Currencies – Sri Lanka Rupees (RS) approx RS200 = £1

Sri Lanka advertises itself as paradise and I concluded that I liked the place.

There is severe poverty but everyone seemed to be going  round with a smile – even in the slums. I encountered no begging.

Prices are really low by British standards – beer is approximately  50p a pint (bottled) – outside the hotels – and petrol is around 70p a litre.

In terms of transport, the place is “mad”. I rated Sri Lanka as the second most dangerous place to drive in – Egypt being number one and Italy (Rome) is my number three. The cars and tuktuks (Scooter rickshaws) overtakes you on the outside, on the inside and down the middle between 2 cars. One day, on the way back from Candy, we found cars coming at us on our side of the “dual carriageway”. This was because there was an accident and so instead of waiting, the vehicles climbed over the middle of the road and drove down the wrong side.

FOOD

The main difference between Indian Curries and Sri Lankan Curries is the use of coconut in 99% of the dishes.

Some interesting food are

Stringhopers – mix flour with boiling water and the pipe the mixture onto mats to form bundles of vermicelli.

Milk Rice – Rice semi cooked and then finished off in coconut milk

Jaggery Rice – red rice with dahl and sugar

Pittu – rice flour and coconut shreds (shavings of the fruit) – mix and steam into buns

Hoppers – rice, bread, coconut and sugar blended together with coconut milk. Then fry the batter.

Sodhi – gravy made from coconut milk, chillies, curry leaves, turmeric, onions, fenugreek leaves, rampa, lemon grass and cinnamon.

Another interesting point is that most of the curries contain large amounts of white peppercorns which add an interesting twist to the “heat” generated by the chillies.

CRICKET GROUNDS

Both cricket grounds (Galle and R Sethi (Colombo) were really primitive affairs. Half the stands were temporary with unnumbered seats. This lead to a mad scramble for seats and a lot of people arrive an hour and half before the start of play in order to secure decent seats.

Beer (approx) half a pint were charged at RS 150 (approx 75p) and food were provided be Keells – a supermarket chain. Price of food started at RS 150 for a pile of chips. Other food on offer were fish fingers, burgers and hot dogs. All the drinks and food were serve from temporary stall. They also sell soft drinks and water (RS 100 for a litre) and chunks of pineapple at RS 100.

The loos were portable toilets with a hole in the floor and a urinal on the side. They were disgusting by lunch time. There were no souvenir shops. Some street traders smuggled in varies forms of hats and shirts – hats were RS1000 and shirts RS 1000-1500.

If the Sri Lankan cricket boards was a bit more commercial and organised, they could have made a killing – they have not paid their players for over a year because of a lack of funds – ICC had to step in.

In Gallee, they didn’t have score cards and the “brochures” only arrived on day 2 of play. In terms of ticketing, I was told that they ran out of tickets and had to have more printed in Colombo – 100km away!

AIRPORT and AIRLINES

I am afraid the that the lack of commercialism extended to the airport tax free shops and the airline. Sri Lankan Airways did not carry half the stuff they advertised in the on board brochure.

The tax free shops were a con as they charge more than the shops in Colombo. For example, a tin of premium tea at the Dilmah shop in the airport cost RS900 when the same can be purchased in the Dilmah shop in the Cinnamon Grand  for RS 250. When challenged, the manager told me that it was because  the rent they paid at the airport is astronomical. The other point of interest is that most shops in the airport would only accept US $.

E

 

April 2012

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Address: National Holiday Resort,  Bentota,  Sri Lanka

Telephone number: +94 34 555 5555

Website: www.vivantabytaj.com

Date of visit: 23-29 March 2012

Price guide:  Depending on the restaurant and time.  Average meal is about RS 1,000 – 10,000 (£ 5-50) per head.

Exchange rate:  Approx RS 200 (rupee) = £1.

Comments on wine and beer: Local beer (Lion) only RS 460 for 500ml bottle in the bar and various restaurants throughout the resort. Basic wine list from around RS 50,000

Likes and dislikes: Really excellent staff – efficiency, curtsey and helpfulness. Pity that there is no restaurant dedicated to Srl Lankan cuisine

Cuisine: International, Chinese and fresh sea food

Summary:

Vivanta by Taj is in the National Holiday Resort of Bentota. It is approximately half way between Columbo and Galle (pronounced as Gaul).

