If you read my recent post on  Italian Whites, you'll know that I just received a rather unusual mixed case of wine from new retail supplier, Milton Sandford's Wine Cellar Club.  Previously only available in restaurants and hotels, we now have access to their collection of around 400 wines to enjoy at home.

I've no idea how many of my readers enjoy the same wine week after week, but I love experimenting. One of the things I'm really passionate about is exploring the diversity of wines out there.
Of course there are styles I prefer, and wines I truly love as well as experiments which go wrong.   
Reading Jancis Robinson's Wine Grapes (a guide to over 1300 varieties), I realise that "so many wines, so little time" has never been more true!  My "Outside the Box" selection has given me a chance to try 12 wines that I'd probably never sample, and I hope that by sharing some of my experiences with you, you may feel brave enough to select something different next time you're in the market for some wine...

Third "out of the box" was Moscato Rosa from Venezia. Again, something I've never had before.  While I've tasted a dry white Muscat, and have enjoyed several dessert style sticky Muscats, both white and red, I didn't even realise that there was a red-skinned Italian version which produces sweet, rose-scented rosé wines.  Quite by chance, I've happened on a third wine with floral notes in one short weekend. It must be my lucky week.

Mr Purple Teeth eyes it skeptically as I photographed it. (I made sure to do this before tasting, after the Riesling incident). Being a man he is   duty bound to frown on frivolous, pink wine.

I warned him, "This won't be what you're expecting." 

"I hope not," he replied.  

I urged him to keep an open mind as I handed him a 100ml glass.

As reactions go, I can't ask for more than "wow", at the first sip. "An excellent light aperitif," he added.  I longed to say "told you so" but refrained, for a quiet life. 
I have to admit to surprising myself too.  I don't drink much pink, and I don't drink much Italian wine, though I should have known that muscat would always deliver something appealing.

This is sweet but not sickly. You could perhaps pair it with a dessert of berries and cream, although the image that came to mind, as I sipped my third Italian wine in a week, was of very English Victoria Sponge. Perhaps replacing the tea in afternoon tea with this one.   Scones, cream and strawberry jam and a glass of this would be a decadent way to spend an afternoon.
At 10.5% it's not going to write off your evening if you have a glass or two in the afternoon.  And if you're anything like us you won't be able to stop at one glass after tasting the delicious notes of crushed strawberry & vanilla ice cream flavour, crushed berries in syrup with a hint of roses.  "Strawberries, cherries, and an Angel's kiss in spring." A delightful summer wine.  Now there's a cue for a song.  
Cheers!

Like most people, when I think of Italian white wine, it's Pinot Grigio that comes to mind. It's definitely not my favourite wine, though I'm sure there are some out there I'd enjoy if I gave them a chance.  I believe Alto-Adige is the region to look out for, and I shall continue my quest to find one that's suitable for my palate.
There's no denying the popularity of Pinot Grigio, though, and it's one that makes it's way onto the "wines by the glass" list of many bars and restaurants these days, as it's neutral and inexpensive.  Do let me know your favourites on my Facebook page.

In Italian restaurants, I'll generally opt for a Gavi Di Gavi (made from the Cortese grape) if I feel like a white. 

But one of the most amazing things about Italy is it's huge diversity of grape varieties.  There's an astonishing range out there. And as I'm constantly urging you, my readers, to try something new, when I realised I was long overdue for an Italian based blog post, I thought I'd push myself to try something a bit less well known, too.  Watch out for a post on Italian reds soon, as I continue my homework.
Italian wine can be a bit bewildering. Even having studied wine, I'm still amazed by the rich variety out there, and it can be hard to know where to begin.

I've selected 2 fairly different styles for you to explore.

First up Vernaccia Di San Gimignano DOCG (watch out, there's more than one Vernaccia out there), which comes from Tuscany, perhaps more famous for red Chianti than it's white wines.  
There are probably less than 2000 acres of the grape across Italy, so it's definitely one if the lesser known varietals, yet, it was the first ever DOC in Italy in 1966, and was awarded Italy's top geographic status of DOCG in 1993. Italy has 73 DOCG designations at the time of writing.

