Southwold wines

The L'Hermitage de Chasse Spleen was the last of the case I think. It may well be my first serious attempt to by good claret by the case. For the first few years it was stored in atrocious conditions (upright, in wildly fluctuating temperatures). At least one bottle had it's cork protruding which didn't bode well. I recall many of these bottles being somewhat thin but this was a cracker. Very smooth, harmonious. Lacking the power of a high end claret but still enough fruit to do it justice.

The Julienas (Adnams) was incredibly good value at £10. Really juicy, light and refreshing.

The Sesti was the reason why I first came into contact with Adnams. It was part of a mixed case put together by The Bunch and released by The Telegraph. Earthy, deep savoury edge to it. I know nothing of the grape or the region. Still can't decide how I feel about Italian reds. All too often they seem rather ragged/rustic yet the price tags don't reflect this.

I was too far gone to recall anything useful about the Rioja. Pity, I think MH paid a fair whack for it.

Beaujolais, Haut-Medoc and Sicilly

Three more to report on. First up is a staple in the form of George Deboeuf's Fleurie. It was considered good value at around £8 (majestic) but it's often closer to a tenner which take it perilously close to Chatuea Thivin country (see earlier post). For me it is not in the same league for depth of flavour. Still, it's a moderately good Beaujolais which could be worse. I just don't feel the value is there anymore. Funny how a better wine changes the scale bu which we view others.

Second up is one from a case of 12 I bought not long after moving into this house:


The motivation being the Heron connection with the Chateau's first wine and curiosity over whether second wines would bear any resemblance to fist. It has to be said they were stored upright for at least a couple of years and even when flat the conditions were pretty poor, so it's likely this wine hasn't had a fair chance. When I opened it it had plenty of forest fruit on the nose and seemed promising. On the palette there was 'nothing wrong' with the taste - no rough edges ect - but it didn't have any complexity to speak of and you couldn't say it was in any way memorable. Smooth but slightly thin? I think I paid £10 a bottle for these in 2002 so it may well be more pricey now. I see from The Wine Dr's pages that there is another second (third?) wine called L'Oratoire de Chasse Spleen.

Finally comes a wine I bought out of fondness for Sicilly. I honestly thought it was a red but it was only when I got it home and looked at it through the light that I realised it was white! I can't say I've ever done that before.....yet to try it but I read that the grape (grillo) is usually used in Marsala production!