I'm not really at an age where birthdays are cause for celebration. No number ending in a 5 or a 0 to enforce jollity, this time. Aching bones. Taking longer and longer to recover from a weekend of dancing... And to make matters worse, YouTube has now started placing banner advertisements for pre-paid funeral plans across the screen. It's a surefire way to make a gal run screaming from the birthday cake and off to the wine rack.
The one good thing about birthdays, however, is that you get to be truly self-indulgent, and it suddenly seems reasonable to open a £20+ bottle of wine any night of the week. Please don't expect any bargain reviews for Wine of the Week this time around. This blogger needed cheering up, and guaranteed quality is where I headed. Please don't let me count how much money was in the wines I consumed this week, for every penny was well spent.
The one good thing about birthdays, however, is that you get to be truly self-indulgent, and it suddenly seems reasonable to open a £20+ bottle of wine any night of the week. Please don't expect any bargain reviews for Wine of the Week this time around. This blogger needed cheering up, and guaranteed quality is where I headed. Please don't let me count how much money was in the wines I consumed this week, for every penny was well spent.
Pinot Noir grapes growing in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel Pinot Noir is one of the most expressive grapes of the terroir (the area where it's grown) that I've ever experienced. It's hard to grow, requires love and attention and can be fickle. It's also the constituent of the finest red Burgundies which can be cellared and enjoyed for many years and in France is also grown in Alsace, Champagne (where it's turned into fizz), and in Sancerre - yes, really! It's also grown in many other countries around the world including Germany, England, Chile, New Zealand, Australia and the USA. I first fell in love with this grape in Switzerland, where it was the only permitted red wine grape grown in the Neuchâtel region, where I was lucky enough to live for 6 years. It's there I went from complete wine novice to enthusiast, sampling much more than just the local flavour. Mr Purple Teeth is less of a fan of the complicated Pinot Noir. He prefers less subtlety, and crazy giant wines, or heavy St Julien Bordeaux first growths. He likes to know what he's going to get when he opens a bottle, and with Pinot Noir, you not only have to know the grape but also understand a bit of the regional character. So, it was that I decided to take the opportunity of my birthday week to drink a number of rather gorgeous Pinot Noirs from around the world, and tell you all about them.
Hospices de Strasbourg Pinot Noir (12.5% abv). Sadly not for sale in the UK. What better way to start a birthday week of wine indulgence than by drinking wine that was a gift? My favourite Alsatian wine pusher recently opted to break away from the white tradition and had bestowed this bottle upon me a few weeks ago. Alsace Pinots are among the lightest on the list. The last one I had was so light that I didn't even bother offering any to Mr Purple Teeth as one look told me he'd scoff at it.
This one was a fair bit darker but still a delicate pale cherry red colour. It had a light body and pretty high acidity which really makes the mouth water, tempting you to take another sip. There were lots of the delicious strawberry flavours I'd expect as well as some toasty almond from the oak aging. It's got a lovely long finish and continues to develop in the mouth for much longer than you'd expect from such a light wine. I saved some (with difficulty) to enjoy the next day. The flavours had developed further with hints of plum and cherry, and a real spiciness was starting to come through. All in all, a rather satisfying wine which would doubtless have yielded an even better experience had I had the patience to hold onto it for a year or two. I'm really grateful to have such wonderful friends, who ply me with delicious wines. One glass of this reminded me just how good life is and, for a few moments at least, made me forget all about adverts for pre-paid funeral plans. It also convinced Mr Purple Teeth that perhaps he'd been too hasty in judging a wine by it's colour.
This one was a fair bit darker but still a delicate pale cherry red colour. It had a light body and pretty high acidity which really makes the mouth water, tempting you to take another sip. There were lots of the delicious strawberry flavours I'd expect as well as some toasty almond from the oak aging. It's got a lovely long finish and continues to develop in the mouth for much longer than you'd expect from such a light wine. I saved some (with difficulty) to enjoy the next day. The flavours had developed further with hints of plum and cherry, and a real spiciness was starting to come through. All in all, a rather satisfying wine which would doubtless have yielded an even better experience had I had the patience to hold onto it for a year or two. I'm really grateful to have such wonderful friends, who ply me with delicious wines. One glass of this reminded me just how good life is and, for a few moments at least, made me forget all about adverts for pre-paid funeral plans. It also convinced Mr Purple Teeth that perhaps he'd been too hasty in judging a wine by it's colour.
