Gerhard & Sieglinde Klein Riesling Trocken 2009

An oddity today, at least for my household: a trocken (dry) German Riesling from Naked Wines.

I've been wanting to try a dry German Riesling for ages, as it isn't so common in the UK. Apparently it is the Riesling of choice in Germany, and most exports are of the sweeter variety. I'm familiar with dry Riesling from Alsace and Australia, but I've never had a German one.

We were having gammon for Sunday lunch, so the Klein Riesling seemed an appropriate match. And it was indeed a good match, as noted by myself when shovelling a forkfull of hot pork fat into my mouth followed by a swig of the wine. The dryness kind of threw me at first, as the nose had the typical, well, German character and you could almost smell the sweetness, only to have a sip and discover mouth puckering acidity and almost sourness instead. With the food it all comes together though, and I just wish it was more widely available here in the UK.

Weingut Gerhard & Sieglinde Klein

Riesling Trocken 2009

Pflaz, Germany

Naked Wines

£9.99

3/5

More Naked and Virgin Wines

I didn't get to spend as much time evaluating these wines as I would have liked. Miriam had some guests over on Friday night, and being short of 'party wine' we had to raid the wine rack, and among all I had on hand were these samples from Virgin and Naked Wines.

So I will be brief. The Grasshopper Rock Pinot (£17.49) was a typical NZ Pinot, rich and fruity. Pricey at £17.49 though, and I don't like this style of Pinot enough to warrant a purchase, and that's just pure preference on my part.

La Livineire Minervois 2008 (£11.99) from Benjamin Darnault was interesting. I served it too cold - my wine rack is in the kitchen of our currently rented house, and it's freezing. Anyone living in the UK knows what I mean with the weather the way it is now. Anyway, it was muted at first because of the low temperature, but after a while it opened up with notes of violets. It definitely had some depth and character, and is one that I'd like to try again.

From Virgin Wines, Cuvée Les Trois Merles Cabernet Franc (£7.99) was the one that got the least attention from me, because it was 1:30 AM and I was dying to go to bed. I have no idea where in France the wine was made, thanks to there being no information on the bottle or the Virgin Wines website. I will say though that it had a bit of structure to it, and didn't seem like the light, fruity summery reds like you get from the Loire Valley.

Brewery Hill Reserve Shiraz 2008

I had a late night tonight with my brother-in-law, drinking wine and eating chicken wings (hey, I'm Canadian so they're an obsession) in my kitchen. I probably should have saved a nice bottle like this for a quieter occasion, but Kieron was nice enough to babysit for us last night so I wasn't about to get stingy with the wine.

This is a noticeable upgrade from the Brewery Hill entry-level bottling I had earlier in the week. It has a more complex nose, denser fruit on the palate and a concentrated, gravelly, long finish. I probably could have put it under the microscope a bit more but from the first whiff I could tell it was quality.

An interesting tidbit from the Naked Wines website: the winemaker of Brewery Hill, Jock Harvey, has been shortlisted for the 2010 Winemaker of the Year. I have no idea who awards this prize, or when the winner is announced, but he says if he wins, he will use the prize money to produce a Shiraz/Sangiovese blend just for Naked Wines. Now that would be interesting to try.

Brewery Hill

Reserve Shiraz 2008

South Australia

Naked Wines

£11.99

3.5/5

Arabella 'In Unison' Reserve 2007

This is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and possibly Merlot and Viognier. I say possibly because on the Arabella website it declares all these grapes may be involved, and then below that it says 'Blend Information: 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 50% Shiraz'. Either way it doesn't really matter to me, because the wine is fantastic.

I like blended reds because sometimes individual varietal characteristics can be overwhelming, like green-pepper in Cabernet or black pepper spiciness in Shiraz, especially in New World wines. I enjoy blends much more, as you end up with a more interesting, complex wine, like this one. It also lacks the rubber character you sometimes get in South African reds, and is as good as any Australian blend I've had.

I'd say it's decent value at £11.99, but if you're a Naked Wines 'Angel' you'll get £4 of that back, and you won't do much better than this for £8.

Arabella

'In Unison' Reserve 2007

Robertson Valley, Western Cape, South Africa

Naked Wines

£11.99

4/5

Brewery Hill Shiraz 2008

This is the third bottle from my Naked Wines taster pack.

I don't mean to be flippant, but it basically does what it says on the tin. It's Aussie Shiraz. It's quite full-on too - really rich fruit, high in alcohol but not ridiculous at 14% - despite what the image says - my bottle says 14%, not that I really mind anyway.