I received this in an "Outside the Box" selection from the recently established Wine Cellar Club, the retail arm of trade suppliers Milton Sandford Wines.  Until recently you could only find their wines in bars, restaurants and hotels, and at restaurant wine prices. I love trying new things so a case of 12 slightly off the beaten track wines seemed as good a way as any to try the (free membership) club.  You'll definitely hear more about the other wines in the case here. 

On the nose it was super light. A hint of citrus maybe, but this was clearly not going to be one of the pungent aromatic varietals I tend to favour. Perhaps all those years of mainlining chilli have damaged my capacity to appreciate the subtle.

My first taste was of a fairly neutral white with an overwhelming flavour of crisp green apple. Drinking in the garden on a hot summer evening however, the wine quickly warmed up from it's fridge chilling and this brought out some more interesting savoury flavours. According to Jancis Robinson's tome, "Wine Grapes" (link below, I researched it for some background info), this is usually seen as a refreshing almond finish. Great! An excuse to eat an almond. And yes, sure enough, the flavour is distinctly almondy.
Much less acidic than I expected from an Italian wine it's  a fairly light and easy drinking style.  I paired it with an impromptu picnic of vintage cheddar, cherry tomatoes and honey roast ham, with some mixed salted nuts. Who can be bothered cooking in this heat?
Mr Purple Teeth instantly picked up on the fact this is lighter in alcohol than he's used to, and not a flavour blockbuster (look, I've ruined his palate with chili too - sue me!) He thought it pleasant as an early evening tipple when you don't want to get too tipsy or overdo it and thought it worked well with nibbles like olive and nuts.

I'd feared the strong cheese might overwhelm the delicate flavours. Luckily the salty tang enhanced the wine's savoury note, though I think it worked best with the ham, and it fared well with the nuts. I reckon at 12.5% this could make a fresh white for Italian inspired picnics as a change from your regular PG. I just hope your fridge has a higher food to wine ratio than mine!

Next came something completely different, a 50/50 blend of Fiano & Greco.  The blend A Mano, is from Puglia in the South of Italy.  I've enjoyed Fiano in the past, but I don't recall ever having had Greco before.  This was came from The Wine Society and was a good value way to sample these grapes.  If you're not a Wine Society member, as many of you may not be, I noticed that Sainsbury's are now stocking a 10% Greco di Trufo (one of the best geographic areas for the grape) for around £10, and you'll find a a couple of choices of Fiano at Tesco. (Please note, I've tried none of these so I cannot vouch for them. I'd love to hear what you think of them, if you have sampled them.)  The key geographic zone for the best Fiano is Avellino.

Did I mention that I like powerfully flavoured aromatic wines?  This one seemed to fit the bill. 
The nose was of candied fruit, perhaps those confected citrus peel sweets.  Mr Purple Teeth reminisced about the 70s boiled sweet, pineapple chunks.  There was a good body on it too, which he likes.  Lucky for me he likes curves.

The first glass was not super chilled as this had been on the top shelf of my fridge.  This perhaps meant the flavours were stronger than they might otherwise appear if served really chilled.  It's a rather elegant wine for the price, but although dry, it may appear sweet to some drinkers because if it's very sweet fruit flavours.

Mr Purple Teeth was a fan, but really he suggested drinking alone rather than with food because the abundance of  sweet flavours may clash.  His main complaint - too quaffable.

To me, this feels very well balanced, 13% alcohol is almost a surprise, it's harmonious & elegant and appealingly full of tropical fruit flavours and peach. Charentais melon perhaps?   Some dried apricot? Some zing but not overtly acidic or overly mouthwatering. It has luxurious body (coming from the Greco) for under £8.  I'm sure we'll buy this again if we ever get round to needing more wine.  My fridge is groaning and my wine rack has expanded across every available surface in the kitchen, and somewhat beyond.  Have I got a problem?  Perhaps I need a wine fridge for my birthday?

Some wines are special because of their taste.  

Some wines are special because of where/when you discovered them.

Some are special because of their price.

Some are special because of what they represent.

Qupé (pronounced kyoo-pay') is special to me because it represents my first official Christmas present from my stepson's own earnings.  Welcome to adulthood.

Visiting us in London last December, he visited Selfridge's wine department armed with a rudimentary idea about what kind of wines we like, and selected this with the help of one of the staff.  It's fair to say that Selfridge's won't always be the cheapest, but in this type of service, they excel.

Dan's choice was a success!

