Evening all.
I spent today visiting our wine makers in the region to get a “hands on” of the harvest to date. First up was Pierre Lavau from St Emilion, a quick visit to Francis Meynard and Regis Moro in Cote de Castillon, then onto Michel Coudroy Pomerol and Lalande de Pomerol and finally Jean Claude Paret in Montagne St Emillion.
Work is still continuing in most vineyards and a combination of factors is tipping the 2010 vintage towards being splendid wines.
The general feedback has been the great quality of the Merlot picked so far, with the grapes giving moderate yields with a lot of concentration.
Also the natural alcohol content is about 13% in all areas, with excellent acidity levels which should result in well balanced wines.
The grape skins are thick and aromatic with ripe pips and there is no evidence of vegetal characteristic which can give the wines a green pepper aroma, overall expect well balanced smooth tasting wines.
And finally all the wine makers commented on the great colour of the must which has powerful strong aromas of black and red fruit.
The vintage is now nearing its close and we shall soon be able to judge how good these wines will be.
Dinner is about ready and I'm opening a Vieux Champs de Mars 1998 which Regis kindly gave to me earlier today.
He was delighted that everyone in Ireland enjoyed the Pelan Bellvue 2001 offer.
O yes the best part of wine making, the tasting.
I spent today visiting our wine makers in the region to get a “hands on” of the harvest to date. First up was Pierre Lavau from St Emilion, a quick visit to Francis Meynard and Regis Moro in Cote de Castillon, then onto Michel Coudroy Pomerol and Lalande de Pomerol and finally Jean Claude Paret in Montagne St Emillion.
Work is still continuing in most vineyards and a combination of factors is tipping the 2010 vintage towards being splendid wines.
The general feedback has been the great quality of the Merlot picked so far, with the grapes giving moderate yields with a lot of concentration.
Also the natural alcohol content is about 13% in all areas, with excellent acidity levels which should result in well balanced wines.
The grape skins are thick and aromatic with ripe pips and there is no evidence of vegetal characteristic which can give the wines a green pepper aroma, overall expect well balanced smooth tasting wines.
And finally all the wine makers commented on the great colour of the must which has powerful strong aromas of black and red fruit.
The vintage is now nearing its close and we shall soon be able to judge how good these wines will be.
Dinner is about ready and I'm opening a Vieux Champs de Mars 1998 which Regis kindly gave to me earlier today.He was delighted that everyone in Ireland enjoyed the Pelan Bellvue 2001 offer.
O yes the best part of wine making, the tasting.
Cheers, Paddy
Speaking of 1998, I had a 1998 Mas du Novi "Novi" last week and it was absolutely amazing! My wife and I had bought some striploin steaks and made a rich, creamy brandy & mushroom sauce. The Novi paired perfectly and we imagined it a hypothetical blend between a deep Cali Zin and a mature Bordeaux (think Pomerol). The current vintage for sale is the 2005 - wonderful now, but I can only imagine what it will be like in 2017!! Just goes to show how well some of the top tier big&powerful Languedoc Syrahs can age.
ReplyDeleteThe bad bews is it was my LAST bottle of the 1998. I've had the pleasure of having that vintage 3 times and it was glorious on each occation (though this last bottle was the best). I do have 1 lonely bottle of the 1999 Novi left. Lest time I had that was Thankgiving 2007 and it was beautiful - I'll probably wait another year or two on that one though (had a '99 Caberlaud in the summer, also great).
I'm totally out of the '98 Champs de Mars, but I always remember that as being my favourite vintage of that wine. Hope you enjoyed it!!