Each week, a wine will be presented on The Wine Analyst. There are few rules when it comes to choosing which wine makes the cut, and there are really only two that matter. The wine may cost no more than 25 euros at an importer or merchant in Belgium. This rule even applies to wines directly bought at an estate, as I assume that most readers are more likely to get to a store instead of an estate in part X of the world. The second important rule is that the wine must have peaked my interest somehow. This can be through sheer deliciousness, the vinification method or any another peculiarity worth mentioning.
Bottomline, if you are looking for something to drink on the weekend, come here for inspiration!
2017 Week 6 – Domaine des Cavarodes, Franche-Comté Rouge 2014
For years the Jura remained a blind spot on my wine radar. About ten years ago I followed your very basic wine course which was more about drinking than actually learning anything. I was ticked off that I had to miss the one class on regions that I knew nothing about, Jura and Savoie, but quickly forgot about it. A couple of years later, when I was getting more and more into wine, I came across an invitation for a Jura wine tasting in Antwerp, organized by Terrovin. Continue reading →
2017 Week 5 – Suertes del Marques, Vidonia 2014
The other day I organized an introductory tasting on the wines of the Canary Islands. In the past, I had the opportunity to acquaint myself with the wines of what are arguably the islands’ most well-known producers, Vinatiego and Suertes del Marques. Given that they are not commonly found or well-known, even by winegeek standards, I thought they warranted a closer look. Continue reading →
2017 week 4 – Domaine Huet, Clos de Bourg demi-sec 2001
Looking back at my short but intense stay in the Loire region, I realized that I haven’t talked enough about Chenin Blanc, despite my love for it. Only one wine was put into the spotlight, 2009 Les Choisilles by Francois Chidaine. There are some changes coming up on The Wine Analyst, but given my adherence to self-imposed deadlines in the past, I’ll refrain from making big declarations. For now, I can only say that there will be more attention paid to Chenin Blanc in the future, starting with Domaine Huet’s Clos de Bourg Demi-Sec 2001! Continue reading
2017 WEEK 3 – DOMAINE DUPASQUIER, ROUSSETTE DE MARESTEL 2012
Continuing with regions in France that I do not remember too fondly from gazing at them while studying, the Savoie! It was basically the Sud-Ouest all over again, albeit on a much smaller scale (about 2000ha). On the surface, it looks deceptively simple: three major appellations: Vins de Savoie, Rousette de Savoie and Seyssel. Continue reading
2017 WEEK 2 -DOMAINE PLAGEOLES, VIN DE VOILE 2000
During my studies, the Sud-Ouest was without a doubt the most frustrating region to get a grip on. The diversity in appellations and varieties as well as the relative scarcity of these wines in Belgium made it very difficult to retain a lot for the long run. It is a shame really, as there is so much to discover. Continue reading
2017 WEEK 1 – HM BORGES’ 20 YEAR OLD VERDELHO
A wine blogger’s end-of-year post has a certain predictability to it: either it looks back on the best bottles drunk in the year that has come to pass (often with a skew towards expensive, rare or cult bottles), or it looks onwards to trends spotted in the wine world. I wasn’t planning to write about either of them, but on the precipice of 2017, I came across the most fabulous, almost year-defining wine: HM Borges’ 20 year old Verdelho Medium Dry. Continue reading
WEEK 37 – GUIBERTEAU, SAUMUR ROUGE 2014
When is a wine faulty? There are plenty of times when this is clear from the start; a messed up colour, raging volatile acidity, vinegar,…. Other times it is not always clear. For a long time, I did not like Cabernet Franc as there is often something unpleasant in the nose at first, especially in the case of young wines. You get aromas of degraded fruit, barnyard or just plain shit. Continue reading →
WEEK 36 – ROCCAFIORE, MONTEFALCO SAGRANTINO
Grape variety comeback stories are something I usually associate with Italy, maybe because the country has so many authentic grape varieties that have fallen victim to globalization and the rise of market-dictated varieties. It is however not uncommon for some crazy/ambitious winemaker to rediscover something previously neglected. Some of these wines are fantastic. Continue reading →
