Life is too short to drink bad wine

First wine at a BBR tasting London in September. St.Estephe is the area furthest to the north in Medoc with shallow gravel and more clay. The wines are thus perhaps more robust than the rest of Medoc. Les Ormes de Pez (21£) has medium dark "red-blue" colour and a taste with firm tannins and well balanced acidity. The wine need time and food!

This wine is a 2 Grand cru classe and cost 103£. A 1995 vintage with a brick red colour. The bouquet is just lovely with aromas of ripe red berries, dried fruit, old cellar, cedar and leather. Stunning! The aftertaste is long but lacks a bit of liveliness and this wine should perhaps be drunk asap as it could be on decline. But what a great wine! 

The year 2000 is a great year in Bordeaux and St.Julien is a great appelation with many Grand cru classe wines. The 4th grow St.Pierre from 2000 has a medium dark red colour and a discrete bouquet of predominantly pencil case. The taste is firm with ripe tannins and an overall "pushy" taste for being 12 years old. The 2000 vintage needs more time to open up. The price is 45£ and perhaps worth a shot if you have time to wait.

Another St.Julien for comparison; a 1996 Gruaud Larose! I must admit I had mixed feelings about this wine as the aroma was very stringent and sharp. It reminded me of newly laid linoleum or something like that and just never could get around that very dominant smell. The taste was well balanced with still lots of firm tannins. Overall for me the wine lacks fruit and it is not worth the 100£ you would have to pay to to be an owner of one bottle.

Then after the confusing styles of St.Julien it was tiem for three wines from Margaux. First out the second wine of Palmer called Alter Ego with a price tag of 40£. Marguax is furthest to the south and more gravel leading to lighter wines. This one had sensual and elegant aromas of red berries and  flowers. A brilliant light body taste with a wonderful balance. Great stuff!

This a 5eme cru classe of good quality and a reasonable price. The 2002 is regarded as a bad year in Bordeaux but Tertre has managed very well. For 32£ you will get a wine with a lovely perfumed smell of pencil case and red berries. The taste is surprisingly light bodied and elegant. A very good 2002 and absolutely worth buying.

If you have 132£ to spare then this 2001 vintage from Palmer could be an idea to try. With 40% Merlot this wine from Margaux has a Burgundy floral perfume mixed with pencil case and rose water. Stunning! The taste is very long and big with firm but delicate tannins and a lovely balanced aftertaste. A truly great wine!

The an old favorite from Paulliac. Ch. Batailley provides consistent quality at a decent price. The smell is very different from Margaux as it has more a bouquet of cassis, burnt toast and vanilla. The body is even bigger and overall this is a more masculine wine. At 31£ you get good value for your money.

The last wine in the tasting was Lynch Bages from the great (but expensive year) of 2005. Purchasing this wine will set you back 96£ but for the money you will get a truly powerful wine of great finesse. Lynch Bages has an intense long and big taste, thats for sure. The tannins are however soft and elegant. On the nose there is more dark flowers, violet and dark berries. This one has a long life ahead and would probably peak in ten years time.

This is a gorgeous and subtle Chianti Classico. The taste is very attractive and so easy drinking that the bottle empties faster than you think. Quite a deep dark color and a concentrated nose of cherries and herbs. This is biodynamic wine based upon 95% Sangiovese and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Querciabella 2008, Chianti Classico 20€ to 30€ A majestic wine.. . Querciabella

The basic Barbera d'Alba by Vajra is a very flexible wine. It goes with most kind of food like white fish, chicken, pasta and cheese. Lovely purple colour with a nice smell of red and dark berries and in some cases a hint of chocolate. The taste is fruity and velvety with a nice acidity. Vajra is one of the top producers in Piemonte so normally if you see a bottle with is name on it you should be home and dry as regards quality. Barbera d'Alba by Vajra (12 to 25€) A good and affordable Barbera.

I must admit that I just love Blanc de Blancs Champagne. Especially if they are not too expensive as well. Champagne is sometimes way to expensive in relation to the quality, it is after all the only area in France without any quality classification. Everything is called Champagne and that's it. The Blanc de Blancs seems to have more body and also more fruit on the nose, often with wet breadcrumbs associations as well. The Laherte is reasonable both in the shop and at the Tango bar (Stavanger) where I first tried it. Laherte Blanc de Blancs, ca 22€ or 240 NOK Good entry Champagne

