From one of the top producers of Eden Valley you would expect alot and you get it.
Gatt, High Eden Single Vineyard Shiraz 2016 from Australia
Is a Eur5 bottle of sparkling wine from Carrefour any good? This is a bottle of Blanquette De Limoux at Eur5. The first thing that hits you is the intense aromas of apple cider and pear from mauzac grapes, there’s also Chardonnay and Chenin in there. The flavours are more pear. It’s dry and light but a little one dimensional. For Eur5 it’s on the mark cash wise but Carrefour do better for about the same money.
Blanquette De Limoux from Carrefour, France
Britain has a number of well known vineyards producing high quality wines, it also has less well known producers doing the same. Toppesfield vineyard is a lesser known vineyard. It has its range in some of the the Co-Op and Majestic stores and local outlets, it’s 2018 Bacchus is tasting better each month. This time it’s the sparkling Rose wine made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier that I tried. This is their first vintage of traditional method sparkling wine and it’s a cracker. The lack of Chardonnay allows the other grapes to real shine. There are aromas of strawberry, hints of peach with creamy texture, eligate bubbles with fresh minerality on the taste buds.
There are notes of brochure, yeast and bread, but this is a dry, crisp, fruity, sparkling wine that is so much more enjoyable than most champagnes.
Toppesfield sparkling wine made in Essex, UK
I was expecting a sweeter wine but this is dry. Its pale in colour with little aromas of green apple and citrus. This comes through in the flavours but it is a little light for me, I want more flavours. Its not bad, its just behind the completion.
At about £9 a bottle its not over priced at least.
Domaine Salmon – Grande Reserve – Muscadet Sevre et Maine 2018
For our 15th wedding anniversary my wife choose a very special wine. Mill Creek sparkling Shiraz from Stroud in the Hunter Valley, Australia. We had the pleasure of visiting the vineyard and met Helen the wine maker. She makes only thousands bottles a year, not tens or hundreds of thousands like many vineyards. This means she can make small batches of special high quality wines. This sparkling Shiraz had a run of 50 case’s.
There are subtle aromas of red fruit and flavours that include plum and black cherry. There is a great balance of sweetness and acidity, almost as far away from a still Shiraz as you can for a red wine. We had it with duck and homemade orange sauce which was perfect. A number of producers and shops are starting to sell sparkling Shiraz, best to spend more than £15 and get a really good one for your first try. Then try a few cheaper ones, otherwise you could be put off as the cheaper ones don’t have than fine balance.
Mill Creek sparkling Shiraz, Stroud NSW in Australia
Loads of red fruits on the nose with a chunk of leather following on the aroma side, for flavour you get spices, floral undertones and cherries.
It’s a simple no nonsense red wine from the south of France, near the Pyrenees. If it wasn’t for the price I could put this as the red wine for every day, but at EUR22 a bottle it’s just too much.
Domaine de la Perdrix Charakter 2016 – Languedoc, France
Red and black fruits on the nose with a little spice thrown in. Additional flavours of violets, tobacco and oak with refined tannins make this an amazing wine.
At CAD85 a bottle it’s not cheap but boy is it good.
CheckMate Winery – Silent Bishop – 2014 Merlot
Love it or hate it! That’s Gewürztraminer, a Marmite wine. For those not from the UK just Google Marmite, it’s a British food that you had when you were a kid and may still have. I absolutely love Marmite, I do have issues with Gewürztraminer though. And this is a problem when reviewing this grape, I thankful rely on my wife to tell me if this is a good example as she really likes this grape. This is deep golden, yellow in colour showing you that there is real concentration of exotic fruit such as pineapple with honey, big hits of flora and sweet nuts both in the aromas and flavours.
We had this with a fish pie and it did mellow the wine and it did complimented the food excellently. It would also go with Asian food and some Indian foods. I couldn’t drink this wine on its own but with food it’s good, I just have an issue with the £30 price tag. This what’s the issue that my wife thought, great wine but overpriced.
St Michael Eppan – Sanct Valentin 2016 Gewurztraminer
A typical Australian Shiraz is a good start to describe this wine. I could start with saying that this is a very good example. It’s a dry wine with firm tannins that grip the mouth. There are aromas of black fruits and black cherry especially. These follow through in the taste added to with spice, pepper and clove’s. Lots going on which shows a very good winemaker has been involved in the making of this wine. At £15 a bottle it’s at the higher end of the price bracket which you would expect.
Laithwaites McLaren Vale Shiraz 2017 – Australiap
A typical Extra Dry prosecco, lots of fruit but also has a sweeter taste. There are flavours of apple, peach and citrus and that dry feeling from Prosecco
A decent fizz.
Beato Bartolomeo Breganze Prosecco