2008 Gaia Wild Ferment Assyrtiko, Santorini
If you want something deliciously wild for the weekend, or any other time, this is it: a dry, smoky, mineral white, bristling with flavours of lemon peel, toasted, smoky wheat and olive oil and carried aloft by piercing acidity. As it says, it’s wild ferment, meaning no added yeasts, and it’s made from the assyrtiko grape on Greece’s windswept, volcanic island of Santorini - so windswept, in fact, that the vines are wind round into basket shapes so that the bunches of grapes grow inside, sheltered from the wind, or that’s the idea anyway. Drink it on its own or with fish or tapas. Novum Wines is a young operation with a portfolio of interesting, high quality wines bought for them by the company’s co-founder who was head buyer at Oddbins for 17 years – the years when Oddbins was great. 13.5%
£14.00 Novum Wines
2006 Belles Pierres Les Clauzes de Jo, Coteaux du Languedoc Rouge
This red wine is a bit wild, too, in that it smells intensely of the aromatic herb-studded garrigue of southern France – all bay leaves, rosemary, thyme and mint - but interwoven with succulent, sweet berry fruit and a full, velvety texture. The grapes are syrah and grenache with a bit of mourvèdre, and Jo is Joseph, father of Damien Coste who is now in charge. 14%.
£8.95, Stone, Vine & Sun
2007 Leasingham Magnus Riesling, Clare Valley
Zingy, dry Australian riesling with exuberant, fresh lime, apple and tropical fruit aromas, and a juicy lime-peel palate. Medium-bodied with refreshing, pithy acidity. A good aperitif, but also an option with spices and the intensity and sweetness of grilled red peppers, tomatoes and so on. 12.5%.
£7.99 Sainsbury’s; £9.99 (or £6.33 if you buy three bottles), Wine Rack
Friday, June 19, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 12 June 2009
2008 Yali Winemaker’s Selection Wetland Sauvignon Blanc
Even without giving the name of the producer and the country and region, the name is a bit of a mouthful, but the wine is appetisingly elegant and fresh. The aromas and flavours - gooseberries, elderflowers, nettles, pink grapefruit - are textbook sauvignon, but they’re not at knockout strength, so, you could easily imagine having a second or third glass. Nearly forgot to tell you: it’s Chilean, from Patacon, coastal Lolol, just 30km from the Pacific and it’s made by Viña Ventisquero. A donation is made to the Wildflower & Wetlands Trust (WWT) for every case of Yali wine sold in the UK. 12.5%.
£5.61 (and only £4.49 if you buy 2 or more Chilean wines), Majestic
2005 Château La Lauzette Declercq
A red Bordeaux from Listrac-Médoc that would win anyone over to the idea of drinking Bordeaux. Or at least it ought to. The nose is seductively sweet and cedary and it’s full and velvety in the mouth with touches of fruitcake, cedar, graphite and gentle oak. It’s ready now, but you could hang on to it for another four years or so. To give you a bit of background: it’s more cabernet sauvignon than merlot (60% vs 32%) with a little bit of petit verdot and cabernet franc and it’s a cru bourgeois estate belonging to the family that also owns the Saint-Emilion grand cru Château Cantenac. And, of course, it’s from the excellent 2005 vintage. 13%.
£12.99, Averys of Bristol
Even without giving the name of the producer and the country and region, the name is a bit of a mouthful, but the wine is appetisingly elegant and fresh. The aromas and flavours - gooseberries, elderflowers, nettles, pink grapefruit - are textbook sauvignon, but they’re not at knockout strength, so, you could easily imagine having a second or third glass. Nearly forgot to tell you: it’s Chilean, from Patacon, coastal Lolol, just 30km from the Pacific and it’s made by Viña Ventisquero. A donation is made to the Wildflower & Wetlands Trust (WWT) for every case of Yali wine sold in the UK. 12.5%.
£5.61 (and only £4.49 if you buy 2 or more Chilean wines), Majestic
2005 Château La Lauzette Declercq
A red Bordeaux from Listrac-Médoc that would win anyone over to the idea of drinking Bordeaux. Or at least it ought to. The nose is seductively sweet and cedary and it’s full and velvety in the mouth with touches of fruitcake, cedar, graphite and gentle oak. It’s ready now, but you could hang on to it for another four years or so. To give you a bit of background: it’s more cabernet sauvignon than merlot (60% vs 32%) with a little bit of petit verdot and cabernet franc and it’s a cru bourgeois estate belonging to the family that also owns the Saint-Emilion grand cru Château Cantenac. And, of course, it’s from the excellent 2005 vintage. 13%.
£12.99, Averys of Bristol
Friday, June 5, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 5 June 2009
2006 John Duval Wines Plexus
If you can have a wine that is seriously sumptuous, this is it: a Barossa Valley red made by John Duval, the man who, for many years, made Penfolds Grange. It’s a blend of shiraz, grenache and mourvedre (52:30:15) and the fruit is succulent, fresh and focused (to Duval its red fruits; to me it’s more blueberries). There’s a seam of crisp black pepper and the oak is supple and subtle, rather than a heavy presence. For all its mouthfilling richness, there is real elegance here – and if you serve it cool, which you might want to at this time of year, you’ll get a hint of mint, too. 14%.