D'Arenberg The Feral Fox Pinot Noir (2009) ~£15 Our next trip to our wine rack's Pinot Noir shelf turned up a very different example, but an equally satisfying one. We moved to the southern hemisphere for the D'Arenberg's Adelaide Hills "The Feral Fox" 2009 (14.5% abv). It's far darker in colour and has more depth and body. Being a couple of years older than the Alsace example it's got a lot more mature flavours and a lot less fruit on the nose. There's something meaty or gamey here, and more of a black fruit flavour than a red fruit one. It had a surprisingly high tannin level. There's greater extraction of colour from the skins with whole grape clusters macerated before traditional foot treading of the naturally fermenting crushed grapes. The tannins are smooth and velvety rather than drying or gripping but they definitely add a textural element. Adelaide Hills is a cool climate region which is renowned locally for its Pinot, though I'd never before tasted one. Again, acidity is noticeable as a mouthwatering desire for another sip. Mr Purple Teeth preferred this example, though he surprised me by quite enjoying the complexity of the Alsace wine. Our Australian example is definitely ready to drink now, and seems a little less complex, but it's a delicious example of Australian Pinot that, unlike some Californian versions manages to avoid going jammy when the body is increased. We bought this bottle several years ago from our local merchant, Alfred the Grape, during a D'Arenberg wine tasting evening, though we hadn't been able to try this example on the night. I wish we'd bought more than one bottle now. It was £15.99 and is now sold out. I've yet to meet a D'Arenberg wine I didn't like, and despite being from a different zone than most of their wines, this definitely keeps to the house style. You may find the 2011 a little easier to get hold of and the 2010 is for sale here but I'd recommend keeping it for a year or so to let it develop and enjoying it with a nice meal of duck or loin of venison.
2010 WillaKenzie Estate Oregon Pinot Noir (13.5% abv) (2011 Tanners £26.25) Moving to the United States, we next sampled a 2010 Pinot from Oregon's WillaKenzie Estate. I'd very favourably reviewed the 2008 some time ago, and Tanner's now only have the 2011 in stock. It's fruitier but no less appealing, and if you're more patient than I am, this wine may improve further in the bottle. Interestingly though, for a £25+ American wine, this one comes with a screw top, indicating there's no real intention to lay it down for years.
Oregon is the prime Pinot Noir region in the States. The climate is perfect and the reputation of the wines is giving California run for it's money.
The flavour is fruits of the forest, so it's strawberry, but not those giant, bright red tasteless ones. Instead it's reminiscent of the dark and tiny wild strawberries you might be lucky enough to find on a woodland hike with hints of cherry and plum There's some vanilla and a creamy smoothness and perhaps even a hint of violet. It is a good balanced wine though the acidity and tannin was definitely less noticeable than in the other 2 examples. In the past I'd drunk this successfully with roast chicken or roast beef and this time, I drunk it just for pleasure, without food. On day 2, I tried serving it with a meatloaf. That was a mistake due to the tomato based sauce, so I put it to one side to drink later, and instead revisited D'Arenberg for a Dead Arm Shiraz. Well, it is my birthday week! If you really want to sample the Willamette Valley and Oregon Pinots, there aren't that many to choose from in the UK though The Wine Society also stock one for under £20, which I've now ordered to refill my rather depleted Pinot Noir shelf. More news on that once I've sampled it, no doubt.
Oregon is the prime Pinot Noir region in the States. The climate is perfect and the reputation of the wines is giving California run for it's money.
