Trains and Wines

Old steam locomotives, the Royal Family’s carriages, omnibuses and model railways. And then Riesling, Pinot Noir, Touriga Nacional, Sangiovese and Gewürztraminer. Trains and Wines. I love both – for travelling and for pleasure.

The Danish wine retailer, Holte Vinlager, recently invited to a Wine Festival at an extraordinary place, The Danish Railway Museum in Odense. Thereby they made is possible to drink lovely wine from all over the world while looking at old locomotives and carriages.

The Wine Festival was part of a caravan with many producers touring around Denmark. Tasting wine is always nice, but even better when it is served by the people who have made it and know all the details about grape varieties, soil, harvest, fermentation and storage of their wine. Not to mention people who are enthusiastic and have passion.

”It is always something special to taste wine with the people, who are making it. Therefore it is a unique chance for our customers”, explained Boy Levin from Holte Vinlager.

All together is was possible to taste more than 140 different wines from sparkling Champagne over white and red to late harvest wine and sherry from countries like France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Portugal, South Africa, Argentina, Chile, United States, New Zealand and Australia. With so many different possibilities, you have to make some decisions. My decision was to concentrate on a few regions and taste both the entry level and the more expensive bottles. Here are some of the notes from the choices I made.

After dry Champagne from Charles Ellner, I started in Alsace, first Joseph Cattin and then Chateau d´Orschwihr.

The Cattin family has produced wine through three centuries on a broad range of grape varieties from all over Alsace. I tried some of their basic wines, Riesling 2012, Pinot Gris 2013 and finally Pinot Noir 2011. The first was dry and fresh with citrus, minerals and floral notes. The second had more fruit flavours and apricot and was a bit spicier. And then I must admit that I have always found Pinot Noir from Alsace to light. It has some of the typical fruit flavours, but is lacking body and power.

The Hartmann family, who owns Chateau d´Orschwihr, has vineyards both around Enchenberg and Bollenberg, the latter a terroir famous for its Gewürztraminer. I tried the fresh, dry and fruity Riesling Bollenberg 2011 with lemon and pineapple on the pallet, and then Pinot Gris Bollenberg 2012 which had more acid. They were followed by to very delicious vines, Gewürztraminer Bollenberg 2011 and Cuvée Madame 2002. The first with exotic fruits like apricot and elderberry, the latter sweat with peach and honey and some floral notes in the nose. 

From Burgundy Georges Lignier & Fils brought a white, straight and clean Chardonnay, Montagny 1. cru 2011 and then three red: A very young Morey St. Denis 2011, Morey St. Denis des Ormes 1. cru 2009 and Chambille-Musigny 2008. Typically tasty Pinot Noir with a good structure, raspberry, fruit and some spices.

From the Douro in Portugal came Rafael Molezun from Real Companhia Velha, whom I met some days before at the Port Festival in Copenhagen. This time he brought the companies table wine from non expensive Porca de Murca and from Evel. The white Porca de Murca Bianco 2011 was very fresh with lemon, a bit pineapple and nice acidity. It is a blend of Viosinho, Gouveio, Moscatel, Arinto and Fernão – and a very good buy when it comes to cheap white wine. The Porca de Murca Tinto 2012 and Tinto Reserva 2009 is made of typically port varieties like Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca, both fruity and well bodied. The Evel Reserva Douro 2008 was very dark and had cherries and plums on the palette and a lot of power. More structure and the typically Douro-taste.  

Finally I visited two Italian tables. In my opinion the most impressive one, when it comes to value for money, was Produttori di Govone – an association of 250 members, who produce more than 3 million bottles a year. From Piedmont I tried their Anniversario 2011, Barbera d´Alba 2007, Barbaresco 2010 and Barolo Reserva 2005 and then they also had a Tuscan wine, Ca´ del Toscanello 2009. The Barbera was very fruity and creamy. Ca´del Toscanello based on Sangiovese was a nice surprise. Cherries and darker notes, mature and smooth, but with good tannins as well and a long tail.

