Trying Tesco

I haven't bought any significant amount of wine in Tesco for a good while; for the last while anytime I've been there shopping and have browsed the wine, I find there's very little I'd want to try. I used to drink a lot of their own brand wines, particularly from Italy and the Rhone. I guess I must have overdone it because I went off them, and to this reviewer's eye they don't seem to add new stuff that often.

Anyhoo, I was down in Dundrum today in a hurry and grabbed the three suspects in the picture at left. The top shelf in my "cellar" is empty apart from a Pink Elephant Rosé and an "invisible" bottle of Ogio Primitivo (long story, but at €6 odd in Tesco it's great value)

Note: I lost the receipt, so all prices are approximate.

We recently sampled one of Laurent Miquel's "Grandes Cuvées",  the  Bardou St Chinian Syrah 2007 (approx €12), on special from Dunnes and it was divine. I can't find this wine, a Heritage Vineyards Syrah 2008 on their website, so I am not sure where it fits into the Laurent Miquel  hierarchy. I'm enjoying a glass right now as Ireland struggle to come to terms with Slovakia. I'm rather liking this, it's not terribly complex but it is exceptionally well balanced and very tasty, another classic old world syrah.

Next up is a Piccini Chianti Reserva 2008 (approx €8), I had this once before in June's and loved so here's hoping, especially at this price.
**Update - eh, this was fine, not sure I'd buy again, even at this bargain price.

Lastly, a rule breaker. I have a rule never to buy cheap Bordeaux or Burgundy as it is never worth it. I bought a Chateau Haut Langlade 2008 (€10 reduced from €20) from the Montagne St Emilion region. If this is a genuine €20 bottle then this may be a good bet.
**Update - decent, but again nothing to write home about, more of a generic French red than any particlular Bordeaux-like qualities, but not bad for a tenner.

The boy done good

Its been a little over a week and I've had a chance to sample three of the wines I got here.

I got six of Chateau Cailleval Cotes De Bergerac 2005 and have been told, by the lady of the chateau that this should improve for a number of years. I intend to put a couple in my "cellar" but for now it's drinking well and very tasty. Its reasonably easy drinking, fruity but not overly so. Hopefully it will mature over the next few years.

We had the in-laws over for a very wet Bank Holiday BBQ and I decided we would have some of the three Chateau Tonneret St Emilion 2006, to go with the large hunk of beef generously provided by D&G. This was described to me as "a simple St Emilion, not for keeping" and so it proved, Herself really liked it. Given I have three of the the 2007 to "cellar", we'll probably drink the last one of these now.

The last of the three sampled so far is Chateau La Peyreyre Haut-Medoc 2005. This proved divisive when bought, although it was early morning and one of the tasters was very hung-over so I wasn't sure what to expect. On opening this was a little sharp and unbalanced. Two hours later however and it had all come together nicely and had become probably the best of the three, a big well balanced complex animal. I suspect has the ability to age well but I'm not sure I'll be able to resist drinking it .

Lastly, a few posts back I put up a link to Kevin Ecock's review of all of Superquinn's own brand range. The only new one I've been able to try so far is the New Zealand Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Kevin said "Just what the punter wants from NZ. €10.00". If you like this style of white then you will love this version. Delicious and great value at a tenner.

The Fruits of someone else's labours

The Boys (BE & GG) returned safe and sound from Bergerac on Sunday, sailing through customs this time. Note to any wine travelers 1) Always say all the wine is for yourself, 2) Get all receipts made out in your name and 3) Keep all the receipts handy when you arrive back on-shore.

So I went round last evening to see what my stake had been spent on and I was pleasantly surprised. Last year I picked up red, white and Monbazillac (the local sweet wine) from Chateau Cailleval a small "mom and pop" vineyard in Pomport near Bergerac. At the time the 2005 wasn't bottled and I opined here, that I wanted to go back and get some. Fair play to the lads they went and bought a couple of cases and they tried it and said that it was very nice indeed. I also asked for another bottle of the Chateau Haut-Theulet Monbazillac 2004, which materialised in re-branded form as a 2005 Chateau Cailleval Monbazillac 2005 this year.

