Villa Maria Cellar Selection Syrah 2008, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand (£13.99 Oddbins, Wine Rack, nzhouseofwine.co.uk) Fragrant and elegant to start with, showing touches of pepper (white & black), berry and plum, but then a slightly thoddy vanilla edge intrudes, and there’s just this feeling of incompleteness, as if it would […]
Video
Will be posting another couple of videos featuring the 2010 vintage soon, but in the meantime, here are some slightly older wines… Domaine Masson-Blondelet Pouilly-Fumé 2009 (£14.99 Waitrose) Has lost a little freshness, but still has some tangy taut lemon, lemongrass and herb flavour, a touch of flint and a […]
Wine Tasting Video: Sancerre & Pouilly-Fumé 2008 & 2009
Ribeiro Santo Dão 2009 (£10.60 Bottle Apostle) Juicy young wine, fresh but firm, full flavoured but never too big, with plummy berry and tomato flavours, smoky bacon oak and an earthy, savoury finish – gets more serious with time. S(-) Sogrape Callabriga Dão 2008 (£12.95 Berry Brothers & Rudd) Sprightly […]
Wine Tasting Video: Reds from Beiras (Dao & Bairrada)
Codorníu Reina Maria Cristina Cava Blanc de Noirs 2008 (£14.99 Majestic) Made mostly from Pinot Noir, this manages to pack in bumptious fruit flavours – apple, citrus, raspberry – but retain the Cava freshness and earthiness. Rich (although not too rich) rather than elegant, but a darned good drink. S- […]
Wine Tasting Video: Cava Part 2 – Red, White & ...
Recently tasted my way through eight Spanish sparklers – here’s the verdict on the first five, the second video will be on the site soon. And apologies for the dreadful joke at the start… Waitrose in Partnership Cava Brut NV (Castillo Perelada) (£8.99 Waitrose) Soft but elegant, a touch of […]
Wine Tasting Video: Cava Part 1 – five whites
Should have posted this a while ago, but life got busy…. Skouras Cuvée Prestige, Vin de Pays de Peloponnese 2010 (£9.50 The Wine Society) Fresh and tangy wine, like Roses Lime Juice with a slightly toasty edge, not complex but tasty with an almost oily/petrolly Riesling-like grapiness. B Mediterra Silenus […]