Wines of the Week 10 June 2011

An impressive trio from Cambridgeshire-based Private Cellar.

Champagne Legras & Haas Tradition Brut NV, France

A fresh, floral, lemony champagne with a light touch of brioche and maltiness. Elegant, accessible and reasonably priced. It’s 50% chardonnay and comes from a family-owned house based in the Côtes des Blancs grand cru of Chouilly. 12.5% abv.

£24.19, Private Cellar

2010 Springfontein Estate Unfiltered Terroir Selection Chenin Blanc, Walker Bay, South Africa

A ripe and oaky nose; a rich, waxy palate with intense, sweet and sharp pineapple and lemon fruit, toasty, chocolaty oak and bright acidity. This is a young wine that is still slightly unknit, but the balance is there, the components are very good and they’re already starting to come together, to mellow and become more complex. Drink with chicken, fish and veal, including in cream sauces. 14% abv.

£12.96, Private Cellar

2004 Bordeaux by Hubert de Boüard, France

I suppose if you’re the co-owner and the winemaker of Château Angélus and consultant to others, you can get away with the slightly pretentious ‘by’ in the name, especially when the wine is this good. It’s Merlot-based and a case of clever winemaking drawing out and boosting the best of an unexceptional, though not attractive, vintage. Ripe black fruit with currant-leaf, graphite and cedar freshness, carefully upholstered with ripe tannins and the milk chocolate and vanilla flavour of oak. 13% abv. A winner with roast, slow-roast and grilled lamb.

£12.16, Private Cellar