It’s rare to find wines like our pick of the week, from Chile. Widely known for their mass produced bulk wines, Chile has a long way to go in terms of quality. But things are changing in this beautiful land in Latin America. Small family producers are emerging, reclaiming old traditions and terroir driven wines. This bottle comes from De Martino, a family farm in the Itata Valley south in Chile. It’s one of the oldest wine growing regions in the country, stretching more than 500 years back. Made from 100% Cinsault, coming from 35-40 year old vines. The soil is rich in granite and valley holds a Mediterranean climate. It’s cool and has seasons, much like Europe. It’s spontaneously fermented in steel, and stored in old used oak barrels. It’s a really fun wine with a lot of personality. Great with food, excellent on its own. Tasting Notes
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Fall is here and we can feel a chill in the air. Soon we`ll see all the beautiful autumn colours on the trees. To celebrate the season we have found a beer this week from one of our favourite brewers. The beer world's answer to Gandalf, Jan Van Den Steen. We have visited the brewery two times and everytime it was a blast. Jan is an icon and also one of the funniest persons we have ever been with. IT also helps that he makes some of the best beers in the world! This week we have gone for the Saison d'Erpe-Mere, a lovely blond beer, perfect for this season. Tasting notesGlazen Toren Saison d'Erpe-Mere - 129,90 kr Beautiful yellow colour. A bit dusky so not see through. Sweet on the nose with hints of herbs, lemon and white flowers. Good acidity that cleans the palate. Nice and creamy in the mouth. Hint of green apples and lemon as well. Very easy to drink. This is great with spicy foods, all kinds of fish and chicken. But also great to enjoy by itself. The Weather plays a big role in how good wines a vintage produces. The further north you go, the cooler it gets and the more impact the weather will have. The Champagne region in France is a great example of this. It also holds a story on how an exceptional challenging year can turn into gold. The spring of 2014 started out great. There was no frost and plenty of sunny days, bringing a successful flowering to the vineyards. This gave hope for the farmers. But as July came around, rainfall were severe and kept going for almost two months. Temperatures dropped and the whole summer looked disastrous for the wine growers. Fortunately September dried up the fields, somewhat saving the harvest. It wasn’t great, but usable.
Tasting Notes
Autumn is officially here, but we are clinging to the last rays of sunlight and hoping for an Indian summer. And we have found a perfect wine to go into the weekend and it comes from a country not known for its wines. When we think of Luxembourg we don’t really think of wine making, but the country is situated not far from two of the greatest white wine districts in the world, the Alsace in France and Mosel-Sahr-Ruhwer in Germany. So it should come as no surprise to learn that they actually make some fine wines here as well and this weeks wine i a suburb white that is very easy to drink. The Domaine “Clos des Rochers “ estate has been owned and managed by the Clasen family, since in the 19th century. The 16 hectares of vines belonging to the Domaine “Clos des Rochers” are spread across the best slopes of the villages of Grevenmacher and Wormeldange as well as in the village of Ahn. The vines are exclusively planted with noble varieties, Auxerrois, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Riesling. Tasting notes:Clos des Rochers Grevenmacher Fels Auxerrois 2021 - 285,- kr Sharp and lemony on the nose. In the mouth the acidity shines through, and one automatically thinks of riesling, but then the wine takes an unexpected turn and becomes fuller and richer with a very nice body. It is long and elegant and very easy to drink. Will work very well with all white fish dishes and as an aperitif. Wines from the famous Amalfi coast, south in Italy, might be a new aquaintace for some of you. Known for its dramatic scenery, rugged terrain and picturesque villages, it's actually one of the most prestigious wine growing regions in Italy. It's part of the larger Campania region and boasts a number of ancient grapes, grown with pride. The first vines were actually planted way back in 600 BC by the Greeks, and today the Amalfi DOC features red, white, rosé and some sparkling varieties. The region holds a Mediterranean climate, with dry summers, mild winters and plenty of sun. The soil mainly consists of limestone and clay, giving the wines a structured and earthy touch. The region is also widely known for its great fruit production, especially lemons. And the fruity character of the region plays into the wines as well. We've selected a beautiful white for you this week, from Tenuta San Francesco. Situated in Tramonti, the green heart of the Amalfi Coast, in 2004, four local vinegrowers founded Tenuta San Francesco in order to rivive the long-standing viticultural tradition of the region and their family past. This is a blend of Falanghina 65%, Biancolella 30%, and Pepella 5% grown in a cool area that features great temperature changes. It's fermented in steel tanks and 1-2 months in bottle before release. No oak. Tasting Notes
