Made from the usual grape of Vouvray and the Loire, Chenin Blanc, it has ripe citrus aromas, lemon, pineapple with a note of flora in there. Its an off dry, demi sec, and its soft, rounded flavours make this very enjoyable. Personally I would have this with food, chicken or fish. At about £10 a bottle its a reasonable price.
Chateau Moncontour, Vouvray, France
There’s an oaky, light black fruit aroma thats a little underwhelming. The taste is different, thankfully. Smooth black fruit, blackcurrant, black cherry with hints of redcurrant and violets in there. Its got bold flavours and excellent length. We had this with Beef and it was great but I really enjoyed this on its own. Ay about £10 a bottle, whole sale price or about £25 at restaurant, its a great wine.
Capilla de Bazzo, Malbec 2017, Argentina
Aromas of grass, grapefruit and citrus, although the citrus is more a hint. This medium colour but slightly heavier than you expect from a french Sauvignon Blanc.
I want to say this is acidic but the dribble taste says no. The grapefruit is quite domineering, theres tropical fruit flavours and hints of apple in there but it all makes for a harsh wine. This got a bronze at the Decanter International Wine Awards with 88 points but I can’t see why, sorry but I would expect far more balanced fruit flavours for a wine that got a medal.
At about £10 a bottle there’s better out there. Not one I’ll try again.
Tenute Cadorin Le Favole, Vigneti Castello Sauvignon Blanc 2017, Italy
Lemon, tropical, citrus aromas and flavours abound in this white wine from Spain. Made with the Godello grape. It got a 88 points, Bronze medal at the 2018 Decanter World Wine Awards. There’s good acidity, minerality and balance.
I’ve never had this grape variety before but its nicely rounded and easy drinking. At under £9 a bottle its very good value, very nice wine and very worth a try. Its not going to set the world on fire but you will enjoy it.
La Sonrisa de Tares, Godello 2018, Spain
Pay the extra with Beaujolais because the cheap stuff is generally not worth drinking. The nouveau beaujolais that’s released each year has done more to harm the wine than anything else.
Get a decant Beaujolais and its a light, fruity with light tannins. Some say simple easy drinking wine and that’s what we have here. You get light black fruit with violets in the background and bit of sour cherry and vanilla undertones. There’s a slight hint of bubblegum but the light fruity taste and aromas of blackcurrant is very nice. At £10 a bottle its decant value for what you get. It got a bronze medal at the Decant World Wine Awards 2019 which is on the spot.
Domaine Pardon Fleurie, Beaujolais 2018, France
A bronze medal winner at the IWSC 2015. I do have a problem with this, why?
Bronza is stingy, silver for sure. Made from Cab Sav the colour is truly amazing, copper in colour, richer and deeper in colour than most roses. There’s tannins, acidity and dryness which are very pleasant and very good balance.
Redcurrant is the dominate flavour followed by a sour cherry undertone with a bit of strawberry, raspberry and minerality.
Fresh and flavourism is a good way to describe this wine. For me this is a very good rose wine. For under £10 a bottle its very good value.
J.Bouchon Reserva Rosé 2015, Central Valley, Chile
This was a silver medallist in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2018. At about £20 a bottle it needs to good but there are a few issues
But this comes from the Mosel and they know how to make great wine. The colour is ruby, its starting to age a bit and smells of red cherries, sweet spices and has a bit of woody/pine notes. This is a lovely light wine, pretty smooth and dry but it does have acidity in there, a little more than you may expect. Flavours of red berries, light oak and hints of vanilla, pepper and smoke, make this an elegant wine that we opened a little early but still really enjoyed. Put it with chicken or pork once its about 8-10 years old to get the best of it.
You may think what’s the kettle got to do with the wine, absolutely nothing.
Weingut H.J. Kreuzberg Devonschiefer, Spatburgunder Trocken 2016, Ahr, Germany
Yep a sparkling from Brazil, a chardonnay from that well known wine mecca, Serra Gaucha in Brazil. So whats it like.
Its clean looking, straw colour with a fresh apple aroma and hints of citrus and minerals. Its pretty high in acidity and the flavour is more fruit driven than the champagne brioche. Its quite light in both flavour and in texture and very dry. It reminds me of some of the english sparkling wines in Suffolk and Norfolk.
Drink on its own or with fish or chicken. This got 89 points at the Decanter World Wine Awards and that’s spot on.
Garibaldi Chardonnay Brut, Brazil
McGuigan wines are known for cheap and readily available and that’s a fair comment.
That doesn’t mean that they are not any good, but be realistic. This cellar select Shiraz is no different, enjoy it for what its worth, a £7 Shiraz. Its a one dimensional red wine with lots of black fruit, medium dry tannins with reasonable length but nothing else. No complexity and no multiple flavours.
This is not a great wine but a supermarket £7 red that is inoffensive and easy.
McGuigan Cellar Select Shiraz 2016, Australia
Dark purple/ruby in colour and massive black cherry aromas with pepper and spice undertones, dry but not like its sucking your mouth total dry which is a very good balance. The flavour matches the aroma of black cherry and vanilla and soda hints, subtle but there.
Its lacking something that I really can’t think what is or may be its the amount black cherry you smell and taste.
Its pretty good and at £10 its a decent red wine. It would go well with beef stew or a cheese board if you don’t want port or desert wine.
Carnivor, Zinfandel 2015, California, USA