Saina Nieminen
Saina Nieminen
I attended a lovely tasting of some Tempier and some other Mourvèdre heavy wines in comparison. The Tempiers were all lovely; sadly the comparisons mostly wowed me in the wrong ways. I sadly haven't really had much experience with Mourvèdre before, but I ended up prefer the tangy, savoury style to other Southern wines. So how do Disorderlies view Tempier? Any other Mourvèdres I should try?
Niepoort Douro Redoma Branco 2007
Served blind. A rather neutral aroma with some oak and tropical fruit. Rich palate, dense and sweet and fairly low in acidity. Decent length. Not really an exciting wine.
Dehesa del Carrizal Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 - Spain, Castilla-La Mancha, Montes de Toledo
13,5% abv; served blind. It smells like an aged Bordeaux from a hot year (I guessed 1990): already some aged Cab aromas but with a surprising amount of sweet and dark fruit. No oak noticeable. Rich and sweet, lively still with healthy structure. Nice now; but it doesn't seem like there would be a hurry to drink this up. Very good.
Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale Cabassaou 1993
13% abv; served blind. A beatiful wine, but very young still and it took a long time for the scent to open up. At first it was all about lactic aromas and I couldn't see much else than a hint of red berries underneath. But the palate was already outstanding: deep, rich, tangy, savoury and tasted rather like pomegranate. Lovely.
Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale La Migoua 2005
14,5% abv. Slightly jammy and ever so slightly stinky nose. Quite lactic initially, but opened up to a dark toned aromas and lovely, tangy pomegranate smells. Dense, liquorous, deep and relatively voluptuous fruit compared to the '07s; not overly tannic or harshly acidic, but refreshing and well structured. Very nice, very young.
Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale La Migoua 2007
14,5% abv. Once the initial lactic aromas clear off this smells enchanting: meat/game bird's blood, tangy dark fruit. Full bodied but wonderfully, palate-cleansingly tannic and refreshingly bright acidity despite all the fruit. Tangy and crunchy. Lovely.
Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Classique 2007
14,5% abv. Really lovely dark, tangy Mourvèdre aromas, but not really any more open than the cuvées nor really a step down in quality either IMO. Instead it follows much the same path as the cuvées: at first lots of lactic aromas; then lots of pomegranate brightness and crunch. Palate-cleansing tannins; refreshing finish despite the copious fruit. Lovely.
Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale La Tourtine 2007
14,5% abv. This was my favourite of the '07s. Pomegranate, tangy and mineral aromas. Rich but wonderfully tangy and savoury, meaty/slightly gamy but fresh and refreshing. Lovely.
Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale Cabassaou 2007
14,5% abv. As so often happens, I preferred the more basic cuvées to this most special one. This had all that lovely meaty and pomegranate aromas but also seemed a bit too ripe and raisiny - which made it a denser wine but also, at least now when so young, masked the character I found in the "lesser" wines. Yet even this, with the ripeness and size becoming slightly raisin, managed to be refreshing on the finish. Possibly lovely in a few decades?
Ch“teau de Beaucastel Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin 2000
What a delightfully stinky scent this has! And how wonderfully voluptuous it is yet still manages to be lively and refreshing. Sadly a slight raisiny character slightly diminishes my enjoyment, but it is still a great wine.
Bodegas y Viñedos El Sequé Alicante El Sequé 2006 - Spain, Valencia, Alicante
Lactic with strawberry jam aromas and toffee aromas of new oak. The palate is sweet, simple and oaky. Fail.
Torbreck Mataro The Pict 2006 - Barossa Valley
Wow! But the wow is for all the wrong reasons: super-sweet, completely confected, lacking freshness, lacking savouriness, lacking anything that would make me want to take a second sip. Smells like tar and has a similar texture. Fail.
Teusner Mataro The Astral Series Moppa 2006 - Barossa Valley
Smelled just like the Torbreck Pict except this had a minty edge. Cough syrup and tar. Lacking elegance, freshness and drinkability. Fail.
Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio 2006 - Spain, Murcia, Jumilla
Smells of fancy French oak. I don't like fancy French oak. Or any sort of oak at all for that matter. Dark fruit. Massive, unrefreshing, undrinkable. Fiery, spirity finish. Nasty, brutish and unfortunately that's where the Hobbesian reference has to end. Colossal fail.
