Domaine les Marroniers Montmains Chablis Primier Cru is another good looking bottle, and came in a wooden box. It was good, but rather pricey… Tasting notes: Initially detected some mineral notes. Hints of tropical fruits. Some creaminess on the palate. Good texture. Wine Colour – White Price – £14 Current Vintage – 2016 Producer –…
Signe Bourgogne Montagny
This Montagny is good, if not exceptional Chardonnay. Good value for money though, and in an attractive bottle, it makes a change from Chablis. Tasting notes: Notes of tropical fruits. Some minerality & creaminess on the palate. Elegant for the money. Good texture. Wine Colour – White Price – £9 Current Vintage – 2016 Producer…
Gramona ‘Vi de Glass’ Vino Dulce de Frio Riesling
This is unusual: a Spanish sweet wine – Gramona ‘Vi de Glass’ Vino Dulce de Frio Riesling from Uvinum in London. It’s an ‘ice wine’, but rather than letting the grapes freeze on the vine, they are harvested and frozen with liquid nitrogen. It comes in a remarkably tall, thin bottle – which certainly provides…
Williams Selyem Pinot Noir – Russian River Valley
The winner of my festive red wines was Williams Selyem Pinot Noir – Russian River Valley (2012). We based ourselves in Monte Rio for our tasting trip to this area and loved the Chardonnays, fizz and Pinot Noir. It’s proximity to the Pacific Ocean brings cooling fogs to the region. We had a quick nose…
Joseph Drouhin Rully
The winner from my festive whites was Joseph Drouhin Rully Premier Cru. I love Rully – I had a strategy a few years ago of going for the lesser, more affordable Burgundy appellations and found Rully wines to be consistently very good. Joseph Drouhin is an excellent winemaker. He buys these Rully grapes as…
Veuve Clicquot Rose Champagne
Veuve Clicquot is one of those champagne labels that denotes quality. It’s one of my favourites along with Pol Roger & Bollinger – at this price however it is only for very special occasions… Tasting notes: Notes of red fruits. Biscuity, brioche, stonefruit and almond elements on the palate. Elegant – but not overly delicate;…
Santa Rita Chardonnay, Chile
Another attractive looking bottle… This chardonnay from the Limarí Valley (the northernmost vineyard district in Chile) is produced quite close to the equator however the valley is cooled by sea breezes. This gives many ‘old-world’ wines a run for their money… Tasting notes: Bright, golden colour. A full-flavoured Chardonnay. It displays citrus aromas and apple…
Picpoul de Pinet, Ormarine
A flinty alternative to Muscadet, Gruner-Veltliner or Pouilly Fume, Picpoul used to be cheap, and unusual to find outside France until a few years ago when it cropped up more frequently, particularly on gastro-pub wine lists. Prices rose as it became more popular. My most read article, with hundreds of views, is Sainsbury’s Baron de…
Tesco Finest Pinot Grigio, Cantina de Monteforte
‘You get what you pay for.’ Not always with wine, I’m afraid. I saw an interesting clip on YouTube this week of some Dutch wine Vloggers who took 3Euro wine into a wine tasting and offered it to experts who pronounced it good and worth up to 80Euro a bottle… I’ve had plenty of disappointing,…
Passerina – Tesco Finest
When we were in Abruzzo, we walked to a beautiful hillside restaurant and ate langoustine and drank the local wine. It was excellent. The entertainment was provided by the spectacle of the only other diners; a very elderly mafia-don type and his very young, very glamourous girlfriend. When his phone rang the ringtone was the…
Domaine Chene – Macon La Roche Vineuse
Another attractive looking bottle… The same wine is sold in the UK by M&S at £12, with a slightly different label. Better than their £10 Macon Villages which I find slightly over-priced. Tasting notes: A full-flavoured Mâcon from a 30 hectare family estate. It displays pineapple (and apparently ‘acacia’ flavours – however having never tasted…
Santa Julia Reserve Malbec
Robert Parker gave this wine 91 points. But he’s like Craig Revel-Horwood on Strictly come Dancing (in the sense that he marks harshly, I hasten to add). I’ve scored it 92 – and would add extra marks for an attractive bottle (good for dinner parties & prospective in-laws) but that would be stupid… Tasting notes:…
A Time for Wine 