Latest News

Patrick returns from Chile trip on a high!!

Posted 02/02/2012

Above: Patrick at Chocalan Winery with proprietor Aida Toro

As some of you may already know, Aitken Wines were the lucky winners of the Wines of Chile Independent Wine Merchants Awards 2011 for Scotland last year. As a result, one lucky person, namely Patrick, was taken to Chile last week along with the 4 regional winners from England. Well, someone has to do the market research!!

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to explore what is arguably one of the world's most exciting and dynamic wine producing regions with a climate that is the envy of almost every other country. Arriving in the capital, Santiago on the Sunday, the week entailed being taken to some of the best wine-growing regions, from the Limari Valley in the North down to the Colchagua Valley further South with an overnight stay at Santa Cruz and visits to Casablanca and Maipo Valleys along the way.

As with most wine-producing countries that proactively export, the UK is Chile's single biggest market (with China catching up fast!!) and the wineries were keen to display the quality of the wines they had to offer. Some of the highlights of the trip were as follows:

> Chocalan, Maipo Valley - This was a chance to catch up with the owner again, Aida Toro, who was one of Aitken's first guests after we'd built our tasting area in the warehouse - a very lovely and busy lady, being the mother of 6 and also running her own winery!! As with all the wineries, they were very hospitable and their syrah-petit verdot rose which we've stocked for few years now takes some beating.

> Chile's Icon Wineries - we were lucky enough to visit some of the world's most iconic wineries including Altair in Cachapoal, Montes and Lapostolle in Colchagua, and Errazuriz in Aconcagua. These wineries were all unique in their own ways, with Montes very much buying into the Feng Shui concept (to the point of playing Gregorian chant music to the wine as it aged in barrels!!) and Errazuriz producing world renowned wines like Don Maximiano (Patrick's favourite!!), La Cumbre Syrah and KAI (around £75 per bottle!!).

> Emiliana, Conchagua & Clos des Fous, Aconcagua - With all the wineries visited standing out in their own different ways, these two very different wineries pretty much outlined what Chile does best. Emiliana, is a sizeable concern, exclusively producing biodynamic wines which, on tasting, expressed a vibrancy and brightness that can very often be lacking in wines priced between the £5 and £10 mark. Clos des Fous on the other hand, is what would be called a boutique winery, with currently only 2 wines on the market, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Chardonnay, both of which, as Patrick would say, 'punched above their weight'. The Chardonnay, which Aitken's took on towards the end of last year, is a low sulphur Burgundy style Chardonnay displaying both complexity and a crisp, freshness benefitting from one of Chile's most Southern and therefore coolest climate vineyards. The Cab Sauv was made in a pure, fresh style with redcurrent and cherry flavours and a crisp acidity - so, coming to Aitken's soon!! They are now also growing Pinot Noir and all signs look very promising for the future...

In summary, the trip was not only a great privelege but also a great education for Patrick and it was interesting to see both the diversity and quality that Chile has to offer. Chile, like New Zealand, benefits from a cool coastal climate which lends itself beautifully to the wines that are very much of the moment in style. As well as producing the clean, crisp and aromatic Sauvignon Blanc whites similar (yet different) to Marlborough in style, Chile are also producing stand out Chardonnay and Viognier in whites and Carmenere, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir in reds. The trip was made by the people who looked after the group, with some real characters in the winemakers and winery owners met along the way, but the proof of the pudding has to be the wine, which was very much the case. As with many of the trips Patrick comes back from, he is happy to confirm this year that 'Chile is the future!!!'. 

As a result of the trip, please look out for some great new wines coming into Aitken's very soon, including some of those mentioned above. We'll also plan a Chilean tasting in March or April to launch these new lines so watch this space....

Busy January Tasting, and a surprise after-hours discovery...

Posted 02/02/2012

50 guests tasted a dozen wines and whiskies at our January tasting. The 1992 Bunnahabhainn single-cask malt probably just edged it with the haggis, but good wine matches were found with Chocalan Rose (syrah/petit verdot) and Inspira Cabernet Sauvignon, both from Chile.

