Life is too short to drink bad wine

Where to start? This is a monster of a wine. So big and intense that I had to consume most of it myself. Even on the second day, the tannins were still big and solid. Packed with primary and secondary aromas. Firm, elegant and full bodied with a very long finish. We tried four different cheese with it. Nothing worked. I brought this over from UK but it is way too early to drink. It needs yet another decade in the cellar. I will perhaps try again in five years time. It's so massive, so many fantastic flavours of dark fruit and smoke, leather, wood, pencil case etc. that I used the whole list. Pontet Canet started biodynamic with this 2004 vintage and I am shocked by the quality and style. Rising star indeed! Pontet Canet 2004 Paulliac 50£

A challenge with older white Burgundies are still oxidation. Therefore I have decided not to keep such wines if they are older than 8 years. Last year when I was emptying my stock nearly half of the 2007 and 2008 vintages were oxidised! This one by Remo Jobard from Meursault is drinking beautifully now. Delicious lime, butter, spice, yeast and oak flavours on the nose. Gorgeous balanced taste with a velvety long finish. Perfect meditation wine at the cabin! Meursault "En Luraule" 2010 Remi Jobard 400 NOK or 35€ (much more expensive from 2015+)

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.

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...

There are many different Barbera on the market. These are normally easy drinking wines. The cheapest ones are quite basic while the more expensive ones are normally more complex. The two main areas are Barbera d'Alba and Barbera d'Asti. Normally the difference between the two are tricky to discover but I have been positively surprised by the wines from the Asti region lately. This single plot Barbera from Agliano Terma caught my eye at a tasting at Vietti. It must be one of the best Barberas I have ever tried. The oldest part of the La  Arena   vineyard was planted in 1932 in a loam-clay type of soil, with a southern exposure. The total surface is about 6 hectares. Fermentation lasts around couple of weeks in open-top stainless steel, with mechanical punching downs, délestage and many open-air pumping overs. After this, the wine macerates for another week, then it is racked and it is moved to oak for malolactic. The wine is aged in b arriques, big oak vats and steel t...

Despite 2007 not being the best of vintages in Bordeaux, this Margaux by Ch. Brane Cantenac is just delicious. Spring was wet and summer cold. The harvest was rescued by a warm September. The blend that year was 53% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39% Merlot and 8% Cabernet Franc. The harvest took place late September to 12 October. Only 25% of the grapes were used to make the Brane Cantenac. 18 months maturation in French oak with 60% new oak. Superb medium dark red colour. Delightful nose of dark fruit, chocolate, tobacco and flowers. The taste is full bodied but also "light" with a lovely fresh acidity and perfect soft tannins. Long well balanced aftertaste. A very nice Bordeaux indeed. Brane Cantenac 2007 Margaux Ca 40€ but now more like 70€

There are many different producers (managers) of Sancerre. They all have their own style and expression of the Sauvignon Blanc from this region. This one has the expression of 45 years old ecological grown vines from the area around Chavignol. And I must it is one of my favourite Sancerre. Not the cheapest one, but definitely one of the best ones. Beautiful complex aromatic nose citrus, flowers, minerals and green and yellow fruit. Long, complex and well balanced taste. Lovely acidity touch of minerality. Sancerre 2016 Gerard Boulay Ca 270NOK or 20€

This is a monster of a wine and is so powerful that you might struggle to match food with it. But it is a fantastic wine that can be stored for a long long time or you can drink it now. 90% Tempranillo or Tinto del Pais as this version of the grape is called in Castilla y Leon. The remaining 10% is Syrah. The colour of the wine is intense deep blue red, already there you understand that this is a different animal. On the nose it is very complex packed with lots of dark fruit, plum, coffee, chocolate and spices. Wonderful stuff! The taste is big, solid, long, velvet tannins, soft, elegant and smooth. Massive big bodied wine that unfortunately blows most food away. Its probably just best on its own. Mauro 2010 Castilla y Leon (VdT) Ca 350 NOK or 30€

This has been one of my absolute favourites for a very long time. Unfortunately the wine has caught other's attention as well and the price has now shot through the roof as it happens with most good wines. Beaucastel owns 110 hectares (ca 140 football pitches) where it grows all the thirteen different garpe varieites that are allowed in Chateauneuf du Pape. The vines are older than 50 years and have been grown organically all the time. The grapes are fermented separately in different casks and cement tanks before they are blended in oak barrels for a year before being bottled. A very dark coloured wine that at first just smells of oak and dark fruit. It needs time to open up in the glass and we let 3 glasses with Beaucastel just breath for two hours before being drunk and they were just pure delight after that time. Dark fruit dried fruit, cellar, ripe red fruit, spices, cigar Long wonderfully balanced taste with massive but firm attractive tannins. It does seem to be 19 ...

While lots of people have queued up to buy the 2015 vintage from Burgundy the vintages before that are all very good provided you stick to the great producers. This premier cru called "Clos des Argillieres" from Nuits Saint Georges is just a brilliant example of a full bodied Burgundy with a smooth finish. This Clos is situated on the top of the hill just across the road from Rion premises in Premaux. The 50+ year old vines grow on poor brown soil on top of pink limestone. The plot is just 1,8 hectare (or two football pitches) and gives a yearly production of 7500 bottles. The grapes are hand harvested and scrupulously sorted  before fermented in open stainless steel tanks. Maturation is done in oak barrels, out of which 50% is new, for 18 months. The colour is dark red with hints of purple. Blackberries on the nose along with blackcurrants and blackberries. Classy notes vanilla and some liquorice as well. Very attractive. Full-bodied and beautiful balanced taste ...