Being a bit skint this year I didn't order too much wine, so the balance of my order was made up of Chateau Tonneret St Emilion 2006 & 2007. The 2006 is for drinking now, while according to the Chateau owner the 2007 needs another year. I also got some Chateau La Peyreyre Haut-Medoc 2005, opinions were divided on this; BE liked it , GG not so much. They were told it needs at least another year in the bottle so we'll see next year. Lastly a single bottle of Chateau Gaubert St Emilion Grand Cru 2005 to lay down. I've had various vintages of this over the last couple of years and it has never disappointed.

Here's the full list:

6X Chateau Cailleval Cotes De Bergerac 2005 - €8-20
3X Chateau Tonneret St Emilion 2006 - €8-80
3X Chateau Tonneret St Emilion 2007 - €8-50
3X Chateau La Peyreyre Haut-Medoc 2005 - €7-80
1X Chateau Gaubert St Emilion Grand Cru 2005 - €11-50
1X Chateau Cailleval Monbazillac 2005 (50cl) - €10-90

I'm going to crack open a Chateau Cailleval Cotes De Bergerac 2005 tonight, report to follow.

Chateau Destiny

On a whim I decided to open the dusty number at left, which I have had in my "cellar" for a number of years - I think I got it as part payment for a nixer. Either way I figured its time had come. Robert Parker, on the other hand disagrees . He had a '96 St Emilion as an 87T, T being "still tannic, youthful or slow to mature", 87 being the score, which is "above average to excellent".

Incidentally - Chateau Despair was one of the eight Grand Cru that were demoted in the 2006 St Emilion Classification but were re-instated after much legal wrangling - full story here.

I was not surprised by this wine - I expected it to be a decent, mid range Bordeaux and thus it was. Nice but unexceptional.

Back on Topic: I'm gonna try and get to Aldi this weekend as it's the only big chain whose wines I haven't tried.

Chateau Plaisance and Arthur at the Fair

I was at a Bastille day do in Donnybrook Fair last night, ate some lovely canapes, some delicious cheese and drank a surprisingly good Fleurie along with a crisp Pouilly Fumé as supplied by our hosts.

Just before we* left, much the happier it must be said, we met Arthur who told us about his friend Derek & Kathy who had bought Chateau Plaisance and were attempting to make a go of it in the shark infested waters of tradition in St Emilion. I said I would help publicise Derek and Kathy's efforts in this forum (with my huge readership!!). Arthur had written this piece previously.

Anyhoo, I couldn't resist and bought a bottle of the Pegos Claros for Herself and I to sip when I got home. I would encourage anybody who vists Donnybrook Fair to try this, it's steal at €12-99.

*Mavis, the sailing widow & I

2002 Montagne St Emilion - Pierre Chanau

This is a first for me - I'm liveblogging - by which I mean as I write this, on my mother-in-laws laptop, I am drinking the above mentioned wine, while nibbling some leftover Cambozola. Herself's younger sister suggested I write a post on one of the wines that are in storage here at the in-laws, awaiting the return of their rightful owners from parts foreign and far-away.

To that end I had a quick rummage through the shed and pulled out this Montagne St Emilion. From looking at the vintage charts 2002 was only an OK year but this wine is a very pleasant, easy drinking example of the region. The tannins are soft and rounded, there is a little fruit upfront and there is a decent chunk of that lovely Bordeaux minerality. This wine is drinking well now and I'd advise JP, if you're reading this to drink this up asap when you come back.

I'm a big fan of the satellite appelations of St Emilion as there is great value to be had beacuse they are considered to be somewhat inferior to the St Emilion appelation itself. I don't understand this as I have recenty brought back some cracking wines from around St Emilion at bargain prices.

Anyhoo - thanks to JP for supplying the goods for tonight - and now that I know where the goods are located, I can't guarantee they will remain intact 8-)

Note: for the eagle eyed among you, I used our regular digital camera for the first time rather than the my crappy phone camera and I think the difference is clear ( even though I resized and chopped the heck out of the image)