It has been a busy month for Food and Wine Gazette. We ended up missing Megavino, the largest wine event in Brussels because we opted to go to Chef Sache in Cologne on the same weekend.
At the start of the month, we tasted some great wines from Tuscany at Saveurs de Toscanes. This always proves to be a very interesting event and one where you meet some small producers which you would not normally otherwise come across.
So here is a list of wines which I particularly enjoyed last month.
White Wine
Rietsch Entre Chien et Loup Auxerrois 2013 (Alsace): A very approachable white wine from Alsace. Very low in sulphites and a biodynamic wine, this surprised for its freshness and balance. Great on the nose with citrus aromas it is a highly recommended wine.
Red Wine
Giovanni Chiappini Felciano 2013 (Bolgheri, Tuscany): A great value Red wine from Bolgheri. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sangiovese, this is still young but already approachable. It has an intense colour, good structure of fruit and smoothness. It will gradually evolve and improve over the next years. A few years ago, I had discovered this wine producer with his top of the range wine
Tenuta San Guido, Guido Alberto 2003 (Bolgheri, Tuscany): This Tuscan wine with a blend of 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and 10% Sangiovese was exceptional. It has been in my cellar for nearly eight years and I had tried it before but this was drinking perfectly. Exceptional on the nose, it is a perfectly balanced wine. Impressive for a rather difficult vintage.
Chateau Clinet 2004 (Pomerol, Bordeaux): A lovely Bordeaux, at 10 years it is ready to drink though still has a good number of years in it. Surprisingly, given that 2004 is not considered to be a good year, this turned out to be excellent. It has a very interesting nose, good balance as the tannins are starting to soften. It’s classic Pomerol and I loved it.
Alion 2006 (Ribera del Duero): There is little to say about this wine other than the fact that this was exceptional. The 2006 Alion from Vega Sicilia comes highly recommended but it went beyond all expectations. It is a very elegant wine with a beautiful bouquet of different flavours and also rather complex. On the palate, it has an impressively long finish. A very smooth wine, it hides the alcohol level (14.5%). This is really a wine that can age for a few more years pretty easily. It was stunning.
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