Washington Hills Merlot 2008, Columbia Valley (£6.49 The Co-op) Overripe with rather hard baked blackberry character, concentrated but overdone, should have been picked earlier and made with less force. C(-)
The Magnificent Wine Company House Wine 2007, Columbia Valley (~£7.99) Simple and fresh to begin with, again with the fruit flavours in that baked berry and tar spectrum, but it’s let down by a rather crude vanilla character, and finishes sweet & simple. C
The Magnificent Wine Company Steak House Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Columbia Valley (£9.99 The Co-op) More of that bimbo vanilla, but there are also a touch of mint to liven up the baked dark fruit chracter. Again, intense but overripe and overextracted. C+
Andrew Will Champoux Vineyard 2006, Horse Heaven Hills (£40 Berry Bros & Rudd) Classy, exotic wine, again not trying too hard, with smoky oak wrapped around polished blackcurrant and blackberry flesh, and some mealy/nutty notes from barrel-aging. Lovely silky tannins, but still feels young and vigorous, with plenty of potential. S+
Four wines, all made under the guidance of consultant winemaker Olivier Dauga. Based on this quartet, the Dauga style seems to be less flashy, less oaky, less ripe, less malo-in-barrel-y than that of Michel Rolland. This is neither a good thing nor a bad thing, merely a matter of personal taste, but it was a style that I rather liked. Most opened sample bottles end up with friends & neighbours, but three of these have stayed much closer to home – which explains why I’m supping the Caronne St Gemme as I write this.
Now this is the point at which someone might justifiably say, ‘So why aren’t the marks higher?’ And I find myself temporarily stumped with this question. These were wines that weren’t Page 3 stunnas but which passed the empty bottle test. Should I mark good wines down because they’re not my personal taste – think early Meryl Streep? Should I overscore things that no-one else but me finds attractive – I’m probably alone in thinking ‘Moving’ by The Raincoats is a fabulous album? Aach maan, as the current World Cup hosts would say. I’ll shut up now, here’s the video…
Château Roques Mauriac Bordeaux Supérieur 2005 (£10.99 www.virginwines.com) Modern but not too flashy, this has quite fragrant leafy tobacco and slightly toasty oak notes on top of dark, tar-tinged berry and blackcurrant fruit, also hints of violet, cedar and brine. Nicely balanced, tasty wine, still with plenty of life. B(+)
Château Cantinot 1ères Côtes de Blaye 2005 (No UK stockists at present) A softer, sweeter style, with less obvious oak, more mature and gentle but still has richness and juicy plummy flesh plus an exotic almost sandalwood-like character. B+
Château Roques Mauriac Damnation Bordeaux 2006 (£16.49 www.virginwines.com)
Thought the chocolate wafer oak was swamping this, but it calmed down to show its fragrant core, and its heady blackcurrant, redcurrant, red berry and tar flavours, along with notes of hoisin, clove and sandalwood. Think the 2005 would have been even better. S-
Château Caronne Ste Gemme Haut-Médoc 2005 (£13.99 Majestic) Used to be known for its solid, slightly rustic style, but this, while still firm and showing earthy terroir edges, has a soft plummy character to its classic cassis and cedar flavours, and a polished finish. Nice wine, still good for another five years at least. S(-)
McHenry Hohnen Cabernet/Merlot 2008, Margaret River (£9.99 Majestic) Surprisingly forward, rounded wine, showing just the right amount of leafy mint and eucalyptus character alongside juicy plummy fruit, hints of leather and tobacco and smooth ripe tannins. B+
Averys Pioneer Barossa Shiraz 2007 – made by Yalumba (£8.99 Averys) A lovely bear-hug of a wine, ripe and confident, but never jammy, with meaty leathery plum, liquorice and chocolate flavour tinged with cloves. S-
Mount Langi Ghiran Langi Shiraz 2005, Grampians (£29.99 Harper Wells, Harrods) Rich, exotic style with exuberant blueberry and blackcurrant flesh, notes of pepper, clove and oriental spices, and an earthy ferrous note to the finish. My only reservation is I’d like to have seen it picked slightly earlier – it’s 15% alcohol, and there’s just a touch of jamminess as the wine open up. S
Botham Merrill Willis 25th Anniversary Shiraz 2005, McLaren Vale (£14.99 Christopher Piper – £2.50 from each bottle goes Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research) Less fragrant and more stolid than the Langi, has a warm chocolate and orange liqueur edge to its dark fruitcake flavours, but it’s let down by a volatile, port-like character. B(-)
There is a video down below somewhere but first, let’s talk brett. Brettanomyces to give it its full name is a strain of yeast that has been around for centuries, but which began to appear on the wine radar around 20 years ago, and has really sprung to prominence in the last decade.
