2008 Circumstance Chenin Blanc, Stellenbosch
Rich, toasty and honeyed with dazzling fresh lime flavours, a creamy texture and pithy acidity. It comes from old bush vines, growing close to the ocean in Helderberg, and was barrel-fermented using the naturally present yeasts. They took their time: fermentation ground to a halt nine months later, leaving just under 5g/l of residual sugar and 14% abv. It’s delicious now, but will develop. The producer is Waterkloof which is owned by Paul Boutinot (UK).
£8.99, D Byrne; £9.25, Fintry Wines
2008 Villa Maria Cellar Selection Pinot Noir, Marlborough
New vintage of an old favourite. Pinot noir at its most seductive, with the sweetness of ripe cherries and raspberries, a seasoning of lightly spicy, vanilla-scented oak and a whisper of something more savoury and burgundian. Round, fleshy and pretty well irresistible. 14% abv.
£12.99, Majestic and Wine Rack
2008 Otra Vida Malbec, Mendoza
Sweet raspberry fruit with toasty oak, dark chocolate flavours and a clean, spicy, savoury finish. Medium-bodied, rather than massive, and ripe without being jammy or flaccid. 13% abv. This is a branded wine well worth remembering – and how often can you say that? No, not often. The chardonnay is OK too.
£5.99, Tesco
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
WINES of the WEEK, 2 October 2009
2008 The Loom Riesling, Clare Valley
Smoky mineral notes on the nose with fresh, intense apple and lime flavours, a suggestion of petrol, refreshing acidity and just a touch of sweetness to balance it. This is textbook dry Clare Valley riesling at a very reasonable price. Drink it as an aperitif or with lightweight, lightly spiced dishes. 13% abv.
Laithwaites
2007 Nos Riqueza Ribera del Duero
Full, savoury and gamey with polished, sweet, spicy fruit. There’s an attractive feeling of maturity and balance about this, but it’s fresh, too. Not one to lay down for long, but excellent, affordable Ribera del Duero. 13.5%
£9.99, Marks & Spencer
1990 Vin Santo del Chanti Rufina
M&S brought this in last year and I’ve just tasted it again. Fabulous stuff. Deep amber in colour, with a nose that combines sherry-like rancio characters with dried fruit, ginger, marmalade, baked toffee and toasted almonds. It all comes through in wonderful concentration and length on the palate – dried apricots, sultanas, marmalade, ginger, nuts, a mellow woodiness and orangey acidity. The effect is medium sweet, so don’t sabotage it with a sticky, creamy pudding. Sip it on its own or with Parmesan, nuts, biscuits, panettone, spicy almond or citrus cakes. 17% abv.
£14.99 for 37.5cl, Marks & Spencer
Smoky mineral notes on the nose with fresh, intense apple and lime flavours, a suggestion of petrol, refreshing acidity and just a touch of sweetness to balance it. This is textbook dry Clare Valley riesling at a very reasonable price. Drink it as an aperitif or with lightweight, lightly spiced dishes. 13% abv.
Laithwaites
2007 Nos Riqueza Ribera del Duero
Full, savoury and gamey with polished, sweet, spicy fruit. There’s an attractive feeling of maturity and balance about this, but it’s fresh, too. Not one to lay down for long, but excellent, affordable Ribera del Duero. 13.5%
£9.99, Marks & Spencer
1990 Vin Santo del Chanti Rufina
M&S brought this in last year and I’ve just tasted it again. Fabulous stuff. Deep amber in colour, with a nose that combines sherry-like rancio characters with dried fruit, ginger, marmalade, baked toffee and toasted almonds. It all comes through in wonderful concentration and length on the palate – dried apricots, sultanas, marmalade, ginger, nuts, a mellow woodiness and orangey acidity. The effect is medium sweet, so don’t sabotage it with a sticky, creamy pudding. Sip it on its own or with Parmesan, nuts, biscuits, panettone, spicy almond or citrus cakes. 17% abv.
£14.99 for 37.5cl, Marks & Spencer
Friday, September 25, 2009
WINES of the WEEK, 25 September 2009
2007 Domaine Yves Cuilleron Syrah Signé, Vin de Pays des Collines Rhodaniennes
This is a brilliant, benchmark northern Rhône syrah – with a little viognier, co-fermented in Côte Rôtie style. If you’re not a member of The Wine Society, its worth the £40 life membership just to be able to buy this wine - glorious black pepper, raspberry and tar aromas, a silky, supple texture and only 12.5% abv. Drink any time over the next two to three years.