From Valpolicella Cantine Benedetti presented their Ripasso and Amarone wine from the entry level to the top. The entry level, Antico Borgoceo, honestly disappointed me. Benedetti Ripasso and Amarone Croce del Gal 2006 (Corvina Veronese, Corvinone, Rondinella and Croatina) were both very concentrated with a lot of red berries, black currant and some almonds as well.

All in all the Wine Festival was a very inspiring event with producers showing both their entry levels and some products of high quality. I sure will be back next year.

http://www.holtevinlager.dk/

http://www.jernbanemuseet.dk/

Umbria – close but not Tuscany

Last week I went to a kind of Giro d´Italia of wine. It was the independent Danish importer, Vinotek A Fynnis, who invited to a tasting through the Italian wine regions: Piedmont, Tuscany, Veneto, Abruzzi etc. and a region that is less known, Umbria.

When we talk about Umbria we normally refer to white wine from Orvieto. But the region produces a growing amount of red wine as well with better and better result.   

Umbria was represented by export manager Gian-Andrea Dutler from Castello Monte Vibiano, who served five different wines and one of them in different years. The castle is placed on a hill close to Perugia in the district called Colli Perugini.

Gian-Andrea Dutler told me, that there has been a change in the region during the last 10 years. Before most of the wine was produced by bigger cooperatives and they mostly made white wine. But today small and independent producers are having focus on red grape varieties as well – both local grapes like Sangiovese and Sagrantino and international ones like Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The area gets less rain and has a hotter summer than Tuscany. The result is wine a bit like those from Tuscany, and Gian-Andrea compares his best wine, L`Andrea with a Super Tuscan.

All in all Castello Monte Vibiano produce around 220.000 bottles a year of which 180.000 is red. More than 90 % of the production is for export.

I tasted these wines from Castello Monte Vibiano:

Maria Camilla, Umbria Bianco: White wine based on a blend of Trebbiano (52 %), Grechetto and Sauvignon Blanc. Fresh and crisp with lemon and a bit pineapple. Nice acidity but perhaps a bit one-dimensional.

Villa Monte Vibiano, Rosso dell`Ubria: Made mostly of Sangiovese. Some red berries in the nose, a bit light in the colour and the style and a bit sharp too. Typically Sangiovese-taste, but will do better with food.

Mon Vì, Colli Perugini Rosso: Made of 70 % Sangiovese, 15 % Merlot and 15 % Cabernet Sauvignon. Darker in colour and fuller bodied. Fruity with soft tannins and very drinkable, but not that deep and broad on the palette. A more international style and a bit of a pleaser due to the blend.

L´Andrea, Colli Perugini Rosso: Made of a selection of the best grapes, 50 % Sangiovese, 15 % Sagrantino and then some Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Stored in barriques for 15 months. I tried 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, and notices how the style has change to the better. In general it was a great wine, with red berries and typically notes of vanilla from the barriques. Less smooth than the second wine, darker and more powerful and with stronger tannins. 2003 had softer tannins now, but it seems like the cask was a bit too much burned. From 2006 that changed and gave room for elegance and fresh cherries. A great wine with beautiful tannins. 2007 had more fruit and more power. It still has a long life. 2008 was still young but promising too, but not as good as the two previous years. 

After Castello Monte Vibiano I tried wine from other regions too. Among others I tasted a fresh white wine from Piedmont, Roero Arneis Camestri 2012 from Marco Porello, a Soave 2012 and Soave Classico 2011 from Monte Tondo in Veneto. Among the reds I had Chianti Classico 2010, Chianti Classico Riserva 2008 and Poggiassai 2010, all from Poggio Bonelli. In my opinion the Riversa was much better structured than the Super Tuscan, Poggiassai, which truly disappointed me a bit. And finally I will mention a nice red from Sardinia, Cerasio Cannonau di Sardegna 2009 from Cantina Pedres. Sorry, just for namedropping and not adding notes…

http://vinotekafynnis.dk/

http://www.montevibiano.it/en/

1963 - A great vintage for port

A mighty row of bottles were waiting, when The Vintage Port Club recently invited to another tasting. We were celebrating the 50^th year’s anniversary of the Vintage 1963, which is among the best vintages ever. It was born a classical year, as the Danish port lover Henrik Oldenburg writes in his brilliant book about port.

