Recent Meetings.

GWAS March 2014
A ‘Majestic’  Tasting
Hosted by Ian & Michelle

An informal, walk around evening, with a selection of 18 wines from Majestic in Leamington available to sample.Although the number of GWAS members able to make it on the night was down compared to usual, feedback from many of those who did attend was very positive, with several ‘hidden gems’ amongst those wines available.A brief summary of the wines sampled was as follows (prices quoted for a minimum of 2 bottles).

Wine

Grape

Price

Bouvet Ladubay Saumur NV F.

Chenin Blanc

£10.99

Contesa Pecorino 2012/2013 IGT Colline Pescaresi.

Pecorino

£7.99

Rachel's Chenin Blanc 2013 Boschendal, Coastal Region.

Chenin Blanc

£6.99

Paul Mas Estate Marsanne 'La Forge Vineyard' 2013 PGI Pays d’Oc

Marsanne

£7.99

Valençay 'Le Clos du Château' 2012 Claude Lafond. 

Viognier

 £7.99

Villa Maria Private Bin Gewürztraminer 2013 East Coast

Gewurtztraminer

£8.99

Valençay 'Le Clos du Château' 2012 Claude Lafond.

Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay

£7.99

Sancerre 'Clos des Bouffants' 2012 Domaine Roger Neveu.

Sauvignon Blanc

£12.99

Chateau La Gravette 2013, Minervois Rose. 

Cinsault, Granache,         Carignan 

£5.49

Rioja Rosado 2013 Marqués de Cáceres.

Grenache, Tempranillo

£7.99

Robertson Winery Pinot Noir 2013 Robertson.

Pinot Noir

£5.99

Juliénas Flower Label 2009 Georges Duboeuf.

Gamay

£8.99

Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2012 Grifone.

Montepulciano

£4.99

Errazuriz Estate Series Merlot 2012 Valle de Curicó.

Merlot, Carmenere

£6.99

Rioja Reserva 2008 Viña Eguía. 

Tempranillo

 £7.99

The Lodge Hill Shiraz 2011 Jim Barry, Clare Valley.

Syrah-Shiraz

£14.99

Vinalba Gran Reservado Malbec 2011, Mendoza.

Malbec

£13.99

Delaforce Quinta da Corte 1995 (Port).

Tinta Barocca,
Touriga Francesca,
Touriga Nacional

£15.49

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GWAS February 2014
A Naked Wines Special: An Iberian experience
Hosted by Eddie Kirk

The first event of 2014 was a very enjoyable tour of Spain and Portugal, with a fine selection of wines all sourced from Naked Wines. ‘Angel’ Eddie Kirk was MC for the evening, giving a very informative and amusing review of the wines sampled, with the aid of a few appropriate props!!

A summary of the wines sampled during the evening were as follows:

L’Atzar Cava – a very dry sparkling wine from Catalonia in the North East of Spain.  Grape varieties : Macabeu, Paradella. Priced at £13.99, available to angels at £9.99

Villasilos Rueda – From North Central Spain (just SW of the Rioja region) this is a very dry white with excellent acidity and a refreshing grassy character. Grape variety: Verdejo. Priced at £10.99, available to angels at £7.99

Altamiso Albarino – From the NW corner of Spain (Galicia) this is a very clean, crisp white. Great with chicken and chorizo, and also pimentos!! Grape variety: Albarino (predominantly). Priced at £12.99, available to angels at £9.99

Prova Regia Arintino – From Southern Portugal, this vibrant scintillating white won a gold medal at the 2013 wine sommelier awards. Grape variety: Arinto (also known as Arintino). Priced at £11.49, available to angels at £9.99

Montaria Portuguese blend – A little further north in Portugal, this red is ‘plummy with black cherries’. Grape variety: A blend of local varieties. Priced at £8.99, available to angels at £6.45

Hacienda Don Hernan Rioja Alta – Back to Northern Spain, and to the most famous wine making region in Iberia. This 2010 red is full of ripe fruits and has an ‘oakey’ finish. Grape variety: Tempranillo. Priced at £9.99, available to angels at £6.99

Humilitat DOQ Priorat – Priorat is probably Spain’s least well known but most expensive wine area. This full red might benefit from decanting. Grape variety: Grenache, Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon. Priced at £16.95, available to angels at a special price for the evening of £9.99

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GWAS April 2013 
  Call My Bluff
Presented by Jill Gittins (and team!)

The return of an old favourite (Call My Bluff that is, not Jill!) this was a very enjoyable evening of bluff (and double bluff) by Jill, Tony, Jayne and (newcomers to GWAS and the village) Steph and Richard.

Tony certainly kept everyone on their toes with some interesting and (at times) eccentric observations! A very enjoyable evening once again, and many thanks to the team for their efforts.

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GWAS February 2013
   A Selection of Hungarian wines
Presented by Dick Frost

In February Dick Frost gave an entertaining and interesting insight into the wines of Hungary – an area of the world that does not usually feature at GWAS events. Dick has visited Hungary many times and most recently spent a week there with friends which gave him the opportunity to sample (and acquire for this particular evening) a range of wines representing the best that Hungary offers. Since Dick was able to purchase these directly via his contacts the cost was considerably lower than would have been the case compared to having to purchase from UK retailers. However, with over 40 people attending the cost of supplying the wines for the evening was not insignificant – nevertheless Dick very kindly donated the cost of the wines for the evening to the local air ambulance service. A donation of £200 was made after the event – a very kind gesture indeed.

Although the evening was entitled  ‘a selection of Hungarian wines’, the first wine that GWAS members tasted  on arrival was actually a sparking red wine from Australia!

Thereafter, the following wines were sampled in the sequence below:

• Irsai Oliver – an early evening aperitif wine, and a cross between two grapes (Pozsonyi Feher and Csabagyongye);
• Czerszegi Fuszeres – an aromatic wine to complement fish dishes and poultry. The grape is Cserszgi;
• Egri Bikaver – Perhaps better known as ‘Bulls Blood’, this is a blend of classified grapes, with the main grape being Kadarka;
• Kadarka – the next wine was 100% Kadarka grape – a full and easily recognisable taste, deep aroma and dark colour;
• Portugieser – lighter than the previous two reds, this an ideal drinking wine and this particular wine was made 100% from the Portugeiser grape;
• Harslevelu – The grape used for this wine (Bock) is capable of yielding dense, full bodied wine, and this particular wine has an intense aroma of spice, pollen and elderflowers;
• Tokaji (Tokay) – Aszu is the world famous sweet wine and is known throughout the English speaking world as Tokay – the greatest wine of Hungary.

The evening finished with the collection of feedback sheets from all those present, which enabled Dick to collate and summarise ‘scores out of 10’ from those present, and this analysis is enclosed separately.

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Grandborough Wine Appreciation Society - Contact Ian Johns at ian@gwas.info

© Grandborough Wine Appreciation Society 2014       Last Updated June 2014