Syrah flavours tend to smoky, spicy liquorice & black pepper with sweet black fruit (think bramble jelly in particularly ripe examples). It can even become prune-like and some say, chocolaty depending on climate, vintage and ripeness at the time of picking. Although there is good tannin to produce age-worthy wine, they tend to be velvety and gentle rather than astringent or bitter and it can produce wines with medium or even fairly full body and a balanced acidity. These are all qualities I enjoy.

It's one of my favourite varietals and it seems to be a fashionable favourite of many, being the third most planted red wine grape in the world, behind Merlot and Grenache.  But in California, where fashion rules, plantings have remained quite static in the last ten years, leaving just a few producers, who aren't obsessed with producing the perfect Pinot (the Sideways effect).

It's also a great grape for blending with anything from it's Rhone stable mates Grenache and Mourvedre, to structure heavy Cabernet Sauvignon and even whites such as voluptuous Viognier, and you'll find single varietals and blends from most major wine producing countries from Serbia to Uruguay.

Qupé is the Chumash Indian word for California poppy, the Chumash being native to California's Central Coast where this wine is produced.  The producers are aiming for an old-world Rhone Syrah style rather than a new world Shiraz blockbuster.  Their focus is on producing well structured, high acidity wines which age well and are food friendly.  The emphasis on quality starts in the vineyard, with some of their land being farmed bio-dynamically or organically, the intention being, like the native population of old, to work with rather than against nature.  

Biodynamic farming also focuses on the lunar calendar and uses unusual techniques such as horn manure spraying on root stocks.  While it might seem like so much hocus pocus to the uninitiated, biodynamic principles are being used in more and more vineyards. Many people claim they can taste the difference.  
There's also been a marked interest in using the biodynamic calendar to show wines at their best for trade tastings, press launches etc.  If you want to read more about why people believe wine tastes better from one day to the next, check out this link, and you can find out if today is a good day for opening your best bottle using this link.  I've not done enough research to make up my own mind about this, let alone inform your opinions, but I'd love to hear from anyone who has.

So what of the wine itself?  Aside from it's sentimental value, and whether or not we drunk it on an auspicious day, was it any good?

Simple answer, yes.  

But of course, at around £20 a bottle, one would expect it to be rather more than just "good". The northern Rhone is the spiritual home of Syrah, and also it's likely birthplace.  And, in Europe at least, we can buy many great Rhone examples for a similar price tag.  So what makes this wine worth trying?

Mr Purple Teeth loved it's rich, smoothness, medium body and smoky, dark fruit flavours. And while he called it "a big wine", this is by no means one of those enormous Shiraz type wines.  It's balanced alcohol is just 13.5%, positively restrained for a new world Syrah varietal, and the tannins are subtle.

I loved the violet, blackberry and blueberry on the nose.  There was an almost perfumed scent which wasn't just dominated by the fruit.  On the palate, I found perhaps nutmeg rather than peppery spice, and an elegant restraint.   Well-balanced with a long finish of warming toasted vanilla notes, the silky tannins were almost imperceptible until you look for them.  It's very rounded, juicy and soft, making it an appealing choice on the occasion we drunk it, to celebrate my latest consulting gig.

It's not a classic Californian wine, but neither is it a Rhone replica.  Bridging the two styles with fruit and elegance, it's a serious bottle that is more likely to appeal to fans of the subtle, if you can apply the word subtle to such an intense flavour.
Will I buy it again?  At the moment, my wine rack is extending across all possible work-surfaces, to the extent that some wines for an event I'm organising are currently being stored in a wardrobe, so, not right now.  It does pop up on restaurant wine-lists from time to time though, and I think this would work well with food, perhaps a venison loin, a  lamb shoulder or a sweet and smoky barbecued chicken.  Let me know if you try it.  I'd love to hear what you think.

Cheers!

Viognier is a grape variety that I've come to drink more and more frequently over the last few years.  I've written about it before, and will probably write about it again. Feel free to skip if you are not a fan of this grape.
But how could you not be?

Many people claim not to drink white wine because it's too acidic/gives them re-flux, heartburn or whatever... (Let's not get into the fact that red-wine also can be highly acidic).  If this is you, then do try Viognier.  Typically a low-acidity varietal, with bags of aromatic character (think peach, apricot, honeysuckle, white flowers), and with a very full, silky body, this can be a very appealing wine to drink on it's own or with food. 
I'm clearly not the only one who thinks so.
  