Sometimes it is good to grab a bottle that you just know will be good. For me this red from the producer Vajra in Piemonte is one of those wines. Great quality at a great price! The Vajra Langhe Rosso is a blend of five grapes, the typical Piemonte grapes Nebbiolo, Barbera and Dolcetto, but also Freisa and Albarossa, grapes that are native to Piemonte, but not as much in use as the others. The result is a fresh and fine wine that is great with most Italian foods. Tasting notes:Vajra Langhe Rosso 2022 - 168,-
Fruity on the nose with red and black berries dominating. In the mouth it is very fine and elegant. The red and black berries dominate here as well with some herbal notes in addition. Great with pizza or pasta dishes like bolognese. Will also work very well as a comfort wine! This is a special bottle. Cider from Hardanger is to Norway, what Champagne is to France. And there are many excellent ciders being hand crafted in Hardanger. Apple farmer Olav Bleie is one of the best producers we have. Focusing on varieties such as Discovering, Aroma and Summer Red, he is continually experimenting with new ideas. And «Svans» is such a project. See, Olav produces one of Norway’s best Ice Ciders. In this production the last part, the tail (Svans), doesn’t have the right concentration for the Ice Cider. Instead of scraping it, he came up with the brilliant idea of using this in a dry cider. The result was astonishing, so much so that he won Cider of the year 2021. The cider is unique and to me holds some of the same qualities you’d find in a top end Riesling from The Mosel Valley in Germany. Complexity and acidity is impressive and makes it a very strong candidate for pairing with tricky food combinations. It will handle Asian dishes that packs sweetness and spice, as well as rich fatty dishes from pork. It’s also a quite meditative drinking experience on its own. Tasting Notes
We`ve had an up and down summer and July hasn't been very nice. But we are not ready to give up on nice summer days yet, and welcome in August with some very nice drops of white wine from Portugal. The Douro valley stretches from Spain and into Portugal as it follows the Douro river. It is famous for its wines both in Spain and Portugal, and in Portugal especially for the Port wines that are made here. But they also make some fine white wines and this week's wine is a fine and reasonably priced one from the producer Luis Seabra. Tasting notes:Luis Seabra Xisto Ilimitado 2021 - 235,-
Nice smell of apples and pears. Got a bit of weight to it which is balanced nicely with good acidity. AIn the mouth it is long and flavorful with citrus and green apples the main flavours. Food pairing: Grilled fish, fish or white meat stew, butter sauces, sea food, pasta, white meat and soft cheese I took this image on Thursday May 24th 2012. Shot on an early iPhone, with dramatic use of filters. It’s of my good friend John Kaare and we’re at the Rhône river in the small village of Tain-l’Hermitage. An important city for wine, as it’s the epicentre for the famous Hermitage wines. We’d just completed a long day of filming, arriving in the picturesque village as the sun was setting. Eager to get a glass outside before the sun set, I ran into the reception of the hotel and got a random bottle of white. It was phenomenal. Rich and spicy, buttery but floral. It was unlike anything else I’ve tasted. It was a white Hermitage and my new favorite wine. As I was new to this style of wine, I was shocked and embarrassed as I entered my local Vinmonopolet store to stock up on my new everyday wine. It proved to be both rare and expensive, and very far from an everyday wine. This was my introduction to the Marsanne and Rousanne grape. Recently I visited the excellent Vinmonopolet store at Aker Brygge. One of the women working there waved me over and made me aware of the bottle we’ve selected as wine of the week. «This is from Saint-Péray, one of the most exciting regions to watch in that area. And it keeps getting better every single year» she said. Saint-Péray is about half an hour drive south of Tain-l’Hermitage, where I had my Aha experience. «It has much more of a well cellared, expensive Burgundy style to it, than what you might expect. It’s 100% Marsanne», she continued. I was sold. Later that evening I tasted it; it was fantastic. Tasting Notes
July hasn't been the best here in Norway. And while the temperatures in the Mediterranean are soaring we endure 12 degrees and rain. We`ll try to find some comfort in a glass of wine and this week we have found a little gem made on the slopes of the legendary vulcano Vesuvio. Tenuta Cavalier Pepe is the name of the winery of the Pepe family, which has for generations been dedicated to the production of wines, marketed throughout Italy and internationally. The winery has 60 hectares of vineyards and 11 hectares of olive groves located in Luogosano, Sant’Angelo all’Esca and Taurasi, in the province of Avellino. This is the heart of Irpinia, the premier winegrowing area of Campania. This weeks wine is made from Coda di Volpe Bianco grapes and harvested by hand at full ripeness, are seperatly selected and pressed whole, so only the seedlings must first be decanted in cold and then inoculated for alcoholic fermentation. The fermentation takes place in low temperature steel. The wine is aged for 4 months sur-lie and at least 2 months in the bottle. Tasting notes:Cavalier Pepe Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio Bianco 2021 - 199,90 kr A beautiful, slightly golden straw yellow colour. On the nose an intense aroma of yellow fruit and Mediterranean scrub, with prevalence of mineral notes. In the mouth it is full, round, complex and persistent with good acidity and long lasting. Great with grilled seafood. |
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