Les Oliviers - Grenache

 Les Oliviers Grenache, Great Grog £8.15

A super wine from the Languedoc in Southern France made from Grenache grapes. Its dark colour holds scarlet low lights that shine through the base of the glass. 

With no oak its aromas are fruit focussed with dark fruits that follow through into the mouth. At 13.5% this medium bodied tannin free wine has a soft finish. 

It was great on it's own and good with a sausage and mash dinner. This wine would also  pair well with tomato based pasta dishes. 

Les Oliviers is a range of wine named after the olive groves that grow in the sunny climate of Southern France. The range of wines includes: 

Grenache Cinsault Rosé, Pays d'Oc

Chardonnay, Coôtes de Gascogne

Sauvignon Blanc, Pays d'Oc

Merlot Mourvėdre, Pays d'Oc

Great Grog Bottle Shop is located in Edinburgh on East Cromwell Street where a wine merchant has been for 150 years. They have a wide range of wines from around the world including Georgia, Romania, Hungary and Lebanon, as well as a comprehensive range of beers. Wine prices start at £6 with orders over £89 being eligible for free UK mainland delivery, sign up for their newsletter for offers and wine event details. 

Majestic's International Women's Day wine tasting

Last Wednesday was International Women's Day, a day to acknowledge women everywhere whatever their life achievements. Majestic Wine Leicester hosted a wine tasting to celebrate women in winemaking, appropriately it was hosted by Victoria the new store manager.

It's been a few years since we took part in a wine tasting at Majestic, it was lovely to be back on the train to Leicester for a bit of shopping and a meal beforehand. The tasting was a seated event with a long table set up and two side barrels where Hubby and I sat. Each place was set with six glasses, water and a welcome glass of bubbly, as well as an informative booklet on the wines in the tasting. 

Our welcome drink was the superb bubbly Nyetimber Classic Cuvee made in West Sussex by head winemaker Cherie Spriggs. This English Sparkling Wine is made from the three grapes traditionally used to make champagne; Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, and is made in the traditional method with second fermentation taking place in the bottle.

A lovely golden colour in the glass with a nose of lemon zest, hints of orange and vanilla. The flavours within the fine bubbles include baked apples, honey notes and a slight biscuity finish.

Our three white wines were Emma Marris' Sauvignon Blanc, Martin Codax Albarino and Catena Chardonnay.

Emma Marris is the daughter of Brent Marris who produces The Ned, a very popular Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand. New World Sauvignon Blancs are usually heavier in the nose and palate than the softer Old World wines but Emma has found a new balance. The aroma is full of tropical fruits and sharp citrus but although a slightly acidic wine its palate has soft floral notes with a hint of vanilla from 60% of he wine being aged for 10 months in French oak. I have had this wine before and found it to be a great midway wine between the two geographically different sauvignon blancs.

Katia Alvarez is the winemaker at Martin Codax, a well known Spanish wine producer. Albarino is the main grape of Galicia and although small in bunch and size it is a super grape for winemaking. With a slight green hue in the glass its aromas include green fruits, with herby high notes. The greenness continues in the mouth with plenty of green apple flavour, added citrus and lemon zest.

Catena is an Argentina winery run by father and daughter, Nicolas Catena Zapata and Laura Catena. an even brighter green in the glass this wine was quite complex in aroma and on the palate. There was plenty of stone fruit with strong tropical flavours. The finish of this wine gave a hint of floral with a soft vanilla touch. 

All three white wines were great highlights of female wine makers. I have enjoyed these wines previously and my favourite was still Emma Marris's Sauvignon Blanc. 

Our three red wines were Ben Marco Malbec, Cune Rioja Reserva and Vasse Felix Filius Cabernet Merlot.

Ben Marco Malbec is a superb Argentinian wine made by Susana Balbo. A deep red in the glass which rightly leads to aromas of dark fruits and hints of coffee. The wine on the palate is full of the expected dark fruits, very deep with vanilla and spice on its long finish.

The second red was not for me, I really struggle with Rioja unless the Tempranillo is softened with another grape such as Garnacha. One sniff and the familiar bramble and warm spice aromas filled my nose, I did take a small sip but as expected it was not for me. Hubby enjoys the cocoa and vanilla in Rioja wines that are always accompanied with tabacco. Maria Larrea is the female winemaker in this prestigious 5th generation wine making family.