Plantings of Viognier are now found in most major wine-producing nations, and they continue to grow in scale.  From a grape variety that was almost extinct at the end of the 1960s, being found only in a few hectares of the northern Rhone, it's now a flourishing fashionista, showing up in Virginia as that state's signature white, and can be found from countries as diverse as Brazil and Hungary.  It has a really interesting texture, an almost oily viscosity that makes it stand out from many whites.

Even red wine drinkers may be tippling on this.  Syrah (Shiraz) can often have around 5% of Viognier blended in to soften, to stabilise colour and perhaps also to add a touch of floral aromatics.  The northern Rhone again was origin of this practice, particularly in Cote-Rotie (where it still takes place), but such blends pop up now in South Africa and Australia, among others.

I've drunk a couple of different Viogniers recently, so here's what we thought of them at Chateau Purple Teeth.

With more than 500 Australian producers of Viognier now, Yalumba probably deserves the most recognition.  They were the first to commercially plant this variety in Australia's Eden Valley back as far as 1980. As the country's oldest family-owned winery, they aim for sustainable practices, and this example is from their Organic range.  

The Eden Valley has a great reputation for another aromatic variety, Riesling, and though this grape is quite different, it seems to be quite at home there.  South Australia's Eden Valley borders Barossa, which is famous for Shiraz, so we find traditional Rhone neighbours side by side here too.  

Yalumba was founded by a Dorset man, Samuel Smith, a British Brewer, back in in 1849 when he planted the first vines with his son Sidney.

Mr Purple Teeth rated it as "lovely".  Watching the world cup, at the time he had to be pushed for more. "Sweet fruitiness, easy to drink, strong flavour, good balance," he claimed.  He's getting into this wine speak more and more as I ask for his reviews.   "Not heavy - light aperitif style," he added.  At 14.5% alcohol, it certainly packs a punch more than many summer whites, though, so don't be fooled by that review.  It has a Decanter Bronze Medal for those interested in awards. I'd bought it during the recent 25% discount offer so didn't mind splashing out on a Tuesday night.

We ate with this one, and our "real world food match" was Charlie Bingham Chicken Kiev (stuffed with sun-dried tomato butter) with garlic butter sautéed asparagus, sugar snaps & baby corn with a tiny hint of chili flakes. 
There was enough strong flavours in the wine to stand up to this treatment, and the smooth, silky, almost glycerol texture, despite the light acidity, worked well with the buttery elements of the dish.  

For me, the flavour of white flowers dominated, but there was also some ripe cantaloupe melon, acacia honey, and, I felt, some uncharacteristic red pears.  I enjoyed it, albeit less than Mr Purple Teeth, and given the similar price of the wine, I'd probably favour a bottle from my local merchant, over a supermarket bottle.  
But, don't hesitate to experiment with this (currently 33% off 6 at Ocado). It's got plenty of Viognier's trademark character, and might just help convince a red wine drinker that white wine is worth drinking.

A gift from Perfect Friday Wine, this wine normally retails for £10.50

Knowing how much I enjoy Viognier, Jo was keen that I try the latest addition to her wine list, hopeful that I'd love it as much as she does.

I did.

Sampling it on a Friday evening while enjoying the last of the summer evening sunshine, it was a great way to round off the week.  And, yes, a perfect Friday wine.  (I drunk some on Thursday too. Couldn't wait, if the truth be told!)

Deliciously rich, this Chilean example has many of the trademark characters of the grape, particularly a good full body and a delightfully  "slippery" viscous mouthfeel.  Think liquid silk.  Viognier is famous for this effect.   

Colchagua Valley (where this wine is made) is one of Chile's best-known zones for the production of premium red wine.  They know how to handle their whites too, with 335 hectares of Viognier planted.  

Casa Silva is a family owned winery in their 5th generation of producing wine in the Colchagua Valley, just over 100 miles from Santiago.  They are also the most-awarded Chilean winery of the 21st century in both national and international competitions. They also have a boutique hotel and restaurant on site if you fancy a visit, some day.  
If only!

