Monkeyshed Wines: March 2008

Alpha Zeta, Extra Virgin Olive Oil '06

By the 500ml Bottle: £7.50

An oil to fit the Alpha Zeta philosophy of making cracking product from the fantastic raw produce that often underachieves through the local cooperative.
Olive oil is, as wine, all about the fruit from which it is made. This is made from the Grignano and Favarol varieties and is a softer, fruity style - a great alternative to the gutsy character of the greener, more aggressive Tuscan oils.
I've been drizzling it on panfried Sea Bass from Something Fishy in East Wittering. Not too shabby.

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Fontodi, Extra Virgin Olive Oil '07

By the 500ml Bottle: £11.50

Fantastic! Not unexpectedly, made to the same high standards as the estate’s wines. A real spicy treat made only from Frantoio olives. Great just by itself, on a slice of bread or even on slivers of just cooked steak Tuscan style.

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Chateau Saint-Michel, Bordeaux Superior, France ‘04

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot
Each: £7.85

Straight up solid Claret.

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Roc de Jean Lys, Bordeaux Superior, France ‘05

Grapes: Merlot and Cabernet Franc
By the Bottle: £9.50, By the Dozen: £106 (£8.83 each)

An exciting new venture that shows exactly why Bordeaux rose to the heights it has. Laurels that were being rested upon are well and truly out the door with this one. Ripe and plumy on the nose, juicy and classically structured on the palate.

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Delta Vineyards, Pinot Noir, Marlborough, New Zealand ‘07

Grapes: Pinot Noir
Each: £11.40

An exciting new venture, Delta Vineyards was set up and plated in 2000. The ’07 is the third release and what started as a good clean potential is starting to hit its straps. That classic New Zealand/Dijon clone pinot noir nose and fruit with a slightly feral finish – I do like a bit of wildness in the tail.
Really tasty and reasonably priced – Hurrah.

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Au Bon Climat, Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley, California ‘06

Grapes: Pinot Noir
Each: £17.50

Jim Clendenen has built an American institution with his Au Bon Climat label. Specialising in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Jim’s Pinots have the sumptuous ripeness of the new world but, unlike so many, remain true to their varietal character. Wines of fantastic character just like their maker – delicious, the wines, that is!

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Greenstone, Shiraz, Heathcote, Victoria, Australia ‘06

Grapes: Shiraz
Each: £14.75
DECEMBER OFFER - A dozen for £160 (£13.33 each)

The big challenge facing the Australian wine industry today is expanding its profile past the Barbie to the Grand State Banquet (and all in between).
Australia is blessed, Mother Nature has smiled on the sunburnt country and technically there are no better. The industry is well organised and shares its knowledge freely. And here in lies the problem. The Brand has been Australia, effective but not very sophisticated. Australian wine regions are diverse and, as appreciation of that diversity grows, becoming more so. Simply the quest is for individuality and Heathcote is a prime site with very much its own signature. Shiraz really does thrive here (as in most of Oz) producing full flavoured (of course) but brilliantly structured and edgy wines that leave you wanting more NOT overwhelmed with the first glass.
A plumy, brambly treat.

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Chambolle-Musigny, Domaine Hudelot-Noellat, France '02

Grapes: Pinot Noir
Each: £30.00

By the Dozen: £324 (£27 each)
Chambolle lends itself to producing some of the most excitingly perfumed, soft fruited, mischievously racy wines in Burgundy. This is a classic example of that more feminine style of Burgundy. Great and a very fine foil for the more masculine Gevrey-Chambertin from Humbert Frères we also list if you wanted to get a taste of two sides of the Burgundian coin.

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Gevrey-Chambertin, Humbert Frères, France ‘01

Grapes: Pinot Noir
Each: £25.00

Goes without saying that this is a fine example of its kin. Gevrey’s style is for fuller, more masculine wines. This is true to that pigeon hole but where structure can often dominate this has a very attractive balance with its feminine side. Good solid Burgundy, straight down the middle stylistically. The fruit is neither austere nor dominant, neither is the structure too hard or soft.
A real goldilocks wine – everything is just very, very right.