The feeling was that the balanced acidity of the Chocalan rose, with just a lick of berry fruit, cut through the fat of the haggis while the powerful, savoury character of the Inspira Cab Sauv stood up to it very well.

Requests to open a bottle of our very, very decent Pomerol Ch Hermitage Mazeyres were respectfully ignored, although I can see the rich spiciness of a Pomerol doing quite well.

What I did enjoy - at home after the tasting - was a mini-oatcake with a dollop of haggis and a glass of Manzanilla. A sherry tasting must be on this year's agenda!

Wines and Whiskies for the 26th January tasting

Posted 20/01/2012

Ever tried food-matching wine with haggis, neeps and tatties? Next Thursday night is your chance and we're covering the spectrum by featuring just about every grape we can - and some very special whiskies.

The wines we are featuring are all new vintages.

In whites, Les Volets Chardonnay from Pays de l'Aude, False Bay Sauvignon Blanc from Stellenbosch and Anakena Single Vineyard Viognier.

Half-time sees us trying Chocalan Rose - our favourite rose with food. The smart money is on this being the best match for haggis.

In reds, Fleurie 'Reine de l'Arenite' Beaujolais, Anakena Single Vineyard Pinot Noir and Inspira Cabernet Sauvignon, both from Chile, and Rosedale Shiraz from Australia's Barossa Valley will all stake their claim.

Peter McKay from the Scottish Liqeur Centre at Bankfoot will share his expert knowledge on some very rare single-cask single malts - ask him anything, he knows his stuff! Bladnoch 1990, Braes o' Glenlivet 1989, Teaninich 1982 and Bunnahabhainn 1982 will all be on show.

Hope to see you there - tickets are £5 per person, please call 01382 641111 to book for what is always a busy and fun tasting!

Next Big Tasting Thursday January 26th

Posted 13/01/2012

Well, it's nearly Burns Night and to celebrate we'll be doing things in style...watch this space, and along with some terrific wines expect to taste some very, very rare whiskies indeed. For example, how about a single-cask Bunnahabhainn from 1992, the first year they really peated their barley?

Bookings are already coming in so don't delay, phone and book your place for our first tasting of 2012!

We win national competition, and fly to Chile!

Posted 12/01/2012

To be accurate - we won the competition, but Patrick is flying to Chile...

Good news is always worth spreading, so...take a look at this!

http://www.winesofchile.org/news-press/awards/2011-indie-award-winners/

Wines of Chile, the main promotional body for Chilean Wines, has named Aitken Wines as one of their top Independent wine merchants and Patrick is off to that wonderful country at the end of this month. Based in Santiago, he'll visit a number of top wineries and no doubt we can look forward to a Big Chilean Tasting shortly after his return!

We've taken on some fantastic Chilean wines over the past year and if you haven't tried them yet, put these on your list for 2012 - Clos des Fous Chardonnay, Chocalan Merlot and Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Cabernet Sauvignon, all outstanding examples of the quality Chile is achieving right now. 

Normal service resumes

Posted 05/01/2012

Both shops are now back to full opening hours.

Warehouse - 10am to 6pm Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm Saturday.

Broughty Ferry - 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Saturday inclusive.

Alianca Dao Reserva at only £6.99?

Posted 29/12/2011

We believe in this wine so strongly that we are putting it on a crazy offer for the start of 2012, to tempt you to give it a go. If you've tried Portuguese reds before and found them a bit rough, let us change your way of thinking - try this rounded, smooth, velvety gentle giant of a red at only £6.99, a perfect winter warmer!

Shackleton Whisky in stock

Posted 06/12/2011

Ernest Shackleton's Forgotten Whisky, or Mackinlay's Whisky Reborn!

“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of darkness. Honour and recognition in event of success.”

This was the advertisement with which Ernest Shackleton recruited team members for his unsuccessful Antarctic trip, which began in 1907 and ended in 1909 as the encroaching sea ice forced an early departure.

Shackleton’s expedition ran short of supplies on their long trek to the South Pole from Cape Royds and they eventually fell about 100 miles short of their goal.  The men left hurriedly from Cape Royds in 1909 as winter ice began forming in the sea and threatened to trap their ship.

