Alex's Blog
February 2012
As we are in the depths of winter with snow on the ground, I thought it would be a good idea to explore some wines from sunny south-western France. The wines did indeed live up to their regions by offering warm, spicy and red fruit flavours designed to help keep us warm through these cold and dark winter nights.
The wines are reviewed in detail later on in the website and all wines this month were purchased from Spirited Wines, St Mary Street, Cardiff.
December 2011
Another successful evening at the Ystrad Mynach wine club, where we explored a number of wines from Portugal.
The first was a crisp, light and refreshing wine from the Vinho Verde region called Sogrape Quinta de Azevedo 2010 £7.29 from Waitrose. Exhibiting classic vinho verde characteristics with attractive citrus and apples notes and would be ideal with seafood. This was followed by another white wine called Monte Velho 2010 £10.99 from Spirited Wines. A much more richer and dense wine that is quite different in style to the vinho verde. The wines are reviewed in detail later on in the website.
October 2011
The September meeting of the Ystrad Mynach wine club was concerned with tasting wines from the Burgundy region of France. These wines being light to medium bodied offer easy summer drinking and would go well with the barbecue or alfresco dining. All wines from Waitrose.
We started off with a Cave de Lugny Charmes 2009 £8.99. A refreshing easy drinking chardonnay from the Macon region, south of Burgundy. Followed by another unoaked chardonnay from the Saint Veran region called Blason de Bourgogne 2009 £10.49. This was a more richer wine with some elegance and offered citrus and pear flavours. The reds are reviewed in detail later on in the website. Next wine meeting is on 21 October 2011.
August 2011
With soaring temperatures and people getting out their barbecue equipment - the theme for the recent meeting of the Ystrad Mynach wine club was to explore easy drinking wines from Australia. All wines were purchased from Spirited Wines.
We started with a crisp and zesty white called Tooma River Chardonnay 2010 £7.70, followed by a more richer and fuller wine called Heartland Stickleback white at £10.29.
The red wines are reviewed in some detail on the site. So until next time throw a few sausages on the barbecue. Next meeting will be on 16 September.
May 2011
As spring is here, I thought it would be a good idea to usher in the milder and sunnier weather with wines from the South of France. All wines purchased from Waitrose.
We started with an aromatic and refreshing white wine called Chat-en-Oeuf at £4.99 made from a blend of grenache blanc, marsanne and rousanne which offered floral, apricot and gentle spice flavours. This was followed by a citrusy and crisp viognier called Laurent Miquel Vendanges Nocturnes at £7.99. We were particularly impressed by the range of red wines tasted which all displayed classic ripe fruit flavours with gobs of spicy jammy fruit. Drinking these characterful wines all made us felt like we were indeed living in the South of France.
April 2011
Another enjoyable evening where I invited Nicolas Wine Merchants based in St Mary Street, Cardiff to take us through a range of their Spanish wines.
The first wine was a Cava called Castell d'Olerdola Brut Rose £9.80, which is a light and refreshing sparkling wine with a pale raspberry colour and flavours of strawberries and summer fruits. This was followed by a white wine called Raias Baixas 2009 £12.50 which offered floral and delicate peach, pear and lemon aromas with crisp acidity. We then experienced Priorat, Mas d'En Compte Blanco £21.50 which was very well received by the group with its rich gooseberry greeness. smoky and quite intense and sophisticated flavours, and unsurprisingly is classed as one of the top white wines in Spain.
As usual, the red wines are reviewed in some detail with photos on the site. The website is currently in the process of being redesigned and will also feature a link to the Ystrad Mynach Wine Club on Facebook. Until the next reviews, keep your wine glass full.
February 2011
February was the first wine club meeting of 2011 where we tasted a range of wines from Chile all available from Waitrose.
