New on the shelves with a funky, monochrome label is this Aussie chardonnay. I thought it was good, if not memorable. My wife really didn’t like it and forced me to open her a bottle of Gavi… Good value at £4.50 (if you’re quick) especially as the 2015 vintage retails at £9.49 in Waitrose. Tasting…
Month: October 2017
Macon-Chardonnay Bouchard Aine & Fils
Bouchard are a well regarded producer from Beaune in Burgundy, where they have been producing wines (pinot noir and chardonnay) since 1750. This wine has pedigree… I liked this, though at £10 I suspect you are paying a premium for their name and label, but I didn’t feel ripped off. Tasting notes: Pale colour. Initially some…
Wolf Blass Yellow Label Chardonnay
I have a lot of affection for this brand – 20 years ago this was my favourite wine and I used to try to persuade people that, for the money, it was better than chablis… I’m not so sure whether I’d agree with myself now. Times change. I hadn’t had this wine for about 10…
Trivento Reserve Malbec
We visited Mendoza less than a year ago and spent 5 days tasting Malbec, Torrontes and Chardonnay. Located in the eastern foothills of the Andes, in the shadow of Mount Aconcagua, vineyards are planted at the some of the highest altitudes in the world with the average site located 600-1,100 meters above sea level. The…
Pecorino Tesco Finest
My first visit to Italy was to Abruzzo. I’d wanted to visit Rimini. We went to a travel agent who told us that not only could we not go there, we couldn’t go anywhere in Italy. Instead we could go to Rhodes. Nowhere but Rhodes. It was the late 1990s; we plugged our home computer…
Rocca Murer Pinot Grigio
As I’ve written before, there are a lot of ‘meh’ Pinot Grigios on the shelves. This one, in a tall bottle and from Trentino, Italy looked promising. I thought it was good, slightly different to the majority of Pinot Grigios; it had an interesting initial taste and a little complexity – good value at £6….
Etienne Dumont Champagne NV
We had cause to celebrate; we’d hosted a Nerf gun party for fourteen 8 year olds and nobody had cried, vomited or been wounded. I’d bought a case of this champagne with a view to Christmas presents – so I had to try it… It was good – and for festive presents looks good too….
Campo Viejo Cava
I love Catalonia – a wild, passionate, beautiful part of Spain. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been there; once this year and two trips planned next year. They want to devolve from ‘Spain’, but as the wealthiest part of the country, this won’t be easy… I met with the winemakers at…
La Chasse Cotes du Rhones
The Cotes du Rhone appellation is one of the world’s largest wine-producing regions. The variety of grapes is amazing. The standard can vary; some of the cheaper reds are better than the often overrated Chateauneuf du Papes (John Lewis foodhalls – I’ve not quite forgiven you for the awful Christmas day red – 2 bottles…
Riesling – Sainsbury Taste the Difference.
Riesling, in its tall bottle, is often stocked with those horrors from the 1980s: Hock & Liebfraumilch. Riesling is delicious & aromatic in the same way that expensive teas are – and this one is bone dry. I’m a big fan of Austrian wine and regularly buy Gruner Veltliner (and occasionally Pinot Noirs, Blaufränkisch and Zweigelt –…
Casillero del Diablo Chardonnay
Concha y Toro are one of the world’s biggest and most recognisable wine brands. Connoisseurs may turn up their noses at this – but they produce a great range of good quality, good value wines. The story behind Casillero del Diablo began over 120 years ago. The founder of Concha y Toro, Don Melchor stored batches…
Chenin Blanc Tesco
Good value Chenin Blanc, although I would prefer it if it were fairly traded. But at £4 a bottle – for goodness sake, you can’t go wrong. Wash down a takeaway with this. Tasting notes: Crisp, dry, melon notes. Region of Origin – Western Cape Wine Colour – White Price – £4 Where do I…
A Time for Wine 