Made from vines that are over 50 year’s old and matured in oak barrels this has aromas of oak and concentrated citrus. There are flavours of citrus and oak with a creamy, thicker texture. This is a very accomplished wine but best with food. At £15 a bottle it’s not cheap but worth trying.
Stellenrust old vine Chenin Blanc from South Africa
From the Frankland River area of Western Australia this is not your average bottle of wine. The wine has changed going into garnet in colour with aromas of black cherry, spice and Smokey under tones which fade very quickly Kevin this is 5 years old not totally surprising however at AUD70 a bottle it should be better than this. Tannins are present but this is a more fruit driven wine now and that’s I think positive thing.
At AUD 70 a bottle it’s a little pricy, excellent but pricey.
Houghton Thomas Yule Shiraz 2014 – Western Australia
This is a Languedoc big red wine made with a mix of 3 grapes, Syrah 40%, Grenache 30%, Mourvèdre 30%. It’s an organic, vegan friendly wine where they let the whole bunch grape sit for 20 days, punching down the bunches each day so to extract all their flavours. You get a aromas of strawberry and cherry with hints of mint. The tannins are there but they balance well with the fruit flavours. You get what you smell with subtle flavours of violets and herbs added in. I drank this over 3 nights as I really enjoyed it on its own, just sipping away.
At about £18 is not cheap but really quite excellent.
Costes Cirgues Bois du Roi, Languedoc, France
Nouveau Beaujolais was one of the worst ideas anyone ever came up with for it painted what was a rather good wine region with wine which is not fit for consumption. It took me 15 years to go back to Beaujolais and only after an expert gave me a decent bottle.
This is a dry red with good firm tannins that grip the mouth. There are aromas of sour cherries, oak and over ripe redcurrant but the taste is more redcurrant with smokey and spice undertones.
This got a bronze medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards but I think this is better than that. The International wine challenge gave this a silver medal which I believe was right. At about £20 a bottle it’s not cheap but is ftom Fleurie.
Louis Jadot Chateau des Jacques Fleurie
From Marlborough in New Zealand this is an easy drinking dry, fruit driven Pinot Noir rose wine. You get the usual aromas of strawberry and redcurrant and those follows on in the taste. You also get hints of peach and a clean mineral taste.
There’s more flavour that a French Provence rose wine but at £14 a bottle it’s a little bit pricey, very nice but too much for rose. Straight Pinot Noir from New Zealand is only a few pounds more and you get a wine that generally out classes much of the European Pinot Noir reds.
Spy Valley – Pinot Noir Rosé 2017 from New Zealand
I am a fan of desert wines, sip on their own or have with, well desert, they give that warm, sweet happy feeling. I accept that those feelings could be caused by all the other alcohol drunk earlier in the evening.
Thereare a few excellent desert wines coming from Australia and New Zealand, the Ned, D’arenberg and De Bortoli, who produced a Decanter gold medal winner under the Tesco Finest label a few years ago.
This Sauvignon Blanc from Waihopai Valley is similar to D’arenberg’s Stump Jump Sticky Chardonnay. The grapes have been allowed to hang on the vine for longer allowing them to really ripen and suffer from Botrytis for extra sweetness. There are aromas and flavours of honey, citrus and apricot. The acidity is high but is wonderfully balanced, never drink too much, just sip and enjoy. At £16 for 500ml its very good value.
Sticky – New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc desert wine
We had our first Loire Valley wine tasting trip in 2015 and this was one of the last vineyards to visit yet one of the best. Great tour and explanation of the various parcels of land and the different soils in each, the difference in the range of wines was astonishing.
This is their crement, sparkling wine and is one of the nearest to champagne crements I’ve tried. A dry sparkling with aromas of toast and yeast with light citrus notes. The flavours are very much towards that typical toasted bread under tone and dry, high acidity after taste you get with champagne yet stops just short of being to overpowering. £12 a bottle makes this a wonderful sparkling.
Domaine Richou – Loire Valley crement
This is a blend of Dornfelder, Schönburger & Müller-Thurgau grapes, not your typical varieties. Let’s get away from the main grapes and embrace the others out there. This wine is dry with aromas of strawberry and redcurrant and follows on with extra flavours of vanilla and hints of “fruit salad” sweets, the ones you had when you were a child, and get when the wife’s not around.
This is never going to be a massive seller of hundreds of thousands of bottles but it’s a really good rose, decent amount of flavour but easy drinking, excellent to watch the sunset in the garden. At £14 it’s pricey but the reality is that English wine is that price, the vineyards also sell all their wines so people think it’s worth it.
Chilford Hall Blush Rose – English wine
This is a seriously grown up Cava. Made with Pinot Noir grapes and aged on its lees for over 2 years you get elegant small bubbles with aromas of citrus and honeysuckle and hints of yeasty notes. The flavours are subtle and fruit driven with citrus and a creaminess that makes this a refreshing alternative to other Cava’s out there.
The only issue I have is the price, at £25 a bottle its worth it but I can see people just look at the “Cava” part and pass it by, shame for them but good news for those that are willing to try it.
Juve & Camps Blanc de Noirs 2012 Cava from Spain
Cantine do Ora Amicone 2014 (IGT) comes from the Veneto region of Italy and is made with the Corvina grape, just like Amarone. The difference is that he grapes are dried on the vine and not picked and dried in sheds (according to the label).
There’s lots going on here, red and black fruit aromas with spice and medium tannins. This is not as well refined as an Amarone, after 5 years I had hoped it would be smoother. It got a commended in the 2017 Decanter awards but a Silver in the International Wine Challenge, personally a solid bronze medallist in my opinion. It went very well with BBQ meat but I would struggle drinking it on its own and at £13 a bottle I think I would rather stretch to an Amarone for that smoothness.