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Herencia Remondo, La Montessa, Rioja Riserva, Spain ’04

Grapes: Grenache, Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo
By the Bottle: £11.00, By the Dozen: £125 (£10.42 each)

Rioja Jim but not as they used to make it. Very clean, elegant stylee stuff aged in small oak barrels and not for too long. Gone are the matured, oxidised characteristics your either loved or hated and in is fruit and elegance. This is modern Rioja, much more attuned to the international palate of our ever shrinking global village, indeed.

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Rivola, Abadia Retuerta, Sardon del Duero, Spain ‘05

Grapes: Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon
Each: £10.95
DOZEN OFFER - £120 (£10.00 each)

An estate from scratch with no expense spared first planted in 1991 and definitely at the leading edge of the wave of new style wine businesses. Vast sums and influence were lobbed at the powers that be to extend the boundaries of the already established Ribera del Duero appellation to include this new property. A grand Frenchman, Pascal Delbeck, of Bordeaux fame was brought in to establish the vineyards and “teach” the locals how to make real wine! Not the sort of estate that would normally tickle my fancy or delivery the grail of both quality and value for money.
The strongarm tactics failed to influence an appellation extension and the estate was forced to open its eyes to what they had – a great site to make fantastic wine bordering a well known and usefully marketable appellation. Pascal really does know his stuff in the vineyards and has nurtured a very fine local winemaking talent, Angel Anocibar Beloqui. Finally the business has been realistic about selling at fair price for its wines.
If the intention might not have been there originally, the result, a property with more respect for its site than its appellation, a winemaker true to the vineyard site and the grapes it produces and a business arm with a reasonable approach to the market, is very much the sort of estate that does tickle my fancy.
The wine has all the inky earth strength of good Tempranillo. Potentially delightful but one dimensional this is spiced up by an injection of fruity Cabernet Sauvignon and the blend spends 10 months in, predominantly American, oak prior to bottling. Judicious with all three ingredients.

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Cotes-du-Rhone, Domaine St Cosme, Gigondas, France ‘07

Grapes: Syrah (Shiraz)
Each: £9.85
DECEMBER OFFER - A dozen for £106 (£8.83 each)

Straight up delicious, crunchy, precise and round Syrah, to quote or misquote the man himself, Louis Barroul. Louis works much majesty with Grenache in the more interesting hills around Gigondas. On the, relatively, less creative soils of general Cotes-du-Rhone land he prefers to work with the less capricious Syrah. We’re rather glad! Cracking wine and at a more than fantastically reasonable price.

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Barolo, Massolino, Piedmont, Italy ‘04

Grapes: Nebbiolo
Each: £26.50

Good classic stuff. Franco Massolino heads the current generation of a family that have been working these vineyards since 1894. Bucking the all too prevalent trend of change for change’s sake, Franco has implemented only restrained fine tuning to family techniques for the modern world. The family’s vineyards at the heart of Barolo around Seralunga d’Alba produce grapes that demand traditional winemaking techniques and reward with long lived beauties that grow into themselves.
Wine true to the traditional style and all the better for it.

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Terra di Siena, Sesti, Castello di Argiano, Tuscany, Italy '01

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot
By the Bottle: £27.50, By the Dozen: £300 (£25.00 each)

