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Mesache Bodega Pirineos 2005 Vintage: 2005 Colour: Red Origin: Spain - Aragon - Somontano DO Alc % by Vol: 14% 12 bottles (138 CHF) Jean-Michel Deluc:

Description

BODEGA PIRINEOS is part of the Somontano D.O. in Huesca. The Somontano, area is doted with the best possible natural conditions to produce high quality grapes. The Bodega is located in Barbastro on route to the medieval town of Alquezar. The installations carefully blend in with the architectural setting, while at the same time reflect to a large extent the vinicultural history of the Somontano region. The buildings from the 1960's which were home to the old Somonatno Co-operative now operate side by side with more functional ones equipped with the latest technology. We are committed to producing wine that bears the hallmark of its origins while exploring the richness and diverse viniculture the area offers us, as well as constant innovation and improvement in the elaboration, all of which enables us to meet the expectations of our customers all over the world.

Tips on service

• Conservation: drinking now
• At its best in: 2007
• To decant: 1 hour
• Serve at 15°

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Jaboulet Ainé Thalabert 2003 Vintage: 2003 Colour: Red Origin: France - Rhône Valley - Northern Rhône - Crozes-Hermitage Alc % by Vol: 13% 3 bottles (96 CHF)

Our opinion

This an extra ordinary Crozes Hermitage, despite its youth it offers wonderful flavour and the syrah blends harmoniously with the flavours picked up in the aging process. A very promising complexity. This wine will be fantastic but still needs a little time until it can really be enjoyed.

Description

MAISON JABOULET was founded by Antoine Jaboulet (1807-1864). He had two twins Paul and Henri (1846-1892)who developed the family business. It is the eldest of the two brothers who the wine is named after as he specialised in wine produced in the Rhône valley, where there were vines that were planted by the Romans or even by the Greeks but there is no records to prove this. The reputation of this quality wine is well deserved at all of their well kept properties!

Tips on service

• Conservation: ready now but will improve
• At its best in: 2010
• To decant: 1 hour
• Serve at 16°

Food and wine matching

A simple grilled steak, beef stew or leg of lamb in its youth or Wild boar casserole, rabbit stew or strong cheeses.

Tasting notes

By Jean Michel Deluc : Master Sommelier

Eye - The ruby colour gives a good, deep intensity, with shades of aubergine and crimson at the edge of the glass. It is glossy and opaque due to its dense colour and concentration.
Nose - The concentration that we saw in the glass is equally present on the nose, with a powerful intensity. The wine has to be aired for a little while before you get the full aroma of ripe red and black berries, cherries, wild strawberries and blueberries. Followed by the scents of smoke, pepper, vanilla, cinnamon, liquorice peonies and roses. Truly delicious!
Palate - On the palate this wine is smooth and almost syrupy with a big fruity flavour. Then the refreshing acidic structure takes over with hints of liquorice and mint. The tannins are fine and smooth which prolong the fruity flavours that turn in to spice on the finish. A young wine that has a lot of promise in this rich vintage.

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Château La Seigneurie de la Porte Bayard 2001 Vintage: 2001 Colour: Red Origin: France - Bordeaux - Libournais - Saint-Emilion Grand Cru A.O.C. Alc % by Vol: 12.5% 3 bottles (83 CHF) Jean-Michel Deluc:

Our opinion

We hadn't previously heard of this château, but after tasting we were left wondering why we hadn't had the good fortune to have tasted it before! Well-balanced, fine, fruity and velvety – a great success! This was a real find, and an absolute must for your cellar!

Description

***** ChateauOnline. We immediately fell in love with this Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, which until now has passed by almost unrecognised. This wine offers a complex, aromatic background of incredibly high quality and a silkiness on the palate that is completely unrivalled. A superb wine that is also, rather unusually, very good value for money.

Tips on service

• Serve at 17°

Food and wine matching

Fillet of beef in Périgord sauce, roast pork with prunes, grilled pork chops, veal with chanterelles, well-aged Camembert.

Tasting notes

Eye - A wine of ruby colour and good intensity, with violet nuances and a darker shade of mauve towards the edge of the glass. Barely begun to develop, this glistening wine is bright, limpid and has a velvety appearance in the glass.
Nose - The aromatic framework of the nose is still quite tight but there is already evidence that this wine has the potential to become mysteriously complex. With aeration, the wine opens with notes of black cherries, blackcurrants, raspberry jelly and redcurrants. Notes of maturity are also present, which blend seamlessly into the richness of the structure. Further notes of tobacco, cigars, pepper and liquorice are found towards the finish.
Palate - The attack on the palate is incredibly silky and velvety for such a young wine. You will also notice a remarkable balance between the round maturity of the substance and the delicacy of the structure. The complexity of this wine will develop further with ageing, so why not keep it a little longer and enjoy it at its full potential!

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Château Gerbaÿ Cuvée Prestige 2003 Vintage: 2003 Colour: Red Origin: France - Bordeaux - Libournais - Côtes de Castillon A.O.C. Alc % by Vol: 12.5% 6 bottles (72CHF) Awards: Winner "Trophée Bordeaux" 2005 Jean-Michel Deluc:

Our opinion

Two journalists, 1 sommelier, 3 wine buyers, and 2 customers made up our jury. Their goal: to elect the winner of our 2005 Bordeaux Awards from among 13 pre-selected Châteaux (out of an initial list of 74), in a blind tasting. This Côtes de Castillon was the unanimous winner, with characteristics representing the kind of Bordeaux we'd like to always be able to drink. It has fruitiness, charm, complexity, a velvety nature on the palate, character and fine balance...nothing but compliments! This vintage is seductive either young or after a few more months in the cellar. In addition, the price is unbeatable for this level of quality. We're rightly proud of our 2005 Bordeaux Award Winner!