Back to the wine.  On the nose and on the palate, there's a little less of the "white flower" and more honeysuckle florals, and perhaps even more zingy tropical fruits like mango & pineapple.  Despite the zingy flavours, the acidity is restrained and in balance, making it a gentle and pleasing glassful. 10% is aged in oak, and this helps to add a very  subtle gingery spicing.
Mr Purple Teeth thought it made a great aperitif.  He enjoyed the freshness, the pineapple flavour, the viscosity and body.  He, like me, found it hard to pinpoint the right descriptors for the nose, so we settled for aromatic and appealing.

It's not a sweet wine but it satisfied the urge for an after dinner treat very well, as the perfumed aromas and flavours create a sensation of sweetness.
I'm adding it to my list of recommended wines from Perfect Friday Wine.  Readers in Cumbria can pick it up at Stainton wines, though it'll set you back £12.95 there.

I'd love to hear which Viogniers you enjoy, and what you think of them.  Why not share your own review of any Viognier, or, even better, one of these, on our Facebook page.
Cheers!

If the word Sherry conjures up images of your moustached great aunt sipping Croft Original or Harvey's Bristol Cream at Christmas, it's time to think again.  Sherry is one of the most affordable high quality wines available on our supermarket shelves and with many Gold Medal wine awards among them, they must be taken seriously by anyone who enjoys wine.  I really do urge you to try one, and if you don't like it, pass the remains of the bottle to me!

Reasons to give Sherry a try:
1) These wines love food: from olives to ice cream
2) There are a range of styles to suit different palates
3) Amazing complexity of wine for reasonable prices
4) Newly fashionable with the rise of upmarket tapas
5) Single malt whisky fans may already be a fan of the flavours of sherry, since many are aged in sherry casks


One note of caution: unless you're in a central London Tapas bar like Fino, José or Barrafina, I wouldn't recommend trying sherry by the glass in many bars.  The best way to serve these wines is young, cold and fresh, not at room temperature from a bottle that's been open for 2 weeks.  You wouldn't serve your £4.99 bottle of Pinot Grigio that way, and these wines require at least the same respect.

I've sampled a few of the award-winning examples available at high street supermarket, Sainsbury's to help you find the sherry style that suits you best.  

Manzanilla is the lightest, driest style of sherry on the market.  It's pretty much the same thing as Fino (a sherry like Tio Pepe), but because of it's unique aging location (in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, in the Cádiz region of Andalusia in Spain), it has a more delicate flavour and a reputation as the freshest style.  Both are made from 100% Palomino Fino grapes grown in the region, famous for it's chalky soils.

The "La Gitana" Manzanilla, a Gold Medal winner in the International Wine Challenge (IWC), is made by a family-owned Bodega, Hidalgo. It's one of Spain's oldest wine brands dating back to 1792, and they've been aging their wines in American oak casks in the same cellar (bodega), closest to the sea, since that time.  

With all this iconic history, you can expect a traditional Manzanilla style, and as the Gold Medal implies, this is an archetypal example of these delicate "flor aged" wines. Hidalgo are also unusual in that they take care of growing most of their own grapes too, allowing them to control the process from start to finish.  (Some producers buy in co-operatively grown grapes rather than growing their own, and focus purely on the wine-making side.)

La Gitana is widely available in supermarkets. You'll find it now at £10 for 75ml at Tesco and Waitrose, and in a handier "trial size" 50cl bottle at Sainsbury's for £8, at the time of writing (and drinking) this was on special offer at a truly tempting £6. There's never been a better time to try it.  The IWC tasting note describes it as:  "Beautifully delicate and a nutty, saline nose. The palate shows almonds, olives, lemon and apple. Complex and a long, salty, classy finish." I believe I was actually on the panel that awarded the gold medal.

This wine is designed to be drunk as soon as possible after bottling.  All the aging it needs is done in the Bodega so your only task is to get it home, chill it thoroughly, and enjoy drinking it promptly.  That's why I like the 50cl bottles. An aperitif for 2 over 2 nights and hey presto, it's gone.  

Manzanilla is a perfect aperitif style of wine, and I usually enjoy it in place of the G&T my friends so often choose.  It is salty, tangy and full ofumami, that mysterious savoury 5th flavour which just makes everything a little bit more delicious.  La Gitana sings with this, and makes a perfect partner for olives, salted Marcona almonds, or even just a few crisps as an aperitif.  I paired La Gitana successfully with a crab salad.  The seaside taste of the wine complemented perfectly the seaside taste of the crab.  It works really well with hams, chorizo and other cured meats, as well as vegetables such as spinach or tomatoes, since these are all high in umami flavours too. 

