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Good afternoon wine lovers !
As usual here at Grand Cru we are ready to open our weekly selection ! This week, you will find a new entry, it is a real gem from Bordeaux ... I'm talking about...
L'Expression de Margaux, 2007 at £23,95
Margaux's wines are among Bordeaux's finest, so we are really excited to offer you this parcel from one of the region's top estates - produced from their younger vines it offers a taste of true greatness at an affordable price.
A dark ruby/purple colour is accompanied by notes of spring flowers, black currants, and blackberries, a soft, lush,
medium to full-bodied mouth feel, and delicacy allied to impressive depth, texture, and length. The richly fruity,
delicious, already complex 2007 Margaux is another surprise and delicious to drink now.
Altano Douro Vinho tinto, 2013 at £10,95
Wild plum and berry flavours are concentrated and well rounded in this balanced, meaty textured and fresh tasting red. A very good choice for an unpretentious and informal dinner with friends.
Te Mata Gamay Noir Hawke's Bay, 2014 at £15,20
A bright and brilliant vibrant crimson. Estate Vineyards Gamay Noir has an exquisite candied strawberry fragrance and a ripe, juicy palate that explodes into raspberries and cherries. Soft tannins and red berries lead to a fine, refreshing and crisp finish. Lively and aromatic, moreish and delicious - summer in a glass to say the least. This Gamay is an incredibly versatile wine, partnering with any food.
Enate 234 Chardonnay Somontano, 2012 at £8,75
Very bold straw yellow colour with greenish hints which indicate its youth. Intense and clean nose, which releases fresh and exotic varietal aromas and certain citric notes such as green apples, lychees and peach. Good initial attack which flows into a fresh, agile, large and tasty mid-palate which keeps all of these fruit flavours. Very well integrated acidity which makes this young white wine perfectly balanced and flavoursome.
Come and have a taste of it or order directly at www.grandcruco.com !
Cheers !
The Grand Cru team
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Shiraz, like every other wine, varies in style depending on its price, age and region of origin but you can be pretty sure when it comes to matching Australian shiraz we’re talking about a full-bodied red.
What most people probably think of is a Barossa or McLaren Vale shiraz - big, lush, sweet and ripe.
If you enjoy this sort of style we really suggest you to try our
Mitolo Jester, Maclaren Shiraz, 2013 at £12.25
Deep, dark red. The nose is bright, lifted and aromatic,with raspberry, blackberry and mint chocolate characters. The palate is concentrated with a luscious rolling texture and packed with fresh blackberry and plum, dark chocolate, liquorice and a hint of white pepper spice. The wine is juicy and plush with silky tannins that linger, providing a drying, savoury finish.
Barbecue is the ideal flavour profile for a rich Shiraz. Pair your red Aussie with lamb ribs for an especially delicious humble dish !
Ingredients
8-10lb/3.6-4.5kg lamb ribs
For the marinade
1 litre/1 pint 15fl oz cola
85g tomato ketchup
2 tbsp black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar and pestle
1 tbsp cayenne pepper (optional)
350ml/12fl oz bourbon whiskey
165ml/6fl oz maple syrup (or 6 tbsp brown sugar)
3-4 tbsp soy sauce
2 bay leaves
4 large rosemary sprigs
4-5 garlic cloves, crushed or pounded in a mortar and pestle
Method
For the marinade, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl or basin and immerse the ribs in them. Cover with cling film and leave overnight in the fridge, if possible, otherwise marinate for an hour in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Baste the ribs with the marinade and cover them with aluminium foil. Precook them in the oven for 20-30 minutes. Otherwise the sweet ingredients (cola and maple syrup) may char on the barbecue.
Prepare the barbecue. It should not be too hot - the coals should be grey and ashen, but still have good heat.
Place the ribs on the barbecue. Turn them over after about 40 minutes to give the other side some texture. After about 10 minutes, turn the ribs over again.
If you like your ribs slightly crisper put them under a preheated grill for about five minutes. Be careful not to burn them. Serve.
Enjoy it !!
www.grandcruco.com
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Summer time Wine Boost
Hot weather and team GB Olympic success has boosted sparkling wine and rosé sales in recent weeks, show initial figures. And retailers expect more to come for Bank holiday weekend.
Team GB’s record performance at the Rio 2016 Olympics coincided with an up-turn in British summer weather in August. And wine sales have risen as a result, according to Nielsen and early figures from several retailers.
