Tag Archives: wine tasting

Sweervy's Wine Tasting

First to beat the French – Chateau Montelena

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If you haven’t had a chance to taste wines of Chateau Montelena of Napa, California, you might still have heard about it. Montelena was featured in the movie called “Bottle shock”, where it was THE new world producer to beat French wines in a blind tasting referred to as “The judgement of Paris” in 1976, held by the British wine expert Steven Spurrier. The movie is based on real events although there has been some criticism in regards to the accuracy of the script. This film is certainly not a masterpiece but still quite entertaining and a must-see for all wine lovers.

But back to the wine! I discovered the 2010 Montelena Cabernet on the wine list at the CUT – a fantastic steak restaurant on London’s Park Lane – and looked no longer, I knew I had to try it! I apologize for the very brief wine description as it was rather difficult to focus on producing a full tasting note being in a big group of friends in a very lively environment.

montelenaTASTING NOTE: smooth tannins, pronounced cassis notes; smoke/tar and floral aromas somewhat reminded me a bit of Barolo, although it was more violets rather that roses. Very good quality easy drinking wine that will develop further. Decanting recommended.

The wine is a blend is 91% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot and 2% Cabernet Franc and retails for an average of £30 per bottle; considering its quality, fame and ageing potential I find this a good value. It matched perfectly with a medium cooked USDA beef fillet mignon and was an excellent and more elegant alternative to my usual choice of Malbec to go with steaks.

If you are interested in purchasing the wine drop me a line and I will be happy to help you source it.

SweervyWine Cooks

Azerbaijani Meat Kutab amateur style

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The only way I can ever make this dish myself is when I have access to ready made lavash, a very thin flatbread from Azerbaijan (think 1/3 thickness of a Mexican tortilla). Luckily, my family brought me a few dozens recently and I needed to act quickly as lavash perishes fast.

Frankly speaking, using lavash to make kutab (or qutab) is a plain cheating. The traditional way involves preparing dough, rolling it out to 1 mm thin sheets and cutting round shapes. And only then you fill it with either meat, herbs or squash.

But back to my cheating/amateur method. All I needed to do is prepare the filling, which consisted of organic lamb mince, finely chopped onions and seasoning of salt and pepper. I added a tsp of dried oregano for a personal twist. 😉

Then you (traditionally) fry your kutab on a convex iron griddle stalled saj. My kutabs had to settle for a ceramic frying pan. I first tried to fry them without any fat like my mom normally does, but it didn’t go well with the first batch, so I lightly brushed the remaining kutabs with sunflower oil before putting them in the pan. I will spare you the details of how my two(!) ceramic pans looked afterwards, but all I say is that it was absolutely worth the trouble and the overall kitchen damage!

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Meat kutabs are traditionally served with sumac, a dark red lemony flavoured spice made from crushed sumac berries. (I like mines with ketchup) If you are curious about the real thing, this link will give you a bit more insight: traditional kutab

Surrau IGTLast but not least, the wine. I had an open bottle of 2012 Vigne Surrau Isola dei Nuraghi IGT from Sardinia (Cannonau, Carignano, Cabernet Sauvignon and Muristellu blend) in the fridge. You would be surprised how well it paired with kutab! I believe this is mostly due to the high acidity level of the wine playing well with the sumac spice and its overall Mediterranean character matching the dish. 

Tasting note: medium ruby, med. flavor intensity, high acidity levels, soft tannins, med+ body; red berries, sweet spice, hint of leather, very food friendly wine. Would keep for another year or two but ready to enjoy now, not designed for long-term ageing.

 

Sweervy's Wine Tasting

2008 Opus One

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I remember very well that day of my WSET Level 3 course at Berry Bros. & Rudd Pickering cellar, when our tutor Anne McHale MW has treated us with something very special at the end of the USA tasting session. We were tasting blind and loved the mysterious wine..  and were absolutely overwhelmed when she revealed it was OPUS ONE..! After all, a wine that normally retails for a few hundred pounds a bottle isn’t something you get (or can afford to get) your hands on every day.

opus

Opus One winery in Napa Valley, California was founded as a joint venture between Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild in Bordeaux. The 2008 vintage is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (86%), Petit Verdot (8%), Merlot (4%), Cabernet Franc (1%) and Malbec (1%), aged in french oak barrels (barriques) for 17 months.

TASTING NOTE: deep ruby, full bodied wine with pronounced flavor intensity, high tannins and medium+ acidity levels, with a long lasting finish. Blackcurrant, cherry, oaky spice, hints of mint, leather, farmyard. Still developing, has ageing potential. Outstanding quality wine.

Sweervy's Wine Tasting

Wines of Azerbaijan at the London Wine Fair 2014

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This year’s London Wine Fair – the capital’s biggest trade event of the year was a particularly important one for me personally. Wines from my place of birth – Azerbaijan – were represented for the first time. 10458668_294059557430673_8074319380130166487_n

ASPI winery was founded in 2007 and the vineyards were planted in the beautiful mountainous region of Gabala, in the Savalan Valley, producing their first vintage in 2010. Azerbaijan’s typically hot climate is moderated by the altitude of Gabala region which makes quality viticulture possible in the area. Soils are varied but predominately clay with vineyards planted with South-East facing aspect.

ASPI winery has brought talented Italian oenologists Daniele D’Andrea and his wife Elisa on board. They are focusing on producing high quality wines with potential to compete with the old school European classics and to win the hearts of the European wine lovers. (they won mine!) It was my absolute pleasure to meet with the team of ASPI winery & vineyards in London, to taste their wines and to have Daniele take me through the secrets of winemaking in Azerbaijan.

Follow the link to the photo gallery on Facebook where you will find my comments with brief tasting notes in the caption of each photo.

For more information about the producer visit their website at: http://aspiwinery.com/

Wine Travel

Italian wine summer

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No other country in Europe bears such an immense history along with the huge variety of food, grape varieties and breathtaking landscapes as does Bella Italia. This summer I was lucky to visit this beautiful country twice (well, actually 3 times, but one was just a race through Florence museums).. A click on the pictures below will take you to photo galleries full of memories of my trips to Piedmont and Sardinia.

Piedmont
Sardinia