Boschendal Grande Cuvée Brut Pinot Noir Chardonnay 2007

It's Valentine's day so a bubbly was in order with tonight's fish soup and sour dough bread. It's cold, dark and snowing outside yet warm inside and this bubbly is very dry with a lot of flavour. 5 years old after a vintage in 2007.
I imported this one myself so it's not available in Systembolaget, but it should be. It's around 150SEK and worth a try wine.
"300 years of winemaking at Boschendal have created a tradition of excellence. Only top quality grapes, picked at optimum ripeness and sensitively vinified are used to ensure that each bottle bears the distinctive Boschendal hallmark."
"This Méthode Cap Classique uses the classic combination of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. Extended lees contact gives the wine a luxurious mouthfeel, with elegant bubbles bearing flavours of green apples and white pears complement with a hint of baked biscuit."

KWV Chardonnay 2010

I always have white wine in my fridge, especially during summer. The sun sets here after 9pm at the moment, and it's not yet summer. So when it's as warm as it's been this last weekend, I like to relax and have a glas of white wine. My favourite at the moment is Chardonnay, and there's two I pick. The one is the KWV and the other is the Drostdy Hof, but more about the Drostdy Hof another time.

Tonight it was roast on the menu, with potatoes and spinach leaves. Usually a good meal for a red, but because of the fantastic weather, the heat, and the sun which seems to never go down up here in the north, the pick was the KWV Chardonnay.

It's not as yellow as you would expect, and the smell is not as strong, but the taste is unmistakably Chardonnay. A slightly wooded dry white wine, fresh and fruity with tropical and citrus flavours. It has to however be very cold.

69kr is a bargain if you ask me. Have a look at Systembolaget, nr.7055.

Uruka Tannat 2008

What a find, thanks to the South African winemaker Riaan van der Spuy. The wine is called Uruka, and the name is made up of the three first letters of the word Uruguay and the last two letters from the word South Africa in Afrikaans, "Suid Afrika". I have never heard of the grape Tannat, until I drank the wine, but apparently it is the most commonly used grape in Uruguay.

The colour is blood red to brown. The fragrance on the nose is very much like Shiraz, but with some liquarice mixed with white chocolate, if you can picture that. There's also a smell of spices with creamy caramel, oak and a hint of plums. It smelt fantastic. Really my kind of wine. The taste was chocolate and oak barrels and very peppery. The end tones raised the taste a lot, so instead of fading, it lasted a long time in your mouth.

For this wine we tried Lamb chops and Risotto with Funnel Chanterelle. It was a really great fit. A creamy red wine with Risotto.

The price is 89kr at Systembolaget which is a bargain.

Le Donne Dei Boschi 2009

Wine tasting 9

I'm all for sparkling wines, and experimenting with it, but this wine is too sweet for me to be taken seriously. It only has 5% alcohol content which makes me wonder what the wine maker was thinking when they created it. If you're looking for a low alcohol alternative for a sunny afternoon, then give it a try, if you don't think the price is too much.

Panel's rating: 2,7 out of 5

Price: 98SEK

Country: Piedmont, Italy

Grape: Brachetto

Colour: Light red

Nose: This wine has a youthful, lightly perfumed scent, with hints of cherries, strawberries and herbs.

Taste: Very sweet with hints of berries (Cherries and Strawberries).

Wine Tasting number 9

Last Friday we had our ninth wine tasting. This time there was 6 friends, and we tasted 7 wines. The winner for the night was clearly the 2009 Australian Shiraz, called Lionheart of the Barossa, from Dandelion Cellars, which not only tasted fantastic but had a really well designed label. The Italien wine Trabucchi d'Illasi Valpolicella Le Mariette 2009 was in second place and the Portuguese wine Meia Pipa 2008 in third.

Le Donne Dei Boschi 2009

Nottage Hill Riesling 2009

Simonsig Chardonnay 2010

Meia Pipa 2008

Trabucchi d'Illasi Valpolicella Le Mariette 2009

Dandelion Vineyards Lionheart of the Barossa Shiraz 2009

Domaine du Vieux Lazaret 2008

Saskia Chenin Blanc Viognier 2009

If you have some extra cash or would like to buy someone a really good bottle of wine as a gift, then see if you can find this bottle. Called Saskia, and is from Miles Mossop Wines in South Africa. It's a blend of 71% percent Chenin Blanc and 29% Viognier. The wine is named after Miles (Winemaker) and Samantha Mossop's daughter, Saski-Jo. I love the way they write on the label, that this wine capture the character of a mischievous young daughter.

According to the Miles, the wine is an intensely complex wine with aromas of toasted almonds, honeysuckle, limes and white peach. There are hints of tropical fruits such as mango and pineapple which are interwoven with stunning spicy aromas of flint and white pepper.

For me the smell was so intense, as if you'd cut through a huge mellon and stuck your nose right in the middle. The colour is a golden yellow with hints of green.