I am here for the cricket test series between Sri Lanka and England. There is a shortage of decent hotel rooms in Galle so nearly all the visitors were lodged in various hotel out side Galle.

Vivanta by Taj is about 60 minutes + drive from Galle.It has been around for around 15 years and is operated  by the Taj Group, part of Tata. I have always  found Taj Hotels to be extremely reliable.

There are 4 restaurants here:

Oriental Pavilion

This is suppose to serve authentic Chinese food. However from the look of the menu, it is not authentic Chinese. I don’t do bastardised Chinese food. People who went said that it was excellent.

The Palm

This is the breakfast and dinner buffet restaurant, It is an large open air terrace with a huge awning – it serves  well over a 100 people in a sitting. The evening buffet meal at RS 3560 offered many varieties . There is a salad bar, soup (2 Types) , 20+ hot stations that served  basic European  dishes such as vegetable gratin, roasts, fricassee,  and there were always  curry station with rice, dhal, chicken curry and nan baked to order in a portable oven. There is a different theme everyday – Italian (fresh pasta),  Arabic, English etc.

The soup here is like dish water, weak and tasteless. The cold meats – smoke beef (pretty good) chicken sausage (tasteless).  The roast is pre-sliced and over cooked. The various Indian dishes good and the nan was superb. On the whole, not great but adequate.

Breakfast  is always taken in The Palm, several types of juices including, papaya, coconut. Cereal and porridge are always horrible. Like most hotels, the bacon is streaky and cooked to a dry crisp. The sausages were awful – beef or chicken, However, there are always hash browns and baked beans. They also have an egg section – cooked to order – and an Sri Lankan section – string  hoppers , coconut rice and fish and chicken curry. The pastry and bread station is fine but the toaster is one of these rotating machine that you need to put the bread through twice – or more – before you get proper toasts. The first day I asked for an onion and tomato omelette and was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a dose of green chillies in it.

Sea View

This is next to the Plam and is enclosed and air conditioned. They offered an  a la carte menu centres around grilled fish, lobster and steak. Most expensive items were just over RS 50,000

On different days, I had the mushroom risotto with vegetable tempura and the 3 mushroom fricassee. They were both excellent and at RS 1850, really cheap. The only negative  comment was the tempura. They were heavily battered and not the light tempura  batter.

The Shack

This is an open sided  hut in the grounds and they served lunch (burgers, sandwiches and wraps during lunch time. In the evening they offered fresh seafood (local catch, never more than 2 days old).

Sandwiches and wraps started at RS 1100. I had a club sandwich  (RS 1400) one day and it was very good. It came with  top grade French fries – crisp, hot and no grease. They struggled with the brown bread for the club sandwich and gave me something that was in between white and wholemeal.

Re seafood, the fish etc is priced per 100g. Lobsters were RS 1100, fish, squid were RS 600, prawns – farmed in the local river mouth – RS 800. Re fish and lobsters, you must buy the whole fish or lobster. Most whole fish and lobster are around 1kg and so  you have to find a friend to share. The fish  came with potatoes and vegetables. You also get soup and a large salad in the price. Like The Palm, the soup is weak. The salad pretty good and the grilled fish excellent.  I had groupa (or garupa),  grey mullet and squid on 3 seperate occasions, really good and the French fries never dropped in standards.

Room Service

The strange thing about room services is that the menu is different from the restaurants. Besides the usual steak burger and sandwiches, there is a complete Sri Lankan section. One night, I had the aloo  samosas (RS 800) and lampray (RS 1500). The samosas came in a skin that was nearly like short crust pastry  – very good. The lamprey was a banana leaf wrapped parcel baked in the oven. It had curried chicken, vegetables and a bread crumbed deep fried egg in it. This is very similar to the chicken and rice wrapped in lotus leaf on a Chinese dim sum menu. The whole thing was ok but nothing special. As it was baked, the rice on the edges were dried out.

