Made with 95% Tempranillo with a splash of Cabernet Sauvignon, 5%.
Aromas of blackberry, smoke, tobacco that follow through in the taste with cherry, blackcurrant, oak undertones and tannins that are super smooth but firm. This review may be short but there’s not much more to say, this is a very good red wine.
Ar £17 a bottle its great value for what you get.
Arzuaga Navarro, Arzuaga Crianza 2017, Ribera del Duero, Spain
This dry, Syrah based red wine is quite something. You get a bit of blackfruit on the nose but its when you taste it that you think this is actually really rather good.
The flavours are soft and subtle but all there. Plum, black cherry, blackberry with pepper and hints of vanilla from the oak its been left in. It feels grown up with good integrated tannins and is a delight to savour at the end of the day. We had this partly on its own and partly with roast lamb. excellent on both occasions.
At about £12 a bottle its very good value and worth trying again.
Château de Cazeneuve, Le Roc des Mates 2013 from Pic Saint Loup, France
This dry red wine is made with Saperavi grapes, from vineyards around the Alaverdi monastery in Georgia. Now Georgian wine is decent stuff, more so than you may think. They have been making wine long enough.
This got a Bronze medal from the Decanter International Wine Awards and that’s a good solid score. There’s aromas of black and red fruit on the nose, Blackberry, cherry, tobacco on the nose and the flavours. Its medium body and has a good wack of tannins. I guzzled most of this on its own so not complaints. At about £30 a bottle in the UK its one of the more expensive wines from the area but its pretty decent. I do have an issue with the price though. NZ Pinot Noir or Burgundy red while a little light would be far better at this price point. South American reds are better still at this price.
Badagoni, Alaverdi Tradition, Saperavi grape from Georgia
New Zealand already has a great reputation for good Sauvignon Blanc and excellent Pinot Noir. I recently tasted one of the finest Pinot Gris, it was Oastbrook vineyard in the UK. This one from Wairarapa in the North Island of New Zealand under pins my belief that cool climate Pinot Gris can be amazing. This got a well deserved silver medal at the IWSC awards.
Lansdowne Estate, Pinot Gris 2014, Wairarapa, New Zealand
Tasmania makes some excellent wines but there are not often seen. Chardonnay, love it as a Burgundy or not as a new world wine. This is pretty good.
You get floral aromas and a creamy texture on the plate with flavours of citrus and grapefruit. Its fresh and youthful and very easy drinking. Decanter World Wine Awards gave this a Commended. Stingy in my view, easily a Bronze medal and possibly a Silver medal in the the right mood.
Have it with pork, salmon or tuna steaks or drink gentle to really appreciate it. At AUD20 a bottle its good value.
Devils Corner, Chardonnay 2016, Tasmania
Capitan Julian, Tempranillo is dry, bold with a dollop of oak. You could sum up this wine like that, but there’s more.
There’s black fruit on the nose and oaky notes. Its smooth on the palate with blackberry, vanilla, spice and hints of tobacco with firm, but not overly powerful tannins. Steak went very well with this wine and even a few days later it was easy drinking on its own.
Its the price that’s the issue here. At £6 a bottle its ridiculously cheap. how, why they are selling it this cheap is a mystery. Brilliant for the drinker though.
Ontinium, Capitan Julian, Tempranillo 2015, Spain
To sip an aged Malbec that has matured is a fine experience I was once told. An old wine is like silk rather than velvet. True, but it seems 11 years old is not old enough for a new world £15 Malbec. This is as fresh as when it was bottled, bold, dry, grippy tannins and flavours of sour cherry, spice and oak. It tastes better than it smells, not much going on the nose really, there’s a oaky cherry aroma but its all a bit one dimensional on all fronts. Maybe its been left too long or not long enough!
Its not bad but its pushing the price bracket, its a £10 or less bottle really.
Gran Lorca Poetice, Malbec 2009, Mendoza, Argentina
From central Spain this is a light, dry white. With flavours of apple and citrus, esp lemon and lime its quite refreshing. Simple in many ways but that’s OK because you will want to drink this as a summer quencher. Best with chicken or pork dishes if you have having this with food, personally I would drink it on its own.
Cuatro Rayas, Cantarranas Verdejo 2018, Spain
Flaming heck this is good. Sure I bias towards desert wine, love it. There are poor ones and stonkingly fabulous ones, but what is this like?
Aromas of butterscotch and apricots with honey notes you get a sense that this is a fine desert wine. Additional flavours of pineapple, citrus and freshness follow. Its not sticky but there is a presence, quite balanced with sweetness, flavour and acidity.
International Wine and Spirits Challenge gave Bertons a gold medal and they are spot on, truly excellent. Aldi have got this wine spot on at £6 a half bottle, excellent value.
Berton, Botrytis Semillon, Murrumbidgee River, Australia
Light, dry, smooth, good fruit levels with a decent hit of acidity is what describes this wine. There are tannins, these are well integrated and there’s red fruit aromas of sour cherry and redcurrant on the nose and in the mouth. You get extra flavours of plum, spice, herbs and oak which add up to a great experience.
Germany wine is so under rated outside of Germany. Yes in the past and still now, we in the UK don’t always get the best in the supermarkets, but go to a wine merchant and you can get some crackers with very few duff ones. This got a silver at the Decanter World Wine Awards and it well deserves it.
H J Kreuzberg, Sonnenberg 2016, Spatburgunder, Ahr, Germany