GLASS: Deep, soft, velvety red. Agile, producing sheets, not trousers. NOSE: Reserved - needs a deep inhale to get the full spectrum, but do, because it's worth it. Liquorice torpedoes, parma violets, essence of stablehand - leather, horse, straw, fresh hay, saddle soap - with top notes of something heady and floral. Rose-scented geranium, orchids. TASTE: A full-on tastebud extravaganza of lush, ripe fruit. Mellow tannins added a sultry dustiness, like a lazy summer afternoon in a stately home's unused ballroom, motes shimmering in slanted sunlight onto a neglected piano dreaming of the next dance. There was mulberry and damson, a touch of barley, a sweet note like orange blossom honey. Underneath was the umami richness, floorboards polished to a dull gleam by generations of beeswax and lint-free cloths. That touch of well-seared steak, cedarwood, the tough stems of an old wild thyme. I did mention I needed more stars, right? Right? And a magic wand? Is someone on that already? I mean, I haven't got around to the rest of Dom's wines, yet, but they are knocking it out of the park and I can see this being an ongoing problem. No sediment found, kept for ages. I'll maybe get around to considering food on the next bottle. If I can ever get my hands on one.
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You and Sam
Sam's Top 3 Wines
Dom Maxwell Pinot Noir 2015
by Dom Maxwell
Price: £ 17.99
Angels: £ 12.49
Dom Maxwell Podocarp Pinot Noir 2014
by Dom Maxwell
Price: £ 24.99
Angels: £ 17.99
Licenciado Rioja Reserva 2008
by Gorka Etxebarria
Price: £ 17.99
Angels: £ 11.99
Sam on Dom Maxwell Podocarp Pinot Noir 2014
Sam on Licenciado Rioja Reserva 2008
Glass: That wonderful sepia tint on antique garnet that gives me that special thrill I can't find anywhere else. Fast settler, with only a 3 second swirl, promising stamina. Even before I came to test the aroma it introduced itself, forward but charming with it. I knew this was good quality - this was as close as I'll ever get to an intimate dinner engagement with traditional European aristocracy. James Bond would give the sommelier an appreciative nod. Nose: Charmingly presumptuous. Proper old school. Saddle soap and finely-groomed stallions gleaming on parade. Sun-baked clay. Finely-tooled leather. Rosemary, thyme, grapes on the vine in summer heat. Apples and brambles, a hint of spice. Something in there reminded me of my old fencing instructor, but I couldn't pin down what it was. I could smell this all day, lost in the memories it conjures and the stories I imagine it could tell. Taste: And, yes, everything I adore in a wine. This was the stuff of pure Joy. Rich, plummy, exceptionally well balanced. Tannins present enough to give structure without demanding an unmannerly amount of attention in the flavour profile. Soft like a boxing glove is soft; dry the way sultanas are dry - still retaining strength, still full of fruit. There was a touch of sweetnness that came solely from the complete coverage of the palate, and a wonderful mouthfeel so arhitecturally complete I wanted to climb inside it with a good book and never come out. There was a time, in my pre-Naked days, when all I would drink was pre-2009 Rioja. (Don't ask, it's too long and boring a story.) All that has changed, of course, and I will drink anything other than oaked Chardonnay, but I still have a soft spot for older Rioja and wines like this are the reason. This was my kind of wine, and I'd give it even more stars if there were stars to give. TEMPERATURE: Forgiving, but do yourself a favour because you will miss out if you drink it too cool. SEDIMENT: Not in this bottle. DECANT: Not strictly necessary but do it anyway, because you deserve it. KEEPER: Yes. No deterioration after three days.
