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Classic Styles from Cadman Fine Wines

Winedoctor sponsor Cadman Fine Wines has been trading online for several years now, and the website and business appear to be going from strength to strength. Established in 2004 by Giles Cadman under the umbrella of the Venulum Group, a private company providing investment services in property and wine, Cadman Fine Wines was created to provide a retail service to complement the well-established investment business. At the helm of the group is Giles himself, a man with a clear and innate passion for wine, aided by sales and marketing manager Paul Trimming, among others.

The list blends blue-chip names with some less familiar, the likes of Langoa-Barton, Beaucastel and Armand Rousseau sitting very nicely with competing bottles from less famous and  this more affordable names. You want Bordeaux? Why not try the latest vintage from Château les Ricards, an appealing Premières Côtes de Blaye made by Xavier and Corinne Loriaud? Or if the Rhône is more your thing, why not look at the wines of the Côtes de Ventoux? Here at Domaine de Fondrèche, Nanou Barthélemy & Sebastien Vincenti have been turning out top-quality blends of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre for fifteen years, and in this line up they offer not only quality but also value - the Fayard is very reasonably priced for what you get. As for Burgundy, what about the wines of Château Génot-Boulanger? The two examples tasted here, both white, one a forward and fruit-laden representative of Chassagne-Montrachet and the other a more structured, gritty ambassador of Puligny-Montrachet, were without doubt my favourites from this particular line-up.

All these wines are available on the Cadman site, and at the time of writing one or two of them are included in the ongoing sale, with a quid or two knocked off the price. And it is worthy of mention that there is no minimum purchase limit, so if it is just one bottle that takes your fancy, then that is all you need to buy, a feature of which Cadman is especially proud. I have included the current Cadman prices here, and also links through to wine-searcher.com for complete transparency. I make no commission on the sale of these wines, although as I clearly stated in my opening paragraph Cadman Fine Wines is a sponsor of Winedoctor, and so any purchase does support this site, even if in a rather roundabout way. (19/8/10)

Classic Styles from Cadman Fine Wines - Tasting Notes

Tasted in August 2010. Click to locate stockists:

Château Génot-Boulanger Chassagne-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Vergers 2007: A pale hue in the glass with a great nose, very open, expressive and characterful, with notes of white peach skin, bright citrus tones and also a subtle layer of highly polished cashew nut. On the palate it is bright and fleshy, with a quite remarkable creamy-glossy texture. It carries a massive raft of fruit at the start, the structure of the wine - it has an appealing grip - just dripping with peach. Rich, with piles of flavour-impact packed within a linear, well-defined frame and backed up by almost juicy acidity, this is a really impressive wine, approachable and thus lovely for drinking now. For label images and more see my Wine of the Week write-up. 17+/20 (£39.99)

Château Génot-Boulanger Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru Les Folatières 2007: This wine has a similarly pale hue to the Chassagne, but there is a very different character on the nose here. This cuvée is much less about fruit, instead showcasing a light coating of honey and pepper over a layer of cashew nuts, along with a bright, lifted character reminiscent of lemon zest. There follows a lot of texture on the palate, although it is more restrained than the preceding wine, more grippy and better defined, with a fine, tingling backbone of acidity. Firmly composed, much tighter and demanding cellar-time, this is a wine full of promise. Long, too. Put it away in the cellar. 17.5+/20 (£45.00)

Château les Ricards Premières Côtes de Blaye 2007: This wasn't the easiest of vintages and it required a lot of work it the vineyard to salvage the fruit, so it's rewarding to see small domaines from 'lesser' appellations turning out decent wine. This is a blend of 70% Merlot, a whopping 20% Malbec and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon made by Xavier and Corinne Loriaud. Alcohol 13%. An appealing nose, clean although very slightly dusty, with an attractive layer of berry fruit, nuanced with dark Assam tea leaves and green olives. It gives the suggestion that there is at least some flesh here, and indeed on the palate this is so, a well-judged and restrained texture showing at the very front, with more grip and tannin showing through the midpalate. Grippy, dry but with a little substance, with a little bitterness and tannin at the end. Short finish. Much more evolved than the 2005 which I tasted a year or two ago, but a good effort in this vintage. 14.5/20 (£9.99)

