New World Tasting blog (June 12)
Another fabulous evening at The Wine Centre
Thank you everyone for a terrific evening of delicious wines, stimulating company and once again excellent food (well done Tony). The Outer Limits aperitif in the garden was for me a winner with the pastry-wrapped asparagus, the Spier Chenin Blanc sublime with the Asian-spiced- lemongrass fish starter, the Heru goose-pimply delicious with the smoked duck and the Carmenere a match in heaven with Tony`s scrummy Mole Poblano de Guajacolote! The secret ingredient chocolate!! Finishing with the cheeses what a trio : Purple Angel, Pangea and Montes Folly. What a night! Thanks again everyone for coming.
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Outer Limits Sauvignon Blanc, Chile 2011, “intense, lively”, £15.99 Electric style Sauvignon from the outer limits of possible winemaking in Chile, 9 km from the Pacific Ocean in Aconcagua. The Zapallar vineyard is one of the Montes unique terroir series, “Montes beyond Frontiers”, a new and exciting addition to the Montes family. Intense and lively, passion fruit and lime, rich yet racy. A fantastic find.
Napa Cellars Chardonnay, California USA, 2010, “toasty”, £13.99 Sourced from Napa Valley`s cooler regions where the grapes slowly develop flavours of green apple, apricot and citrus blossom. Hints of toasty oak and subtle caramel highlight the finish. Spier Chenin Blanc Private Collection, S. Africa, 2009, “luxurious” £15.99 Old Stellenbosch vines producing low-yield thick-skinned fruit, a great deal of concentration and ageing potential – like a top Vouvray! Apricots, citrus fruits and stewed fruit aromas are followed by a creamy, rich, luxurious palate and a crisp, lasting finish. Heru Pinot Noir, Ventisquero, Chile, 2009, “seductive red fruits” £23.99 Chile`s best Pinot by chief winemaker Felipe Tosso, this is juicy, fleshy, silky red-fruited Pinot from Casablanca, mostly strawberry and raspberry, with subtle vanilla-coco spice and just a trace of dark mineral. Delicious! Grey Single Block Carmenere, Chile 2009, “dark & spicy”, £13.99 Classic Carmenere, dark and spicy, from block no 5 Trinidad Vineyard in the coastal Maipo. Concentrated bunches of ripe grapes produce a silky rich elegant style, excellent for the price we feel, with intense black fruit and fruitcake characters. Spier Private Collection Pinotage, S. Africa 2008, “intense, fruity”, £15.99 Coastal vineyard, very Stellenbosch in richness and concentration of fruit, the wine shows inviting, bright aromas of cherry, oak spice and tobacco. The palate is structured with plenty of flesh on the bones. A classic. Purple Angel, Chile, 2009, “sumptuous”, £28.99 Chile`s best Carmenere is a blend of 92% Carmenere and 8% Petit Verdot from Colchagua. Its intense youthful purple colour is typical. Rich, sumptuous spiced-fruit fills the senses. The palate is seamless, a smooth, velvet, fleshy body of dark fruits, chocolate and wonderful spices. Pangea, Chile, 2006, “a wine by John Duval”, £29.99 John Duval, once chief winemaker for Penfolds Grange (Australia`s no. 1 wine) is now working his magic with the Syrah grape in Chile. A middle-weight model with a Chile twist, Robert Parker gave it a score of 93/100. Produced in the now famous Apalta vineyard of Colchagua Valley, it has a violet-floral and blue fruit quality leaning to dark fruits and dark chocolate mid-palate, supple, plush and seamless. Our best selling wine over £25 bottle! Montes Folly, 2008, “stupendous”, £36.99 100% Syrah grapes grown behind the winery on the upper slopes of Apalta where the soil is of ancient red sandstone and clay. The wine is stupendous with terrific concentration and complexity, of blue berries, black berries, wild herbs and spices. The label by Ralph Steadman, evocative of the wild terrain high on the Apalta.
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10% discount for orders received in June, thank you
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