York Wine Club Tasting Notes - March 2024
- matatkin
- Mar 6, 2024
- 4 min read
Hi Everyone,
What a month this has been :-) We've had a couple of tastings, one focusing on Bordeaux the other was a very loud and entertaining fundraiser for one of our regular wine clubbers, Zoe Priestley.
We filled Love Cheese and the lovely Jordan filled us with great cheee as normal, whilst we challenged ourselves in the 'tasting' quiz.
If you'd like to employ me as a host for a private event, then the formula seems to work. I enjoy doing them and they can be as high end as you like. Prices start from £20 per person (inc cheese).
This Months Wine
What a treat! This is the best offer yet......I am passing these through at cost to you. Big Love :-) IN fact, I've totally cocked up in terms of my profit and loss.....but this is a treat for you.
When I selected these wines I was in a 'Hardforchard.co.uk' moment, so the whites are all Chardonnay. There is some logic here, as I wanted you to compare two great wines from the Maconnais, the most southerly part of the Bourgogne in France. The Vire Clesses and the Saint Veran are not more than 30km apart, so interested to see if you can spot the difference. There are some winemaking difference.
Last month I introduced you to Hungarian Chardonnay. This 'Dixie' is from the same great maker as last months but it has a little Pinot Gris (Pinot Grigio) and a little wine work. See if you can spot the difference in a blind taste between the French and the Hungarian.
The red are equally special and all comparable. The Cairanne from France, is big and bold and will support on on a cold March evening and work great with something beefy! I then chose an Aglianico from the Basilicata, Italy (Southern Italy). This is a beautiful indiginous grape variety that is very popular today and again is bold, with a little sophistication. It's work well with mature or spicy cheese.
Finally, I revert you to an Uco Valley Malbec from Argentina. The quality of the Uco Valley today is immense. Over 940masl, it's exactly what you want in a Malbec.
All three reds are comparable and will work on their own or with food.
Enjoy
Matt
x
Tasting Note: Clear and bright pale yellow in colour, the nose is pronounced stone fruit and lemon sherbert characters. The palate is zesty with delicious fleshy nectarine fruit underpinned with good acidity and minerality.
Food Match: Light chicken and fish dishes or try with a fruit salad for dessert.
Tasting Note: A classic Chardonnay from Southern Burgundy - fine buttery and floral notes on the nose and a wine of substance and finesse on the palate. Some creamy textural notes up front reveal the discreet presence of oak, whilst on the finish there is some underlying minerality and a hint of citrus zestiness that provides long lasting flavours.
Food Match: An admirable accompaniment to the classic Burgundian dish of poulet à la crème (chicken in creamy sauce), or a shellfish chowder. Great with vegetable risotto and pan fried fish, too.
Tasting Note: For the Sylvestra Malbec, Walter Bressia seeks a much brighter fruit expression. Very largely unoaked, this is 25 year old vine Malbec from the Uco Valley. The wine is hugely aromatic with violet notes. The violet characters follow through to a fine, cedary palate with bags of soft bramble and red cherry fruit.
Food Match: A big, juicy steak, churrasco de chorizo marinated with garlic, parsley and olive oil, grilled vegetables with chimichurri sauce.
Tasting Note: A warm and richly-flavoured, oak-aged, Aglianico with aromas of ripe black fruit, cassis, leather and smoky notes. The generous palate is packed full of black berry fruits, with layers of spicy oak and mocha, and balancing bright acidity. Concentrated, with a good depth of flavour, and chunky yet supple tannins.
Food Match: At its best with rich pasta dishes, red meats and mature cheeses.
Tasting Note: A serious, opulent and complex example of cru Cairanne. This is rich, intense and drenched in dark red fruits. With morello cherry and a touch of cinnamon spice on the nose, soft dark plummy fruit, liquorice, chocolate, a hint of black tea on the palate, this wine is full flavoured and smooth with supple tannins. A rich, savoury satisfying mouthful that shows greater elegance with air.
Food Match: Rich, complex and delicious with dishes which take time to prepare: a slow cooked duck cassoulet, or warming beef casserole – try a Daube Niçoise, the southern French variation of the traditional beef daube which includes tomato, orange zest and black olives. Hearty vegetable dishes can work too – grilled aubergine with a herby tomato Provençal sauce or a tofu burger with all the trimmings.
Tasting Note: Subtle white flower aromas on the nose. More savoury and serious than the 2019, but still with lovely ripe stone fruit complemented by a fine minerality that adds real finesse and complexity. Perfectly balanced, truely delicious with a hint of oak texture.
Food Match: Poulet de Bresse or any free-range roast chicken, sole meunière, creamy vegetable gratin.
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