reserve wines

I've had quite an abstenious (for me) weekend, mainly because Roz did the Leeds 10k on Sunday, so no booze Saturday night! I was pleased to see her looking so fresh at the end as she's doing the Great North Run in the autumn! A bit of a greek orientated week in terms of wines - getting a bit giddy about the new wines! Check out Sipped and Savoured for my thoughts!
C.

No camping out necessary, thanks as the weather was stunning up there (who needs a greek island anyway?) Actually, Skye has had 8 weeks with very little rain and is having real water problems, to the extent that Talisker is not actually distilling any whisky at the moment and won't be until they've had quite a lot of rain! By the way, if you're ever on the island, the distillery is well worth a visit and you get a really good in-depth tour, 6-dram tasting session (the 25 year old is really quite brilliant) and a nosing glass for only £15! I still prefer and Islay though. C.

Many thanks to everyone who attended our Simply Sauvignon evening hosted by myself & Chris - we certainly had a lot of fun. It was one of those evenings when all the wines just seem to show well and it really highlighted the different styles of both grapes. The Northern Italian ,Vie De Romans Sauvignon Blanc was stunning, Isabel was great as always and the Balgownie Estate Cabernet was a beautiful example of just how elegant Australian wines can be. Chris has now gone off on his hols for a couple of weeks - up to Skye so let's hope the weather clears up a little or I can see him just camping out in the Talisker distillery....
K

How about this, I've just read an article (yes it was work i wasn't just skiving!) that I thought was rather interesting. Apparently as a result of ongoing global warming, China is destined to become the worlds number one wine producing region. I'd never really thought about it before as we see very little of their production over here but I guess they do have the space!. I imagine that at the moment they don't really have the right skills and expertise in place but if the right people head that way then the opportunities are vast. So if your dream is to abandon the rat race and set up your own vineyard forget the South of France - maybe China is the future!
K

AYum. Just arrived back from Luso on bridge street, where Kate, Nick and I tasted some delicious Portugese and Spanish wines. Our friend Raymond rarely comes up with bad wine, and today was no exception - especially on the Portugese front. Kate and I were both very impressed by Lavradores Feitoria's 'Meruge', as well as some delicious and delicate Godellos from Northern Spain, one of which was barrel - fermented but surprisingly elegant. We also had another chance to fall in love with Barbeito's stunning single harvest and single cask madeiras, and Niepoort's great LBV - including a 1996 which showed some deliciously mature characters. And last but not least, the charming Ignacio (who really does look like an archetypal conquistador) from Bodegas Tradicion showed his very rare and old sherries - incredibly complex and unlike anything I've tried before.
C

Ahh, spring has arrived and I can finally break out the shorts (don't worry, unless your y wife, that's just at home!) Time to think about drinking Rose too (no fear!) Must mention though two stunning wines I showed at our wine course yesterday. Isole e Olena Chianti Classico had a beautiful ripe, sweet dried fruit character (the 2002 vintage, i'm afraid so you'll have to wait for 04 to reach that stage!) and the forward thinking, immense and incredibly impressive Allende Rioja 2002, which will age for years!
C

Just about surviving in here. Actually, the lads decorating the office have been very quiet and helpful - and it's nearly done and looking like the office is going to be great, so I'm looking forward to seeing the finished article at the weekend. Meanwhile, I can certainly vouch for the drinkability of our 'Steal of the month' this month (the Masquerades) having taken 60 bottles down to a friend's 30th party last weekend - it went down very well - too well in fact, although I had a remarkably small hangover! And the best bit was that the party was in a restaurant that let you have seconds of dessert. how great is that! Apparantly the record is 7 helpings, which was a sorely tempting target, but I chickened out after 1. Never mind.
C

Just back from a superb few days in France - not far from Bergerac....wow what a treat! Great food, great wine and even great weather infact it was about as good as it gets really. it was my first trip to this area of France and I completely fell in love with the place. The wines were really interesting, I tried Vin de Peche which I'd never had before - a great aperitif. Lovely to meet up with the Katzenellenbogens from Didsbury who were over there for an extended break and took us to one of their fave restaurants "La Gabarrier", which is set in the most beautiful surroundings on the banks of the Dordogne. The highlight was definitely the gorgeous homemade ice cream "aux noix" I think I put half a stone during that three hour lunch session! But well worth it!.
So after four days of complete gluttony it's back to the porridge at breakfast and salads for lunch....sooo boring.

