#297 The Sun vs The land of the rising Sun

Last week a pair of Sky Sports commentators decided, off air, to make sexist remarks about a female colleague.  This was recorded and leaked to the tabloid press who called for their heads to be serperated from their bodies.  When further evidence came to light that one of them had made more of these comments, he got fired and the other fella quit citing dark forces working against them both.  Needless to say, one tabloid breaks the story, the rest jump on the bandwagon.  Then the Daily Mail really blow it out of all proportion and start hunting for other celebrities who may have at some point said something remotely sexist in their past and The Sun trumpet these two reporters as the last true men in the world and plaster the story all around the scantily clad lady on page 3.

Then the weekend broadsheets report the fact that the dailies have over reported the story, and it gets all churned up again in the Saturday papers.  Finally, just as you are sitting down to your Sunday breakfast, you look in the 'review of the week' section and find nothing but highlights from every paper's take on this story.  Everyone jumps on the fact that two TV pundits did something stupid and every paper has reported the same non-story in dozens of different ways and it all ends up wrapped around a Tuesday evening fish supper.

The same applies with the wine trade.  In the UK we are in the middle of tasting season, and at the moment everyone is writing about 2009 Burgundy, wines from New Zealand or Chile and the Bibendum Pop Up tasting.  At the end of February it will be the SITT events and then the Hatch Mansfield/Fells tasting in March.  I'm no different.  It is simply because when a scribe is presented with a load of wines to try, it is your role as a critic to comment, and if every wine writer - professional or not - is at the same tastings, there are going to be many takes on the same subject.  We are all no different from the writers in the Daily Star or the Sun, and we jump on the same story at the same time.  There are just fewer exposed breasts in wine publications and blogs.

I recently went to a 2009 Burgundy tasting, and I will write about that in all due course, but today I tried a bundle of wines from a selection of different countries today that were so interesting they commanded priority over wines that were so much better.  Sure, 2009 is a great year for Burgundy, but how often do you get to try wines from India, Japan and Thailand?  Here is what I found out.

India
I've been a fan of Grover Vineyard's Cabernet Shiraz for six months or so now, and it was interesting to take a look at a pair of wines from Sula.

2009 Sula Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc £7.99
Smells like chillis - baby spring oniony.  The palate has a bit more of the chillies, some mineral notes, a little bit of gunpowder and a bit of alcohol kicking in.  Clean on the finish with a very gentle, creamy texture element.  6/10

2010 Sula Vineyards Red Zinfandel £7.99
Smoked jam, tea and smoked barley.  Palate is confected bramble sweeties and with some smoke elements.  A big disappointment from this producer and I mimicked the wine by mixing Laphroaig Single Malt with some red wine.  4/10

Thailand
 I really didn't know what to expect from Thai wine.  The blended wines weren't great, but the single varietals actually were OK.  These higher quality wines were a bit pricy, but the Colombard would give some Chilean versions of this varietal a run for their money.  The vintages are also given in the Buddhist calendar, and I have included them below.

2552 (2009) Monsoon Valley Blended White £7.99
Chlorine on the skin followed by grass, spring flowers and orange sherbet chews.  Pretty bland up front, then you get a hit of alcohol, lots of acid and then some bad salt caramel.  Pretty boring.  It is not offensive but it isn't good.  3/10

2553 (2010) Monsoon Valley Premium Colombard £9.49
Some citrus up front with a little bit of grass on the nose.  Sherbet too.  Palate is a little vegetal, then some oily, olive oil elements come through.  A lot of acid on the finish, but it is ok but the price?  5/10

2551 (2008) Monsoon Valley Blended Red £7.99
Very unpleasant.  It smells of poop and cranberries.  It is like sucking on dried up green peppers, with a handful of Bertie Bassets thrown in.  1/10

2551 (2008) Monsoon Valley Special Reserve Shiraz £9.49
Black pepper spare ribs with a bit of berry juice.  Palate is peppery with hints of cherry and liquorice.  Some curried elements too just at the start of the finish.  Quite dark finish, a little heat.  A bit pricy but ok.  6/10

Japan
Finally Japan.  I really had no idea what to expect from these wines.  I did a bit of research into wines from Japan, and found that the Koshu grape is highly resistant to mould and rot, a necessity in Japan due to the typhoon and rain seasons.  They produce delicate, minerally, wines and would be ideal accompaniments to sushi or light fish dishes.  I was really impressed by these wines.

2009 Grace Winery Koshu Kayagatake £15.49
Lemon jelly beans, perfumey too on the nose.  The palate is simple, minerally, salty with citrus pith a touch of alcohol and acid that is softened by delicate fruit.  Very delicate, pretty and yet without being polished.  It is great and well worth the money.  8/10

2009 Grace Winery Koshu Hishyama £18.49
Really nice perfume, but with some red berry skin, some black bean sauce saltiness but much more delicate.  Some citrus comes through on the palate, hints of honey and some pretty phenols with a little sandstone and grapefruit pith.  Another excellent wine.  8/10