Last few days of September and we are down below 10c during the day. Sun is absent, something that can not be said about the rain. Time to enjoy some serious wines from warmer climates:
Wine # 1
Medium red colour with a brown rim. Nice discrete smell of figues, dried fruit and dried dark berries. Good well balanced taste with soft tannins and some acidity in the aftertaste. The acidity leads the panel to Piemonte, but the wine is a mix of 10 different grapes grown in Chateauneuf du Pape.
Ch. Beaucastel 1995 , Chateauneuf du Pape 16,9 score
A bit disappointing wine. Recent vintages are sold for €45, this cost around 25€ and in NOK it would set you back between 500 and 600 NOK! Not worth it I am afraid.
Wine # 2
Medium dark red coulour and brown rim again. Solid complex bouquet of sunberries, muck and ceder. The taste is also full bodied, complex , long with nice balance acidity and tannins. Quite a lovely wine. The wine was believed to be a Bordeaux, but was :
Ch Beaucastel 1994 (just one year older!) Score 18,1
A big surprise that the wines were the same , although so different (except for the colour). This one has more body and complexity.
Wine # 3
Burgundy red colour with purple rim. Loveley seductive smell of mint, chocolate, blackberries, a bit like After Eight (and it was after 8 pm). Beautiful long silky taste with a slightly sweet aftertaste. Panel went to a warmer district and all agreed upon Shiraz. Well done:
Lynx Shiraz 2007, Franschhoek, South Africa ca 14€ (imported to Europe)
Score 18,1
This is a bargain, it is such a seductive wine, but be aware it carries 14,5% with style. Its a masculine wine with a feminine touch at 20 to 30% of the price of Beaucastel.
Wine # 4
Deep dark red colour. Fresh dark fruit on the nose, dark berries, "Bordeaux look a like", complex and more refined than the Lynx. the taste is long firm but oh so smooth with soft oft tannins and lovely acidity. A great wine from Bordeaux! :
Fairview Eenzaamheid 2006 Paarl, South Africa 21€ (Europe)
Score 18,55 (like the Bordeaux classification)
Everyone are seduced by the Lynx Shiraz, but this single vineyard wine prepared by Fairview takes you another step up the ladder. This is wine poetry (!) that will cost you a fortune to find in the Rhone valley. South Africa is showing the way on quality and price!!!
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