Sunday, March 17, 2013

and one more that I missed off yesterday's post...


CHAMPAGNE
Charles Heidsieck Rosé Réserve
Very elegant pink champagne with lovely fruit purity combined with richness and suppleness of texture. Pale orangey salmon colour; spicy, red berry and wild strawberry aromas and flavours and touches of straw, nuts and honey. 12.5%. Very good with dressed crab – not the easiest thing to find a wine for.
£48.95, Royal Mile Whiskies

Saturday, March 16, 2013

A round-up of highly recommended wines from recent tastings, trips and samples, 16 March 2013


WHITES 
2008 Josmeyer Le Fromenteau Pinot Gris, Alsace, France
If I was marooned on a desert island with only this to drink, I wouldn’t complain. Elegant, expressive, terrific definition, with rich, smoky, floral, peach and pepper notes; textured and long. 13.5% abv. Just in case you’re ever wondering what to drink with laverbread, this does the job very well – coping with the savoury, salty, almost fishy taste and the smooth texture. Even better with proscuitto. 
£20.05, Haynes Hanson & Clark.

2012 Tinpot Hut Turner Vineyard Riesling, Marlborough, New Zealand
Light-bodied, dazzlingly fresh and intensely flavoured with lime juice fruit and a whisper of minerality. Sweetness – 16g/l residual sugar – perfectly off-set by acidity, so the overall effect is just off-dry. 10% abv. Enough intensity and acidity to take on lots of salady things.
£12.99 RannochScott Wines

2012 Stoneburn Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand
Great value, medium weight NZ Sauvignon made from Jane Hunter’s own vineyards. Really zesty, lemon grass and nettle flavours with a tangy, saline edge. 13% abv.
£7.25, The Wine Society

2012 Viñas del Vero Coleccion Gewürztraminer, Pago El Enebro, Somontano, Spain
Textbook gewurz from Spain’s Pyrenean foothills – vividly aromatic with rose petal, lychee and sweet orange flavours balanced by fresh, bright acidity. 13% abv. The 2011 is still tasting good if you don’t want to wait until April.
£9.99/£7.99, in Majestic from April 2 (£7.99 is the 2 or more price)

2012 Viñas del Vero La Miranda de Secastilla Garnacha Blanca, Somontano, Spain
Couldn’t be more different from the gewurz above. Fresh, smoky and mineral on the nose; full, rounded palate with intense lime and quince fruit, a hint of mango and smoked paprika, then a long, fresh, minerally finish. 14% abv.
£12.50, Jeroboams

REDS
2011 Volpetto Sangiovese, Toscana, Italy
Modern Tuscan red that would be overpriced at £11.99, the price from which Ocado says it’s reduced, but well worth the current £6. Medium-bodied, round and juicy with spicy, smoky and meaty notes, a little toasted vanilla and a twist of tartness to the ripe cherry fruit. 12.5% abv.
£5.99, Ocado

2008 Château Argadens Bordeaux Supérieur, France.
The authentic graphite and cedar flavours of Bordeaux with supple, well rounded blackcurrant-cum-blueberry fruit; medium-bodied, dry, fresh. 13% abv.
£8.95, The Wine Society

2010 Duorum Colheita, Douro, Portugal
Still showing some youthful tannin, but already very drinkable with ripe, fresh blackberry and blueberry fruit, savoury black pepper notes and a subtle oak backdrop. A typical Douro blend of touriga nacional, touriga franca and tinta roriz. 13.5% abv.
£11.40, Tanners 

2010 Shaw & Smith Pinot Noir, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
Michael Hill-Smith says that the 2010 is the best pinot he and his cousin have produced to date (I can believe it) but that the 2012 is better. I can't wait. The 2010 has an exotic, perfumy nose and a pure and pretty palate with floral, cherry and raspberry fruit and delicate, spicy coffee and smoky bacon notes. 
£26.95, Slurp