Wine Review: Mouton-Cadet Bordeaux Rouge 2005
Posted: 01 February '10 by Niall
Mouton Cadet 2005
Kelly and I picked up this Mouton-Cadet 2005 from our local Sainsburys off-licence a few weeks ago – although we’d never tried this particular red before we thought we were on safe ground: a Bordeaux red; a young wine from the famous Baron Philippe de Rothschild; and it was also on offer, one of the frequent Sainsburys discounts being reduced to £5.00.
The Details
- The Wine: Mouton-Cadet 2005
- Producer: Château Cadet, Baron Philippe de Rothschild
- Region: Bordeaux, France
- Grape: 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc
- Alcohol: 13.3%
- Cost: £5.00 (on offer – normally £5.99)
- We bought it in: Sainsburys
Tasting Notes
The first thing that you’ll notice when pouring the Mouton-Cadet is the colour – an appealingly intense burgundy or dark cherry which promises great things to come. As you’d expect this colour carries to the rim of the wine, suggesting a young wine.
The bouquet matches the appearance with dark cherry and blackcurrant aromas, with some spice and a little vanilla in there for good measure.
Perhaps a little lighter-bodied than more expensive wines from the region, it is still full of ripe dark fruits and powerful tannins. The Cab Sauv and Cab Franc give the wine more complexity than might be suggested by the price tag. Although slightly tart, the Mouton-Cadet 2005 is fairly smooth and well-balanced, lingering pleasantly on the palate.
Our Verdict:
A pleasant wine that is suitable for everyday drinking, one that you’d be happy to enjoy alone or to serve to friends with a meal – not necessarily one for impressing, mind you.
At the price, particularly when discounted, you’d be hard pressed to find a much better alternative. Buy it when you can – Sainsburys typically stock a wine for a while and once gone it’s never seen again.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Other Information:
The Mouton-Cadet 2005 really benefits from being decanted and left to breathe for an hour or so – the bouquet and taste will only develop and reveal the complexity of the wine.
Mouton Cadet is the biggest-selling Bordeaux in the world and is the staple offering from the Baron Philippe de Rothschild house. It is not sophisticated or refined enough to be called a “Chateau Mouton Rothschild” – instead, it is classed as a “Mouton Cadet” (cadet meaning younger son in French)
Categories: Red Wine : Wine Reviews
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Wine Review: Sangre de Toro 2006
Posted: 21 October '09 by Niall
Wine Review: Sangre de Toro 2006
On a horrible wind-swept and rainy evening, Kelly and I thought we’d cheer ourselves up with a cheeky bottle (or two!) of wine. Amazing how wine can do that.
The Torres wines are firm favourites of ours: consistently good flavours, and not too hard on the pocket. And depending on your choice, you also get a toy – a kind of Kinder Egg for adults!
With the plastic bull safely stowed away, we opened our bottle of Sangre de Toro 2006..
The Details
- The Wine: Sangre de Toro 2006
- Producer: Don Miguel Torres
- Region: Castilla y León, Spain
- Grape: 65% Grenache, 35% Carignan
- Alcohol: 13.5%
- Cost: £6.49
Tasting Notes
The wine is a pleasant deep cherry-red in colour, and the spicy cinnamon and berry notes are immediately noticeable on opening the bottle.
In terms of flavours there are the usual forest-fruits in there (and a lot of them), but also something a little sweeter.. strawberries maybe. With all of this going on, it’s a nicely balanced wine – savoury, with a slightly sweet edge.
The tannins aren’t particularly smooth and there is a bit of an alcoholic kick – a solid, rustic, substantial wine.
Food Pairing:
This wine would be well-paired with any meaty foods: red meats and game, and roasts/stews/casseroles in general.
Our Verdict:
The Sangre de Toro 2006 isn’t a particularly complex wine, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s very “gluggable”, has plenty of flavour, goes particularly well with food, and with the £6.49 price-tag, it’s hard to find a better entry in the “everyday” category.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Other Information:
“Sangre de Toro” means “Blood of the bull” – and explains the plastic bull attached to the foil.
You can click here to visit the Torres website.
Tags: red wine, spanish wine, wine review, wine reviews
Categories: Red Wine : Wine Reviews
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Wine Review: Cotes du Roussillon 2008
Posted: 17 September '09 by Niall
Wine Review: Cotes du Roussillon 2008
Along with the interesting menu in St John (more of that later) you’ll also find a lengthy and mouth-watering wine-list.
The choices for our main courses, which were offal-y good (sic), cried out for a full-bodied red – and the Cotes du Roussillon 2008 certainly fit the bill.
