Wine Tasting - Quirky Wines

WASP (Wine Appreciation Society, Penrith), Roundthorn Country House Hotel, Penrith. Thursday 26-October-2023.

"Wine Tasting with Sam Jary of Black Hand Wines": Sam is our local independent wine merchant who literally had his shop up our street but has now moved to new premises right in the center of Penrith. Black Hand Wines is the place to go if you want something better than your average supermarket wine. He specialises in small independent, organic producers.

There wasn't a theme to the wine tasting as such just a quirky collection of wines that Sam wanted to introduce us to.

Wine Vintage, Origin. ABV, List price.

• Sam's description
• Mary's notes and ✱ star rating.

Wine 1 Altolandon Orange 2022, Manchuela, Spain. 12%, £15.50

• Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris. Aged in neutral oak (greater than five years old) or amphora; wild yeast. One of the highest yards in Spain, at the same altitude as Skiddaw in the Lake District. Pigs are allowed to graze in the vineyards to keep the weeds down. Good with cheese.
• Slightly oxidised. Cider like notes. ✱

Wine 2 Rallo Al Qasar Zibibbo 2023, Sicily, Italy. 13.5%, £17.50

• Zibibbo/Muscat d’Alessandro, Pantelleria. Muscat d’Alessandro comes from North Africa. Also found on the island of Pantelleria [Note: which makes one my favourite sweet wines]. Low yield, bush vines; six months in steel tanks, sugar: 1.6 gm/lt (anything less than 6 gm/lt is considered dry). Match with seafood and blue cheese.
• Fishy/olive nose, floral, lemony,sweet pepper?, slight prickle, grapey. Good acidity, good length. ✱✱

Wine 3 Domaine St Remy Pinot Gris 2022, Alsace. 14%, £19

• Full bodied white, gentle press leading to more tannins, long fermentation. Wild yeast which produces fewer amines which means less hangover unlike commercial yeasts; left on lees, nine months in neutral oak. Granite soil. Sugar: 0.5gm/lt = dry. Match with chicken or Asian food. Orange logo on label indicates a Biodynamic wine. 
• Little nose, clean, smooth rich. Very pleasant but few distinct flavours. ✱✱✱

Wine 4 Domaine Roche-Audran Blanc 2023, France,. 13%, £19.50

• Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Clarette, Boulabonc. Cote du Rhone. 1/3 oak barrels, 2/3 stainless steel. 
• Slight spicy nose. Peppery/green pepper. ✱✱.

Wine 5 Altolandon Malbec 2022, Manchuela, Spain. 13.5%, £14.50

• Stainless steel, skin contact 2-3 weeks. Remontage: pumping over for five weeks, no sulphates, third use French oak barrels, aged four months. Malolactic fermentation. Would age 3-4 years.
• Peppery, leather, chocolate, sweetish nose, chocolate, dark fruit, tannins. ✱ ✱½.

Wine 6 Domaine de Roquemale Meli Melo 2022, France. 13%, £17.50

• Tintura (means a grape where the flesh is red not just the skins). South of France / Languedoc / Bassin de Thau. Low yield.
• Rich, dark fruit, smooth, rich, Cedar, plummy, some tannins. ✱✱.

Wine 7 Les Cadets Graves de Viaud 2020, Côtes de Bourg. 13%,  £19. 50

• 40% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon 30% Merlot. Biodynamic producer. 10 months on lees. Aged in tank and sandstone amphora. 
• Blackcurrant, leeks? Smooth, peppery, green, tannic..

Wine 8 Franco de Porc 2020, Bourgueil, Loire, France. 13%, £22.00

• Domain Du Chevalier (close to Chinon). 100% Cabernet Franc. Grown on Tufo soil. Old oak barrels (leading to gentle oxidation). Very good for aging. 
• Green, metallic? Bit thin, typical Cabernet Frank, metallic, good texture.

The last two wines were not rated because Mary really does not like Cabernet Franc!

At the end, there was a buffet preceeded by a dash for the leftovers to wash it down.

I made a beeline for the Spanish Malbec as my favourite of the reds.

We did the usual: drive up and abandoned the car for retrieval the next day but this time didn’t have to walk home. As you might expect there is quite a demand from people who do not want stay sober enough to drive home. Normally this event soaks up all the local taxis. For the first time ever we had remembered to order a taxi home well in advance and were whisked home in double quick time and fell into bed.