The Cono Sur Viognier 2009 was an impressive wine displaying rampant melon. apricots and spice with butter and a richness all wrapped up for the modest price of £7.49. This was followed by a Waitrose in partnership with Vina Valdivieso. The Sauvignon Blanc offers quality zesty and citrusy lemon fruit with a clean crispness which would be great for matching with food for £8.99.
We were all impressed with the red wines but in particular with the Montgras Reserve and the Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon which are reviewed in detail on the site.
December 2010
Another enjoyable wine tasting evening at
my house where we were exploring the wines of South Africa. As I am
writing this blog and reviews it is snowing quite heavily - maybe a
white Christmas this year?
The first of the whites was a crisp colombard/chardonnay blend called
Cape Quarter 2010 which displayed simple flavours of pear, melon and
apple. We then had the M'Hudi 2009 Sauvignon Blanc which went down well
with the group due to its gooseberry and lemon flavours. The star of
the whites was the Knockon Wood 2008 Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend
which oozed quality winemaking with its citrussy pineapple and melon
with a creaminess running through. All the reds form part of this month's reviews. All wines were purchased
from Marks & Spencer.
November 2010
The wine club is now in its 8th month and
still going strong. We are always looking for new people to contribute
to our diverse group, so if you think this might be for you then please
get in
touch. The wines tasted at our October meeting come from Argentina
and were purchased from Waitrose. What impressed us was that all of the
wines offered good value for money with their fresh and fruity
style.
To start we had a light and fruity chenin/chardonnay blend called
Fuzion which showed floral and citrus flavours with nice crispness.
This was followed by a more richer Trivento viognier exhibiting rich
tropical fruit and honey, which was followed by Argento pinot grigio
which was more delicate and exhibited delicate floral and tropical
fruit.
The red wines also impressed us with their variety of flavours and
textures, which are given full
reviews on this site. If you have any questions about the
wine club or about wine in general then
please feel free to get in
touch. Happy tasting.
October 2010
I am pleased to say that the September wine meeting of the Ystrad Mynach Wine Club was another roaring success, where this time I invited Oddbins wine merchants to the house to take us through an informal tutored tasting of quality wines from Australia.
We began with a non- vintage Angus Brut which hit the mark with its toasty and creamy flavours which demonstrated a reliable and fruity Aussie sparkling wine. This was closely followed by the Whirlpool Reach Riesling 2008 from Tasmania which oozed smooth gooseberry and cream balanced by gentle acidity. Next was the D'Arenberg The Olive Chardonnay 2007 which showed wonderful tropical fruits, smooth vanilla with crisp acidity. I was blown away with the reds but especially the Hungerford Hill Pinot Noir which is given in some detail as part of this month's reviews. The next club meeting will be on 29th October.
September 2010
At our most recent wine evening we tasted a range of wines from California which were obtained through Waitrose. We started off with a simple but fruity chardonnay called Fish Eye, which was followed by a crisp and refreshing style of chardonnay called Wente Morning Fog. However, the star of the whites was a mineral rich, fruity and vibrant organic Sauvignon Blanc from Bonterra which oozed quality winemaking with lots of kiwi fruit, grapefruit and raspberry. The reds were typical of California displaying easy going and approachable wines full of juicy soft fruit. Our next meeting will be held on 17th September which this time will be hosted by Oddbins, where we will be exploring wines from Australia. Read on for our September reviews.
August 2010
I am pleased to say that the the Ystrad Mynach Wine Club is off to a roaring success where we have recently held our 5th monthly tasting of red and white wines from New Zealand. Some refreshing Sauvignon Blancs from the Marlborough region offering tropical fruits with fruity and crisp flavours with gooseberries and lemons. The Chardonnay also from Marlborough offered peach and spice with a creamy texture but failed to impress us as much as the other whites. As this website is dedicated to red wines, the New Zealand red wines tasted form part of the August reviews - one exception is the "Paradiso" from Chile.
If you are interested in attending the wine club, with a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, please contact me by email: alex@redwinereview.me.uk
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