DISCOVER DUTCH WINES

The wine has a somewhat rural character and reminds us a bit of of Barbera d’Alba. We smell forest fruits and red fruit, forest floor, mushrooms, pine resin, a little wood and some fountain pen ink. In the mouth lots of red fruits, red cherries, berries, strawberries and blackberry jam, and developing aromas of wood, pine resin, leather and stable. Our panel thought this was a good wine, already drinkable, but we recommend that you leave it until the holidays, so that the flavors can integrate better. In addition, it is advisable to open the wine an hour before to breathe.

Wine-food pairing advice: grilled eggplant, a stew, grilled lamb chop or melanzane parmigiana

The wine has a very pleasant nose, filled with rose hips, raisins, cranberries, black currants, and hints of cedar wood and pepper. Also the flavor intensity is quite good. In the mouth the taste of rose hips and raisins returns, supplemented with red fruits, thyme, resin and a little black olive. With 14%, this wine is relatively high in alcohol but it lacks some tannin for that extra firmness. For that reason we do not recommend to keep it for ageing but to drink it now. All together a good to very good wine. The PQR however is not as good as some other Dutch pinot noir wines we reviewed.

This wine shows a considerable difference between smell and taste. Characteristics of the nose are fruity, floral and herbaceous with scents of sweet cherries on juice, vanilla, allspice, and eucalyptus. In the mouth however, the character is green and graphite-like. We taste green bell pepper, cedar wood, mouth-drying tea and bay leaf. The wine has a good body and flavor intensity. In case you want to open it now: it is a real food wine. We recommend to combine it with a good steak, goulash or boeuf bourguignon so that the tannins are somewhat softened. If you can wait for a while: we advise to keep it at least for another two years to develop, so that flavors become more integrated. After 12 months on American oak, the wine needs some time to age.