Life is too short to drink bad wine

It was one of those fantastic summer days at the cabin; beautiful sunshine, no wind, flat sea and 28c! Arriving from France with the Mini Cooper packed with wine we went to the fishmarket in Kristiansand to get fresh prawns, crab and fish. Then straight to the cabin to consume it all with a help of a bottle of Puligny Montrachet 2003 by Girardin. Pale yellow colour, lovely smell of butter, lime and minerals . Great dry fruity slighty fat taste with a long beautiful finish. This wine can be bought most places (maybe not same producer) but this producer is available from certain Auchan (around 25 euro and worth every penny) Enjoy!

Many wine writers and wine merchants classify Chablis as a part of Burgundy. I just received the latest Parkers wine guide and he does it as well. All of them are correct if you base your classification on the grape used both places, namely the Chardonnay, but it is all just nonsense really because Chablis is not Burgundy. First of all Chablis is 100 km from the centre of Burgundy, Beaune. Burgundy belongs to Rhone river while Chablis (as Champagne) belongs to the Seine river. Two rivers that runs in opposite directions. In addition look at the soil: Chablis is Upper Jurassic limestone rich with fossils and the Kimmerdige clay which is present in Sancerre and Champagne and not in Burgundy. This is why Chablis is more minerally, steely, flinty and also sour as compared to the Chardonnay from Burgundy. It is very surprising that the french, so focused on terroir, also make the same error. Although the appelation system is correct as Chablis and Burgundy are two different AOCs.

A coup de champagne before dinner is always a nice way to start an evening. So again yesterday. We were proposed Amour de Deutz, which sounded good. Littl did we realise that this is the flagship of the Champagne house Deutz at around 115 € a bottle in the shops..... Anyway it was fresh elegant fruity light and classy with perfect bubbles. Great stuff!  as was the price per glass; roughly the same as one bottle of Deutz Brut Classic in the shops! Upps.....

We went with Lotta and Jonas yesterday to Maison Blanche to enjoy the nice food, drinks and views this restaurant in the Paris 8 provides. To my great satisfaction Hubert Lamy was on the wine list and we went for the Saint Aubin 1er cru "Les Frionnes" 2007. The wine has a nice mineral smell with touch of apples and lime. The taste is beautifully balanced with a touch of minerals and a long warm fruity buttery finish.  Great stuff with frog legs, fish and risotto.  Lamy continues to impress with well balanced Chardonnays, always a pleasure and we got a case to pick up from the domain early July......

On our wine trip to South Africa we went to a food and wine pairing event at Katinka's place. That turned out to be a 5 hour long lunch with a drop of wine on top. One of her recommendations with one of our favourite french cheese , Comte, was a Condrieu or Viognier which is the grape in Condrieu. So one hot summer evening in Paris we tried to match the local market's 4 year old Comte(!) with the young Lynx Viognier (his first white and no longer in stock) and what can we say other than it was perfect although the younger versions of the Comte is probably an even better match.  Thanks again to Lynx for this lovely fresh floral Viognier, just rightly balanced without a too heavy and hedonistic Viognier smell (apricot, flowers, pineapple) Great stuff again! Around 7€! Yet another bargain! Comte, 1st AOP. cheese in France

Lynx Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, South Africa Small winemaker in Franscchoek who started wine producing in 2003 The Cabernet 100% smells of leather, black fruit and cassis. A young but very smooth and elegant wine with a rich long velvety aftertaste. Lynx Wines - understated sophistication Larose Perganson 2000 Haut Medoc 2000 another great year in Bordeaux. 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Merlot and 5% Petit Verdot Ruby colour with smell of prunes, coffee, chocolate, big solid taste, elegant and long Can be kept until 2015, but drinking well now Decant 2 hours before serving Châteaux Larose Trintaudon Larose Perganson - Château Larose Perganson Ch.Maucaillou 1996, Haut Medoc Good value for money, 27 000 cases produced every year. 1996 great vintage with a long life. 5"% Cabernet Sauvignon, 41% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot Brick red colour with smell of wet wine cellar, seductive and well balanced taste At peak now Château Maucaillou - Moulis-en-Médoc Bordeaux Mouchao 2001, Alentejo, Portu

Another single vineyard wine from Fairview. This Shiraz wine comes from the Swartland district and was first planted in 1997.  2004 was a dry year with only 250mm rain in the Jakkalsfontein vineyard. Previous vintages of this wine has scored 91 points with Wine Spectator and the 2004 vintage is in the same range with Gold from the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. The wine has deep dark red colour with purple rim, seductive nose of brambles, cured meat, plums. The wine is well balanced with firm soft tannins and a somewhat warm spicy taste of dark berries. A great wine and at 13€ an absolute bargain. The wine goes well with sheep cheese and 24 month old comte, but also manages the brie quite well, although not a perfect match. More info can be found on; Fairview - Fairview Wines, Goats do Roam Wines, Agostinelli Wines, Fairview Cheese