Sam on Sacchetto Pinot Grigio Spumante Blush
Here we go as I try to catch up on a few reviews. If I can find them amongst my notes... In the glass this was palest blush, a pleasing tint of strawberries crushed, sieved and stirred into a barrel of Prosecco. Beautiful. A sunset colour, or dawn — it belonged in the Venn diagram of yellow overlapping pink overlapping orange with the saturation turned down to something elegant. Bubbles were sparse, regular and fast. Lively but with heft. Inviting. 5/5 On the nose, this was delicate, floral, with a fruity edge. I feel like I'd smell this if someone gave me a Neolithic flint blade and set me loose in a florist's with an instruction not to come back until I'd mastered flower arranging. There were peonies, a hint of sweet pea, narcissus, a touch of bluebell. A creamy, vanilla-like backbone gave the whole thing structure. Elegant and subtle. 4.5/5 On tasting, it was a cloud. A sharp cloud. Then it punched me in the tongue with a whack of fruit. Strawberry! Raspberry! Kiwi! Surprise lime! Green things meet red things. Bicker a bit. Discover common ground and make friends. Fall in love. Form an unconventional marriage and set up home where the green things do nearly all the housework and the red things make a comfortable living as artists in the style of Mondrian and Klimt. They have lots of children and are very happy. The children develop superpowers at the age of seven and enjoy making it snow in the living room and hail on anyone they don't like. Um. 5/5 Love this to bits. I'll have a case or three, thanks very much.
Sam on Dom Maxwell Podocarp Pinot Noir 2014
GLASS: Deep, soft, velvety red. Agile, producing sheets, not trousers. NOSE: Reserved - needs a deep inhale to get the full spectrum, but do, because it's worth it. Liquorice torpedoes, parma violets, essence of stablehand - leather, horse, straw, fresh hay, saddle soap - with top notes of something heady and floral. Rose-scented geranium, orchids. TASTE: A full-on tastebud extravaganza of lush, ripe fruit. Mellow tannins added a sultry dustiness, like a lazy summer afternoon in a stately home's unused ballroom, motes shimmering in slanted sunlight onto a neglected piano dreaming of the next dance. There was mulberry and damson, a touch of barley, a sweet note like orange blossom honey. Underneath was the umami richness, floorboards polished to a dull gleam by generations of beeswax and lint-free cloths. That touch of well-seared steak, cedarwood, the tough stems of an old wild thyme. I did mention I needed more stars, right? Right? And a magic wand? Is someone on that already? I mean, I haven't got around to the rest of Dom's wines, yet, but they are knocking it out of the park and I can see this being an ongoing problem. No sediment found, kept for ages. I'll maybe get around to considering food on the next bottle. If I can ever get my hands on one.
Sam on Dom Maxwell Pinot Noir 2015
GLASS: Luscious, deep garnet, clingy with well-spaced, lazy legs. Quick to settle after swirling - weighty oscillations rather than moving on around. NOSE: Almost indescribable. An antique, velvet-lined, cedarwood box that someone has used to store garden herbs and dried flowers. A hint of something... Kitten paws? Also a bit gamey, like woodcock flambéed in good armagnac. I felt like I'd visited an estranged maiden aunt who lives in an isolated, run-down old house with a sardonic burmese, and I've gone snooping in her bedroom, only to find she's a witch who used her magical powers to fight for the Allies in the war, but never talks about it. TASTE: Holy cow. I mean, rarely does a wine - NEVER has a wine left me speechless. People go on about Pinot Noir and yet it's pretty expensive, comparatively ,and almost always a bottle full of Disappoint. I can pick up a bottle of Cono Sur for under a tenner, it's eminently drinkable, so why pay more for something that tastes like someone used a facecloth to wash some cherries and wring it into a glass? THIS IS WHY. Depth that would give a professional freediver the collywobbles. Voluptuous, velvety fruit - cassis and damson, all heady and adult and moreish. No summer berries here. Woody, almost vetiver-like notes woven throughout, forming a structure for the rich herbaceous undergrowth. This was an autumnal forest where wild deer roam and dryads wink seductively from the shadows. This is one of those wines where you can't imagine it possibly living up to the hype, frightful old jaded cynic that you are. But it does, and you don't even feel guilty about your lack of faith, because the hype didn't live up to the wine. I haven't got notes on food or temp, because I was too busy being stunned. It keeps forever. I didn't find any sediment. I want to drink it again. Why isn't there any in my rack already? This is the 21st century, someone should have invented a way to make some appear in my rack by magic. GET TO IT. I need more stars. MORE.
