Christmas eve saw two very different reds with very different satisfaction levels:
The Meerlust is a total steal at £10 (WS) - approximately half the price of their flagship version but very robust and interesting nonetheless: loads of leather, tobacco and deep dry fruit. The Montus is an ongoing disappointment (see previous posts on this). I keep hoping the years will add something interesting but I can't see anything emerging that can justify it's prestige. I note that it now at least £23 p/b. I paid about £12 for it en primeur around 6 years ago.
Christmas day and so on to two very smooth clarets:
The years had been kind to them. No trace of any raggedness. Ridiculously easy to drink but the downside was a lack of fruit. It is a natural consequence of wines this age? I suspect the fruit is the hardest thing to preserve as the tannins soften.
When followed later that evening by this morvedre-dominated number we brought back from St Chinian (see previous post on Chateau Bousquette) the contrast was fascinating. The Bousquette had loads of fruit but it seemed somehow vulgar/obvious next the the refinement of the clarets. Not sure what that tells me about my preferences....
The clear pick of the bunch was this splendid Alsatian Gewürztraminer:
Superbly oily, aromatic and hugely satisfying (£13 Majestic). If there's a more consistently enjoyable region for whites I know not of it. RH dismissed it as too sweet. I tried to make the case for it being ripe and somewhat lychee-like but not sweet per se. I got nowhere.
New year saw D&B help us cane all but the last two bottles we brought back from Faugeres:
...which had plenty of the minerally fruit I remember but didn't seem the have that smooth, almost creamy finish that I remember from the 2013 foliday.
This beast was almost comically powerful. A total sledgehammer of a wine with a corresponding 15.5% (!!!) ABV. Strange things are happening in Almansa - definitely place to watch. The value is bonkers. Their standard issue 'Leya' is a magnificent combination of smoky black olives and stone-like dryness (£4.90 - Vinisimus). This 'La Atalaya' (one up from Leya but at £8.79 is some distance of their flagship £17 'Alaya') has all of that but perhaps after a long course of streroids! A blend of Alicante Bouschet and Mourvèdre. The former? Not one I've ever come across before. It seems it's also refereed to as Garnacha Tintorera in Spain but is also claimed to be widely planted in France, according to Jancis Robinson: 'At the turn of the 21st century, Alicante Bouschet was the 12th most planted red wine grape in France with sizable plantings in the Languedoc, Provence and Cognac regions'
This fleurie was light, sappy, supple and refreshing. Yet I can't justify paying £17 (WS) for it.