Clientele

There were a lot of English people here for the cricket. The others were Russians – they seemed to have champagne and lobsters every night. Then the Arabs with their women wrapped up in burrka. It a strange sight watching these women going for a “swim” in their burrka in the morning when I am having breakfast.

Tipping

No tipping is expected here, you can leave a small tip if you wish and they are over joyed.

 

 

 

E

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Address: 10 Church Street, Fort, Galle, Sri Lanka

Telephone number: +94 91 223388

Website: www.amangalla.com

Date of visit: 30 March 2012

Price guide: RS 2000 plus

Exchange rate: RS200 = £1

Comments on wine and beer: Rs 350 for a small bottle of Lion Larger. Serious wine list at serious prices. Few bottles around RS 5000. Wines available by the glass

Likes and dislikes: Fantastic hotel, food + drinks cheap by European standards, room rates here start at an incredible £500 per night. It is cheaper to stay at The Savoy in London.

Cuisine:  International – mainly European and Sri Lankan

Summary:

Came here for lunch the day after England swept to defeat – why did they sweep Herath when the ball didn’t bounce?

The Sunami destroyed a lot of the Southern tip of Sri Lanka. The cricket ground was destroyed but the old fort– next to the cricket ground  is  300 years old with a 20 feet wall/battlement – stood firm. There was very little destruction within the fort.

The Amangalla is housed in a grey painted colonial building next to the Dutch Reform Church. It is a marvellous building with wood panelled walls, fans and rattan arm chairs – think Raffles in Singapore.

I am here with a tour group and most of us decamped to this place for lunch on the veranda.

I had the set curry lunch which was vegetarian. For RS 1250 you get a big thalli. I was offered a yoghurt drink laced with cumin – ok but not to my taste. Bowls of papaya and garlic curries. Yes, you would not think that they can offer a dish made from cloves of garlic. Both curries came with a different coconut  based sauces. You also get a bowl of chopped greens laced with shavings of coconut, shredded beetroot and red rice. The meal is simple, yet absolutely divine. I washed the meal  down with several bottles of the by now familiar lion large. All the curries were mild

If you are in Galle, stay here (if you are on expenses) or eat here or have a drink. According to my lady guide (South African), this is the only place that served South African Cider in Sri Lanka.

E

 

 

 

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Tasting of 2010 Rhône and Champagne Tarlant – Charles Taylor Trade Tasting

Where: The Old Dining Hall, Saint Edmund Hall, Oxford

Date of tasting: 21 February 2012

 

The 2010 vintage in the Rhone has been generally pronounced as the second great vintage in succession for this French region so I was keen to taste its wines. I therefore did not turn down the invitation for a tasting and lunch organised by Charles Taylor at Teddy’s Hall so I attended with a colleague.

At the same session Charles also showed wines from Champagne Tarlant represented at the tasting by Jean-Mary and Micheline Tarlant. We were guided through by Micheline who even brought with her a big stone from their best vineyard; my wife and I first met her a few years ago when Charles arranged for us to visit the Domaine in Oeuilly in the Marne Valley! On this occasion there were 5 wines on show and all of them were very well made and very enjoyable but for me the 2000 Vintage and the Cuvée Luis were the best. The 2000 Vintage was made from grapes from selected vineyards, contained 90% Chardonnay and had its first fermentation in oak barrels; the wine was full-bodied with a long, fresh finish and can be drunk either as an aperitif or with food. The Cuvée Luis was a blend of wines from the 1998, 1997 and 1996 harvest from a single vineyard and it was all barrel fermented; it was very biscuity and complex, very fresh and extremely dry. Expect to pay at least £30 for the 2000 Vintage and over £35 for the Cuvée Luis; I have sometimes seen Champagne Tarlant in Marks and Spencers!

The champagnes were followed by 3 white wines all of which were very good with more acidity than the wines from the 2009 vintage due to the cooler weather and the slower ripening of the grapes. The wine we bought was the 2010 La Rosine Viognier from Domaine Michel & Stéphane Ogier. The 15 year-old vineyard is on the La Rosine hillside, close to Condrieu and just outside the Côte-Rôtie appellation; the wine had an excellent nose, was very dry, fresh and crisp with plenty of apricot flavours and a long finish. It should be an excellent aperitif on a sunny afternoon but it will also be very good with dinner. Expect to pay at least £18. Alas we had no more gaps in the cellar for more white wines!