If you like this wine, you may move on to slightly less delicate style Finos which, to me, have a more pronounced biscuity and yeasty flavour.  

Also made with the Palomino Fino grape, Oloroso is deliciously different.  If you've never tasted it, you can see just by looking at the photograph here that it's a completely different colour.  And as you'd imagine with the visual difference it's quite a different drink, yet still as versatile.

Oloroso is Spanish for scented, fragrant, or smelly, depending who you ask. The IWC gold medal winning Sainsbury's Finest wine is quite pungent on the nose and has a really long finish - the tiniest sip can be tasted at least a minute later. That's one sign of a great quality wine, as are the many layers of complexity in this 12 year aged version.  

Made by Lustau, their Manuel Lozano was announced yesterday as winner of the  International Wine Challenge Fortified Winemaker of the Year, an honour he's now received a remarkable 8 times for his blending skill. 
This wine has some seriously top credentials. It also won a further award as "Great Fortified Under £10".

The IWC tasting note says, "Pale mahogany. Molasses, chocolate, explodes on palate. Layers of orange peel, curry and nuts. Excellent length. Superb fresh lemon zest notes". 

Curry in a wine flavour?  I'm not so sure, but I do recommend trying it.  It's juicy & mouthwatering & for the unprepared may be a little surprising. While it's fairly dry in terms of sugar content, the flavours are on the sweet end.  I love the toffee tones, and there's something like medjool dates and hazelnuts, maybe even a hint of fresh fig.

At 20% abv it's definitely a wine for sipping not slurping, and it is  pleasant an aperitif with some salted crisps, broad beans or nuts but it's equally appealing as an after dinner drink. 

True Oloroso is essentially a dry wine with only up to 5 grams per litre of residual sugar (less than most Brut Champagne).  However, because of the flavour profile with many "sweet" flavours, it can be misleading on the palate.  

The wine I'm recommending was IWC gold medal winning Sainsbury's finest medium dry "blend of" Oloroso. (£8 for 50cl). This means it's a bit sweeter than a true Oloroso and has had some Pedro Ximenez (PX see below) added to make it into a sweeter style. Not enough PX is added to make it sweet enough to become a "Cream" style, which has between 115-140 grams of sugar per litre, much closer to the liqueur and dessert wine end of the spectrum.  (Medium can have anything between 5 and 115 grams of sugar per litre. I was unable to find out the exact sweetness level of this example, but my guess is it's around the "dry" end at maybe 50g/l).

I can be hard to believe that Oloroso starts out from the same base wine as a Manzanilla or Fino.  The difference is the Flor yeast aging is suppressed by extra fortification and oxiditive aging takes place in the same type of Solera System. 

If you're not sure what that is, the Solera allows fractional blending over anything from 3 up to many years. This helps provide a more uniform product over time, while also adding deep layers of flavour. In Finos and Manzanillas the wines are shielded from oxygen by a layer of "flor" yeast, while in Oloroso, the wine is exposed to oxygen wihtin the barrel, hence it starts to become a much browner colour.  
You really have to taste it to understand, and this one is definitely worth a try if you like the sound of it. 
Whisky drinkers can now find Oloroso cask aged malts, so if you like those, chances are, you'll enjoy this.

If you've been wondering since the beginning when I was going to get to the wine that goes with Ice Cream, this is the one.  In fact, it's so thick and  syrupy, you can actually pour it over a scoop of vanilla. I've done it myself.

The Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Pedro Ximénez (12 year aged) is a very sweet treat. With a Gold medal from the International Wine and Spirits Challenge 2011, I agree, this is world class. I've tasted this type of wine many times. Some are just about good enough to pour on ice cream but at £8 for 50ml, this is a great value wine that's made to be sipped and enjoyed.

Sweet enough to pair with chocolate - it was a perfect match for a Gü "After Dark Salted Caramel & Chocolate" dessert & worked reasonably well with a less decadent Toblerone triangle on another occasion.  How's that for a real world food match?  

