I’ve been invited to a wedding in June. A former colleague of mine is getting hitched in the south of France where he is currently living, and, while I am unable to attend, I’d like to wish him and his lovely fiancé a wonderful day when it comes.The reason I mention this, is because he has just launched his first two wines in the UK, and I’m about to review them so I should make you, dear reader, aware that I may have a bias towards this wine. It should also be noted that aside from Luvians Bottleshop, the shop I work in, the only other place you can get them is the Seafood Restaurants in St Andrews and St Monans, so I want to again, point out that I do have an interest in these wines being a success!
Andy Cook used to work in the UK retail trade when decided to turn his hand to making wine. He packed up, moved to New Zealand and studied. Coming back to Europe, qualified in the art of grape squeezing, he settled in the South of France with his good lady and his dog, Alfie. 2007 saw very ripe grapes in the region, and therefore high alcohol in the wines, and Cook’s wines are no exception. However, high alcohol doesn’t mean bad wines.
2007 Cook Wines Chardonnay £6.99
Pineapple, pear drops and a little banana on the nose with lemon creeping through. There is good acidity, nice stoney, minerally flavours with a little grapefruit pith and a spicy element. It is very clean on the finish and tropical fruit flavours just slide away gently. When it is cold, the alcohol is a bit prominent, not overpowering, but noticeable. Put it with food and you won’t notice it. However, at room temperature, when a white wine’s flaws should be exaggerated, this wine does the exact opposite! It becomes richer, more round and beautifully balanced. The alcohol becomes integrated and this is dangerously drinkable. 8.5/10
2007 Cook Wines Grenache £6.99
Thyme and cherry bakewell on the nose, very soft with some dried herbs. Palate is nicely spicy, light berry fruit with good acidity. Tobacco and cocoa flavours and a bit of blueberry too. Finish is very clean, with a touch of alcohol and cherry stone on the finish. Remembering that this was bottled a month ago, it was hardly surprising that over the evening, this bottle got better and better as air got to it. I like this. 8.5/10
They are still suffering a little bottle shock as they were only bottled a month ago, but, as I found when they had time to settle and get air on them, they became very good. But it was hardly surprising that I liked the wines was it? I was invited to Andy’s wedding for crying out loud, so I’m hardly going to say that they are rubbish am I? So I let various people try them.
A Burgundy producer said they were “very clean and very good, and with nice balance.” Without knowing what price they were he guessed at around £8 or £9 per bottle. Another person, this time an MW, found, like I did, that they improved with time open. However, Masters of Wine and other producers are unlikely to buy these wines, I showed them to a group of customers and inexperienced staff – the sort of people who these wines are usually bought by, and the general consensus from everyone was that they were very tasty, and most of them liked the spicy, alcoholic element. Really, for any wine producer, the folk you want liking your wines are the public. Doesn’t matter if an MW, a fellow wine maker or a bloke with a blog like them or not, if the public like it, they will buy it. And, if the people I have shown the wines to are anything to go by, the public like Andy Cook’s wines.
Cook Wines Website
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