The reds from both the southern and northern Rhône were all very good and I expect that retail prices will probably start at around £8. In general they were fresher and more tannic than the 2009s at the same stage. We tasted 8 wines from the southern area and 10 from the north. Of the southern Rhônes we bought the Domaine Lafond Roc-Epine Lirac as well as the Chateauneuf-du-Pape from the same domaine, the Domaine du Grapillon d’Or Vacqueyras and the Domaine Bosquet des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Pape Tradition. The Lirac should be drinking well in 2-3 years, the Vacqueyras in about 5 years but the Chateauneufs will need more patience! From the northern Rhône we bought the La Rosine Syrah and the Côte du Rhône Villages Plan de Dieu “Le Temps Est Venu” from Domaine Michel & Stéphane Ogier the Domaine Yann Chave Crozes Hermitage Le Rouvre, the Robert Stephane Domaine du Tunnel Saint Joseph and the Robert Stephane Domaine du Tunnel Cornas. The Cote du Rhone wine was drinking well now and it will be very good over the next couple of years but the others will need different cellaring times of between 2 and 10 years.

The roast beef lunch and the cheese were washed down with the excellent 2009 Domaine des Amphores Saint Joseph and although we already have this in the cellar we took the opportunity to buy some more!

Demetris Savva

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“Leading Wine Families” (Primum Familiae Vini) Wine Tasting

Wellington Ballroom, Hilton on Park Lane, 22 Park Lane, London W1K 1BE

Date of tasting: 10 February 2012

 

As an elected wine steward of a sizeable club cellar, I am invited to a lot of trade wine tastings and I try to attend as many as my full-time job permits. Tastings range from en primeur ones to regular tastings for new releases by a range of merchants. I attended this tasting last week and I have to admit that it was one of the best; sorry you were not able to join me Eddie! The Primum Familiae Vini (www.pfv.org) organisation was set up by 11 of the leading wine families in Europe but most of them have wineries and interests around the world. This tasting was held in a very appropriate setting and involved all members of the group and some of the owners were present otherwise the wines were presented by the UK agents.

At the first table we tasted 6 champagnes from Pol Roger (Pure, Brut Reserve, Blanc de Blancs 2000, Brut Vintage 2000, Rosé 2004 and Cuvée Winston Churchill 1999). All of them were of excellent quality as one would expect from this reputable champagne house in Epernay but the two I enjoyed most were the Rosé 2004 and, one of my favourite champagnes, the Cuvée Winston Churchill 1999.

We then tasted 5 Riesling wines from Egon Muller Scharzhof (Saar, Germany) including the good and very dry Kanta 2006 from Adelaide Hills in Australia and the Chateau Belá from Slovakia. The Saar wines were the Scharzhof 2009 (10% a/v), the Scharzhofberger Spätlese 2010 (9% a/v) and, my favourite, the Scharzhofberger Auslese 2010 (with only 8% a/v).

Next we tasted at the Tenuta San Guido (Bolgheri, Italy) table fronted by the professional team of its UK agents, Armit Wines. We tasted the Guidalberto 2005 which is still a bit tannic and I think it still needs 2-3 years to be at its peak (at home I am still drinking the 2003 which is excellent) and the Guidalberto 2008 in magnum which was even more tannic and will need more patience! Another of their wines in magnum, this time the Le Difesse 2009, was closed but it had everything for a promising future; a couple of days earlier we tasted at the club the Le Difesse 2008 which was very good but still needing time. We finished with the winery’s flagship wine of Sassicaia 2008 which was an excellent wine but needing plenty of time and patience as well as a deep wallet!

At this point I needed to clean the tannins from my taste buds so I went for a drop of the Pol Roger Cuvée Winston Churchill 1999. On to the table with 6 wines from Famille Perrin (Chateau de Beaucastel, Orange, France) where the stars were the Famille Perrin Gigondas 2009 and the Chateau de Beaucastel 2009; both were well made and, for my taste, will be excellent in about 10 and 15 years respectively.