In most of the vertical tasting’s I have attended, 1963 has performed very well and it normally gets the highest score. This was a horizontal tasting, and I was looking forward to see, which port houses took the lead. We had 10 different bottles out of the more than 40 declared: Fonseca, Grahams, Taylor, Dow, Sandeman, Warre, Cockburn, Croft, Quinta do Noval and Constantino. The last label is today part of Ferreira, but as far as I know they only use it for their brandy. The port was made from the vineyards that today belong to Quinta do Crasto.

All in all the 30 participants drank 1000 years of port! And to be honest, there was less in the spittoons that normally, when we gather together in the club…

Here are my impressions of the evening:

Constantino: Nice and inviting from the beginning, but it did not improve that much further. Dark, a bit slow in the nose, with red berries and brown sugar. Some spirit and a long tail with pepper. Perhaps lacking some debts, but it did well among the big houses.

Quinta do Noval: Dark brown with a light rim. Growing in intensity with raspberry and strawberry in the nose. Needed some time in the glass, but still light compared to later vintages from Noval. I have heard that Noval 1963 is passed its best days. Even that it did not kick that much, this bottle was still alive.

Croft: Light mahogni. The first impression was bad with chlorine in the nose. After a while it changed into the more typically Roêda-style with pine and some strawberries and cherries. Sweetness and fruit. It had its own style, but did not impress me like it did, when we had a Croft-tasting this spring.

Cockburn: Dark red brown and very closed in the beginning. A nice bouquet with red cherries and some vanilla. Improved very well and made its way to my top 3. Nice acid, sweetness and fruit in good balance. Some smoky notes and a good aftertaste. One of the biggest surprises of the evening.

Warre: Very unclear and light colour, due to a bad bottle. But the bouquet and taste was not that badly ruined. Cherries and some fruit, but weak and disappointing this evening.

Sandeman: An impressive red colour. A god smell of Cherrie flowers and a bit blackberry. A taste of sweet cherries and still with power to last. Another good surprise. With a bit more depths and perhaps a broader pallet it could have made it to the top.  

Dow: Brown and very close in the beginning. Cherries and other red berries in the nose and the taste, but some pine and mint as well. Dry and elegant in the style and with good freshness and acid, but perhaps a bit to less fruit. Nice tail.

Taylor: Very impressive and delicious from start to the last drop. Dark red brown with cherries and some coffee notes beneath. Elegant, but with some pepper and spirit as well, which slowly disappeared. Very nice balance and a long, great aftertaste. The best glass of the evening in my opinion.

Grahams: Dark red brown. A heavy smell of fruit and plums. Potent and a good structure with nice sweetness and fruit and some chocolate. Powerful tail. A very nice glass too, which ended as number 2.

Fonseca: Very closed and disappointing after the first sip. Needed time and air. Dark with red notes. Cherries and raspberry, a bit spicy with some tobacco notes. Improved a lot during the evening.

After the tasting we voted for the winners of the evening. With 30 people we were divided into to teams with different bottles, and there were some significant differences in the votes. Taylor had a lot of point in the first team, and less in the second. Croft had no votes at all in the first team, but quit some in the second. And the same goes for Dow. Considering my notes I guess it is not surprise that I was part of the first team.

All together the result was:

1. Taylor with 46 points
2. Grahams with 39 points
3. Fonseca with 35 points
4. Croft with 14 points
5. Noval with 12 points
6. Constantino with 10 points (a bit of a surprise)

The bottles were opened about 2½ hour before the tasting and had about 1 hour in the glass. The wines were not served blind.

My overall conclusion is that Vintage 1963 still is one of the best years ever in port history, and with a good variation in the style and still with the houses characteristic. Mature and ready to drink. Some of them can last longer too, but not all. And I am pretty sure, that those bottles that did not perform well that evening, would have been splendid wines if they were tasted alone or in a vertical tasting. 

