Wine Society – autumn 2017 audit

Good autolysis on the nose. Lots of acidity but well balanced and well made. Not that long but lots of pleasure en route to the end. A tad tart. (JR)

More complex on the nose than the Bride Valley – some older ingredients? Broad and satisfying with a hint of honeyed Bollinger about it. Just slightly severe on the end. (JR)

Malvasia di Candia, Malvasia di Lazio, Greco, Bombino.
Rather sweaty nose. Broad and correct in its context but I feel I can find many better-value alternatives. Quite astringent after pear-skin impression. (JR)

The Guardavalle grape, native to Calabria. It comes from two organic vineyards overlooking the sea.
Distinctive nose. We say ‘nutty’ in Wine Grapes. Then with excellent body and acidity. Serious wine! Pretty good for the money and such a rarity! (JR)

Light, delicate, quintessentially fresh and alpine. I did not manage to spit this wine… Floral. GV (JR)

Second vintage. 60% Viognier, 30% Roussanne and 10% Marsanne.
Very pale. Lightly ginger-beery nose and some strong suggestion of skin contact. Silly price. Lots of tension and a certain amount of saltiness. VGV (JR)

Marsanne vinified like a red with 30 days' maceration, Roussanne vinified like a white wine and both are aged in barrel. Ms Turner is Australian and the winemaker for St Jean de Bebian.
Mid bronzey colour. Broad and very unusual. But fun. Definitely for food with all of its astringency on the end but there is a fruity core too. Great value. I would chill it a bit more for its dried apricot and nutty notes. Long. VGV (JR)

Rui Reguinga’s rare white comes from a high, mixed-planted plot of old vines in north-eastern Alentejo close to Portugal's border with Spain. Granite soils. Arinto is the lead grape.
Stony, dry (rather than sweet) with a real undertow of structure. Hint of ginger. Cool. Very unlike anything else. (JR)

Zesty and pure, with a real line through it. Juicy and apparently without alcohol. GV (JR)

Made in tank. Crisp and very structured. Dry end. Teenage. (JR)

From a vineyard of 70-year-old vines, just behind Le Montrachet.
Water white. Lots of edge and green fruitiness. Much to chew on. Rather dry chalky end. (JR)

From Jadot's own domaine, this is a blend of both village and premier cru. Pernand overlooks Corton-Charlemagne.
Pale gold straw. Solid but unexciting. (JR)

Pale straw. Alpine flowers but a little bit of sweatiness too, alas. Not the finest and a bit astringent. (JR)

Chenin Blanc comes from a small walled vineyard with stony limestone soils, in Brézé. The Wine Society advises to decant for half an hour before serving.
Intensely nutty, tart, tense, dry, ambitious Loire Chenin. Bravo! Not yet ready, amazingly. (JR)

Made 19 km from the Pacific in the Rosario Valley.
Very pale. Smells a little bit confected. Green canned asparagus notes – sweetened. Not refreshing! (JR)

Subtle and minerally and juicy and really so attractive I found it hard to spit. So long! Very exciting with a long finish of blackcurrant leaves. Lovely stuff. (JR)

65% Sauvignon and 35% Sémillon.
Water white. More aromatic and Riesling-like than I would have expected. Does yeast play a big part here? Just very slightly oily. Some apparent sweetness. Quite fun as a drink. Not very like any particular archetype but there’s nothing wrong with that of course. Slightly hot end. Far from the best value. (JR)

Rather simple on the nose and eviscerated on the palate. Doesn’t do Riesling any favours. Bitter end. (JR)

Colourless. A bit austere on the end. Correct but without quite enough excitement. (JR)

Mid-honeyed straw colour. Well balanced and lively and excitingly layered with its wild flower notes. This is what biodynamics can offer. (JR)

Water white. Intensely floral nose. Pretty good and satisfying (much more so than the Riesling counterpart) with a salty, pretty dry end. Not great wine but GV. (JR)