£12.95, The Wine Society
2008 Grant Burge Benchmark Shiraz
A very different style of syrah from the one above, but also true to type. To call it ‘benchmark’ is pushing it a bit, especially as it’s a wine to drink, not keep, but it’s got real Australian shiraz character – a rarity at this sort of price these days. It’s plump and smooth, with sweet, but not jammy, blackberry fruit, milk chocolate and fresh peppery spice flavours. 14.5% abv.
£6.49, Booth; £5.95 The Wine Society
2008 Domaine Bellegarde Jurançon Sec
Lightly peachy, nutty nose; dry, tangy, quince and peach flavours on the palate; medium-bodied with citrus zest acidity. A delicious, reviving aperitif and a good accompaniment to seafood or salad/veggie first courses. Made from gros manseng and a little petit manseng, and oak-free. 13.5% abv.
£10.95, Yapp Brothers
This is a brilliant, benchmark northern Rhône syrah – with a little viognier, co-fermented in Côte Rôtie style. If you’re not a member of The Wine Society, its worth the £40 life membership just to be able to buy this wine - glorious black pepper, raspberry and tar aromas, a silky, supple texture and only 12.5% abv. Drink any time over the next two to three years.
£12.95, The Wine Society
2008 Grant Burge Benchmark Shiraz
A very different style of syrah from the one above, but also true to type. To call it ‘benchmark’ is pushing it a bit, especially as it’s a wine to drink, not keep, but it’s got real Australian shiraz character – a rarity at this sort of price these days. It’s plump and smooth, with sweet, but not jammy, blackberry fruit, milk chocolate and fresh peppery spice flavours. 14.5% abv.
£6.49, Booth; £5.95 The Wine Society
2008 Domaine Bellegarde Jurançon Sec
Lightly peachy, nutty nose; dry, tangy, quince and peach flavours on the palate; medium-bodied with citrus zest acidity. A delicious, reviving aperitif and a good accompaniment to seafood or salad/veggie first courses. Made from gros manseng and a little petit manseng, and oak-free. 13.5% abv.
£10.95, Yapp Brothers
Friday, September 18, 2009
WINES of the WEEK, 18 September 2009
2008 Matahiwi Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Wairarapa
Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand’s North Island, as opposed to Marlborough on the South Island. It has the classic grass, ripe gooseberry and mineral flavours and the vibrant freshness of New Zealand’s signature sauvignons, but in a richer, more textured style – and yet it’s still only 12.5% abv. Drink it on its own or with something like a goats’ cheese tart, caesar salad, seafood risotto or crab fettuccine with a touch of chilli.
£8.49, Oddbins
2007 Viña Somoza Classico, Godello, Valdeorras
If you’re an albariño fan, you’ll love this godello. In fact, it’s much better than many of the albariños on offer in bars and restaurants. It has a cracklingly fresh, apple nose and a concentrated, smoky-apple palate with a touch of spicy peach and an appetising, fresh, dry finish. 13.5% abv. If you know Flint Wines at all (two men and a dog called Flint), you probably think of them as burgundy specialists, which they are, but the rest of the list is well worth a look too.
£11.95, Flint Wines
2005 Castello di Potentino, Sacromonte, Montecucco Rosso
This is a dark, velvety, sangiovese with succulent sweet fruit and supple oak. Very definitely sangiovese, but not the dry, astringent school of Tuscan sangiovese or the jammy new world style. It carries its 14.5% abv effortlessly and is perfect for drinking now, but has plenty of life in it. Montecucco is a relatively new DOC in the province of Grosseto in the south of Tuscany between Montalcino and Scansano. Castello di Potentino is owned by Graham C Greene and the wine is made by Charlotte Horton.
£9.95, From Vineyards Direct
Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand’s North Island, as opposed to Marlborough on the South Island. It has the classic grass, ripe gooseberry and mineral flavours and the vibrant freshness of New Zealand’s signature sauvignons, but in a richer, more textured style – and yet it’s still only 12.5% abv. Drink it on its own or with something like a goats’ cheese tart, caesar salad, seafood risotto or crab fettuccine with a touch of chilli.
