it with a chili, homemade burgers with garlic, herbs and a bite of onion or perhaps a dish with plenty of chorizo in it.

This month’s white is also an assertive little number and has not appeared here for over two years; it certainly deserves another outing.  It is from our old friends Bodegas Borsao, though it is probably the least well known of their range.  It is made from a grape variety called Macabeo which also grows in the Basque country and on into parts of southern France.  It has a long, slow fermentation in stainless steel, followed by ageing in cask at a controlled, low temperature; the former allows the fruit flavours to develop thoroughly and come out cleanly, the latter rounds it out and contributes an underscore of light oak spice.  It behaves much like a rather good, modern White Rioja with savoury fruit and zinging freshness.  Try it with richer fish recipes, paella or, for a very English take on it, make a chicken, leek and mushroom pie with a sauce that is as creamy as your arteries will allow and cut it with a big glass of this.  Yummy.

RED:

2010 Carmenère, Montevista, Valle Central, Chile

Price per bottle: £7.35 (sealed case price: £6.98) Half price for one sample (members only) £3.67

Deep in colour with punchy fruit showing notes of bramble and pepper.  Half an hour in a jug before you start will let the air open it up.

View our Chilean wines here

                                                    

WHITE:

2010 Borsao Blanco Seleccion, Bodegas Borsao, Campo de Borja, Spain

Price per bottle: £7.35 (sealed case price: £6.98) Half price for one sample (members only) £3.68

Shows ripe fruit with a nice, crisp, dry edge; quite broad on the palate with a touch of peachy weight and a twist of spice, all countered with Macabeo’s natural freshness.

                                  

View our Spanish wines here

FEBRUARY OFFERS

Williamson has invented some more Mystery Six packs,

so watch out for those at the end of the counter.

He reports that we still have the wherewithal to continue with these for a week or three, but it is likely that we will run aground after that.  Therefore please note that these are subject to stock remaining unsold and you would be well advised to grab one sooner rather than later if you wish to secure one before they disappear.

January Sampling Club Wines

Here are the details of our January Sampling Club Wines – The Sampling Club is a great way to try new wines since members receive a bottle of two wines each month at half price.  Membership costs £30 per year.   Half price samples must be collected from our Ipswich shop during the appropriate month.  For more details on the club, click here.

Before Christmas we added a fresh face from Rioja to the list and put it on at our tasting in November. It was the best seller out of more than fifty lines and deserves to be shared with a wider audience. Step forward Bodegas Classica’s Tempranillo Roble, one of a small range of wines that they market under their Hacienda Lopez de Haro label, named after the founder of Bilbao. The winery has been excavated into the side of a mountain which is brilliant for temperature control, as well as allowing the grapes to enter the press house by gravity - the least harsh way of moving the fruit. The grape variety is Tempranillo and, while they use other permitted varieties in their Crianza, this is 100% the former and shows its character beautifully. It works well with slow-roasted pork belly and is a Spanish favourite with lamb - try it with a rich, savoury Lancashire hotpot.

Your January white has been a sample before but not for two years. It has been relegated to the seemingly humble status of Vino de Tavola - simple table wine - but only because it breaks The Rules rather than being inferior in some way, which it certainly is not. The authorities require that this particular grape in this particular part of Italy must be vinified into a sweet sparkling wine in order to qualify for its guarantee of origin. However, this producer has decided that he likes it better still and dry; he makes a delicious wine but forfeits the right to show any details - even the vintage - beyond the generic description above. It may be dangerous for us to reveal all, but we’ll risk it: the grape is Moscato (Muscat), the region is Piemonte and the vintage is 2010. It is a charming dry white of scent and originality to enjoy with light hors d’oeuvres, salads and as an excellent aperitif. When the asparagus season starts, remember this wine for it is delicious with this hard-to-match vegetable.

RED: 2010 Hacienda Lopez de Haro, Rioja, Tempranillo Roble, Bodegas Classica,

Price per bottle: £6.95 (sealed case price: £6.60)

Half price for one sample £3.48 (club members only)

Full of youthful vigour with bright, young fruit and a nip of tannin which makes it so good with food. This is a real winner and a bargain by the standards of the region.

WHITE: Alasia Sec nv, Vino de Tavola, Italy

Price per bottle: £6.95 (sealed case price: £6.60)

Half price for one sample £3.47 (club members only)

Dry without being sharp and possessed of a pretty bouquet with scents of freshly picked Muscat grapes and a blossomy note of elderflower.

JANUARY OFFERS

Williamson is threatening to invent some more Mystery Six packs, so watch out for those in due course. The bins by the office steps will be returned to their regular job of displaying bin ends, so please feel free to have a ferret about in these as well.

SAMPLING CLUB SUBSCRIPTIONS

Sampling Club membership subs are due by the end of January. The cost is £30 which is the same price as the last three years, despite all the increases to which the trade has been subjected. If you wish to renew, the simplest way to do this is to add your subscription payment when you come into the shop to collect your samples. As last year all members who renew before 31st January will receive a £5 voucher to spend during February or March. We look forward to seeing you soon.

We thank all Sampling Club members for your support in 2011 and send our best wishes for a healthy, peaceful and prosperous 2012.