Week 35 – Loxarel, Garnatxa Blanca 2015
A couple of months ago, I attended a tasting with some friends from an online wine forum. Good wines, interesting conversations and a lot of fun. The only drawback was that my success rate in guessing the origin of the wines was at the very least disappointing. This kept me occupied for a good couple of days. I drink about 2 bottles of wine a week and taste maybe 10 to 15 more. Why do I still suck at this? Continue reading →
Week 34 – Goisot, La Ronce 2012
Today’s a first for The Wine Analyst, as I return to a producer who will be familiar to those who keep track of my weekly reviews. The goal of these ‘Wine of the Week’ articles is to present different wines, not too often with a link or common element, but nearly always to show how diverse wine can be. It speaks to the credit of this week’s winemaker that, even taking into consideration the fact that it is a small estate, the range of wines is astonishing and packed with different identities. Continue reading →
WEEK 33 – VINI VITI VINCI, GRÔLE TÊTE 2014
Last week’s Jura region may not be widely known among the general public, today’s region has in all likelihood not popped up on the radar of your average winelover. Not even Jancis Robinson has a tasting note on this region in her database! To be fair, Coulanges la Vineuse is a tiny appellation that has the misfortune of specializing in pinot noir, what would you expect in Burgundy, but unfortunately in a region not remotely associated with red wines, Auxerre. Continue reading →
WEEK 32 – DOMAINE DE SAINT PIERRE, LES GAUDRETTES 2014
When talking about pinot noir in France, you would be hard pressed to find anyone who links it to another region besides Burgundy. Nonetheless, other regions are perfectly capable of producing unique pinot noir. For instance, Jura wines may not be the easiest, are from time to time hijacked by hipsters and enjoy sudden bursts of popularity on the sommelier scene, but on plenty of occasions they are utterly delicious. Continue reading →
WEEK 31 – NEUDORF VINEYARDS, TOM’S BLOCK 2012
Distance-wise, you would not expect anything from New Zealand to find its way to Belgium and the fact that there is quite a range of wines available should tell you something about their quality. Why else would you bother shipping them across the world? It is all the more remarkable when you realize that there is only about 35,000 ha of wine planted, paling in comparison with 792,000ha in France and a whopping 1.02 million in Spain. Continue reading
WEEK 30 – GEIL, GEYERSBERG FRÜHBURGUNDER 2012
As clarified a couple of weeks ago when talking about Tschuppen 2007, Pinot Noir is never just Pinot Noir. Clonal variety can lead to differences in flavour and aromas, as we see with Spätburgunder. Nonetheless, the wines are still distinctly Pinot Noir in fragrance and structure. It becomes a bit trickier when we start looking into mutations or crossings. Continue reading
WEEK 29 – CLAIRE NAUDIN, ORCHIS MASCULA 2009
When the topic of Burgundy pops up in a conversation, focus will more often than not be on the villages of the Côte d’Or and their lieu-dits, premiers crus and grand crus. Nonetheless, excellent value can be found on other appellation levels as well, sometimes even moreso than in overly hyped crus. Don’t forget, grand and premier crus only make up about a tenth of the entire Burgundy wine production and it is really the regional appellation level that is most important to overall output. Continue reading
WEEK 28 – ZIEREISEN, TSCHUPPEN 2007
So, summer is over in and it is the perfect time to place the spotlight on wines more in tune with the weather. Autumn calls for two of my favourite varieties, Gamay and Pinot Noir. Gamay for its honest, joyful fruitiness that serves as a reminder of the sunny days we enjoyed up until recently and pinot noir, because it can be so perfectly in sync with the rhythm of nature slowing down, transitioning from lively, exuberant flavours to earthy and more delicate impressions. Continue reading
Week 27 – Cos, Pithos Rosso 2009
Summer is over judging from the weather, so our extended focus on Riesling comes to a momentary end. Rieslingfans should not fear, as it is a love I will not be able to shut up about, but for the Wine of the Week I will venture into new territories for the time being. I have talked about the natural wine movement before, just take a look at my reports on Champagne or RAW, but my interest was actually piqued during a vacation in Sicily four years ago. Continue reading
