Saina Nieminen
Saina Nieminen
Jean-Marc Burgaud Rosez! - Beaujolais-Village Ros; 13,85; 12% abv
With the lovely typical Finnish summer having arrived (rain and temperatures of 14 C) it was the obvious weather for a light ros! No vintage on the label but is 2009. Gamay. Very pale pink. Lovely scent of minerals with a delicate whiff of strawberry - not a sweet scent but pure. Deliciously light, pure and mineral. Nervy. Not cheap for ros but it makes up for that by its sheer awesomeness.
Quinta do Ctto Douro Grande Escolha 1995 - Douro; 12,5% abv
Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz & Souso. Quite a lovely wine. It has a leathery aged elegance with cigar box and earth aromas; but it also has a sweet, red berry presence which coupled with a still good structure would suggest that there is no hurry to drink this despite some aged aromas. Deep and crunchy palate with lovely, sweet fruit and refreshing acidity and still noticeable tannins. I love it now for its mix of youthful vigor and its complex, aged aromas. Drink and hold.
Flying Dog Horn Dog Barley Wine Style Ale - 10,2% abv
Smells and tastes of raisins. Flying Dog's beers seemed interesting and clever on first taste, but now with more exposure to them they seem average and don't really stand out from the crowd. Competent barley wine, but boring.
Seeyok Organic Darjeeling First Flush S.F.T.G.F.O.P 1 - 01/2010
Lovely green aromas, floral, bracing and refreshing. Darjeeling always seems to me more like a green or an oolong tea than a proper black tea because of its bright, green aromatics and its palate veering more toward palate-cleansing greenness than tannin - in some ways I often feel it is the teas' parallel to the Loire Cabernet Francs.
Sourenee Darjeeling First Flush F.T.G.F.O.P. 1 - 02/2010
Like the first picking of Seeyok, this is from a famous and well regarded plantation, but is instead of the second picking, so it should reveal a more black-tea-like character. And, indeed, it is a more malty, floral, rich and tannic brew. Lovely stuff, but I do prefer the perfumed delicacy of the Seeyok first picking.
Risheehat Darjeeling First Flush F.T.G.F.O.P. 1 - 05/2010
In theory, the fifth picking of this famous plantation should be even more black-tea-like than the 1st and 2nd pickings of the previous also famous plantations, but instead this surprises by being closer to a green tea in its brightness. The palate's richness and maltiness does, however, reveal a greater kinship to black tea than the scent.
I have always liked Darjeeling, especially FF, but only now that a specialist tea shop opened here have I been able to try a wider variety from this favourite region. There are a couple more Darjeelings I must go and try, but sadly, Helsinki isn't a big place, so I still can't experience the great variety of terroirs of tea. But at least this is a huge improvement to what we had before!
With the lovely typical Finnish summer having arrived (rain and temperatures of 14 C) it was the obvious weather for a light ros! No vintage on the label but is 2009. Gamay. Very pale pink. Lovely scent of minerals with a delicate whiff of strawberry - not a sweet scent but pure. Deliciously light, pure and mineral. Nervy. Not cheap for ros but it makes up for that by its sheer awesomeness.
Quinta do Ctto Douro Grande Escolha 1995 - Douro; 12,5% abv
Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz & Souso. Quite a lovely wine. It has a leathery aged elegance with cigar box and earth aromas; but it also has a sweet, red berry presence which coupled with a still good structure would suggest that there is no hurry to drink this despite some aged aromas. Deep and crunchy palate with lovely, sweet fruit and refreshing acidity and still noticeable tannins. I love it now for its mix of youthful vigor and its complex, aged aromas. Drink and hold.
Flying Dog Horn Dog Barley Wine Style Ale - 10,2% abv
Smells and tastes of raisins. Flying Dog's beers seemed interesting and clever on first taste, but now with more exposure to them they seem average and don't really stand out from the crowd. Competent barley wine, but boring.
Seeyok Organic Darjeeling First Flush S.F.T.G.F.O.P 1 - 01/2010
Lovely green aromas, floral, bracing and refreshing. Darjeeling always seems to me more like a green or an oolong tea than a proper black tea because of its bright, green aromatics and its palate veering more toward palate-cleansing greenness than tannin - in some ways I often feel it is the teas' parallel to the Loire Cabernet Francs.
Sourenee Darjeeling First Flush F.T.G.F.O.P. 1 - 02/2010
Like the first picking of Seeyok, this is from a famous and well regarded plantation, but is instead of the second picking, so it should reveal a more black-tea-like character. And, indeed, it is a more malty, floral, rich and tannic brew. Lovely stuff, but I do prefer the perfumed delicacy of the Seeyok first picking.
Risheehat Darjeeling First Flush F.T.G.F.O.P. 1 - 05/2010
In theory, the fifth picking of this famous plantation should be even more black-tea-like than the 1st and 2nd pickings of the previous also famous plantations, but instead this surprises by being closer to a green tea in its brightness. The palate's richness and maltiness does, however, reveal a greater kinship to black tea than the scent.
I have always liked Darjeeling, especially FF, but only now that a specialist tea shop opened here have I been able to try a wider variety from this favourite region. There are a couple more Darjeelings I must go and try, but sadly, Helsinki isn't a big place, so I still can't experience the great variety of terroirs of tea. But at least this is a huge improvement to what we had before!