£8.49, Oddbins
2007 Viña Somoza Classico, Godello, Valdeorras
If you’re an albariño fan, you’ll love this godello. In fact, it’s much better than many of the albariños on offer in bars and restaurants. It has a cracklingly fresh, apple nose and a concentrated, smoky-apple palate with a touch of spicy peach and an appetising, fresh, dry finish. 13.5% abv. If you know Flint Wines at all (two men and a dog called Flint), you probably think of them as burgundy specialists, which they are, but the rest of the list is well worth a look too.
£11.95, Flint Wines
2005 Castello di Potentino, Sacromonte, Montecucco Rosso
This is a dark, velvety, sangiovese with succulent sweet fruit and supple oak. Very definitely sangiovese, but not the dry, astringent school of Tuscan sangiovese or the jammy new world style. It carries its 14.5% abv effortlessly and is perfect for drinking now, but has plenty of life in it. Montecucco is a relatively new DOC in the province of Grosseto in the south of Tuscany between Montalcino and Scansano. Castello di Potentino is owned by Graham C Greene and the wine is made by Charlotte Horton.
£9.95, From Vineyards Direct
Thursday, September 10, 2009
WINES of the WEEK, 11 September 2009
2007 Peter Jakob Kühn Rheingau Riesling Trocken
Wonderfully intense, fabulously light - with just 11% abv. It’s also biodynamic and has a screwcap. The nose is smoky, mineral and piercingly fresh; the palate is dry, tangy, mineral and honeyed, with citrus and apple fruit and a tantalising minty, herbal hint. The Winery is in Maida Vale; no website, but a pretty shop with an unusual range of dry German wines.
£11.99, The Winery, 020 7286 6475
2007 Domaine Haut-Chassis, Les Galets, Crozes-Hermitage
This Crozes estate is new to me (and to Berry Bros). Les Galets is the top wine and it’s barrel-matured for 10 months, but the oak is seamlessly integrated. You feel it in the silky texture, but you barely taste it. It has a lovely smoky, almost iodiney Crozes character, with sweet raspberry fruit and savoury bay leaf, black pepper and graphite flavours. A real find (by BBR, not me).
£15.95, Berry Bros & Rudd
2009 Zalze Bush Vine Chenin Blanc
Old vines, new wine. Very young and lively, brimming with pear and apple fruit, but also with Chenin’s rounded nutty-straw and spice flavours. Pure, well-balanced (yes, with 14% abv), bright and engaging.
£5.99, Waitrose
Wonderfully intense, fabulously light - with just 11% abv. It’s also biodynamic and has a screwcap. The nose is smoky, mineral and piercingly fresh; the palate is dry, tangy, mineral and honeyed, with citrus and apple fruit and a tantalising minty, herbal hint. The Winery is in Maida Vale; no website, but a pretty shop with an unusual range of dry German wines.
£11.99, The Winery, 020 7286 6475
2007 Domaine Haut-Chassis, Les Galets, Crozes-Hermitage
This Crozes estate is new to me (and to Berry Bros). Les Galets is the top wine and it’s barrel-matured for 10 months, but the oak is seamlessly integrated. You feel it in the silky texture, but you barely taste it. It has a lovely smoky, almost iodiney Crozes character, with sweet raspberry fruit and savoury bay leaf, black pepper and graphite flavours. A real find (by BBR, not me).
£15.95, Berry Bros & Rudd
2009 Zalze Bush Vine Chenin Blanc
Old vines, new wine. Very young and lively, brimming with pear and apple fruit, but also with Chenin’s rounded nutty-straw and spice flavours. Pure, well-balanced (yes, with 14% abv), bright and engaging.
£5.99, Waitrose
Friday, September 4, 2009
WINES of the WEEK, 4 September 2009
No time to be wordy this week, some of you will be pleased to hear (all of you perhaps), but three stellar wines.
2008 Viña Leyda Loica Vineyard Pinot Noir Rosado
Smart Chilean rosé with focused cherry and raspberry fruit and a touch of spice. Combines pinot noir’s silky, supple texture with a lively, fresh, dry finish. 13.5% abv.
£8.95, The Wine Society
2008 Errazuriz Aconcagua Costa Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc
Debut vintage from Errazuriz’s new Chilean estate just nine miles from the Pacific. I’m sure I can taste the sea in the tangy, salty, mineral flavour. Delicious green, herbal, citrus flavours too. 13.5% abv.
