Aladdin
Restaurant, Withington,
24th
January 2009
NV or 2004
Private Selection
2500
bottles produced. A
flashy bottle that
screams premium. I
couldn’t see any
vintage on the bottle, but was told this was 2004.
A mid gold colour. Feeling
rather
oxidised on the nose, which is lemony and slightly musky. Quite a rich feel on the
palate; very dried
fruit. Not
unpleasant, but a bit
over-oxidised. Is
it meant to be like
this? 83/100
This is a blend of viognier, sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, clairette and
ugni
blanc from terraced vineyards at an altitude of 1000 metres.
It has a slightly pinkish straw colour.
The nose is floral, scented and citrusy.
Simple palate. Quite
a forward,
warm climate sauvignon feel. Very
short,
and with a slightly hard metallic feel on the finish.
It’s not convincing me.
83/100
This is a blend of ugni-blanc and clairette.
It has a simple nose with some hints of melon. Quite a concentrated feel
to the palate. It’s
fine, but doesn’t really appeal to
me. 82/100
Massaya is a collaboration between Sami & Ramai Ghosn in the
The Classic White is a blend of 60% sauvignon blanc and 40% clairette.
The nose is very air-freshener perfumed – like sitting in a
taxi that’s just
replaced its lemon air freshener hanging from the mirror. Nice palate.
Very crisp with high acidity.
A
nice fresh, clean, crisp wine. 86/100
Grapefruit, cashew nuts, almonds and musk on the nose; maybe even a
hint of
oak? Lovely palate,
with a nice savoury
feel. Rich and
satisfying. 90/100
A blend of petit cabernet (whatever that is), pinot noir and
mourvèdre. On
the nose there are very fresh, plummy
black fruits, some raspberries and some cherries.
Quite a sweet nose, but it has a nice fresh
lift. It’s
great until you put it in
your mouth. Ugh. It’s like
drinking a stale ashtray. Very
firm tannins throughout. There
are some red fruits there, but after
the nose, it’s a real disappointment.
82/100
A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah from vineyards situated at around 1000 metres
above sea level,
looking over the plain of Bekaa.
There’s quite an international feel on the nose, which is
just a hint
Rhôney. There
are forward black fruits
on the palate, and it’s a bit chocolatey on the finish. Very good texture. Excellent length. 90/100
A blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah.
This has very herbal red fruits on the nose
with some volatile lift. There’s
nice
fruit initially on the palate, then some very dominant woodiness, and
the
tannins take over completely towards the finish.
Rather short, with a curious suggestion of
cocoa on the finish. 86/100
A blend of cabernet sauvignon, grenache and merlot.
This has a very light colour.
There’s bright cherry fruit on the nose with
a bit of blackberry. Feels
fine. A rather
rustic palate. Really
quite interesting. A
touch medicinal. 87/100
A very deep, complex nose with elegant black fruits and some meatiness
and
sweetness. There’s
sweet, forward fruit
on the palate. Very
appealing with great
spice on the finish. Lots
of interest
here. Very
enjoyable. 90/100
Cabernet Sauvignon, syrah, grenache and merlot.
There are very even black fruits and a hint of woody spice
on the
nose. Rather nice
on the palate. Very
mouth filling – very wide.
It develops a very spicy, peppery feel on the
finish, which is nice and clean. Very
good length. 88/100
Cabernet sauvignon, carignan, mourvedre, grenache and syrah. Fairly mature colour. There’s some
smoky, toasty oak dominating the
nose. Quite an
intense … errmm … purple
fragrance. A nice
mature palate, showing
good balance. 89/100
A fresh nose, though quite slight, with some red fruits. Nice palate –
nice and light and fresh. The
most elegant wine so far tonight.
90/100
Quite a perfumed, serious nose. Good
palate, with a nice freshness and good acidity balancing the ripe fruit. Very peppery spice on the
finish. 89/100
The nose has meaty red and black fruit, accompanied by orange peel,
sour cherry
and a sweet lift from a hint of volatile acidity.
On the palate, this is a lovely, fresh, young
Musar. Very fresh
and lifted, with
flavours of red fruits, cherries, roses and a bit of white chocolate. 90/100
An interesting nose with clean, slightly citrussy red fruit. Very nice attack. Fairly high acidity on the
palate, rather too
much in fact turning precision into something a little unbalanced. 87/100
This is a blend of cabernet sauvignon and syrah, aged for 12 months in
new
French oak.
The nose? Imagine
Serge Hochar making
Châteauneuf du Pape: very bretty and rather rubbery, with
black fruits, violets
and some garrigue notes. You
really
would be in the southern Rhône with this if served blind. Quite fresh on the attack.
Very precise,
focussed palate. It
has a nice
integrated structure and a lovely finish.
Great length. 91/100
A blnd of syrah and cabernet sauvignon.
It
has a rather young appearance. Very
bright strawberry and vanilla ice cream nose.
On the palate, there are more red fruits initially, but
these fade very
quickly into a hollowness, followed up by firm tannins.
It doesn’t wholly satisfy and is a bit
unbalanced. 87/100
This is a vin doux naturel made from clairette grapes, which matures in
tank
for a year, followed by three years in bottle.
A palish gold with a bronze tinge.
Lovely nose – orangey, but also slightly nutty. Rather disappointing on
the palate. Quite
freshly flavoured on the attack, but
then it’s just very sweet and lacks acidity.
Just a tiny bit of a spirity bite on the finish. It tastes a bit like a
honey, orange-flower-water
and rose water syrup that you’d pour over baklava. 85/100
This is a mistelle, that is grape
juice (here from ugni blanc grapes) fortified with spirit (in this case
a
brandy that has been matured in oak barrels at Château
Kefraya).
It has a caramelly, oxidised, raisiny nose.
Unsurprisingly, it’s like a low alcohol,
sweetened brandy, but still
maintaining a spirity touch. The
back
label says “boire glacée” and it would
be better so served, though it’s not
going to win any more interest nor character thus.
I would much prefer a Pineau des Charentes or a Floc de Gascogne which are made in a similar fashion. 84/100
NV Divina
Arak, Château Khoury, 55%, 500ml
Arak or Raki is the traditional spirit of the Middle East. It is
an anise spirit, intended to be drunk with water. It is obviously
related to Greek Ouzo and French Pernod and Ricard, but is a cleaner
taste than those. This Arak is a blend of obeidi grapes and anise
vert, triple distilled. It has a glorious, very
clean anise
nose. Very, very
clean palate. Extremely
good arak. 92/100
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Last updated: 2 April 2009