Marqués de Murrieta Dalmau, Rioja 2013 from Spain

Theres cheap and expensive Rioja and it’s worth just trying the expensive side once in a while. It shows that you should just cut back, drink less but pay more for quality wines.

Redcurrant, cherry and pepper notes on the nose are added to by well integrated acidity and tannins. I had this with food which was probably for the best, but its pretty smooth. Even though it’s 6 years old it’s still a solid ruby in colour and has great flavours.

At over £40 a bottle it’s expensive, great though. If you are pushing the boat out on a Rioja for the first time look at £20 a bottle. You should still see the difference between cheap and pricey.

Dalmau Rioja 2013 from Spain

Marqués de Murrieta Dalmau Rioja 2013 from Spain

Idiom Pinotage 2015 900 series, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Idiom is a family run vineyard, they have modern wine making facilities and a great restaurant which has fantastic views of the surrounding area. The food in the restaurant is really good.

Their wine is good to flipping excellent. Unfortunately the flipping excellent stuff does cost. This Pinotage is about £40 a bottle and is flipping excellent. No really, its flipping excellent. So before I go through the tasting notes it should be noted that £40 a bottle can be justified if you break it down to about £10 a glass which is what you could easily pay in a restaurant for an OK wine, this is flipping excellent, so quite cheap. Also there are only 900 bottles produced.

There’s aromas of dark fruits, plum blackcurrant, cherry. There’s spice notes and a smoothness with medium tannins and dryness that are perfectly in balance.

Pinotage may not have a great reputation but this is, well, flipping excellent. Drink with red meat or on its own in front of the fire.

Idiom Pinotage 2015 900 series, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Idiom Pinotage 2015 900 series, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Masi Costasera, Amarone 2013, Italy

There’s lots of red fruit and a hint of tobacco on the nose. There’s a hint of sweetness on the taste with flavours of old leather, dark chocolate with black plum.

This is a big wine, medium to high tannins and with decent acidity that puts in the better half of Amarone out there. At £30 a bottle its the price you pay for decent Amarone, just drink it over several nights, then the price doesn’t seem so high.

Masi Costasera Amarone 2013, Italy

Masi Costasera Amarone 2013, Italy

Megalit, Thracian Treasure, Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Bulgaria

This is a limited edition of 2000 bottles. Bulgarian wine does not have the greatest reputation. It’s a shame because it can produce great wine. This has aromas of spice, black plum and cherry that flows into the taste where there are firm tannins and  a pretty dry finish. This is fairly standard Cab Sav from Bulgaria, at £13 a bottle it’s over priced. There are better Cab Sav’s at under £10 out there. It’s Commended award from the Decanter World Wine Awards is spot on, drinkable but that’s it.

Megalit, Thracian Treasure Cabinet Sauvignon 2012, Bulgaria

Megalit, Thracian Treasure Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Bulgaria

Cotes de Provence, Infinite 2016, rose, France

Made with Granache and Cinsault it has a beautifully pale colour. There are aromas of raspberry, redcurrant with fresh minerality and a hint of citrus. The redcurrant and minerality flood through in the flavours. It’s a fresh, light, dry wine but the fruit characters are always at the front.

This is a excellent example of a Provence rose. So drinkable and at about £6 a bottle fantastic value.

Cotes de Provence rose infinite 2016, France

Cotes de Provence rose infinite 2016, France

Fritz Haag, trocken, Riesling, Braunebergee 2018, Germany

Germany does some great wine, unfortunately they keep a lot of it. This is one that got out and is over in the UK.

Subtle on all fronts, delicate with soft blossom aromas and a taste of white peach. It’s not in your face with multiple aromas or flavours, it’s just delightful.

Fritz Haag trocken Riesling Braunebergee 2018

Fritz Haag trocken Riesling Braunebergee 2018

Tinwood, Blanc de Blanc, English sparkling

Made with Chardonnay this is a dry sparkling with high acidity. It has fresh citrus aromas which flow through in the taste which are joined by hints of grapefruit and a smattering of lychee and a creamy undertone.

A good example of quality English sparkling wine. At £29 a bottle it’s fair value for English sparkling wine.

Tinwood Blanc de Blanc, English sparkling

Tinwood Blanc de Blanc, English Sparkling

Sire de Beaupre, Brut sparkling wine from Carrefour, France

Bought from Carrefour in Calais this is one of those cheap french sparkling wines. Fresh, clean, hints of pear and completely forgetable.

I’m not even going to try and find a refined aroma or flavour. Is this better than prosecco? Better than most but I’m not sure that’s a big positive. For me treat this as a base for drinking or for adding flavourings such as Cassis. Theres nothing bad but spend a few pounds more and get a bottle of Bouvet Ladubay sparkling wine.

At Eur5 a bottle it is what it is.

Sire de Beaupre, Brut sparkling wine from France

Sire de Beaupre, Brut sparkling wine from France

Cremant Poll-fabaire Brut, Luxembourg

Crisp, dry and fresh aromas of citrus, limes, lemon and grapefruit flavours.  Quite lovely after our main course to cleanse our palette before biscuits and cheese. Cremant is not generally expensive but usually excellent. This is no exception. At £10 a bottle it’s great wine and great value.

Cremant Poll-fabaire Brut, Luxembourg

Cremant Poll-fabaire Brut, Luxembourg

Domaine Les Remparts, Gouttes de lune, Malbec 2017 from France

This is 60% Malbec and 40% Tannat. There are aromas of oak, blackberry, blackcurrant and additional flavours black cherry but the tannins and dryness are too much and detract from any fruit that can be tasted. After trying the wine over a few days we came to the conclusion that this should have been left for another 3 or 4 years to allow it to soft up. At under £10 a bottle there are easier reds to try.

Cotes de Provence rose infinite 2016, France

Cotes de Provence rose infinite 2016, France