BIN ENDS WINE-TASTING GROUP
“Rhone Rangers”
Tuesday, 22nd February 2011
At St. Augustine’s Church Hall

The Rhone Valley’s reputation is founded on big-hearted warming reds. The Southern Rhone, in particular, is made from blends of three or more Mediterranean varieties, e.g. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. With plenty of sunshine and heat, these ripen well, producing wines with generous alcohol.

Grenache and (but to a lesser extent) Mourvedre (also known as Monastrell) are native across Southern France, extending into and across Southern Spain. Syrah (Shiraz) is a relative late-comer, but has also spread its wings too. All three varieties, though, have been adopted and embraced by the hotter regions of the New World< I ncluding North and South America, South Africa and Australia.

The key to making great wine is not to allow the alcohol to dominate. It should be subdued by the fruit, and the wine, despite its weight, should retain its freshness. All nine wines this evening were chosen because they had an alcoholic strength of 14° and above. How would they fare?

1. Ogier “Heritages” 2009 Cotes du Rhone (Asda £7.99)
Fully-blown, this had voluptuous black-cherry, spice and pepper. The texture was soft and velvety. A fantatic wine, and well worth buying a case or two at this price. (CHP 17, Bin Ends 5 votes)

2. Papa Luna 2007 Calatayud (Majestic £9.99)
Here, the black cherry is laced with wood-shavings. Fresh, silky, with notes of vanilla. Smooth, polished and well-integrated. Very satisfying. (CHP 17, Bin Ends 1 vote)

3. D’Ahrenberg “D;Arry’s Original” Shiraz/Grenache 2007 McLaren Vale, S. Australia (Wine Soc £10.95)
Screwcap closure. Originally known as “d’Arry’s Original Burgundy”, but the Burgundy was dropped to satisfy the EU. This was a big wine with good concentration, but still a little tight-knit, chewy and reudctive. There was minerally berry fruit, with a hint of oak, followed by a pleasing length. Not bad, but not as good as the first two wines. (CHP 16 Bin Ends 2 votes)

4. Pasanau “Ceps Nous” 2008 Priorato (Wine Society £11.50)
Until the late 1980s, Priorat was a forgotten Catalonian backwater, selling grapes to the local co-operative. It now produces some of the most prestigious wines to come out of Spain, vying with Rioja and Ribero del Duero as Spain’s premium region. At first, the bouquet was a little off-putting, with bints of raising, caraway seeds and rye-bread. It was very fresh, with black cherry fruit and firm tannins. Just a hint of oak, this needs time, but the finish is splendid. Give it 2-4 years, this will be great. (CHP 17+, Bin Ends 2 votes)

5. Spinifex Cigale 2007 GMS Barossa S. Australia (Majestic £12.99)
Enormously alcoholic, with flavours of smoke, liquorice and tar. The fruit, though, was surprisingly thin, yet sweet and acidified. None of the constituent parts hung together, and it seemed as though the wine was manufactured in the laboratory rather than in the vineyard. I did not like this wine! (CHP 14, Bin Ends 2 votes).

6. Valdivieso Eclat 2006 Maule Valley Chile (Wine Society c£14.95)
55% bush-vine Carignan, 30% Mourvedre, 15% Syrah, 12 months in barrel.
A stinky bouquet of farmyard and poo belied some deliciously soft redcurrant fruit, sprinkled with white pepper. In spite of its weight, it still had freshness and was incredibly soft and forward. Rich and creamy, just like good old-fashioned Red Burgundy (when they used to rev it up with Algerian wine). (CHP 17+, Bin Ends 1 vote).

7. Domaine of the Bee VdP Cotes Catalanes (Katie Jones direct, £18.00)
Fully extracted, there were masses of black-cherry fruit and wood-shavings. A little grippy and tight, but fantastic fruit quality and super length. It doesn’t pull any punches. (CHP 17+ Bin Ends 4 votes).

8. Clos de l’Oratoire des Papes 2008 Chateauneuf du Pape (£19.99 Sainsburys)
This wine is aged in oak foudres, rather than in barriques, so it loses a little more primary fruit, but develops more complexity. A bouquet of herbs, aniseed and caraway seeds gives way to soft and easy strawberry flavours. Quite sweet, but satisfying. Pleasant. (CHP 17, Bin Ends 1 vote).

9. Boekenhoutskloof “The Chocolate Block” 2009 Western Cape (Majestic £19.99)
Quite heavily sulphured, this is a wine built to last. Very fresh, with concentrated black fruit, silky tannins and developing a rich and smooth chocolate finish. Probably the wine with the greatest finess, just marred by the sulphur which may dissolve with further ageing. Polished. (CHP 17, Bin Ends 2 votes).

With one exception, the wines tonight were of a remarkably consistent quality, and can be recommended unreservedly. In spite of the 14°-plus alcohol, the wines masked it well and gave a great deal of pleasure. It was just a pity there weren’t more of us to enjoy them. Perhaps the group could do with a filip of some new blood so, if you know of anyone who might be interested in joining, please don’t hesitate to bring them along.

UPCOMING DATES FOR YOUR DIARY ...

Tuesday, 29th March 2011
“Three of a Kind”
Postponed from last November, three wine styles
in three flights of three,but from different regions
and at different price-levels. All will be tasted blind and
there’ll be a prize for the winner.
Sharpen your taste-buds (and pencils!)

Tuesday, 19th April 2011
“A Decade of Bordeaux”
We’ll be tasting a decade of Bordeaux wines, from
2000-2009, in a unique opportunity to compare
vintage with vintage. The older wines have been
sourced from my private stock, so hopefully
we’re in for a treat

Tuesday, 17th May 2011 (two weeks earlier than usual)
To be announced

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And – also coming up in the summer …

The Annual Bin Ends Barbecue: date and venue to be announced shortly

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And please find below the dates of Bin Ends tastings
For the rest of this year ….

Tuesday, 28th June
Tuesday, 26th July
Tuesday, 23rd August (1 week earlier because of Bank Holiday)
Tuesday, 27th September
Tuesday, 25th October
Tuesday 29th November
Tuesday, 20th December (1 week earlier, because of Bank Holiday)