We followed this by a visit to the table with 6 Antinori wines (Firenze, Italy) where my favourites were the Marchese Antinori 2007 which had an excellent fruit and tannin balance and the Albis 2005 which is made from 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Carmenére and was excellent.

We returned to the Pol Roger Rosé 2004 for a quick tasting and to clean more tannins from the mouth and we had some very good canapés before moving on to the table with 3 white and 3 red wines from Joseph Drouhin (Beaune, France). Here, my favourites were the Beaune Clos des Mouches Blanc 2009 and its red brother Beaune Clos des Mouches 2009 but the star was the Chambole Premier Cru 2009 which I will look forward to tasting again in a few years’ time!

Next to this was the Hugel & Fils (Riquevir, France) table with 6 wines: Gentil 2010 (an “entry-level” blend), Riesling 2010, Pinot Gris Tradition 2008, Gewurztraminer 2010, Riesling Jubilee 2005 and Gewurztraminer Vendages Tardive 2005. The Gentil 2010 was OK but nothing special but the others were very good and my favourite was the late harvest Gewurz which had an excellent nose and was extremely long-lasting in the mouth; this was one for reverse-spitting!

Some more canapés and on to the Torres (Vilafranca del Penedes, Barcelona, Spain) table where Miguel Torres was in attendance together with the agents (Fells). All his 6 wines were of excellent quality but the ones that stood out for me were the two whites, the Frasnsola 2010 (95% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Parellada) and the Milmanda 2008 (100% Chardonnay, which was very close to the style of a good white Burgundy) and the limited production  red Mas La Plana 2007 (Cabernet Sauvignon). I was very pleased that in July I bought the last few bottles of the latter at half price in a wine shop that was closing down in Zaragoza (Spain); I look forward to drinking these in a few years’ time! The Mas La Plana 1970 became famous when it won the 1979 Paris Wine Olympiad (organized by GaultMillau) in the presence of some of the world’s top wines that included some Bordeaux First Growths!

At this point we had a short break for some more canapés and cheese from the excellent cheeseboard and after a chat with some of the producers and agents we soldiered on to the “serious stuff”!  The first stop was the Chateau Mouton Rothschild (Pauillac, France) table with 6 wines. The Mouton Cadet Blanc 2010 and Mouton Cadet Rouge 2009 were OK but very basic with not a lot of depth. I thought that the Chateau d’Armailhac 2000 (an excellent and expensive vintage in Bordeaux) was a bit thin on the fruit and still quite tannic but I enjoyed the Chateau Clerc Milon 1998 which was drinking beautifully but will keep for a few more years and of course the Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2004 which again was drinking well despite the early stage in its development!

Soldiering on to the Vega Sicilia (Valbuena del Duero, Spain) table with the Oremus Tokaji Furmint 2010 (Hungary) which was good but the best offerings were of course the reds. The first was the very good Pintia 2007 from the Toro region of Spain (an underrated region as far as I am concerned) and this was followed by those from the Ribera del Duero: the Alion 2007, the Vega Sicilia Valbuena 2006  and the Vega Sicilia Unico 2000. All of these were excellent with the last one needing plenty of time to achieve its potential. No matter how many times I try the Valbuena and the Unico together, I think that they are both top notch wines and I have no doubt that the Unico is the better wine but I wonder if the price difference between the two is merited by the enormous difference in price!

Last, but certainly not least, the table with the fortified wines of the Symington Family Estates (Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal). We started with the Graham’s Six Grapes which I thought was excellent and, deceptively, easy drinking with a huge amount of fruit. The good Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage 2007 followed after which we tasted the Graham’s 20 Year Old Tawny and the Graham’s 40 Year Old Tawny both of which were excellent. There followed two excellent vintage ports, the Graham’s Quinta dos Malvedos 1999 Vintage and the Graham’s 1980 Vintage Port.

After a bit more cheese and tasted again the Pol Roger Rosé 2004 and the Pol Roger Cuvée Winston Churchill 1999 whilst we mingled and chatted to merchants and producers.