Finally, a round of golf in the sunshine - about time! Anyway, you don't want to hear about me hacking my way around the Mersey valley, you're more interested in the great wines I've been drinking. I've been striking lucky this week with some real crackers, so didn't have space for them all in Sipped and Savoured. The three highlights have been Weinbach Muscat, which had some fascinating meaty/savoury notes to balance the fruit, Rozaleme Bobal/Tempranillo from Utiel-Requena (another of the myriad up-and-coming Spanish regions) which had fantastic spice and good deep fruit flavours all topped off with a sprinkling of vanilla oak, and finally (but probably my favourite), Jacky Blot's Taille Aux Loups Montlouis, which was simply top class, heavenly Chenin Blanc.
Think I need to watch my spending this month though, more Rozalemes than Weinbachs. C.

Hey check me out, two blogs in a week! Buzzing today though after last nights brilliant Australia tasting. 30 people crammed into the shop and tasted some outstandin wines from the Eden, Clare and Barossa valleys. It's not often you get to taste so many top class wines in one tasting, so to have Mesh, Jim Barry McCrae Wood Shiraz and Yalumba's Octavius (their top wine - dark and brooding with intense, complex flavours waiting for a cople of years bottle age to be released) last night was a real treat. Thanks to everyone who came along, and also to Scott Edge for bringing the wines along and telling us all about them
C

Well Alistair Darling had a nice surprise for kate when she got out of her exam today. We promised not to moan so I'm not going to, but I will point out (as I'm sure will many others) that it can't be a coincidence that duty on spirits has gone up for the first time in 10 years - clearly Gordon is slowly letting go of the purse strings!
On a wine note, I'm pleased to see customers siding with me - Ataraxia Sauv is better than the Chard, as I said Kate! Not that I'd refuse a glass of either!
it was also good to see Nick in one piece after holding a tasting with a lively hen party. I did hear mention of 'Butler in the Buff', but you'd have to ask Nick about that!
Must go - but I'm really looking forward to the Aussie tasting tomorrow - should be top drawer.
C

Exam time again. I am desperately trying to squash in revision snatching any free time I can to cram. I'm sitting the last 2 exams of my Wine and Spirits Diploma next week. It's a strange thing revising for wine exams, the word revision generally tends to conjure up dreary images - sitting for hours on end at a desk when the sun is shining and everyone else seems to be having a superb time. However with wine I actually love all the in depth learning (it's not like sitting a physics exam - apologies if your passion is physics but was my worst subject at school) and nowadays it's difficult to find the time for such detailed research. So all in all it's not too distressing, what is distressing is the cost of the train fares to get down to London to take the bloomin' exams!!!
K

Tasting time again yesterday. This time at SITT, which is a fab tasting with lots of different suppliers, but also a great chance to catch up with your mates! Good news from the tasting is that we've found some fab new Greek (yes, I did say Greek) wines, and good news from the revellry afterwards is that neither Kate nor I had a hangover this morning (despite an impromptu late night brewery tour at the Marble Arch). Top wine of the day, though was a 1905 Madeira (not for sale, even to us) which was incredible - and still full of acidity after all these years!
C.

I'm sure you don't really want to hear about my Valentines night, but I'm buzzing about the wine consumed so I'll spare you the gory details and cut to the chase. If you've not already tried it, get your hands on a bottle of Ata Rangi Pinot Noir and drink it - it really is stunning - super complex, silky and beautifully balanced - I think Roz was a bit fed up that I paid it more attention than her!
C.