Lavinia in Paris is a wineshop that also has a wine bar/restaurant where you can buy wine in glass or whole bottles of wine at the sale price. Could not resist trying this Margaux the other day. 2007 is not a great Bordeaux year but good chateau's produce good wines every year and Brane Cantenac is one of those. Big dark dense color, lovely seductive smell of delicate red berries, wood and hints of chocolate and coffee. It all fitted well with the long velvety taste with firm but oh so soft tannins. Perfect with steak, duck or red meat. Brane Cantenac 2007, Margaux. 40€. A great wine from a great fotballing year

When you drink a bottle made by Gaja you are on top of the world as his wines are of extraordinary quality, but do not cheap. I had this bottle in La Morra, in a restaurant near the top (Bovio), with a beautiful view over the Barolo valleys. Let me say that the smell and taste were both extraordinary. His basic Barbaresco is so intense and packed with fruit that you realise that here is a guy who is a devil when it comes to selecting the fruit. Out of this world bouquet with dark berries, dried fruit, chocolate, caramel, sweet dark cherries and hint of tar and mushrooms. An astonishing long and complex taste that just went on and on! Gaja Barbaresco 2006, What's price gotta to do with it?

This was a new Barbera to me as it comes from the Monferrato area and not the usual suspects like Alba or Asti. On top of that it was on sale: down from 250 NOK to 150 NOK! Not often that happens in this part of the world, but the wine itself turned out to be a very pleasant surprise; full bodied, dark red with an explosion of dark fruit. A veritable bomb with nearly 15% alcohol as well. What a surprise and what a shame that we did not manage to get more of this wine. Barbera de Monferrato, Forti del Vento A big solid fruity Barbera that should go with most meat including lamb.

This is a very good basic Chablis with lovely fruit and minerality. Apples, lime and minerals on the nose. Zingy well balanced dry taste. The wine is also unoaked. Jolly good indeed! and ca 160 nok or 12€. Chablis 2011 Daniel Dampt Zesty and unoaked Chablis

This is a wonderful structured Barbera d'Alba, probably one of the best around. It's got a wonderful deep dark purple colour with lots of dark fruit on the nose. The taste is delicious and well balanced with a long fruity lingering finish. Sandrone has done a great job here but demands a few bucks for it as well. Ca 250 NOK or 15€, but do not worry it's worth it. Barbera d'Alba 2008 by Sandrone Wonderful and elegant Barbera

First wine in an adhoc tasting. Light red wine with a slight brown rim. Lots of cherries, plum and dark berries on the nose. Very juicy taste with lots of fresh fruit and a lively acidity. Panel lost, but Frappato is an unusual grape from Sicily so they are excused. Overall a very red currant like wine. Il Frappato 2008 by Occhipinti Delicioud despite the 16.40 score..

Second wine in an adhoc tasting. Medium dark red with hints of brown rim. Very dry bouquet of oak, dried fruit and cassis. Challenging dry taste with lots of tannins, not easy to drink without some food. A very masculine wine. Panel dithering and maybe Cabernet... Barolo 2005 "Tenuta La Volta" by Cabutto A tough dry Barolo indeed... Score 16.90

Third wine in an adhoc tasting. Beautiful red color. Stable smell of dark cherries, leather, cedar and somewhat "cooling" aromas. Big solid long taste packed with fruit and balanced acidity and kind tannins. Panel mislead to Piemonte... Volnay 1er cru "Clos des Angles" 2005, Rossignol Balances on a string... Score 17.80 (a bit tough....)

Gaja is one of the very top producers in Piemonte well recognised for his stunning Barbarescos. This is however another Nebbiolo from Barolo which has undergone Gaja's ruthless selection of fruit in the vineyard. The style of Gaja is also ruthless: Big, dense and fruitpacked wines with firm but elegant tannins and a long, very long aftertaste. Masculine style but oh so good! Barolo 2006, Gaja  ca 100€ in the Osteria Vignaiolo Stunning stuff!

Not the cheapest of Condrieu, but still a very good one! Quite a yellow color with hints of green. The bouquet is wonderful filled with peach, white flowers and apricot. Very fruity taste, difficult to understand that this is a dry white wine! Elegant long taste  with a nice minerality. Try with white fish and cheese. Condrieu "Invitare" by Chapoutier, Ca 40€ Just Delicious !

This is simply a stunning Barolo made by Giacomo Conterno. I had this one at the Osteria Vignaiolo close to La Morra in Piemonte and had to put it in an ice-bucket due to the warm weather (36c). Wonderful expressive nose of  delicious rose, dried fruit, tar and summer flowers. Exceedingly long taste and wonderful elegant tannins. One of the best Barolos I have ever had! Barolo Cascina Francia 2006 by Giacomo Conterno Stunning stuff!