WEEK 26 – REBHOLZ, VOM BUNTSANDSTEIN 2013
I have talked about Riesling wines from the Pfalz before, mainly in the context of the Von Winning tasting I participated in a couple of months ago. Stephan Attmann, the winemaker at Von Winning is a proponent of creating opulent, majestic Riesling wines through the use of oak barrels, the Burgundian pièces. Riesling is a delicate grape and most growers in Northern regions would consider it to be too fragile to support heavy oak usage. Continue reading
Week 25 – Horst Sauer, Escherndorfer Lump 2012
So it has been a while since I talked about Franken. At the time I only really focused on two estates to show what the region’s producers could do with Spatburgunder and Silvaner, but that does not mean that you cannot find terrific Riesling here as well. Horst Sauer is generally considered the best-known winemaker of Franken. Continue reading
Week 24 – Eva Fricke, Kiedricher 2012
A lot of winelovers consider the Rheingau as the source of the country’s best riesling-based wines. A large part of the historical credit goes to the Cistercians, a religious order of monks that was also instrumental for the Cote d’Or in Burgundy. In fact, they introduced pinot noir in the region based on vines taken from Vougeot, making the Rheingau one of the oldest spatburgunder-growing regions in Germany! This does not mean however that they ignored Riesling. Continue reading
WEEK 23 – TROSSEN, SCHIEFERBLUME 2014
We are staying in the Mosel this week with a slightly atypical wine. Rita and Rudolf Trossen have been working biodynamically for almost forty years. At the beginning they focused on applying the Steiner philosophy, which is really the groundwork of the biodynamic wine movement, in their vineyards and in recent years they stepped up their game by rethinking everything they did in the cellar as well. Continue reading
Week 22 – Zilliken, Saarburger Riesling 2013
The Mosel is without a doubt Germany’s most famous wine region. Most people associate it with sweet wines and rightly so. Somehow the slopes along the Mosel or the Saar are capable of bringing out an almost ethereal lightness in Riesling, showcasing delicacy and liveliness at the same time. Continue reading
WEEK 21 – KÜHLING-GILLOT, NIERSTEIN TROCKEN 2012
Rheinhessen is the most important wineproducing region in Germany. There are two ready explanations for this success. First, it is home to several important varietal crossings, including Muller-Thurgau, Dornfelder and Scheurebe (which actually originated here), so there are a lot of different wine styles on offer. Continue reading
WEEK 20 – RINGS, STEINACKER 2013
So we’ve talked about Riesling for the last couple of weeks as if it were simply the ideal summer wine but there is of course so much more to it. It is one of the world’s most complex varieties, capable of offering a most nuanced and true picture of terroir. Continue reading
WEEK 19 – DR. CRUSIUS, TRAISER RIESLING 2013
Back to Germany this week with the very region that started my love affair with riesling, the Nahe. Smack in between the Mosel and Rheinhessen, the region used to have the sorry reputation of being a thirst-quencher, often ending up in anonymous blends. Continue reading
WEEK 18 – RIEFFEL, ZOTZENBERG GRAND CRU 2011
Despite my love for Riesling, I’ve never really gotten to know the Alsace, France’s one and only home to the variety. Part of this is because of the limited availability of Alsacien wines, as I do not think that there is one merchant in Belgium who really specializes in the region; most of them only have a limited range just because they think that they need it to complete their offer.Continue reading
WEEK 17 – ALEXANDER LAIBLE, ALTE REBEN *** 2013
Finally summer has arrived with a bang as the weather forecast shows 38° C this weekend. For many people, the go-to wine when it gets this hot is rosé, but I have to admit that I’m not exactly a fan. Continue reading
WEEK 16 – SAJGO, TOKAJI SZAMORODNI 2003
Today we are entering winegeek territory with the Tokaji Szamorodni 2003 from Sajgo Cellars in Hungary. The offer of Hungarian wines on the Belgian market is tiny, and szamorodni wines are not well-reprented in what is available. Nevertheless, there are some exciting wines out there. Continue reading
WEEK 15 – NO WINE BUT A MAGAZINE, KEN WIJN!
