Bonotto Delle Tezze Carmenère Barabane 2008, Piave, Italy

Who knows what you're actually sipping in those Venetian wine bars when you order a glass of the local 'Cabernet'?

In the case of Chile, where most wines from this variety come from, a lot of what used to be labelled as Merlot has turned out to be Carmenère, as the two were frequently mixed up in pre-phylloxera Bordeaux before being exported. In Italy, it was mistaken for Cabernet Franc. That 'Cabernet', which can often be a green, feral and not entirely pleasant wine, might just be (or contain) an over-cropped and under-ripe Carmenère. It tends to be the cheapest wine on the menu, so who really minds?
Only since 2009 could producers in the Piave call their wines Carmenère; in fact, in the Gambero Rosso of 2009, this wine is called 'Cabernet Barabane'. The term Cabernet conjures up images of big juicy southern hemisphere wines to many casual wine buyers, which is about as far away from the style as you can get. Carmenère is recognisable but not nearly so loaded, and consequently not so much of a false friend. A good move.
To the wine. It's alive and expressive on the nose, with some raspberry coulis, fresh mint leaves, green bell pepper and a little burnt sugar (verging on treacle). The palate is quite generous in style, with sweet berry fruit and decent acidity but quite one-dimensional - I don't quite get that aromatic freshness from the nose coming through. It's solid stuff, even without some of the focus that I love from northern Italy.

Baccaria Frappato 2010, Sicily, Italy

I bought this because I tasted it at the the Christmas Tasting at Bottle Apostle in Hackney, and really liked it. It's inexpensive (£8), with a pretty hideous label to match; I'd expect it would sell more with a good label at £10 than with this one at £8. The juice itself is a lot more convincing. There's fresh, sweet strawberry jam, raspberries, and a slight tang sour dried cherry on the nose, as well as summery red rose and even hints of something dark and tarry. That tangy, slightly sweet dried cherry fruit is what dominates the palate, delivering a snappy, refreshing mouthful. It's a charmer.

Brovia Barbera d'Alba Brea 2006, Piedmont, Italy

This has been in the cellar for a couple of years since I bought it from merchants Bat and Bottle. It has a beautiful pure red cherry fruit expression, with the warmth of prune, nutmeg and clove spice and a little creamy milk chocolate. There's an attractive aromatic nuance of dried tea leaves too. It's very classic on the palate - there's no burly over-ripe fruit here. On the palate that slight pruney sweetness accompanies fresher plum fruit and lip-smacking red fruit acidity. It's drinking just right about now, as some of the brightness of youth has subdued and it gains a touch of elegance and savoury complexity.

Dinner and wines from Chateau Tahbilk and De Bortoli at the Wapping Project

Had a really good time at the Wapping Project last week, set in a stunning old hydraulic power station in a quiet part of one of the most interesting and historical parts of London. Excuse the terrible photo - it's a dark, cavernous and very atmospheric space. The food was very good - special mention goes to a fabulous charcuterie plate (I'm sure it's the same supplier as The Empress in Victoria Park, home of the king of charcuterie plates!) and a beautifully cooked middlewhite of pork with braised chard. Dessert, a bitter chocolate pot with tea-soaked prune was unfortunately seriously light on bitter chocolate.
The wine list is almost exclusively Australian, basing itself around an impressive collection of small-to-medium sized producers. We had a 2008 Chateau Tahbilk Marsanne, which came out far too cold but opened up to a classic nose of honeysuckle, lime cordial and yellow grapefruit, the palate a fine balance of pithiness and floral sweetness. The style isn't about refreshment and acidity, and perhaps you want a bit more of that with quite hearty food. What it is about is those delicate floral and citrus flavours and how they'll develop over time. It's still young.
What stole the show was a glass of De Bortoli Old Boys 21yr-old tawny. This was very memorable, with layers of prune, dried fig, walnuts and chestnut honey on the nose. The palate is long and complex, delivering more of those figs and roast walnuts, as well as a slight caramel sweetness and serious acidity. The acidity really surprised me - it's formidable and bounds the whole wine together.

Michele Reverdito Barbera d'Alba Butti 2008

Barbera is a grape I just keep coming back to. It can be a great way to try wines from top producers in Piedmont without forking out for Barolos and Barbarescos, and there's something so food-friendly about its flavour profile and snappy acidity. It is subject to a lot of differing interpretations, and this wine wasn't perhaps what I was expecting.
The brightness is in there, with some red cherry fruit, aromatic orange peel and mint aromas. However, it's overtaken by savoury aromas that dominate the nose - to be more specific, leather and clove. Brett is an element here, with a definite whiff of the stable which puts it over the 'complexity' threshhold into 'slightly off-putting'. The palate is punchy and chewy with forthright acidity and a lingering, gamy finish. It's good, but I would love to trade in some of those dry, old-school flavours for an ounce more charm and generosity. That's what Barbera is good at, right?

Some recent grower champagnes from Waris-Larmandier and Paul Lebrun

We went for a quick booze cruise à velo around the villages of the Côtes des Blancs early last summer, dropping in on small growers Waris-Larmandier in Avize (above) and Paul Lebrun in Cramant (where we toured the cellars with a motorbike club on a slightly more high-octane trip). Waris-Larmandier are imported by a company called French Bubbles, and you can buy them at The Sampler in London. I'm not sure about Lebrun - it doesn't look like you can find them in the UK at the moment. I particularly liked the 2002.



Waris-Larmandier Cuvée Tradition Grand Cru
100% Chardonnay from Grand Cru vineyards in Avize. The wines we tried from this house were all about elegance and lightness of touch. There is fresh apple fruit here, with classic young blanc de blancs macaroon and honeysuckle aromas, and a good cut and thrust of citrussy acidity on the palate. It's going for bright and breezy style rather than complex/developed flavours, though these might come with some bottle age.

Paul Lebrun 2002

100% Chardonnay in a slightly riper style, with almost pineappley fruit, icing sugar and bitter almond on the nose. It has quite a generous, forward personality this wine, with lots of lovely stone fruit and a rush of fine acidity on the finish. I really like this, although it is a little unusual.

Paul Lebrun Grande Réserve
100% Chardonnay, here in a more classic blanc de blancs style than the 2002 vintage. Harmonious on the nose with peaches and cream, honeysuckle and caramel biscuits. It has a really attractive flinty coolness too (just a hint of reduction here perhaps). On the palate I find the dosage a little high - there isn't really the concentration of vinous flavour to hold it, so it becomes pithy grapefruit acidity and a lingering floral sweetness. Some may like this more than me though.

Emlio Valerio Laderas de Montejurra 2010, Navarra, Spain

This is a cracking wine for around £10. Big nose of crushed blackberries and blueberries - it's savoury and meaty too, and just seems very alive (this is certainly well along the 'natural' spectrum, with biodynamic viticulture and minimal SO2 usage). The berry fruit is really buzzing on the palate too, but it's far from sweet or OTT; the combination of savoury, almost beefy flavours and keen acidity right through the finish really balance the fruit out, all three dimensions of flavour working together. Moreish. Drink it young.