Le Grappin- The beginnings of a legendary producer.

Hey Everyone,

Today I am writing to you in the aftermath of a tasting conducted by my good friend and longtime Colleague, Mr. Peter Wood (www.thetastingnote.com).  Peter has always had a true knack for identifying future sources of excitement in wine and his most recent achievement is perhaps his most intriguing to date.  Burgundy has always had a sonorous resonance in it's very name and with the land parcelled out and much of it spoken for by various domaines, cooperatives and large negociants, it is rare that something new and exciting comes along.

There was a time when Frederic Mugnier was the cause of great excitement, with wines stunningly over-performing for their price, but of course when the word gets out, a well kept secret becomes a part of the status quo of excellent, and appropriately priced wines.  That is why the rise of a new producer in Burgundy, snatching up the best grapes in Savigny-le-Beaune is exciting for anyone looking for a good bargain that is sure to attract attention in the very near future.

Le Grappin, from Australian winemaker Andrew Nielsen is living proof that the wine world is never exhausted, never done throwing out surprises, and with his wines focused on the excellent, underrated terroirs of Savigny's vineyards he is quickly turning heads.  Producing a minuscule amount of wine each year (sometimes as little as two barrels!) he only makes what he is sure will be phenomenal.

Negociants like Mr. Nielsen are often larger companies that will happily purchase grapes from a large plot of land, ensuring their supply and the flexibility to sort the best grapes from the lot.  Andrew however, will go into the vineyard and select such small parcels of grapes, that it often comes down to a question of rows or vines, rather than vineyards or blocks.  Combine this highly selective process with the quality of vineyards such as le Boucherottes and Grèves (both proven premier cru sites) and you have a recipe for a truly exceptional wine.

One of the most exciting aspects of the Grappin range is that he never overcharges for his wines.  At least not yet.  He produces his basic level Savigny red and white wines and they sell for around £30 per bottle.  It is enough to emphasise the quality of the wine, but not enough to put off the enthusiastic wine lovers who want a reasonablly priced bottle to cellar for a few years and drink on a special occasion. However, it is the premier cru wines where the value becomes truly apparent.  both the red from Boucherottes and a rare example of a white from Grèves generally sell for only a few pounds more than the entry level.  The result?  Wines capable of facing the test of time in the cellar and rewarding careful storage with what is almost certain to be sublime stuff in maturity.

As it stands now, his wines are often bottled and released in the space of a few weeks, leaving the bottle maturation to the customer, but hopefully as his business becomes as strong as his wines we will see them released later with more bottle age.  For now, you should defintely get your hands on his wines as quickly as you can because they won't stay at £30 for long!

Much Love,

G

American in Paris (Drinking Wine)

Hey Everyone,

Today I am writing to you all on the last night of my trip to Paris, where I've been wandering aimlessly and without itinerary for about 4 days now.  No agenda, no contacts and no travel companions has led me to realise that my best friend in this city right now is a good bottle of wine and I am happy to report that I have been spoiled rotten.

Before I get into the more enjoyable parts of my visit and talk about the wine one can find in Paris, I will acknowledge the shortcomings of the French wine market.  While this country produces more wine  than any other apart from Italy and is known around the world for leading the rest in quality and fame for it's producers, there is a lack of context for it all.  I mean to say that I have seen exactly one bottle of Spanish wine (2007 Marqués de Riscal Rioja Reserva) and not much else from outside of France.

What I lamented in particular was the absence of many interesting wine regions of this very country.  In my visit to many different caves in the city I came across one Bandol, one Cumieres, one Cahors and two Juras (a red and a white from the same producer next to each other on the shelf).  I was hoping for a chance to find a selection of unique French wines I may not have heard of, but by and large all that was on offer consistently was very recent Bordeaux Supérieur, Dotes du Rhone, Bourgogne Aligoté (oddly enough) and a large amount of Petit Chablis.  Then of course there was the ocean of Beaujolais. I've come to the conclusion that Paris is less concerned with the variety and more focused on a consistent selection.