Sam on Licenciado Rioja Reserva 2008
Glass: That wonderful sepia tint on antique garnet that gives me that special thrill I can't find anywhere else. Fast settler, with only a 3 second swirl, promising stamina. Even before I came to test the aroma it introduced itself, forward but charming with it. I knew this was good quality - this was as close as I'll ever get to an intimate dinner engagement with traditional European aristocracy. James Bond would give the sommelier an appreciative nod. Nose: Charmingly presumptuous. Proper old school. Saddle soap and finely-groomed stallions gleaming on parade. Sun-baked clay. Finely-tooled leather. Rosemary, thyme, grapes on the vine in summer heat. Apples and brambles, a hint of spice. Something in there reminded me of my old fencing instructor, but I couldn't pin down what it was. I could smell this all day, lost in the memories it conjures and the stories I imagine it could tell. Taste: And, yes, everything I adore in a wine. This was the stuff of pure Joy. Rich, plummy, exceptionally well balanced. Tannins present enough to give structure without demanding an unmannerly amount of attention in the flavour profile. Soft like a boxing glove is soft; dry the way sultanas are dry - still retaining strength, still full of fruit. There was a touch of sweetnness that came solely from the complete coverage of the palate, and a wonderful mouthfeel so arhitecturally complete I wanted to climb inside it with a good book and never come out. There was a time, in my pre-Naked days, when all I would drink was pre-2009 Rioja. (Don't ask, it's too long and boring a story.) All that has changed, of course, and I will drink anything other than oaked Chardonnay, but I still have a soft spot for older Rioja and wines like this are the reason. This was my kind of wine, and I'd give it even more stars if there were stars to give. TEMPERATURE: Forgiving, but do yourself a favour because you will miss out if you drink it too cool. SEDIMENT: Not in this bottle. DECANT: Not strictly necessary but do it anyway, because you deserve it. KEEPER: Yes. No deterioration after three days.
Sam on Tokaji Dry Cuvee 2014
In the glass this was a hefty number, with neither legs nor lace. It hung right in there, persistent, whispering with the intensity of the truly determined. The colour was mineralised yellow wash – I didn’t see much green in there. On the nose… All the flowers. *takes a little moment* Rose, lily, heliotrope. Flowers I would never expect to find in a wine. A heavy, heady perfume, under which was cut grass, dry earth, leaf mould. On day three. Straight out of the fridge. It only got better as it relaxed. *swoons slightly* Tasting, I found the predominant characteristic on first sip to be blanched nuts. Sweet almond oil sprang to mind, then I thought of white flowers, the scent of oven-fresh, crusty bread. Around the back was a sourness, like firm yellow plums or Scottish grapes, and the middle was a rockery of alpine herbs and succulents. There was an intriguing note of white chocolate scented with pink pepper and citrus. How much do I love this wine? Heaps much. I’ve come over all ungrammatical *fans self, blushing*. I want to hug it and keep it in my pocket. It shall be my BFF. It will keep me company, and listen to all my problems with a knowing, affectionate expression that is never judgmental, even at 3am, will offer excellent advice and put up with all my odd habits. At this price? Get in my wine basket you cheeky minx.
