Life is too short to drink bad wine

Another stunning Pinot Noir from California and this time the Anderson Valley. Medium ruby color and a super delicious bouquet of crushed redcurrant, chocolate and wild raspberries. Gourgeous! The taste is also wonderfully balanced with perfect dark fruit which is far from "cooked" and a beautiful acidity. Absolutely great stuff. Ca 70 usd. Copain Pinot Noir 2010 Anderson Valley Monument Tree Just buy and drink!!

Peter Jakob Kuhn wines keep impressing me a lot. So also this 2008 from Rheingau. Medium golden color with a just wonderful smell of honey, petroleum and ripe apples. Super delicate! The taste is just pure heaven with a dry fruity velvety well balanced finish that is just impossible not to brag about. Stunning stuff! Rheingau 2008 Oestrich Doosberg Peter Jakob Kuhn Erstes Gewachs Ca 30€ or 340NOK

This is a Chateauneuf-du-Pape light by Ogier. Pale to medium ruby color and a bouquet dominated by sweet strawberries and red fruit. Elegant fruity and nicely balanced taste that is ever so light bodied and velvety. A very good buy at ca 15€ or ca 215 NOk. Bois de Pied Redal 2012 Ogier Chateauneuf-du - Pape

A stunning red from the Priorat region in Spain. Wonderful complex aromas of flowery strawberries with a hint of spicy chocolate. The taste is big and dense with a great balance and finish. A glorious wine. Arribat never disappoints and Spain is on a roll. There are so many good and complex wines from the different regions now that I am lost for words. Grenache, Carignan, Cabernet and Syrah in perfect harmony… Omg…. Negre de Negres 2011 Clos del Portal Priorat Ca 40€

This is a stunning Volnay premier cru from 2006. Pronounced bouquet of dark fruit, coffee and chocolate. A streamlined fruity well balanced taste that is both lovely and big bodied. The acidity is balancing on a shoestring, but is always falling down on the right side. A real blockbuster Burgundy…. Volnay-Pitures 2006 J.M Boillot Ca 40€

I went slightly mad in the wine shop the other day and came home with a case of unknown territory………. Kutch Pinot Noir from the Sonoma coast was one of them… What a pleasant and elegant surprise! Classical ripe uncooked Pinot flavors towards raspberries and crushed redcurrant. The taste is just superbly juicy and elegant and ever so seductive. A truly decadent Pinot with a "cool" aftertaste… Kutch Pinot noir  Sonoma Coast Ca 35€

Alfredo Arribas is the producer behind the wine company Portal del Priorat. He also makes wine from the small hilly wine region of Montsant some 100km west of Barcelona. This wine made from nearly 100 year old Grenache vines, pre-phylloxera, is a stunning example of the finesse that Arribas expresses in his wines. Medium ruby color, discrete nose of sweet strawberries and a hint of spicy chocolate. Super elegant balanced taste and finish. A superb, but expensive wine. A truly great experience and how some of the less than 2000 bottles found their way to the wine shop in Norway is beyond me. Tros negre 2011 Trossos Portal del Priorat Montsant Ca 50€ or thereabout

The search for good and not too expensive Champagne continues. This vintage (2002) Blanc de blancs by Michel Gonet was just glorious. Lovely fresh bouquet of ripe apples, brioche and yeast. Delightful crispy taste that was balancing on a tight rope between the fruit, acidity and minerality. Perfectly made…! Would definitely recommend this one although it is less "creamy" than many other Champagne. Michel Gonet 2002 Ca 330 NOK or 30€

This Champagne house makes affordable and stunning vintage Champagne. The 1996 from this house (tried in a wine bar in Berlin in 2013) is probably one of the best Champagne I have ever tried. The 2000 version is not far off and would probably have been even better if I had the patience to wait a couple of more years... which of course I did not have…. In memory of the old man who passed away last year, I enjoyed the 2000 with my mum and we had it with fried Arctic cod which is in season right now. A glorious combination and the Champagne was right out great with a rich harmonious bouquet of wet breadcrumbs, lime and minerals. A lively fresh taste with a superb length and balance. A shame we only had the one bottle. Henriot 2000 Champagne Ca 500NOK or 40€  

Frappato This is another black grape that grows predominantly in Sicily. Apparently it is related to Sangiovese (Tuscany).  It is either used on it's own or together with Nero d'Avola, like in the only DOCG in Sicily, Cerasuolo di Vittoria. What to expect from the colour Normally pale to medium red colour when on it's own, somewhat darker red when mixed with Nero d'Avola.  A bit like a Burgundy in colour. What to expect from the smell Combined with Nero d'Avola expect delicious red fruit like redcurrant, raspberries, red cherries and some spices and plum. On it's own the smell is more dominated by dried fruit and plums in addition to the red fruit. What to expect from the taste These wines, on it's own or combined, are enormously refreshing and juicy. The tannins are soft and the wines have a really nice attractive acidity and a lovely balance. Some of them also have a kind of mineral aftertaste. Could easily be mistaken for a Burgundy in a blin...

