Life is too short to drink bad wine

This is a very good Cava from Pedregosa based upon Pinot Noir (74%) with the rest being Chardonnay and Macabeo. Delicious fresh nose of yellow fruit, apples, brioche and yeast. Delightful acidity with a very good concentration and balanced aftertaste. Only the best juice used (free run) and stored 36 months on the lees. A very good quality / price ratio. Pedregosa Reserva 2013 Cava ca 170 NOK or 8€

It's been a long time since had a glass of Malbec. This one from Altimira in Uco valley in Mendoza was just brilliant. The grapes are grown at 1100 meters altitude with big temperature differences day and night. Wonderful dark red purple colour. It's nearly black in a way. The nose is packed with dark fruit, liquorice, dark chocolate, spices and flowers. Full-bodied taste with a great acidity and big firm but soft tannins. Big long and dry finish. A lovely and lively Malbec. Stored 12 months on big one year old barrels lightly toasted. Try with BBQ and most red meat. Ayni Malbec 2015 Bodega Chakana Altimira in Uco valley, Mendoza Ca 225 NOK

It's  smooth. With a silky texture. Delicious smell. Overwhelmingly harmonic. Well balanced. Pricy. Worth every dollar.

Although Pinot Noir is a difficult grape to grow the areas around the world that produce good Pinot are expanding. New Zealand and Australia are two good places complementing the stars from Burgundy and California. And now Argentine. Barda Pinot Noir is from the southern area of Argentine called Patagonia. Rio Negro is the area where wine growers are experimenting with new grape varieties. This one is very classical with red and dark fruit, flowers, herbs and some leather. The taste is smooth and silky with some firm perhaps slightly dry tannins. A very nice Pinot indeed and when you take into account the price (230 NOK) it is very good value for money. Bodega Chacra Barda Pinot Noir 2015 Rio Negro 230NOK 

This is a lovely white Burgundy by Bouzereau. The grapes come from plots in Meursault and Puligny Montrachet among others. Delicious smell of lime, butter, white flowers, spices and some yeast. A beautifully balanced taste with a creamy long aftertaste and medium acidity. Perfect for those nice summer days on the terrace. Slightly pricy for being at the Bourgogne level, but this is top notch stuff that could have deserved a village appellation. Bourgogne Chardonnay 2015 Michel Bouzereau Ca 340 NOK or 20€

The grape Dolcetto has a lovely purple colour that hangs around in the glass for a very long time. A bit like beetroot in a way. This Dolcetto d'Alba by the newly diseased Bruno Giacosa is a full-bodied version packed with fruit and elegant tannins. Lovely smell of the red and dark berries. Supersoft and fruity taste with a refreshing acidity and well integrated medium high tannins. Elegant and juicy wine. Try with pasta, light meat dishes or on its own. Dolcetto d'Alba 2016 Bruno Giacosa Ca 20€

Castelo de Pedrogosa was established in 1993 and has been working ecological since 1997. They have 26 hectares in the heart of the cava growing area in Penedes. The reserva clos brut nature is a mix of the local grapes Xarel-lo, Parellada and Macabeo. Quite a refreshing nose with apples, citrus, yeasty notes and some minerality. Fresh elegant taste with a very good acidity. Try with fish, seafood or as an aperitif. Very reasonable wine.

I first had this vintage for quite some time back. When this one was opened at a local wine bar the other day it felt very different in style compared to the first time. The freshness was replaced by riper impressions like dried fruit, honey and nut. The taste was still big, solid and attractive as I remembered it. Still a lovely wine, but not everyone like old Champagne as their style can be very different pending on the vintage and when it was disgorged (process where the yeast is removed and final cork put in place). Many houses put the date of disgorgement on the bottle but unfortunately Dom Perignon does not. Due to the colour and smell we can only assume that this bottle had been disgorged quite some time ago. It would have been interesting to have tried a 1996 that was disgorged later than this one. Krug for ex, has vintages with different disgorgement dates. High price.

Ten steps towards bottle opening with a sword: 1. Use bubbles based upon the Champagne method (traditional) 2. Bottle should be cold (upside down in ice bucket is perfect but not necessary) 3. Check the bottle and find the "seem" (stripe that runs along the bottle to the top) on the bottle. 4. Take off the wrapping on the cork 5. Hold the bottle at 45 degree angle (away from people and expensive glasses) 6. Run the sword along the "seem"on the bottle in one firm movement 7. Whoops it should be opened and let some bobbles spill 8. Check the top 9. Pour the wine 10. Enjoy!

Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore 2005 has been named best Italian bubble by  Top delle guide vini 2017 , the prestigious ranking edited by   Civiltà del Bere , which combines the data published by the major Italian wine guides with the aim of identifying the best wines and wineries in Italy. The only Italian bubble ever to receive six excellence mentions in the eight guides taken into account by the ranking is Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore 2005, confirming the success recorded by the previous vintages of this wine. Giulio Ferrari Riserva del Fondatore is a wine produced only with the best vintages obtained from selected grapes harvested in the vineyards of Maso Pianizza, located on the slopes of the mountains surrounding Trento.  The 2005 vintage, harvested after a hot summer that featured a marked temperature difference between day and night, provided Chardonnay grapes with a faultless balance between sourness and sugar content, combined with a magnif...