Sam on Maurizio Castelli Ventata Sangiovese 2011
So, look, it's still winter here. I live in a 200 year old croft cottage in the wilds of Aberdeenshire, with no central heating and an insufficiency of insulation. We rent, so there's not much I can do about this except buy our own house and make sure it has ALL THE HEATINGS AND ROOF FLUFFY. We're working on it (this + flu = scarcity of reviews), but in the meantime I'm faced with teasing out the character of wines like this one in far from ideal conditions. It's hard to get them aerated to temperature properly, and I often end up cradling the glass in my hands to get some heat into it. Mostly, though, my hands are so cold this doesn't help. This is a Sangiovese. From Tuscany. It needs sunshine and baked stucco and drowsy zephyrs redolent with wild thyme. What it got was a granite ice box and my gloved paws, so I'm not going to blame the wine for being a tad sulky and shy. It was a wonderfully deep colour -- so deep it looked heavy. It sat there in the glass, dense and weighty, promising oodles of flavour with every sip. The nose was a surprise, offering far more volatile top notes than I was expecting under the circumstances. It was quite resinous, vegetative, with a floral edge as well as an earthiness. Imagine, if you can, a draft horse wearing a garland of white flowers, traipsing through a brambly hedge one sunny spring day. There was also amber and a coppery, metallic note my synaesthesia wants to call verdigris. The weight came back on tasting. This was packed full of muscular fruit, but there was a juicy freshness there, too. It wasn't a lumbering heavyweight that had to stop every ten seconds for a cuddle -- it was agile and nimble, more summer pudding than suet pudding. A well-placed tartness balanced the savoury heft, and ripe acidity made the mouthfeel lively without slipping towards harsh. If this wine were a boxer it would be Mohammed Ali: lively, quick on its feet, packing a big punch. NAKED SHAKE: Needs more time than that. DECANT: Yes. SEDIMENT: Not in this bottle. COLD TOLERANT: More than I expected, not as much as my house needed (roll on moving day). KEEPER: Yes. This stood on my mantlepiece for 5 days and was still delicious. FOOD: toad in the hole was a definite winner. Robust pasta sauces, barbeque, salty nibbles, dark chocolate. Nothing too spicy or creamy.
Sam on Carlos Rodriguez Morum Rioja Garnacha 2013
This was so good it kind of vanished, leaving a lingering sense of warmth and wonder, the world having been, for a while, a lovelier place wrapped in the soft aroma of summer fruit. It reminded me of a poem by Erica Jong, called "Raspberries in My Driveway": In my solitude I commune with raspberries, with grasses, with the world. The world was always there before, but where was I? Ah raspberry- if you are so beautiful upon my ready tongue, imagine what wonders lie in store for me! Taste this wine and you will find out. It's such a shame anything with this label sells out so quickly.
Sam on Maurizio Castelli Folata Vermentino 2013
I've been slow in getting around to reviewing this wine. (SPOILERS: it was worth the wait. The wine, I mean.) I don't have any excuse, really, other than having had to cut back of late. But, anyway, on with the show, so to speak. Glass: Crystal clear, but not crystalline; faint, ghostly yellow with a greenish, grassy tint. It was more like a super-fine, very refined oil. I could imagine this being used to anoint young Greek gods before they entered the ceremonial wrestling ring, or something [1]. It had a weight to it, a certain gravitas, a degree of self-possessed confidence. I had the impression this wine didn't care whether or not I liked it, because it was 100% certain someone -- quite a lot of someones -- would. Nose: A tantalising, beckoning aroma of shortbread and nutty, toasty, sweet-savouriness. A hint of melon -- gala rather than water -- and a fruity tang rather like the tartness of raspberries substituted for the acidity of a lemon in an outrageously clever genetic engineering experiment. Clean and citrussy, without sourness. Also, a woody note, as of a freshly peeled sapling, and something akin to a broken aloe vera leaf. Taste: Smooth, creamy, wonderful mouthfeel. It's definitely confident, almost a suave, well-educated but still exuberant young man arriving at a party without a partner, sure he will quickly make new friends. The soft!sharp citrus carries through on a silky, sultry bed that has the merest hint of soft whipped ice cream (I was thinking Mr Whippy, but other brands are probably available). There was a grassy minerality, and it packed a lot of flavour without being ill-mannered. You would definitely take this home to meet your mum, unless you were concerned about having to share. What I love is when Naked Wines (or, more accurately, one of their winemakers) changes my mind about a grape or a wine. I am not a fan of Vermentino, finding much of it heading too far to oily and smarmy; the kind that sits too close at the bar and uses dubious hair products and anti-perspirants named after apex predators or power tools. This, however, I would be happy to engage in conversation about the best version of Bach's Cello Concerto, for instance. I might even offer my number with a view to taking him home to meet my mother. Naked Shake: No Sediment: No Decant: No Cold: Yes. Not too cold! I think 10-12 deg C would be good. Food: Light cheeses, fish, shellfish (they're different!), saffron rice, savoury custard, chicken, spring lamb, new potatoes, asparagus (I am practically salivating thinking of pairing this with griddled, asparagus, poached duck eggs and smoked salmon). It has some bold but relatively neutral flavours -- nothing outlandish or overly dominating -- and would work well with a lot of things, including aromatic spice such as smoked paprika (with the exception of cinnamon, so perhaps avoid Moroccan). This is a new favourite, both as a cheeky mid-week tipple that's deeply pleasurable and easy company, and as an emergency, good-friends-staying-for-dinner-unexpectedly winerack staple. It's a couple of quid more than your average supermarket offering, but you get a lot more than a couple of quid extra quality. Well done, Mauricio. Pleased to meet you. [1] For anyone new to my reviews, I'm topologically synaesthetic for scent and taste, and I write speculative fiction. When I really like a wine it fires my imagination and I can become rather over-abundant in the prose department. I really liked this one.
