CHARDONNAY and Pinot Noir are regarded as loners in the world of wine.
They have what it takes to make exceptional wines without a partner. Most other grapes can do with a friend or two in the bottle.
The blending process can bring out the best in the art of the winemaker, but why do they do it in the first place?
The simpler answer is that they blend wine made from different grape varieties in order to add more complexity to the flavour and texture of a wine.
The exercise can also lower or raise acidity levels, adjust the sweetness of a wine, correct a wine with too much oak flavour and raise or lower levels of tannin.
Many of the world’s most famous wines are blends.
Champagne is largely made up of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, Bordeaux normally sees Cabernet Sauvignon and or Merlot along with small amounts of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc.
The rationale here is that Merlot softens the wine, Cabernet Sauvignon adds the necessary structure; Cabernet Franc deepens the colour and some complexity while Petite Verdot brings some aromatic characteristics to the table.
And then there is Châteauneuf-du-Pape, from France’s southern Rhone region, where up to 13 grape varieties can appear in the one bottle!
These blends are made from classic recipes handed down from generation to generation.
Vintners in Australia and Chile have created new blends - Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon springs to mind - in an attempt to produce a new and exciting wines.
The older wine producing nations - like our recommendations from Portugal and Italy today -
have also embraced blending international grapes with indigenous varieties with great success.
Like Ireland, these nations are currently in the midst of their hunting season with the best wildfowl and venison now available.
These wines are a perfect match for these seasonal treats - but will just as easily accompany a traditional Sunday roast.
Pieve de’ Pitti Appunto 2008
Tuscany, Italy
Good Independent Off Licences at €14.99
Sergio Gargari is fast becoming my favourite producer of affordable Tuscan wines. This blend of Sangiovese and Merlot grapes has wonderful jammy aromas with a soft, well-rounded palate of red cherries summer fruits.
Fiuza Premium 2007
Ribatejano, Portugal
Good Independent Off Licences at €14.99
Touriga Nacional is a criminally underrated grape. Here it adds colour along with spicy and chocolate notes on the palate to its Cabernet Sauvignon partner. Seductive blackberry nose making way for a beguiling and complex taste.
Thursday 27 May 2010
Irish Mail On Sunday WIne Column - Nov 08, 2009
THE story of the Carménère grape is worthy of the big screen.
It all but disappeared from its ancestral home in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France, wiped out by the phylloxera bug which devastated vines right across Europe in the mid 1800s.
Then it was re-discovered in Chile - but was called Chilean Merlot because the winemakers were unsure what variety it was. They were also a little unsure how to cultivate it.
So when they realised it was Carménère and launched it in Ireland in 1998 to much fanfare it wasn’t well received.
The wines were ‘green’ because the fruit had been picked too early and had not ripened enough. Now, a decade on, Chile has mastered the grape and is producing great wines from it.
Carménère is the most friendly of grapes. Indeed it is the kind of grape that wants to be friends with everyone.
It wraps itself around the winemaker and tells him he is a great mixer and so it makes great partners in a blend with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.
The grape is also capable of making the most approachable young wines and its friendly characteristics means it is set to seduce many new fans over the coming months.
Carménère has a deep red colour with fine aromas of soft red fruits and some spices and berries. Round in the mouth, it has light tannins which make it a wonderfully easy drinker with flavours of cherries and some earthy notes.
And while best drunk young, grapes from older vines can make wines that are well structured with big tannins and flavours. When blended with other grapes its adds great colour and roundness and that softness in the mouth.
Chile won may plaudits at the recent Irish Wine Awards and my two wines this week won the medals in the New World Under €8 category.
They really would be crowd pleasers at a childrens’ party allowing stressed out parents and their adult guests enjoy good wines that won’t break the bank.
Gato Negro Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
Central Valley, Chile
€7.99 and widely available.
An intense red in the glass with ripe blackberry and black currant aromas. Gentle tannins balance the soft fruit palate and surprisingly long finish. Perfect with those meaty party nibbles.
Antares Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Central Valley, Chile
€7.99 and widely available.
A nice pale lemon colour with hints of mint, melon and pineapple on the nose. The palate is soft and fruity with a medium body and a well balanced acidity. Perfect with fish, salads or chicken.
It all but disappeared from its ancestral home in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France, wiped out by the phylloxera bug which devastated vines right across Europe in the mid 1800s.
Then it was re-discovered in Chile - but was called Chilean Merlot because the winemakers were unsure what variety it was. They were also a little unsure how to cultivate it.
So when they realised it was Carménère and launched it in Ireland in 1998 to much fanfare it wasn’t well received.
The wines were ‘green’ because the fruit had been picked too early and had not ripened enough. Now, a decade on, Chile has mastered the grape and is producing great wines from it.
Carménère is the most friendly of grapes. Indeed it is the kind of grape that wants to be friends with everyone.
It wraps itself around the winemaker and tells him he is a great mixer and so it makes great partners in a blend with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.
The grape is also capable of making the most approachable young wines and its friendly characteristics means it is set to seduce many new fans over the coming months.
Carménère has a deep red colour with fine aromas of soft red fruits and some spices and berries. Round in the mouth, it has light tannins which make it a wonderfully easy drinker with flavours of cherries and some earthy notes.
