Life is too short to drink bad wine

This is a delightful mixed red by Sean Thackrey. This red is made every year with different combinations of grapes designed to let people enjoy a wine as prepared by the chef himself. The 24th edition is a mix of Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, Viognier (white), Zinfandel and Mourvedre. The wine is a full-bodied and a very fruity red with a velvety long well balanced finish. Delightful easy drinking wine that can be easily enjoyed on its own. Pleiades XXIV California Sean Thackrey Ca 30usd or 340 NOK

This 2009 Pinot from California and Anderson valley is just pure magic right now. It's not often I drink 7 years old Pinot from that region, normally I would consume them younger, but this example is the proof thet there is absolute no reason why California Pinot should not be kept. Delicious red fruit, chocolate and minerality on the nose.  A wonderful balanced taste which is just amazing. Everything are so velvety. The cool climate and a stony soil have created a truly  wonderful, complex and sumptuous wine. Pure meditation.... Copain Pinot Noir 2009 Kiser "En Bas" Anderson valley High price

This is a very unusual red from Colline Novaresi (DOC) in Piemonte. The main grape is Nebbiolo (like in Barolo and Barbaresco) but there are a small content of two rare grapes called Uva Rara and Vespolina as well. The colour is dark purple red with a purple rim. A colour that can remind you more of a Dolcetto or Barbera instead of Nebbiolo. It has a wonderful intriguing smell of red fruit like raspberries and redcurrant, lots of floral elements as well as liquorice. From the smell it very tricky to decide grape and region. The taste is however more nebbiolo like: lots of acidity and plenty of tannins. The wine require as such food to go along with it. Delicate and what I would call "chilled" (as in opposite to warm) fruit and a long aftertaste. A rare but delicious wine. Only 3000 bottles. Mot Ziflon 2013 Colline Novaresi Francesco Brigatti 14€ or 228 NOK

This red premier cru Burgundy from Beaune by Albert Morot is delightful to drink now and is also reasonable priced for those lucky enough to live in France. Medium red coloured wine which is typical for these light reds. Silky red and dark fruit on the nose with some crushed black pepper, smoky flavours and wet earth. Very elegant and smooth body with a refreshing aftertaste and  lovely balance. Easy drinking and very good value for less than 30€.

Riesling when they get a bit of age in the bottle can develop a nice petroleum smell. This 2005 by Wittmann had exactly that when we drunk it the other day. Morstein is single vineyard in Rheinhessen, Germany. Lovely citrus fruit, flowers and petroleum on the nose. Smooth, silky and fruity taste with perfect acidity. A very decent dry white wine. Wittmann Riesling 2005 Morstein, Rheinhessen

This is the only single estate in Italy that has it's own DOC! The first time I had it was last week when I found out that one of the local restaurants (Sørensen oppe) had one bottle left. So I asked the wine waiter to set aside the bottle for me. A few days later on a sunny warm late summer day I turned up with a friend and reclaimed the bottle. We sat outside, on a tiny balcony, overlooking the Stavanger harbour, watching the sun go down drinking this stunning wine. Gorgeous aromas of dark chocolate, supple red fruit and lots of cassis. Old cellar, vanilla, ripe fruit. Simply wonderful! But the palate was out of this world thanks to a complexity, balance, body and length that really shocked the both of us. At the same time it was soft and elegant as well as big strong and firm. It had lots of fire power, but at the same time silky. A truly stunning wine. Worth drinking at least once! But of course there are no more 2001 left in Stavanger ....

The other day I had a fantastic lunch at the local restaurant called Fish & Cow. Two of the reasons for going there were the wine list and the very knowledgable wine waiter who is one of the few in Norway with a Master of wine title. Pierre Yves Colin Morey, as you can see from other articles on this blog,  has emerged as one of my favourite wine producers in Burgundy. His white wines are so pure, magical,  remarkable and wonderful that they are made for meditation, they do not really require food as the wine itself is such an experience. The four of us started off with a premier cru Chassagne Montrachet from 2011 and a 11 acre plot called Les Chenevottes. It's a cool, flat plot which is not too humid and the wines from here are fine supple wines. Beautiful aroma of discrete lime, butter and lots minerals. Amazing purity all along. The balance was just wonderful and each sip became like a religious ritual. A stunning wine which every restaurant should be proud of to ha