The flavour is fruits of the forest, so it's strawberry, but not those giant, bright red tasteless ones. Instead it's reminiscent of the dark and tiny wild strawberries you might be lucky enough to find on a woodland hike with hints of cherry and plum There's some vanilla and a creamy smoothness and perhaps even a hint of violet. It is a good balanced wine though the acidity and tannin was definitely less noticeable than in the other 2 examples. In the past I'd drunk this successfully with roast chicken or roast beef and this time, I drunk it just for pleasure, without food. On day 2, I tried serving it with a meatloaf. That was a mistake due to the tomato based sauce, so I put it to one side to drink later, and instead revisited D'Arenberg for a Dead Arm Shiraz. Well, it is my birthday week! If you really want to sample the Willamette Valley and Oregon Pinots, there aren't that many to choose from in the UK though The Wine Society also stock one for under £20, which I've now ordered to refill my rather depleted Pinot Noir shelf. More news on that once I've sampled it, no doubt.
It's fair to say that my wines this week have taken on a rather celebratory feel. I've reached for the premium bottles that normally only get a look in on those rare weekends when I'm actually at home. I've loved rekindling my passion for Pinot and Mr Purple Teeth's interest has also been piqued. So it's been a successful week. While on my supermarket sweep I noticed a few examples that didn't quite fit the bill for a Purple Teeth pampering, but you might give them a go. The Bradshaw Macedonian Pinot Noir for under £5 at Asda certainly has an attractive label and price, and the New Zealand Brancott Estate Pinot is £8 there and widely available for <£10. I've at least tasted that one before. Like the Tierra y Hombre Chilean Pinot from Marks and Spencer it's full of distinctive strawberry flavours and presents a useful introduction to the grape. Sadly, I didn't get to splash out on a decent Burgundy this birthday. No Nuits-Saint-Georges or Gevrey-Chambertin felt inclined to leap into my basket, but there's always Christmas. If you're new to Pinot Noir, I'd love to hear what you think of it, wherever it's from.
Meanwhile, celebrations continued outside of the world of Pinot, and while I don't want to show this blog post to my doctor, I've enjoyed several other wines this week besides the ones featured above...
Meanwhile, celebrations continued outside of the world of Pinot, and while I don't want to show this blog post to my doctor, I've enjoyed several other wines this week besides the ones featured above...
Julius 2011 Petite Arvine from Valais in Switzerland was definitely my most exclusive wine of the week. It's hard enough to find Petite Arvine in Switzerland and this bottle was hand-carried from Zurich airport by a dance buddy as a special order. I opened it for my birthday aperitif and was delighted. Rich, fat, creamy, floral, almost honeyed sweetness. This was a less mineral/grapefruit example than I'd expected but nonetheless utterly decadent and delicious - just right for a birthday treat. The Fiano di Avellino accompanied delicious seared scallops and crab papardelle at Caldesi in Campagna, my birthday restaurant treat. Good minerality and crispness to cut through a selection of rich fish dishes. The Bruno Sorg Gewurztraminer was a recommendation from a friend who is also a huge fan of Alsace wines. The 2011 is now available at the Wine Society for a little over £11 while this 2010 was around £13.50 from Tanners. Again this seems sweet because it's so ripe, full-bodied and full of honeyed rose and lychee flavour. I'm looking forward to seeing what the 2011 is like as I couldn't resist ordering it. The Dead Arm Shiraz (2007) concluded my fine wine exploits for the week. If you can find it, expect to pay around £30 a bottle. It's everything you could want from an Australian Shiraz, dark black fruit, dark spices, mocha, leather, full bodied and simply delightful after a week of light Pinot!
Perhaps getting older isn't so bad after all. Now roll on Christmas when I next get to drink myself silly for a week on premium wines! As for wine of the week next week, I think I'll give myself a week for my liver to recover and then let you know... Cheers!
Perhaps getting older isn't so bad after all. Now roll on Christmas when I next get to drink myself silly for a week on premium wines! As for wine of the week next week, I think I'll give myself a week for my liver to recover and then let you know... Cheers!
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