Description

The appellation controlée zone of the Côtes de Castillon is unmistakably a continuation of these two great appellations. Just a few kilometres from Saint-Emilon lies Chateau Gerbaÿ, a family-run estate since the 19th century. Covering an area of 12.5 hectares, the vineyard is planted mainly with Merlot (90% of the total), a grape known for its suppleness, with Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon (5% each) lending finesse and structure respectively. The name Chateau Gerbaÿ is derived from "gerbe" (fount) and "aÿ", which in the local dialect means “water,” referring to the spring that flows near one of the estate's parcels. At the highest spot of the Cotes de Castillon appellation, at an elevation of 100 metres, the estate's parcels are found mostly on the plateau situated between the communes of Gardegan and St. Philippe, a plateau recognized for the quality of its terroir. The vineyard has remarkably favourable exposition (south-southeast) and lies on clay-limestone sub-soils, leading the 28-year-old vines to become deeply rooted and favouring excellent ripeness of fruit. Yields were limited to 50 hectoliters per hectare in 2003 and the production methods remain traditional in order to respect the nature of the terroir and the vineyard. Vines are given double Guyot pruning, with traditional trellising. The working of the vines includes thinning of leaves to promote optimal ripeness of grapes and grass is left to grow in every second row of vines. Chemical treatments of the vines are limited and harvests occur at peak ripeness, after which the harvest is de-stemmed in its entirety to eliminate any grassy tastes. Throughout the three-week vatting period, pumping over the must is regularly carried out in order to extract colour, tannins and aromatic qualities. Fermentation is carried out at controlled temperatures so that alcoholic and malo-lactic fermentation occur naturally. Part of the harvest is matured in oak barrels (new barrels used for each vintage) for between 8 and 12 months depending on the vintage. Afterwards, the wine is racked and fined with egg whites, and is then bottled at the Château.

Tips on service

• Conservation: drinking now
• At its best in: 2008
• To decant: 1 hour
• Serve at 17°

Food and wine matching

Rib steak in ‘marchand de vin' sauce, braised veal sweetbreads, farm-raised chicken with wild mushrooms, lamb chops with herbs, sweet-and-sour pork, well-aged cheeses like Brie or Coulommiers.

Tasting notes

By Jean Michel Deluc : Master Sommelier

Eye - A wine of ruby colour of good intensity shading from purple-violet to purple at the edge of the glass. The colour is gleaming and velvety. The wine is bright and opaque due to its density and displays fine concentration.
Nose - The nose reveals impressive finesse and elegance. The aromatic background is rather complex, with aromas of ripe fruit from the start, including notes of blackcurrants, cherries or blackberries, followed by seductive notes of barrel-aging such as cedar wood, cacao, coffee and black pepper. With aeration the wine gains in strength with subtle notes of peonies and then fresher notes of liquorice and peppermint. Superbly balanced.
Palate - On the palate the wine has a fruity character with a supple, round attack and a mid-palate of greater character with a very delicate structure in which refreshing acidity is succeeded by silky tannins that persist with good length. The finish has flavours of liquorice and pepper.

Château d'Aydie 2003

Vintage: 2003
Colour: Red
Origin: France - South-West France - Madiran
Alc % by Vol: 14.5%
6 bottles (150CHF)

Jean-Michel Deluc:
Revue des Vins de France:

Our opinion

You only need to read the description to understand that this is a masterpiece to be! Even in its youth this wine has an incredible complexity. The more air it gets, more new aromas come alive in the wine. This appellation that we so particularly like has done very well for its self with roughly ¾ of its estates being fabulous! The Laplaces were at the origin of this rebirth to the region, and this cuvee will become indispensable in your cellar.

Description

The estate of Domaine Laplace à Aydie is a family run business, the Father, Pierre Laplace, hosts the visitors while his sons Jean-Luc, François, Bernard run the winery, the sales and the vines respectively. While his youngest, Marie, supervises the bottling process and delivery. The vineyard spreads itself out over 55 hectares (45 planted with Madiran the other 10 with Pacherenc) right at the heart of Madiran on soils that are locally known as “sols à Grepp” which signifys there is a layer of iron rocks below the soil that means the deepness of the soil varies between 20cm and a meter depending on the thickness of the layer. The soil above this layer, that is impermeable to water and the vines roots, is made up of soils that are lacking on clay and organic matter.

Tips on service

• Conservation: ready now but will improve
• At its best in: 2012
• To decant: 3 hours
• Serve at 17°

Food and wine matching

Bloody red meats, beef, lamb, and duck in the wine's youth, meats served in a sauce as the wine ages, hare and wild boar too. Strong cheeses.

Tasting notes

By Jean Michel Deluc : Master Sommelier

Eye - This wine has a blood red colour with blue/black shades fading to crimson near the edge of the glass. It gives a velvety impression with its violet tints and glossy appearance. The colour tells us that it is still in the prime of its youth.
Nose - On the nose the wine has a wicked complexity, first with the primary smells of the grape followed by those of the aging process. The aromas of toast, roasting, pepper, smoke, coffee, coco, liquorice, blackberries, blackcurrant, blueberries, black cherries and prunes. After a little aeration the flattering notes of tobacco, vanilla, cinnamon and mint. As the wine is open for longer it gains more power and virility.
Palate - On the palate, this wine is equally smooth supple an voluptuous. All of the fruits found on the nose are present, with a slightly more jammy flavour. The thickness of the attack is nicely balanced by the refreshing acidity which accentuates its finesse and elegance. The tannins are fine and soft and are well suited to the wines youth and freshness. However this is a wine made to be aged, as the wine gains in volume on its finish, where you will find the notes of aging. Quite simply splendid!