Thankfully, Shackleton turned back from the polar trek in time to keep all of his party safe, later explaining his retreat by saying that “A live donkey is better than a dead lion”. In the hurry to escape the ice, Shackleton and his men abandoned their base camp hut leaving behind many of their clothes and possessions – as well as supplies deemed superfluous to the return journey. 

These unwanted rations included delicacies like mutton cutlets, marrow fat, kippers, egg powder and stewed kidneys. The explorers also abandonded the unloved pemmican, a kind of beef jerky made with dried offcuts and fat - huge on calorific value, but notoriously low on taste. No doubt the explorers found it easy enough to leave this kind of stuff behind - but we can only imagine the sinking feeling when they realised they'd forgotten to pack the whisky!

Two World Wars followed; we invented television, chloroform, penicillin, nylon, the contraceptive pill, and man went to the moon (these events were not all linked, by the way...) and while all that was going on, Shackleton's forgotten whisky lay locked in the Antarctic ice - until January 2006, when the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust found several cases of it ice-bound under Shackleton's hut. Detailed investigation showed three of the cases contained Chas Mackinlay & Co’s whisky, with the remaining two housing an Australian brandy made in Hunter Valley.

Through 2010 the cases were very carefully extracted from beneath the hut and one of the whisky cases was thawed by a team of specialists at the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The story of Shackleton's whisky has swept the whisky world. Richard Paterson, master blender at Whyte and Mackay, described the find as “a gift from the heavens” for whisky lovers, and analysed the whisky after extracting small samples from the bottles by syringe.  The bottles have since been restored to the ice underneath Shackleton’s hut, while Whyte & Mackay have released this tribute bottling in a strictly limited edition of 50,000 bottles. 

The recreation of Mackinlay’s came to market two months after the samples were brought to Scotland and is a blend of various malt whiskies including The Dalmore and Glen Mhor, the original base malt for Mackinlays. The replica has been bottled at the same strength as the sample of recovered whisky at 47.3% and the age of the malts used in the vatting is given as between eight and thirty years old - that's likely to be the Glen Mhor, which was closed down in the early Eighties.

5% of the proceeeds of each sale will be donated to the Antactic Heritage Trust, who supervised the excavation of the bottle.  This is expected to total £250,000 for the trust.

Official tasting notes:

Colour – Light honey, straw gold with shimmering highlights.

Nose – Soft, elegant and refined. Delicate aromas of crushed apple, pear and fresh pineapple arouse the senses. The spirit is exciting and vibrant with attractive notes of oak shavings that release hints of buttery vanilla, creamy caramel and nutmeg. A whisper of marmalade, cinnamon and even a tease of smoke, ginger and muscovado sugar completes this spectrum of delight.

Taste – With a generous strength of 47.3% this gives the spirit plenty of impact on the palate but in a mild warming manner. Harmonious and exhilarating. Whispers of gentle bonfire smoke slowly give way to spicy rich toffee, treacle and pecan nuts. These enticing flavours linger lovingly on the palate but are soon combined by a sensual, complex array of creme brulee, orange rind and freshly baked bread. It is a remarkable tapestry of tantalising taste sensations which truly rewards the palate.

Early reports are favourable, with Dave Broom (who also tasted the original recovered sample) being quoted in Whyte & Mackay’s press release as follows:

“The Shackleton whisky is not what I expected at all, and not what anyone would have expected. It’s so light, so fresh, so delicate and still in one piece – it’s a gorgeous whisky.

“It proves that even way back then so much care, attention and thought went into whisky-making.

“I think the replication is absolutely bang on. Richard has done a great job as it’s a very tricky whisky to replicate, because you have this delicacy, subtlety and the smoke just coming through.

“The sweetness, fragrance and spice, and the subtle smoke, are all there in the replica. I’m blown away.”

Quinta do Noval ports in stock!

Posted 10/11/2011

World-famous Quinta do Noval ports are now in stock for Christmas - one for the tawny brigade, and one for ruby lovers!

The ten-year-old Tawny is £16.59 and the 2004 unfiltered Late Bottled Vintage is £17.39 - they'll be available for online purchase later today or pop in and grab one, stocks are limited. You can even pay over the phone!