Sommelier exams are tomorrow so unfortunately there will be no wine presented this week, sometimes you have to keep your head clear and I think that most of you will agree that wine is not the best road to clarity! Continue reading
WEEK 14 – HEGARTY CHAMANS, OPEN NOW 2012
There is nothing more dangerous than someone with a superficial love of wine and too much money to spend. Either they’ll elevate prices to ridiculous levels (just look at what happened in Bordeaux and what is currently happening in Burgundy), or they think that they need an own estate in their portfolio. Continue reading
WEEK 13 – COLOMBAIA, VIGNA VECCHIA 2009
A long time ago, just as I started appreciating wine, I clung to everything that tasted good. When I discovered a sangiovese I liked, I would drink it it for weeks on end. After several attempts to replicate the same joy with wines from different producers failed miserably however, I just gave up on the variety for a long time. Continue reading
Week 12 – Commando G, Bruja Averia 2103
Garnacha/Grenache is not a grape variety that people associate with elegance. In the Rhone valley it nearly always plays second fiddle, and only in Banyuls does it get a chance to show what it can do, but even than only in fortified wines. Continue reading
WEEK 11 – GOISOT, SAINT-BRIS, CORPS DE GARDE 2011
A lot of people tend to forget that there is more to Burgundy than chardonnay and pinot noir. In red there is gamay of course, but let’s not forget about césar, an admittedly obscure variety used in Yonne. Continue reading
WEEK 10 – DOMAINE DE LA CROIX SENAILLET, SUR LA CARRIÈRE 2012
The Côte Mâconnais is the southern part of Burgundy. Although the generic Burgundy appelations stretch out as far as Lyon going further down, let us be honest here. The bulk of Burgundian wines that everyone is interested in and talking about is made above Beaujolais.Continue reading
WEEK 9 – WEINGUT KNAB, ENDINGER ENGELSBERG 2012
For many people Burgundy is still the place to be for pinot noir. Some of the supposedly greatest wines in the world, think Romanée-Conti or Laurent Ponsot, are produced in the region, which unfortunately leads to scarcity and increased overall price levels. Therefore, I would like to turn today’s spotlight on pinot noir in other parts of the world. Continue reading
WEEK 8 – DOMAINE PAVELOT, SOUS FRÉTILLE 1C 2012
Burgundy remains one of the great destinations for many a winelover. Highly reputed for the finest wines in both white and red, known for the nearly incomprehensible patchwork of microclimats and tiny terroirs it is certainly not the easiest wine region, something which I discovered myself over the past weekend. Continue reading
WEEK 7 – THE BONNY DOON VINEYARD, A PROPER CLARET 2012
A lot of people who start getting into wine tend to get too serious, often forgetting that it should just be plain fun. Wine should first and foremost be something to enjoy. You can analyse it all you want afterwards, coming up with a complete herbarium to describe it but you should never forget that its essence is simply being a drink. Continue reading
WEEK 6 – ELISABETTA FORADORI, TEROLDEGO ROTALIANO 2010
So in class we started talking about Italian wines a couple of weeks ago. It it is not the easiest country to figure out, aside from the well-renowned regions like Piemonte or Tuscany, especially when it comes to grape varieties. Of course there are the big names, but every time I attend a tasting of Italian wines I make loads of new discoveries, varieties from appellations I have never heard of. Continue reading
WEEK 5 – RAFAEL PALACIOS, BOLO 2014
When I started to discover Spanish wines, I focused on red under the assumption that white would not be worth the effort. After a couple of years I can admit that I was clearly in the wrong though! Continue reading
WEEK 4 – SEBASTIEN BOBINET, HANAMI 2012
We are staying in the Loire with a focus on red this time. For a long time I only really cared about the great white Loire chenin blanc wines as I never managed to find a red wine based on cabernet franc, probably the most well-known red grape variety in the region, that I really liked.Continue reading
WEEK 3 – FRANCOIS CHIDAINE, LES CHOISILLES 2009
One of the first grape varieties that I fell in love with was Chenin Blanc. In most circumstances it leads to nice but rather conventional wines with aromas of ripe fruit, apple, pear, standard stuff to be honest. But it has the potential to be so much more. It can deliver wines which such vibrant fruit and depth that are irresistible. Continue reading
WEEK 2 – PETER JAKOB KUHN, QUARZIT 2013
So we had our first sunny day over the weekend. It’s a perfect time to move on from dense, warming wines to something more fresh but still containing a lot of substance as Belgium never seems to heat up properly. Spring is, together with autumn, my favourite time of the year to drink wine. Now what to drink with sunny but cold weather? Continue reading
WEEK 1 – ANTHONY THÉVENET, MORGON 2013
So I talked myself in a corner the other week by committing myself to presenting a new wine on a regular basis. What if I wouldn’t drink anything in a particular week that would be worth sharing? Should I keep buying wine, keep on drinking until I’d found one worthy of carrying the ridiculously heavy title of “Wine of the week”? Continue reading