Greek & South African Wines!

Hello WAW followers!
This week we are going to discover Greek & South African Wines.

First, we will go back in time, back to the roots of wine with the Greek wine.

A great drinking experience which took us back to the Odyssey of Homer.

Notios, Gaia Estate

Vintage : 2009

Grape Variety : Agiorgitiko

Country :  Greece

Terroir :  Nemea, Peloponnese

Tasting Notes

Appearance :  A light ruby wine with a high brilliance.

Nose : Aromas of red fruits and raisins brioche.

Palate : Notios wine has a suave attack with, at first, the red fruits taste followed by a highly refreshing acidity. Then comes a surprising taste of pastries and it finishes with its soft tannins followed by a high alcohol taste.

                         

Our Feeling at WAW Blog: 

This wine is surprising by its complexity in mouth with a well balanced body. However the alcohol taste coming at the end of the mouth is a bit disappointing. Notios wine could be drunk as a light liqueur!

                     

Food & Wine Pairings : 

This wine will match perfectly:

A Black Forest Cake!

Where can you find it ? What about € ?

At a wine cellar for 10€.

The Second Wine is the South African wine: it results from a partnership between Michel Rolland and Murray Boustred, with no more than 15% ABV!

You should better stay where you are when you drink this wine.

Remhoogte, Estate Wine

Vintage : 2005

Grape Variety : Merlot, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon

Country :  South Africa

Terroir :  Simonsberg Mountain, Stellenbosch

Tasting Notes

Appearance :  A garnet wine with a high intensity.

Nose : A complex wine with fruity and spicy notes: Cherry and Pepper.

Palate : Amazing amoras of spices and fruits in mouth! This wine ends with a subtle taste of butter caramel, which is just wonderful! We did not even noticed the high level of alcohol thanks to its great body.

Our Feeling at WAW Blog:

This wine is a great wine. We have spent a long time tasting it and understanding its complexity. We definitely advise you to taste it with friends, you will travel right to Africa!

                           

Food & Wine Pairings : 

This wine will be a perfect match to:

Chevreuil with Roasted Figs and Pears!

Where can you find it ? What about € ?

At a wine cellar for 15,5€.

Indian wine vs French wine

Sula Vineyards, Sauvignon Blanc

Vintage : 2007

 

 

 

Grape Variety : 100 % Sauvignon Blanc

 

 

 

Country : India

 

 

 

Terroir : Nashik

 

 

 

Tasting Notes

Appearance : A greenish yellow colour.with medium intensity.

Nose : A Medium green fruity noose with some vegetals notes and a little of spices.

 

Palate : The mouth is extremely refreshing with a floral and aromatic palate along with a medium bodied and a green fruity ending by a spicy finish.

Our Feeling at WAW Blog:

This wine reflects a difficult vintage, good to consume now nevertheless it brings a refreshing sensation and tasty green fruits.

Food & Wine Pairings :

This wine will be a perfect match with:

 

 

Thai fish with lemongrass and red curry sauce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where can you find it ? What about € ?

 

At the wine cellar, for 9 €

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Les Pierres Plates, Reuilly, Denis Jamain

 

 

 

Vintage : 2008

 

 

Grape Variety : 100 % Sauvignon Blanc

Country :  France

Terroir : Loire Valley

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tasting Notes

 

Appearance :  Pale gold

Nose : Beautiful intensity with both floral and fruity aromas at the same time ( mandarin, agrumes).

 

Palate : Nice and very refreshing attack bringing out some fruity agrumes aromas (which confirm what we felt in the nose), then in middle mouth appears exotic fruits aromas describing a surprising complexity. Morevover, this results a very good balance with acidity - alcohol.

 

 

Our Feeling at WAW Blog:

A very interesting wine, reflecting nicely the Loire Valley terroir.

 

 

Food & Wine Pairings :

This wine will be a perfect match with:

 

 

 

 

Grilled bream with vegetables

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where can you find it ? What about €?

In a specialized wine shop for aprox  7.20 €

 

 

Ica Valley (Peru) vs Cahors (France)

Dear WAW bloggers,

Today it's time to compare two interesting wines coming from two totally differents regions : Ica (South Peru) and Cahors (South West of France). ENJOY !!!

Gran Tinto, Viña Tacama

 Vintage : 2011

Grape Variety : Malbec, Tannat and Petit Verdot.

Country : Peru

Terroir : Ica Valley, South Peru

Tasting Notes

Appearance : A nice purple color with an high/medium brightness and quite intense.

   
Nose : An elegant noose, very fruity highlighting black and red fruits like black cherry or blackberry. 

Palate : In mouth, it is smooth and delicate; we feel interesting black fruits enhancing some nice spices and rounds tannins. The body is quite good balance, wide with only few acidity.