Gosh my life has been transformed by my new van which is a TURBO Citroen Berlingo. After 3 years of chugging along in a sluggish older model even the slight bit of zippiness is a novelty for me AND it has side opening AND a CD player. I tell you what this is called living the dream. Chris and I are now debating the new branding for it, you may remember the previous tasteful van. Well this time Chris has suggested either a huge champagne bottle on the roof or covering the van with cork. I have to say that I'm not wildly excited by either BUT I would get noticed. Any ideas? K

Oh dear, I've just realised how long it is since I updated this I must make it a February resolution to blog daily. My excuse is that I've been far too depressed about turning 30 a couple of weeks ago - just a good excuse to drink some great wine - Fish and Chips and Billecart Blanc de Blancs Champagne really does work well! I spent the weekend in Alnwick getting blown around by the wind and walking on the beach - very nice. Anyhow, I promise to blog more often from now on.
C

Mmmm I've been dying to tell you about some of the great wines we tasted today. We've been looking for some new Burgundies - red and white, and think we've found some corkers. There were some brilliant Rieslings - all German, and a range of dry to off dry styles. A nice new producer called Loichet, who showed a great, full style Pernand-Vergelesses at a fab price. We also tasted a Savigny-les-Beaunes which smelled of Beetroot. You won't be seeing that on the shelves!
Red-wise, we had a great Pinot Noir from Oregon - Domaine Drouhin (good tip, Mr Moore!) and a stunning Savigny 1er Cru, which has great ageing potential as well as drinking well now.
C

Wow what a weekend I've had. Many of you will have seen my Mum and Dad around the shop in December, they were absolute legends - my Dad was working 6 days a week. As a thank you I took them to the Lakes this weekend & we stayed at the Drunken Duck. What a superb place, lovely food - I must have eaten enough to keep me going for the next week..I am seriously on a mission to 'cut down' this week (sooo boring) - great accommodation and the wine list is pretty good too (plus the delicious local beers - they have their own microbrewery next door). And you'll never believe it but who should we meet whilst we were there, two of my very lovely customers..Craig and Hywel, what a small world it is hey...but boy is it full of delicious Cognac. So it is a week of restraint for me, well maybe not an entire week but certainly a couple of days or so!

K

Popped down to the big smoke for a tasting today - alongside alongside illustrious names such as Oz Clarke and Steven Spurrier no less, and of course Nick Lewis of Reserve! Tasted my first glass of Le Montrachet ever - and boy was it good, super complex, ethereally beautiful - I can see why people pay so much for it! Also tried a couple of cracking Champagnes and one or two nice Bordeaux - not wines we stock yet, but I'll be sure to let you know when we do! Nick enjoyed the mature Tuscans, something he was really looking forward to, but not as much as getting chatted up in the toilet by a drunken wine boor! Nice.

C

Happy New Year Everyone! It's finally back to normal after a manic Christmas for all of us - both in the shop and at home. Thanks for all your business last year, and for making it a record Christmas for Reserve.
As this blog is really about wine, I guess I should fill you in on what I've been drinking. Actually, it could take quite a while to go through everything I opened over Christmas, so let's just stick to the highlights.
My surprise white was Denis Race Chablis 2005. I'm not always the biggest fan of Chablis, but this is fantastic; great minerality, brioche notes, some good fruit and even a whiff of parmesan! On the red front, I loved Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial 2005. From the same stable as Rivola (which many of you may have tried), the 2001 vintage of this won the Red Wine trophy at the 05 International Wine Challenge, so it's definitely worth keeping a bottle a couple of years - if you can bear to leave it in your cellar!

C

Well, we're truly up and running for Christmas now - I spent all last week lugging boxes after Kate and Nick hurt their backs on consecutive days (nice timing!) Thank god for Jim (Kate's Dad for those who haven't met him at one of the Wine Fairs) who's been a real trooper helping out. Thankfully, though I've had time to try one or two nice bottles. I was impressed recently by the Domane de Chenets Crozes Hermitage, which is really nicely balanced, with enough tannins to balance some red meat, and I was blown away (again) by the Ataraxia Serenity, which is just so full of nuance that it's almost imossible to describe the flavours!

C

It must be Christmas - we've been so busy that I've not had a chance to witter away on here. Never mind, though, it's great to see so many of you in the shop, and it's much more interesting to talk than write about wine! The shop's finally coming together for Christmas. The Vina Bosconia 1981 is in stock at last, and we've just had a pallet of the brilliant t new Aussie sparkler from the makers of Jansz. Dune NV is their Victorian wine, and has £2 off this month so get some while it lasts! Finally, Happy Birthday to Tim, my brother who is 28 today - catching up again!

C

I'm still on a high this morning after a great Christmas fair last night. Thanks to everyone who attended - I'm sure I'll be speaking to most of you soon to sort out your orders! Everyone had different favourites, but my pick of the night was Charles Melton's Nine Popes, which has brilliant concentration of fruit. From what I can tell, the two 'star wines' for the night were, predictably, Pascual Toso Reserve Malbec, and the brilliant new Hawkes Bay Syrah from Tinpot Hut. If you missed the evening, make sure you make it in the summer - if the wines are as good as last nights, you'll be in for a real treat.

C

Yesterday saw the return to the shop of one of my all-time favourites, Eroica Riesling. This Washington State wine is a collaboration between Chateau Ste Michelle and the legendary Dr Loosen, and I was pleased to see that the 06 vintage is as good as ever. Searing acidity, a floral lime fruit nose with touches of smoke, and a complex palate, full of citrus and green apple flavours, a steely minerality and even a touch of aniseed. I really could drink this all year

C

Back off holiday, and straight into the madness of organising Christmas - at least I've had a relaxing week in sunny Devon to prepare (and sample a few wines). My vinous highlights recently have been the awesome Larredya Jurancon Sec - brilliantly balanced, honeyed and complex; San Felice's Poggio Rosso Chianti Classico Riserva 2000, which I showed at a tasting on Tuesday and blew me away; and a couple of corking reds from the Huerta de Albala estate near Cadiz - big, rich beasts, but worth the hangover! So, loins well and truly girded and off we go....

C

Giving up Wine
I was walking down the street when I was accosted by a particularly dirty and shabby-looking homeless woman who asked me for a couple of dollars for dinner.
I took out my wallet, got out ten dollars and asked, 'If I give you this
money, will you buy wine with it instead of dinner?'
'No I had to stop drinking years ago', the homeless woman told me.
'Will you use it to go shopping instead of buying food?' I asked.
'No, I don't waste time shopping,' the homeless woman said.
'I need to spend all my time trying to stay alive.'
'Will you spend this on a beauty salon instead of food?' asked.
'Are you NUTS !' replied the homeless woman. ' I
haven't had my hair done in 20 years!'
'Well,' I said, 'I'm not going to give you the money.
Instead, I'm going to take you out for dinne r with my
husband and me tonight.'
The homeless Woman was shocked. 'Won't your husband
be furious with you for doing that? I know I'm dirty,
and I probably smell pretty disgusting.'
I said, 'That's okay. It's important for him to see what a woman
looks like after she has given up shopping, hair appointments, and wine.'

Today I've been blown away by my niece, who is a mini miracle! So dinky and tiny but she could grow up to be the next Prime Minister. It's quite extraordinary really, I can only imagine what it feel likes to be a parent - to have produced such a perfect little being.
Aside from that I'm writing my first blog entry...Chris has just gasped in amazement that I've actually managed to get my head round blogging.. So what have I been doing on a professional level, well lots of work with Wines of Portugal promoting their wine (some of you know these very well already....Andrew and Mead for example). As Chris kindly mentioned, I did a short slot on Channel M last Friday promoting a couple of delicious Portuguese reds which was rather fun despite spilling the wine all over the table. And we've hooked up with both One Lounge Bar and Greens to further the Portuguese cause so if you're out and about in West Didsbury over the next couple of weeks check out both venues for they have a couple of great offers on. Ok time for tea but promise to write again soon.

Consider my Riesling obsession officially re-ignited - I cracked a bottle of the new vintage Pacific Rim last night, and it's just brilliant - stunning acidity, great sweet lime aromas, and a fresh citrus palate with just a touch of sherbet. Come on, join the Riesling Revolution!

She's been trying to keep it quiet, but the word is out! Kate is making a Television Appearance to remember tomorrow. Check her out on Channel M's breakfast show at about 7.45, where she'll be expanding on our Portugese theme. That's the last time she entrusts me with any secrets!

She's also just becomean Auntie,so congratulations to Mark and Hayley on their baby girl.

I love Halloween - it's always great to sell wine to a girl with a large sword through her head!!
Speaking of strange, you may have caught a couple of men having a mid-life crisis on TV and trying to match wine to cars! Drop me an email (chris@reservewines.co.uk) if you have any other weird tasting ideas - you never know, we may just try them out! C.

Well, you can tell it's half term - we've been busy all week! What I didn't expect was to sell a bottle of dry Hungarian white on the very first day it was on the shelves - hey, why not, it's a fantastic wine - lychees and rose petals all the way with a spicy finish. Pop in and check it out - it's not on the web yet.

Having finally got over our cup final defeat on Saturday (bad luck – no deal on South African wines!), it’s full steam ahead planning Christmas (don’t worry, we won’t put the decorations up yet!). We’ve also been pounding the streets in the last few weeks, putting flyers through peoples doors – I seem to be losing weight already.

More tasting today, and we found some crackers. A couple of new German wines – including a great value Auslese – and a stunning 1981 Gran Reserva Rioja (Vina Bosconia) which we’ll have in over Christmas. At £50, its not cheap, but boy is it worth it!

I’ve just come back from holiday to find the normal pile of work waiting for me – but it’s so much easier when you have a week in a Maltese palace behind you. Don’t be holding your breath for a sudden influx of Maltese wine at Reserve. Malta’s infertile soil should be great for vines, but the temperatures are just a bit high in summer for most of the grapes they try to grow. Having said that, wineries that stick to warm climate grapes like Syrah get some half decent results and I also had a nice Vermentino. Beer was good, though. C.

1st October 2007 – Tasting in Birmingham

Yet another tasting for me today – well, I had to go really as Kate was in Paris for her anniversary! Two stars this time; firstly, the amazing Allende Rioja Blanco – a perfect example of how to oak age where the oak complements and enhances the fruit rather than dominating it. Just awesome! The other star was a cheeky Jurancon sweety from Larredya – not in stock yet in the store, but a fascinating drop, and well worth looking out for in the coming weeks!

Ok, so not quite on the scale of 100 wines, but quite a few nevertheless – and hopefully some new crackers for the shop.. Stars today were undoubtedly the wines from Pirie in Tasmania. It’s difficult to fault anything in the range, but I was really blown away by the unoaked South Chardonnay, and the Pinot Gris. Also enjoyed a quick chat with Neil Culley of Cable Bay and Culley fame, who pointed out that 2007 was a great vintage in Marlborough, and worth looking forward too! A tip (well) in advance of Christmas – or anytime you want an interesting dessert wine – pick up a bottle of Pertaringa Estate’s ‘Full Fronti’ – a rutherglen-style Muscat with some fascinating ‘rancio’ flavours, lots of marmalade and a sherry-style dry finish.