£10.99, Booths and www.everywine.co.uk; £75 per 6 bottles, including delivery, Harper Wells. (It’ll be on a 3 for 2 deal in Booths from October 1-24.)
2004 Barón de Ley 7 Viñas Rioja Reserva
Latest vintage of this rich, complex, cellar-worthy Rioja – and 2004 was a very good year for Rioja. Plump damson fruit with spice, dark chocolate and glossy oak. 14.5% abv.
£15.49, selected Tesco
2008 Viña Leyda Loica Vineyard Pinot Noir Rosado
Smart Chilean rosé with focused cherry and raspberry fruit and a touch of spice. Combines pinot noir’s silky, supple texture with a lively, fresh, dry finish. 13.5% abv.
£8.95, The Wine Society
2008 Errazuriz Aconcagua Costa Single Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc
Debut vintage from Errazuriz’s new Chilean estate just nine miles from the Pacific. I’m sure I can taste the sea in the tangy, salty, mineral flavour. Delicious green, herbal, citrus flavours too. 13.5% abv.
£10.99, Booths and www.everywine.co.uk; £75 per 6 bottles, including delivery, Harper Wells. (It’ll be on a 3 for 2 deal in Booths from October 1-24.)
2004 Barón de Ley 7 Viñas Rioja Reserva
Latest vintage of this rich, complex, cellar-worthy Rioja – and 2004 was a very good year for Rioja. Plump damson fruit with spice, dark chocolate and glossy oak. 14.5% abv.
£15.49, selected Tesco
Friday, August 28, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 28 August 2009
2007 Domaine de Valmoissine Pinot Noir, Vin de Pays des Coteaux du Verdon
This is a cracking little pinot noir for the money, made in the the Var (Provence) by Louis Latour of burgundy fame. It’s medium-bodied, nicely shaped by gentle tannin and acidity and has convincing raspberry and cherry aromas together with some more savoury flavours.13.5% alcohol.
£8.49 or £7.99 if you buy two or more bottles, Majestic.
2006 Pouilly-Vinzelles En Paradis, Louis Latour
Another cracker from Louis Latour via Majestic, but this time from Burgundy itself. This is fresh, yet supple and rounded, with lightly toasted wheat and walnut notes, scented white peach, steelier, more mineral flavours and a fine texture. 13% alcohol.
£9.99 or £8.99 if you buy two or more bottles, Majestic.
2008 Cuvée Pecheur, Vin de Pays du Comté Tolosan
I promised something cheaper this week, so here’s a wine that’ll give you decent change from a fiver while delivering a simple, refreshingly light, zesty, and fruity mouthful. It’s from Gascony, source of Armagnac and lots of inexpensive fresh whites under this and other Vins de Pays designations (eg Gascogne and Gers). 11.5% alcohol.
£3.99, Waitrose
This is a cracking little pinot noir for the money, made in the the Var (Provence) by Louis Latour of burgundy fame. It’s medium-bodied, nicely shaped by gentle tannin and acidity and has convincing raspberry and cherry aromas together with some more savoury flavours.13.5% alcohol.
£8.49 or £7.99 if you buy two or more bottles, Majestic.
2006 Pouilly-Vinzelles En Paradis, Louis Latour
Another cracker from Louis Latour via Majestic, but this time from Burgundy itself. This is fresh, yet supple and rounded, with lightly toasted wheat and walnut notes, scented white peach, steelier, more mineral flavours and a fine texture. 13% alcohol.
£9.99 or £8.99 if you buy two or more bottles, Majestic.
2008 Cuvée Pecheur, Vin de Pays du Comté Tolosan
I promised something cheaper this week, so here’s a wine that’ll give you decent change from a fiver while delivering a simple, refreshingly light, zesty, and fruity mouthful. It’s from Gascony, source of Armagnac and lots of inexpensive fresh whites under this and other Vins de Pays designations (eg Gascogne and Gers). 11.5% alcohol.
£3.99, Waitrose
Thursday, August 20, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 21 August 2009
2003 Château d’Or et de Gueles Trassegum, Costières de Nîmes
I’ve just tasted this Syrah-based southern French red again, more than a year since I last tried it, and if anything it’s even better than before. It’s a big wine (14% alcohol) with sweet, but fresh cherry fruit, a nutty kernel richness and a stony mineral character. It’s become softer and more complex with age, but retains a vitality which is all the more impressive coming from the heatwave 2003 vintage. Trassegum is the top label from Château d’Or et de Gueles, made only in the best years and from particular parts of the vineyard. It’s back in stock at The Real Wine Co, a gem of a merchant selling wines chosen with passion and expertise by ex-supermarket wine buyer Mark Hughes.
