Skip to main content

Raymond Usseglio's "Part des Anges" 2007 - Part 2

The wine has been opened. The colour is a deep cherry red, very bright. There is more sediment than I expected but since that is (generally) no bad thing and I have a suitable funnel with a mesh to catch it, I have poured the wine into the jug to let it open up over the next several hours. At this stage the nose is more profound than I recall it being a couple of months ago - black fruit and earth dominating - but it is early so I'm going to (try to) resist temptation for a little while at least!

7pm - giving myself a pat on the back for waiting so long. One sip reveals so much about this wine: it is packed with potential. The fruit is concentrated but not too big or sweet - there is much to be gained from ten years in the bottle. There is some oak which glosses over things; I would like to see this fade away a little which, of course, it will. This will let the fruit sing out a little more on its own. But the main thing that stands out about this wine for me at this time is its texture. People sometimes refer to a wine having a texture of liquid velvet and this wine reveals why. It has body, not too heavy though but it's not just about glycerin (think Australian wine in particular but a lot of CDP too); there's something else here, something more real, more substantial. Maybe the clue is on those fine tannins that I filtered out earlier. The wine was clear after this but there was a slight "creamed potato" quality to the texture which, to me at least, rendered it as near to perfection as possible. I will be looking out for this a lot more.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Funny goings on at Domaine des Anges

Some irreverent answers given by Domaine des Anges ' owner, Gay McGuinness to questions asked by a South African  publication: (A) Your full address ? postal address: Domaine des Anges, 84570 Mormoiron, France; physical address: Domaine des Anges, Quartier ND des Anges, 84570 Mormoiron, France  (B) History of the winery. Domaine des Anges is a beautiful, small, hillside estate in the Ventoux in the Southern Rhone region of France. It looks out across a large valley towards Mont Ventoux – the Giant of Provence – with spectacular views on all sides. The estate covers 40 hectares and is overlooked by the chapel of Notre Dame des Anges and a 12 th century Moorish tower, living together happily in the sunshine of timeless, historic, rural France. The total area of the vineyard is 18 ha. There have been vineyards here since Roman times. We do not know the name of the original owner, but it is believed that he was stabbed to death by a group of Rom...

Juvenal strikes a home run again

Super critic Jeb Dunnuck (the new Parker?) has tasted the current range from Chateau Juvenal - he likes them! For now, we only have the 'everyday' range of Ventoux wines called 'Ribes de Vallat'. Here's what he has to say about them: Ribes de vallat 2021 Blanc 'I loved the two whites from Juvenal. Based largely on Clairette, the 2021 Ventoux Les Ribes Du Vallat Blanc has pretty pear, crushed citrus, and honeyed flower notes in a medium-bodied, fresh, mineral-laced package perfect for near- term drinking.' 2023-2026 (91/100) Ribes de Vallat 2019 Rouge 'Moving to the reds, the entry level 2021 Ventoux Les Ribes Du Vallat is well worth seeking out. Juicy darker berries, raspberries, peppery garrigue, and floral notes define the aromatics, and this medium-bodied, round, supple, delicious Grenache is best drunk over the coming 3-5 years. ' 2023-2028 (89/100) He's right! These are  consistently enjoyable and immensely good value too. Enjoy!

Joblot in the glass

Always one of my favourite tastings: the new vintage – in this case the 2019s – of Domaine Joblot’s wines from the bottle and, better still, in the comfort of my own home. 2019 has been much lauded but, thanks to Covid, only a very few people have tasted widely around the vintage. Jancis Robinson said of the wines she tasted, ‘ the wines were delightfully easy to like ’ although she rarely looks at the Chalonnaise which can be viewed as unfortunate for the top estates there but, perhaps, lucky for us since it keeps prices down and wines available. Anyone wanting to delve into Joblot’s wines could either choose any available vintagesand try wines from across the range or follow particular cuvées across a range of vintages (horizontal or vertical comparisons).   Juliette was clearly pleased with the way the wines turned out and rightly so. They tend towards sweetness in their youth but that is necessary for the wines to show at their best after 5-10m years (they will last much, much ...