Taskoy from Turkey

When I am on holiday with my family, we are always giving the local produced wine a chance. It has been like that in Tuscany, in Côtes du Roussillon, around Valencia and in the Douro Valley among other places. Either we are visiting the local wineries or we are just picking bottles from local producers in the supermarket. Sometimes it is a bad experience, sometimes it is fine for the time and the place and now and then we discover wines that are surprisingly good.

This summer we went to Turkey - a country with a reputation saying that they mostly produce old fashioned, heavy and sweet wines. They are growing a lot of grapes but most of them are not used for making wine. But times they are a-changin in Turkey as well…

We spent 1½ week in Foca, North of Izmir – a small town at the sea, where the wind is cooling down the heat. In the old days they made a lot of wine in that region. But in 1923 the Treaty of Lausanne established new boundaries and the area changed from belonging to Greece to being part of the new Republic of Turkey. The vineyards and the tradition of viticulture disappeared.

But in the new millennium things began to change again. In 2001 vineyards were re-established in the hinterland, and in 2011 the first winery in Foca opened. The name of the company is Taskoy and they are producing both olive oil and wine – those two things often go well together. The same year they opened a small shop in the town selling their own products and other things like soap and art craft from the area.

We passed by and of course we entered and bought a couple of bottles to try in our rented house. We were very pleased so we came back for more a few days later.

Taskoy are making both white and red wine from local and international grape varieties like cabernet sauvignon, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, syrah and merlot. They are growing their own grapes, using cold fermentation and storing the wine in oak casks before bottling it.

I did not make a lot of notes, but among other wines we tried were these:

Misket 2012: A very fresh white wine with lemon and peach melba in the nose. Crisp and aromatic with nice acid and short tail. Served cold it was light and very delightful in the summer heat.

Öküzgözö 2012: An interesting Turkish red grape variety, which Jancis Robinson in an article once called “super juicy”. And indeed it was. A fresh wine with herbs and eucalyptus in the nose, easy going with flowers, cherries and other red fruits in the palate. Great acidity and nice tannins too.       

These two wines were worth the visit in the small shop. The wines based on international grapes were surely drinkable too, but not remarkable. Getting the chance to discover a grape variety like Öküzgözö is exactly why I want to try the local wine and prefer when it is based on local grape varieties. Hopefully I will soon have the chance to explore Öküzgözö and other Turkish wines further. I think it is a county on its way up when it comes to wine. And hopefully merlot and chardonnay won’t force out the local varieties.

A tasting with new houses

The first tasting in the new season at The Vintage Port Club was an introduction in more than one way. First of all the club could welcome some new members and guests. Secondly it was a broad tasting with both tawny with age, LBV, Single Quinta Vintage and Vintage. And finally it was a sort of introduction to some new or minor producers, that we don’t see that often in the Club. Some of them are among the many new producers, that saw the light after the law was changed in 1986 and it was allowed to produce and ship port directly from the Douro.

The producers were:

Churchill’s: A young port firm, but with a long history. It was founded in 1991 by Johnny Graham, who came from Cockburn. But more important he is from the Graham Family, who sold their company to The Symington’s in 1970. Of course the new owners did not want any of the family members to produce port under that name anymore. Instead the new company chose the name Churchill’s which was the family name of Johnny’s wife. Churchill’s are gaining reputation for their vintage port. We tried Churchill’s Quinta da Gricha Vintage 2003, Churchill’s Vintage 2000 and 10 years tawny.

Quinta de Ventozelo: A quinta in Cima Corgo that used to sell their grapes to some of the big producers. But in 1999 the new owner was more ambitious and started producing table wine and ports themselves. We tried LBV 2007 and Vintage 2003.

Quinta do Portal: Founded in 1989 by the Branco family. They are producing table wine, ports and muscatel – and that with a growing reputation. The first vintage was declared in 1995, and from 1999 the quality was inclining under winemaker Paulo Coutinho. We tried Vintage 2003, Vintage 2000, 10 years tawny and 20 years tawny.