We’ll get on to why in a moment, but first, how do you spot its influence in a wine? Tell-tale signs of badly-affected wines are aromas of farmyards and horse-blankets, along with a metallic, medicinal edge like surgical bandages. And there’s never quite as much fresh fruit as you’d like – the wines smell quite developed, even when they’re young, and often finish with raspingly dry tannins.
Sounds horrible? Well, in large doses it can be, but in small amounts… Think of it in musical terms. One minor deviation from the score, and only the musician notices. Three or four, and there a light murmurs from a few members of the audience. Twenty bum notes, and widespread coughing ensues. So it is with brett. There are some who think that a small amount can add complexity to a wine, much as a touch of volatility, oxidation or reduction can, in the right places.
In my experience, the level of brett in a bottle of wine remains much the same as you chug your way through its contents. As some wines take a time to open up, this can mean that a wine that starts off in rather pongy fashion actually becomes more pleasurable the longer it’s been opened. But certainly not always, as was the case with the Chivite wine in the video (honestly, there is one, just keep scrolling down, I’ll shut up soon).
As for the reason we’ve become more aware of it in recent times, much of it can be traced back to winemaking hygiene. As producers around the world have adopted more sanitary working practices, some facets of certain wines that were once thought to be terroir-derived complexities have actually been revealed to be flaws, with brett being among them. An ex-Oddbins buyer recently told me that when he was looking for wines in the mid-1990s, he’d say to the suppliers that they didn’t want them with that stinky Rhône-like character: ‘We hadn’t heard the word “brett”, but we could spot it in a wine a mile off.’
Cleaner cellars should mean less brett, right? Well certainly the hike in hygiene meant that those wineries that hadn’t cleaned up their act began to stand out. But it wasn’t only ancient producers that were making bretty wines – often it was the swankiest of newcomers, looking to produce very ripe, low acid wine with the minimal of sulphur additions which was aged on the lees in 100% (and sometimes 200%) new, highly toasted oak, and then bottled (perhaps with a touch of residual sugar) with neither fining nor filtration. The trouble is, such conditions spell party-time for brett. The barrels in particular are brett heaven – the yeast has been found nearly 1cm deep in oak staves. And the result is wines that were intended to last 20 years or more, but which at less than half that age are dried out and charmless.
With the passing of the fashion for big oak and big alcohol, does this mean there’ll be fewer bretty wines in the future? Perhaps, but yeasts have been known to play dirty…
Nearly at the video, but what do you think of brett in wines? Can you spot it, does it put you off, have you ever sent a bretty wine back in a restaurant, and if so, how did it go down with the sommelier/waiter? Do leave a comment. OK, video time…
Ramos Pinto Duas Quintas Douro 2007, Portugal (£9.99 Whole Foods Market, Roberson, Partridges, Philglas & Swiggot, Planet of the Grapes, Wines of the World, The Vineyard (Dorking), The Secret Cellar (Tunbridge Wells), Wright Wine Company, Stainton Wines, D Byrne, Lockett Bros, L’Art du Vin, Villeneuve Wines, Henderson Wines, Peckham & Rye) Appealing young red, with bright sweet (but not too sweet) blackcurrant jam, cherry and spice flavours and a firm but juicy finish. B+
Macià Batle Binnisalem Crianza 2006, Mallorca, Spain (£12.25 Bowes Wine) Starts well with wild, warm, meaty aromas, and promises of sweet figgy fruit, but when you come to taste it, it’s a bit angular and dead-grape/raisinny, and flattened by brett. B-
Viña Pomal Centenario Rioja Reserva 2005, Spain (£11.99 Majestic) Classic style, with aromas of vanilla and flavours of raspberry, strawberry and orange peel kept in check by a thread of acidity, tasty now, but good for another couple of years at least. B+
Viña Mara Rioja Reserva 2004, Spain (~£10 might still be in some Tesco stores) A more mature and mellow style than the Pomal, with plush plummy red berry fruit that grows in the glass and a vanilla-tinged spicy warmth to the finish. This was still looking great a couple of days after first opening. S-
Chivite Gran Feudo Navarra Reserva 2004, Spain (£7.99 Waitrose) The feral meatiness hints at the presence of brett, and while there is some reasonable blackcurrant and raspberry flavour, the dry finish and the dead grape don’t really give much pleasure. C+