£18.00-£19.99, HarperWells Ltd, Noel Young Wines, The Secret Cellar
2001 Crémant de Bourgogne Grande Cuvée, Albert Sounit
Matured for six years as if it was vintage champagne and made from 100% chardonnay – and, yes, it’s been worth the time and effort. Toasty, biscuity with touches of brioche and macaroon on the nose; ample and creamy on the palate with grilled brioche flavours and lively, balancing acidity. 12%. This Crémant is a good cheaper alternative to vintage champagne, but if you want something younger and more floral, Berrys Extra Dry Crémant de Limoux made by Jean Louis Denois is well worth having (£8.75)
£14.60, Berry Bros & Rudd
2007 Laurent Miquel Nord Sud Viognier
There’s a lot of viognier in the south of France and a lot of it tastes like the diluted syrup from a can of peaches. This wine shows what can be done. Textbook fresh, ripe peach and apricot flavours with citrus freshness, good acidity and just enough oak to add interest, but not to shout. It costs about a quarter as much as Condrieu, but is at least half as good. 13.5%
£8.49, Tesco
If you can have a wine that is seriously sumptuous, this is it: a Barossa Valley red made by John Duval, the man who, for many years, made Penfolds Grange. It’s a blend of shiraz, grenache and mourvedre (52:30:15) and the fruit is succulent, fresh and focused (to Duval its red fruits; to me it’s more blueberries). There’s a seam of crisp black pepper and the oak is supple and subtle, rather than a heavy presence. For all its mouthfilling richness, there is real elegance here – and if you serve it cool, which you might want to at this time of year, you’ll get a hint of mint, too. 14%.
£18.00-£19.99, HarperWells Ltd, Noel Young Wines, The Secret Cellar
2001 Crémant de Bourgogne Grande Cuvée, Albert Sounit
Matured for six years as if it was vintage champagne and made from 100% chardonnay – and, yes, it’s been worth the time and effort. Toasty, biscuity with touches of brioche and macaroon on the nose; ample and creamy on the palate with grilled brioche flavours and lively, balancing acidity. 12%. This Crémant is a good cheaper alternative to vintage champagne, but if you want something younger and more floral, Berrys Extra Dry Crémant de Limoux made by Jean Louis Denois is well worth having (£8.75)
£14.60, Berry Bros & Rudd
2007 Laurent Miquel Nord Sud Viognier
There’s a lot of viognier in the south of France and a lot of it tastes like the diluted syrup from a can of peaches. This wine shows what can be done. Textbook fresh, ripe peach and apricot flavours with citrus freshness, good acidity and just enough oak to add interest, but not to shout. It costs about a quarter as much as Condrieu, but is at least half as good. 13.5%
£8.49, Tesco
Thursday, May 28, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 29 May 2009
2005 Clos Lapeyre Vitatge Vielh Jurançon Sec
This is not the easiest dry Jurançon, but patience is rewarded. Give it time in the glass and drink it with food – preferably something with some richness and a salty, lemony tang (I had it recently with an organic chicken baked with olives and wafer-thin slices of unpeeled lemon). It has an enticing smell of honeysuckle and apricot with a touch of vanilla cream (from the oak used) and just a faint whiff of fino sherry. The flavours in the mouth are similar, but powerful, dry and dense with grapefruity acidity. Have I made that sound delicious? I hope so, because it is. It comes, incidentally, from a vineyard planted in the 1940s with the three grape varieties, gros manseng, petit manseng and courbu, mixed up (complantés). 13.5%.
£13.75, Les Caves de Pyrène
2008 Colle Stefano Verdicchio di Matelica
This is the kind of wine that often gets overlooked, or rather underestimated at a big tasting. It’s water-white and doesn’t give away much on the nose, although what there is – a delicate jasmine-like perfume – is worth having. The palate is both piercingly fresh and nicely rounded, with straw and pears, lemon and herbs. It’s not a wine that shouts, but you can’t ignore it either and you wouldn’t want to. Try it with fish, including shellfish. 13%.
£8.90, Les Caves de Pyrène
2007 Wirra Wirra Church Block
The first vintage of this Australian red was 1972 and it’s much loved on its home territory. If you think that means it must be full-bodied, richly fruity, oaky and high in alcohol, you’re dead right. But wait: there’s more to it. The blueberry fruit has a lovely brightness, the oak gives flavours of coffee and chocolate, but they don’t dominate, the tannins are unobtrusive and there’s a real freshness and cleanness to the finish, which they say is thanks to McLaren Vale’s cooling sea breezes. The blend is cabernet sauvignon (just over half) with shiraz and merlot. And it’s a winner with meat – beef, lamb, pork, liver, kidneys. Wheel it out as soon as you’ve warmed up the barbie. 14.5%.
£9.99, Waitrose
This is not the easiest dry Jurançon, but patience is rewarded. Give it time in the glass and drink it with food – preferably something with some richness and a salty, lemony tang (I had it recently with an organic chicken baked with olives and wafer-thin slices of unpeeled lemon). It has an enticing smell of honeysuckle and apricot with a touch of vanilla cream (from the oak used) and just a faint whiff of fino sherry. The flavours in the mouth are similar, but powerful, dry and dense with grapefruity acidity. Have I made that sound delicious? I hope so, because it is. It comes, incidentally, from a vineyard planted in the 1940s with the three grape varieties, gros manseng, petit manseng and courbu, mixed up (complantés). 13.5%.
