A couple of Piedmont reds made with less-than-familiar grapes Tenuta La Pergola Freisa d’Asti 2012, Piedmont, Italy (£12.99 Red Squirrel Wine) Lovely vanilla-tinged strawberry (fresh and just-cooked) and summer pudding flavours backed up by a note of iron and a whack of earthy tannin. Reminds me of Portugal’s Baga, and definitely […]
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Rieslings from opposite sides of the world – same grape, very different flavours, but I like them both… WMD ‘The Spectre’ Riesling 2013, Mosel, Germany (£30 Red Squirrel Wine) Has the classic sweet-and-sour minerally Mosel edge, with earthy citrus, plum and beeswax flavours given richness by a sprinkling of sweetness, […]
Rieslings from the Mosel, Germany, and Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand
On the strength of this, don’t hold your breath for a Global Bobal revolution… Vox Populi Bobal 2011, Utiel Requena, Spain (£10.99 Majestic) Reasonable blackcurrant and blackberry flavours, with touches of brown sugar and a hint of cabbage (neither a positive nor a negative!), but there’s also a dry tannic […]
Vox Populi Bobal 2011, Utiel Requena, Spain
Final post from the week in which Australia Day falls, with the accent today on Pinot Noir. Louis Latour Maranges 2012, Burgundy, France (£23.54 Spirited Wines) There’s gentle raspberry fruit in here, but overall, it’s rather fey, with not enough flesh and flavour to back up the stalky notes, and […]
Pinot Noir from Australia, California & France
A fourth set of wines with an Aussie theme in celebration of the week in which Australia Day falls. Today, Cabernet. Ish… Villa Maria Private Bin Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand (£12.99 Majestic, Morrisons, Globe Wines, Matthew Clark, nzhouseofwine.co.uk) Reasonable leafy fragrance, but there’s a slightly baked edge […]
Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines from Australia, Chile, New Zealand & Argentina
More wines to celebrate the week in which Australia Day falls. This time, it’s Shiraz, with a European version making its way into the line-up… Smart Dog Syrah 2013, Alentejano, Portugal (£8.99 Adnams) Sweet, almost smoky notes alongside the cinnamon and clove aromas, but while there’s no shortage of flavour, […]