Yes another year has successfully passed, and so quickly. We have four very good wines for release this year. The last time we released four wines was when the last (1983) Gewurztraminer was released. Glancing through that Newsletter, and noting the matters of concern in that year made me wonder if anything is new, the issues all seemed to be current.
The new wine for this year is the 1987 vintage of the white wine blend made from Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadel grapes. The proportions of each are about 60:30:10 in the vineyard. This style of wine is an ancient blend from the Graves area of Bordeaux. These wines are quite austere, especially when young. They are bone dry and flinty and usually have marked acidity and a firm finish. They are wonderful to accompany fish dishes, and suit seafood much better than Chardonnay for some people. Chardonnay can leave one with a metallic flavour particularly when consumed with smoked salmon or crayfish. Graves wines age superbly if made well and the Bordelais prefer to keep them for at least 10 years prior to tasting. Good Graves are worth seeking out, but they are often hard to find. For those with no previous experience of them, there is a great treat awaiting them. Winemaking standards have improved enormously in the past five years, so a faulty wine is not so likely to be found in recent vintages.
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