£13.75, Les Caves de Pyrène
2008 Colle Stefano Verdicchio di Matelica
This is the kind of wine that often gets overlooked, or rather underestimated at a big tasting. It’s water-white and doesn’t give away much on the nose, although what there is – a delicate jasmine-like perfume – is worth having. The palate is both piercingly fresh and nicely rounded, with straw and pears, lemon and herbs. It’s not a wine that shouts, but you can’t ignore it either and you wouldn’t want to. Try it with fish, including shellfish. 13%.
£8.90, Les Caves de Pyrène
2007 Wirra Wirra Church Block
The first vintage of this Australian red was 1972 and it’s much loved on its home territory. If you think that means it must be full-bodied, richly fruity, oaky and high in alcohol, you’re dead right. But wait: there’s more to it. The blueberry fruit has a lovely brightness, the oak gives flavours of coffee and chocolate, but they don’t dominate, the tannins are unobtrusive and there’s a real freshness and cleanness to the finish, which they say is thanks to McLaren Vale’s cooling sea breezes. The blend is cabernet sauvignon (just over half) with shiraz and merlot. And it’s a winner with meat – beef, lamb, pork, liver, kidneys. Wheel it out as soon as you’ve warmed up the barbie. 14.5%.
£9.99, Waitrose
Friday, May 22, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 22 May 2009
Champagne Benoit Lahaye, Grand Cru Brut
This combines some lush pinot noir aromas of sweet red berries and peaches with delicate nuttiness and dry mineral notes, giving a champagne that has real interest and style at a modest price. I’ve deliberately chosen from the bottom end of Vine Trail’s champagne list, but I highly recommend trying others (there are several under £30 and nothing over £44). They’re all from independent growers, rather than big houses, which is no guarantee of quality – far from it – but Nick Brookes (Vine Trail) has done an excellent job of finding some of the region’s finest. I’m leading a tour to Champagne next month (thank you for asking: it’s with Specialtours), so this has got me in the mood. Actually, I’m always in the mood for champagne. 12%.
£22.95, Vine Trail
2008 Les Hauts de Médian Petit Verdot
This is such good value - a red Vin de Pays d’Oc packed with blackcurrants, violets and freshly ground black pepper; succulent and smooth, yet fresh. It’s produced by the extensive Vic family, who own something like 300 hectares (don’t quote me) of vineyards in Languedoc, and it has Aurélie Trebuchon’s name on the label. But don’t be fooled: she’s married to a Vic. Look out for the name Preignes, which the family also uses, and investigate other wines from Stone, Vine & Sun. It’s a very good little operation. 13%.
£6.95, Stone, Vine & Sun
2008 Cabernet Franc Rosé
Give me a little bit of sunny weather and I’ll give you a rosé – not that drinking pink wine is the summer-only habit it used to be (which is a good thing because last year we didn’t have a summer, as I may have mentioned before). This pale salmon pink number is Italian through and through, despite the French grape variety and the word rosé, not rosato. It comes from the far northeast, the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, and is made for M&S by Bidoli which also does M&S’s stylish red Friuli merlot (put that on your shopping list, too). Back to the rosé: it’s an elegant dry style with a raspberry perfume and a flavour of blackcurrants and currant-bush leaves – the latter giving a fresh lift to the flavours. Not a complex wine, but delicious on a sunny bank holiday (fingers crossed). 12%.
£6.99, Marks & Spencer
This combines some lush pinot noir aromas of sweet red berries and peaches with delicate nuttiness and dry mineral notes, giving a champagne that has real interest and style at a modest price. I’ve deliberately chosen from the bottom end of Vine Trail’s champagne list, but I highly recommend trying others (there are several under £30 and nothing over £44). They’re all from independent growers, rather than big houses, which is no guarantee of quality – far from it – but Nick Brookes (Vine Trail) has done an excellent job of finding some of the region’s finest. I’m leading a tour to Champagne next month (thank you for asking: it’s with Specialtours), so this has got me in the mood. Actually, I’m always in the mood for champagne. 12%.
£22.95, Vine Trail
2008 Les Hauts de Médian Petit Verdot
This is such good value - a red Vin de Pays d’Oc packed with blackcurrants, violets and freshly ground black pepper; succulent and smooth, yet fresh. It’s produced by the extensive Vic family, who own something like 300 hectares (don’t quote me) of vineyards in Languedoc, and it has Aurélie Trebuchon’s name on the label. But don’t be fooled: she’s married to a Vic. Look out for the name Preignes, which the family also uses, and investigate other wines from Stone, Vine & Sun. It’s a very good little operation. 13%.
£6.95, Stone, Vine & Sun
2008 Cabernet Franc Rosé
Give me a little bit of sunny weather and I’ll give you a rosé – not that drinking pink wine is the summer-only habit it used to be (which is a good thing because last year we didn’t have a summer, as I may have mentioned before). This pale salmon pink number is Italian through and through, despite the French grape variety and the word rosé, not rosato. It comes from the far northeast, the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, and is made for M&S by Bidoli which also does M&S’s stylish red Friuli merlot (put that on your shopping list, too). Back to the rosé: it’s an elegant dry style with a raspberry perfume and a flavour of blackcurrants and currant-bush leaves – the latter giving a fresh lift to the flavours. Not a complex wine, but delicious on a sunny bank holiday (fingers crossed). 12%.
