A spare afternoon and The Sampler

I don't usually have spare time in London in the afternoon but when I did the other day I took myself off to The Sampler and spent a very happy one and half hours tasting their wines.

They have an amazing number of wines to sample categorised as "rieslings and sweet wines", "italian varietals", "icons" and the such. The shop was quiet which was a real benefit as it meant I could concentrate and take notes. Last time I was in it was a Saturday and the crowds at a weekend are not conducive to contemplation of stunning wines such as Chateau Rayas 1996.

At over £8 per glass and in the "icons" cabinet this seems steep for a 25ml sample but the wine was absolutely worth every penny of that. It was a great example of why the concept of the The Sampler is such a good one. When else would I get the opportunity to taste such a wine? Never I'm sure. My detailed tasting notes are up on Adegga.

Mind you having tried the Rayas I then moved over to the Ridge Montebello 1996 with very high expectations. After all here was a wine retailing for a lot of money with quite an "aura" to it. Guess what? It was faulty. Well, it was in my opinion. It had quite a lot of "nail varnish" aroma about. I gave it the benefit of the doubt to begin with but then shared my thoughts with two members of staff. One agreed with me and the other thought it was ok. Now I don't know what a Ridge Montebello should smell of but I was pretty sure I shouldn't be able to smell quite so much nail varnish. However The Sampler happily refunded my card with the cost of the sample so it was a win-win situation (although I'd still like to know what a Ridge tastes like).

I also tried a number of other wines I probably wouldn't get a chance to savour such as a 1990 Boillot Gevrey Chambertin and a 1988 Chateua Haut Batailley.

Roll on another free afternoon in London as I'll be back to The Sampler.

Sassicaia's little brother

In common with most wine enthusiasts I’ve heard of Sassicaia but don’t know much about it beyond the fact it’s an expensive Italian wine. So offered the opportunity to buy a bottle of Le Difese from the producer of Sassicaia I thought I’d do some investigating. And where does the other wine – Ornellaia – that’s usually mentioned at the same time fit in?

Sassicaia was one of the first Italian reds made in the image of Bordeaux. Vines were planted in 1948 in the Bolgheri region of Italy as it was noted that the gravel was similar to the Graves region. However the wines did not receive much attention initially. They were seen to be too different - not Italian like brunello or sangiovese - but in 1968 things began to turn more positive as the wine received reviews worthy of a top end Bordeaux. This led to changes in the winery with the introduction of wooden fermentation vats to replace the steel ones and the use of French barriques, an unheard of innovation in Italy at that time. Things then only went from strength to strength and the rest is history as they say. Today it has its own DOC an indication of the prestige in which it is held.

So what was the Le Difese 2008 like? It's a cabernet/sangiovese blend using declassified Sassicaia grapes but made with much of the attention to detail the more expensive wine has had. Detailed tasting notes are up on Adegga but I was impressed. Let’s just say it cost me £16 or so and was worth it and it makes me want to buy a bottle of the.Guidalberto which is Sassicaia's second wine. I don’t think I’ll stretch to the Sassaicaia itself at £109 through The Wine Society however.

I also have a bottle of Le Volte 2007 which is Ornellaia's second wine the story here being much the same as Sassicaia's but more on that in another post.

Naked Wines

I've finished the case supplied Naked Wines and I’m suitably impressed. I got a wide range of varietals from the main wine producing regions and there wasn’t a disappointment amongst them.

Detailed tasting notes are up on Adegga and as I’ve tasted the wines I’ve also put my thoughts up on the Naked Wines site.

Two of the wines stood out for me for different reasons.

The Klein Riesling is a great wine to give to someone who thinks all German wines are sweet. It really is a very good German riesling.

The Arabella was quite a refined wine. It could so easily have just been another blockbusting shiraz from a hot climate but the addition of the cabernet sauvignon and merlot gave it structure and balance and made it a wine to be appreciated rather than just a decent wine to have with a barbecue – or should I say “braai” as its from South Africa. Well worth the money.

Naked Wines have made it through as finalists in the Orange Innovation award as part of the National Business Awards. It looks as though this is in recognition of their innovative approach and "breaking the mould" in buying wine fron producers and supplying wine to consumers. The nomination reads as follows:

The company supports independent winemakers from around the world, investing in them in return for preferential prices which are then passed onto customers. Its proving to be a highly successful business model with huge potential for profitable growth - hence their nomination today alongside all the other finalists who so richly deserve to be named and celebrated. In today’s uncertain market, bravery, energy and creativity are needed more than ever.

A good summary of what they are all about. Would I buy from them - absolutely!