Which wine are you drinking? Tell us about it

It’s 1/3rd off at the moment; £8.99 down from £13.49 if I remember accurately.

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We went to a friends house for dinner last night as a little get together before everybody goes their separate ways for the holiday period.

We started with Champagne, Lanson 2005.

Then with the starter, Scallops, mango and fennel, we drank a Kruger Rumpf Reisling. 2018.

For the main, we opened a bottle of 2012 Cru de Pommard.

…and a Lisini 2014.

For desert, we finished with Ramos Pinto 30 year old Tawney Port.

Quite an evening.

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Really enjoyed this 2013 St Hugo Cab/Sav by a fire over looking the Barrington River.

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Not often you see 2 30+ year old ports in the same thread!! Wow. How was that 68 Taylor’s?? Fantastic??

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I was wondering about that 68 Taylor’s too.

Another one from our holiday. I didn’t know that Beaujolais rosé existed until the maker turned up at the campsite for a tasting. It’s absolutely delicious, fruity, not too dry and not too sweet, and a very reasonable €6 a bottle. It’s a shame we only bought six.

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May I suggest

:sunglasses:

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I washed the car windscreen earlier, so I’ll give it a miss thanks.

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not sure if i catch the correct meaning…
(is it that bad?)

Ps, @Richard.Dane if possible I want to PM you. Can you give me a mail feedback please? ( Thank you)

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Friends over Saturday and we had some of the Gusbourne 2016 which is absolutely on form at moment. Followed by a couple of bottles of the 2019 Irancy by Christophe Ferrari. This is a red burgundy from north of burgundy near Chablis so can be somewhat lighter than other reds. However, this had lovely fruit and structure and was just delightful. Will definitely pick up a case

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Mateus is a much better example of Rosé than most realise and the slight sparkle makes it nicely refreshing. If critics took the time to taste test it, they’d be pleasantly surprised.

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Agreed - Mateus has changed enormously from the sweet confection it used to be in the 70’s. It is now a dry mid-level rose that is very drinkable

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That’s interesting. I tried it years ago and it was dreadful, ranking alongside Black Tower as something best left behind. I really like a nice rosé, great for summer drinking and hugely flexible with food.

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To be honest I think wines are a bit like cars in that the overall quality is much improved and there are far fewer truly awful ones around than in (say) the 70’s. Mateus is still a mass produced wine but quality is better and I would happily drink a glass if given it

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You may find that the current Mateus is much more to your liking that it used to be. It’s one of the Roses that’s actually made as a Rose as apposed to a secondary wine from the reds that one is making.

But personal taste is a large factor. It’s amazing how much Blue Nun and Yellowtail is being sold, each and every day, world-wide. Even many of the higher-end wines that people grab off the shelf by the label and take home and drink. They’ll consume a 3-4 yo Amarone or such, that won’t be ready to drink for 3-5 years or longer.
I find that under-aged, expensive wines are ghastly, even though you can tell by an excellent balance that it will become a fine wine in the future. At the time, it’s just a highly-tannic, over-concentrated beverage.

So really, to each his own I suppose.

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Could you explain what you mean by your second sentence please? All rosés are made from red grapes, unless they are are a cheapo blend of red and white.

Some winemakers decide afterwards to make a rose as a secondary or after-product of their red wine production. Mateus is one of the ones that is harvested and produced as a Rose from the beginning.
Although, I doubt this matters much to the quality of the end product. I was just relating a small fact.

I guess it has to be that way, as they only make rosé wine. The Beaujolais rosé we had last night is made by a Fleurie grower, who makes some rosé every year. So is it a secondary wine or a different primary wine? It probably makes no difference and is simply marketing puff by Mateus that is ultimately meaningless.

There’s absolutely no marketing puff involved and I was referring to other rose makers as well. Mateus makes many fine wines, but I do believe their Rose production is separate from their Red production.
You seem to have such a distaste for Sogrape as a wine producer, I would just stay away from all their products if I were you. Seems odd though …

Largely true. There are actually 3 main ways to make rose. The first is the direct press method where the winemaker intends to make rose. Red grapes are pressed and contact with red skins lends the pink colour. This is how Mateus is made (and so is Domaine Tempier from Bandol - one of the finest roses).
Second way is the ‘Saignee’ method where winemaker intends to make red wine but while all the grapes are sitting on each other some juice is squeezed out which goes pink due to skin contact. The winemaker drains this out to make rose before making the red wine.
Third way is blending where a little bit of red wine is added to white wine to make a rose. Most pink champagne made this way.
In the end though it is the skill of the winemaker rather than the method that determines the quality

Edit - entirely expecting one of our true experts on this thread to come in and shoot my explanation down in flames!

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