winegang Oct 2011
Excerpts from TheWine Gang October Newsletter 2011
Vine Trail
A specialist in what it describes as 'artisanal, smalldomaine French wines, Vine Trail is one of our favourite UK wine merchants. Aswith the winemakers it represents, there's a real feeling of care and attentionin the Vine Trail list, a desire to find new discoveries both within theestablished regions (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, the Loire and the Rhône)and further afield (Jura, the Southwest). Many of the wines are organic orbiodynamic, although, unlike some suppliers, issues of quality take precedenceover dogma. Order by the case through www.vinetrail.co.uk or 0117 921 1770.
Caroline MoreySaint-Aubin Les Ebaupins 2009 Rating90/100
Château Sainte-AnneBandol Blanc 2009 Rating 89/100
Domaine Gourt DeMautens Rasteau Côtes du Rhône Villages 2007 Rating 94/100
Cyril Fhal Clos duRouge Gorge 2007 Rating 93/100
Champagne JérômePrévost Les Béguinnes 2007 Rating 94/100
Champagne Emmanuel BrochetLe Mont Benoit Champagne, Rating 90/100
DRY WHITES
Caroline MoreySaint-Aubin Les Ebaupins 2009 Rating90/100
Saint-Aubin(Burgundy), France, Dry White (Cork), 12.5% abv
Based in Chassagne-Montrachet, Caroline Morey comes fromfine winemaking stock – her father is top grower Jean-Marc Morey, and she ismarried to the equally celebrated Pierre-Yves Colin. Having worked with bothfor ten years, Caroline has recently started bottling her own wines, and theresults are superb. This Saint-Aubin, for example, has tension and nervyacidity and some rippling fresh citrus and orchard fruit.
£19.74 at Vine Trail
Goes with: Chicken.
Château Sainte-AnneBandol Blanc 2009 Rating 89/100
Bandol (Provence),France, Dry White (Cork), 12.5% abv
Made from 37-year-old vines, this wine is full of the aromasof the hills of Provence with its notes of wild herbs and flowers. The palateis chalky-textured but bright, fresh and focused, and there's a savoury edge tothe finish. Find on wine-searcher.com
£17.50 at Vine Trail
Goes with: Salads & Vegetable dishes.
DRY REDS
Domaine Gourt DeMautens Rasteau Côtes du Rhône Villages 2007 Rating 94/100
Rasteau (Rhône),France, Dry Red (Cork), 14.0% abv
This is just the kind of wine we will be turning to toprovide comfort in the bleak midwinter – an evocative liquid reminder ofsunnier climes and times. An exceptional biodynamic Grenache-dominant blendthat is at once gracefully aromatic and powerfully structured, gutsy yet freshon the palate. Black olives, wild herbs, liquorice, black and red fruit, pepperyspice … it's a complex chunky wine of real distinction. Find onwine-searcher.com
£35.95 at Vine Trail
Goes with: Red meat & Dark game.
Cyril Fhal Clos duRouge Gorge 2007 Rating 93/100
Vin de Pays des CôtesCatalanes (Roussillon), France, Dry Red (Cork), 13.0% abv
Predominantly (95%) Carignan, topped up with 5% Grenache,this extraordinary, expressive red is testament to the low-yielding old (70 to100 years old) vines from which it is made. An intense, lifted nose of wildblack fruit, rosemary, fennel and a touch of aniseed, an elastic palate withfirm but silk-tipped tannins, and a lengthy finish – this is a wine thatpresents the wildness of the Roussillon in a very sophisticated fashion. Findon wine-searcher.com
£22.50 at Vine Trail
Goes with: Red meat & Dark game.
SPARKLING
Champagne JérômePrévost Les Béguinnes 2007 Rating 94/100
Champagne, France,Sparkling White (Cork), 12.5% abv
A zero dosage Champagne, although there is nothing austereabout it. The base wine was aged for ten months in oak barrels (both new and upto 13 years old) and the finished fizz is quite astonishingly deep, complex andrewarding. The palate is dry and textured with a little tannin, there is anutty edge to the orchard fruits, plus very nimble acidity. Most definitely awine for contemplative sipping, ideally with food (such as white meat withcreamy sauces) rather than a simple aperitif. Find on wine-searcher.com
£42.90 at Vine Trail
Goes with: Chicken.
Champagne Emmanuel BrochetLe Mont Benoit Champagne, Rating 90/100
France, SparklingWhite (Cork), 12.5% abv
An uncompromisingly bracing, zero-dosage Champagne that isabsolutely thrilling in its vigorous purity and poise. Its austerity will betoo much for some maybe, but we loved its saline/mineral kick and pristinecitrus fruit – a better wine for seafood would be hard to find. Find onwine-searcher.com
£29.24 at Vine Trail
Goes with: Fish & Seafood