£11.75, The Real Wine Company.
2007 Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay
First-class chardonnay from the Piccadilly Valley in South Australia – as good a demonstration as there is of the quality being achieved in some of the vineyards in Australia chosen for their combination of cool climate and suitable soils. This has white-peach and citrus flavours, a nuttiness that comes from both the chardonnay and the French oak barriques (used for fermentation and ageing) and a beautifully polished, creamy texture. It’s elegant, fascinating and can only become more complex. I expect it to become richer, nuttier, less lemony, more honeyed, but also more savoury. If you keep it until 2017, it may look quite cheap, too.
£29.99-£43.99, Last Drop Wines, Edencroft Fine Wines, The Sampler, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges.
2007 Tapanappa Foggy Hill Pinot Noir
Pinot noir at it’s purest and most seductive, with plum and cherry aromas, a hint of oriental spice, the silkiest of textures and an underpinning of delicate acidity and supple tannins. Brian Croser says that the next vintage of this wine, the 2008, is the most exciting that his 41 years of being a vigneron have produced. Can’t wait.
£21.50, Edencroft Fine Wines
A bit of background: Tapanappa is a partnership of Brian Croser, who founded Petaluma, with Champagne Bollinger and the Cazes family of Château Lynch-Bages. The other wines, equally recommended, are Whalebone Vineyard Cabernet Shiraz and Whalebone Merlot (both around £30-£36). I’ve held back on my Tapanappa recommendations because they don’t look very recession-friendly, but they would be a great way to celebrate at home instead of going out and would make ideal presents for wine lovers (thanks, my birthday is in January, but Christmas will do).
And next week… I’ll find something cheaper.
I’ve just tasted this Syrah-based southern French red again, more than a year since I last tried it, and if anything it’s even better than before. It’s a big wine (14% alcohol) with sweet, but fresh cherry fruit, a nutty kernel richness and a stony mineral character. It’s become softer and more complex with age, but retains a vitality which is all the more impressive coming from the heatwave 2003 vintage. Trassegum is the top label from Château d’Or et de Gueles, made only in the best years and from particular parts of the vineyard. It’s back in stock at The Real Wine Co, a gem of a merchant selling wines chosen with passion and expertise by ex-supermarket wine buyer Mark Hughes.
£11.75, The Real Wine Company.
2007 Tapanappa Tiers Vineyard Chardonnay
First-class chardonnay from the Piccadilly Valley in South Australia – as good a demonstration as there is of the quality being achieved in some of the vineyards in Australia chosen for their combination of cool climate and suitable soils. This has white-peach and citrus flavours, a nuttiness that comes from both the chardonnay and the French oak barriques (used for fermentation and ageing) and a beautifully polished, creamy texture. It’s elegant, fascinating and can only become more complex. I expect it to become richer, nuttier, less lemony, more honeyed, but also more savoury. If you keep it until 2017, it may look quite cheap, too.
£29.99-£43.99, Last Drop Wines, Edencroft Fine Wines, The Sampler, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges.
2007 Tapanappa Foggy Hill Pinot Noir
Pinot noir at it’s purest and most seductive, with plum and cherry aromas, a hint of oriental spice, the silkiest of textures and an underpinning of delicate acidity and supple tannins. Brian Croser says that the next vintage of this wine, the 2008, is the most exciting that his 41 years of being a vigneron have produced. Can’t wait.
£21.50, Edencroft Fine Wines
A bit of background: Tapanappa is a partnership of Brian Croser, who founded Petaluma, with Champagne Bollinger and the Cazes family of Château Lynch-Bages. The other wines, equally recommended, are Whalebone Vineyard Cabernet Shiraz and Whalebone Merlot (both around £30-£36). I’ve held back on my Tapanappa recommendations because they don’t look very recession-friendly, but they would be a great way to celebrate at home instead of going out and would make ideal presents for wine lovers (thanks, my birthday is in January, but Christmas will do).
And next week… I’ll find something cheaper.