That said, I was lucky enough to find two or three very good shops in Paris and I was able to grab a couple of nice bottles during my time here.  One such shop, identified only by the titles "Cave des Cigares, Cave des Vin" was a shop very much up my alley.  Aside form finding a myriad selection of cigars from some of my favourite houses at a fraction of the British price, I also found an interesting assortment of Bordeaux and Rhone.  I could count perhaps 40 wines in total but the selection was an exciting one.  With under twenty Euros I was able to grab a 2000 Saint-Émilion which was really fabulous stuff as well as a brilliantly concentrated 2009 Cahors.

I've never had a good Cahors and this one for under ten quid was a nice cheapie.  It was rich and had a thick layering of black currant, smoke, flint and really firm tannins.  I know why this stuff doesn't come often to the UK seeing as it is somewhat impenetrable for all that tannin and acidity, but when you get your palate to grips with it, it's like gaining a taste for cask strength whisky; it pleases on a whole new level.

Just on the other side of the hill of Montmartre and the Sacre Couer lies the neighbourhood of Abbesses; the only part of town where people would put up with my poor French and encourage me along.  The Cave des Abbesses is pretty much a hall way lined with shelves and bottles and here I found a wide selection of mature wines for a damn good price.  From 2001 alone I found bottles of Cornas, Côte-Rotie, Bergerac, Pomerol and half a dozen other amazing appellations allowing the drinker the chance to buy wine ready to go or age depending on preference.  A nice collection of white Burgundy, white Rhône and bordeaux blanc (I treated myself to a bottle of white Graves for the composition of this post) made for an interesting range of whites, especially for the oak-crazy palate I get at this time of year.

The one to take the cake and eat it too, however was the Épicerie Legrand Filles et Fils, located on Rue de la Banque in the 2nd Arrondissement may be a bit out of the average price range, and in particular seeing as I was on my own, however it was a uniquely engaging place.  A good selection of Wines from pretty much every major appellation as well as a great selection of half bottles including Chateau Gazin, Beychevelle and others made for interesting browsing.  Of particular interest to me was the wide selection of top notch growers' champagnes and a fair selection of single malt.  The shop itself was never overly self conscious with the newer parts being evidently new but tasteful and the older rooms showing their age gently, and none of the faux-olde-worlde look a lot of wine shops go for.

The tasting room was more of a bar with the sort of feel that it could equally welcome a business lunch as it could host a couple of curious twenty-year-old oenophiles.  The selection of first growths in magnum, double magnum and larger was certainly inspiring.

As my bottle of Graves grows more and more empty I am afraid I am becoming sentimental about my trip to Paris.  Rarely does one spend so long without conversation, or so much time within one's own thoughts, yet I find the situation invigorating.  While I can tell that Paris is a city for pairs, it isn't all bad for ones, and if you can find a spot in the big city for yourself you will enjoy your stay to be sure.  I look forward to returning to Paris with company and to venture more regularly into the wine world of this city but for now I leave you with these bits of wisdom from a wine-loving traveller; look high and low in Paris and you will certainly be rewarded with some of the best wines you can find.

Much Love,
G

Beaujolais- Not to be taken lightly.

FlickingerPhotography

Hey Everyone,

Today's post comes to you after a prolonged period during which I have been in constant, coincidental contact with wines from the Beaujolais region of France.  I can't honestly say that I've ever been a huge fan of the wines of Beaujolais, generally considering them, along with many to be second-rate wines, forever to be overshadowed by the much more complete, serious wines of Burgundy.  This being put down to the commercial preeminence of the mass-produced, unaged wine made from the fruity-forward Gamay grape, many consider the wine of Beaujolais to be inherently inferior to it's northern neighbour in Burgundy.