£6.99, Marks & Spencer
Thursday, May 14, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 15 May 2009
2008 Mullineux Syrah
This syrah is from South Africa’s Swartland district, an area north of Cape Town which traditionally produced chunky, rather rustic reds. Not this one. It’s a northern Rhône style red, with perfumy, smoky, black pepper aromas, refined black fruit, smoke and herb flavours and a lovely silky texture. You can drink it now, but it’s not a wine that’s going to fall apart soon – not that I say that with knowledge of previous vintages, because there aren’t any. This is the debut vintage for Mullineux Family Vineyards, although Chris Mullineux is well-known as the winemaker who put Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards on the map. 13.5% alcohol. There’s a fine dry chenin-based white as well.
£16.50, Berry Bros & Rudd
2008 Cono Sur Gewürztraminer
This inexpensive gewürztraminer from Chile has all the good things about the gewürz grape and none of the off-putting ones – ie its flavours aren’t over-the-top in the perfume department and it isn’t oily, heavy or over-alcoholic. In fact, it’s great value, textbook with exotic spice and lemon on the nose, ginger and candied orange peel on the palate and delightful tangy freshness. It’s just off-dry and could be brought into service with lightly spicy food or as a summer garden party wine. Anorak background: most of the grapes (85%) are from Chile’s most southerly wine region, Bío Bío; the rest are from Casablanca Valley – further north, but also cool by Chilean standards. 13.5% alcohol.
£5.99, Sainsbury’s (more than two-thirds of branches)
2005 Château de la Guimonière Anjou Sec
This is dry, oak-matured, chenin blanc from the Loire Valley, with toast, honey and straw on the nose and oak, peppery spice and sweet citrus fruit on the palate It’s quite rich and toasty, but perfectly balanced by its sustained citrus freshness. It would go well with dishes in or with cream sauces (fish, seafood, chicken, mushrooms), because it’s got the richness, but also the fresh acidity to off-set it, but it would also be a treat with a lemony roast chicken, roast pork or herby grilled fish. I thought you’d also like to know that the soils are ‘silica, phtanite, shales and sandstone’. 13.5% alcohol.
£8.99 (or £5.99 if you buy 3 bottles), Wine Rack (www.winerack.co.uk has a store locator)
This syrah is from South Africa’s Swartland district, an area north of Cape Town which traditionally produced chunky, rather rustic reds. Not this one. It’s a northern Rhône style red, with perfumy, smoky, black pepper aromas, refined black fruit, smoke and herb flavours and a lovely silky texture. You can drink it now, but it’s not a wine that’s going to fall apart soon – not that I say that with knowledge of previous vintages, because there aren’t any. This is the debut vintage for Mullineux Family Vineyards, although Chris Mullineux is well-known as the winemaker who put Tulbagh Mountain Vineyards on the map. 13.5% alcohol. There’s a fine dry chenin-based white as well.
£16.50, Berry Bros & Rudd
2008 Cono Sur Gewürztraminer
This inexpensive gewürztraminer from Chile has all the good things about the gewürz grape and none of the off-putting ones – ie its flavours aren’t over-the-top in the perfume department and it isn’t oily, heavy or over-alcoholic. In fact, it’s great value, textbook with exotic spice and lemon on the nose, ginger and candied orange peel on the palate and delightful tangy freshness. It’s just off-dry and could be brought into service with lightly spicy food or as a summer garden party wine. Anorak background: most of the grapes (85%) are from Chile’s most southerly wine region, Bío Bío; the rest are from Casablanca Valley – further north, but also cool by Chilean standards. 13.5% alcohol.
£5.99, Sainsbury’s (more than two-thirds of branches)
2005 Château de la Guimonière Anjou Sec
This is dry, oak-matured, chenin blanc from the Loire Valley, with toast, honey and straw on the nose and oak, peppery spice and sweet citrus fruit on the palate It’s quite rich and toasty, but perfectly balanced by its sustained citrus freshness. It would go well with dishes in or with cream sauces (fish, seafood, chicken, mushrooms), because it’s got the richness, but also the fresh acidity to off-set it, but it would also be a treat with a lemony roast chicken, roast pork or herby grilled fish. I thought you’d also like to know that the soils are ‘silica, phtanite, shales and sandstone’. 13.5% alcohol.
£8.99 (or £5.99 if you buy 3 bottles), Wine Rack (www.winerack.co.uk has a store locator)
Friday, May 8, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 8 May 2009
2008 Pikes The White Mullet
2006 Pikes The Red Mullet
These two unsual blends from the Pike brothers’ operation in Clare Valley, Australia are on offer at a tempting £5.98 until 9 June, so I’m highlighting both together in plenty of time (on 10 June they revert to £9.99 for a single bottle or £6.66 each if you buy three). The white, a blend of riesling, viognier, sauvignon blanc and chenin blanc, has viognier’s heady, floral aromas and some of its creamy texture, combined with riesling’s citrus fruit and pithy lime acidity (12% abv).
The red, which rumour has it was originally called ‘red herring’, is a blend of shiraz, grenache, mourvedre and tempranillo (rumour also has it that the blend came about when the Pikes produced some lovely tempranillo grapes, but found that nobody was interested in Australian tempranillo). It has a perfumy nose of cherries and chocolate, ripe, plummy, red-fruit flavours with a touch of spice, and soft tannins – and it carries its 14.5% alcohol well. Delicious and easy to drink wines, but interesting, too.
£5.98, Wine Rack (www.winerack.co.uk has a store locator).