Our final red was my favourite of the three, Vasse Felix Filius Cabernet Merlot from Australia where Virginia Willcock is the Chief Winemaker. By far the darkest colour and the most intense nose, full of strawberries, raspberries and a surprising hint of rhubarb. A lighter red in the mouth with soft tannins and raspberry being fruit forward, the rhubarb made its appearance on the finish along with a touch of liquorice. 

We had a lovely evening, nice to be back sharing and enjoying our hobby with others. Added bonus is it's a chance to pick up a few bottles as we do not have a Majestic Wine near us and with perfect timing they have just been delivered. 

Two are secrets as they are for our next hosting wine night but four bottles have gone into our cellar. Keep an eye on my Instagram as we open and enjoy these.

February Wine Tasting - reds

I really enjoy hosting our wine tastings, maybe if I had my time again it's a world I would have explored more and possibly worked in but I'm very happy enjoying this great hobby. 

My previous post was about the rosé and white wines we enjoyed at our latest tasting; this is all about the reds. We are a split group, predominantly the ladies enjoy the whites and the chaps the reds so I try to keep a balance.

We've been doing these tastings since 2014 so setting up is no longer a worry. I laminated the glass placement sheets,odd glass and even glass numbering, when we first hosted a tasting; it's been a great help as after a clean they are ready for the next time. I do print tasting sheets for each event, everyone scores their wine out of 20 - a great way of finding out which wine is the best! 

Tools of a wine host

Although it wasn't the third Thursday in November (the traditional opening day) our first wine was Beaujolais Nouveau by Pardon et Fils. This wine from Majestic Wine £8.99 is made from the Gamay grape which some like, others don't take to. It was full of summery fruits, strawberries, blueberries and redcurrants with a soft finish. I paired this with roast chicken, everyone agreed with the pairing but as a cold chicken salad not a roast dinner.

Our second red was quite a contrast, a darker colour in the glass and deeper flavours. PepperBox Shiraz is from South Eastern Australia and is a wine from Casella Family Brands. It's widely available in various supermarkets but this was another Majestic Wine buy at £7.99.

It was a deeper red in the glass with scarlet highlights, aromas of red fruits followed into the mouth with added notes of peppercorn and cinnamon. It had a lovely length to its finish with hints of chocolate and mocha.

As with the whites I included a comparison in our red tastings. Two Spanish wines, Matsu and Siglo, both Tempranillo although Siglo has a small percentage of Garnacha. Surprisingly the Matsu was from Morrison's £7.99, we have only previously found this at Majestic Wine. The Siglo was a special buy at £9.99 from Fine Wines Direct who are in Cardiff, we always pop by when visiting our daughter as it's the only place I know that stocks the Siglo range.

Matsu is one of three wines available, all with a photo of a chap on the label (there is also a white wine with a lady on its label). El Picaro is 'young man' with the wine being aged 2 months on the lees in concrete vats. El Recio is 'midlife' as this wine is aged for 14 months in second use oak barrels. The oldest wine in the range is El Viejo (old man), made from vines over 100 years old it is aged in new French oak for 16 months.

Our tasting was El Picaro, the youngest of the range. Tempranillo is a grape I really don't like so I was reliant on everyone else's tastes buds. The flavours discovered were blackberry, liquorice and a slight spice. Those who lime Rioja wine really enjoyed it. 

Siglo is a wine I can drink, maybe the Garnacha softens the Tempranillo. As with the Matsu it had plenty of red fruit and hints of liquorice. It was obviously my favourite of the two but the room was undecided, a sign of two good wines.

Siglo is part of Famillia Manzanos which dates from 1890. There are six wines in the range all with distinctive bottles and coverings, the most known is a sack cloth. These are made by Aspredema which is a Spanish organisation that's aim is the Promotion of Adult People with Intellectual Disabilities (translation).

Our final two reds were both wines I decanted beforehand, about two hours at home and put back in the bottle to transport them to the venue. With both wines I paired a chocolate brownie, it really brought out the flavour in both wines although we always taste the wine before a pairing.

A new wine to all of us was a Lebanese wine from Bekaa Valley made by Domaine de Tourelles who were the first French winemakers to settle in Lebanon. Although produced in the east, this wine made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault, Syrah and Carignan is bottled in France. It was a real find in Aldi, everyone agreed it seemed a more expensive wine than it's £8.99 price tag.

Cotes du Rhone is a wine style we all enjoy, in previous tastings we've opened a variety of producers and geographical locations including a Chateauneuf-du-Pape. However our final red was the first Gigondas included in a tasting. Hubby and I visited this very pretty village in 2017 as part of our Rhone holiday. 

