French Wine Club

Château du Seuil Graves 2002

2007-05-27T16:36:00.000+01:00

The wine is fruity with soft integrated tannins giving a long fine aftertaste. Produced by Welsh owner Bob Watts who has enthusiastically adopted new world techniques, making approachable, fruit driven wine. Full bodied and rich in colour and very drinkable, pleasant wine that went well with conversation.

Rating: 4/5

Château du Cray Bourgogne Rouge 2003, Côte Chalonnaise

2007-05-26T11:24:00.000+01:00

Oak matured, the light blackcurrant fruits emerging on the palate are well rounded and balanced by subtle tannins. A lovely chalky after taste and sheer after-meal drinking pleasure. The perfect accompaniment to lamb dishes but as a non-white drinker I particularly like it with fish, mainly trout and salmon. So drinkable is this wine that you are highly likely to polish it off in no time at all!

Rating: 5/5

Michel Sarrazin Bourgogne Bourgogne Cote Chalonnaise "Les Gorgeres" 2004

2007-05-26T11:18:00.000+01:00

Light, herb and cherry fruit with plenty of bright herby notes. The palate has cool, focused if rather dry fruit and tannin qualities, with a racy acidity. A little lean, but well balanced. The emphasis at Domaine Sarrazin is on preserving the freshness and purity of the fruit whilst maintaining the sense of terroir. This is done by limiting production though extensive pruning, a short period of oak ageing in both new and old wood and bottling the wines without fining or filtering, techniques which preserve the delicate fruit aromas. Floral notes and red berry fruits provide a crisp, fresh nose, the pure fruit flavours showing through on the juicy palate. Subtle oak provides structure to the wine, giving it a supple, rounded finish. Excellent with roast pork.

Rating: 4/5

Louis Latour 2005 Pinot Noir

2007-05-26T11:15:00.000+01:00

Although Pinot Noir is apparently one of the most difficult grapes to grow, this is a fine example of the grape with plenty of soft ripe blackberry and raspberry fruit. A versatile and easy-drinking wine that goes well with grilled meats, barbecues and pâtes or with a cheese platter. Particularly nice when served at room temperature and drunk in the sun!

Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2005, Louis Latour

Rating: 5/5

Mâcon Rouge 2005

2007-05-26T11:10:00.001+01:00

Very cheap but flavoursome Bourgogne that has a great chalky taste with lots of different notes. Well-rounded with clean acidity on the finish, this will accompany spicy chicken or red meat dishes perfectly.

Name:
Mâcon Rouge 2005

Appellation:
Appellation Mâcon Rouge

Producer:
Les Vignerons Des Grandes Vignes
Á Prissé 71960 France.

Rating: 4/5

Chateau de Pitray (2002)

2006-05-21T13:25:00.000+01:00

We tried this Bordeaux with Spaghetti Bolognaise last night, after the man in Majestic Wine recommended it as one of his finest, for the price that is!

It was really smooth and full-bodied, not too light and not too heavy. Lots of fruit and vanilla for "immediate gratification", according to the Majestic website.

"Château de Pitray: In the middle of a 100-hectare domaine, most of which is a park with some splendid venerable trees - 100-year-old oaks and cedars - lies an absurdly magnificent mock Gothic-Renaissance pile, built in 1868. The same family, descendants both of the Ségurs and the Seigneurs of Pitray, have owned this 30-hectare estate since the 17th century. The vineyard lies in one piece, on slopes which face south, and is harvested mechanically. There are two cuvées. The basic is aged in tank; the Première in wood, of which one-third is new. This latter wine, if not the greatest Castillon, is certainly worth noting. " [from The Wine News magazine

We've fallen a bit behind with updating this blog, which is not to say we've not been experimenting with new wines, though our favourite to date is still the Lirac (Chateau D'Aqueria) we first sampled before Christmas.

The Pitray, however, is any bit as good, as well as affordable!

Rating: 5/5

Saint Joseph (2003) Les Vins de Vienne

2005-12-29T19:51:00.000Z

Saint Joseph is made from 100% Syrah, and has a deep violet core with intense cassis and blackberry on the nose. The finish is long and silky with hints of spice. I was deeply suprised by the flavour, so much so that I (ahem) tasted a glass before everyone got back for the meal ;-) Thoroughly recommended and definitely will appeal to the Rhone drinkers...