2007 Taste the Difference Côtes du Rhône-Villages
The 2007 vintage was excellent in the southern Rhône. Inevitably that doesn’t mean absolutely everything is brilliant, but Sainsbury’s, or rather the producer Michel Chapoutier, has got this one right: lots of warm, sunny fruit flavours, lots of black pepper and spice, rounded tannins, and a stony mineral undertow which balances the sweetness of the fruit with dryness and freshness. A full-bodied, but balanced 14.5% alcohol.
£5.99, Sainsbury’s (about two-thirds of branches).
2006 Pikes The Red Mullet
These two unsual blends from the Pike brothers’ operation in Clare Valley, Australia are on offer at a tempting £5.98 until 9 June, so I’m highlighting both together in plenty of time (on 10 June they revert to £9.99 for a single bottle or £6.66 each if you buy three). The white, a blend of riesling, viognier, sauvignon blanc and chenin blanc, has viognier’s heady, floral aromas and some of its creamy texture, combined with riesling’s citrus fruit and pithy lime acidity (12% abv).
The red, which rumour has it was originally called ‘red herring’, is a blend of shiraz, grenache, mourvedre and tempranillo (rumour also has it that the blend came about when the Pikes produced some lovely tempranillo grapes, but found that nobody was interested in Australian tempranillo). It has a perfumy nose of cherries and chocolate, ripe, plummy, red-fruit flavours with a touch of spice, and soft tannins – and it carries its 14.5% alcohol well. Delicious and easy to drink wines, but interesting, too.
£5.98, Wine Rack (www.winerack.co.uk has a store locator).
2007 Taste the Difference Côtes du Rhône-Villages
The 2007 vintage was excellent in the southern Rhône. Inevitably that doesn’t mean absolutely everything is brilliant, but Sainsbury’s, or rather the producer Michel Chapoutier, has got this one right: lots of warm, sunny fruit flavours, lots of black pepper and spice, rounded tannins, and a stony mineral undertow which balances the sweetness of the fruit with dryness and freshness. A full-bodied, but balanced 14.5% alcohol.
£5.99, Sainsbury’s (about two-thirds of branches).
Friday, May 1, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 1 May 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 1 May 2009
2007 Chinon, Les Bernabés, Olga Raffault
The first of the summer’s Chinons and what a good start. It’s not that I stop drinking Chinon or other red Loires in the winter, it’s just that at this time of year they seem so full of the promise of the summer to come. OK, so it never arrived last year, but we live in hope. This tastes as authentic and true as wine can - with a vivid aroma of blackcurrants and raspberries and a juicy, supple palate with a gravelly-earthy character that seems to come straight from the soil. The scientists say, of course, that grapes can’t possibly take up flavours from the soil, so I suppose I should say it seems to come straight from cabernet franc grown in Chinon, but how much duller does that sound? 12.5%.
£8.95, FromVineyardsDirect
2006 Climbing Merlot
A rounded, medium-full merlot with red fruit flavours, a leafy freshness, lightly toasty vanilla-flavoured oak and a soft dry finish. I probably wouldn’t be making this a Wine of the Week at its full price of £9.99, but at £7.99 (when you buy two or more bottles - and you might as well, as Majestic’s minimum purchase is a mixed case), it’s a good buy. This merlot is all the more surprising because it comes from Australia, a country (indeed, a continent) that has always struggled with merlot. The key here is the location of the vineyards, high up - 600 metres - in the Orange region of New South Wales, where the days are bright and sunny, but the nights are (crucially) cool. 13.5%.
£7.99, Majestic
2006 Rully, Clos du Moulin à Vent, Domaine Anne-Sophie Debavelaere
At its best white Rully, from Burgundy’s Côte Chalonnaise, is a very handy cheaper alternative to Côte d’Or white burgundy, but this wine is much more than just a poor relation. It’s rich and nutty on the nose and palate, but also fine, mineral and long with a crisp apple and pear fruitiness. You can drink it now – hard not to, really – but there’s no rush to finish it this year or next, provided you’ve got somewhere relatively cool and dark to keep it. 12.5%.
£13.50, Private Cellar
2007 Chinon, Les Bernabés, Olga Raffault
The first of the summer’s Chinons and what a good start. It’s not that I stop drinking Chinon or other red Loires in the winter, it’s just that at this time of year they seem so full of the promise of the summer to come. OK, so it never arrived last year, but we live in hope. This tastes as authentic and true as wine can - with a vivid aroma of blackcurrants and raspberries and a juicy, supple palate with a gravelly-earthy character that seems to come straight from the soil. The scientists say, of course, that grapes can’t possibly take up flavours from the soil, so I suppose I should say it seems to come straight from cabernet franc grown in Chinon, but how much duller does that sound? 12.5%.
£8.95, FromVineyardsDirect
2006 Climbing Merlot
A rounded, medium-full merlot with red fruit flavours, a leafy freshness, lightly toasty vanilla-flavoured oak and a soft dry finish. I probably wouldn’t be making this a Wine of the Week at its full price of £9.99, but at £7.99 (when you buy two or more bottles - and you might as well, as Majestic’s minimum purchase is a mixed case), it’s a good buy. This merlot is all the more surprising because it comes from Australia, a country (indeed, a continent) that has always struggled with merlot. The key here is the location of the vineyards, high up - 600 metres - in the Orange region of New South Wales, where the days are bright and sunny, but the nights are (crucially) cool. 13.5%.
