Monthly report - May 2022 - Barberry Garden

Little by little I am getting back to mindful wine consumption. Ratio of total wines rated to total wines consumed is also getting back to normal - 59%. So according to my notes, this month I consumed 49 bottles and rated 29 of them. And all ratings are unique (e.g. no wine was rated twice).

::: {#countries .chartjs width="400" height="120" data="countries-data" labels="country" values="count" type="bar"} :::

country count p avg r rms qpr

Italy 9 486.24 UAH 6.67 4.5570 France 6 933.78 UAH 7.43 32.3053 Chile 5 392.00 UAH 6.58 0.5949 New Zealand 4 670.38 UAH 7.39 5.3719 Australia 2 735.89 UAH 7.50 1.5850 Ukraine 1 1 100.00 UAH 7.50 1.0561 Spain 1 1 700.00 UAH 7.75 1.9094 Austria 1 984.72 UAH 8.00 9.6243

Country-wise, this month wasn't that fruitful, only 8 countries are present in my ratings. But there are several interesting points. Somehow Italy got to the first place with 9 wines rated. And despite the fact that during the last 3 months I've been drinking absurdly huge amount of Ukrainian wines, only one was rated, but what a wine - Vinoman BLU Pinot Noir 2019! And what amazes me the most, Chile is on the 3rd place with 5 wines rated. Look, I have nothing against Chile, but my last Chile wine rating was made on 2021-11-20 and before that on 2021-06-17. So not a common guest in my glass. And I must confess, this month I enjoyed some of the Sauvignon Blancs from there.

::: {#vintages .chartjs width="400" height="120" data="vintages-data" labels="vintage" values="count" type="bar"} :::

vintage count p avg r rms qpr

2020 8 434.88 UAH 6.73 0.9272 2019 8 622.82 UAH 6.97 2.5612 2018 3 1 098.00 UAH 7.75 6.2475 2016 1 395.00 UAH 6.50 0.0749 2014 1 706.00 UAH 7.75 4.5976 2013 1 1 377.00 UAH 8.50 66.9444 NV 7 806.19 UAH 7.11 16.8572

The youngest vintage rated is 2020 and it was rated 8 times, it's the same amount of ratings 2019 got. The oldest vintage rated is 2013, and I am happy that it was Champagne - Lamiable Cuvee Pheerie 2013.

In terms of color and carbonation distribution it's quite boring, but since I have this data, let me share it. This month I rated 14 white, 13 red and 2 rosé wines. 21 of all rated wines are still and 8 sparkling.

On the other hand, this month is fruitful in terms of grapes (pun intended). In total, I've rated 26 distinct grapes. And this is considering I've rated 29 wines in total! Top three are Pinot Noir (8), Sauvignon Blanc (5) and Chardonnay (4). But most importantly, this month I've tasted and rated Malvasía de Sitges for the first time in my memory (e.g. my system memory) - it was part of the blend in Raventós i Blanc Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 2018.

Now to the most interesting part. My top list of the month.

8.5 Lamiable Cuvee Pheerie 2013 - almost 9 years old Champagne for 1377 UAH (~$46), that's amazing QPR. Drink now.
8.5 Jacquesson Cuvée 744 Grand Vin (2016) NV - it's still too young, and seems like it has amazing potential. Buy while it's in stocks and store it for few years..
8.0 Weingut Bründlmayer Brut Rosé NV - one of my favourite sparkling rosé wines, consistently delivers for a good price.
8.0 Cascina Bertolotto Spumante Brut Metodo Classico NV - discovery of the month. Traditional sparkling from Piedmont that is almost 13 years old. And I found it by accident, it was hidden on a shelf behind some mainstream Champagne labels. Happy that I did!
8.0 Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2018 - my first Syrah from New Zealand and definitely not the last. I absolutely love the delicacy and complexity of this wine. Having its potential in mind I can only wonder how it evolve in few years.

So despite having rated only 8 sparkling wines, 4 of them are at the top. Who would expect that? And there are other interesting wines I rated this month, but now let's take a look at the worst wines.

4.5 Cantina la Salute Sauvignon - it is not bad, just... well, at least buy it for adequate price.
5.0 Barton & Guestier Chardonnay Réserve 2019 - mediocre Chardonnay for those who want to feel oak pieces in their glass.
5.2 Sizarini Pinot Grigio 2020 - this one must be chilled as much as possible and enjoyed in a hot summer day. Add a nice view, and... ah wine! This one is for background.