Friday, August 14, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 14 August 2009
2008 Pieropan Soave
Classico in all but name. Nino Pieropan, one of Soave Classico’s top producers, has elected to use screwcap instead of cork for his 2008, which means foregoing the Classico designation. Daft, but that’s Italian DOCG wine law for you. The wine is excellent – dry, crisp and lingering with lovely, clear lemon fruit and hints of blossom and honey. 12% alcohol.
£10.75-£11.75, Lea & Sandeman, Reserve Wines, Noel Young Wines, Bennetts Fine Wines, Harrods
2006 Balcon de la Villa Tinta de Toro
The reds of Toro in northwest Spain have improved enormously in the last few years. The region has always had the benefit of old vines, but the wines were generally rustic and chewy. Largely thanks to outside investment (much of it from Rioja and Ribera del Duero), that’s not the case now. This wine, made from 50-year-old Tinta de Toro vines (a clone of Tempranillo), is powerful, succulent and complex, with juicy blackberry fruit and vanilla-scented chocolaty oak. Great value, particularly because all that outside investment means that prices have soared. 14.5% alcohol.
£5.99, Marks & Spencer
2007 ‘T’ Toro Roble
This Toro comes from the same co-operative as the Balcon de la Villa above, but is a year younger and is aged in French as well as American barrels. It’s another full-bodied, rich wine, but with stylish fresh raspberry and spicy, mineral flavours. Again, very reasonably priced. 14.5% alcohol.
£6.99, Waitrose
Classico in all but name. Nino Pieropan, one of Soave Classico’s top producers, has elected to use screwcap instead of cork for his 2008, which means foregoing the Classico designation. Daft, but that’s Italian DOCG wine law for you. The wine is excellent – dry, crisp and lingering with lovely, clear lemon fruit and hints of blossom and honey. 12% alcohol.
£10.75-£11.75, Lea & Sandeman, Reserve Wines, Noel Young Wines, Bennetts Fine Wines, Harrods
2006 Balcon de la Villa Tinta de Toro
The reds of Toro in northwest Spain have improved enormously in the last few years. The region has always had the benefit of old vines, but the wines were generally rustic and chewy. Largely thanks to outside investment (much of it from Rioja and Ribera del Duero), that’s not the case now. This wine, made from 50-year-old Tinta de Toro vines (a clone of Tempranillo), is powerful, succulent and complex, with juicy blackberry fruit and vanilla-scented chocolaty oak. Great value, particularly because all that outside investment means that prices have soared. 14.5% alcohol.
£5.99, Marks & Spencer
2007 ‘T’ Toro Roble
This Toro comes from the same co-operative as the Balcon de la Villa above, but is a year younger and is aged in French as well as American barrels. It’s another full-bodied, rich wine, but with stylish fresh raspberry and spicy, mineral flavours. Again, very reasonably priced. 14.5% alcohol.
£6.99, Waitrose
Friday, August 7, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 7 August 2009
An Iberian trio this week. No particular reason – just good wines. The Tinto da Anfora is perfect barbecue material, but also comes into its own with comforting casseroles. The Rioja is a bit more refined: grouse, anybody, or lamb threaded with rosemary and garlic? And the dry Vinho Verde is exactly that – proper dry Vinho Verde.
2006 Tinto da Anfora, Alentejo
This is the kind of wine I sometimes overlook because it’s been around for so long. What’s impressive is that the style has moved with the times without its distinctive personality being compromised. So it’s become a bit more refined in recent years, but continues to be a traditional full-bodied, oak-aged Portuguese red made from indigenous grape varieties (5% cabernet sauvignon excepted). It’s packed with ripe plummy fruit, bayleaf and chocolate flavours and finishes on a dry, spicy-oak note. 14% alcohol.
£5.99-£6.49, Sainsbury’s; Waitrose.
2008 Quinta de Azevedo Vinho Verde
A piercingly fresh, zesty white with herbal green-apple flavours and a fleeting hint of peach. Authentically dry and low in alcohol and not remotely like the vapid cheap Vinho Verde that used to be sent over from Portugal specially sweetened for the British market. 10.5% alcohol.
£5.99 or £4.99 when you buy two bottles, Majestic.
2006 Torres Ibérico Rioja Crianza
There are few more famous names among Spanish wine producers than Torres, but the Torres family has never been in Spain’s most famous wine region - until now. So this is the first Torres Rioja, and very good it is, with an inviting smell of ripe blueberries, cedary oak and spicy mocha and a smooth, dry, well-defined palate. 14%.
£8.99, Waitrose.