Produced by Chassaux et Fils, Aldi's winemaker, our £7.99 Gigondas wine was a blend of Grenache, Carignan and Cinsault and had an abundance of red fruits; cherries, blackberries, blackcurrants. A lovely finish of liquorice and spice made this my favourite red of the evening. 

It was another fun night enjoying wine with friends, that's what it is all about isn't it? 

As the Lebanese wine was so popular I am going with the theme of new discoveries for our next tasting, either grape, style or location ... sourcing the wine is part of the fun and I have found a few already! 

February Wine Tasting - rosé & whites

Our first tasting of 2023 was a general selection from Aldi, Fine Wines Direct,  Morrisons, Majestic Wine and Auchan, a supermarket in France. This post focuses on the rosé and white wine we all enjoyed. 

The scout headquarters looks very different set up for our wine evenings to when it's full our young people enjoying a variety of activities. It's nice for our Leaders to have their own activity. All leaders and committee members in Scouting are volunteers, I'm not sure the general public realise how much time (and own money) is given, people often presume Souters are paid the same as teachers ... when in fact we are a registered charity.

I love seeing all the wines lined up ready to be tasted. As I mentioned this range was from a variety of sources, hopefully I ordered the wines to progress everyone's tastebuds and not have any dramatic changes from one to the next.

Our first wine was from one of my favourite producers, Cellier des Dauphins. It was a wine we bought in France from Auchan as so had the French style bottle and label. Here in the UK the bottle is taller and straighter and labelled 'Les Dauphins'. We have enjoyed both their red and white wine before but not the rosé. 

Cellier des Dauphins Prestige Rosé is a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault which is becoming more popular in Cotes du Rhone wines as it adds softness and aromas. A lovely salmon colour this wine gave plenty of floral and fruity aromas with a flavour of soft red berries. Everyone enjoyed this and began chatting about summer days.

Our next wine, a Chardonnay, was a Cotes du Jura made by Chassaux et Fils who are Aldi's French winemaker. This wine had plenty of peach and apricot flavours with a slightly nutty finish. It was appreciated by everyone, a great wine at just £4.99.

At our tasting I offer a food pairing idea with a few of the wines; my first food pairing this time was with our next wine, Marques de Riscal Rueda Verdejo. A winemaker we have enjoyed before but as a red wine, this was our first white and was from Majestic Wine at £7.99

I paired it with homemade salmon pate which was lovely with the crisp citrus notes. The herbiness of fennel, grass and verbena also paired well with the salmon creaminess.

Something new followed; again from Aldi our third white was The Falls, £7.99, a Riesling from Canada. We have tasted Australian Riesling with it's oily characteristic and German Riesling with its crispness but not a wine from North America. This wine was produced in the Niagara Peninsula which is the strip of land that separates where Lake Erie in America meets Canada's Lake Ontario. 

It had the flavours and characteristics of both New and Old World Rieslings, I found the nose a little off putting as it was quite petroly but the flavour was lovely, especially with the Japanese rice snacks as a food pairing.

As I mentioned before this wine tasting was not on any particular theme, it was not comparing grapes or geographically focussed however our last two white wines were compared to each other. 

Sauvignon Blanc is my favourite grape, I love wines from this grape produced from all over the world but my absolute favourite is French Sauvignon Blanc, in particular Sancerre. I had a bottle of Touraine Sauvignon Blanc from Auchan and The Ned was on offer in Morrisons at £7.49 so decided we should see which style everyone preferred.

The Ned, produced by Brent Marris of Marisco Wines, has a super full nose with plenty of citrus. It's flavours of lime zest, gooseberries and fine herbs has your mouth watering for more. A wine enjoyed by everyone and very popular at 'top up' time. 

Pierre Chanau is Auchan's winemaker and they produce many wines for the French supermarket. Thus Touraine, from Central Loire, also has a citrus aroma but was softer. With a mouth full of lemon and lime with a hint of blossom this was also enjoyed by all.

And the choice ... it was actually equal. The overall thoughts were that if you wanted to sit in the garden on a sunny day with nibbles then The Ned would be perfect, however on the equally sunny day if you were enjoying a light lunch, chicken salad or pasta carbonara then the Touraine would go down very well. 

I really enjoy everything about our wine tasting events; choosing the wines, writing the tasting notes and of course sharing the wine with friends. Everyone enjoyed our selection of rosé and white wines, I'll be posting about our red wines soon.