One of the key reasons I started blogging was to encourage (force?) myself to get out there and visit a few more independent wine merchants in and around my 'patch'. The first stop on my wine safari was Taste Fine Wine, in Almondbury near Huddersfield. But more of which another time because now I want to tell you about the grog.
RIO AZUL 2002
Taste Fine Wines £8.99 (tasted 20 January 2009)
This is a Chilean chardonnay at 13.5 % with a real cork closer that ripped when extracted with you trusty waiter's friend (Grrrr!).
In the glass the wine is clear medium gold in colour and looks ever so inviting. The clean nose jumped out of the bowl and said 'dairy' which lingered alongside the full-on mango and melon tropical fruit with a vanilla under-score. This is a dry wine with low acidity and no tannins. The buttery body perfectly suits what one expected after the first pour, and alongside the fruit I also got some grass and a little mint. However, what really amazing me was the overwhelming taste of APPLE PIE AND CUSTARD that I got after a couple of good slurps. Maybe there is a far more appropriate description for these flavours but this was, for me, the best I could find and I'm sticking to it. This wine has a medium length which seemed to linger behind the ribs, which is surprising given the average alcohol levels.
I've never found a taste description so evocative before but this is one which I fear will stick. A decent oaked chardonnay which gave me just what I wanted. Recommended.
Other stuff off the back of the label you may find of interesting: the wine is produced and bottled by Michel Laroche and Jorge Coderch, and is from the Casablanca Valley.
Toot toot!
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