Pale honey-straw colour. Sweet and just a bit watery. Not enough focus and grip. But not too commercial and ordinary. (JR)

From the Neckar Valley. Old vines and aged in barrel for a few months.
Pale ruby. Very light, very fruity nose with acidity more notable than fruit on the palate. Some light sandy tannins on the end. Nice change for everyone looking for a light-bodied red. From a very respectable producer. (JR)

Bright crimson. Light, juicy nose. So delightfully fresh and refreshing with quite enough fruit on the palate. Ridiculously cheap really! VGV (JR)

From one of the top sites near the windmill itself. Philippe Guérin does not age in oak.
Bright crimson. Not that much on the nose. Grainy tannins still in evidence. Real structure. I could imagine this going absolutely beautifully with cold roast beef but it does need food. Quite long. GV (JR)

Mid garnet. Slightly funky, earthy nose. Lots of fresh fruit that becomes increasingly pure as its works its way along the palate. Some admirable structure. Pretty smart and already accessible. (JR)

Côtes de Nuits pedigree, from a vineyard in Comblanchien.
Very bright garnet. Rather beetrooty on the nose with firm, fine tannins. Much fruitier and more accessible than most Bourgogne Rouge but still a little bit severe compared with many Pinot Noirs from elsewhere. (JR)

30-40% whole-bunch-fermented fruit.
Mid ruby. Great funky-but-fruity nose that really hits the spot. Grainy tamarind notes. So convincing! Freshness and at a perfect point in its evolution. VGV (JR)

Local Negru with Saperavi. Bright crimson. Something a little unfamiliar (but not bad) and occluded about the nose of this. Sour-berry note but well made, well balanced and certainly clean. Distinctive. GV (JR)

Bright crimson. Lightly dusty overlay on bright, fresh fruit. Very round on the palate, minimal tannin. Reasonably simple but certainly not expensive. Some stony edge. I should imagine this is very sensitive to temperature. (JR)

100% Sangiovese aged in barrel.
Very bright crimson. Intense nose of notably ripe fruit but very Sangiovese tanginess. Pure essence of a hot Tuscan summer with the wood in check. Long. (JR)

From high-lying vineyards in eastern Portugal, close to the border with Spain. Tinta Roriz (the name used here for Rioja’s Tempranillo grape) with 25% Touriga Nacional.
Deep crimson. Relatively simple fruit on the nose. Just a little bit of stony texture and good chew on the end. Definitively pencil-shavings finish. Quite long. Lots of sweetness. GV (JR)

Unoaked Mencia from the banks of the river Sil in Galicia, north-west Spain.
Bright crimson. Unadorned fruit with real freshness. So appetising and come-hither! Firm corset with the juicy, refined fruit in the middle. Long. VGV (JR)

Touriga Nacional and Syrah, 12 months in French and American oak barrels.
Very bright crimson. Very focused, bitter-cherry nose. Quite intense! So round and friendly. Ridiculously friendly and over-delivering, albeit in slightly old-fashioned intense style, but the freshness saves it from being sickly. Who would have thought the Algarve could deliver such an interesting wine? Long. GV (JR)

Made exclusively for The Wine Society by Coonawarra’s Parker Estate, the Cabernet is from their own terra rossa soils, with Merlot from vineyards in Wrattonbully.
What a silly price! Very bright fruit. Not that much distinction on the nose but the palate is well balanced and already approachable. Wonderful to see that Australia is back to producing bargains such as this. It’s nothing like as ambitious as a typical Parker Estate wine but tant mieux. VGV (JR)

75% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Franc.
Mid crimson. Light, correct nose. A bit bloody and bludgeoning on the palate. But satisfying enough even though I suspect the tannins will always slightly outweigh the fruit. A tad stodgy. (JR)

Deep, bright purplish crimson. Rather fuller and a bit more New Worldy than most Wine Society clarets (it says ‘Merlot-Cabernet’ on the label). It only just gets a 16 from me! (JR)

