Wines.... yum

Solari

Solari

Solari

Permabanned
Joined
14 Nov 2002
Posts
5,555
Location
Kent
After a previous thread, decided to get myself some Chateauneuf du Pape red... very nice, cheers guys... tastes "earthy"... is that right?

Had a few bottles of 2002 Louis Jadot St Auban Chardonnay at the weekend which was fantastic as well - followed the Sancerre I got quite nicely!

I'd like to try some more reds.. where to start as I have zero experience?

Also, I was also eyeing up a 2002 Chateauneuf du Pape white.. apparently a good vintage? About £49 quid though?! Worth it?
 
Last edited:
Sounds good for a CDP, earthy, musty tasting, aged tasting I suppose. Thresher do a £20 Chateauneuf du Pape red which is appaently much better than the more expensive one they do, that's got to be worth a try. Got it for my dad for Christmas but I didn't get to try any. I'd be nervous spending £50 on a bottle of wine unless I was with suitable company to be able to talk me through and tell me why it's so expensive as I drink it and then it's best of you have other wines to drink at the same time to compare it to. Got a couple of friends in the wine society and they do this. Especially since it's a white, I'd shy away.
 
Rotty said:
We had some Chateauneuf du Pape white on Christmas day, not sure of the vintage but it was awful
Click to expand...

I did some reading and apparently the 2002 is well acclaimed...

I think a good question would be.. I want to treat myself so what would be a good buy for up to 50 squidlets? :) Something special for a night in...

EDIT: Or alternatively a few select bottles adding up to that much :)
 
Last edited:
Solari said:
Had a few bottles of 2002 Louis Jadot St Auban Chardonnay at the weekend which was fantastic as well - followed the Sancerre I got quite nicely!
Click to expand...

I'm a big fan of Louis Jadot; you can get a bottle in almost every price level and you know that you are going to get a decent bottle. The cheaper end isn't exactly challenging, but it's still very good, be it red or white.

Solari said:
I'd like to try some more reds.. where to start as I have zero experience?
Click to expand...

Speaking of which, that you thought about the Louis Jadots? As far as I'm aware they produce a lot more reds than whites (Beaujolais) which are very easy to drink, not the kind of robustness you'd get with a Rioja, Chianti, etc, (some of them you can even drink cold in the summer).

Currently drinking a 2002 Pomerol - that are much better burgundys out there, but I rather like it (although I'm drinking the cheaper end of the scale since this stuff gets very expensive very quickly).
 
Last edited:
[DOD]Asprilla;10838176 said:
Speaking of which, that you thought about the Louis Jadots? As far as I'm aware they produce a lot more reds than whites (Beaujolais) which are very easy to drink, not the kind of robustness you'd get with a Rioja, Chianti, etc, (some of them you can even drink cold in the summer).
Click to expand...

Hi,

I already drink a lot of white Louis Jadot stuff (eg: Couvent des Jacobins Bourgogne Chardonnay) and I agree it's great for the price. Never been disappointed and those I've drunk it with have always been impressed too :)

Some of the peeps at work seem to turn their noses up at the word "Beaujolais".... :confused: If the Jadot reds are good though - then feel free to recommend a few (with year?).

This seems a great place for wine recommendations which is quite unexpected. Looks like there are a load of closet wine snobs around ;)
 
Solari said:
Some of the peeps at work seem to turn their noses up at the word "Beaujolais".... :confused:
Click to expand...

A lot of people do, but then I think that Rioja is the work of Satan and I don't understand how anyone with a tongue can possible drink it. Although I wouldn't go so far as to say there is no such thing as good wine or bad wine, only what you like the main point is to enjoy it, not pontificate and ponce about it.

Solari said:
This seems a great place for wine recommendations which is quite unexpected. Looks like there are a load of closet wine snobs around ;)
Click to expand...

Ain't no closets or snobs round here. ;)
 
Solari said:
Looks like there are a load of closet wine snobs around ;)
Click to expand...
I'm looking down my nose at you as we speak :D

For your £50 I might be inclined to buy a number of different bottles ranging from £6.50 up to £10 and work your way through them so you can compare them. What you can do then is open two bottles with the same grape at the same time, you don't have to drink it all there and then but you can have a glass of each, see what you like and see if you can tell the differences.

If you're in an off licence try and look for any bottles that get Decanter Magazine awards. They have to be a bit special to get their awards but aren't always as expensive as you'd expect.
 
Louis Jadot is a large producer and has many vineyards in differing locales so you can loose yourself at any price range with them. Louis Jadot Mersault is interesting.

I'd agree with Jonny69 - when you start off try a range of grapes and read up on the grapes you like. Try different producers and years.

For reds I'd start with something like Rioja which you can get an exceptional bottle for £7-14. Then I would contrast that with Blossom Hill Californian then look at french regions. Try the heavy Syrah grape (heavier than the grapes used for Rioja) then work through Merlot etc.

I certainally wouldn't start with a £50 bottle to start with. I would spend 20 on getting the Atlas of Wine which is a fantastic guide to aid your journey as it introduces all the regions around the world, the grapes, the process of wine making and the producers.
It will change the way you relate to the wine on the shelf..
 
Last edited:
[DOD]Asprilla;10838176 said:
Currently drinking a 2002 Pomerol - that are much better burgundys out there, but I rather like it (although I'm drinking the cheaper end of the scale since this stuff gets very expensive very quickly).
Click to expand...

Which producer in Pomerol? I loved the Croix du Casse and I'd be interesting to try some more small producers.
 
Cheers for all the great responses, chaps. I'm off shopping tomorrow afternoon down Oddbin's (may check some of the wine warehouse type stores online too).
 
NickK said:
I have two bottles of Campo in the wine rack and I should be picking up a 12 case of 1998 Gran Reserva tomorrow. I like 1998 compared to the later years.
Click to expand...

I seem to remember Vina Mayor being similar to Campo Viejo but I haven't had any for a while and couldn't advise on year, but it's maybe worth a try.

My mother used to live out near Avignon, so when I went out there we had a lot of CDP. I do like the white, although a good bottle is quite rare over here. You seem to get all sorts of stuff claiming to be CDP nowadays. Another wine I like is Vacqueyras, used to be very cheap, but as its popularity grew, so did its price :(

Having said all that, I'm going off wine now and find that once I get over about £8 or so on a bottle I'm generally happy :)

I'm getting into Whisky much more now. Just bought a bottle of Aberlour 15 year and a bottle of Adelphi "Breath of Speyside" (apparently a single cask Glenfarclas) both of which tickled my tastebuds when I tried them at the shop (the distilleries were all closed over the new year :().
 
Actually I'm thinking of doing a "wine tasting evening" thread some time in february.

State some well respected supermarket bottles of different grapes/regions on a regular monthly basis so people can contrast and talk about it. Probably with a 2-3 bottles with a budget of ~£10-30 for all the wines in the sitting.
I'll need to do some research before hand.

Anyone up to help co-organise that?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom