Good Wine: McGuigan Bin 578 Merlot

We’re recovering from a very busy month work wise (thus the low post count and the missing next part of our Fat Duck review).  To get things going again here’s a new wine review!

I saw this wine on offer at Sainsbury’s at the weekend.  Reduced from £9.99 per bottle to £4.99 per bottle with an extra 5% off if you buy 6 or more.  Whilst I laugh at the £9.99 price (this is probably a £6-7 wine), £4.74 per bottle is an absolute bargain.

Most of you know I love McGuigan wines and have been looking for a replacement for their great Gold Label Shiraz for a while. I cooked some lovely local pork sausages and served them with roast beetroot, new potatoes and lightly cooked runner beans and pointed cabbage in butter.

This is a good Merlot.  It has the smooth plummy-ness and mellow, warm finish.  I wrote:

Nice, mellow, smooth. Not quite top notch, lacking some complexity. Good though.

It doesn’t quite rate as a 5 star wine.  It’s an average wine at £9.99 and would warrant 3 stars but the current pricing at Sainsbury’s puts this solidly in the 4 star region.

McGuigan Bin 578 Merlot

Grape: Merlot
Alcohol: 13.5%
Guide Price: On offer £4.99 (£4.74 for 6+) at Sainsbury’s.
I bought this wine at: Sainsbury’s (instore)
ITs Food Rating: Four stars

Good Wine: Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2004

I’ve always been a fan of the Penfolds wine label design.  They keep a constant, classic style which I think oozes “quality”.  One thing that I don’t like though, is the sheer number of different wines they seem to do.  Is Bin 28 better than Bin 128??  All I know is that I’d like to get my hands on some Penfolds Grange (no matter what Gary Vay-ner-chuck thinks!).

To further investigate the many “bins” I popped over to the Penfolds website.

Max Schubert believed that PENFOLDS needed wines crafted in the image of his legendary Grange. “Not the same,” said Max, “but similar.” PENFOLDS had long maintained a system of numbered ‘bins’ in the cellar where the finest wines, often for the exclusive enjoyment of the company’s directors, were stored. Max happily used this system to give clear and well defined identities to the new wines he was planning, starting with the famous Bin 2 of 1962.

Ah! That makes it a little clearer!  Digging a little deeper I found the info I was looking for about the Kalimna Shiraz.

Introduced as one of the first Bin wines within the PENFOLDS portfolio, Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz has become an Australian classic. Indeed this wine style has universal appeal because of its intense fruit definition, ripe fleshy palate structure and generosity of flavour.

A multi-district blend since the late 1970’s it has won “Red Wine of the Year” twice, in 1991 and 1995 at the International Wine Challenge, held each year in London.

Interestingly, they provide a downloadable PDF of tasting notes for the 2004 vintage.  Who needs those when you have my drunken scribblings to marvel at!!

Okay, these may need some deciphering.  Basically the wine starts harsh but has a nice smooth finish, a slight apple/sweetness in the juicy aftertaste.  There’s a “pluminess” to the wine that makes me think of purple (!).  It’s lovely with or without food and seriously is a contender for 5 stars.

I had to have a second bottle of this wine (not on the same night!) as it was such a serious 5 star contender.  In the end I feel it doesn’t quite make it but it’s the best “new” 4 star red wine I’ve tasted all year.

Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz 2004

Grape: Shiraz
Alcohol: 14.5%
Guide Price: <£11 in-store (Tesco)
I bought this wine at: Tesco’s (instore)
ITs Food Rating: Four stars

Good Wine: Spencer Bay Chardonnay 2007

As I mentioned, we recently received a nice delivery of wine from Tesco.  One of the wines in the “World Wine Tour Mixed Case” was a South African, Spencer Bay Chardonnay 2007.

The last time I enjoyed a Chardonnay was in 2004 when I was lucky enough to go to Australia.  It was a marvellous Unwooded Chardonnay from Iron Gate Estate (Hunter Valley).  We also had a wonderful Verdelho!  I liked the Chardonnay because it was unwooded.  There was too much oaking of Chardonnays in the early 00’s which, in my opinion, really destroyed the flavour of the wine.

With this in mind it was with trepidation I popped the Spencer Bay in the fridge.  I had a quick search on the web and it seems that the wine may be an exclusive to Tesco.  The only real info I got was from their website.

What our wine expert said…

“This smooth, creamy Chardonnay is packed full of delicious melon, pineapple and mango fruit, laced with finely balanced light oak. It has a fresh zesty dash of lime on the finish which adds to its charm and balance. Wonderful with smoked salmon, roast chicken or lunchtime salads.”

More info…

Storage instructions: This wine is ideal for drinking now but can be kept for up to 2 years

History: Inspired by the breaktaking scenery and cool blue ocean waters of nearby Spencer Bay, these wines epitomise purity, freshness and exhilaration. They come from the Western Cape, an area famed by horticulturalists for the amazing beauty and diversity of its flora, and near perfect conditions for making wine.

Winemaking details: Carefully selected perfectly ripe Chardonnay grapes are harvested at the peek of condition and then vinified in cool conditions to retain lots of fresh and natural fruit, followed by a short time in oak to further complement and enhance the flavours. Theresult is a wine packed full of soft melon and pineapple fruit, smooth yet with a fresh citrus and grapefruit tang on the finish.

Regional info: The grape harvest in this region begins before any other wine region in the world. They begin picking the grapes in early January, sometimes straight after Christmas!

So, how was it? My tasting notes tell me…

Wow, that’s actually nice!  Very subtle oaking, light, fruity, tasty. Blimey!

Okay, I liked it then!  This would make a great lunchtime drinking wine although it it quite strong at 13%.  If you’re after something cheap, gluggable and tasty for a BBQ then this could be it.  At the moment it’s available from Tesco for just £23 for 6 bottles!  That’s an amazing £3.83 a bottle.  For it’s surprising subtle fruitiness and good value, 4 stars!

Spencer Bay Chardonnay 2007

Grape: Chardonnay
Alcohol: 13%
Guide Price: ~£6 (currently £3.83 at Tesco)
I bought this wine at: Tesco (online)
ITs Food Rating: Four stars

Good Wine: Chateau Musar White 2001

I’ve always said be VERY WARY of wines which just classify themselves as “white wine” or “red wine”.  Well, I think I may have to change my point of view after I received two bottles of Chateau Musar White 2001 in an excellent value Chateau Musar half case from Tesco.com.

There’s no doubt, this was going to be a BIG white wine.  I wasn’t sure what to expect so I had a browse on the Chateau Musar website to see what I could find out about the wine.

The varieties that collaborate to produce Château Musar White are particularly special; obeideh and merwah are indigenous to Mount Lebanon, their history dates back to ancient times. Our own vineyards of white grapes are located at an altitude of 1200m and hence the harvest takes place later than for reds, normally between the 5th and 15th October.

Both varieties are partly fermented in oak “barriques” where they mature for a further 9 months. They are then blended, bottled and aged for a further 4 years before release.

To fully appreciate the scope of their complexity and finesse, our white wines should be served at cellar temperature (15 degrees Celsius).  And most importantly, don’t forget to decant them!

Okay… Obeidah and Merwah grape varieties!  They’re new.  I’d still no idea what to expect so I dug out some tasting notes.

“2001 was a most bizarre year.  Although it started normally with some quite rainy cold days, things changed very quickly to warmer weather with almost no more rain at all.  Therefore average annual rainfall was less than normal.

As global warming continues to become more obvious and serious, after a normal flowering in the spring, our July and August were far hotter than usual.  Again this year, the vintage had to start early on the 3rd September – which is one of the earliest dates I have harvested in my life.

The crop of 2001 was good with quite ripe fruits but not too much tannin or acidity.  However the quantity produced was 15% lower than usual.  Fermentation progressed well and the malolactic followed easily and naturally as it did in the previous year 2000.

I tasted the wines last week ~ an easy, fruity year with good alcohol levels.

A very successful year perhaps…”

Serge Hochar – November 2001

“Overall the year 2001 will be on average a normal year.  The Chateau wines of this year will be good but other wines will be more average.”

Comments from Ghazir tasting 17th January 2002

Not much the wiser I opened the bottle (and didn’t decant unfortunately!).  My tasting notes said…

It’s a white red wine!.  This is a red wine with the colour removed.  Really complex, needs food.  A real grower.

This is a monster of a white, it’s big and powerful and needs to be matched with food.  Think of it as a perfect white to serve with a meal you would normally only offer red with.  You may really surprise some people. 4 stars.

Chateau Musar White 2001

Grape: Obeidah and Merwah
Alcohol: 12.5%
Guide Price: ~£10
I bought this wine at: Tesco (online)
ITs Food Rating: Four stars

Good Wine: Brown Brothers Tarrango 2006

With Summer on it’s way I thought I’d finish off my last bottle of my favourite Summer Red 2006 in time to stock up with some bottles of 2007.

Brown Brothers Tarrango is a light bodied wine preferably served chilled. It’s a juicy, fruity wine with a dry finish that leaves you wanting more. Brown Brothers describe it thus:

A delicate, light-bodied red wine that should be served lightly chilled. The wine is a vibrant cherry red colour with lifted aromas of raspberries, ripe cherries and a hint of spice. These fresh berry aromas are reaffirmed on the palate. With fine, well integrated tannins, a juicy clean mouth feel and a fresh dry finish, this is the perfect wine to sip on.

I really don’t think you can go wrong serving this lightly chilled at at BBQ. With some modern rosé wines being more like “watered down reds” this wine is THE choice to spring on people as a fantastic alternative.

As ever the Brown Brothers website gives us some nice info about Tarrango (from their 2007 vintage page)

THE GRAPE VARIETY
Tarrango is a unique Australian grape variety, bred by CSIRO scientists in 1965 by crossing the Portuguese red grape variety Touriga with the versatile white grape Sultana. It was developed specifically to produce a light, fresh red wine ideal for summer drinking in the many countries with warm to hot summers. Named after the tiny township of Tarrango in the Mallee district of north-west Victoria, where it was designed to thrive, the vines bear generous crops that ripen late and maintain a fresh acidity and soft grapey flavour. The Brown family has been making wines from Tarrango since 1980. In recent years, a small amount of fruit has been fermented by the carbonic maceration technique, as practiced in Beaujolais and other areas in southern France, where berries are allowed to ferment whole and uncrushed. This contributes added complexity and flavour to the final wine.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
The Tarrango grapes used to make this wine were grown in Victoria. The fruit was harvested in parcels from late February until the end of March at a range of baumé levels from 11.5° to 13.0°. Approximately eleven percent of the fruit underwent carbonic maceration. It was then blended with other parcels and bottled soon after fermentation and was completed with an alcohol of 12.5%, a pH of 3.45 and an acid level of 5.8g/L.

I’ve consumed a fair amount of this wine in the past so my wine tasting notes aren’t too detailed (are they ever?).

Hmmm… Just as nice as ever, a touch more dryness than I remember, maybe due to age? Still almost refreshingly fruity but that nice dryness to make you want more.

Well, there you have it. A real winner. I’ll give it 4 stars as it doesn’t quite make it into my “all time greats list” but is still a great Summer wine. Enjoy!

Brown Brothers Tarrango 2006

Grape: Tarrango
Alcohol: 12.5%
Guide Price: <£5.50 in-store (Tesco)
I bought this wine at: Tesco’s (instore)
ITs Food Rating: Four stars