Sam on Venta Del Puerto No 12 Selection Especial 2009
NOTE: This threw serious amounts of sediment. It does say so on the back, but my Spanish is cobbled together from a basic facility for languages and 'O' Grade Latin (showing my age, there). Decant it using a fine mesh. In the glass this was deep, luscious red – the colour of blood red, heavenly roses. There were no legs. This was a stealthy clinger. On the nose there were top notes of herb flowers – mint and thyme predominated. Underneath was woven a frame of dry straw, and in amongst the straw and herb garden was the bright fruit of sour cherries, redolent with the potent kick of alcohol. To taste it was delightfully balanced. It wasn't a punch in the face with a leather boxing glove packed with chocolate and coffee, which I was expecting from the weight of the bottle (blame the synaesthesia, which I pretty much do for everything). It was a fresh, juicy, fruity number that tasted of summer. It was a medley of forest fruits given heft by tannins. That pungent alcohol was as soft as a puppy and the mix of red berry fruit as playful as a kitten. There were still notes of chocolate and coffee, a flirtation with leather – this is both elegant and fun, sophisticated and joyful There is a lot of love in this wine, and an unexpected ray of sunshine. I had this on my rack for a very long time, and opened it to celebrate my husband's birthday. It was perfect.
Sam on Domaines des Noes Muscadet de Sevre et Maine 2011
A long time ago (well, about 6 years) in a galaxy far, far away (actually a Sainsbury's in Edinburgh) I bought a bottle of Muscadet sur Lie. I drink (or did, before having to reduce my intake) quite a lot of Muscadet. I like my whites grassy, with a mineral edge made of high-quality knapped flint strapped to a steel handle and deployed in the hunt for aurochs. I'm not one for tropical fruit so heavy it belongs in the jungle, and I often say that heavy oaking on a white is the one thing that is guaranteed to make me say, "Not for me, thanks." Otherwise, I'm relatively easy to please as long as you could cut a mammoth's ear off with it. Not being able to afford the Chablis and Pouilly Fume that would ordinarily satisfy this taste, I tend to stick with old world or Chilean SB and Muscadet. But there was this one bottle, as I say, from Sainsbury's. It smelled of lemon sherbet and packed an extraordinary citrus punch. The only thing that has come close since was the lime-drenched deliciousness of the bottle of Lay of the Land SB I inhaled before I could make notes. Sorry. (Not sorry.) I bought about half a dozen of these MsL, but none of the others matched this lemon-packed marvel and the world became a slightly sadder, dimmer place in the knowledge that I had lucked out and drunk the only bottle of liquid Sicilian sunshine on the face of the planet (yes, it was French, but it tasted like a Sicilian lemon grove). Then Naked came along with this Muscadet and, being a Muscadet kind of person, I could hardly not buy a bottle. And, sad to say, I inhaled it before I could make any proper notes. (Still not sorry.) But the point of this story is that I opened this up and suddenly there was my liquid Sicilian sunshine, the thing I'd been searching for in every bottle of Muscadet I've had since that one, solitary, anomalous marvel. I wasn't in a freezing cold cottage in the Scottish north east: I was wandering through a citrus grove with the sun reflecting off the surrounding white stucco and all was right with the world. It didn't have the depth of that long-remembered bottle, but it had the edge, that dry, clean, minerality that I look for in a white. So onto my favourites list you go, I shall be having more of you when you come back in stock.