A dozen wines from Naked Wines arrived on the doorstep – here’s what I thought of the first six…
Château Lagrave Cissan Listrac-Médoc 2005, Bordeaux, France (£12.99 www.nakedwines.com) Gentle, tender claret, with touches of gravel, tobacco and cedar to its blackcurranty fruit, and a refreshing finish. S-
Ocaso Malbec 2007, Mendoza, Argentina (£8.49 www.nakedwines.com- doesn’t seem to be on the site at the time of posting) Just what you want from Malbec, juicy but never descending into jamminess, with lush, almost oily blackcurrant and blackberry flesh, a touch of vanilla and a fragrant, violet-tinged finish. S-
Parrot Valley Cabernet Franc 2008, Coastal Region, South Africa (£9.99 www.nakedwines.com) There’s a touch of the South African smokiness but it’s in balance with the fragrant, leafy blackcurrant and cherry flavours, while the finish shows a dainty, almost chalky freshness. S(-)
J H Pacas Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Coastal Region, South Africa (£12.99 www.nakedwines.com) Nicely mellow and mature, but still with some freshness to with the ripe (but not overripe_ black fruit flavour, and some tannin too. Tasty, but just a little simple. B+
Belfield’s Blend (Merlot/Cabernet) 2006, Elgin, South Africa (£11.99 www.nakedwines.com) Toasty oak is the first thing you notice, but then a wild, almost meaty, mealy edge comes through, along with plummy blackberry and blackcurrant, while the finish shows a herby, feral edge – nice wine. S
Kimbao Cabernet Sauvignon Carmenère 2008, Central Valley, Chile (£8.99 www.nakedwines.com) An honest, juicy wine, with leafy, minty blackcurrant pastille fruit tinged with the exotic herb and coffee bean of Carmenère. Just a tad simple B(+)
Snoqualmie Naked Merlot 2007, Columbia Valley, Washington State, USA (~£11.50 Stratfords Wines) Starts with a pleasant leafy edge, a touch of tobacco and reasonable plummy fruit, but then goes rather dilute, with clunky oak coming through. C
Nostros Merlot Gran Reserva 2006, Casablanca, Chile (£6.39 www.qpwines.com) Typical Chilean reduced blackcurrant pastilles and mint, with tangy blueberry flavours, but let down by reduction and rather raw, angular oak. C+
Botalcura La Porfia Carmenère Gran Reserva 2005, Rapel, Chile (£10.99 www.qpwines.com) More of what you expect from a wine labelled Gran Reserva, has the polished plushness of good ageing, alongside notes of plummy berries, vanilla, five-spice and herbs. S(-)
The remaining trio from the clarets that had been hogging the wine rack…
Château Preuillac Médoc 2004 (£14 Soho Wine Supply) Nose is a combination of ripe, even overripe fruit with a smoky edge that tends towards the fishy (think smoked mackerel). There’s quite nice ripe blackcurrant, plum and berry, but then the dry finish speaks of too much new wood, and it doesn’t improve with time either. B-
Château de Lamarque Haut-Médoc 2004 (£17.99 Corney & Barrow) A less ambitious wine than the Preuillac, but all the better for it. It’s more relaxed and more mature, and the smokiness here seems to speak of terroir rather than over-zealous winemaking. Slightly ristic, but honest and tasty. S-
Château Brown Pessac-Léognan Rouge 2006 (£25 Soho Wine Supply) Classy fruit, classy oak, plummy, cedary intensity, plus a hint of woodsmoke, manages to be both tight and svelte, yet juicy at the same time woodsmoke, beautifully balanced with a silky, almost Burgundian finish, very moreish. S(+)
Leaping Lizard Cabernet Merlot 2007, Western Australia (£7.99-£8.50 Seckford Agencies) Vibrant, crunchy blackcurrant nose, then slightly pippy blackberry flavours, with a tar-like streak, easy fleshy wine, quite powerful and ripe but finishes dry. B
Ferngrove ‘Symbols’ Cabernet Merlot 2008, Frankland River, Australia (£8.99-£9.50 Seckford Agencies) Fresher and tangier than the Leaping Lizard, with fine cassis, black cherry and leafy Cabernet edges joined by an oily richness, intense, but never aggressive. S-
Yalumba The Scribbler Cabernet/Shiraz 2007, Barossa, Australia (£9.99 Oddbins, Noel Young) Jovial forward style, ripe and rounded, with the sweet edge of plump Shiraz and the vanilla sheen of (American?) oak coming through. Good meaty finish, tasty and honest, but not hugely complex. B+
Casillero del Diablo Reserva Privada Cabernet/Syrah 2007, Maipo Valley, Chile (£8.99 Asda) Classic Chilean dusty blackcurrant pastille, intense but quite angular – needs sexing up. B(-)
Brown Brothers Patricia Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Victoria, Australia (£22.99 Christopher Piper, www.everywine.co.uk) Corked! Bugger.
Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Valle Central, Chile (~£7) Classic Chile blackcurrant pastille tinged with mint, but also with a warm Mediterranean dusty herb edge, plus berry and vanilla flavours. B+
Wakefield Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Clare Valley, Australia (£8.49 Majestic – £6.49 until end of Jan 2010) Warm blackberry edge of Cabernet Sauvignon, a tinge of eucalyptus, honest earthy edge, but slightly hard on the finish. B(-)
The Wine Society St Julien (Château Beychevelle) 2006, Bordeaux, France (£19 The Wine Society) Fresh blackcurrant tinged with pencil shavings/cigar box, plus a briny Atlantic edge, elegant, long and classy, with a refreshing finish, still young. S
Howard Park Leston Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Margaret River, Australia (£14.99 Bibendum, Noel Young) Intense blackcurrant character, but there’s also this leafy, almost cabbage-like vegetal edge that intrudes and takes away the pleasure – and doesn’t seem to diminish with time. B(+)
Torres Mas La Plana Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Penedès, Spain (£23.99 Majestic, Ipswich Wines, Fortnum and Mason, The Wine Shop, Planet of the Grapes) Classy wine with fabulous rounded but not too ripe black fruit, oak adding vanilla sheen, and a dusty, warm brick like character on top of the Mediterraneasn herbiness. Still with its best ahead of it. S(+)
We’ll get to Chile in a moment, but I’m kicking off with New Zealand. I first visited the Land of the Long White Cloud in 1995 (I know because I came back from the trip with a rather useful blue zip-up bag and a polo shirt, now covered in various flecks of paint – both have the date on them). While there were several delicious wines, two weeks in this green and pleasant land surrounded by Nice people and their Nice wines left me gagging for something a little more Machiavellian and grungy – mature Châteauneuf du Pape, Aglianico del Vulture, Château Musar that sort of thing. It’s become something of a test of just how much I like wines from particular regions. Stuff the copious notes I’ve scribbled in my W H Smith Reporter Notebook, when I get back to Blighty, do I want more of the same, or do I want the polar opposite?
When I returned from a fortnight in Chile last autumn, I found myself in two minds. If you’d offered me some Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir or Syrah from the cooler climates, I’d have said ‘yes, por favor’. However, if it’d been a beefier red based on Cabernet, Carmenère or Merlot, I’d have been much less enthusiastic. It’s not that Chile’s Bordeaux-inspired reds are bad. Deep in colour, carefully made, finely oaked, rich and concentrated, it’s hard to fault them. But it’s just that I very seldom want to drink them – for me, they’re a bit like the foyers of smart business hotels, impeccable but a little soulless. Forget refreshing and subtle, the typical Chilean Cabernet tends to be forceful and intense, and usually with that tell-tale whiff of blackcurrant pastilles not far from the surface.
But Chile CAN do more relaxed styles of Cabernet – I drank one of them last night. Importers Heritage Wine claim that the 1993 Santa Monica Cabernet Sauvignon Envejecido de Bodega (aged in the cellar) from Rancagua in the Rapel Valley is oldest Chilean wine in the world.
A quick look on winesearcher.com reveals that this isn’t so, but their assessment of the wine as ‘a beautifully aged and incredibly smooth vintage’ is closer to the truth. It’s the sort of wine that some would call old-fashioned, weighing in at a relatively sedate 13% alcohol and aged in big old Chilean oak (Rauli) barrels and then in smaller, newer French ones. Rauli casks were once widely used in Chile, but if they weren’t kept very clean, they imparted a rather dirty, wet-doggy flavour to the wines. They’ve now all but disappeared from most Chilean cellars, but here’s proof that rauli wasn’t totally a bad thing. This is gentle, charming wine (think Gran Reserva-style Bordeaux), slightly leathery with soft, cedary fruit flavours, mature, but certainly not past it. Indeed, it’s holding up far better than all but a few clarets from 1993, and is a snip at £10.49 – less than a quid for each year it’s been in bottle. For that price, you can buy several younger, richer and more boisterous Chilean reds, but I’m not sure whether at 16 years old they’ll be as alluring as this good old-fashioned gem.