Champagne sales rose by around five percent in value terms over the four weeks ended 13 August, said Nielsen. That’s faster than the 52-week average pace of growth, it said. Nielsen said sparkling wine sales overall were up nearly 14 percent in value compared to the same four weeks of last year.
Prosecco and English sparkling wine have proved popular alternatives to Champagne in the UK.
Over the past five years, total consumption of sparkling wine in the UK has grown 80 percent.
‘The summer certainly isn’t over and these sales could rise even further,’ said Jon Sheppard, Nielsen’s client business partner. He said that the Olympics performance may have helped consumer confidence and highlighted a forecast that good weather will continue into the August bank holiday weekend.
Rosé wine, especially Provence styles, has also been a popular choice over the month of August.
Brexit fuels the fire of Wine Investment
The fine wine market has enjoyed a ‘Brexit boom’ in the weeks following the UK vote to leave the European Union – and the so-called ‘lesser’ vintages are leading the charge.
Liv-ex’s Fine Wine 50 Index is up 19.3% so far in 2016. It tracks the price movements of the 10 most recent physical vintages of the five first growth Bordeaux châteaux.
The index recorded its ninth highest monthly rise – 6.8% – following the UK’s Brexit vote. As previously reported on Decanter, a drop in the value of sterling created a flurry of interest from dollar buyers in Asia and the US. Analysis by Liv-ex shows that interest is strongest in the ‘off’ vintages within the Liv-ex 50…
Bordeaux 2013 up 32.7% | 2006 up 26% | 2004 up 25.5% | 2007 up 25.4% | 2008 up 24% | 2011 up 23.1% | 2012 up 23%
The three most lauded recent vintages – 2005, 2009 and 2010 – have registered smaller increases, up 10.4%, 13.7% and 17.4% respectively. Of the 50 wines on the index, 49 have increased in value during 2016.
Latour 2005 is down 1.5%. Lafite Rothschild 2013 registered the biggest increase, up 44.3% to £3,680 per case. Liv-ex pointed out that, if a tracker fund had invested in one case of each wine in the Fine Wine 50 at the end of December, and sold it at the end of August, it would have made a profit of £38,538.
Geraint Carter, of BI, said that the fine wine market was experiencing a broader recovery. ‘The encouraging thing about the current situation is that demand is not restricted to the usual suspects – not just Lafite, not just first growths – but covers a much broader set of wines,’ he said.
‘That said, Hong Kong and the other US dollar-denominated markets are certainly leading the way and their relative preference for the younger and cheaper vintages is clear. We’re not talking a repeat of 2010/11, but they are definitely the current favourites.’
Coppola Sues Copycat
A company acting for Francis Ford Coppola has filed a lawsuit against US wine firm Copa Di Vino, accusing it of breaking trademark rules.
GMYL, the company that controls the trademarks to Coppola wine brands, filed the lawsuit against Copa Di Vino and its owner, James Martin, in California. It has asked for jury trial and requested unspecified damages for several counts of trademark infringement.
A spokesperson for Copa Di Vino could not be immediately reached for comment.
The Coppola and Copa Di Vino wines side by side, as shown in the lawsuit filed by GMYL. Credit: GMYL. GMYL accused Copa Di Vino of copying Coppola’s ‘Director’s Cut’ brand with its own ‘Winemaker’s Cut’ wines.
GMYL also claimed that the Oregon firm had copied the so-called ‘black label trade dress’ of Coppola’s Diamond Collection Black Label claret wine. ‘Defendants are using labels and packaging that are virtually identical to the labels and packaging used for GMYL’s Diamond Collection Black Label Claret wine,’ the lawsuit says. It adds that the similarities could confuse wine consumers.
Copa Di Vino is based in Oregon and specialises in selling wines by the glass. The two companies almost went into business together in 2011, but talks broke down, the lawsuit says. Francis Ford Coppola, who produced hit films including the Godfather and Apocalypse Now, owns the Inglenook estate in California.
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Castello Vicchiomaggio is an absolutely amazing producer of internationally renowned wines. Wine has been produced at the Castle for longer than we can count and its owners, John and Paola Matta, dedicate their lives to preserving this centuries-old tradition and in doing so have ended up being Italian Wine Maker of the Year for four years!