Rating: 5/5

Plan Pegau (Lot 2004) Selection par Laurence Feraud

2005-12-24T16:27:00.000Z

Plan Pegau are mostly Grenache, with a fair amount of Carignan and Syrah, and probably some Merlot, maybe Cabernet and maybe still a drop of Madeline Angevine. Much of it was aged for half a year in small old oak barrels. The number refers (rather bizarrely) to the 'lot' rather than the year as it is technically a declassified wine - which means it is a lot cheaper than the classified versions. This was recommended to us as a very cheap wine that was good value in terms of quality. I have to agree - though not anywhere near the flavour of the Lirac (see below) it is a very nice reasonably priced (actually cheap) wine.

Rating: 3/5

La Coulee d'Argent Vouvray (2004) [WHITE]

2005-12-21T18:40:00.000Z

La Coulee d'Argent Vouvray is an off-dry, very fruity and crisp white, with citrus flavors. We are drinking this white tonight with Wild Salmon baked with leeks (butterflies according to Trine's father, Arne) with boiled potatoes..

Full rating to follow... but first flavour is an amazing apple flavour.. truly gorgeous with a really nice aftertaste. Can't wait for the fish to be served as Trine is having kittens over the Wild Salmon...

Very very nice wine. Pleasant with fish and complements soft flavoured foods.

Rating: 3.5/5

Chateau Caronnes Ste Gemme (2001)

2005-12-21T18:36:00.000Z

Chateau Caronnes Ste Gemme is another lovely Bordeaux that Trine loved and I felt was a little heavy. Went well with meat dishes, but again the bottle was only half drunk by the end of the evening.. And Trine stopped me opening another Rhone ;-)

Rating: 3/5

Moulin de la Lagune (2000)

2005-12-21T18:33:00.000Z

Moulin de la Lagune was one of the wines that Trine and I argued about (no suprise that it is a Bordeaux). I thought nice but prefers a good Rhone wine, Trine thought it was fantastic... makes the rating tricky but as I am typing this in I think my opinion will come through stronger ;-) A well balanced wine with heaps of fruit, a light, elegant vanilla texture, and an underlying soft, supple richness it is made from predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon.

Rating: 4/5

Coteau Brule Cairanne

2005-12-21T18:30:00.000Z

Unfortunately I was rather unimpressed with this wine and it was far to lacking for me to get excited about. Spicy, peppery
red fruits on the nose, but in the end not really the right flavours for me. In fact, this wine was only half drunk by the end of the evening...

Rating: (**)***

Chateauneuf-du-Pape

2005-12-21T18:26:00.000Z

Again a heavier wine, and after many of these heavy wines, Chateauneuf-du-Pape perhaps suffered in my rating as I missed the Rhones that I enjoy most. This wine has been described as 'Flavors are mouth filling but more elegant than boisterous...(with) plums, pepper, hint of leather..' but I prefer my wine sans leather ;-)

Rating: (***)**

Chassagne-Montrachet (2001)

2005-12-21T18:24:00.000Z

A heavier wine, much more to Trine's taste than mine, this was great with food but really heavy to drink on its own later. For me, the sign of a great wine is drinkability, and it is far better when it can be consumed throughout the night ;-) Hence the slightly lower rating.

Rating: (***)**

Chateau D'Aqueria (Lirac)

2005-12-21T18:19:00.000Z

Chateau D'Aqueria was a very very excellent find. Very cheap and extremely drinkable. We have bought eight bottles for Christmas as it was sooo nice! Château d'Aquéria is a quintessential Tavel wine widely appreciated in the French market as the finest wine of its appellation. Deep and dark in colour, with scents of berry this is fantastic on its own or with food.

Rating: *****

Vacqueyras (2001)

2005-12-21T18:15:00.000Z

Selection par Laurence Féraud

Absolutely stunning and delicious wine. Vacqueyras was simply gorgeous with Lamb and we polished off the rest of the bottle through the evening. And always the sign of a good wine was that we were disappointed when it ran out ;-)

Thoroughly recommended!

