MdV MW

Silky smooth and yummy Cabernet Sauvignon from Pillar Rock; 2008

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:09:08 -0700

Silky smooth and yummy Cabernet Sauvignon from Pillar Rock; 2008

Edible garden, complete with edible ‘earth’

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:07:04 -0700

Edible garden, complete with edible ‘earth’

Florida sunset

Wed, 15 May 2013 00:05:50 -0700

Florida sunset

Well worth the 990 step climb up to the fortress of Palimidi,...

Sat, 04 May 2013 12:07:44 -0700

Well worth the 990 step climb up to the fortress of Palimidi, above Napflio

Delicious old Moschofilero, from Boutari; usually an aromatic...

Sat, 04 May 2013 11:01:39 -0700

Delicious old Moschofilero, from Boutari; usually an aromatic off dry young white, here it is nutty complex and savoury.

Sunset in Napflio

Sat, 04 May 2013 10:59:24 -0700

Sunset in Napflio

Ouzo tasting, in Napflio; with the botanicals.

Sat, 04 May 2013 10:58:43 -0700

Ouzo tasting, in Napflio; with the botanicals.

Beautiful groves of oranges in bloom, in the Peloponnese;...

Sat, 04 May 2013 10:56:29 -0700

Beautiful groves of oranges in bloom, in the Peloponnese; filling the air with the scent of orange blossom.

Ancient changing rooms; outside the stadium of Nemea. The Nemean...

Sat, 04 May 2013 10:54:36 -0700

Ancient changing rooms; outside the stadium of Nemea. The Nemean games were originally one of the four great games that cycled with the Olympic Games.

Spectacular panoramas; in Nemea

Sat, 04 May 2013 10:52:06 -0700

Spectacular panoramas; in Nemea

Beautiful view over the waterways of Tokyo; from the Conrad

Sat, 04 May 2013 10:50:01 -0700

Beautiful view over the waterways of Tokyo; from the Conrad

Road 13 Jackpot (viognier, roussane, marsanne): lovely aromatic...

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 21:19:45 -0700

Road 13 Jackpot (viognier, roussane, marsanne): lovely aromatic and minerally; lovely acid.

Photo

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Cape Spear; the continent's eastern tip

closest safe harbour to Europe

deliciously off beat white wine; Kante Vitovska 2008.

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

deliciously off beat white wine; Kante Vitovska 2008.

Colchagua

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 00:33:44 -0800

Colchagua

harvest 2011, Napa

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 11:56:05 -0700

harvest 2011, Napa

beautiful multiple helix, in a hand-blown glass

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 11:41:00 -0700

beautiful multiple helix, in a hand-blown glass

Hot, but a little hazy over Napa today

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 17:26:02 -0700

Hot, but a little hazy over Napa today

The regulations in Beaujolais famously allow the new wine to be...

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 21:43:23 -0800

The regulations in Beaujolais famously allow the new wine to be released for sale on the third Thursday of November following the vintage. This gave rise to a strange international marketing gimmick, whereby it became fashionable to drink the new Beaujolais on the first day possible. In the old days, legend has it, merchants would load up their vans just after midnight from the cellars in Beaujolais, and drive (and ferry) through the night to have the Nouveau available in their stores in London and Paris in the morning of Beaujolais Nouveau day. These days, wines ship around the world in advance, and are placed on the shelves on Beaujolais day. And these days, there is not so much interest: most people have realized that the typical Beaujolais Nouveau is a simple, lacklustre wine, mostly not worth the hype nor the price.

Still it can be fun to try, as if saluting the recent vintage; and it is certainly fun to find a good one. Cédric Vincent’s Beaujolais Nouveau 2010, is one of those rare finds.

There is something beautiful and appealing about the bright purple robe of a young Beaujolais, almost blue at the rim; the nose is raw and immediate, the fruit still primary juicy, and still hints of the magical stink of fermentation; in the mouth, this tastes, as it should, like freshly fermented grapes; it has balance, but doesn’t yet have the harmony and integration of a properly matured wine. Still, it manages to have charm, and a strong adolescent personality that grabs your attention. Juicy, bright boysenberry and elderberry, tangy fruit, and barely any of the caricatured bubblegum confected aromas of many nouveaux; silky and mellow, yet with that fresh berry acidity that makes your mouth water for more. The tannins are light, yet present and just grippy enough, in a youthful way, to give an interesting structure. This is a rare example of Beaujolais Nouveau that is delicious, engaging and worth drinking; in some ways, it is like a barrel-sample of greater wine, captured in a bottle. A classic example of ultra-young gamay, in a pure, transparent, yet modern style, whose character meets the contemporary need for Beaujolais to deliver quality, not just novelty.

A really delicious wine; but in a style that is sometimes hard...

Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:56:00 -0700

A really delicious wine; but in a style that is sometimes hard to fit into modern life. This bottle of Château Rieussec 1998 was showing beautifully. It was in that stage of life of a Sauternes where it has clearly benefited from a decade in bottle, harmonising, complexing, mellowing, starting to move away from youthful fruitiness; and yet it still tastes very much like a young wine, bright, juicy, honeyed, intense, lush. It is pretty powerful for a Sauternes, big and bold, but with plenty of balance to avoid any sense of cloyingness.