As this was a trade tasting I have not indicated prices but I believe there were wines on show to suit all pockets. And before you ask, yes we did drink a lot of water throughout the tasting and we were spitting a lot; let’s hope that the fines on spitting as reported in the Sunday Times at the weekend is not introduced in tasting rooms!

Enjoy!

Demetris Savva

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Subject:  2010 Burgundy Tasting

Date: 9 January, 2012

Host: Charles Taylor Wines

Venue: The Travellers Club, Pall Mall London

Note: Charles Taylor deals with trade customers ONLY. So prices quoted are trade prices per case (duty paid but no VAT). Retail price would probably attract a 50% mark-up per case. I am summarising by Grower not by vineyard. Where a particular plot of land stands out, I shall mention it.

Summary:

2010 was a very good year. I rate it as 8/10.

The whites (at the bottom end) were better than the reds. Mid price wines were good for both reds and whites. Top end reds not as impressive – value for money. Most reds at the bottom end were low in tannin. So, it will drink well immediately.

Overall, the wines were clean, fruity and very good value when compared with Bordeaux and Italian wines.

Details:

In total 107 wines from 32 growers (most were present) were on show.

Xavier Ritton

The white wines (Marcon, St Vernon) were excellent value. The Pinot Noir Ok. All wines under £100 a case.

Jean- Francois Bordet

The Petit Chablis and Chablis were both ok. However  the 1 er Fourchaume lack the buttery taste usually associated with a premieur cru. Prices were £90-£144 per case.

Bernard Billaud.

I wasn’t sure about the Petit Chablis (£104). The Chablis (£112) was ok.

The 3 !er cru (Les Vallions, Mont de Milleu and Monde Tonnerre) were all impressive  -£155, £172 and £187.

Domaine Saumaize-Michelin

The Marcon Villages (£104) and St Vernan  (£112 and £132 for the villes vignes) were all very good. In fact all the St Vernan I tasted were outstanding.

The various Pouilly-Fuisse were all good at around £150 a case. The outstanding wine was Pouilly-Fuisse Clos sur La Roche at £167 a case.

Philippe Chavy

Phillipe Chavy was exhibiting more up maket wines . The Puligny-Montrachets were good . Corvees des Vignes (£230) was nearly as good as the 1er Blagny Sous le Dos d’ Ane (£286). I wasn’t sure about the Les Folatieres (£382).

Vincet Boyer

The basic Chardonnay at £126 a case was good. The more serious Meursaults   were fine but noit great.

Domaine Stephane Aladame

The Montagny (£137) was ok but the St Vernan from the previous growers were better value for money.

Domaine Jacques Cacheux et Fils

The Vosne-Romanee was perfumery and soft. This was drinking well despite the fact that it is a cask sample. At £225, it was an outstanding wine.

Not so sure about the Echezeaux (£575).

Domaine Daniel Rion et Fils

All the reds were good but the outstanding wine was  Nuits Saint George Vieilles Vignes (£245)

The best of the rest were

Cote de Nuits villages Le Vaucrian (£155)

Vosne-Romanee 1er Les Beaux-Monts (£350)

Jean-Marc Pillot

The Puily-Montrachet Les Noyes Brets (£242) and Chassagne- Montrachet 1er Cru Les Caillerets were the best from this grower.

Jean-Jacques & Agnes Girard

The Aloxe-Corton was brilliant – fruit, depth and price (£175).

Bertrand Devillard

The Mercury (£165) was another find. This nearly matched the Aloxe-Corton from Girad for outstanding value.

Florence Rossignol

To me, the Gevrey Chambertin 1er Cru Clos Prieur (£435) was the outstanding wine of the show. It had everything and very tannic. Will keep for 20-30 years.

The Chambertin which was the top price wine on show at £945 was totally closed. I could not tell.

For your information:

I purchased

Saint Veran Les Creches (Domaine Saumaize – Michelin)

 

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In response to a recent comment (see original article published on 13 March 2011) re sharks fin, I commended that “mock ” shark’s fin is now commonly in use in certain restaurants because of the costs and shark’s fin is a banned food in certain parts of the world.

I went seaching for “mock” sharks fin, expecting it to be tinned or dried. In fact it came as a frozen pack.