£7.99, Majestic
2006 Rully, Clos du Moulin à Vent, Domaine Anne-Sophie Debavelaere
At its best white Rully, from Burgundy’s Côte Chalonnaise, is a very handy cheaper alternative to Côte d’Or white burgundy, but this wine is much more than just a poor relation. It’s rich and nutty on the nose and palate, but also fine, mineral and long with a crisp apple and pear fruitiness. You can drink it now – hard not to, really – but there’s no rush to finish it this year or next, provided you’ve got somewhere relatively cool and dark to keep it. 12.5%.
£13.50, Private Cellar
Thursday, April 23, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 24 April 2009
2008 Lagar de Cervera Albariño
The latest vintage of what is always one of the best albariños: textbook peach aromas and flavours with youthful tangy grapefruit notes and a mineral spine. Perfect with seafood. I’d drink it this summer or next, although some people like albariño when it’s developed a slighty fatter, nuttier character. I wish this wine was cheaper, but you’re never going to get really cheap albariño, partly because it’s fashionable, including in Spain where they haven’t got huge numbers of interesting white wines, but also because production costs are relatively high in the Rías Baixas region with its small, hilly vineyards. It’s also a bit of a one-off. Apart from godello, of which there is even less planted, there’s nothing else quite like it and little planted outside northwest Spain and over the border in Portugal. In fact, there’s even less worldwide than was thought now that the Australians have discovered that the variety they’d started planting as albariño is savagnin, which comes from the Jura region of France. Whoops! 12.5%.
£11.75-£15.49, Jeroboams; Laymont & Shaw
2006 Domaine Lafond Roc-Epine, Lirac
On the ‘if it’s easy to pronounce it’ll be popular in the UK’ principle, Lirac should be everywhere. Admittedly, it’s not a very big appellation, but even so I’m surprised not to see it more often, especially as it has such a famous neighbour, Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This one is spot on: medium-full, with a peppery, spicy, stony character alongside the fragrant, crunchy red berry flavours. It’s not a wine to put away for a long time, but there’s no reason not to keep it three or four years – and by that time the stockist, Montrachet, might have a website. 13.5%.
£10.50, Montrachet Fine Wine Merchants
2006 Doña Dominga Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon
Nobody could pretend that this red from Chile's Colchagua Valley is a little light luncheon wine at 14.5% alcohol, but for all its warmth, weight and flavour it has freshness. Together with the sweet, ripe cassis, the spicy sweet-earth, smoky black olive, and dark chocolate flavours and the supple tannins, there’s a refreshing note of currant leaf – enough to lift the wine without giving it a green edge. Good with duck, meaty casseroles, roasts and barbecues, and not bad with cheeses such as manchego and parmesan. 14.5%.
£9.99, Waitrose
The latest vintage of what is always one of the best albariños: textbook peach aromas and flavours with youthful tangy grapefruit notes and a mineral spine. Perfect with seafood. I’d drink it this summer or next, although some people like albariño when it’s developed a slighty fatter, nuttier character. I wish this wine was cheaper, but you’re never going to get really cheap albariño, partly because it’s fashionable, including in Spain where they haven’t got huge numbers of interesting white wines, but also because production costs are relatively high in the Rías Baixas region with its small, hilly vineyards. It’s also a bit of a one-off. Apart from godello, of which there is even less planted, there’s nothing else quite like it and little planted outside northwest Spain and over the border in Portugal. In fact, there’s even less worldwide than was thought now that the Australians have discovered that the variety they’d started planting as albariño is savagnin, which comes from the Jura region of France. Whoops! 12.5%.
£11.75-£15.49, Jeroboams; Laymont & Shaw
2006 Domaine Lafond Roc-Epine, Lirac
On the ‘if it’s easy to pronounce it’ll be popular in the UK’ principle, Lirac should be everywhere. Admittedly, it’s not a very big appellation, but even so I’m surprised not to see it more often, especially as it has such a famous neighbour, Châteauneuf-du-Pape. This one is spot on: medium-full, with a peppery, spicy, stony character alongside the fragrant, crunchy red berry flavours. It’s not a wine to put away for a long time, but there’s no reason not to keep it three or four years – and by that time the stockist, Montrachet, might have a website. 13.5%.
£10.50, Montrachet Fine Wine Merchants
2006 Doña Dominga Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon
Nobody could pretend that this red from Chile's Colchagua Valley is a little light luncheon wine at 14.5% alcohol, but for all its warmth, weight and flavour it has freshness. Together with the sweet, ripe cassis, the spicy sweet-earth, smoky black olive, and dark chocolate flavours and the supple tannins, there’s a refreshing note of currant leaf – enough to lift the wine without giving it a green edge. Good with duck, meaty casseroles, roasts and barbecues, and not bad with cheeses such as manchego and parmesan. 14.5%.
£9.99, Waitrose
Thursday, April 16, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 17 April 2009
Assero Bio Brut
This is a dry sparkling wine made from airén, Spain’s most boring grape variety, in the largely undistinguished La Mancha region in central Spain - which just goes to show that if you know what you’re doing you can occasionally make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear – or if not a silk one, then a very nice crisp cotton one. It’s light-bodied and as fresh as a breeze, with crisp, lime-juice flavours and a soft clean finish. 11%.
