Chateau Bonhomme mademoiselles, Languedoc red wine

Posted on August 5, 2019 by richardgore1200

Chateau Bonhomme mademoiselles comes from the south of France, in the Languedoc area. This is a Syrah Grenache blend and is a good example of a red wine from the region. There are aromas of black fruit and tobacco and flavours of red and black fruits, spice notes and medium tannins. I think the blend with grenache really helps add a big hit of fruit that makes this easier to drink on its own than just having Syrah and the tannins and structure that Syrah brings to wine.

At about £10 a bottle it’s a good solid Languedoc red wine

Chateau Bonhomme mademoiselles

Laurent Perrier NV Brut champagne

Posted on August 5, 2019 by richardgore1200

We had this sailing down the Orwell river on an old barge celebrating a 70 birthday and 50 wedding anniversary. This is from one of the largest champagne houses and typicaly has a house style that is replicated year on year.

There are aromas flavours of citrus and floral notes. The usual heavy bready, yeasty notes found in champagnes are missing, only a subtle hint of yeast in the background. For me this is why I like French crements, I don’t want a mouth full of toast, I want to taste the fruit, character of the grapes. So if you want a fruit driven champagne this is the one. Best of all with discount it came to £18 a bottle at Tesco.

Laurent Perrier NV Brut champagne

Main Divide, Pinot Noir from New Zealand

Posted on August 3, 2019 by richardgore1200

We spent the on an old sailing barge that sailed out of Ipswich. On the way back to the train station we stopped off at the Majestic Ipswich store. They have a new system there where the wines are ordered in style rather than just country, which makes choosing a wine much much easier. Well done to Majestic for doing something that really helps the average customer.

Chris the manager showed us a wine he had opened for a previous customer called the Main Divide, a Pinot Noir from New Zealand. It had aromas of oak and smoke with black fruit. The the flavours were quite rich, black fruit, spice and a smokey undertone which was refreshing for a Pinot Noir. This was not a weak red but had character. At £20 a bottle it’s not cheap but it is a cracking wine.

Main Divide, Pinot Noir from New

Cap Insula – Languedoc red wine

Posted on August 1, 2019 by richardgore1200

This is a blend of three possibly four grapes depending on where you look the vineyards website or fact sheet. Sarah, Grenache and possibly Caignan or Mourvèdre. There are aromas of black fruit and some spice and pepper notes. On the taste there are firm tannins, flavours of black fruit, spice and Oak.

Like many Syrah and Grenache based wines it does benefit from being opened 20 or 30 minutes and allowed to breathe. The slave is my volume is ready to open up. At about £12 a bottle it’s fair value.

Cap Insula – Languedoc red wine

Marani Kindzmarauli from Georgia

Posted on August 1, 2019 by richardgore1200

You can get some very nice wine from Georgia but I’ll be blunt,t is not one of them. Very rare will I throw a glass of wine away but in this case I threw the bottle away.

It was very one-dimensional with very jammy fruit, thought I might as as well being eating black currant jam straight from the jar. I can’t say if the issue was with the grape – Saperavi, or there was an error when making this wine. Sorry but one really to avoid.

Marani Kindzmarauli from Georgia

Marque’s de Riscal 2007 Grand Reserva

Posted on August 1, 2019 by richardgore1200

They have been making wine for over 2 hundred years and it shows. There are aroma’s of black fruit, blackcurrant, blackberry, vanilla and tobacco. Flavours of black fruits, with a jammy over time and smooth silky finish. The tannins have softened in 12 years but can just be picked up, smooth and luscious are 2 words to describe this wine.

Best to buy by the case and open a bottle each year. The 2 or 3 year old bottles are about £14 each so very good value for such a cracking wine

Marque’s de Riscal 2007 grand reserva

Pere Ventura 2012 Cava

Posted on July 31, 2019 by richardgore1200

Made with the Xarel·lo and Chardonnay grapes this is a top end Cava. There are aromas of fennel and floral notes and flavours of almonds and butterscotch. There is a lovely creamy texture to the wine that makes it very easy to knock back on its own. Pair it with sea food or as we did with salad and citrus based salad dressing.

My only gripe about the wine is in the price. At £25 plus a bottle it’s in the champagne and top English sparkling wine price bracket. The bottle is gorgeous which helps to market it but with Cava on the bottle I think people will bypass it. It’s a shame because blind tasted I think people will pick it.

Pere Ventura 2012 Cava

Castell Schlossberg Silvaner GG from Germany

Posted on July 30, 2019 by richardgore1200

The biggest problem we have in UK with German wine is getting the good stuff. Most of the time it is kept in Germany. Once you find a good stockist you’ll find some absolute gems. From crisp dry rieslings to luscious sweet dessert wines.

This particular wine is dry with aromas of green apple, blossom and flavours that include honeysuckle, white pepper, unripened citrus and a mineral/flinty finish. That’s a lot of acidity but with the light texture it’s rather good.

The only issue I have is with the price, at about Eur20 a bottle it’s not cheap but then again this is German wine so you have to expect the good stuff is expensive.

Castell Schlossberg Silvaner from Germany

Vouvray Demi Sec from the Loire Valley in France

Posted on July 29, 2019 by richardgore1200

This is a sparkling Chenin Blanc from Vouvray. It’s a Demi Sec sparkling with flavours of yellow apple, blossom, pear and a little honey and citrus. The aromas are lacking but it’s not a big issue, the flavours are integrated and complement the strawberries and cream and scones we had.

At about £10 a bottle it’s pretty good.

Vouvray Demi Sec from the Loire

Babylonstoren Mouvedre Rosé 2018, South Africa

Posted on July 29, 2019 by richardgore1200

Babylonstoren has the second most visited gardens in the western cape and some of the most delicious wines there. I’ve been to the gardens and met the wine maker and cellar master, very nice guys and so knowledgeable.

If you look at my London wine fair blog from May 2019 you’ll find some of their reds .

This is their 2018 Mourvedre rose wine. Its fruit driven dry rose with aromas and flavours of strawberry, red berries and a clean fresh taste. It has more flavour than a Provence rose and that’s not bad. Those extra flavours make it so drinkerable.

At £13 a bottle it’s a little pricy but you get what you pay for and no it doesn’t go with strawberries and cream scones, swooped out for Demi Sec sparkling from Vouvray pretty quickly and then drunk later.

Babylonstoren Mouvedre Rosé 2018, South Africa

The accidental drinker

Wine talk and reviews by an accidental drinker

Author Archives: richardgore1200

Chateau Bonhomme mademoiselles, Languedoc red wine

Laurent Perrier NV Brut champagne

Main Divide, Pinot Noir from New Zealand

Cap Insula – Languedoc red wine

Marani Kindzmarauli from Georgia

Marque’s de Riscal 2007 Grand Reserva

Pere Ventura 2012 Cava

Castell Schlossberg Silvaner GG from Germany

Vouvray Demi Sec from the Loire Valley in France

Babylonstoren Mouvedre Rosé 2018, South Africa

Babylonstoren has the second most visited gardens in the western cape and some of the most delicious wines there. I’ve been to the gardens and met the wine maker and cellar master, very nice guys and so knowledgeable.