Pinot Gris, Bollenberg Château d'Orschwihr, 2009

...having said that, this was a genuinely interesting wine:

Via the power of suggestion, I had imagined Bollenberg to be an obscure Alsatian grape that had been blended with Pinot Gris - it turns out to be the name of the specific vineyard - and set about attributing the unexpected flavour to this. It has a very deep yellow colour. The palate began with plenty of voluptuous aromatic lychee-type fruit before evolving into an odd - but very pleasant - almost Riesling-like oily dry finish. It would appear I got it from Oddbins and look to have paid around £14 quid but I'd go back for more (if they hadn't gone bust).

I shared it with M & D whose penchant for Gewürztraminer was helpful in their approach (Beccy wouldn't countenance anything as full bodied as this).

2008 Domaine Bel Air Bourgueil "Vingt Lieux Dits"

Oddbins fails yet again. At £11 this was very disappointing. Nothing like the Bourgueil I had from Majestic some time ago. No nose to speak of. Thin. very little fruit. Chilling didn't help.

Surely the jig will soon be up for Oddbins? They do well from the 'nip out to buy a couple of bottles' demographic but surely they are vulnerable to somebody who comes along and services this crowd without the overpriced sumugness?

Still, I seem to find myself in there from time to time so I guess I'm guilty of hypocrisy here...

Morgon

An interesting Beuajolais in Oddbins is a rare thing. A keenly priced one is rarer still. Sadly Domanie Laurent Gauthier's Morgon Grand Cras Villes-Vignes only qulifies for the former. Plenty of pepper on the finish and some pleasant fruit (strawberry?) prior to that but at £12 is must be compared to the Chateau Thivin and it would do well not to stand too close - Thivin wins hands down.

What is it with 'old vines'? I've yet to be impressed by this addition to the label. It smacks of attempts to add mystique to a wine but I'm sure there are many out there that would disagree vehemently. It would be interesting to try a old and new vine bottling where the grape, production process, terroir was identical.