The acidity is what makes this wine different from lesser examples.  It's really mouthwatering & in a sticky wine that's vital to stop it becoming cloying & overblown.   The bottle indicates serving at room temperature, though I much prefer it chilled. Again, this stops it tasting just a tad too treacly. It will also help preserve the open wine if you keep it in the fridge, not that most of my chocaholic friends could hold on to this for more than a day or two.

Rich like liquid Christmas cake, there's raisin, prune, baked fig, and nutty goodness, some dark caramel & praline flavours, along with a dark molasses, black treacle toffee almost savoury, sweetness. 

Sun-drying the Pedro Ximénez grapes concentrates the sugars (think of how sweet and dense sun-dried tomatoes are).  They are then pressed into the base wine which spends 12 years in Solera system before being turned into this delight.  The PX grape is white, just like the Palomino Fino grape, and can make a still white wine (M&S stock one, though I haven't yet tried it).  It's the sun-drying and aging that turns this into a drink that looks a lot like liquid treacle, and almost as full-bodied.

Simply stunning. If you've got a sweet tooth, you must try this!

For a more theoretical look at the styles and range of Sherry out there (from an American perspective), there's a reasonable guide here at Wine Folly, and I've added a link to a useful book below.
I do hope some of you will now be tempted to try at least one style of sherry, especially if you've always avoided it.  Do share your results on our Facebook page.
Cheers!

Sharp-eyed twitter or Facebook followers may have noticed my recent obsession with finding wines that have placed well in the the International Wine Challenge, and yet, are available on our supermarket shelves.  Of course, I'd love to tell you they're all under £7 but that is not going to happen.  

Still, there are some bargains out there (stay tuned for an upcoming post on some special winners under £10). And there are one or two bottles that are worth a splurge if you're looking for a gift, or a wine for a truly special occasion.  This one falls more into the splurge category at £19.99 from Waitrose Cellar.  I was lucky enough to pick it up at £14.99 during the recent 25% discount offer, and seriously wish I'd bought more than one bottle.

Le Clos Pouilly-Fuissé 2010 Auvigue doesn't exactly trip off the tongue. 
It's an International Wine Challenge Silver medal winner but with it's golden hues and voluptuous mouthfeel, it's a touch of gold.

Pouilly-Fuissé is an AOC (Appellation or prestigious named area) in the Burgundy region of France, geographically part of the larger region the Mâconnais. Unlike much of Burgundy, only Chardonnay grapes may be grown so only white wines are produced.  There are no "Premier Cru" (named premium vineyard) sites in this region, simply because no growers applied for this back in 1936 when the AOC was created. Nevertheless, these are prestigious wines and usually sought after.  

For the avoidance of doubt, it's worth noting that Pouilly-Fuissé (pronounced something like "pweeyee-fweesay") is not the same wine, or even close to Pouilly-Fumé.  The latter is again, a premium white wine, but made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc in the Loire Valley around 200km north west of Poully- Fuissé.  Who said French wine was complicated? 

So what of our bottle?  Perhaps unusually, for a premium  French wine, there's actually some useful information on the back label and it's in English.  

Although much of it is in wine speak, it's still a useful aid to the customer.  We're told that the grapes are hand-harvested which helps explain the premium price, but also the quality of the wine.  

Many of our ideas about wine harvesting are probably of the jolly farmer and a few students casually picking the bunches of grapes one sunny day in September.  You may even have done this yourself, and if you have, you'll know it's back-breaking work.   Nowadays, and especially for the cheaper branded wines you'll buy in the supermarket, much harvesting is done by machine.

This keeps costs down, but also creates challenges for the winemaker.  For example, there's little chance to select only the best bunches, it can be difficult to harvest whole bunches, and there's a lot of "material other than grapes" to sort through, ranging from leaves to wildlife, not to mention inclusion of grapes that are rotten or under-ripened.

So, although it adds cost, hand-harvesting is preferred by many premium wine-makers, allowing them to pass several times through the vineyard and only pick the full bunches that are ready, or, in some cases, even individual grapes.  

Our wine label info gives us a good background on how the wine has been made and aged.  Many white wines are designed to be drunk young and fresh, in the year after the harvest.  Age isn't always a good thing when it comes to wine.  Here, we have a 2010 and it's spent 10 months in oak.  Rather than blockbuster new oak (remember a French oak barrel can cost around €800), the winemaker has elected to use barrels that have been previously used.  This may seem like a shrewd cost-cutting measure, though the real reason is to ensure that the wine still tastes of fruit rather than trees.  Delicate white wines can be overpowered by new oak, tasting so much of toasty, nutty, vanilla that there's very little fruit left.  Aging in second-use oak allows more subtle oaky notes to permeate the wine, so we find more creamy, dairy, buttery notes rather than a full-on wood-fest.  