The Details
- The Wine: Cotes du Roussillon 2008
- Producer: Domaine Boudau Le Clos
- Region: Roussillon, South-West France
- Grape: 50% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 30% Carignan
- Alcohol: 14%
- Cost: £7.99
Tasting Notes
The wine is juicy and rich, with jammy, spicy notes on the nose with a hint of minerals, while there are definite flavours of herbs, black cherries and damsons on the palate.
The 2008 is a little young, and the texture is slightly rough when compared to the smoother, older vintages of the same wine, where the tannins and acid mature into a smoother combination.
Food Pairing
Meat, meat, and more meat. The wine is very full-bodied and needs strong flavours to stand up to it – beef, boar, and venison will all be complemented by the dark-fruit flavours of the Cotes du Roussillon.
Other Information
These full-bodied reds always benefit from being served at or just above room temperature, and from being allowed to breathe in order to release all of those mature fruit flavours.
Our Verdict
I have to confess to a fondness for French reds, and the Cotes du Roussillon 2008 is a fine example of the price-to-quality wines coming out of the Languedoc-Roussillon regions recently. An extremely enjoyable wine – in aroma, flavour, and in price.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Tags: red wine, wine, wine review, wine reviews
Categories: Red Wine : Wine Reviews
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Wine Review: Monte da Peceguina 2008
Posted: 10 September '09 by Niall
Wine Review: Monte da Peceguina 2008
Another Portuguese wine – but this time it’s a hearty, full-bodied power-house of a red.. Monte da Peceguina, 2008.
The Details
- The Wine: Monte da Peceguina 2008
- Producer: Malhadinha Nova
- Region: Alentejo
- Grape: Aragones, Alicante, Cabernet
- Alcohol: 14%
- Cost: £14.50
Tasting Notes
The Monte da Peceguina is a brooding crimson red in colour, with powerful aromas of dried herbs and jammy, dark fruit.
On the palate the wine has robust flavours of dark chocolate, coffee, winter berries and notes of sweet vanilla oak and cinamon spice. This is complemented by smooth tannins which gives a velvet-y finish, but with a notable alcoholic warmth.
Food Pairing
This is a bit of a heavy-weight, and needs flavoursome dishes to stand up to those strong flavours of dark chocolate and fruit. I think game or beef would go well with the Monte da Peceguina.
Our Verdict
A delicious, robust red. A word of warning though.. that high alcohol content will get you in the end!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Tags: portugal, red wine, wine review, wine reviews
Categories: Red Wine : Wine Reviews
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Wine Review: Rocca delle Macie Chianti Classico 2006
Posted: 20 August '09 by Niall
Wine Review: Rocca delle Macie Chianti Classico 2006
Needing a mid-week pick-me-up, Kelly and I indulged in a bottle of chianti – here’s the review..
The Details
- Wine: Chianti Classico 2006
- Producer: Rocca delle Macie
- Region: Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy
- Grape: A blend of 90% Sangiovese, 5% Canaiolo and 5% Merlot
- Alcohol: 12.5%
- Cost: £11.99
Tasting Notes
The colour is a bright ruby-red, and the aromas are of deep berry-fruits, spice and oak. The flavour is full-bodied and well-balanced, with firm tannins – with more deep berry and spice to match the bouquet.
The wine does benefit from being left to breathe, and from being slightly warmer than room temperature to release all of those aromas and deepen the flavour.
Food Pairing
Chianti really does go well with most meats (especially beef and chicken) and is a must for any pasta dish.
Other Information
You’ll notice a small rooster on the label on the neck of the bottle – to have this label, and to be called “Chianti”, the wine has to follow rules about the amount of each grape used in the wine, how long it is matured, and the percentage of alcohol. So look out for the rooster when you’re buying chianti in the future!
About Chianti
Chianti is a wine-growing area within Italy that produces some fantastic red wines. Most Chianti is based on the Sangiovese grape, and while some producers used to add white grapes to the blend, this has been prohibited since 2006.
There are seven regions within the Chianti area – Chianti Rufina, Colline Pisane, Montalbano, Classico, Colli Aretini, Colli Fiorentini, and Colli Senesi. There is a great deal of difference in style of Chianti between these regions, and even within a region Chianti can vary greatly with different vineyards producing distinct wines.
The best Chianti wines come from the Chianti Classico region. Chianti Classico is also a “designated area” within the Italian wine-controlling body, the DOCG – which means that in addition to the requirements to be designated as a Chianti, wines from the Chianti Classico region must also have a slightly higher alcohol content and come from vines with a lower yield, giving the wine a fuller, stronger body.
There is a higher grade of Chianti Classico – Chianti Classico Riserva. Riserva wines must be aged more than 27 months, with at least 3 months of this being in the bottle before release, and are often the best of the Chianti variety.
Our Verdict
I prefer full-bodied reds, so this ticked the box for me – a tasty chianti, full of flavour.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Tags: red wine, wine, wine reviews
Categories: Red Wine : Wine Reviews
