un Monde, des vins

Quoi de mieux pour briller en société, que de parler de vins ? De vins étrangers qui plus est ?

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I’d like to share some of my new experience with wines.

I recently started to purchase foreign wines – it’s not very usual for a Frenchman, especially when he still lives in France! But I got a special offer on a website that offers somes wine from South Africa, Argentina and California (among other regions), so I decided to give it a try.

Well, I have to admit it was a very good surprise: while they’re very different from French wine (some would say less refined), I actually find them quite enjoyable by a newbie like me. Let’s be honest for a second: while I can tell the difference between « piquette » (or « gros rouge qui tâche ») and proper wine, you shouldn’t expect me to tell the difference between wines of different years, or even different grapes. I’m quite new in describing the feeling of wine tasting, so it’s down to whether I like it or not. And I liked what I tried 😛

So I have bought more since (mostly from the same producers) and I take every chance I get to offer some to my friends, so they open their minds and their palette to some novelty!

And now, it’s your turn!
For your eyes only, here is a selection of my favourite foreign wines (which I have very little knowledge of, so I’m sure I’ll get new ones very soon 🙂 )

Number 3 : the 2004 « Shiraz platinum » from Lyngrove estate in South Africa

This is a round, full bodied red wine, with a lot of tanins. And it’s got this South African smoky -almost sapy- aftertaste, which is so peculiar, but actually not bad at all. I tried to have some with Spagetthi bolognese… well, I’m sorry to say it was a fiasco: I think I just wasted this delicious wine! While a wine is supposed to combine with the meal to offer new flavors, here it just covered it, the effect was a disaster. So you should definitely drink this wine with something that’s got some punch!

Number 2: Glass Mountain’s 2006 Chardonnay

Another very good surprise, this time from Markham Vineyards located in the Napa Valley in California. I recently watched the movie « Bottle Shock » in the plane, and I really liked it! For one thing, the scenery seems gorgeous – and then, it shows how Californian wine makers actually won the contest over French wines!
So I gave it a try.
And I discovered a white wine very much like « Pouilly Fuissé » – well, I guess it’s not surprising since they’re both Chardonnay (I learned recently that Bourgogne used mostly two kinds of grapes: Chardonnay for white wine, and Pinot noir for Bourgogne). But still, I was stunned to recognize this stony character, which is supposed to own only to this terroir! So I got some more bottles, and then I found a dry and yet flavourful white wine, very drinkable on its own.
I spoke with a Canadian relative recently, and I was arguing over the fact that a French wine really was related to the very special piece of land on which it grew, while US wines were very often blends of grapes coming from all over the region. I have to admit: they know how to do it because I can tell you it’s good, but it’s a bit shocking for the Frenchman I am. And he also told me that one of the reason probably was that they wanted to have a consistent wine over the years (and blending wines allowed them to do that) because the customer wants to be sure that he always gets the same quality.Well, that’s definitely a different approach, isn’t it?
Anyway, the reason for all this talking is that I found out that this theory wasn’t working, because I didn’t retrieve in my second wine tasting the rocky flavour I so much noticed in the first place.
But maybe it’s just me…

Number 1 : Finca la Moras, from San Juan in Argentina

My winner actually are 2 wines from the same producer:

This blend of Cabernet-Sauvignon and Shiraz is a very powerful one: the sharpness of the cabernet quickly disappear to let the smoothness of the shiraz in, but really also prevents the shiraz from being overwhelming. A very good wine, which should also be drank with appropriate food… or why not by itself?

This wine would actually make it to the top3 of the best wines I ever drank. It’s round, full-body, spicy, flavourful… the first sip is like a blast in your mouth and you can’t wait but to have more of it! A delicious blend of Malbec and Bonarda (first time I ever hear of that!) for a truly awesome experience for all the wine lovers 🙂

Well, that’s about it for now, but I shall be back for more!

Billets liés :

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