News and updates.

6th May 2008

Robert Parker

Wine writer turned wine entrepreneur Robert Joseph hits out at the wine industry in this weeks Harpers Trade gazette suggesting that it is all our fault for allowing the dominance of the other Robert on the trade. Whilst Im no fan of Robert Parker and his dubious "points" system, its hard to see how one can blame either him or the industry. For Robert Joseph the attack hints of sour grapes - if only he was so influential - but whilst some wineries will be seduced into Parkerising their wines, the vast majority are content to get on with doing what they do best, i.e making their wines as best as they possibly can. Robert Parker is an enthusiast whose magazine has achieved guru status amongst many consumers, but it is the consumer that has made it so, not the industry. I would wish it wasnt the case, but if not him it would be someone else - Robert Joseph maybe!

14 April 2008

Post Budget Blues

One month on from a budget that saw a 14p increase in the cost of wine imposed on the trade, the talk is now about mandatory minimum pricing. I havent looked at wine prices in any supermarket recently, but apparently it is now cheaper for some wines than it was before the duty increase. Great news for the punters, but the blatant disregard of the governments intentions may set the big boys up for a fall. We may end up like Canada where a lower limit is imposed on us, pushing even the cheapest wines over a fiver. We have found that a combination of producer price increases, the falling pound and the budget has in most cases done just that. We still have a few bargains though and will continue to sell them while we can.

7th Jan 2008

Charles Sydney, Courtier en Vin in the Loire writes:

Back in 2002 I quoted Pierre Couly, ‘doyen’ and mentor of Chinon who said we shouldn’t worry about the crummy summer as it was only ‘the first three and the last three weeks that matter’. Pierre was right then – and he’s surely right again this year, with its great spring, awful summer and wonderful ‘arrière saison’. But that’s hindsight. At the time, Phil and I did wonder about taking a sabbatical - especially as we returned from holidays on the 20th August, watching the clouds close in, the rain get heavier and the temperature drop as we crossed France : 20° at Perpignan, 16° at Cahors, 14° at Poitiers… Ouch! Then the sun came out and with it a nice steady wind to dry out any outbreaks of rot – ideal weather conditions that stayed with us. Great conditions for those who’d invested the time and care in running the vines properly – 2007 was a great year for showing off the benefits of grassed through vineyards, spring de-budding and summer de-leafing. Those who didn’t get it right – and also the vast majority of organic and biodynamic producers – were heavily hit by mildew, resulting in tiny yields of unripe grapes. 2007 is also a great year to show off the benefits of using the sustainable rules of la Lutte Raisonnée! During harvest, the growers were smiling, even if there was a clear touch of ‘fingers crossed’ to comments about the similarities to 2002 and 1996. Although the grapes were healthy and degrees high, acidities seemed high too. The reality is of course more complex and reflects clearly my earlier comments about vineyard management. Where things are good, the wines are way better than in 2002, reflecting changes in the way the vines are run, giving much greater ripeness than before. However, yields across the region are low, often down to 40 hectos/hectare or even less. In Muscadet the best wines are rich, concentrated and balanced – infinitely better than 2006. If not a ‘great’ vintage, 2007 is in that line of ‘classic’ Loire vintages like 1996 and 2002. The Anjou Chenins as always cover a multitude of facets, with ‘base’ wines being as lean and miserable as ever. However, those growers fully committed to the new idea of hyper-ripe barrel-fermented dry whites have made some stunningly fresh and concentrated cuvees. Along the slopes of the Coteaux du Layon and Aubance, the better producers made some of the most glorious moelleux cuvees, though to be honest, in some cases their main problem was keeping potential degrees down as pickings were coming in at 22°, 23° and even more! In Chinon, Bourgueil and Saumur Champigny, the reds are a surprise. Although we saw growers waiting as long as possible before picking – and then picking selectively, rejecting those bunches that were unripe or which had started to shrivel - we didn’t really believe they would achieve the phenolic maturity needed to take Loire Cabernet Francs beyond that green herbaceous-ness and give them that pulpy fat and fruit we’ve seen in recent vintages. Tasting the wines with the best growers has been a real treat as even where wines have been picked at below 13°, the maturity is there and we’ve still got that great jammy fruit, depth and balance. Again, 2007 walks on 2002. Up river in Vouvray and Montlouis, the heavier tuf soils meant growers had to pick early, so even the best producers stuck largely to making dry and demi-sec wines, with moelleux a rarity. Where the vines were not treated sensibly (and this includes organic producers), there was a lot of mildew and grey rot. Where the work was done, growers have made some delightfully fresh, elegant wines – and over in Montlouis a number of go-ahead youngsters have made some truly superb barrel-fermented dry Chenins. To the south in the Haut Poitou and east in the Touraine, Sancerre and Pouilly, there are some great Sauvignons – nicely typé and concentrated (low yields helped here, even if that’s certainly going to affect prices in Sancerre!). 2007 is lovely in the Touraine, HP and Pouilly, a little leaner in Sancerre where they had (even) more rain over the summer. To my mind, this isn’t a great vintage – but it is (again!) a real ‘Loire’ classic. A year for critical enjoyment, then, 2007 is way, way better than ever we had reason to expect – hence our christening 2007 as ‘The Great Escape’. Enjoy! Charles supplies our ever popular Touraine Traditionelle Rose and has his finger firmly on the pulse of the Loire Valley!

26th July

Santana and other wines

Another large in house tasting yesterday led to a few surprises. We were disappointed that more of the New World wines looked at were tasting rather poorly, including wines that we had previously rated. However we were pleased to see a range of recherche reds from South West France were as idiosyncratic as ever so watch this space for the addition of a Cahors or two and maybe even a Cotes de Frontonnais. We also tasted a range from Dorset-born James Frost at Quinta de SantAna in Estremadura in Portugal. A really quality white and rose were slightly let down by a ho hum red, although the reserva was very nice but unpriced! Finally another great pair from Kiwi producer Tohu, which we will definitely be listing in the next two or three weeks.

3rd July

The Singing Wine Rep

A real treat today - lovely wine and a song. Maori wine company Tohu sent their Kiwi rep, Lucy, to persuade us to buy their wines. Not hard once we tasted her offerings but for starters we had a traditional Maori song of welcome which confirmed the concert hall acoustics of Mill Farm and her wonderful singing voice. The wines? Well the ones we tasted were predictably delicious and with snazzy packaging and a keen pricing policy we were tempted. If we bite they will be up here as soon as!

28th June 07

Definitive Italy Tasting

Another London tasting which seemed like a good idea to attend. This time a tour around the Italian wine regions with some of our suppliers and a look at some potential new wines. As usual at these events there was far too much to take in in one day. Still, some wines stood out. Very classy Barolo from Boroli, top quality Soave Classico from Inama and a couple of fantastic Alto Adige wines from the Kerner and Muller Thurgau grapes. The last two were rather a revelation. Quality overall was very high, but so in many cases were the prices. Nevertheless, a few of these may make it onto the list in the near future. Returned home exhausted having fallen asleep on the tube and going right round the system! The daily perils of being a wine merchant!

20 June 2007

A Tale Of Two Chablis

Last weekend I had the opportunity to drink two very different chablis, a Fourchaume Premier Cru 2000 from La Chablisienne and a 2005 Chablis Villages from Naulin. MMe Naulins wine really stood out with elegance, freshness and quite complex flavours. Really well made and a lovely drink. The La Chablisienne by contrast was a bit tired and lacked depth although the elegance was still there. Quite a contrast and instructive too - Dont keep chablis too long unless its from a great vintage and a really top producer. Sadly MMe Naulin has run out of her 2005 and we will be moving to 06 this week. If you still have some of her 05 dont waste it!

14th June 07

News and views

We had one of our regular in-house tastings today- as usual a lot of duffers with one or two gems. Notably a rather good chardonnay from Casas del Bosque in the Casablanca Valley, Chile. Casablanca appears to be one of the best places for growing chardonnay in Chile, cool but with a long ripening season. Also found an interesting merlot tannat blend from Uruguay which we thought had legs. Quite complex with a long dry finish it was the sort of red that would go perfectly with roast lamb. There were a few others which may or may not find their way onto the list - watch this space!

21st April

Live!

We are now live! Come and take advantage of our well selected range and get maximum discount by buying 24 bottles - Free delivery too.

April 3rd 2007

Spanish Trip

After a succesful buying trip to Southern Spain we have increased the range of wines from Piqueras in Almansa. Look out for the new Syrah, Valcanto, which is definitely worth its reasonable price. Those of you who like their wines will find the new vintages of the Reserva and Blanco really excellent. All the new wines will be in stock mid April.

14th April 2007

Going Live

We are finally going live with the new site, which brings a wider choice and a more up to date feel to our on line shop. We will be continually adding content to the site and hoping for feedback from you about its usability. We hope to make this a regular stop for your wine shopping. Any problems or queries, please contact us on sales@quantockabbey.co.uk.