Preamble Tasting February
2000
Love at First Sip
Conor McGuinness
1. Mumm Cuvee Napa Rose, Napa, California NV
Sorry, missed this one.
McCabes/Various, £13.99
2. Manzanilla 'La Gitana', Vinicola Hidalgo s.a., Spain
Lovely fino taste. Fine example.
McCabes, £9.50
3. 'Unico', Oba, Pfalz, Germany, 1997
Quite southerly, south and west is France. Beautiful nose; tropical fruits.
Full bodied, rounded, minerally, off dry. This one is made for Michael
Grant, in Sligo, and is only available here. 49% Muscat, 49% Gewurtz,
2% Riesling for freshness.
Octavius, £7.99 (£9.99 elsewhere)
4.Ungsteiner Herrenberg, Riesling Spatlese Trocken, OmP, Pfalz, Germany,
1994
Nose not huge but interesting. Palate of gooseberries, honey, apples.
Nicely integrated wood. Excellent.
McCabes etc. £8.95
5. Heppenheimer Schneckerberg, Grauer Burgunder Spatlese, Trocken,
OmP , Pfalz, Germany.
Deep orange yellow. Slightly sweet, rosewater nose. Comes from north of
Pfalz, where Grauer Burgunder is Pinot Gris. Sweet up front but quite
dry later. 13.5%. Nice.
£8.95
6. Chateau de Lastours, Cuvee Simone Descamps,Corbieres 1991
On a walking route. Terraced vineyard. Interesting nose; berry fruits,
warm. Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan.
£7.99 in Jus de Vine Castleknowk, but all gone.
7. Marilyn Merlot, Napa, California, 1998
Actually 85% Merlot with 15% Cabernet Franc, this is a deep, silky red,
with a nose of fruitcake. Soft tannins and velvety fruit, big, good balance,
will improve for a few years. Superb label is a collectors item: Marilyn
with a red chiffon covering half her face and upper body, taken by
Milton Greene. Unfortunately the wine doesn't rate the price.
£20
8. Prunaiolo Vino Rosso, Colli Toscana Centrale, Tuscany, 1996
An ecological producer at the edge of the Chianti Classico region. Century
old roots with new vines grafted on, and growing up old maple trees. Lovelyrich,
clean ruby colour. Woodland berries, dry. Sangiovese 80% plus 20% three
ancient grapes; (Rasperosso, Pruno bagno, Ble de Malvasia?). They also
do a Chianti, available from McCabes at £9.95.
Octavius £15.95
9. Cline Ancient Vines Zinfandel, Contra Costa Couty, California
1997
Lovely dep red, looks young. Huge, concentrated nose. Incredibly fruity,
good acid, fresh, ripe, complex tannins, white pepper. Still a shrpness
that I don't like, but since I don't like Zin anyway then giving it a
half-star rating at this price means it must be pretty good. Cline specialises
in Rhone varieties and Zinfandel.
McCabes £15.99
10. Quady Elysium, Black Muscat, Central Coast, California, 1997
Beautiful orange taste, hint of roses. Slight sweetness I could do
without. Still lovely. Does go with chocolate but not as well as Domaine
de la Rectorie in my opinion.
McCabes £7.50 half bottle