Life is too short to drink bad wine

Not all producers in Chile are big, Matetic vineyards are a "boutique" vineyard located in the Rosaro Valley in San Antonio Valley just 120 km's from Santiago. This valley has strong ocean influence with dramatic temperature changes between day and night. This "cool" climate is reflected in the wines! We tried the EQ selection during Decanter Tasting in London and we were very much impressed by these organic grown grapes. EQ Sauvignon Blanc, a wonderful crispy zingy fruity Sauvignon Blanc with lovely smell of gooseberries and "cat pee". Simply great stuff! EQ Chardonnay , Lots of pear, exotic fruit, well balanced fruit and oak with lush lovely fruit. Again a very nice wine. EQ Pinot Noir , Great "cool" red berries, clean , light, fresh with lovely fruit and acidity. A truly great new world pinot! EQ Syrah , as we thought things could not be better, deep dark red (almost black), cool smell again of red berries, pepper and an elegant...

In search for some cheap "Bordeaux" look a like my eyes went to Chile. Concha y Toro is a very big wine producer and it is quite some time since I had a wine from Chile. Casillero del Diablo is a mark with many different wines. The Cabernet Sauvignon is claimed according to their web site to be ripe fruity elegant wine with a long pleasant finish. At 12€ this would of course be  a bargain, but the ones who makes money is Concha y Toro. The wine has a discrete un-fashonable "green" bouquet with limped inzipid short stringent taste which does not match cheese, nor saucisson or a spicy meat casserolle. An unforgettable wine in a pricy flashy whiskey look a like box. The grapes must be left overs and the bottle design all made to attract customers. Casillero del Diablo Cab Sauv 2008 , Chile - pls dont buy it, plain water is better. The biggest P--- so far this year and wines like this can only ruin the image of wines from Chile. http://www.casillerodeldiablo.com/d...

Its practically Friday but its so windy wet and horrible that back home we decided to open a bottle of Burgundy wine with the dinner and the 24 months old Comte cheese. Lovely medium red colour from this hot vintage in Burgundy. Still very young, but the smell was full of delicate raspberries, cherries with a touch of wood. Quite a big "fat" Burgundy with sublime "cold" fruity taste, very nice lenght and a firm body and acidity indicating the need for further maturity. And with the Comte it was a perfect match enhancing the flavours of the wine...aahh Gevrey Chambertin 2005 Louis Boillot ca 40€ Score around 18.00 

Its even darker now in Norway now, even more wet and windy. Time too heat up on some serious wines. Here is the results of the latest blindtasting... Wine#1 Deep dark red wine with purple rim, discrete seductive smell of blackberries, medium length with some fruitiness but a surprising dominant acidity which dragged the grade down. Panel went immediately to the "cooler" Shiraz of South africa and was in fact right: Middelvlei Shiraz 2006, Stellenbosch Score  15.1 www.middelvlei.co.za Wine#2 Deep dark red again with a more delicate and long lasting bouquet of dark fruits, mint and the same "cool" fruit. On the palate longer and more balanced with nice fruity reasonably lengthy aftertaste. No apparent Australian sweetness, so the the panel again went for Shiraz but was divided on the origin (dwindling between South Africa and Australia) and they were right again: Shaw Smith 2007 shiraz from Adelaide Hills (cooler region in South Australia) Score 16,7 Shaw + ...

Two intense days in London sampling wines from 98 different stands and probably more than 110 different producers was quite a challenge. Fortunately the whole thing was extremely well organised with a nice booklet being provided with all the wines. Tasting hours were from 11 to 17 both days. I will come back with more comments about individual wines later but here some highlights; - Ch. Beychevelle , St Julien 2000 to 2007 fresh light and delicate style - Ch. Brane Cantenac , big dense wines - Ch. Palmer and 2nd wine Alter Ego big solid requiring > 20 years - Ch. Boyd Cantenac outstanding 1999 - Ch. Chauvin 2001 elegant wine for the next 5 years - Ch. Fleur Peyrabon 2001 also at peak now at reasonable price - Bodegas Luis Canas , Rioja quality first, Amaren Reserva 2002 fantastic - Del Palacio De Los Frontaura Y Victoria,  bodega in small district Toro in Spain with big wines - Louis Jadot very mineral driven white burgundies - Ch D'Eclans, Provence big fantasti...

