Wine Appreciation / Oenophiles

... and, if you feel a bit flush, try this, it's lovely > http://www.majestic.co.uk/find/keyword-is-rioja/product-is-14468/pgs-is-108

yeah I've been curious about that one. will try it if I find it on a promo next time I am shopping.

Don't discount French wine, there is a lot of well priced excellent wine. It's just a case of avoiding the big famous names /regions.

Wines which I have found to often represent good value are (in no particular order)

Reds from the loire - generally light interesting cab franc
South Western reds - madiran, marcillac, minervois, St chinian
Wine from the savioe region of the alps

The Chakana Malbec (Argentinian) I ordered turned out to be the dogs bollox.

This is a good offer right now though:
http://www.winedirect.co.uk/marques-de-riscal-rioja-reserva-2007--

nice one!

contra to the seasonal change, have really enjoyed this chardonnay > http://www.majestic.co.uk/find/category-is-Wine/category-is-Argentina/keyword-is-Catena/product-is-40024

its lesser sibling is also very pleasant > http://www.majestic.co.uk/find/category-is-Wine/category-is-Argentina/keyword-is-Catena/product-is-40020

Lovely winter drinking > http://wine.telegraph.co.uk/product/Red-Still-Wine/Allegrini-Palazzo-della-Torre-IGT-Veneto-2009/1029209#.UK6MuKOny2c < can be had for as little as £14 if you shop around and purchase a case

Because of my budding interest in wine someone at work has been giving me a few free bottles to try at home. These are pricey wines initially traded at high volume, then a few left overs of these are given as freebies to clients. Then what I have been given are the leftovers of that again. Bottles that have come to the point where they may no longer be drinkable, hence not a good idea to give to esteemed clients. I suppose they are using me as a guinea pig, sort of.

The bottle I tried last week I had to spit out straight away. A French thing worth 50 - 60 quid if it had been good (I googled the price). Right now I am sipping a Castello di Quarceto 1985. Although tasty I still think it is slightly off. I lack points of reference in terms of "something-went-wrong-in-the-wine-cellar" so I am reading up on the internets about how to spot a bad wine etc. That fact that I am still drinking it is I suppose a good sign, but it might be just a bit too acidic (oxydised right?) and I am guessing it is quite cloudy. Though I cannot be certain of the cloudiness not knowing what the wine looked like initially. There is also something else I cannot quite figure out; after each sip my tongue and teeth feels sort of dry, almost a bit raspy if that makes sense.
So... yeah?

Bin it, that feeling is classic corkage - you could end up being unwell

Sounds like tannins - the same feeling you get from strong black cold tea.? Although tannins are normally more pronounced in younger wines and tend to soften with age.
Oxidation should be pretty obvious - alcohol oxidises to ethanoic acid (vinegar)

Yeah, no doubt a slight hint of oxidisation, the top of the seal seemed to have slight dent so that's possibly how that came about. But I am prepared to accept a less than perfect acidity in order to explore a wine that trades at 40 + quid a bottle.

Now, the cork itself is quite dark, almost black on the underside, but does not smell mouldy or dodgy in any way ... so can it still be corked?

Following Danb's comment on tannins I just found this:
" .... that drying, puckery feeling that seems to roll down the middle of your tongue and coat your mouth. The wine feels deep and … complex. That’s the tannins in the red wine.... "*

Sounds bang on to me.

*http://antiwinesnob.com/wine-articles/whats-the-difference-between-tannins-and-acidity/

Corked - means the cork is tainted with TCA (comes from a naturally occuring fungus) - smells like bandaid, leaf mould, damp cellars etc and normally kills the bright, fruity characteristics of the wine.

Oxidised - happens naturally over time, quicker if the wine has been exposed to heat, or poorly stabilised (poor closure / insufficient sulphuring etc.) Tends to turn reds more brown in colour, and whites into a deep gold. Tastes kinda burnt, or sherry like with diminished fruit and vibrancy and much shorter finish.

Award winning cheap red from the Co-op

Les Jamelles Reserve Mourvèdre 2011, Wine Review - YouTube

I just bought Cono Sur Pinot Noir 2011 for the Christmas dinner because there is a bike on the label.... Some of you must have bought it at some point for that very same reason... Is it any good? I should really know what to choose by now but I am beyond thinking..

it's ok, pinot noir will go with turkey

I bought some fizzy piss.. some of it expensive British stuff that's supposed to compete with Champagne and some cheap Kiwi stuff. Yay for fizzy piss!

it's ok, pinot noir will go with turkey

Ta very much..

I got a spare tix to Wine Tasting tonight £10 if interested.
http://www.virginwines.co.uk/promotions/index.jsp?ref=VW6589&bmUID=jQvcWq_

Discovered a new grape. Viognier, a bit like Riesling. Very nice in this weather.

^mmm apricoty

Big on the lightly chilled Beaujolais this summer

Off to the Alps in Sept, so will be restocking the (very depleted) cellar....

It's a nice fresh easy drinking varietal. If you like that style of wine you'll probably like Grüner Veltliner as well.

burgundy region hit by massive floods and terrible hail storms
75% of grape harvest allegedly ruined

if it's a good year for the rest of the grapes prices will shoot up
will this have an effect on other good vintages ?

^ indeed another difficult year for burgundy growers:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dbwbyGgTXiM/Ue-HE8hsDeI/AAAAAAAAAHA/xtm-rDXffhM/s1600/009.JPG

what a torrent

It's France, so the prices will go up. If its a cracking year, the grapes are great, so prices go up. If its a shit vintage, there are less good grapes, so the prices go up.

got to love the french

which is why buying good chilean wine is a great idea. if you like bordeaux style then rothschild's los vascos is good drinking, from the competitively priced cab sav, up to the superb le dix > https://www.leaandsandeman.co.uk/Red-Wine-24/Chile-47-02.html