Cantina di Negrar, Appassimento, Italy
At £10 a bottle this Appassimento from Cantina di Negrar has got to be the bargain of the year.
This dry, smooth red wine has soft tannins and decent lengh. Plenty of cherry, plum, chocolate and spice aromas and flavours. It’s not overly complex but has enough for you to sip and enjoy over the evening on its own or with food.
Majestic wines have a real corker here, worth few bottles when you want to treat yourself.
Scriani, Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso, 2019, Italy
As you would expect from a Valpolicella classic this is very good red wine from Scriani. Its on the dry side, bold but smooth with plenty of red and black fruit flavours. It’s got excellent length of the flavours and even went well with salad but better suited with pasta dish or a lump of red meat.
At £18 a bottle it’s not cheap by red wine standards but decent for the quality of a Valpolicella.
Vinalba, Reserve Malbec Touriga Nacional, 2020, Argentina
Vinalba make a lot of wine and it’s generally decent. This is no different it’s a fairly simple dry red wine with decent length and flavours of cherry, redcurrant, a little blackcurrant and hints of chocolate. The IWC gave this 95 points which seems very high to me. It did go very well with a big plate of cheese and biscuits but at £12 a bottle it’s a bit overpriced, its wine to just drink not to think about.
Loire Rosé is pretty good and this one from Majestic is a bit sweeter than the dry Rosé you normally come across. There’s enough red fruit flavours and aromas to stop it from being lack luster but there is something just not there, maybe the sweetness throws you, the price of £7.99 on a mix six price is OK but not one I’ll try again.
Feu, Rosé d’Anjou, 2020/21, Loire, France
Winbirri, Solaris, 2019, Norfolk, UK
A few years ago Winbirri won a Decanter world wine award trophy which is some achievement. That was for their Bacchus but their Solaris is very good, it’s dry and crisp but with a softness that is very palatable. Lemon, blossom and stone fruit flavours with a slight tartness on the end makes this perfect for fish, salad or as an aperitif.
At 13 a bottle it’s what English wine usually costs, it’s a shame as it puts people off trying English wine.
A pretty colour, nice bottle and interesting label doesn’t always make the wine inside great but this Rosé from Lake Garda is rather good. Everything is subtle from the red fruit aromas and flavours to the crisp, dry feel in the mouth. Its a bit expensive at £13 a bottle but if you ignore the price it’s very enjoyable in the garden on a summers evening listening to birds sing.
Pasqua, ’11 Minutes’ Rosé 2021, Lake Garda, Italy
LaSelva, Prima Causa, Rosso Toscana, 2018, Italy
Made with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot this blend from LaSelva in Itlay isn’t bad. Its a dry red with firm tannins and decent lengh. There’s the typical black fruit flavours with licorice and a little oak in the back ground. I can’t help feel that there’s something missing from this wine and I can’t think what. All the components are there but the pulling together is missing something.
A good wine but not one to go back to in a hurry.at about £10 a bottle it’s decent value.
St. Michael-Eppan, Montiggl, 2017, Riesling, Italy
Riesling is not a wine that I would expect to come out of Italy but this one from St Michael Eppan is pretty good. It’s a dry wine, fairly bold with good length on flavours. On the flavours and aromas side rheres peach, green Apple, lemon, hints of grapefruit and undernotes of minerals with a little honey in a background, a very pleasant surprise.
At £25 a bottle it’s to much at recommend, good but not that good.
The King’s Desire, Pinot Noir Rose, 2020, Marlborough, New Zealand
New Zealand Pinot Noir has a very good reputation, but things are changing and cheaper wines, especially pinot noir from New Zealand, are starting to come on the market. This is good if the quality can keep up with the lower price but I think this is an example where it’s slid in the wrong direction.
Its dry and crisp. You get aromas and flavours of raspberry and redcurrant but it’s a little bit on a flat side and a bit one dimensional. Normally New Zealand Pinot Noir has been at a much higher standard. At £13 a bottle, for a single bottle at majestic, its way over priced but at £8 bottle mix it’s fair value it’s hard to fault it at that price.
Chateau De Targe, Clos de Moulin, Cabernet Franc, 2017, Loire Valley, France
Tried at the 40th anniversary of the Colchester Cellar Club this is Chateau De Targe Clos de Moulin is a very grown up Cabernet Franc. There’s the usual red fruit, plum, with oak and vanilla but it’s all very smooth, dry and structurally tight. It’s very good but you need food to get the best out of it and at £35 a bottle it’s not cheap. The cuvee Ferry Cabernet Franc that they do is better for me.