Rating: *****

Crozes Hermitage (2001) - Paul Jaboulet

2005-11-13T20:53:00.000Z

Wow. This Jaboulet Crozes Hermitage Domaine de Thalabert 2001 is **lovely**. I really love Cotes-Du-Rhone wines and this is just so drinkable! A sweet edge to the fruit on the palate, just a little grip and texture. Quite light, reflecting the vintage. We are planning to buy lots for christmas drinking...

Rating: *****

Chateau De Chassagne-Montrachet (2003)

2005-11-13T20:52:00.000Z

Dry. More when we finish the bottle...

Rating: (**)***

Fleurie (2004) Georges Duboeuf

2005-11-13T20:47:00.000Z

Now this is the kind of wine I am happy to drink all evening. Light, refreshing and sparkling with flavour. Georges Duboeuf is onto a sure fire thing here with an excellent Fleurie (unlike the Tesco version which we were not impressed with). This wine comes from the 39 superior villages of Beaujolais and tastes like it. Excellent... we'll be getting more!

Really lovely with white fish, salmon and seafood. Especially if you are not a big white wine drinker.

Rating: 4/5

Saint-Amour (2003)

2005-11-13T20:35:00.000Z

Bizarrely the Saint-Amour is a Beaujolais from the village of Saint-Amour. Saint-Amour is one of ten villages that make up the Beaujolais Crus, usually offering a large increase in quality from ordinary Beaujolais. This vibrant cherry-coloured wine has a really lovely flavour of strawberry and briar-wood. Nice but not as nice as the Fleurie...

Rating: (***)**

La Croix De Beaucaillou (1997)

2005-11-06T19:40:00.000Z

Mmmm. We have been taking our time over this lovely lovely bottle of Bordeaux. Deep-coloured, powerful, ripe, exquisitely well-balanced and perfectly harmonious.

We first tasted with Fillet steak, needless to say fantastic, and then with strong cheeses. As it is so lovely we are taking our time testing with other foods...

Rating: Still tasting...

Morgan (2004)

2005-11-06T19:31:00.000Z

Morgan (2004) is a Beaujolais is produced by Georges Duboeuf. A prominent Beaujolais bottler, Georges Duboeuf produces more than 25 thousand cases of wine annually. He is almost single-handedly responsible for the annual Beaujolais nouveau phenomenon, and has won countless awards for his wines. These wines are easily recognizeable by the flowers on the labels, and the distinctive Duboeuf insignia.

Morgan is north of Brouilly (Just to the west of Belleville (north of Villefranche), Brouilly encompasses some 3,000 acres) and its wines seem to vary from light and fruity to more deep and serious. The soil is a crumbly slate which the locals call roche pourrie (rotten rock).

This is a lovely light and fragrant wine that is perfect for the evening.

Rating: (***)**

Gigondas (2001)

2005-11-06T19:25:00.000Z

This is a lovely Gigondas, from Rhone valley, which is light and very drinkable. I quite liked this wine although I admit that Trine found it a bit sharp in places and perhaps that makes it not as suitable for evening drinking. Good with food, it certainly had a lovely flavour that complemented our Pasta dish.

Rating: (***)**

Chateau Flaugergues 2003

2005-10-31T19:16:00.000Z

The bare label and simplicity of the Chateau Flaugergues 2003 from Languedoc-Roussillon, doesn't prepare you for a smooth and deep red. We suspect that it is astounding with cheese. In fact, Trine has just run out to grab more cheeses for us to experiment with!

The wine was extremely good with the food (pasta), a rich and full flavour that Trine in particular loved. We followed the meal with a sample of strong cheeses, both camenberg and brie which both worked really well with the wine.

However, it was not an 'evening' wine as after the meal it was far too heavy on the palate. So much so that I swapped back to Marsannay instead.

Rating: (***)**

Chateau De Marsannay 1999

2005-10-31T19:09:00.000Z

Chateau De Marsannay 1999 was a surprise, demonstrating all the best hallmarks of a burgundy. Very drinkable and yet suprisingly light compared to what I was expecting but full of flavour. So much so that we nearly polished the whole bottle off in an evening. It went very well with the chicken we were eating and also was a fantastic after-meal drink in itself. I would definitely buy more (especially for when friends come over).

Rating: 4.5/5