10 setembro 2008

Champagne Yields Down

"
Champagne houses are predicting a substantially lower yield this year.

Regis Camus, chef de cave at Piper-Heidsieck said while he is confident of quality, yields will be down by 10%.
Roederer and Taittinger suggested the same, with Chardonnay the main reason for the drop.
While Pinot Meunier vines will be 'quite concentrated' and the Pinot Noir is 'looking good,' Camus said, the real warning came for Chardonnay.
Launching three vintages – 1999, 1988 and 1979 – of the new Heidsieck cuvee 'Rare' in London, Camus said
global demand for Champagnes made exclusively or predominantly from Chardonnay would push prices up.
As a result there is a danger of too much 'concentration on Chardonnay' with the predicted expansion of the geographical limits for Champagne.
He urged growers to keep new plantings of varietals in the same proportion as they are now.

Champagne Taittinger advised that
the harvest would be postponed to 15 September
and that it would be 'a more normal year' after the very large harvests of the last couple of years
- this would make it some 10% down on last year.

And Frederic Rouzaud, managing director of Louis Roederer, said,
'The 2008 crop will probably be 10% lower in volume.
But we still expect it to be above the appellation limit.'
Rouzaud also said Chardonnay would be hard hit.
'We shall have to use more reserve wines for the non-vintage blends.'
"
Conal Gregory MW (2008, spr 9th © Decanter.com)

05 setembro 2008

Rich Maccabeo

Você é daqueles que acha a Maccabeo uma uva sem graça..??
AAAhhh ..talvez porque você a tenha bebido em vinhos e não comido em codornas..
Duas cordoninhas embrulhadas em papel-alumínio com vinho espanhol
.. um pouco de sal e pimenta do reino, tomilho e pimentas de cheiro em grãos..
Fechando o embrulho de alumínio ao forno até dourar... huuummmmm

O vinho e a codorna se mostraram especialmente casados e harmônicos..
Os aromas do alho usado como recheio fez a cordorna mais presente..

O vinho disponível para refeição era o Antinori (IGT) 2006 com 75% de Sangiovese e 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Merlot
.. não seria uma boa escolha, mas na falta de outro
.. resolvi “ fortificar o simples purê de batatas.. com pouquíssima manteiga e leite, alho e queijo Cammenbert com tempero de noz-moscada, sal e pimenta do reino.

O que era um arranjo de ultima hora, cresce e
.. se transforma em um almoço em dois tempos.
Codorna assada ao vinho de primeiro tempo,
.. “Purê Fortificado” de segundo tempo, perfeitamente alinhado com o SuperToscano

Tal deleite traz um boa questão católica: _Qual o pecado de todo ritual..??
Estar num centro urbano e
não ter a grama molhada emoldurando a janela, nem a musica da lenha na lareira..

L.
..

"Christie's Wine Companion" (Ed. Viking, US$29.95 at Amazon.com)
it´s an elegant jowel for anyone who loves the wine world
The wine people at Christie's, the London auction house
put out every few years, seemingly at their whim, their writing material reviews.
The Pamela Vandyke Price´s edited version includes an essay on Jean Antoine Chaptal
Napoleon's minister of agriculture.
He was the one who added sugar to grape juice to raise the level of alcohol in wine,
and as a chemistry thereby inventing chaptalization.. by the franch laws.
Also includes the Clive Coates´s (a wellknown english wine writer) Boredeaux´s reclassified commented range of wines.

Hugh Johnson, nov 2006
..

L.