2006 Tinto da Anfora, Alentejo
This is the kind of wine I sometimes overlook because it’s been around for so long. What’s impressive is that the style has moved with the times without its distinctive personality being compromised. So it’s become a bit more refined in recent years, but continues to be a traditional full-bodied, oak-aged Portuguese red made from indigenous grape varieties (5% cabernet sauvignon excepted). It’s packed with ripe plummy fruit, bayleaf and chocolate flavours and finishes on a dry, spicy-oak note. 14% alcohol.
£5.99-£6.49, Sainsbury’s; Waitrose.
2008 Quinta de Azevedo Vinho Verde
A piercingly fresh, zesty white with herbal green-apple flavours and a fleeting hint of peach. Authentically dry and low in alcohol and not remotely like the vapid cheap Vinho Verde that used to be sent over from Portugal specially sweetened for the British market. 10.5% alcohol.
£5.99 or £4.99 when you buy two bottles, Majestic.
2006 Torres Ibérico Rioja Crianza
There are few more famous names among Spanish wine producers than Torres, but the Torres family has never been in Spain’s most famous wine region - until now. So this is the first Torres Rioja, and very good it is, with an inviting smell of ripe blueberries, cedary oak and spicy mocha and a smooth, dry, well-defined palate. 14%.
£8.99, Waitrose.
Friday, July 31, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 31 July 2009
2008 Bisol Credo, Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Brut
This is more expensive than the average Prosecco, but it isn’t average Prosecco. Like everything that comes from the Bisol family’s vineyards in the Valdobbiadene region, Credo is a step above – mouthwateringly fresh and appley, with touches of orange and peach, a softness in the middle and a fresh, dill-like finish. The grape blend is 85% prosecco, 10% pinot blanc and 5% verdiso and the alcohol is 11.5%. It would make a crowd-pleasing wedding fizz.
£85.50 per six bottles (plus £15 delivery), Bibendum Wine.
2007 Castell del Remei Oda Blanc, Costers del Segre
An oak-fermented blend of chardonnay and macabeo from the Costers del Segre region in northeast Spain. Does Spain really need to do chardonnay? You could argue that growers should concentrate on indigenous white grape varieties, rather than dabbling with the international set, but chardonnay is clearly so at home here and the blend works so well that it would be daft to argue against it. The nose is richly fruity but fresh, with lemon, peach and pineapple, and the oak fills out the texture and gives a seasoning of buttered-toast. Medium-bodied; 13.5% alcohol. The only stockist I’ve found is D Byrne, but it’s well worth the detour to Clitheroe for its terrific range of wines at pared-down prices.
£9.99, D. Byrne & Co.
2008 Grove Mill Riesling, Marlborough
Intense, herbal, lime and floral aromas with a vivacious, fruity, apple-and-lime palate. Light-bodied, medium-dry New Zealand Riesling with only 11.5% alcohol, but no shortage of flavour. It comes into its own as an aperitif, a party wine or something to go with spicy food.
£9.99 (or £6.66 if you buy three bottles), Wine Rack.
This is more expensive than the average Prosecco, but it isn’t average Prosecco. Like everything that comes from the Bisol family’s vineyards in the Valdobbiadene region, Credo is a step above – mouthwateringly fresh and appley, with touches of orange and peach, a softness in the middle and a fresh, dill-like finish. The grape blend is 85% prosecco, 10% pinot blanc and 5% verdiso and the alcohol is 11.5%. It would make a crowd-pleasing wedding fizz.
£85.50 per six bottles (plus £15 delivery), Bibendum Wine.
2007 Castell del Remei Oda Blanc, Costers del Segre
An oak-fermented blend of chardonnay and macabeo from the Costers del Segre region in northeast Spain. Does Spain really need to do chardonnay? You could argue that growers should concentrate on indigenous white grape varieties, rather than dabbling with the international set, but chardonnay is clearly so at home here and the blend works so well that it would be daft to argue against it. The nose is richly fruity but fresh, with lemon, peach and pineapple, and the oak fills out the texture and gives a seasoning of buttered-toast. Medium-bodied; 13.5% alcohol. The only stockist I’ve found is D Byrne, but it’s well worth the detour to Clitheroe for its terrific range of wines at pared-down prices.
£9.99, D. Byrne & Co.
