Author Archives: richardgore1200

Tuffon Hall, Bacchus, 2015, East Anglia, England

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East Anglia can produce some fantastic Bacchus wine and Tuffon Hall is in this category. A wonderful light lemon color with aromas of grass, green apple and hints of pineapple. It’s a light wine in texture and the flavors are subtle with citrus, lemon, pineapple and a creaminess undertone that makes this dry white wine absolutely delicious.

At about £12 a bottle it’s on the money for English wine, which is a shame in some ways as it will put some people off what is an excellent white wine.

Tuffon Hall, Bacchus, 2015, East Anglia, England

Tuffon Hall, Bacchus, 2015, East Anglia, England

Cantine Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo, Chianti Riserva, 2013, Italy

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Chianti, Chianti, Chianti, the more I drink of it the more I see the point and this one from Cantine Leonardo da Vinci is pretty reasonable. Its a typical dry red with a chuck of tannins and plenty of red fruit flavours, raspberry, strawberry, cherry with vanilla and oak notes that have decent length. The taste is more pronounced that the aromas which I thought let it down a bit but the dryness is more than the fruit which for me, I would prefer the other way round.

Its £11 a bottle and that’s decent value, no outstanding but not bad.

Cantine Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo, Chianti Riserva, 2013, Italy

Cantine Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo, Chianti Riserva, 2013, Italy

Viñalba, Selección, Torrontés, 2018, Lujan de Cuyo, Argentina

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This Torrontes from Vinabla, Lujan de Cuyo in Argentina is a text book Torrontes and that is not a bad thing, dry and bold but with masses of fruit that balances it all. Wth smells of tropical fruit and blossom, there’s lots of flavours in there too, pineapple, mango, melon and peach which went very well with a chicken biryani with vegi curry.

At £9 a bottle its spot on the money and taste.

Viñalba, Selección, Torrontés, 2018, Lujan de Cuyo, Argentina

Viñalba, Selección, Torrontés, 2018, Lujan de Cuyo, Argentina

C da Silva, Presidential, LBV Port, 2013, Portugal

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I love Port and this offering from C da Silva with their Presidential, LBV Port, 2013 is better than most, excellent in fact. Made with 33% Touriga Franca, 33% Touriga Nacional, 34% Roriz there are aromas of wood and spice with flavours of plums and sour cherry, a richness with long lasting tastes make it better than most LBV Ports. At £15 a bottle it’s worth paying extra.

C da Silva, Presidential, LBV Port, 2013, Portugal

C da Silva, Presidential, LBV Port, 2013, Portugal

 

Chrysostomou Mousaios, Brut sparkling wine from Greece

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So many countries can make great wine and that includes Greece and this Brut sparkling from Chrysostomou Mousaios in northern Greece, unfortunately is not a great wine. Its not terrible but the oak is very overpowering.

Made with the Assyriko grape the colour is lovely rich straw, there’s honey and citrus aromas. Its a dense, rich in flavour of stone fruit and nuts but the oaky, smoke flavours much are too much. It needs to be much more refined, drinkable but that’s the best I can say.

Chrysostomou Mousaios, Brut sparkling wine from Greece

Chrysostomou Mousaios, Brut sparkling wine from Greece

Hugues Valrasque, Chateauneuf du Pape, 2017, Rhone Valley, France

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General the rule of Chateauneuf du Pape is that you spend a lot more than usual to get a good one and £18 a bottle for this Hugues Valrasque one is not quite enough. Its decent but what if you spent another £5 or £7, could you get a better one? probably.

Very dry, bold and reasonable smooth with a chuck of red and black fruits, cherry (lots of cherry on the nose), blackberry, fig, spice with an earthy, oaky undertone. The issue I have is that’s a little unbalanced and not quite “there”. It fails to elevate itself to a great Rhone red, decent but spend more.

Hugues Valrasque, Chateauneuf du Pape, 2017, Rhone Valley, France

Hugues Valrasque, Chateauneuf du Pape, 2017, Rhone Valley, France

 

Lunadoro, Prugnanello, Rosso di Montepulciano, Tuscany, Italy

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made with 100% Sangiovese from Tuscany this red from Lunadoro is a pretty tannic and bold. Reasonable amount of red fruit, redcurrant and cherry and medium in body and finish, its well suited to a BBQ. Its easy drinking and not the big red you might think of from Tuscany.

At £15 a bottle is a bit overpriced. £10 or less is the right price for this, at £15 I would want more on all levels.

gnanello, Rosso di Montepulcian, Tuscany, Italy

Lunadoro, Prugnanello, Rosso di Montepulciano, Tuscany, Italy

Mazzei, Poggio Badiola, Toscana, 2015, Tuscany, Italy

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Tuscany chucks out hundreds of different great quality wines and a lot more good wines each year and this Poggio Badiola, Toscana is the latter. Its a blend of 70% Sangiovese, and 30% Merlot and it gives you aromas of black fruit such as blackberries, black cherries with spice and tobacco. These follow into the flavours but there’s also a toasty under tone in there I think. The finish a bit short and not quite as fully flavoured as I would like, even at £14 a bottle. This medium body, dry red is better with food, pizza, meat dishes or hard cheese.

Mazzei, Poggio Badiola, Toscana, 2015, Tuscany, Italy

Mazzei, Poggio Badiola, Toscana, 2015, Tuscany, Italy

Soumah, Chardonnay, 2017, Yarra Valley, Australia.

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Soumah does make a great cool climate dry Chardonnay. The grapes are picked earlier than other vineyards and this gives you aromas of green apple and grass that lead into flavors of grapefruit, stone fruit, citrus and herbal notes that isn’t unpleasant. It has great length and freshness and worthy Decanter Silver medal winner. This is a wine that would go well with sea food or sipping it in the garden on a summers evening.

At £20 a bottle its not cheap but its worth spending a bit extra every now and again.

oumah, Chardonnay, 2017, Yarra Valley, Australia

oumah, Chardonnay, 2017, Yarra Valley, Australia

Albert Mann, Grand Cru Furstentum Gewurztraminer, Vieilles Vignes, 2011, Alsace, France

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Albert Mann is a top Alsace producer and this Grand Cru Furstentum Gewurztraminer Vieilles Vignes shows why. its a soft, bold, semi sweet wine. There are aromas of lychee, apricot, blossom and pear.

There are flavours of tropical fruits, ripe pineapple, honey, apple and stone fruits. its a weighty wine in some respects but not as much as you may expect. There’s an elegance to this wine that you can’t help be grateful for because this may make those that won’t normally touch a Gertz actually like it. Pair this with asian foods, pork dishes or mild cheeses and this shines even more. Fantastic.

Albert Mann, Grand Cru Furstentum Gewurztraminer, Vieilles Vignes, 2011, Alsace, France

Albert Mann, Grand Cru Furstentum Gewurztraminer, Vieilles Vignes, 2011, Alsace, France