Interestingly enough, history has similarly conspired to limit the achievements of the Gamay grape, with successive dukes of Burgundy outlawing the vine in their prized vineyards, in favour of the more elegant Pinot Noir variety.  Fair enough, this tactic paid off in the end, as the finest red Burgundies, such as those of Chambertin and Domaine de la Romanée-Conti can fetch unimaginable prices and in the words of Edward Scissor-Hands (ie Johnny Depp), they achieve the closest thing to nirvana in wine-form.

Fleurie, Moulin-à-Vent & Morgon

Gamay however, seemed for a long time to be reduced to the role of producing a light, fruity, cheap red and in time developed a cult following for it's appearance as Beaujolais Nouveau.  So great was it'd appeal for a time that in many American households, indeed households the world over, November was the time of Beaujolais Nouveau parties, based around the release of the latest vintage.  No ageing, no patience required, just nip round to the local bottle-shop and grab the nouveau-est release and glug it down.

This all reached a head at the turn of the millenium and Beaujolais, with it's inexpensive masses of fruity jug-wine, there came the inevitable strike of the fickle consumer.  With over a million cases produced in 2001, there was a huge overstock and drinkers went elsewhere for their cheap fruity wines, after all, Chile was cheaper.  I believe that in large, this may have caused some soul-searching for the wine-makers in Beaujolais, perhaps they realised that all along this was what they wanted; a reason to make wine they could be proud of.  The punches a prize-fighter threw five years ago have grown old and they need to learn new moves.  Certainly these beautiful crus in Beaujolais are punchier and more serious, and they have put the fight back into the winemakers from Beaujolais.

This week, however, I have been given the chance to see just what Beaujolais can be.  Sure the best of Beaujolais are made as attempt to achieve the glory of Burgundy, and in some ways cru Beaujolais is essentially Burgundy-lite, in complexity and in price, but in truth there are some very satisfying wines to be found.  Made as more concentrated expressions of the Gamay grape, they can rest for a few years and gain a beautiful terra-cotta tinge and have all the florality of a decent pinot as well as a bit of that mature farmyard character.  While Fleury is no Volnay, nor is Moulin-à-Vent anything to challenge Mercurey, they are sturdy, expressive wines in their own right, showing off a good local character unique to their part of the world.

Case in point: Château des Jacques 2002.  This wine is elegant, it is complex and it is dusty.  It is made in a serious style intended for a decade of rest and with that time under it's belt, I believe it's done very well. It is cheesy like an old Pinot Noir but still has the strawberry aromas of a young Gamay balancing it all out.  It is a unique expression of Beaujolais and I think it is a lovely bottle, definitely something to behold and take into consideration as a serious wine.

Also, there are the great wines of Fleurie and Morgon; elegant, feminine and fragrant with bright aromas of pure strawberry, red cherries and floral perfume and a lovely, silky smooth palate.  Over all, well balanced and intriguing.  Put away your preconceived thoughts of those Beaujolais smelling of bubblegum/ candy-floss etc.  While that may be the case for the Nouveaux, these wines are serious, elegant and respectable alongside their northern neighbours.

You know what Gamay makes me think of?  It's like the Patrick Stewart of wine.  A perfectly capable grape that has been far too often typecast into the role desired by it's devoted cult following.  If Patrick Stewart could overcome his typecasting as Jean-Luc Picard/ anything sci-fi related, I see no reason why the popular conception of Gamay cannot become that of a serious grape variety.  It is a great grape and in the hands of a caring, aspiring wine-maker, it can achieve great things, far surpassing it's chequered history.  Perhaps Duke Philippe of Burgundy should have had more foresight than to ban Gamay in his best vineyards.  Afterall, seeing what Gamay has achieved in the past ten years, who knows what it could have done with 600 years of appreciation.

Why not grab a nice bottle of Cru Beaujolais?  Usually, they can be found in the sweet spot of £10-20 for a great example, so you needn't break the bank.  I do hope some of you can find a new place in your heart for good Beaujolais, it's definitely worth a visit.

Much love,
G

Thanks to my collegue, George Flickinger, who has been a great helping hand in regards to photos of my subjects.  His work can been seen in greater detail at www.flickingerphotography.com.

