Leap into Luxury: Super-Tuscan 2007 Messorio from Le Macchiole

Some Super-Tuscans scream luxury but the 2007 Messorio from Le Macchiole is a quiet wine that opens before you as you taste it, to give the feeling of falling forward into space: like a confident step from a plane into silent velvety dark below, the fruit billows outwards on the palate like a slow-glide on a silk parachute. Afterwards the tongue is literally left frozen in shock from hundreds of tiny pin-pricks of acidity, which may sound bad, but tasting at this very young stage (en primeur/anteprima), it is only the tingle of expectation for a profound experience in the long-term.

The 2007 is considered a "tropical vintage" in Tuscany, which may explain the richness in the fruit, but this Merlot from Bolgheri has all the hallmarks of developing well and is completely and smoothly in balance. I long to see this wine, or any Messorio for that matter, with 10-15 years of bottle age. Even at Anteprima stage, I have no hesitation in recommending taking a self-assured leap.

Tasted at Lea & Sandeman Italian En Primeur tasting 30 March, 2011.

More: Antonio Galloni review of 1994-2006 (not 2007 vintage) "A Study in Greatness" (Robert Parker subscribers)

Image: Yves Klein, "Obsession de la levitation (Le Saut dans le vide)" Obsession with Levitation (Leap into the Void), 1960

Also posted on www.vinissima.net

Languedoc Seduction: Domaine Peyre Rose Clos des Cistes 2002

While most Languedoc wines from the difficult vintage of 2002 had the taster asking, “How bad can you be?” This wine is like being in a secluded corner at a crowded party and whispering the same thing. Winemaker Marlene Soria has achieved a grand clandestine moment with 2002 Peyre Rose Clos des Cistes.

Perhaps the most intriguing thing about this wine is not the dramatic Mediterranean garrigue character, nor the resolutely non-berry style of the dark rose and golden figs, leather and slight bay-leaf menthol. It is the fleshiness given to this powerful, idiosyncratic voice from the South of France: a region where a lot of voices have yet to find out what they exactly want to say.

Compelled to find out more, I learned Soria stopped shipping to the US soon after gaining recognition in Wine Spectator as well as dumping the three previous vintages (1999, 2000, 2001) with the local wine co-operative due to taint from faulty enamel tanks. This, for a wine that easily commands over £60 a bottle.

I questioned whether I should write about the vinous equivalent of a one-night stand, one that you and I may never see again (it is found in the UK in seriously low quantities). Yet, weeks later, its mysterious voice and dramatic energy still lingers in the memory and shows just how great the Syrah blend from the Languedoc really can be.

Anglo-Saxon Wine Style: Sequencing & how to do it right

I may bang on until I am blue in the face about food matching, but the Anglo-Saxon way is not to think about wine as something to match with food. We can fight against it by suggesting foods, but let's be pragmatic. What is the best way to drink wine if you are not going to eat much more than a packet of crisps?

2006 Brunello di Montalcino Report from Benvenuto Brunello on TimAtkin.com

My report from Tuscany on the beautiful, but dramatic, 2006 Brunello di Montalcino vintage can be found on Tim Atkin's website: here.

image @winewomansong

Late Night Sessions: Pic St Loup, Bergerie de l’Hortus, Languedoc 2008

Home: Wolf Mountain, Mediterranean

Translation: Pic-St-Loup, South of France

Sound: Pick the Wolf, Howling

Honest: yes

Satisfying: yes

Traditional: A little

Need to eat: No

Not for: Thin Merlot lovers

Ideal with: Those born too late for cheap Rhone

Or: Poor Man's Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Or: Who cares? This is good.

Nerdy Fact: Leading AOC for quality in Languedoc S France

More: here

MORE Late Night Sessions notes and music here: www.wwslatenightsessions.tumblr.com

UK Stockist Berry Bros & Rudd

Image: Rene Gruau