£8.99, Adnams Cellar & Kitchen
2007 Reuilly, Château Gaillard
I’m not sure how much longer M&S will have this vintage and it’s not in all stores, but you can order it online. Reuilly is one of Sancerre’s hangers-on, but sometimes it outshines more expensive Sancerre. Step forward Château Gaillard. There’s a wonderfully refreshing purity and intensity of flavour - green, herby and mineral, bone dry and yet with the sweetness of properly ripe fruit. 12.5%.
£9.99, Marks & Spencer
2003 Chivite Gran Feudo Reserva, Navarra
Bodegas Julián Chivite is Navarra’s biggest and deservedly best known producer: the Gran Feudo wines are reliably enjoyable, while the more expensive Colección 125 range includes a plush red and a fine barrel-fermented chardonnay. But back to this week’s red. It’s based on tempranillo (the Rioja grape) beefed up with 20% cabernet sauvignon and merlot and it’s been aged in oak (hence the Reserva designation). The result is medium-bodied and well-rounded, with plummy fruit and a touch of cassis and soft, spicy, chocolaty oak. Try it with the Sunday roast or some herby sausages. 12.5%.
£7.19, Waitrose
This is a dry sparkling wine made from airén, Spain’s most boring grape variety, in the largely undistinguished La Mancha region in central Spain - which just goes to show that if you know what you’re doing you can occasionally make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear – or if not a silk one, then a very nice crisp cotton one. It’s light-bodied and as fresh as a breeze, with crisp, lime-juice flavours and a soft clean finish. 11%.
£8.99, Adnams Cellar & Kitchen
2007 Reuilly, Château Gaillard
I’m not sure how much longer M&S will have this vintage and it’s not in all stores, but you can order it online. Reuilly is one of Sancerre’s hangers-on, but sometimes it outshines more expensive Sancerre. Step forward Château Gaillard. There’s a wonderfully refreshing purity and intensity of flavour - green, herby and mineral, bone dry and yet with the sweetness of properly ripe fruit. 12.5%.
£9.99, Marks & Spencer
2003 Chivite Gran Feudo Reserva, Navarra
Bodegas Julián Chivite is Navarra’s biggest and deservedly best known producer: the Gran Feudo wines are reliably enjoyable, while the more expensive Colección 125 range includes a plush red and a fine barrel-fermented chardonnay. But back to this week’s red. It’s based on tempranillo (the Rioja grape) beefed up with 20% cabernet sauvignon and merlot and it’s been aged in oak (hence the Reserva designation). The result is medium-bodied and well-rounded, with plummy fruit and a touch of cassis and soft, spicy, chocolaty oak. Try it with the Sunday roast or some herby sausages. 12.5%.
£7.19, Waitrose
Friday, April 10, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 10 April 2009
2007 Tesco Finest Yarra Valley Pinot Noir
Tesco’s Finest range is a bit hit and miss, but some of the wines, like this Australian pinot noir, hit the bullseye. There’s evident oak on the nose, but less than in many New Zealand pinot noirs and it’s balanced by sweet, fresh, red cherry and raspberry fruit and a suggestion of rose petals. The oak also contributes a savoury, almost burgundian flavour and adds some textural richness, which can’t be bad. All in all, a smart pinot noir, made for Tesco by De Bortoli in the Yarra Valley east of Melbourne.
£13.49, Tesco (357 branches)
2007 Camel Valley Bacchus Dry
Bristlingly fresh and zesty dry white from Cornwall - everything English wine should be. Sorry I‘m not able to arrange slightly better weather for the Bank Holiday, but this will cheer up the view as you sit inside looking out at the cloud and rain. It has crisp, sappy, floral fruit and a herby, slightly smoky mineral edge. Ideal as an aperitif, but it would go well with shellfish, other simple fish dishes, asparagus or salad.
£10.95-£11.95, www.camelvalley.com; Great Western Wines, www.greatwesternwine.co.uk
2007 Poggiotondo Cerro del Masso Chianti
This is modern Chianti, with a deep colour and a degree of suppleness from ageing in French oak barrels, but it’s Chianti through and through – medium-bodied with cherryish fruit and an almondy, spicy patisserie character. It comes from outside Empoli (roughly halfway between Florence and Pisa), from the family estate of Alberto Antonini, a red winemaker and consultant of world renown. The 2007 has only just come in, so you may find your local Waitrose is still on the 2006, which is also good, though I think the 2007 just has the edge. I shall be tasting the first Poggiotondo white soon and will report back.
£7.59, Waitrose, including www.waitrosewine.com
Must try harder…
Tesco with its Big Kahuna White, a £4.99 chardonnay from Australia with a shrill pineapple and toothpick flavour. It’s in 223 stores (yes, 223 too many).
Tesco’s Finest range is a bit hit and miss, but some of the wines, like this Australian pinot noir, hit the bullseye. There’s evident oak on the nose, but less than in many New Zealand pinot noirs and it’s balanced by sweet, fresh, red cherry and raspberry fruit and a suggestion of rose petals. The oak also contributes a savoury, almost burgundian flavour and adds some textural richness, which can’t be bad. All in all, a smart pinot noir, made for Tesco by De Bortoli in the Yarra Valley east of Melbourne.
£13.49, Tesco (357 branches)
2007 Camel Valley Bacchus Dry
Bristlingly fresh and zesty dry white from Cornwall - everything English wine should be. Sorry I‘m not able to arrange slightly better weather for the Bank Holiday, but this will cheer up the view as you sit inside looking out at the cloud and rain. It has crisp, sappy, floral fruit and a herby, slightly smoky mineral edge. Ideal as an aperitif, but it would go well with shellfish, other simple fish dishes, asparagus or salad.