The Sesti family live in the most beautiful spot in the most beautiful part of one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Giugi Sesti and his English wife, Sarah, fled the hustle and bustle of Venice for a tranquil life in an abandoned castle hamlet in rural Tuscany. Here Giugi found the solitude to write his books, Sarah the space to build her garden and both the inclination to raise a charming family. Gluttons for punishment, in the early 1990s they decided to plant a vineyard. Giugi’s background is in the study of ancient calendars and the origins of the celestial sphere. Unsurprisingly, he has extended his understanding of and respect for biodynamic principles to his vineyard and winemaking techniques.
Terra di Siena is the Sestis’ obligatory Super Tuscan. A blend of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon that has quietly developed no mean reputation. For me Super Tuscans can be a big disappointment, more about dressing than content, but this wine delivers. The Terra is not just a Bordeaux blend from Tuscany but a wine that uses the characteristics of those classical varieties and adds to this solid base a layer of flavours that could only come from the Montalcino terroir.
Giugi’s approach to winemaking involves minimum intervention and as such the wine will throw a crust. This is good. The wine will benefit from being decanted both to avoid the chewy bits and to get some air to that delicious juice.

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Peachy Canyon, Incredible Red Zinfandel, Paso Robles, California '05

Grapes: Zinfandel

Each: £9.50

Owners Doug and Nancy Beckett are both former schoolteachers who moved to Paso Robles from the Southern California area in 1988. Peachy Canyon Winery is located in the heart of Paso Robles wine country. Nestled in the Santa Lucia Mountains at Mustang Springs Ranch, the winery exemplifies the contrasts of a region which is ideally suited for growing Zinfandel.
They have 18 hectares of vineyards and are particularly renowned for the individuality and vibrancy of their Zinfandels. Incredible Red is a blend of different vineyards and is dominated by strawberry and raspberry aromas with a hint of black pepper. Round and supple, it is well balanced, with good acidity.

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A Mano, Primitivo, Puglia, Italy ’06

Grapes: Primitivo
Each: £6.95

A Mano is the love child of ex-pat American Mark Shannon and Elvezia Sblachiero, citizen of the world. The ever ticking clock of experience has put them firmly on the crest of the wave coming out of one of Italy’s most promising growing regions, Puglia. As with all of Italy, grapes have been grown here for ever and rediscovery on an international level has only been a question of time.
Primitivo has been the star of the ongoing detective drama surrounding the true identity of California’s iconic grape Zinfandel. The speculation is over, the ubiquitous Zinfandel is now acknowledged as stemming from a cutting of our hero Primitivo that arrived in the new world via a most circuitous route.
The A Mano team have sought only the highest quality grapes and built relationships with growers that reward quality. The results show through in the wine. Good full flavoured stuff, juicy and with a nice Zinfandel zip to it.

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Meursault, L’Ormeau, Yves Boyer-Martenot, Burgundy, France ‘05

Grapes: Chardonnay
By the Dozen: £265 (£22.08 each) or Individually : £24.50

Boyer-Martenot is a star. One of my top three White Burgundy producers, his are the most approachable and affordable. His Meursault’s are true to the traditional unctuous, buttery style for which the village is renowned but add a signature seam of crisp, fresh yet somehow juicy acidity that enhance rather than counters the wines’ natural generous opulence. L’Ormeau is a lieu-dit, a special vineyard that always delivers a slightly more complex wine than his straight Meursault, usually with a nutty edge.
Great stuff.

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Puligny-Montrachet, Vieilles Vignes, Vincent Girardin, Burgundy, France ‘04

Grapes: Chardonnay
Each: £22.00

Over the last 20 or so years Vincent Girardin has managed to build one of the most dynamic, young, successful companies in all Burgundy. The man is driven, constantly building on his holdings or access to new vines, Vincent is the consummate businessman. Yet he manages to match this with the artistic temperament demanded in the cellar.
Vincent’s style is aggressively new. His wines are clean, ripe and well supported by intelligently integrated wood handling. Definitely Burgundy but new Burgundy.