This beautiful estate covers 140 hectares, of which 33 are vineyards, 10 are olive trees and the rest is park.
Among the cultivated varieties: the most prominent vine is Sangiovese, which is the fundamental grape for their Chianti Classico, but there are also other indigenous grapes such as Canaiolo and Colorino, as well as two very well-known international varieties which are Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. These last two are in huge demand for their prestigious IGT-classified wines.
The Chianti Classico area is characterised by a hot, humid climate and the soil, which is called "Galestro”, is rich in clay and large stones. They pay particular attention to the direction in which the vines are planted. In fact, they are all facing south, ensuring maximum exposure to the sun throughout the day to give their wines the boldness they are known for.
Here are GCC we currently stock two of John’s truly fantastic wines:
Castello Vicchiomaggio, Chianti Classico “San Jacopo” 2013 @ £8.75
Kept in large barriques that guarantee a very traditional and classical style that comes back time and time again. The blend of traditional grapes gives this well-structured and fruity wine a beautiful and luxurious colour. This wine is generally available 1 to 2 years after vintage, when these peculiar features have had time to integrate and are appreciated most.
Castello Vicchiomaggio, Chianti Riserva “Agostino Petri” 2010 @ £12.25
Combining tradition and innovation guarantees an excellent and fruity structure to this bold wine, yet it’s well balanced by an oak fullness. As the vineyard is more than 20 years old, this is a pretty low-yield vintage which guarantees excellent wine quality and combines vigour and high potential for just the right ageing.
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Next wine tasting evening
SUPERTUSCAN REVEALED
POGGIO AL TESORO AND POGGIO SAN POLO TASTING
Tuesday the 20th of September from 8 pm to 10 pm.
In occasion of this special event we will taste the excellencies of Poggio al tesoro and Poggio San Polo, two prestigious and renowned Tuscany estates owned by the Allegrini family, undoubtely among the most enterprising and passionate families in the Italian wine scene.
One of the most exciting estates to have emerged from Italy in recent years, Poggio al Tesoro is a 70 hectare propertyin Bolgheri acquired in 2001 by the Allegrini family. Bolgheri, on the Tuscan coast just south of Livorno, is one of Italy's most prestigious vineyard areas producing an innovative style of wine named Super Tuscan : the perfect synthesis of Italian and French tradition.
The other estate, Poggio San Polo, is situated in the eastern part of Montalcino. The Allegrini family purchased this 16 hectares of vineyardin 2006 and is actually producing amazing wines that are classic in style.
Special guest of the evening will be Gianfranco Allegrini who will accompany us on this exciting journey to discover the Bolgheri area and the legendary wines this fantastic terroir produces.
All will be accompanied by typical Tuscan appetizers which will be served at mid-evening.
Towards the end of the evening guests, if they wish to, can complete their order forms which will be collected by the staff who will take care of processing them. Bear in mind that just for the evening you will be entitled to a 10% discount on all of our products.
The cost of a single ticket is £35. To get your tickets you can drop us an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call us on 020 8650 0085. We will be very happy to get your place booked but remember we can't hold to a booking for more than two days.
We are looking forward to seeing you there.
Grand Cru co. team
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Louis Jadot, Puligny-Montrachet Champ-Gain, 2009, Magnum (1.5 L) at £92.50
The central part of the Côte de Beaune comprises an area predestined to produce
great wines and Puligny Montrachet is, without doubt, one of its most glorious
examples.
The vineyards are centred around Puligny and a part of the Blagny hamlet, on a
gentle, east-facing slope.
The clay and chalk soil, which is very stony, drains well and warms through
easily.
The plot « Champ Gain » is a superb « climat » classified 1er Cru and situated on
the « first floor » of the Mont Rachet.
Maison Louis Jadot practices traditional oak vinification to yield a full-flavoured
yet graceful wine of exceptional balance and breed, with complex, distinctive
aromas typical of Puligny which carry onto the palate and into the persistent,
lingering finish. The wine is then aged 14 months in oak barrels before bottling.
These great white wines are destined to honour haute cuisine, both by the
nobleness of its bouquet and the openness, smoothness and elegance of its
flavour : shellfish cooked in a court-bouillon, creamed and poached fish, poultry
liver pâtés, ripe cheeses like Munster and mature Comté.
Come and get it or order at www.grandcruco.com!
Cheers!
