QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Tastes like Paris Hilton's wet chihuahua", Harry Brenton (pictured) draws a delicate picture of Sainsbury's own label Chablis.
Symptoms? A vague scratching sensation at the back of the eyes, severe attention deficit and a compulsion to swirl, sniff and savor every liquid from port to porridge. Prognosis? You wont last another year without a visit to the underground laboratories of THE WINE CLUB.
In our ceaseless attempts to democratize the world of wine and throw the doors open to its secret garden, wine club is back with gusto.
In April, HARRY BRENTON, wine club's very own bon viveur (Chateau Haut Brion for breakfast) and maverick (with fish!?!) lay down his poker chips and donned his mortarboard as he led us through merchant own brand wines.
We learned that in recent years, the supermarkets and wine merchants up and down the land have noticed that there is a pretty profit to be had from wine sales, if they control production of the wine. Supermarkets control some 70% of wine sales that take place in the UK. A commitment to producers that output high quantities of wine at low cost has sometimes lead to supermarkets turning quite a blind eye to quality. Would they take the same tack when their name and reputation is on the bottle?
Perhaps, Sainsburys Taste the Difference range, Tescos Finest range, Harrods Wine Dept or the 17th Century-founded patriarch of all wine merchants, Berry Brothers and Rudd of St James, Mayfair could produce a wine at reasonable cost and high quality that might compete against leading wine brands like Moet & Chandon. Perhaps Harrods could outcompete the retail goliath, Sainsburys? With labels obscured, palates aquiver and every sense in vibrant agitation, Wine Club took its first drink of 2007!
Share our wine notes below.
MOET & CHANDON NON VINTAGE BRUT IMPERIAL CHAMPAGNEAPPEARANCE: Clear pale one to start with. A yellow gold colour and medium mousse and lasts a while.
NOSE: Low to mid intensity on the nose. Pear, a little bread and soft melon.
PALATE: A liitle off dry to us which is not a winner in a champagne for anyone over the age of five. Pear, lemon, not enough acidity to rid of us of this cloying sweetness. It did say Brut on the label and so we cant work out why there appears to be so much residual sugar in this one.
CONCLUSIONS: This is a basic to good champagne which the group thinks one can drink alone or better still, not at all. 9/20 was the overall score and when the label was revealed, some were shocked to learn that this fizzy was a Moet & Chandon, the makers of Dom Perignon. Clearly, this wine was not up to snuff and is in no way worth the £22.49. 12% alcohol.
TESCOS BRUT CHAMPAGNE YEAR 2000 VINTAGE APPEARANCE:Pale gold with a green tinge. Good mousse.
NOSE:Quite intense on the nose. Yeast, red apples and a touch of wet earth.
PALATE:Higher acidity than the last, braeburn apples, soapy, fuller bodied than the last. Some nice vanilla. Short to medium finish. Love the feel of that on the tongue but wouldnt mind a few more features.
CONCLUSION:Alcohol is 12% like the last but still burns. A bit out of balance on its own. Try it with some food. Canapes perhaps. We first tasted this award winning wine a year ago and we still like it. This sparkler earned itself an 11/20 and rings in at £17 per bottle which is good for a vintage wine.
SAINSBURYS TASTE THE DIFFERENCE CHABLIS (produced by Jean Marc Brocard) 2006APPEARANCE:Clear yellow wine. Very pale.
NOSE:Erm....a strange amyl acetate (thats a paint solvent to you) emanating from here. A haunting floral smell. Haunting as it reminded much of the group of their dead granny's soap.
PALATE:Gentle acidity, Debs was less than impressed with the lack of fruit concentration, David got Juicy Fruit bubble gum and more amyl acetate, John described it as 'OILY FILTH' and where the hell is the mineral hallmark of a good chablis?
CONCLUSION:Much of chablis is machine picked and so grapes cannot be hand sorted to increase quality. Therefore, picking from good vineyards which dont torture their vines to overproduce dilute grapes is fairly important. Winemaking 101. Clearly, the producer didn't care and so neither do we. 7/20 and they want £9 for it. I think that we will gracefully decline!
HARRODS CHABLIS DOMAINE DE BOIS D'YVER 2004APPEARANCE:Pale straw colour. A wee green streak.
NOSE:Medium intensity on the nose. Hazelnut, dairy and minerality.
PALATE:We like this dry one. Moderte acidity keeps it crisp but there is a green apple, some dandelion, wonderful woodiness and yes, there it was....that wet slate taste of minerality.
CONCLUSION:Gushed over this one. We are in love. This is leagues better than Sainsburys Taste the Difference Chablis. There is a heck of a difference. A very well made wine and get this, it is yours for £11.95 per bottle. Great value and we give it 15/20. WINE OF THE WEEK!!!
BERRYS' RIOJA TORRE DEMONTALBO, CRIANZA, BODEGAS AMEZOLA DE LA MORA 2001APPEARANCE:An attractive garnet colour.
NOSE:Beautiful nutmeg and vanilla.
PALATE:Unctuous red and black fruit fill the mouth. Tobacco creeps through, vanilla can be a little full on (aged in French and American Oak), good acidity and wonderful spice from cinnamon and nutmeg. Want a longer finish.This is a smasher.
CONCLUSION:Very good quality wine , 13% alcohol and just £8.99. What a treat. A sexy number which goes down easy and just bursts from the bottle. Average score of 14/20. We left this in the glass for a while and it started to give us much more. The wine is made in the Rioja Alta which produces the most outstanding Rioja.
Berry Bros is the place that where Napoleon used to buy his wine, where there is still a letter on the wall from the owners of the Titanic apologizing for the lost consignment of wine that lay at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean and where they certainly haven't sullied their name by associating it with substandard wine. If you want a slice of heaven, try their own brand Sauternes (tastes better than bottles at twice the price).
TESCO RESERVA RIOJA 2002APPEARANCE:Crimson.
NOSE:Wow! Truffles, mushrooms, strawberries. Promising?
PALATE:Wimpish acidity, strawberry and fruity, lower body than the last rioja. It tastes a bit oxidized. Just dead in the mouth and a mercifully short finish.
CONCLUSION:This is just lifeless. It just tastes awful. This is the first rioja that i have had that i really disliked. Others were kinder about it. Overall, the score was an overgenerous 11/20. It costs the same as the last and has 13% alcohol. Our advice, get yourself down to Berry Brothers and don't look back.
Well, there you have it. Harrods wine dept and Berry Brothers Wine merchants are star performers. Tescos will serve you rather better than some of the name brands for champagne but if it is Old Lady's Soapy Filth that you are after, Sainsburys Taste the Difference Chablis is the one for you!
Join us in May for more fun with wine.
For our Wine Tasting Notes of 2006 use the following address.
http://alcoholic-synonymous.blogspot.com/
Blogspot wont allow us to edit it anymore but we can still read it.
This page is edited by Annette Lee