60% Cabernet Sauvignon, with 38% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc. From a German cancelled reserve – back label all in German! Available from 20 November 2017. Cru bourgeois.
Bright developed/shaded ruby. Light nose and actually probably fading slightly but if you seek tannins in retreat and the delicacy of modern, unforced bordeaux, this is a complete snip. Fruit is definitely weakly waving farewell! GV (JR)

Still very deep crimson. Sweet and slightly formless nose. Tannins still there and pretty chunky and vegy. I don’t think the fruit will get that much more interesting and the wine will always be dominated by a certain amount of tannin. Desperately needs food. Just a little brutal. (Bordeaux pricing is crazy! Scrunching needed.) (JR)

Mostly Cabernet and Merlot with a dash of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre. Available from 16 October 2017.
Healthy deep crimson. Some unfamiliar oak note on the nose. Certainly heady and Middle Eastern with its ripeness, spiciness, thickness. It’s very much a blend. Pretty good. Long and rewarding. (JR)

Cabernet-led Bordeaux blend. Light shaded garnet. Very well-melded nose – super-polite. A tiny thread of greenness but very much a wine to appeal to traditional claret lovers – except that it’s more expensive than some of its peers from Bordeaux. Very fresh but clean and by no means obviously South African. Very lively. Chewy. (JR)

100% Garnacha. Mid bright crimson. Not particularly distinct on the nose. Sweet and simple. (JR)

Garnacha. Pale crimson. Gamey nose. Very light and fresh. Really racy and very 2017. Strawberry juice that stones have been soaked in. Very dry finish. Silly value. VGV (JR)

Tinto Fino (Tempranillo), from the Pérez Pascuas family. Specially moulded bottled.
Very bright, deep crimson. American oak in evidence and masses of ripe fruit. Great to have some evolution. Proper local wine. Very savoury. (JR)

Carignan from a small, high-altitude vineyard in northern Spain, aged in French oak. Silly heavy bottle.
Bright crimson. Light, sweet nose. Not that distinguished really. (JR)

25% old Carignan, 65% Garnacha, 10% Syrah.
Bright crimson. Very smart, proper, complex wine. Lovely completeness – great combination of ripeness and definition. A licking-llicorella sensation. Very vibrant. (JR)

Round and satisfying and ridiculous value. Beautifully integrated blend. Long too. What’s not to like? VGV (JR)

90% Carignan, 10% Mourvèdre.
Mid crimson. Blackcurrant pastilles on the nose. Too sharp for me, however well intended. (JR)

So much gentler and more attractive than the Carignan/Mourvèdre version! Sweet and fresh and readable and thoroughly satisfying, with or without food. Some marked stoniness. Many a Châteauneuf producer would give their eye teeth for this sort of structure! Though it’s perhaps just a little candified. VGV (JR)

Ramisco grows ungrafted in the sands (arenae) of the Atlantic coast, north west of Lisbon. NB smaller bottle.
Pale garnet – healthy colour. A little sour but there is history in there too! Definitely one for wine geeks. Truly a relic. (JR)

Rather suspiciously modern-looking label. 90% Nebbiolo.
Pale garnet with an orange rim. So lifted and lovely! This must have been discovered behind a bricked-up wall? Fantastic excitement. Incredible value. This company specialises in grappa and therefore can afford to hang on to its wines. VGV (JR)

Man walked on the moon in the same year that this was made. This is a sweet, Madeira-like fortified wine, bottled in 2015 after 46 years in barrel.
Pale bright orange. Rancio nose and wonderfully sweet cocktail of nuts, orange peel and lemon juice. So light! This must make it on to the Christmas list… Transparent and clean and fresh. Sweetness is not the most obvious attribute. So energising! (JR)

High proportion of Touriga Nacional. Mid crimson. Spices, wood notes but next to the Paré Frères 1969 Rivesaltes it seems so plodding! Dusty, savoury, alcoholic! Bit of cinnamon. (JR)