The Pfalz region in Germany is an extension of the Alsace in the France. It's the driest wine region in Germany and there are some very nice Rieslings produced in this region. One example is this one from Weingut Økonomierat Rebholz which is also a Grosse Gewachs, i.e from the one of the best plots. Medium golden color, which is a bit surprising but anyway… Gourgeous smell of ripe apples, honey and petroleum. Lively fruity taste with a great minerality and acidity. Delicious! Im Sonnenschein 2006 Riesling Pfalz Ca 30€  

What can I say? I really love Burgundy wines , but this Pinot from Central Otago on the south island, New Zealand is just stunning. Dark red color with a pronounced aroma of dark cherries, plum, raspberries and last but not least pomegranate! Absolutely lovely and so seductive… and it continues when you drink it; Great fruity and fresh well balanced taste with a long delicate finish. Despite a slightly steep price, I went to the shop the next day and bought the remaining four…. Felton Road Pinot Noir 2011 Bannockburn, Central Otago Ca 35€ or close to 400NOK

Medium gold colour from this 8 year old Riesling.

Clear medium lemon color…or pale golden...

This Riesling from Rheingau in Germany is just so delicious and absolutely impossible to dislike…. Peter Jakob Kuhn has made a dry white with a pronounced nose of tropical fruit and stone fruit. Peach, apricot, melon and honey as well as a touch of petroleum and minerals. Ripe soft delicate fruit taste with a great balanced acidity and minerality. A superb wine! 2008 Riesling Trocken Landgeflecht Peter Jakob Kuhn Rheingau Ca 20€ or 270 NOK

Riesling This is a widely grown grape which is used to produce dry white, semi dry or sweet white wines. The best dry whites come from Alsace in France and different areas in Germany like Nahe, Rheingau, Pfalz and Mosel. Wachau in Austria also produce some excellent Riesling. In addition one can find good Riesling from South Africa, California and Australia (Clare and Eden Valley). Riesling is normally unoaked. What to expect from the colour Normally a pale lemon green colour for young dry whites (as they are unoaked) which develops more towards yellow and even orange with age. What to expect from the smell Riesling is an aromatic grape which develops a smell of petroleum with age. When younger and from cool climates the bouquet is dominated by fresh grape and apples. From warmer climates and with increasing sugar, the wines could develop aromas towards lime and peach fruit. What to expect from the taste Dry riesling is a fruity wine with medium plus to high acidity (de...

This is the top wine from Occhipinti in Sicily where the grapes Frappato and Nero d'Avola have been combined in perfect harmony. Medium purple color  and a pronounced nose of sweet red berries in bedded some spices and darker fruit. Splendid taste packed with fresh red fruit, a great minerality and a delicious acidity. Juicy, long and Burgundy like. A truly great wine only just above 4000 bottles made…. Try with game or big dishes with poultry. Grotte Alte 2008  Cerasoulo de Vittoria DOCG Occhipinti, Sicily Ca 30-35€ or 350NOK Azienda Agricola Arianna Occhipinti

I do not know much about Pierre Blanche, but I found this Cote Rotie in the wine shop the other day and I thought it was worth while trying. Seductive dark fruit and spice on the nose , but perhaps a bit one dimensional… The taste is well balanced with the same elements as on the nose with a nice fruity aftertaste. A good wine, but perhaps not great as one should expect from this corner of the world… Perfect with game and entrecôte with pepper sauce... Cote Rotie 2010 Domaine de Pierre Blanche Ca 25€ or 300NOK

This is a great Riseling from Scafer-Frohlich in Nahe. We started on the bottle yesterday, but it is actually much better today after having been opened for 24 hours… Probably it needs to be decanted if it is to be drunk the same day..? Lime, green apples and minerals on the nose. The taste is packed with fruit, minerals and a big lovely acidity. A great balance and length and one of the best Rieslings around, I believe… Felseneck 2010 Riesling Schaefer-Froehlich, Nahe Ca 30€ or 350NOK