Four for the price of three this week, because one isn’t available in the UK, but it it’s a lovely wine and you can buy it online direct from the winery.
2009 Château Miraval Pink Floyd Rôsé, Côtes de Provence
Benchmark Provence rosé – pale pink with a perfumy, powdery nose, silky textured strawberry and cassis fruit, a touch of spice and a long, refined finish. It’s made largely from old cinsault vines, which give the perfume and the silkiness, with 20% grenache to add a bit of extra red fruit and spice. And in case you hadn’t guessed or are too young to know, it’s made on the Miraval estate where, in 1977, Pink Floyd recorded The Wall. 13.5% abv. Serve with sunshine.
£11.39, Oxford Wine Co, Fortnum & Mason, Hennings.
2007 Duas Quintas, Douro
The Douro makes some superb red wines, but not many reasonably priced ones. This is one of the latter. It has a deep, ripe, smoky, mineral and cassis nose and full fruit, sweet oak, velvety tannins on the palate, and a crucial mineral freshness on the finish. It’s for drinking now and over the next three or four years. 14% abv.
£8.99–£9.75, Stainton Wines, Philglas & Swiggot, Four Walls Wine Co
2006 Tenuta La Novella Chianti Classico
This is from a 12-hectare organic vineyard on a large olive oil and wine estate in San Polo in Chianti (north east of the Classico area) that has been painstakingly restored and restructured since 1996 by entrepreneur Joannis Schneider. Stéphane Derenecourt and team are consultants. The wine is very impressive: deep, and bright in colour; beautifully aromatic, with spice, tobacco, sandalwood and smoke; concentrated black-fruit and spice flavours on the palate – a feeling of richness, but with real elegance, supple tannins and a refreshing note of acidity. It’s expensive – it’s not the riserva, after all – but it is a textbook and very polished Chianti Classico. 13.5% abv.
€24, tenutalanovella.com
2009 La Croisade Réserve Merlot, Vin de Pays d’Oc
No, inexpensive merlot doesn’t set my pulse racing either, but this is much better than most at the price. It smells juicy, plummy and even slightly jammy, then on the palate it’s soft, fresh, plummy and smooth, but with a malbec-like spiciness and a hint of fresh celery that gives it interest. 13.5% abv.
£5.99, or £5.49 if you buy two or more, Majestic