And while best drunk young, grapes from older vines can make wines that are well structured with big tannins and flavours. When blended with other grapes its adds great colour and roundness and that softness in the mouth.
Chile won may plaudits at the recent Irish Wine Awards and my two wines this week won the medals in the New World Under €8 category.
They really would be crowd pleasers at a childrens’ party allowing stressed out parents and their adult guests enjoy good wines that won’t break the bank.
Gato Negro Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
Central Valley, Chile
€7.99 and widely available.
An intense red in the glass with ripe blackberry and black currant aromas. Gentle tannins balance the soft fruit palate and surprisingly long finish. Perfect with those meaty party nibbles.
Antares Sauvignon Blanc 2009
Central Valley, Chile
€7.99 and widely available.
A nice pale lemon colour with hints of mint, melon and pineapple on the nose. The palate is soft and fruity with a medium body and a well balanced acidity. Perfect with fish, salads or chicken.
Irish Mail On Sunday WIne Column - Nov 01, 2009
Pinot Noir is the grape that winemakers love to hate.
It demands complete attention during the growing season, craving warm days and cool evenings.
The grapes are susceptible to almost every affliction known to attack vines, and can shrivel up and die in heavy Spring frosts.
And if not picked promptly when mature, the thin-skinned fruit can quickly dry out.
Pinot is also one of the most difficult grapes to ferment, and those thin skins means colour retention is always a worry.
Yet when all of these distractions are overcome, it can deliver the most sensuous, velvety wines.
One winemaker described Pinot as ‘the most romantic of wines, with so voluptuous a perfume, so sweet an edge, and so powerful a punch that, like falling in love, they make the blood run hot and the soul wax embarrassingly poetic.’
The spiritual home of Pinot Noir is France’s Burgundy region where a well made wine can have aromas of soft summer fruits - raspberries, cherries and strawberries - along with damp earth, violets, mushrooms, clove and cinnamon.
Traditional Burgundy is also famous for its keynote, farmyard aromas and tends to be full-bodied and rich but not heavy or high in alcohol, with great flavour but without too much acidity or tannins, with a soft, velvety texture.
But being so temperamental, good Pinot from this region can be very expensive.
However, New Zealand, Chile and Australia are producing some excellent Pinots these days at much more affordable prices.
These tend to be lighter, more fruit forward style wines, which still manage to capture the essence and flavours of this noble grape.
These rich, fruity New World wines go perfectly well with poultry and cold meats and soft cheeses - but are a match made in heaven for the earthy, robust nature of game and the accompanying rich stocks.
Cono Sur Pinot Noir 2007
Central Valley, Chile
Widely available at €9.99 or under
Best value entry level Pinot available in Ireland. Rich fruit notes of cherry, raspberry, plum and strawberry on the nose. Soft, summer fruit flavours on the palate with subtle smoked hints. Soft tannins and texture with good length.
Westbrook Pinot Noir 2006
Marlborough, New Zealand
€14.99 in good independent off-licences
Bright and deep in colour. The nose has embellished with dark stone fruits aromas, with a vibrant floral lift. The palate is refined, with delicate layers of fruit and oak, leaving a lingering and elegant mineral finish.
It demands complete attention during the growing season, craving warm days and cool evenings.
The grapes are susceptible to almost every affliction known to attack vines, and can shrivel up and die in heavy Spring frosts.
And if not picked promptly when mature, the thin-skinned fruit can quickly dry out.
Pinot is also one of the most difficult grapes to ferment, and those thin skins means colour retention is always a worry.
Yet when all of these distractions are overcome, it can deliver the most sensuous, velvety wines.
One winemaker described Pinot as ‘the most romantic of wines, with so voluptuous a perfume, so sweet an edge, and so powerful a punch that, like falling in love, they make the blood run hot and the soul wax embarrassingly poetic.’
The spiritual home of Pinot Noir is France’s Burgundy region where a well made wine can have aromas of soft summer fruits - raspberries, cherries and strawberries - along with damp earth, violets, mushrooms, clove and cinnamon.
Traditional Burgundy is also famous for its keynote, farmyard aromas and tends to be full-bodied and rich but not heavy or high in alcohol, with great flavour but without too much acidity or tannins, with a soft, velvety texture.
But being so temperamental, good Pinot from this region can be very expensive.
However, New Zealand, Chile and Australia are producing some excellent Pinots these days at much more affordable prices.
These tend to be lighter, more fruit forward style wines, which still manage to capture the essence and flavours of this noble grape.
These rich, fruity New World wines go perfectly well with poultry and cold meats and soft cheeses - but are a match made in heaven for the earthy, robust nature of game and the accompanying rich stocks.
Cono Sur Pinot Noir 2007
Central Valley, Chile
Widely available at €9.99 or under
Best value entry level Pinot available in Ireland. Rich fruit notes of cherry, raspberry, plum and strawberry on the nose. Soft, summer fruit flavours on the palate with subtle smoked hints. Soft tannins and texture with good length.
Westbrook Pinot Noir 2006
Marlborough, New Zealand
€14.99 in good independent off-licences
Bright and deep in colour. The nose has embellished with dark stone fruits aromas, with a vibrant floral lift. The palate is refined, with delicate layers of fruit and oak, leaving a lingering and elegant mineral finish.
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