2008 Grove Mill Riesling, Marlborough
Intense, herbal, lime and floral aromas with a vivacious, fruity, apple-and-lime palate. Light-bodied, medium-dry New Zealand Riesling with only 11.5% alcohol, but no shortage of flavour. It comes into its own as an aperitif, a party wine or something to go with spicy food.
£9.99 (or £6.66 if you buy three bottles), Wine Rack.
Friday, July 24, 2009
WINES OF THE WEEK, 24 July 2009
2007 CHATEAU LA DOURNIE, SAINT-CHINIAN
I know that science says that wine can’t taste of its soil, because there’s no transfer of minerals and flavour compounds from soil to root to grape to wine – but Saint-Chinian grown on schist can have an extraordinarily intense, ‘stony’ smell and taste, in some cases reminiscent of the fresh smell of stones and earth after rain. I love it - and this wine, a syrah-dominant blend with some carignan and grenache. As well as the stony character, there’s sweet redcurrant fruit, black pepper and black olive flavours and a gentle nuttiness (13.5% alcohol). The estate has been handed down in the Etienne family from mother to daughter for six generations and the current incumbernt, Véronique, also makes a very good, more expensive red, called Elise, which comes from a specific plot and is partly aged in new oak barrels, and a rosé - also highly recommended. The importer is Indigo Wine.
£9.25, The Grape Shop, 020 7924 3638; £10, Dégustation, 020 8691 0857.
2006 MAS DES DAMES, LA DAME, COTEAUX DU LANGUEDOC
Another red Languedoc, another female winemaker. Let me explain. There’s a women winemakers group in Languedoc, called Vinifilles, and I tasted some of their wines recently and was impressed (the Picpoul de Pinet, one of my Wines of the Week on 3 July, is another). Back to the 2006 La Dame. This comes from just outside Saint-Chinian and is blend of Grenache, Carignan and Syrah (50:30:20). It’s medium-full (13% alcohol), warm, ripe, spicy and earthy, with a lovely freshness of berry fruit, hints of graphite, olive and chocolate and a velvety texture.
£7.75, Berry Bros & Rudd
2008 TASTE THE DIFFERENCE POUILLY-FUME
The first sip of any Pouilly Fumé should make you sit up. If it doesn’t, I reckon it’s not doing it’s job. No fears here on that score. This has a stirringly intense elderflower and goosberry nose, a good depth of spicy, grassy, green fruit on the palate and refreshing, mineral length (12.5% alcohol).
£10.98, Sainsbury’s
I know that science says that wine can’t taste of its soil, because there’s no transfer of minerals and flavour compounds from soil to root to grape to wine – but Saint-Chinian grown on schist can have an extraordinarily intense, ‘stony’ smell and taste, in some cases reminiscent of the fresh smell of stones and earth after rain. I love it - and this wine, a syrah-dominant blend with some carignan and grenache. As well as the stony character, there’s sweet redcurrant fruit, black pepper and black olive flavours and a gentle nuttiness (13.5% alcohol). The estate has been handed down in the Etienne family from mother to daughter for six generations and the current incumbernt, Véronique, also makes a very good, more expensive red, called Elise, which comes from a specific plot and is partly aged in new oak barrels, and a rosé - also highly recommended. The importer is Indigo Wine.
£9.25, The Grape Shop, 020 7924 3638; £10, Dégustation, 020 8691 0857.
2006 MAS DES DAMES, LA DAME, COTEAUX DU LANGUEDOC
Another red Languedoc, another female winemaker. Let me explain. There’s a women winemakers group in Languedoc, called Vinifilles, and I tasted some of their wines recently and was impressed (the Picpoul de Pinet, one of my Wines of the Week on 3 July, is another). Back to the 2006 La Dame. This comes from just outside Saint-Chinian and is blend of Grenache, Carignan and Syrah (50:30:20). It’s medium-full (13% alcohol), warm, ripe, spicy and earthy, with a lovely freshness of berry fruit, hints of graphite, olive and chocolate and a velvety texture.
£7.75, Berry Bros & Rudd
2008 TASTE THE DIFFERENCE POUILLY-FUME
The first sip of any Pouilly Fumé should make you sit up. If it doesn’t, I reckon it’s not doing it’s job. No fears here on that score. This has a stirringly intense elderflower and goosberry nose, a good depth of spicy, grassy, green fruit on the palate and refreshing, mineral length (12.5% alcohol).
£10.98, Sainsbury’s
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