2009 Couly-Dutheil La Baronnie Madeleine Chinon

Couly-Dutheil is a producer established in 1921. The vineyards lie within Chinon, a sub-region in the Loire valley. Unusually for the Liore valley, there is almost no white wines produced here. To be classified as a Chinon the wine must be beased on the Cabernet Franc grape, but it is allowed to use a maximum of 10% Cabernet Sauvignon.

Tasting note for the 2009 Couly-Dutheil La Baronnie Madeleine Chinon

Purple colour. Very green on the nose but blows away to some extent. Dark fruit and some earthy tones. To me the palate is dominated by the greenness, represented by a good fistful of paprika. There is some earthy tones here as well as dark fruit and some sour cherries. The finish has good length with a very vegetal aspect and earthy with some sour cherries. 84 points

 
This is a good Chinon at a very nice price point. It has the green aspect that you often find in these wines, but is not my cup of tea. It’s well made, but I score my wines based on whether I like them or not.

2011 Fritz Haag Riesling Trocken

I'm back with another short tasting note of a german Riesling. This time it's the 2011 Fritx Haag Riesling Trocken.

Crushed stone, green apples and acidity on the nose. The wine is silky smooth on the palate, almost a cloudy feel. The chrushed stones are on the palate as well. But the dominate flavour is the apples. They are almost more towards the red apples than the green. The finish is a bit short, but I love the focus and the apples. It lacks some complexity. 88 points

Tasting note: 2010 Battenfeld Spanier Estate Riesling Trocken

Minerals and hints of lime on the nose. Light and crisp mouthfeel. Very smooth with freat acidity. Crushed rocks and freen apples. Good length and a very minral driven finnish. 89 points

It's been more than a year since I last had this wine, and it has improved. I can't the tasting note from last time, but I think I scored it 87-88 points. I think this still has some upward potential. The best thing would be to taste my last 5 wines over the next 4-5 years, but I'm not sure I can wait that long.

WInes I Buy Every Vintage

I haven't been interested in wine that long, but already now I have found some wines I try to buy every vintage. It's a great way to learn more about vintage variations and what style you prefer. Here's some of the wines I try to find every vintage:

• Bartolo Mascarello Barolo
• Ratti Barolo Marcenasco
• Burlotto Barolo Monvigliero
• Gonon Saint Joseph
• The riservas from Produttori del Barbaresco
• La Gravette de Certan

I started writing this post before I started listing up the wines. Now I realize that I need to find more wines from outside the Piedmont. I need some Burgundy wines. Do you have any recommendations for red Burgs I should buy every vintage? Please leave a comment.

2007 Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco

Renato Ratti made his first Barolo in 1965 in La Morra. He died in 1988 and the winnery has since then been run by his son Pietro. The quality of the wines that Peitro have been making have been improving over the last 10-15 years, especially the standard Marcenasco wine. I typically find the stndard Barolo to be a great QPR in Barolo.

Tasting Note for the 2007 Renato Ratti Barolo Marcenasco:

Delicious nose with floral notes, leather and blueberry. The flarolity and blueberry jam notes continue on to the palate. To me, the floral taste is dominant in this wine. I also get som plum and some minerality. The tannins are firm and makes the finish dry. There's oak in this wine, but it's well integrated. 92 points

This is a great wine. It is elegant, but has the tannins to last for 10 years more. If your looking for a value driven Barolo, I think this is the wine.

2006 Wynns Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon

This is a wine I bought based on reviews I've read on this wine. Jancis Robinson gave it 17 points, James Halliday gave it 95, Jeremy Oliver 93 and it has a current ranking of 89 on CellarTracker. Given the pricepoint (I gave $19 pr bottle) of this wine I bought 8 bottles of the wine.

The Wynns winery is based in the Coonawarra region in South Australia. The wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon and has 14% alcohol.

Tasting note for the 2006 Wynns Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon

It has a good nose with dark berries, plum and oak, but there are hints of some alcohol showing. On the palate there's a nice licquorise flavour and good acidity. The fruit flavours are black, with blackberries, blackcurrants and plum. There is also some dirt flavours. There is a good grip from the tannins on the finish telling that this wine has more years to go. It is actually too oaky for me at this stage though. 87- points

Right after pouring this wine I got more read fruit on the palate and it showed less oak. The oak is bothering me with this wine. Maybe I'm just supersensitive to new oak, because 17 points from Jancis is a pretty high score. After drinking this I went to check out the oak use on this. I found out that they used 43% new oak, 31% 1 year old oak and 26% 2 year old oak or older. 43% new oak is pretty aggressive, and for me at this stage, shows too much.

I'm going to sit on the rest of the bottles and see how they develop. There are some great flavours in this wine. It is not over-the-top, but actually very balanced (except from the oak).

2011 Occhipinti SP 68 Nero d'Avola e Frappato

The 2011 Occhopinti SP Nero d-Avola e Frappato is made by the young winemaker Arianna Occhipinti. The winery is based on the in Vittoria on the southwestern tip of Sicily, a island off of Italy's Mediterranean coast. The first vintage was 2004. The winery has a total of 10 hectares Nero d’Avola and Frappato vines. Since 2009, the vines have been farmed using biodynamic methods.

The Occhipinti SP 68  Nero d'Avola e Frappato is a bland of 60% Frappato di Vittoria and 40% Nero d'Avola. The Nero d'Avola and Frappato grape are both some of the most used grapes in Sicily. The alcohold level of the 2011 wine is 12.5 %.

Tasting note for the 2011 Occhipinti SP 68 Nero d'Avola e Frappato

 Raspberries and som dark berries on the nose with come cherry canyesque flavours. Strawberries and sour red berries in the mouth, Nice lightness and concentration. Plenty of freshness and acidity. On the back end I first get some dirt, then some sour cherries and then it ends up with some soily flavours again. 86 points

This wine is on the lighter side with a focus on the sour berries. It isn't thin, it is just focused. For me personally it is a bit too much over on the sour side. It is by all means a well made wine. 

I went back to tasting this after 3.5 hours, and the wine had calmed down a bit. I got less soureness and more strawberries and some mushrooms. If scoring the wine at this stage I would be more around 88 points.