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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I heard it through the grape vine
Posted: 02 December '09 by Niall
Direct Wine Shipments
There are times when I think that there is simply nothing to do in Belfast and then something new presents itself..
On Friday 13th of November I went along to the “Walkabout Wine Tasting” at Direct Wine Shipments accompanied by Linda, one of the Chilli and Chocolate members (Kelly was working and very distraught at missing the night). I only discovered that DWS was open to the public and held these sorts of events quite recently – apparently these evenings have been going on for some time, so why had I never heard of these wine-tastings before? Who knows, but I was determined to make up for lost time.
And what a fantastic night it turned out to be! At £10 a ticket the event certainly didn’t break the bank and I’m happy to report that it was more than value for money – which rarely seems to be the case where events in Belfast are concerned.
We were greeted at reception by the event staff and taken into the tasting room armed with the tasting notes, a map showing the layout of the wines, and a glass of chilled prosecco. There were 26 wines in all, from Old World to New World, red to white – and even a toffee-sweet Sauterne – a fantastic mix of flavours and aromas. The wines at DWS are from smaller, artisan producers, the vast majority of which you won’t have seen in the bigger off-licences and online stores – the sorts of people that produce wine because they love it, and have been making wine for generations. My particular favourites were the Chateau L’Escart Prestige 2007 (a delicious and darkly concentrated Bordeaux Superieur, with red berries, prunes, and cherries on the nose and a mouth-watering long finish) and the Crisita Collection Vacqueyras 2007 (a powerful but silky-smooth wine from the Rhone Valley that has plenty of ripe dark fruit). There were also some carafes of chilled water and nibbles on hand (cheese, focaccia, and some fantastic delicious Castilian olive oil) to help clear your palate between wines.
The fact that the tickets were only £10 did mean that there was a good mix of people, from those that clearly knew their wine to those just starting on the path to enlightenment, all of which made the event far less formal than you might have previously imagined. It should be said that the staff were also fantastic – visiting wine-tastings and dedicated wine stores can be a bit unnerving, but the event staff were very approachable, happily mingling and casually chatting about the wines on show, which clearly put everyone at ease.
The “walkabout” ran from 4.30pm to 7.30pm, with people coming and going when they needed to. We made in down by about 6pm, but it was still more than enough time to try all of the wines and chat to some of the other lucky attendees. I say “lucky” because the wine-tasting was limited to 100 participants, and the tickets were sold out before the night of the tasting. Infact, that night we heard that there is another wine-tasting planned for Saturday 5th December, “The Wines of Christmas”, but all of the tickets had already been snapped up!
Another big “plus” from the evening was that the wines at the tasting were all reduced – the Cristia Vacqueyras down from £13.50 to £11.48, for example – making your new favourite wine that much more appealing.
Our verdict
We had a great night out at Direct Wine Shipments: we met some nice people, tried some superb wines (several of which have already made an appearance in our wine cellar), learned more about some producers and wines that we hadn’t come across before, and made some savings on buying our favourite bottles.
You should give these wine-tastings a go – a “different” night out in Belfast – highly recommended.
Other information
You can find the DWS store at:
Direct Wine Shipments
5-7 Corporation Square,
Belfast
BT1 3AJ
T: 028 9050 8000
E: shop@directwine.co.uk
W: www.directwine.co.uk
You can also find DWS on Google Maps.
There are some other events that you might be interested in:
- Thursday 3rd December: Masterchef Dinner at Jeffers Bar & Grill. You can read more about this event
- Wednesday 10th February 2010: Eldredge Vineyards Wine Tasting & Supper at 8pm – £25. You can read more about this event
Tags: belfast, direct wine shipments, wine, wine clubs, wine tasting
Categories: News
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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: Muralhas de Moncao 2008
Posted: 10 September '09 by Niall
White Wine Review
During our holiday in Portugal we came across the Muralhas de Moncao 2008 and “Vinho Verde”, both of which were new to us. We thought you might like a quick review..
The Details
- The Wine: Muralhas de Moncao 2008
- Producer: Adega Cooperative Regional de Monção
- Region: Minho, Portugal
- Grape: Alvarelhao, Pedral and Vinhao
- Alcohol: 11%
- Cost: €4.50
Tasting Notes
The Muralhas is an enjoyable Portuguese white wine full of fruity peach and apricot aromas, it is well balanced with subtle citric notes, and is quite dry. Like all Vinhos Verdes (which translates as “Green Wine”, refers to the wines youth and freshness rather than the colour) the Muralhas is light and fresh, and is lemon- or straw-coloured.
Although it’s not a sparkling wine, there is some effervescence.
Food Pairing
We tasted the Muralhas with shellfish and fish, and complemented both perfectly. Beyond these ingredients however, I think that you’d struggle to find a natural pairing – the wine is so fresh and light that it would be completely overpowered.
Other Information
The Vinho Verde region is characterised by its many small growers – there were over 60,000 of them in 2005. Many of these growers train their vines high off the ground, up trees, fences, and even telephone poles so that they can cultivate vegetable crops below the vines that their families use for food.
Our Verdict
A pleasant, light white wine – perfect for hot summer days, and ideal for serving alongside seafood. And at €4.50, an extremely attractive price!
Rating: 3 out of 5
Tags: portugal, white wine, wine, wine reviews
Categories: White 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