Perfect lamb with the perfect wine. What more can be said? this Spanish flagship from the the Duero valley (on its way to Portugal) was just fantastic. 27 years old, but still keeping strong with beautiful flavours of earth, dried fruit and "Bordeaux" smell, just wonderful! All the tough tannins had gone, vapourated and only a soft smooth elegant taste matching both the lamb and the risotto was left. The price, I really don't know cause, its just expensive, very expensive, but oh so wonderful complex and good, but when you dont pay who cares? As U2 puts it: Its a beautiful day or shall I say night rather... Vega Sicilia Unico 1982 P+++ because once in your life time the king of Spain should be sampled...... Vega-Sicilia

Fancy a hot fruity spicy wine for wet windy autumn days ? Go to Portugal and to the Alentejo district. The Esporao estate uses local grapes like Aragones, Trincadeira and Alicante Bouschet mixed with Cabernet Sauvignon to produce a solid red wine with intense deep red blue colour. The aroma is packed with red berries, spices and delicate oak. A sniff of the glass and all you want to do is to take a zip and you wont be disappointed; big fruity body with a silky rich taste that is rock solid. Perfect in front of the fireplace! but please dont serve it too warm: between 16 to 18c would do to get all the right flavours... The wine goes well with red meat or hard cheeses (not goat). Esporao Reserva 2006 from Alentejo ca 20€ 17,80 and P+ The link to their website. Herdade do Esporão

Found some Italian saucisson and 24 months old Comte at the old butcher shop downtown Stavanger today before closing hours. In addition a Beaune 1er cru by Rossignol-Trapet from 2005. So party time really and Paris flash backs. The wine was medium red colour with lovely Beaune 1er cru smell of raspberries, flowers and delicate wood. On the palate lovely elegant pinot noir taste with velvety finish and long smooth aftertaste. The wine drinks wonderfully now but would be even more balanced and smoother with 5 years storage... Aah, it is possible to recreate France at home! Only but; it costs money... Beaune 1er cru Les Teurons 2005 Rossignol-Trapet ca 40€, but a solid 18,00 score hmmm Domaine Rossignol Trapet in Gevrey Chambertin

Theme tasting from Piemonte with three different grape varities all from the same producer; Renato ratti from La Morra near Barolo . Dolcetto d'Alba 2008 Colombe by Ratti The Dolcetto grape is the Beajoulais of Italy; Unoaked , fresh, juicy, no tannins just pure dark fruit with soft taste. Goes well with cheese, pasta and also white fish. Around 5-6€ in La Morra but around 17€ here in Norway. Perfect lunch wine! To be served slightly chilled. Barbera d'Alba, Torriglione, 2008 by Ratti This is another easy drinking wine from Piemonte based upon the Barbera grape. Both Dolcetto and Barbera have their "home" in Piemonte with the Barbera being a more rich bodied wine with lots of fruit , spice and warmth. The taste is more complex and longer with harmonious acidity and alcohol. This also goes well with all sorts of pasta, cheese and meat and can also be used with certain white fish pending the sauce. A lovely easy drinking wine costing around 18€ in Norway and around 1...

Another meal downtown Stavanger, with another long wine list and some really expensive wines. However food was excellent with red fish, scallops and halibut so the search for a "reasonable" high quality white wine was of the essence. The choice ended on a Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru Morgeot by Rene Lequin-Colin. Wonderful white burgundy with a mix of minerals, apples and glycerin like bouquet. Firm dry taste with a steely "fat" mineral like character, lovely acidity and a long finish. Not the recommended wine by the restaurant, but there are times to drink a great white burgundy and this was one of them. It takes two to tango they say and in this case the wine and the food did just that..... Chassagne Montrachet 1er cru Morgeot 2007 by Rene Lequin-Colin around €40 in the shop P+ or score around 18 . Lequin-Colin - Bourgogne