The one I got was from See Woo in Reading. It was £3.95 for 500g and very similar to the real macoy (from memory). As sharks fin is traditionally served in a soup, it is very difficult to tell – it adds texture ( thickens the soup as well as to give it some crunchiness from the cartilage) rather than taste. The taste comes from the stock – chicken, mushroom and ham.

To my surprise, the “mock” sharks fin was made in Taiwan and was manufactured from seaweeds. Some people may not be aware that deep fried seaweeds in a Chinese resratrant is in fact shredded cabbage.

 

E

 

Dec 2011

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Event: Armit trade tasting

Where: The Gallery Soho, 121 Charing Cross Road, London

When: 6 September 2011

Website: www.armit.co.uk

Intro:

Armit is one of my favourite wine merchants, he offers good quality and fine wines at a reasonable price. Armit is also heavily into the Restaurant trade. A significant number of London Restaurants offers wines from the Armit list.

You can buy from Armit as a retail (he sells by the cases) or trade customer.

The following report is my take on the annual tasting. Over 90 wines were on offer. They were mainly the cheap and medium price wines from his cellars. Please note that these are trade prices – cheaper than retail and NO VAT. Add about 30% to the price for the equivalent  retail price (including VAT).

Armit’s tasting uses different venue every year. This year it took place in one of Foyle’s old building – downstairs is now a Soho Bookshop and William Hill.

 

Tasting notes on recommended wines:

Gaicomo Fenocchio Barolo, Piedmont, Italy £28.99

Good. Tannic and still closed. Another 5 years before it opens up. This is a classic Barolo.

From La Rioja Alta, Spain:

Grand Reserva 904 1988, £24.99

Grand Reserva 904 1997 £24.84

Vina Ardanza Reserva Especial 2001 £31.99

Vina Arana 2004 £13.99

Aster Crianza (Ribera del Duero), £10.99

Aster Reserva 2004 (Ribera del Duero) £12.99

All the wines on offer were pretty good. The top mend was very woody.  However the Aster Crianza was a real find, jammy, easy to drink and at over £10 a bottle, a bargain.

Prosecco Frizzante NV, Biancaavigna, Valdobbiadene, Italy £6.85

An excellent brut Prosecco.

From Pierre Gimonnet et Fils, Champagne:

Cuis 1er Cru Brut NV £19.99

Brut Gastronome 2006 £22.99

Fleuron 2005 £24.99

The Cuis was all CO2 and had very bland taste and lacked the floral and biscuity taste of a good champagne. The Brut Gastronome was much better. I wasn’t sure that Fleuron was better than Brut Gastronome. Historically, I have found that these champagnes improve with age.

From: Gusbourne, Appledore, Kent

Blanc de Blancs, Brut 2006 £19.99

Sparkling rose £21.99

These sparkling wines from Kent were excellent and were one of the top find of the tasting. They have wonderful bouquet and fruit. However, they were on the expensive side.

From Gaja

Promis 2008 £35.30

Magari 2008 £22.50

Camarcanda 2204 £ 45.99

Bruenello Di Montalcino, Sugarille 2206, £63.48

They were all nice wines with plenty of fruit and the 2008 is still tannic – so will keep for another 10 years. However, Gaja has put his prices up in line with Bordeaux. Are they still value for money? The Camarcanda was top of the bunch.

From: Matetic Vineyards , Chile

Corrallillo Pinot Noir 2010 £8.99

Corralilillo Syrah 2009, £8.99

Chardonnay 2009, £8.99

EQ costal Savvignon Blanc £6.99

Matetic  Syrah 2008

The Matetetic wines were all easy drinking “restaurant” wine. I suspect that most of them (except the Syrah 2008) had never seen “wood” in their life hence the softness – lack of tannin. These wines won’t keep with age.

Chateau Dereszia, Dry Tokaji,  2010, Hungry £7.45

I like this. Having never drank any Tokaji that isn’t sweet, I found this to be like a troken fruity German wine with low alcohol.