Our Feeling at WAW Blog:

It can be an interesting first impresion for this terroir for people who never tasted peruvian wine before. By the way, there is only few peruvian wines in France but if you are looking for one, this can be a good solution.

Food & Wine Pairings :

This wine will be a perfect match with:

Entrecôte grillée or

Pork cutlets

  

Where can you find it ? What about € ?

At the wine cellar, for aprox 8€ - 12€










Château Lamartine, Cuvée Particulière 2009

Vintage : 2009

Grape Variety : Malbec and Tannat

Country : France

Terroir : Cahors, South West of France

Tasting Notes

Appearance : A high intensity color with medium brightness and black/purple color.

Nose : A delicate noose with black and red fruits aromas.

Palate : Massive attack in mouth, we feel both black and red fruits with vanilla after taste. This body is good balance and we can describe a rise of acidity.

Our Feeling at WAW Blog:
Nice wine relating to an interesting relation quality / price. Very nice blend very plesurable to taste with friends around a table.

Food & Wine Pairings :

This wine will be a perfect match with:

Magret of duck caramelized

Where can you find it ? What about € ?

At the wine cellar, for 10.50 €

Peruvian terroir

Hello everybody,

Today we are going to talk about the Peruvian wine terroir.

First, Peru is one of the few countries which has such differents natural diversities; the ocean (West coast), Mountains (All over the country North to South), the Amazonian Forest (East of the country) and the desert (South Peru).
Nevertheless even if the temperature can vary a lot depending on several areas, the south of he country (where most of the wineries are located) enjoys wonderfull conditions for the viticulture. Moreover, this country has few rains in the year (0.01 mm per year).

The first vines appeared when The Conquistadores from Spain were invading the country and decided to create their own producing area, but let's talk about our terroir okay ???

As fars as the terroir might be concerned you will be able to enjoy from those wines quite differents and interesting grape varieties.

The Malbec, extremely appreciate in South America for its delicious black flavor, the Cabernet-Sauvignon, more and more trendy in Peru, also Grenache,well-known by lots of connaisseurs in Lima, Alicante Bouschet, Petit Bouschet, (those ones very common in Languedoc Roussillon > South France).
As regards whites wines, the inevitable Sauvignon Blanc is extremely popular therefore one of the most stteped in the local viticulture remains the Torrontes called in peru "Torrontel".
Enventually, Muscat is becoming also very used by peruvian winemakers.

To conclude, for people who are in love with spirits, I cannot finish that introduction without speaking about the main proudest beverage of Peru : Beer ! Cuzqueñas are awesome !!!!  No just kidding ;)

I am talking about Pisco of course !!!!!!!!!!!
This national drink has been discovered in the city of Pisco 200 km far from Lima in the South.
That beverage is roughly what we called Grape Brandy and Pisco is made from only certain varieties of grapes, which are fermented and distilled with the full grape around 30° to 45°.

To get more information about it : http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/drinks/a/pisco.htm


P-S : Don't listen chileans, the Pisco is 100% peruano.

California vs Lirac!

Hello everybody this week we have decided to taste 2 magnificent wines from California and Lirac!

Contra, Bonny Doon Vineyard

Vintage : 2009

Grape Variety : Carignan, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel

Country :  USA

Terroir :  Santa Cruz, California

Tasting Notes

Appearance :  A deep purple and intense red wine!

Nose : Aromas of cherry and a subtle touch of liquorice.

Palate : This wine has a gorgeous body, very well balanced being fruity and mineral. The acidity and the tannins brought by the Mourvèdre reveals all the beauty of this wine with its subtle touch of blackcurrant and blackberry.

                         

Our Feeling at WAW Blog: 

A gorgeous wine! A pleasure to drink and to analyze. The packaging is funny and it's making the wine more interesting.

                     

Food & Wine Pairings : 

This wine would be even more delicious with:

Pork Brochettes with Strawberries

Where can you find it ? What about € ?

At a wine cellar for 16€

La Reine des Bois, Domaine de la Mordorée

Vintage : 2010

Grape Variety : Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre

Country :  France

Terroir :  Lirac

Tasting Notes

Appearance :  An intense purple wine with high viscosity.

Nose : A complex wine with fruity and spicy notes: Blackcurrant and Green Pepper.

Palate : Wonderful amoras of spices and fruits. However its acidity tends to hide the subtle flavors developed into the wine. The vintage 2010 is maybe too young, for now.

Our Feeling at WAW Blog:

On the opposite of Contra this wine should be locked in your cellar for the next 5 years. Do so and you'll have an amazing wine in 2015!

                           

Food & Wine Pairings : 

This wine will be a perfect match with:

Deer Stew

Where can you find it ? What about € ?

At a wine cellar for 17,5€