Mas Fondrèche Côtes du Ventoux 2008: This wine is a blend of 50% Syrah and 50% Grenache, and it shows a vibrant colour and moderate density in the glass. Crisp and vibrant fruit follows on the nose, with a crunchy cherry, slightly stony character. It is divinely fresh and lively, well defined and pure, with a pretty, slightly floral edge. The palate possesses a moderate texture, very clean in style, with some midpalate flesh. A beautifully balanced wine, carrying a light layer of strawberry and cherry fruit, sprinkled with sage. A nice texture, crisp and yet with a little weight through it, gradually yielding to a peppery, spicy, prickling acidity. Bright and lively with a crunchy sweetness, this wine finishes well and even lingers for a little while at the end. Very good. 16/20 (£8.50)

Domaine de Fondrèche Côtes du Ventoux Fayard 2008: This is a step up from the Mas Fondrèche, a blend of 50% Grenache, 40% Syrah and 10% Mourvèdre in the traditional southern Rhône mould. A nice glossy hue and moderate concentration of colour in the glass. The nose is very typical of the principal variety, showing some sweet and smoky cherry fruit spiced with sandalwood. The Syrah also comes through a little, both on the nose and the palate, which shows more sweet fruit with a lot of cherry and cranberry character, backed up by an inordinate amount of spicy, peppery zip. Plenty of glycerine texture here, tinged with crunchy-crystalline sweetness, overall giving the wine an attractive style, with a nice bitter twist in the finish. 16/20 (£9.99)

Domaine de Fondrèche Côtes du Ventoux Persia 2008: And now in this superior blend we have mostly Syrah, accounting for 90%, the remaining 10% being Grenache. A bright and youthful wine in the glass, although with a deeper, more glossy hue here. On the nose it has some sweet and smoky Syrah character, with floral, peach-skin elements and some bright cherry fruit, all very ripe and toothsome, and tinged with rosemary scents. There follows a sweet and fleshy start on the palate, with lots of texture but bright structure too, the wine possessing a laser-like acidity with soft, ripe tannins. A beautifully intense composition, pure and concentrated and yet light-footed too, never ponderous, well-defined and linear, but with substance at the end, backed up by plum and damson-skin grip. Impressive stuff. 17.5+/20 (£15.99)

Fattoria le Sorgenti Gaiaccia (Rosso di Toscana) 2006: This IGT is 80% Sangiovese and 20% Merlot, and in the glass it shows a good depth of colour, deep and yet bright. A fresh and aromatic nose follows, full of bay leaf, sage, orange peel and sweet black fruits, well defined and pure, yet tinged with cinnamon. There is a trace of custard powder in the background too, very much a Sangiovese trait I think. The palate has a polished sweetness, rounded and with a good, spicy, crunchy backbone. A good substance here, although well balanced, nicely framed by good acidity and a ripe tannic backbone, and with a savoury edge to the fruit. Really attractive. This is a little less rich than the 2004, and for that I like it a little more. 17/20 (£19.99)

Fattoria le Sorgenti Scirus (Rosso di Toscana) 2006: This vintage is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon with 40% Merlot, 5% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot, and declares itself to be a very precise 14.32% alcohol. A fairly rich colour, and on the nose dried berry fruit, especially cranberry and raspberry sprinkled with black pepper, and certainly a touch of spice alongside some roasted herbs. There's also a little toffee on the nose, perhaps a little residual oak. A good substance is immediately apparent on the palate, and also a thick layer of sweet and spicy fruit, seductive and polished. Broad, attractive, ripe with some appealing, supple but lightly grippy tannins underneath it all. Stylish and well judged, with a nice counterbalance of acid and grip behind the sweet-savoury, tannin-infused fruit. Long too. Very good. 17.5+/20 (£24.99)