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Cold Heaven Viognier, Santa Barbara, California ‘02

Grapes: Viognier
By the Bottle: £18.50, By the Dozen: £210 (£17.50 each)

Absolutely nothing to do with Chardonnay BUT it ticks all the boxes for what a really good Chardonnay should taste like. From the heart of the new world but with a style that would shame many a classy aristocrat from closer to home. Viognier’s beautiful fruit is can be shy in a finished wine. Worse it is often exploited giving a one dimensional blousy number that would impress no one but the winemaker’s mother. Anyone contemplating this marvellous grape should buy a bottle and taste the benchmark.
A truly a global recipe for fine wine. Many a winemaker could learn from the fruit management, where natural opulence is handled with gentle restraint, brilliant wood handling to support and enhance rather than dominate the fruit, the sensitive crispness achieve through the finest acid balance and finally the thoughtful preservation of the mineral character from the vineyard terroir that grew these grapes.
Fantastic, but don’t drink it too cold.

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Shaw and Smith, M3 Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia ’07

Grapes: Chardonnay

Each: £18.25

A blueprint for the way forward.

From winemaking cousins Martin Shaw and Michael Hill-Smith, whose family has been big in Australian wine forever - Yalumba. I still wonder if there is any truth to the rumour that this might be a tribute to some place of conception – a rumour never yet officially denied…….
The perfect balance of good full bodied Aussie Chardonnay with cool climate Adelaide hills acid, structure and complexity to put it in contention with anything on the international stage. I can't overstate just how classy this is!
Tasty, and from a nice place to visit too, but that’s a whole new story......

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Pikes, Clare Valley Riesling, South Australia ’06

Grapes: Riesling
Each: £10.95

The label is lifted from the beer established by Henry Pike who first settled the family in South Australia in 1878. Moving from one legendary Aussie beverage to another the Pikes set up in wine in 1984. If New Zealand does Sauvignon Blanc to a global level, Australian certainly does the same with Riesling – fantastic. The Clare Valley a wee bit north of Adelaide is the homeland of the best and Pikes is up there. Good citrus flavours with the signature petrolly (but in a nice way) tones that define this other amberish nectar.

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Pinot Grigio, Borgo dei Vassalli, Friuli, Italy ‘06

Grapes: Pinot Grigio
By the Bottle: £8.40, By the Dozen: £95 (£7.92 each)

Pinot Grigio is everywhere and varies just as much. This wine comes from Isonzo in Friulia a veritable Sandbanks in Pinot Grigio terms. The Lorenzon family make two styles from their vineyards in Isonzo. This comes from the lower, richer warmer slopes in the south and gives a fuller less edgy style of wine.

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Loimer, LOIS, Grüner Veltliner, Austria ‘07

Grapes: Grüner Veltliner
Each: £7.95

All the good bits of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay with none of the Bad!

Seriously, try this as a new direction, you wont be disappointed. Fred Loimer makes various regional and single vineyard cuvees all worth exploring for a full investigation of exactly what Grüner Veltliner can do. The LOIS is his introductory wine, introducing us to the appeal of Grüner. The wine sees only steel so is zippy and fresh – just as Sauvignon Blanc. Some added complexity comes from the fact that the grapes are sourced from vineyards all over – with different soils and ripeness levels. Finally Grüner itself adds some weight and its own individual touch – white pepper. Sniff it, taste it and just try to disagree, I dare you.

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Alpha Zeta, Corvina, Veneto, Italy ’07

Grapes: Corvina
Each: £5.65

This is great stuff. Juicy clean fruit that makes it so easy to drink but with wonderful secondary earthy and almost lifestyle aromas and flavours that only Italian wine has. Good weight too. It’s full enough to cope with a little cold with a lively juiciness for the remains of summer…….

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Calbuco, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chile '07

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot
Each: £5.50
DECEMBER OFFER - A dozen for £60 (£5.00 each)

The red in a pair that quietly show the real potential of Chile in this price range. The fantastic array of raw resources are harnessed with aplomb to produce a wonderfully balanced tribute to all things Chilean. Ok, ok it’s a good drop.
Vibrant colour and vibrant flavours. Tobaccoy complexity to the vibrant fruit that dominates, it will develop more of this and some chocolatey tones as it ages.

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