Sam on Embeleso Rioja Graciano Organic 2012
Glass: A deep, luscious red. Damsons crammed all the way to the edge, rubbing shoulders with elderberries and dark, dark cherries oozing juice in a sensuous, sensual swirl of silk sheets and candlelight. No legs -- this one is way past legs. This one is already in bed and beckoning. Nose: Almost a fine ruby port, but not quite. It pulls that final punch. It's soft and inviting at the same time as being awash in bright, juicy red fruits. I felt like I'd taken a big box of incredibly ripe, plump mixed berries and squeezed them to a smooshy pulp in my fists. It was a scent I wanted to rub all over myself. Suddenly I understood why a dog might find something so utterly irresistable he has to roll around in it. Taste: The port depth packs an instant wallop -- it grabs the tongue, wraps around it like a super-affectionate plush octopus, and Does Not Let Go. The alcoholic power is balanced beautifully by the unctuous, summer-pudding-with-winter-berries fruit and underlying sweetness, kicked up a gear by notes of mace and cinnamon, a tiny whiff of smoking cedar, a soupcon of Moroccan mint, and a ghost of clove-speckled orange. It's a keeper. If you manage not to inhale the bottle within 30 seconds, it keeps its complexity for a couple of days, although by day 3 there's a touch of astringency threatening the overall balance. Don't worry, though, you won't want to keep it. (The sacrifices I make to give you thorough notes. Tch.) I did not need to decant this. It was magic straight from the bottle. Food? Who cares about food? It's lush. But if you insist, it's easier to suggest things NOT to have with it. White fish, poussin, delicate desserts. If you think a dish has a flavour that could match one of the Dulux whites, then it won't go well with this wine. Anything else will probably work. Gorka says Embeleso means spellbound. I think he has a point.
Sam on Kimbao Syrah Cabernet Franc 2012
In the glass this was a deep, dark damson, and very clingy. It swireds languidly around the glass and left a fine, shimmering curtain. One could serve this to Count Dracula, if he had a cold: S: "Can I get you another drink?" Count D: "I do not drink... vine." S: "Oh really? What do you think *that* is?" Count D: "Zis is blood! See how she clings to ze glass. So voluptuous. So... tempting." S: "No, it's not. Permit me to tell you about Naked Wines. I think you'll like them." A big sniff and it was petrichor and mulled fruit, like an autumn hedgerow mashed into an old stone road in a shower on a hot day. Pungent with alcohol and floral notes reminiscent of an elegant French perfume house. A waft of resins – pine and juniper – and then a tendril of something cool and savoury, curling up like questing ivy. On tasting this was full-bodied, assertive, quite sharp in its approach, with a dusky backwash. I found this to be a juicy, beefy wine that needs food to bring out the best in it. The weight overwhelmed the nuances found on the nose, and some strong cheese or rich, tomato-based sauce would counter that and let those notes come through. It doesn't throw sediment so doesn't *need* decanting, but I would recommend it. After sitting for a couple of days, that assertiveness had calmed down a lot, and it was no longer in need of anything quite so full flavoured to balance it. In fact, it was a lovely evening tipple, and I found myself wishing I had more friends with whom to share it, even if they were vampires. And then I thought, "Bugger them. More for me. " This is a wine to open well in advance and have at a dinner party where you want to impress or spoil. It's a special occasion wine, not a 1-of-your-five-a-day wine. Treat your beloved, spoil your BFF or impress your boss. Or send them outside to listen to the sweet music made by the Children of the Night and drink it all yourself, cackling.
Reenen Borman
South Africa
Jorge Gutierrez
Chile
Dom Maxwell
New Zealand
Ian Kellett
UK
Károly Áts
Hungary
Alessandro Biancolin
Italy
Stefano di Blasi
Italy
Maurizio Castelli
Italy
Philippe and Laurence Agoulon
France
Serena Cordero
Italy
Norrel Robertson
Spain
Alvaro Domecq
Spain