Quinta de Gaivosa: Founded by the family Alves de Sousa. The quinta used to sell their grapes to Ferreira and Borges, but around 1991 they started to produce their own wine under their own label. Today the company is run by father and son, Domingos and Tiago Alves de Sousa. We tried the Alves de Sousa Vintage 2009, Gaivosa Vintage 2003 and 10 years tawny.

Hutcheson: An old house between all the youngsters. Hutcheson was founded back in 1881 by Thomas Page Hutcheson and Alexander Davidson Taylor. In 1927 it was sold to Barros and followed that company into the big Sogevinus group in 2006. In Denmark Hutcheson is best known for their good colheitas, but they do produce vintage port as well. We included a bottle of older vintage in this tasting, the Vintage 1970.

Here are just a few notes followed by the result of the voting among the participants:

Hutcheson 1970 was light and mature; brown as a tawny but still with life and acid. Not a powerful wine, but tasty and well balanced. Cherry and other red berries and a bit pepper in the end.

Portal did well both among the tawnies and the vintages. 2003 was dark and with a lot of fruit. 2000 with plums and more sweetness. Both were spicy and with a good, long tail. The 10 years tawny was a bit shy in the nose, but with a fine taste of almonds and dates. 20 years a bit more spicy, darker notes and some caramel.

Alves de Sousa Vintage 2009 was very young, inky and with lot of fresh fruit and tannins for a longer life. Some pepper in the tail. The younger one, the Gaivosa 2003 was more drinkable and had some orange and mint in the nose. Good fruit and well bodied. The 10 years tawny from Gaivosa was the odd man of the evening. Unclear, with a nose full of orange peal, citrus and some yoghurt. Different, but surprisingly tasty with all its freshness and sweetness.

Churchill´s was the disappointment of the evening. I have tried their vintages from 1982 until 2007 before and found them very powerful and promising on the long term. But this evening they unfortunately did not perform well due to a couple of bad bottles.

Ventozelo 2003 had plums in the nose and at taste of dark berries with a lot of pepper too. The LBV was fruity and drinkable.

 

The votes of the evening were:

1. Hutcheson Vintage 1970: 68 points

2. Portal 20 years tawny: 29 points

3. Portal 10 years tawny: 20 points

4. Portal Vintage 2003 and Portal Vintage 2000: both 12 points

6. Gaivosa Vintage 2003: 10 points

7. Gaivosa Vintage 2009: 3 points

8. Ventozelo Vintage 2003 and Gaivosa 10 years tawny: both 2 points

Not that surprising with the 1970 as a clear winner. Obvious Portal was well received as well. And of course the young vintages had a hard night among the older wines. 

Visit to lodges in Vila Nova de Gaia

During my visit in Porto in June with fellow board members of The Vintage Port Club we visited some port lodges as well. First we went to Graham’s, then Barão de Vilar, Sogevinus (at Cálems lodge), Noval and finally Ramos Pinto.

Among the many port tasted, I will mention some highlights.

Gustavo Devesas served the new range of tawny from Graham’s. They are all very soft, smooth and drinkable. At first I thought that the gap between the 20 and the 30 years was too small, but after a while the 30 years Tawny gained a lot with its fresh orange and almonds and nice acid to balance the sweetness. After that we had two splendid Colheitas: The 1969 and the 1952 – the latter made for Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee. Sweet, but with good acid to balance.

Among the new Vintage 2011 from the Symington’s, we tasted Warre’s, Dows, Cockburn, Graham’s, Graham’s The Stone Terraces, Quinta do Vesuvio and Quinta do Vesuvio Capela. A good flight among the many vintages declared from the already praised year. Warre’s was deep purple, with a lot of cherries and blackberries and ripe tannins. Graham’s more sweet, rich and fruity and very promising. Graham’s The Stone Terraces is made from two schist stone-terraced vineyards at Quinta dos Malvedos. The result is a rich, fruity, concentrated and vinous port, powerful and with some mint. Vesuvio was dark and very powerful too with both acid and strong tannins. You can find some of the same in Capela, but the addition of Sousão and a bit Alicante Bouschet makes it different to. More heavy and tight, but fresh at the same time, spicy and with pepper in a long finish.

