Duas Quintas 25th Anniversary Vertical of Douro Whites

Award winning wine writer Sarah Ahmed reports on the Duas Quintas 25th Anniversary Vertical Tasting of Douro DOC Whites on her website, The Wine Detective.

Duas Quintas, of the famous Port House Ramos Pinto, produces exceptional dry wines from the Ervamoira and Bons Ares vineyards in the Douro Superior region of Portugal.

Sarah Ahmed writes that Duas Quintas “helped to forge the modern era of Douro wines and Ports” by being the first winemakers to block plant (i.e. in single varietal parcels) and vertically plant their vineyards. As well as pioneering these techniques, Duas Quintas’ Chief winemaker João Nicolau de Almeida has been exceptionally successful. In fact, when describing the 25th Anniversary vertical tasting he went so far as to say: “my work is done”.

Ahmed’s detailed tasting notes describe the Ramos Pinto Duas Quintas Branco from the 1994 to 2014 vintage, and reveal that Duas Quintas have succeeded in producing some exceptionally age-worthy wines:

“[The] vertical kicked off with the 1994 Branco Classico. It blew me away – in fact I go so far as to say it was my wine of the tasting (reds and whites). Surprised, I asked de Almeida what accounted for the longevity of the whites given their acidity is not especially high. He replied that volume and composition is the main thing – “if you give more fruit to the wines, more different flavours and have an nice ensemble, the wine can age like that – have a nice evolution and become more complex.” It’s why, he explained, ‘we are looking for more varieties with complexity’.”

Ahmed described the current vintage Duas Quintas Branco as: delicate toasty, nutty…with sweet yellow plum, green apple peel and hints of pastis/anise and lime zest which follow through on an expressive palate. It has the richness with delicacy which categorises my favourite Duas Quintas whites. A long, mineral lemony finish completes this stand out vintage.

Click here to read the whole article.

Contact Christine to find out more about these exceptional and age-worthy whites.

Faiveley Wines achieve high scores from Burghound

In his latest review on Burghound.com, Allen Meadows tasted several Domaine Faiveley wines from the 2013 vintage. He has included in his selection the Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, which was awarded 92-94/100, as well as the Musigny Grand Cru which scored 95-98/100.

Meadows described the 2013 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru:

“An outstanding richness and and a very rounded and suave medium weight plus flavors that possess an abundance of dry extract that both coats the palate and buffers the moderately firm acid spine on the mineral-driven, saline and notably more persistent finish. This is more obviously structured and will need a few more years of cellar time to fully realize its considerable potential.”

And the 2013 Musigny Grand Cru:

“A very pungent nose displays plenty of wood and menthol influences. There is superb richness and intensity to the seductively textured mineral-inflected flavours that are at once powerful yet refined before culminating a very concentrated and stunningly long finish that just goes on and on. This is exceptionally promising and should also live for decades. In a word, brilliant.”

Contact Christine to find out more about these exceptional wines.

Excellent scores for Domaine Faiveley

Stephen Tanzer has awarded high scores to a large selection of Domaine Faiveley wines in his review of 2013 and 2014 Burgundy Chardonnays.

The Faiveley family have been making outstanding wine for more than 180 years. Domaine Faiveley is now under the careful stewardship of seventh generation Erwan Faiveley, one of the youngest directors of a Burgundy Domaine on record.

Stephen Tanzer describes the wines:

2014 Meursault 1er Cru Blagny: Very complex nose combines white peach, citrus fruits, flowers and smoky minerality. Wonderfully suave and horizontal in the mouth, with harmonious acidity and underlying minerality…This will be delicious at the dinner table. (91-93)

2013 Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses: Bright, pale yellow. Honey, anise and peat on the slightly exotic, smoky nose. Rich, tactile and ripe in the mouth, with strong acid spine to support the white peach, Meyer lemon, pear skin, iron and smoked meat flavours. This savoury, generous Grand Cru is about much more than simply fruit. Finishes ripe, supple and long. (92/100)

2013 Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru La Garenne: Very pale, bright yellow. Tight aromas of pear, white peach, stone, menthol and caraway seed. Juicy, sappy and concentrated, showing moderate flesh but an intriguing saline character. Finishes firm, suave, dry and long, with good thrust and an impression of solid dry extract. (92/100)