From: Freemark Abbey, Napa Valley, USa

Sauvignon Blanc £14.99

Viognier 2010, Napa Valley £13.99

Chardonnay 2010 Napa Valley £13.99

Merlot 2009, Napa Valley£15.45

Cabernet 2007, Napa valley £19.99

Bosche Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford 2005 £44.99

Sycamore Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, 2005 £44.99

I used to  think that America wines are over priced as you can get a decent French 2eme Bordeaux for around £30 a bottle. However, since 2005, all has changed as the price of French wines just rocketed and the Italians are doing the same. The Spanish wines are still good value for money, the American wines are now re reasonable prices – similar to a Bordeaux 2eme growth. However, only the Americans can make big, jammy, blockbuster Cabs. The Sycamore Vineyard 2005 is a super Cab and will last 10-20 years but drinking well now. By the way, it is only 80% cabernet sauvignon, the rest is merlot, cabinet franc etc In fact it is a Bordeaux blend.

Valpolicella Superiore, Romano Dal Forno, Italy £44.95

If you think that Valpolicella Superiore is a cheap wine that you order in Pizza Express, think again. The top Valpolicella from Gaja sells at the3 sme price as a Bodeaux first growth – well not any more as Bordeaux prices are now silly. This one is ag good as it comes. Still very tannic but heavy with fruit. Tobacco, leather and …… are all there. At £44.99, it is probably good value. Will need another 10 years in the cellar before it opens up.

 

I was on the whole disappointed with the white burgundies on offer. Two wines were pretty good:

St Romain 2007, Maison Deux Montille, Burgundy £14.99

This won Gold at the 2011 Decanter Sommeilier award. On the whole, I don’t trust award as the njudging is pure on the wines submitted – if you make a good and well known wine, why would you submit it to be judged? So, It nearly always newcomers.

Ruilly 1er Cru 2009, Leflaive, Burgundy £29.32

Crisp, fruity – no butter taste . Excellent but over priced. This was less than £20 a bottle 3 years ago.

 

Best of the rest – budget wines

Victoria Pinot Grgio, Plozner, Italy £4.99

Light but very drinkable.

Six Foot Six Pinot Noir, Geelong, Austria £8.99

Another Aussie wine with a silly name but this is not bad at all. Very soft, probably never seen oak in it’s life.

Klein Steenbery Bordeaux Blend 2009, Constantia, South Africa £4.99

Good stock wine to entertain your neighbour.

Riesling Gutswein Halbtroken 2008, Weingut Theodorus, Pflanz, Germany £7.15

Good clean wine – on the nose and palate. Good with seafood.

Paper Road Pinot Noir 2009, Borthwick Vineyard, New Zealand £8.75

Pretty good. Rasberry, nearly a proper burgundy.

Momo  Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand £7.25

Nearly as good as Cloudy Bay but at half the price.

 

E

Sept 2011

PS if you start a wine club with a few friends or work colleagues, you can buy wine at trade prices!

 

 

 

 

 

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My friend Demetris (Senior Wine Steward, SCR, Univ of Reading) has recently been to a Charles Taylor tasting with over 60 Bordeaux 2010 wines.

In  his view the wines are quite good. The best are from Pessac-Leognan & Graves and St Estephe.

The premieur  cru are likely to open at 10% above 2009 price – which was a record price.

The problem is that Bordeaux Reds are now an investment and no longer a pleasure.

Wines (affordable) that Demetris recommend are : Partache d’Aux, Chesse Spleen and Lafargue.

Of course, now is the time to buy older vintages – 2005, 2001 and 2000. 2003 and 2006 were ok for some wines but not all. Not only are they drinking now but they are ” cheaper”. For older vintagers, try Tanners, Berry Brothers and Armit – you can find their contact details under “Links” on Bottles and Cooks.

 

E

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Location: Place de Grand Sablon, 42 – 1000 Brussels, Belgium

Web site: www.lentreedesartistes.be

Telephone number: •    02 502 31 61

Date of visit: April 3 2011

Approx. cost per head: Euros £53

Comments on wine list/beer: good variety

Media link:

Review:

In an atmospheric Brussels Square, with restaurants and shops dotted around …. a delicious entrecote with herb butter and the best frits …. simple …. very cosy …. popular …. service on the slow side at times …. but they responded quickly to prompts …. if you are in the vicinity it is worth a visit.

Jane Bennett

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