At Barão de Vilar Mariana Rocha Ferreira and Álvaro van Zeller served a broad range of their fine Colheitas – from 2005 and back to 1939. The highlights were: 1982, well balance with brown sugar, almonds and chocolate. 1962, powerful with a long tail full of pepper. 1963, dark and powerful with a lot of fruit and a splendid acid to make a great balance. 1934, surprisingly dark, a nice burned taste with some liquorice. The last two were poured directly from the cask. Barão de Vilar sure proved their quality, when it comes to Coheitas in the more Portuguese and rustic style compared to Graham’s.

In Calem’s beautiful lodge Sónia Figueira and winemaker Carlos Alves from Sogevinus welcomed us with two flights from one of their minor brands Hutcheson – minor in quantity but not quality. And this time the vintages were served before the tawnies. Carlos explained that in his opinion it is easier to clean the mouth from the strong tannins with bread and water than to clean the nose after the Tawnies.

We had a LBV from 2003 followed by a young but promising Vintage 2003 and a Vintage 2000. The latter was drinkable already, more dry and with minerals, but with less tannins that the 2003. After that followed Colheita 2004, Colheita 2000, 20 years Tawny and Colheita 1984. The first a bit too young, 2000 very smooth with nuts and orange. The 20 years was sweeter that the Colheitas but very nice. The best glass sure was the 1984 with an impressive amount of acid to balance. 

Noval does not have a lodge in Gaia - just a small store. Here we tried a couple of good and powerful table wines and then some port: Their reserve called Black and LBV 2007, followed by 10, 20 and 40 years Tawny and finally Noval Vintage 2011 and Noval Nacional Vintage 2011. Both the vintages were very rich and powerful. Noval had a lot of fruit, blackberries and pepper in the end. Nacional was nearly ink, a little shy in the nose, but so rich and intense that it nearly felt like an explosion in the mouth, sharp and with good acid.

Finally at Ramos Pinto Ana Rato presented both rubies and tawnies as well: LBV 2008 – one of the best LBV´s with a lot of power and juicy fruit, Single Quinta Vintage 2007 from Ervamoira and the vintage from the same year. The former more dry and spicy and with a lot of mint in the nose. The latter sweater, darker and with a more deep pallet. Then followed their range of aged Tawny, 10 years, 20 years and 30 years. They always impress me with their good balance between sweetness with almonds and freshness with acid, orange and acid. I range them among the best tawnies at all.    

The 30th Regatta de Barcos Rabelos

A few days after the Enthronement Ceremony the Confraria de Vinho do Porto had their traditionally regatta in the Douro. The old Barcos Rabelos – the boats that used to sail the port pipes down to Vila Nova de Gaia from the Quintas in the Douro – were sailing from the mouth of the river to the finish line in front of the port lodges.

16 boats were participating this year. I was lucky to get invited by Ramos Pinto to be on board of Confrarias boat that followed the Rabelos during the race. Soon the Rabelos of Cockburn, Cálem, Offley and Taylor were in the lead, but at the goal “Quinta dos Canais” from Cockburn with Mestre Luís Martins as the captain was a clear winner, followed by “Quinta do Foz” from Sogevinus and Infanta D. Isabel from Rozès.

 The winner, “Quinta dos Canais” from Cockburn

But as David Guimaraens from Fladgate explained me the regatta is more fun than a serious race. The same point was made by George Thomas David Sandeman, who after the regatta, where the boat from Sandeman fished last, said with a big smile: “Everyone can win, but it takes more effort to finish last. And remember, that it is told in the Bible that the last will be the first”.

Yes, it is a funny event. And it sure is a beautiful sight when the Rabelos are coming up the Douro with their sail raised. And I must admit that it was lovely to spend the afternoon at Confrarias boat with good serving and port tonics.

Ramos Pinto, who invited me on board, doesn’t have a boat in the race themselves. And as João Machete Pereira explained to me, it is too expensive to buy a new Barco Rabelo just for that event.

On board of Confrarias boat together with the  

Fiel das Usancas of the Chanceleiro, 

Manuel Maria Matos de Magalhães Ferreira.