Controlled chaos in the store this evening, as 35 people packed in to listen to the words of wisdom of local wine guru, Fergal Tynan, and –far more importantly – taste some stonking great Chilean wines.
The theme of the evening was new, top quality Chilean wines – the number of trophy winners on the table was phenomenal! For me, star of the show was Altair’s Sideral – a structured but elegant Cabernet, Merlot and Syrah blend from Cachapoal, and everyone there was very pleasantly surprised by the outstanding quality – and maturity – of these wines, especially considering that some of the wineries only started releasing wine in 2002!! A few of the more hardcore drinkers retired to the Met afterwards for a couple of swift jars, and to continue sampling until the staff got fed up and kicked us out (you know who you are!)
Check out the photos, and see a full report here

An early start for us today – Eduardo from Pulenta Estate in Mendoza, Argentina was already here when I arrived for work, straining at the leash to show us his wines. Considering that the winery was only built in 2002, it’s incredible how settled and developed his wines are.
Those who have tasted them will be happy to know that they’ve increased production of their brilliant La Flor wines to meet the incredible demand for them, so get stuck in and enjoy the fresh, citrus and cut-grass Sauvignon Blanc and the rounded, fruity Malbec. The biggest surprise for me, though was the meaty, red fruit Malbec Rose – quite a confession from a self-confessed rose-phobe!

12th September 2007
Phew! I’m exhausted – I must have tasted 100 wines today, at an extensive trade show in London. It’s worth it though – I think we’ve picked up a few beauties, and it’s great to be reminded of how good the wines we already stock are. My best wines were: Tinpot Hut Sauvignon Blanc – great, passionfruit scented, capsicumy kiwi sauv; Mount Horrocks Watervale Semillon – rich round and sexy; Ata Rangi Pinot Noir (no surprise there, then) and the brilliant value Delta Vineyards Pinot, which really punches above its weight for earthy complexity.
After spitting all those wines out, there’s always one you have to swallow – today it was the absolutely incredible Capezzana Vin Santo – an awesome, nutty, honeyed sweet wine from Tuscany, which has incredible complexity, and really needs some time spent over it.

10th September 2007
Those of you who aren’t fans of their Viognier will have noticed the Fonty’s Pool wines on offer in the shop this month, which Kate and I were lucky enough to taste with Paul (the spitting image of Paul Robinson, bizarrely), their new CEO at a dinner today.

This was a great opportunity to taste different vintages of his best wines together, get an insight in to the winemaking, and to give him some feedback. The Pinot Noirs
caused much comment – after the magnificent 2004 (currently £2 of in the shop), the 2006 seemed very young – and hopefully we’ve persuaded Paul to ship some of the 2005, which we were originally going to miss due to its cork closure. The ’04 was definitely the most popular wine of the night, and we had to hide some under the table to make sure we could drink it with our meal!

6th September 2007
Welcome to the Reserve Wine blog, where Kate and I will be keeping you up to date with what we’ve been up to and the wines we’ve been tasting

Life’s been a bit of a whirlwind since I joined Reserve in June, first with the barely controlled madness of the Summer Fair, latterly working hard to produce our new newsletter and make our website as funky as the shop.

Last week I was fortunate to meet the lovely Kate Galloway, winemaker at Alpha Domus in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. A flying visit to the shop, really, but I did get to taste through her range. Kate spends a lot of time in France, and that shows through in her wines, which show more restraint than most Kiwis! The key to her wines, I think is the minerality that runs through them all, and is especially distinctive in the Viognier and the brilliant Un-oaked Chardonnay, which really is a lesson to all those who claim not to like the variety.

But star of the show had to be her AD Semillon 2002. The AD range are only made in the best years, and this barrel fermented wine really is a beauty. Creamy, honeyed green fruit flavours dominate the warm, rich palate, which is balanced and freshened by a fantastic acidity, and the aforementioned minerality. Look out for it in the shop soon!