2013 Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru: Pale yellow. Restrained aromas of apple, spices and minerals. Already conveys captivating delicacy and a light touch to its intense pear and white peach flavours. A real live wire today, but this is also a very refined example of Bâtard-Montrachet. Should evolve slowly and gracefully; in fact, I may be underrating this wine today. (92+/100)

2013 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru: Bright, light yellow. Aromas of spiced apple, earth and porcini, with hints of oak ad metallic minerality…Finishes sappy and smooth, with a building sweetness but plenty of buffering minerality and brown spices. This gained in sweetness with time in the glass, showing a liquid stone character. (92/100)

Contact Christine to find out more.

Schlumberger scores highly on Wine Advocate

Domaines Schlumberger have achieved excellent scores on Wine Advocate!

Domaines Schlumberger is the largest owner of Grand Cru in Alsace, and is renowned for producing terroir driven wines of exceptional quality. Today the winery is run by 6th generation Alain Beydon-Schlumberger and his 7th generation niece and nephew, Severine and Thomas.

Domaines Schlumberger’s Gewurztraminers achieved excellent results:

2011 Gewurztraminer Cuvée Christine Vendange Tardive – 93

2010 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Kessler – 91

2010 Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Kitterle – 94

2013 Gewurztraminer Les Princes Abbés – 89

As did the Rieslings:

2012 Riesling Grand Cru Kitterle – 92

2010 Riesling Grand Cru Kitterle – 93

2010 Riesling Grand Cru Searing – 90

Please contact Effi to find out more about these outstanding wines.

Quartet and Domaine Faiveley Score Highly

Quartet and Domaine Faiveley have achieved high scores in Wine Spectator’s “First Look at our Editors’ Most Exciting New Wines”.

Quartet, the Roederer Estate winery nestled in California’s fog-shrouded Anderson Valley, has scored a fantastic 93 points for their Brut Anderson Valley L’Ermitage 2007 and 91 points for their Brut Anderson Valley NV.

Wine Spectator described these wines as “well-focussed”, “sleek and charming” with complex flavours of baked apple and ginger.

Both are drinking beautifully now and L’Ermitage will continue to develop through to 2017.

Domaine Faiveley has also achieved an excellent score of 92 points for their Joseph Faiveley Maursault-Blagny 2013. Under the careful eye of Erwan Faiveley, the family have been producing outstanding wines for seven generations.

Described by Wine Spectator as “lean and focussed, showing mint, apple, lime, mineral, spice and smoke aromas and flavours”, this elegant white is the perfect match to Salmon with citrus beurre blanc and green beans.

To find out more about these outstanding wines please contact MMD on 0208 812 3380.

Louis Roederer Blanc de Blancs is a “Breathtaking Beauty”

In an article published by Money Week, award winning wine writer Matthew Jukes described the Louis Roederer Blanc de Blancs 2009 as a “breathtaking beauty of a Champagne”.

He called the wine “amazing” and was astonished at the beauty and persistence of its “exquisite” perfume.

The Louis Roederer Blanc de Blancs is made from 100% estate grown Chardonnay, harvested from the Roederer vineyards in Côte des Blancs Grands Crus. As Matthew Jukes points out, 10% of the wine has been matured in oak barrels and this fantastic wine then spends five years maturing in the Roederer cellar before being disgorged.

At six years old the 2009 Blanc de Blancs is drinking perfectly and is the perfect match for oysters, summer salads or langoustines.

Current vintage available: 2009

Contact Marinel for more information about this “breathtaking” wine!

The full article can be found on-line here.

Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato 2011 received the Tre Bicchieri 2016 award

Maisons Marques et Domaines are delighted to announce that the Pio Cesare Barolo Ornato 2011 won the prestigious award “TRE BICCHIERI 2016” from Gambero Rosso.

Castello Fonterutoli receives Gold Medal at Chianti Classico Masters 2015

Castello Fonterutoli Chianti Classico, Gran Selezione 2010 won the Gold Award at the Chianti Classico Masters organised by the esteemed magazine The Drinks Business.