Apparently 90% of Naked Wine's sales are to its 'Angels' - basically members who pay into their account and can use the money to purchase wines. When they make a purchase they get 33% cash back, so if you're an Angel this wine only costs you £5.27 instead of the list price of £7.99. Not bad value - I was wondering where the 'preferential rates' they advertise were. Now we know, and I would much rather give my money to a small, independent winemaker than a huge drinks conglomerate.

Brewery Hill

Shiraz 2008

South Eastern Australia

Naked Wines

£7.99

3/5

Arabella Chenin Blanc 2010

Another wine from my Naked Wines taster pack today.

I consider myself a white wine person - that is, if I had to choose between red or white to drink for the rest of my life, I'd choose white. It offers more styles, is more flexible with food, and is more refreshing. I appreciate most of these styles, but one that I am struggling with is South African Chenin Blanc.

I haven't had one that I have really liked. Is it that I just don't get it? I love Loire Valley (France) Chenin Blanc - it can be complex, honeyed, crisp, bubbly, off-dry, sweet...pretty much whatever you want. This stuff however just seems to be mostly flat and neutral with a bit of rotten apple aftertaste. It induced full-body shudders from Miriam (she can be fussy though), and I only could really drink it after I had chilled it down to near-freezing temperatures. Is it the new Pinot Grigio perhaps?

Anyway, I could be harsher but I'm starting to think I just don't like this style.

Arabella

Chenin Blanc 2010

Robertson Valley, Western Cape, South Africa

Naked Wines

£7.99

2/5

Naked Wines Domaine Cristia Grenache Syrah 2009

Surely you've heard of Naked Wines? You know the company set up by ex-Virgin Wines employees whose marketing vouchers fall out of everything you buy?

The idea behind the company is simple - they invest in new winemakers in return for preferential prices, and pass the savings on to the customer. If you become a 'Naked Angel', you can pay a chosen amount into your Naked Wines account on a monthly basis, and then redeem it anytime you wish (or take it out). When you do make a purchase, you get 33% cash back.

Several months ago I received one of their vouchers (something like £40 off), and decided to have a look - they were new and their concept sounded interesting. I created an account, but after looking at their website and checking out the wines and the prices, I was unconvinced. There were several mistakes in the website (i.e. Argentine wines showing up in the Australia section) and the general lack of information about the wines an winemakers put me off. This gives the impression that this whole business is a family-like affair, where the customer, winemaker and the business are this one big close-knit group. If that were the case, surely this information would be readily available?

Either way, I left it alone for awhile until yesterday when I received an email with an offer to buy a taster pack of six wines and only paying for the tax and the delivery. It amounted to about £18, at which price I don't really care if the wines are any good. Also, it gives me a chance to try them out and see what this place is all about.

The first wine I tried is this Grenache/Syrah blend from what is I think the Southern Rhone. First of all, it tastes like it, and after some digging on the Naked Wines website it turns out that the same winemaker also makes Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Why is this information not there with the wine? Here is what appears when you click the wine, and then the link labelled 'The Facts':

Style: Easy drinking reds
Grape: Shiraz, Grenache & Other Spicy Reds
Country: France
Alcohol: 13.00%
Vintage: 2009
Size: 75cl

You only find out where the winemaker is from when you click the 'Meet the Winemaker' link. Of course, this wine still could be from anywhere according to the label on the bottle, which just says 'Vin de France'. No appellation, nothing. One can only assume it's a Vin de Pays, which is fine but why not tell us the region and classification?

So how is the wine? It tastes like an entry-level Cotes du Rhone. It's not too bad - it has quite good fruit but it also has some roughness to it. Better with food. Someone left a comment on the Naked Wines website saying it needed to breathe for an hour, and I'd say there were right - it takes the edge off this young wine, and opens up the fruit.

I'd say the price is too expensive as well. It goes for £7.99. I'm not saying it's overpriced for a VdP, after all it could just be a VdP because they used too much of some grape variety, or the vines aren't in the right location for an AOC wine. I'm saying it's too much for what the wine is. Considering you could get a Guigal CdR for £6 on offer in Waitrose, why would you buy this for £8, and pay delivery on top?

I have 5 more bottles to try - hopefully I get the time to blog them all. To be honest they all look like potential plonk - an Aussie Shiraz (from the ubiquitous South Eastern Australia region), a Chilean Merlot, an Argentine Sauvignon Blanc, a South African Chenin Blanc, and a Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc. However I'll try to be objective with all of them. After all, I think the only thing wrong with the Domaine Cristia is the price.

Naked Wines
Domaine Cristia
Grenache Syrah 2009
VdP Rhone (I think), France
2.5/5