He carries on to say that the palate is full and rich, mirroring the nose with flavours of toasted almond brioche, apricots and peach. A rich mid palate accentuated by a creaminess and finishing with a long textured mouth-feel and a vibrant acidity. The blend is beautifully balanced with no dominant varietal or notes.

Our food pairing tonight was lasagna, made with homemade fresh pasta sheets, paired with a simple green salad and Fresh Mozzarella. I loved the spiciness off the food with the softness of the wine, especially the Vionier aftertaste. According to the winemaker you should try it with seared yellowfin tuna marinated in wasabi, soy sauce and pickled ginger served on wilted spinach and aromatic basmati rice or crayfish bouillabaisse.

A fantastic wine. A bit pricy at 189SEK, but really worth a try, you won't be disappointed.

Here's the link to Systembolaget and to Mossop Wines if you'd like to read more.

50 Creative Wine Labels

If you're into wine label design, have a look at Creative Fan, as the profile 50 Creative Wine Labels. My favourite is to the left.

L'Hereu de Raventós i Blanch Reserva 2007

I've said it before that I'm a fan of Cava and last night we tried a new Cava a friend found at Systembolaget, the local liquor store. If you don't know Cava, then let me see if I can help out. As you have an area in France called Champagne, so too is there an area in Spain called Catalonia, which makes Sparkling wines. If the wine is from that area, then it's allowed to be called a Cava. Read this article for more information on Cava.

If you like Brut, then try this Cava. Typically dry, typically fresh and a mix of winter apples on the nose. The taste is a mix of yellow apples and grapefruit. Very good indeed. Living in Sweden, I now get to try a lot of wines from other countries, which also means getting to know grape varieties I've never heard of. This Cava is a blend of 60% Macabeu, 20% Xarel-Lo and 20% Parellada.

Now it's not always we make food that suits a Cava or Sparkling Wine, but there are nights when nothing but a good Cava will do. Last night we made Alfredo Pasta, with baby Spinach, cream and Parmesan, accompanied by thin shaved beef wrapped around button mushrooms, dipped in flour, then fried. Such a lot of flavours mixed with a very dry Cava was really great.

Not bad for 99kr, see Systembolaget.se

Lat 42 Rioja 1999

One of my favourite wines of all times it has to be said. Had it the first time more than two years ago, when we tasted the 2001 vintage during the first wine tasting, where it scored 3 out of 5, then we tasted the 2002 vintage during the third wine tasting, where it scored 4 out of 5 and again the 2002 vintage during the fourth wine tasting, where it scored 3 out of 5.

This however is the 1999 vintage. I found it by chance at the beginning of the year, and bought ten bottles, of which this was unfortunately the last one. It's not often you find an 11 year old wine for close to 80kr, which is as good as this one. It's very woody and such a wonderful smell. I will admit that it's not everyone's cup of tea, but if you love Pinotage from South Africa, then you'll love this. Dark, and very bold.

For this wine we made a traditional lamb dish from South Africa called Biriyani. Originally from Malaysia, but have krept into the South African culture over a very long time. Lots of spices, mixed with the lamb, basmati rice and lentils, served with fresh coriander. The wine lasted long after dessert was done, and is fantastic after the meal all by itself as well. If you're into Spanish wines like I am, try this, but be careful, it is a bit wild. Tame it by making a spicy lamb dish like Biriyani.

Here's the link to Systembolaget. They currently have only the 2003 vintage in stock, which I have not yet tasted.

Below you can see that the cork is a little mouldy, not because the wine got air, but just because it's so old. 11 years. You can also see that in the colour of the wine. More brown than red. All the tannins are gone, yet the wine remains powerful in the nose and the taste.

Flat Roof Manor Shiraz Mourvèdre Viognier 2008

South Africa, here we come. I have a friend who always tries and finds a wine from South Africa that I haven't had. Today was another surprise from a well known wine farm in South Africa called Uitkyk, called Flat Roof Manor. The wine is named after one the Cape's three surviving, two storied, flat roofed 18th Century houses near Stellenbosch.

I wrote a month ago about a wine from the Darling district North of Cape Town that was a blend of Shiraz and Mourvèdre. This wine however is a blend of three well known grapes in the red grapes Shiraz and Mourvèdre, along with the white grape Viognier. Estelle Lourens, the winemaker, did a fantastic job. Those three grapes work really well together, the peppery, dry Shiraz mixed with earthy, fruity Mourvèdre and a dash of floral Viognier. It's smooth and very round in your mouth, with a long after taste of flowers and pepper.

To match this wine tonight, we thought we'd make a very traditional South African dish called Bobotie. It arrived with the Indonesian, malay slaves in the 1700s along with a host of new spices. This dish is excellent with yellow rise and raisins. The spices mixed very well with this wine, however, I'd like to try some more meatier dishes with the wine in the future.

Another bargain at 89kr, have a look atSystemBolaget.se