£10.95-£11.95, www.camelvalley.com; Great Western Wines, www.greatwesternwine.co.uk
2007 Poggiotondo Cerro del Masso Chianti
This is modern Chianti, with a deep colour and a degree of suppleness from ageing in French oak barrels, but it’s Chianti through and through – medium-bodied with cherryish fruit and an almondy, spicy patisserie character. It comes from outside Empoli (roughly halfway between Florence and Pisa), from the family estate of Alberto Antonini, a red winemaker and consultant of world renown. The 2007 has only just come in, so you may find your local Waitrose is still on the 2006, which is also good, though I think the 2007 just has the edge. I shall be tasting the first Poggiotondo white soon and will report back.
£7.59, Waitrose, including www.waitrosewine.com
Must try harder…
Tesco with its Big Kahuna White, a £4.99 chardonnay from Australia with a shrill pineapple and toothpick flavour. It’s in 223 stores (yes, 223 too many).
Saturday, April 4, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 3 April 2009
2005 Point West Touriga Nacional
A warm, earthy, medium-full Portuguese red with slightly dusty vanilla-oak, sun-baked berry fruit and a touch of liquorice. It goes well with pork (roast with fennel and paprika or with mustard and honey-coated chops, for example), but it’s generally meat-friendly and, as it’s neither tannic nor acidic, you could also drink it on its own. A bit of background: it comes from Portugal’s western Estremadura region (hence Point West) and from one of the world’s great red grapes, touriga nacional. You don’t hear much about touriga nacional because its main claim to fame is as a component of port, but there’s a lot of interest suddenly from growers thinking about global warming around the world, because it’s well-adapted to high temperatures. One to watch out for. 13%.
£6.99, Oddbins; Morrisons
2007 Vesevo Greco di Tufo
Fresh and sappy with pears, herbs, cress and white pepper – and that’s only the nose. The palate is brimful of apple, pepper, candied citrus peel, apricot and a freshening twist of currant-leaf. But there’s nothing OTT about this dry Italian white: it’s medium-full, dry, zesty and perfectly balanced. I can’t stress too much how underrated Italian white grape varieties are – dreary pinot grigio excepted. This greco (of Greek origin, but it’s been in southern Italy for the last 2500 years) comes from Avellino in Campania’s Irpinian hills, so it’s from a long way south and yet it’s one of the last regions in Italy to harvest, thanks to the cooling breezes from the Bay of Naples and the altitude (over 450m). Tufo refers to the volcanic ash soil and Vesevo is the old name for Vesuvio. 13%.
£10.99, Majestic; Liberty Wines, www.libertywines.co.uk
2007 Carrasviñas Verdejo
Appetisingly leafy and fresh, opening out into peach and pineapple fruit flavours, a crisp, yet rounded, medium-weight palate and a soft, breezy, lemony finish. Spain doesn’t have the same wealth of white grapes as Italy, but it, too, is discovering that white wines can be more than mere warm-ups act for the serious business of reds. If you want a reference point, think of the verdejo grape, grown in Rueda, as Spain’s answer to sauvignon blanc. 13%.
£7.50, Great Western Wine, www.greatwesternwine.co.uk
A warm, earthy, medium-full Portuguese red with slightly dusty vanilla-oak, sun-baked berry fruit and a touch of liquorice. It goes well with pork (roast with fennel and paprika or with mustard and honey-coated chops, for example), but it’s generally meat-friendly and, as it’s neither tannic nor acidic, you could also drink it on its own. A bit of background: it comes from Portugal’s western Estremadura region (hence Point West) and from one of the world’s great red grapes, touriga nacional. You don’t hear much about touriga nacional because its main claim to fame is as a component of port, but there’s a lot of interest suddenly from growers thinking about global warming around the world, because it’s well-adapted to high temperatures. One to watch out for. 13%.
£6.99, Oddbins; Morrisons
2007 Vesevo Greco di Tufo
Fresh and sappy with pears, herbs, cress and white pepper – and that’s only the nose. The palate is brimful of apple, pepper, candied citrus peel, apricot and a freshening twist of currant-leaf. But there’s nothing OTT about this dry Italian white: it’s medium-full, dry, zesty and perfectly balanced. I can’t stress too much how underrated Italian white grape varieties are – dreary pinot grigio excepted. This greco (of Greek origin, but it’s been in southern Italy for the last 2500 years) comes from Avellino in Campania’s Irpinian hills, so it’s from a long way south and yet it’s one of the last regions in Italy to harvest, thanks to the cooling breezes from the Bay of Naples and the altitude (over 450m). Tufo refers to the volcanic ash soil and Vesevo is the old name for Vesuvio. 13%.
£10.99, Majestic; Liberty Wines, www.libertywines.co.uk
2007 Carrasviñas Verdejo
Appetisingly leafy and fresh, opening out into peach and pineapple fruit flavours, a crisp, yet rounded, medium-weight palate and a soft, breezy, lemony finish. Spain doesn’t have the same wealth of white grapes as Italy, but it, too, is discovering that white wines can be more than mere warm-ups act for the serious business of reds. If you want a reference point, think of the verdejo grape, grown in Rueda, as Spain’s answer to sauvignon blanc. 13%.
£7.50, Great Western Wine, www.greatwesternwine.co.uk
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