And what does it taste like? I'm not sure about you, but "cool notes of undergrowth, melted mineral and a muscular mouth" aren't the first words that spring to mind when I think about what I'm looking for in a white wine.  So let me try to translate that for you.

This Chardonnay is  buttery, creamy, with a subtle toastiness; imagine toasted brioche, dripping with unsalted butter.   There is lots of fruit and combined with a refreshingly mouthwatering acidity, the sensation is much like biting into a perfectly ripe, juicy pineapple, almost with the same tingle on the roof of the mouth.  It's full-bodied and voluptuous, meaning it fills your mouth with an almost velvety texture, and there's a lasting flavour, almost a hint of steel.  Put your nose in the glass and it can only be top-quality sensitively-oaked Chardonnay.  There are real complex notes here - more things to find and each sip is a pleasure. This is subtle but not austere, ripe but not overblown, a balanced wine that surely must convince the abc* brigade of the error of their ways.
 
I asked Mr Purple Teeth for his description, as I usually do.  This time he declined to comment, simply because he was too engrossed in the glass.  By his second glass, he was even less interested in finding the words to describe it, as he simply wallowed in it's (silver) golden glow.  

Cheers!

*abc = anything but chardonnay

July 4th. American Independence Day. A day for choosing American wine.

If you were reading Purple Teeth this time last year, you may have heard of my weakness for Oregon Pinot Noir (and Pinot Noir in general). 
Pinot Noir is that thin-skinned fashion model of a grape, a pain to grow, needing tender loving care and exactly the right conditions.  Perhaps that's why it's so beloved of wine afficionados.  
For me, simply, it's the first red wine I really "discovered". The cool climate of my Swiss home was limited to growing this red wine grape, along with it's many whites. It's not that I'm a wine snob, or fashion victim, honestly.  My second excuse is that one of my closest friends in Switzerland was from Oregon.  And yet, I've still not been there.  
I know, it's a tragedy.

Oregon Pinot Noir is a tough thing to be a fan of, unless you live in Oregon. Not much makes it to the UK and what little does is usually at least as expensive as a good Burgundy (the spiritual and natural home of Pinot Noir), so what would be the point?  
Oregon's wine production is a paltry 1.8 million cases a year, and while the huge majority is Pinot Noir, at less than 1% of US Wine production to California's 88.5%, it's not exactly giving Gallo Family Vineyards any cause to lose sleep. In fact, Gallo Familiy Vineyards probably produce more wine than the entire states of Oregon and Washington combined.  But enough of them and back to our story.

It's been tough to get hold of Oregon's finest export. Until now.
I strolled into my local branch of M&S on the 4th of July and found Underwood - an IWC Gold Medal winner at "just" £13.  Trust me.  For a gold medal winner from the International Wine Challenge, that is a snip.  While I often peruse the shelves of Marks and Spencer, I don't buy a large proportion of my wines from there.  There was no "thinking about it" with this one - I got the last bottle on the shelves. Seems I'm not the only one to spot a bargain in Maidenhead. The cool coastal climate of the Umpqua Valley, at this price? A must try.
From my experience as an associate judge at the International Wine Challenge, I know that these gold medals are not given out lightly.  A wine must be truly representative of it's type, and a great example,  to qualify for any sort of medal.  M&S seem to be stocking more and more niche and quality wines, these days.  I'll continue my habit of perusing the shelves each time I'm in.

Underwood could be the perfect summer red. It's an extremely juicy and refreshing example of the varietal. The mouth positively waters at the crisp acidity. In that respect, it's much like a white wine, as is the light to medium body.

There's enough tannin to create a balanced wine, but it's so soft, you have to look for it - ideal for those who dislike heavy tannic reds.

What would Mr "only full-bodied, tannic wines need apply" Purple Teeth make of it?

"Its a style I like," he said, "not especially complex but really drinkable". He then went on to finish his glass before me, as if to prove the point.

I think I can now safely say I've made a Pinot Noir fan out of my hubby. At last!