The jusdges of the first UK blind tasting Chianti of the Great Selection bank were:
-Tom Bruce-Gardyne, a former wine buyer and current wine writer specializing in Italy
-Alex Reed, former brand manager for Antinori in the UK, longtime Italian wine buyer and today’s off-trade director at Berkmann Wine Cellars
-Roberto Della Pietra, Italian native and former head sommelier at Clos Maggiore

“This Gran Selezione from the Mazzei family, who have owned Castello Fonterutoli since 1435, was a textbook example of great Chianti Classico. A touch of orange coloration on the rim of the glass, and complex aromas of citrus peel, cherry and cedar, immediately identified this as a classic and class-leading Sangiovese.”

You can find the full tasting note of the wine HERE

Louis Roederer Cristal Rosé 2004 named Supreme World Champion

Champagne Louis Roederer’s Cristal Rosé 2004 was named Supreme World Champion at the Awards Dinner of the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships 2015 at Vintners’ Hall in London, 2^nd Septmeber, in front of over 100 international winemakers, producers and guests.

Competition founder Tom Stevenson and fellow judge Essi Avellan MW announced 11 National Champion sparkling wines, covering France, Australia, Canada, England, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Serbia, South Africa, Spain and the US.

Commenting on the results, Tom Stevenson said: “With 113 new producers, a 38% increase in the number of countries represented and 36% more Gold and Silver medal-winning wines this year, we can truly say that the CSWWC 2015 has been welcomed and embraced by every significant terroir for sparkling wine production!

“This increase in both diversity and quality has doubled the number of Best in Class awards this year, which is a good thing because it draws attention to the high standard of sparkling wine around the world, but it presented us with a problem. It would have resulted in so many Champion trophies by Style that those trophies would have been devalued. We therefore made National trophies our highest and most prestigious awards in 2015, with the single illustrious exception of the Supreme World Champion. Next year it is very likely that we shall see the return of World Champions by Style, but they will be reduced to a select few to ensure that the exclusivity of our top awards is retained.”

The CSWWC is the most respected, comprehensive and rigorous international sparkling wine competition in the world. The complete list of Trophies, Best in Class, Gold and Silver medal winners for 2015 is now available to view on the CSWWC website and will be published with full tasting notes and price categories for each wine in Tom Stevenson’s Champagne & Sparkling Wine Guide 2016 (due to be published in October 2015).

The CSWWC is the first and only terroir-driven competition judged exclusively by renowned fizz experts, all of whom taste each and every wine submitted to guarantee an unprecedented level of consistency and accuracy of judging. Founded by Tom Stevenson in 2014, with the support and expertise of Essi Avellan MW and Dr Tony Jordan, the CSWWC provides both consumers and trade with the definitive annual guide to the best Champagnes and sparkling wines on the planet.

Best Australian Sparkling Wine 2015 – House of Arras 2005 Grand Vintage Brut
Best Canadian Sparkling Wine 2015 – Trius NV Brut
Best English Sparkling Wine 2015 – Nyetimber 2010 Classic Cuvée
Best French Sparkling Wine 2015 – Louis Roederer 2004 Cristal Rosé
Best German Sparkling Wine 2015 – Solter 2009 Rheingau Riesling Sekt Réserve Brut
Best Italian Sparkling Wine 2015 – Ferrari Perlé 2006 Trentodoc in magnum
Best New Zealand Sparkling Wine 2015 – Hunter’s 2010 Mirumiru Reserve
Best Serbian Sparkling Wine 2015 – Trijumf 2009 Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut
Best South African Sparkling Wine 2015 – Avondale 2009 Armilla Blanc de Blanc Brut
Best Spanish Sparkling Wine 2015 – Segura Viudas NV Reserva Heredad Pinot Noir
Best US Sparkling Wine 2015 – Caraccioli Cellars 2007 Brut

Siepi 2012 “20th Anniversary” awarded 98 points by James Suckling!

Siepi 2012, a wine by Marchesi Mazzei that is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, has been awarded 98 points by James Suckling.

“Fantastic depth of fruit and mouthfeel to this red with blackberries, blueberries, spices, walnuts and fresh herb character. Orange peel, too. Full body, round and savoury tannins and a mouth watering finish. Easily the best Siepi ever, and it celebrates 20 years of production”

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