Nothing that critical, just mediocre wines. So no witch hunting this month.

date country producer name vintage rate QPR

2022-05-31 New Zealand 2022-05-31 Ukraine 2022-05-31 Australia 2022-05-30 Italy 2022-05-29 New Zealand 2022-05-29 Spain 2022-05-29 France 2022-05-27 Italy 2022-05-27 Italy 2022-05-25 Italy 2022-05-25 Italy 2022-05-24 Chile 2022-05-23 Italy 2022-05-21 Chile 2022-05-21 Chile 2022-05-20 France 2022-05-19 Italy 2022-05-18 Chile 2022-05-17 France 2022-05-17 Chile 2022-05-16 Austria 2022-05-15 New Zealand 2022-05-14 France 2022-05-11 Italy 2022-05-10 France 2022-05-08 Australia 2022-05-04 Italy 2022-05-04 France 2022-05-04 New Zealand Craggy Range Craggy Range Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2018 2018 8.00 10.5185 Vinoman Vinoman BLU Pinot Noir 2019 2019 7.50 1.0561 Lucy Margaux Lucy Margaux Vino Rosso 2020 2020 7.50 1.5009 Cascina Bertolotto Cascina Bertolotto Spumante Brut Metodo Classico NV NV 8.00 11.0723 Saint Clair Saint Clair Origin Pinot Noir Marlborough 2019 2019 7.50 2.1492 Raventós i Blanc Raventós i Blanc Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 2018 2018 7.75 1.9094 Francois Montand Francois Montand Méthode Traditionnelle Rosé Brut NV NV 7.00 0.6438 Terra Fresca Terra Fresca frizzante NV NV 6.50 0.0592 Borgo Solè Borgo Solè Prosecco Brut NV NV 6.50 0.0740 Savella Savella Pinot Grigio 2020 2020 6.50 0.0987 Cantina la Salute Cantina la Salute Sauvignon NV NV 4.50 0.0003 Concha y Toro Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Sauvignon Blanc 2020 2020 7.25 0.9875 Villa Puccini Villa Puccini Chianti Riserva 2016 2016 6.50 0.0749 Luis Felipe Edwards Luis Felipe Edwards Sauvignon Blanc 2020 2020 6.50 0.0871 Luis Felipe Edwards Luis Felipe Edwards Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2019 2019 7.25 0.8867 Barton & Guestier Barton & Guestier Chardonnay Réserve 2019 2019 5.00 0.0010 Sizarini Sizarini Pinot Grigio 2020 2020 5.25 0.0029 San Pedro San Pedro Gato Negro Merlot 2020 2020 6.00 0.0256 Lamiable Lamiable Cuvee Pheerie 2013 2013 8.50 66.9444 Concha y Toro Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Carmenere Reserva 2019 2019 5.75 0.0067 Weingut Bründlmayer Weingut Bründlmayer Brut Rosé Reserve NV NV 8.00 9.6243 Fernway Fernway Sauvignon Blanc 2019 2019 7.00 0.2264 Jacquesson Jacquesson Cuvée 744 Grand Vin (2016) NV NV 8.50 42.1131 Cascina Tavijn Cascina Tavijn Bandita 2019 2019 7.75 6.5678 Patrice Beguet Patrice Beguet Big Bunch Theory Fresh Impression Red 2020 2020 7.50 1.8737 Two Hands Two Hands Sexy Beast 2019 2019 7.50 1.6649 San Leonardo San Leonardo Terre di San Leonardo 2014 2014 7.75 4.5976 Paul Benoit et Fils Paul Benoit et Fils Pinot Arbois 2018 2018 7.50 1.6764 Mud House Mud House Pinot Noir Central Otago 2020 2020 7.00 0.3466

And I want to finish my report with one special mention. As you might know, Goodwine storage was destroyed at the beginning of the war. Estimated loss is 15 billion euros. Some wines survived physically, though they are completely spoiled. On the last day of May I had an opportunity to taste Gevrey-Chambertin Cuvée Cœur de Roy 2014 by famous Bernard Dugat-Py. This bottle 'survived' is the fires, though the label was completely ruined and we figured out what wine we opened only thanks to the writings on the cork.

I must note that I don't really like Dugat-Py style. It's powerful, expressive and stands out from other producers, but I find nothing sexy in this style. For example, there is Jean Grivot with expressive and unique style, but his wines are delicate and beautiful. Someone joked that Dugat-Py is Bourgogne for Bordeaux fans.

Nevertheless, I tasted this dead wine and in the flavours of burnt tires and paper, in this disintegrated and broken body I found solace. And I found comfort. It's too early to extract feelings into words, but at least I know that my small world can carry on. Not by inertia, but at will.

Safe travels!

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