Lagavulin Distillers edition 2000/2016

The whisky Lagavulin 16 years old in one of the classic whiskies around the world. The Lagavulin distillers edition is released every years and it is  vintage whiksy that is 16 years old but that has been finished in PX sherry casks. So what is PX sherry? It is a very sweet sherry wine and it is normally used as a dessert wine. So how will the classic Lagavulin handle a finishing with PX sherry casks? The Lagavulin DE that I have tried was made in 2000 and bottled in 2016.

Smell: In the beginning the normal Lagavulin smoke with tar and medicine and very far in the back some sweetness.
Taste: Very rich taste. Smoke with tar and some medicinal notes. After some time a bit of sweetness come out.
Aftertaste: Smoke with some sweetness

For me the PX sherry is hidden in the smoke. I prefer the normal 16 yo because it is more austere and luckily for me the normal Lagavulin is cheaper than the Lagavulin DE.

Sparkling wine from new year

A tradition on new year is to drink sparkling wine. But the best idea is to start with the best wine first before ones taste buds have become numb.

A bottle which has been lying in my cellar for a couple of years now is a Ruinart brut Millésimé from 2000. It is dry and has a taste of apples, bread, some citrus and blood oranges. Very good and a perfect start of the evening. Very elegant sparkling wine.

A sparkling wine producing region that I have never tasted anything from before is Franciacorta in Lombardy in Italy. But this were to change after tasting the wine Lo Sparviero brut of vintage 2008 by the producer of the same name, Lo Sparviero. It is very nice, taste of citrus and bread. Lot of bubbles to start with so I had to let it rest a half a minute before drinking it.

Two dessert wines and one strong Taurasi

I love dessert wines but over the last couple of years dry wines have dominated. The last couple of weeks I have had the chance to enjoy two very different dessert wines both from Italy. The first wine is a Marsala wine from Sicily and it is more than a dessert wine. It is from producer Florio and is called Terre Arse from 2000 with an alcohol level of 19%. It is not your normal fortified Marsala wine as it is quite powerful with a burned character. Interesting taste and the producer recommends it with Parmesan cheese or fish dishes or as a dessert wine. Worked very well as a dessert wine especially with chocolate ice cream. It is not sweet as the cheaper Marsala wine but quite dry taste. I find this wine to be very interesting, unfortunately good Marsala wines are hard to find in Sweden.

Next dessert wine is something I don't drink that much. Namely a sweet red wine from producer Azienda Agricola Villa Medici in the Veneto region. The wine is called La Valle Del Re and is from 2009. It is a passito wine with IGT Rosso Veneto with alcohol level of 14%. The colour is very deep red and the taste is sweet with dark cherries. It went down very well with chocolate. Definitely a wine to relax with. Hard to find information about this wine but I discovered that the grapes are Corvina 60% and Rondinella 40%.

The first Taurasi wine I had were good so now it was time to try another producer. It is from producer Terredora in the district of Campania in Italy from 2008. As it is a Taurasi, the grape is Aglianico. Compared to the earlier Taurasi wine this is very strong. The colour is ruby red and and the taste is of dark cherries, plums and cacao with some strong tannins. Definitely a wine for strong food such as roast meat or game. This wine is also called Taurasi Fatica Contadina Terredora. Yet another nice acquaintance. 

Four Italians

I have had the choice to test a couple of different wines the last month. First up is La Vis Gewürztraminer. I didn't have much expectations for this wine as it was very cheap but to my suprise it were very nice. Very light and tastes of elderberries and spices. Perfect as an aperitif wine.

Next wine is from the beautiful medieval town of San Gimignano, a so called vernaccia San Gimignano by producer I Mocali and from 2008. Very good and a bit stronger than the Vernaccia I had in Sam Gimignano. Not as much bitter almond in the finish but a very strong clear flavour. Unfortunately it is very hard to find this wine in Sweden.

The third wine is an older wine from Valpolicella from the year 2000. It is by producer Vigneti di Torbe and is a ripasso wine. This bottle has the label Domini Veneti, aka the golden era which is  a label for good wines by Cantina Valpolicella Negrar. Now this Vigneti di Torbe is very strong and it took at least half an hour for the wine to open up in the glass. When it did it was majestic. Strong black currant taste and a long finish. Would go really well together with red meat.

When eating an Italian dessert, panatone from Siena, what better wine to go with it then an Italian sweet wine and this time it was a Recioto Di Soave. Good taste and worked very well together with the dolci.

When celebrating my 40th birthday I thought a champagne tasting wold be in order, especially some good vintage champagnes. And it would be interesting to see how the different champagnes would work together with the food also. But Champagne works very well with everything, right?

The first champagne of the day was a Delamotte Blanc de Blancs from 2002. The smell were delightful. Very good. The taste were of fruits, dry and very elegant. An excellent champagne for aperitifs. Went very well together with the Breasola with Parmesan and olive oil.

For the maincourse of pie made from Västerbotten cheese the first champagne was Wilmart & Cie from 1999, a Grand Cellar d'Or. The smell very strong and delightful yet again. The taste were strong, dry, fruits and a yeast/bread taste which was very good. yet again an excellent wine. Worked very well together with the pie.

The third wine of the evening were a Moet & Chandon from 2000. The smell delightful. The taste of this champagne were very complex. Dry, bread, citrus and a hint of minerals. Very good.

For the dessert which consisted of an Italian Panatone the drink of the day were yet again a champagne. This time a Jaquart, 2002 Millesime. Smelled a bit less tha the three other tasted champagnes. Now this felt like an aperitif champagne. Dry, citrus taste. Very good yet again. Worked very well with the panatone.

A wonderful evening spent discovering the excellent taste of vintage champagnes.