The Sweet Spot

In the grand scheme of things, wine is a luxury product.  Yes, there are plenty of wines at good value, some cheapies even selling for less than certain coffees at Starbucks, depending on where in the world you find yourself.  But in it's heart, the idea of modern wine is that it is a luxury and anything decent has to be too expensive.  The response; to torture ourselves with £5 bottles even though not much more money can get us something much more special.  Wine itself is produced quite cheaply, and for the bottom end of the price range, that is to say the bottles under £6, that price tag is built up with layer upon layer of tax, shipping costs, packaging and admin work. 

If you reduce it down, in fact, there is only about 30p worth of wine in that bottle of Anakena or Parrotfish.  So, even though you're paying a lot less for the bottle of wine, you're really taking the hit in a big way, paying more for all that extra cost.  For under £6 you're better off getting a couple of good beers and pay what they're actually worth.  I thought I'd do a bit of research into the various conceptions of what it means to be 'good value' and I've come up with a theory I think holds up pretty well.  It's called the Sweet Spot and it ranges from £9 up to £17, with of course a bit of flexibility.

In this day and age of pinching pennies, and denying ourselves the leisure-time activities we once enjoyed on a regular basis, like going to the movies, going out for dinner and the like, one thing that is still within reach is a decent bottle of wine.  Instead of paying for two people to go see a movie and footing the bill of popcorn, drinks etc. which can add up to nearly £30 all told, why not split a £15 bottle of a nice wine, cook dinner and make an evening of it? 

Lets look at what that £15 can get you... From the shop where I work (we have fairly standard prices across our range) that is more than enough for a nice white Burgundy, a bunch of damn good Rhone reds, great French country wines, a huge array of classic Italian bottles, and even some pretty yummy ports and pudding wines.  Split between two people, you can experience some truly delightful wines for not a whole lot of money, and use them to make a home-cooked meal all the more fun and interesting.

Lower down on the price range of the 'Sweet Spot,' you'll find some great South African Chenin Blanc like the Secateurs, and it's brother wine, the Secateurs red blend for about £9, some really saisfying Argentine Malbec or Chardonnay or even a surpisingly tasty Bulgarian Pinot Noir.  Even at this price, you're getting a vastly better value for your money.  The same amount of alcohol tax comes off an expensive bottle as it does for a cheap one, so a higher proportion of the price is actually for the liquid in the bottle.

Say you're planning a dinner party or may be going out for dinner and want to take a bottle along and want it to be something a bit special.  Lets say upwards of £17 for something great.  Easy!  You can get some beautiful Rioja like Vina Cubillo, really classic french wines like Bergerac and a few tasty, fun California Zinfandels.  Split that cost between a couple of peoplewho are already splitting the cost of the food and you have an essential ingredient for your meal, and one that can enhance the food like nothing else.

What I'm trying to get at is, you can splash out beyond the standard five pound bottles and realise that, in truth, the quality and pleasure gained from the wine goes up exponentially.  There is nothing quite so lovely as a great bottle of wine that was worth every penny you paid for it.  In this day and age, we can't afford to pay for something cheap and not get our money's worth.  The same goes for lousy wine.  Sure there are nice wines below the 'Sweet Spot,' but in terms of consistency, there's something to be said for this narrow price-band.

So go halfs with a friend and treat yourselves to something nice!

Much Love,
G

Here are a few recommendations for some really great value wines, though this is just a short list...
Around £9- Secateurs Red and White, Paul Jaboulet-Aine Parallel 45 Cotes du Rhone, Punto Final Malbec, Masi Corbec, Fatoria Lavacchio Chianti Rufina, and Cousino-Macul Antiguas Reservas Cabernet Sauvignon, Tramontane Macabeu

Up to £15 (mind this price band contains a huge array of great wines so this is just a small selection)- Paul Jaboulet-Aine Crozes-Hermitage, Thelema Shiraz, O. Leflaive Les Setilles Chardonnay,Velvet Devil Merlot, Kung-Fu Girl Riesling, Dry Creek Zinfandel, Filles de Mai Macabeu and the Wild Boar Syrah. 

