RSS FEED IDEMS: The Merry Drinker
- Bandol 2004, Domaine Tempier
Quite a few of my relatives are tight-fisted. This is a common disease throughout Britain, but it reaches epidemic levels in the North. My Lancastrian relations sweat with terror at the thought of parting with money, and will go to astonishing lengths to avoid doing so.
The worst of these – I must be [...]
Sun, 07 Oct 2007 18:34:34 +0000
- Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2006, Collection Alain Corcia
One of the wine drinker’s holy grails is good, cheap Burgundy. By “good” I mean typically Burgundian; something with the fleshy, gamey quality of successful Pinot Noir. By “cheap” I mean under $15 in the US or £10 in the UK.
“What you want is impossible,” I am always told, usually by people who [...]
Wed, 26 Sep 2007 02:25:24 +0000
- Chrysalis Vineyards Viognier 2005, Virginia
In my item on Condrieu I mentioned successful Viogniers from places other than the Rhône. I have now got round to sampling this one, from Middleburg in Virginia, and I recommend it warmly.
Its makers, Chrysalis Vineyards, have been in business for only a decade. They have all the exuberance of youth. “We [...]
Thu, 20 Sep 2007 16:38:33 +0000
- Pisano-Arretxea Grand Reserve 2004, Progreso
Uruguayans often describe their country as the Switzerland of South America, presumably meaning it is stabler and more prosperous than its neighbours. That’s fair enough, I suppose, though the point grows tiresome with repetition. A Uruguayan lady of my acquaintance used to say it almost every time I ran into her. One [...]
Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:11:14 +0000
- Meandro Do Vale Meão 2004, Douro
“Good place, Portugal,” said a colleague recently. “I’m thinking of moving there.”
“Oh? Why?”
“Weather’s OK. Food’s good. So’s the wine.”
That last bit made me perk up. It was over twenty years since I had drunk anything Portuguese, but I could recall the last bottle clearly: an indifferent mass-market rosé. Half-way [...]
Sat, 08 Sep 2007 23:36:16 +0000
- Château la Louvière White 2002, Pessac-Léognan
One must always be careful with dry whites from Bordeaux. Far too many of them are sour, ill-bred nasties, guaranteed to leave your breath smelling like a drain. They are the unhappy result of decades of government subsidy, a system which debased much of the region’s wine and cheated everyone else both as [...]
Sun, 02 Sep 2007 21:33:27 +0000
- Château Ksara Reserve du Couvent 2005
One thing the French excel at, apart from food and wine, is giving other nations inferiority complexes. Somehow they have persuaded most of the world’s educated classes that France represents the summit of human sophistication, and that by comparison the rest of us are clodhopping peasants. This delusion is [...]
Sun, 26 Aug 2007 22:29:19 +0000
- Linden Claret 2003, Virginia
Ever tried Virginia wine? When it is good, it is very good indeed. And scarcely anyone has heard of it yet, which means there are some real bargains to be had.
In 2003 the state of Virginia grew 3,600 tons of grapes, producing 576,000 gallons of wine. By US standards that is not [...]
Sun, 26 Aug 2007 15:00:40 +0000
- Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2004, Marlborough
Above all else I am a lover of the Pinot Noir grape. If I were compelled to drink only one wine for the rest of my life, that wine would undoubtedly be a Burgundy, the grape’s highest expression. (Ah, but which one?)
But I am not a millionaire. And each year, like all [...]
Mon, 20 Aug 2007 20:45:13 +0000
- Condrieu 2005 E. Guigal
I read all the time that Viognier is a highly fashionable grape. Perhaps it is, but not among anyone I know. When it is time to serve white wines, most of my friends still pour out oaky Chardonnays, citric Sauvignon Blancs and the occasional Pinot Grigio.
Nothing wrong with any of that, of course. [...]
Mon, 20 Aug 2007 20:37:27 +0000
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