Astro Costera Chardonnay is from Chile’s Central Valley. I suspect that it, like many other Virgin Wines, comes in large containers and is bottled in the UK, to give them a greater margin. Put on a suitable label with a vaguely Andean motif, name your price and see what happens… Tasting notes: Pale lemon colour. Green…
Tag: wine
Santa Macarena Sauvignon Blanc 2017 – Virgin Wines
This Sauvignon Blanc is from the most coastal site in all of Chile; the Aconcagua Valley is just 5km from the ocean. Morning mist, sea breezes and lower temperatures provide ideal conditions for Sauvignon Blanc. Tasting notes: Pale straw colour. Stone fruits and some vegetal notes. Short, crisp finish. Balanced, medium/high acidity. Not especially complex or…
Florel Torrontés 2019 – Virgin Wines
Torrontés is an aromatic white wine, similar to a reisling and indigenous to Argentina. Like reisling it goes well with Asian cuisine. In Argentina they refer to Torrontés as ‘The Liar’ because the aromas are misleading. The best Torrontés wines come from the high elevation vineyards around Salta, Argentina – such as this one: https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/atimeforwine.blog/1767…
Virgin Wines – any good?
I signed up to Virgin Wines and paid into their ‘Wine Bank’ each month. I purchased a wide variety of wines from £7-£25 a bottle which I will be reviewing over the coming weeks in a series of articles, before moving on to review Laithwaite’s wines. So, are Virgin wines any good? With the Wine…
The Coronavirus & Wine…
The outbreak of the Coronavirus in China in late 2019 had virtually no impact on the wine industry – until now. In Northern Italy and across Europe, the harvest was safely in, fermented and barrelled. ‘Social distancing’ meant that people stopped going out to eat and drink as much. The forced closure of bars and…
Botham Wines Chardonnay 2018 'The All Rounder'
Botham wines call this ‘The All Rounder’ because Ian Botham was and this wine is. It’s decent wine and would be suitable for most occasions and would go with a lot of food. It’s also from all around Australia – from the South East to the Margaret River in Western Australia – the opposite side…
Jean P’Robert Pinot Noir 2013
This is a rather ‘generic’ wine. It’s in an attractive bottle and is from the wide region of Burgundy (a large area, that). Tasting notes: Translucent, pale ruby colour. Primary red fruit notes. No secondary notes. Faint earthy tertiary notes. Balanced acidity. Short finish. Light, smooth. No tannins. Not particularly complex. Needed food. Region of…
ARA Grüner Veltliner
I love Austria. The skiing, the frittaten suppe, schnitzel & strudel… I’ve been going there for years, usually in the winter, but last summer we stayed for a week in the mountains. I was there again eight weeks ago and am back again in five weeks time. As I say, I love Austria. Its wines…
Chapel Down
The Chapel Down vineyard is near Tenterden in Kent. It was started in 1995 and 25 years later it is England’s leading winemaker. English wine has been in the ascendancy for several years, gaining public support, critical acclaim and international accolades. My first experience of English wine was Denbies near Dorking – a beautiful spot,…
Louis Latour Pinot Noir ‘Valmoissine’ 2015
Pinot Noir Domaine de Valmoissine Louis Latour There are two theories regarding the ‘Pinot’ name. One is that it came about because their bunches are similar in shape to a pine cone (pinot in French). It may derive, however, from a place name in France such as Pinos or Pignols from where cuttings were obtained….
Fortnum & Mason Brut Reserve Vintage Champagne
Britain’s ‘prosecco boom’ could be over. Sales of sparkling wine in the UK have fallen for the first time since 2012, according to new figures. New sales numbers from the Wine and Spirit Trade Association, reported by the Financial Times, show sparkling wine sales in Britain fell by 5% in 2019. The drop is equivalent…
Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle Champagne
Laurent-Perrier Grand Siecle is a blend of three different vintages of premier cru champagnes – it is classified as NV as a result but it’s so much more than that. The magic here is in the winemaking; the blending of different vintages to create something which is greater than the sum of its parts. I…
A Time for Wine 