Also check out the Niepoort Tawny Dee.  A tawny port for about £14.  Great stuff.

Up to £17- Thelema Merlot, Pascual Toso Malbec Reserva, Chateau Thenac Bergerac Blanc, Ecole No. 41 Semillon, Vajra Dolcetto d'Alba, Badenhorst 'Wine', Lustau PX Sherry and the lovely Camins del Priorat.

South Africa- Old Soul, New World

Poised at the southern tip of the great African continent, South Africa is a land of breathtaking natural beauty and stunning possibilities for wine making.  It produces some of the best value wines on the market, and in some cases, it offers glimpses of what fine wine is like for a relatively light price tag.  In the (in my opinion) antiquated vocabulary of the wine world, South Africa is 'New World', meaning essentially anything outside a poorly defined area of the Eurasian supercontinent, but in it's heart, it is an old soul to be sure.

I qualify this of course, by mentioning the fact that South Africa is particularly prolific in the realms of producing big, jammy Shiraz, much-maligned Pinotage and plenty of other distinctively 'New World' wines.  But I believe that there is so much more to this dynamic region, capable of displaying excellent, classic examples of any given grape's potential.

I'll give a few examples of wines I believe show the old world soul of South Africa as a wine-producing country.  Thelema Mountain Vineyards, for instance, produces a line of marvelous wines in the most traditional of veins.  Thelema's Cabernet Sauvignon, though only 6 years old, is already showcasing what an elegantly aged Cabernet should be.  It is full of dark cherries, a hint of the fruit once prevalent, but the nose is now dominated by saddle leather and farm soil, with notes of mint and a minerality; characteristic of old-school Cabernet from Bordeaux or Bergerac.  The Merlot is like a wonderfully aged Pomerol, with big dark chocolate, velvety, grippy tannins and the gaminess lacking in Merlot from many other new world countries.

Very few producers are as committed to traditional style wines as Anthony Hamilton Russell.  In blind tastings, many thought his Chardonnay was an Olivier Leflaive white Burgundy.  His Pinot Noir is fragrantly floral as a red Burgundy should be.

But the best example, for me, is the affinity South African producers show for the varieties of the Rhône Valley.  In some ways, the shortcomings of many producers in the southern Rhône, in particular Châteauneuf-du-Pape, is highlighted by the successes of beautifully structured, well-balanced blends based on the Southern Rhône's holy trinity of Shiraz, Grenache and Mourvèdre.  Maintaining the Châteauneuf tradition of adding anything to the blend which might help, Malagas producer Sijnn (pron. 'sane') has crafted a red which shows a very modern vision for a very Old World wine.  Blending Shiraz and Mourvèdre, with the surprising appearance of Portuguese grapes in the form of Touriga Nacional, Trincadeira and a seasoning dash of Cabernet Sauvignon.  The end result; a beautiful classic which, in my opinion shows us what Châteauneuf should be!

Beyond that, producers of fine wines in South Africa are confident in their abilities and they clearly show a great level of innovation as they pursue the best expressions of their wines, whether its a Rhône blend, a Cabernet or even the inspiring Vin de Constance.  They are classics, and while the term New World applies for reasons of convenience and pure tradition, in practicality, the best of South Africa is old at heart.

"But George," you might say, "hasn't California also been trying to make old-world style wines for ages as well, but still they're New World?"  Well the answer is most certainly yes.  Perhaps what I'm going for is that a notion of Old and New Worlds from the age of Ferdinand and Isabella may be out of date.  Even France produces wine which a blind taster would think to be New World, and in a way, it is.  It is a style more than anything else.  South Africa as a wine-producing country deserves a bit more credit for it's classic styles of wine, and I hope you will agree with me, that if South African Wine were a person, it would certainly be an old soul.

Much Love,
G