James Bercovici - The Big Red Wine Company

A local friend who hails from India by way of Kenya and Ealing has his ageing mother living with him now. She wanted to cook an authentic curry for his friends so last night we all piled round to enjoy something rather more subtle than the curries I make at home (or get from the local take-away). I asked what the curry was called to learn that it translated simply as "chicken curry" - no fancy names then. I had been asked to provide some wines and, whilst there were a couple of whites on the table, I stuck with the reds, of course. A Domaine de la Charite Cotes du Rhone had good fruit and a sufficiently soft structure not to be bothered by the spice. However, I was more surprised that the Domaine de Mourchon Seguret from 2007 drank so well alongside the (admittedly fairly mildly) spicy food. Perhaps more understandably, the maturing 2009 Cotes du Rhone from Domaine Bressy-Masson with its softened tannins provided secondary fruit characters that blended well with the spic...

Last night was my annual jaunt to the south of Kent for a tasting with the group. Group chairman/secretary (I am never sure what the roles are), Keith Powis had been called away so there was quite a different dynamic than usual but he was missed. The tasting was very lively and the wines were well received - all showing rather well. The wines I took along (one non-Rhone but who's counting?) were: White wines Mourchon , Côtes du Rhône 2010 “La Source” DomaineTreloar , VDP Côtes Catalan 2010 “Terre Promis” (really lovely wine, coming together well) Red wines Domaine deCristia , VDP Mediterrannée 2010 (mini-Chateauneuf, excellent price) Domaine de la Charité , Côtes du Rhône 2010 (very pure CDR) Perrin , Vinsobres 2009 “Les Cornuds” Raymond Usseglio , Côtes du Rhône 2009 (mini-Chateauneuf, a real contender) Domaine Bressy-Masson , Rasteau 2009 “Paul-Emile” (just gorgeous) Domaine des Côteaux des Travers , Rasteau-CDR Villages 2007 “Prestige” (masterful) ...

Walter McKinlay gets 10/10 for good publicity. One wonders if he has enough bottles left to sell after all the samples tasted (and clearly enjoyed) by the press. Already this year I have encountered dozens of reviews of his wines all heaping praise on the wines made at his southern Rhone estate. Today it is Jamie Goode's turn to enthuse about the 2007 CDR Villages Seguret from Domaine de Mourchon "A beautiful expression of the southern Rhone, this is a deep clooured wine with lovely sweet dark cherry, blackberry and plum fruit aromatics as well as hints of meat and spice. The palate shows lovely sweet vivid fruit but with added meat and pepper complexity adding a deliciously savoury counter to the ripe fruit. It's dense and well structured but lush and smooth at the same time. Really successful,: modern but interesting with plenty of non-fruit complexity." 91/100 Ariving soon!

James Molsworth of the Wine Spectator has been heaping praise on Walter McKinlay's 2006 and 2007 wines from his spectacularly situated estate - Domaine de Mourchon - in Seguret. I have tasted all these wines recently (at the Domaine at Christmas and Easter and on Wednesday at the LIWF - as well as the 2006 a couple of times in between) so it is interesting to know what others think after I have made up my own mind. Top of the pile is the 2007 Family Reserve "G" (the pure Grenache cuvee) which scored 91 points with the words "Very enticing with blueberry, fig and boysonberry fruit laced with spice, fruitcake and melted liquorice notes. The long perfume- and graphite-filled finish is nicely rounded and plenry deep." 200 cases made. There are differences of opinion as to whether this wine should be enjoyed in its fruit-filled youth or held on to see how it develops. I think it has all the necessary ingredients and will certainly hold back a couple of bottles for ...

From Séguret, Domaine de Mourchon 's Côtes du Rhône Villages 'Grande Reserve' 2005 was reviewed as "impressive, showing lots of juicy plum, currant and boysenberry fruit with nice hints of garrigue , tar and liquorice. There's plenty of toast on the finish but also solid minerality" 91/100 SMART BUY ( Wine Spectator )