Niepoort Douro Redoma Branco 2007
Served blind. A rather neutral aroma with some oak and tropical fruit. Rich palate, dense and sweet and fairly low in acidity. Decent length. Not really an exciting wine.
Dehesa del Carrizal Cabernet Sauvignon 1992 - Spain, Castilla-La Mancha, Montes de Toledo
13,5% abv; served blind. It smells like an aged Bordeaux from a hot year (I guessed 1990): already some aged Cab aromas but with a surprising amount of sweet and dark fruit. No oak noticeable. Rich and sweet, lively still with healthy structure. Nice now; but it doesn't seem like there would be a hurry to drink this up. Very good.
Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale Cabassaou 1993
13% abv; served blind. A beatiful wine, but very young still and it took a long time for the scent to open up. At first it was all about lactic aromas and I couldn't see much else than a hint of red berries underneath. But the palate was already outstanding: deep, rich, tangy, savoury and tasted rather like pomegranate. Lovely.
Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale La Migoua 2005
14,5% abv. Slightly jammy and ever so slightly stinky nose. Quite lactic initially, but opened up to a dark toned aromas and lovely, tangy pomegranate smells. Dense, liquorous, deep and relatively voluptuous fruit compared to the '07s; not overly tannic or harshly acidic, but refreshing and well structured. Very nice, very young.
Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale La Migoua 2007
14,5% abv. Once the initial lactic aromas clear off this smells enchanting: meat/game bird's blood, tangy dark fruit. Full bodied but wonderfully, palate-cleansingly tannic and refreshingly bright acidity despite all the fruit. Tangy and crunchy. Lovely.
Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Classique 2007
14,5% abv. Really lovely dark, tangy Mourvèdre aromas, but not really any more open than the cuvées nor really a step down in quality either IMO. Instead it follows much the same path as the cuvées: at first lots of lactic aromas; then lots of pomegranate brightness and crunch. Palate-cleansing tannins; refreshing finish despite the copious fruit. Lovely.
Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale La Tourtine 2007
14,5% abv. This was my favourite of the '07s. Pomegranate, tangy and mineral aromas. Rich but wonderfully tangy and savoury, meaty/slightly gamy but fresh and refreshing. Lovely.
Domaine Tempier Bandol Cuvée Spéciale Cabassaou 2007
14,5% abv. As so often happens, I preferred the more basic cuvées to this most special one. This had all that lovely meaty and pomegranate aromas but also seemed a bit too ripe and raisiny - which made it a denser wine but also, at least now when so young, masked the character I found in the "lesser" wines. Yet even this, with the ripeness and size becoming slightly raisin, managed to be refreshing on the finish. Possibly lovely in a few decades?
Ch“teau de Beaucastel Ch“teauneuf-du-Pape Hommage à Jacques Perrin 2000
What a delightfully stinky scent this has! And how wonderfully voluptuous it is yet still manages to be lively and refreshing. Sadly a slight raisiny character slightly diminishes my enjoyment, but it is still a great wine.
Bodegas y Viñedos El Sequé Alicante El Sequé 2006 - Spain, Valencia, Alicante
Lactic with strawberry jam aromas and toffee aromas of new oak. The palate is sweet, simple and oaky. Fail.
Torbreck Mataro The Pict 2006 - Barossa Valley
Wow! But the wow is for all the wrong reasons: super-sweet, completely confected, lacking freshness, lacking savouriness, lacking anything that would make me want to take a second sip. Smells like tar and has a similar texture. Fail.
Teusner Mataro The Astral Series Moppa 2006 - Barossa Valley
Smelled just like the Torbreck Pict except this had a minty edge. Cough syrup and tar. Lacking elegance, freshness and drinkability. Fail.
Bodegas El Nido Jumilla Clio 2006 - Spain, Murcia, Jumilla
Smells of fancy French oak. I don't like fancy French oak. Or any sort of oak at all for that matter. Dark fruit. Massive, unrefreshing, undrinkable. Fiery, spirity finish. Nasty, brutish and unfortunately that's where the Hobbesian reference has to end. Colossal fail.