Chateau Bonhomme, Mademoiselle, Minervois, 2017, France
South West France produce lots of wine and this blend of Grenache, Syrah, Carignan and Cinsault from Chateau Bonhomme is half decent. Bold, dry and plenty of tannins. There’s spice, oak and lots of red fruit on the nose that come through on the flavour and are join with plum and pepper notes.
Its a good wine which needs food to really balance out some of the harshness. Steak or tomato based foods are the ones to go for with this red.
English red wine is hard to get right and this blend of Regent, Rondo and Triomphe D’Alsace grapes gives it quite a rustic taste and aroma, quite farmyeard on the nose and smokey and woody finish on the taste.
Its pretty light and very low tannins. This is either an acquired taste wine or one to drink with food.
Herdade Penedo Gordo, Monte Penedo Gordo, Reserva, 2014, Portugal
Bold, dry and reasonably smooth this is another good red wine from Portugal. You get lots of aroma, black fruit, oak, earthy with hints of leather. The flavour is pretty full on with spice and vanilla joining lots of fruit with a decent finish and good blance.
Ar Eur15 a bottle its on the mark for value. Its a good posh BBQ wine.
Bardfield, Anne of Cleves, 2017, Essex, UK
We have visited Bardfield and its an english vineyard that make great easy drinking summer wines. Made with the Bacchus grape you get fresh citrus on the nose and in the taste that’s joined by a lime and lemon under note. It has good length its clean fresh taste makes this a great white wine to just drink on a hot summers day watching the world go by.
At £12 a bottle its what you pay for english white wine. A shame in some ways as the price will put some people off.
Albert Mann, Prinot Gris, 2013, Alsace, France
Albert Mann is a quality producer, getting a bad bottle is very unlikely and this standard Prinot Gris is no exception. There’s a slight kerosine undertone with lots of pear coming through on the nose. Its medium, on boldness, acidity and dryness. You get a creaminess, honey and fresh citrus flavours which make this easy to drink with a salad, white meats yet perfect to just sip throughout the evening in the garden on a summers day.
At about £20 its a little pricey but great quality.
Smith Woodhouse, 1988, Madalena, Vintage Port, Portugal
I love port, esp vintage port and this Smith Woodhouse 33 year port is pretty good. There’s aromas of leather, black cherry, chocolate and spice with additional flavours plum, blackberry, toffee and a silk like texture.
Late bottle vintage and normal port are more velvet in texture, this is more delicate but with plenty of depth. Its not in the same league as a Grahams or Taylors vintages of the 70’s or 80’s but its well worth trying.
Zambartas, Rosé, 2017, Cyprus
This was quite a surprise, not so much that its from Cyprus as most countries have the ability to make excellent wine but that the flavour is so good.
Made with Cabernet Franc and Lefkada (I had not heard of that one before) its a deep red for a rosé, this is no weedy Provence rosé. Dry with light red fruit aromas, the surprise is the range of flavours, strawberries, raspberries, melon, cherry. Its a clean, fresh wine that really is a delight to drink. At £13 a bottle its not cheap but thats price for quality.
Chardonnay, Yarra Valley, Australia
Australian Chardonnay use to be a bit oaky and big and this one from Soumah in the Yarra Valley has a lot of that.
Its dry with little aromas but a chunk of oak on the flavour front. Your do get flavours of citrus, apple, grapefruit and hints of vanilla but the oak is too much for me. Its not terrible but at £12 a bottle there are better Chardonnays out there.
Moet & Chandon, Brut, Champagne, France
Its Champagne and with the Moet name behind it, its going to sell but is it any good?
Its Dry and acidic, made with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier it has a yeasty, toasty nose that follow through with hints of citrus on the flavour front. Ideally pair with shell fish or have watching a sunset. Its decant sparkling although I still favour Bouvet sparkling on a personal basis, esp with that costs a £10 when the Moet costs over £30 a bottle.
Shawsgate, Rosé, 2016, Suffolk, UK
Shawsgate is based in Suffolk, in the UK and does a rather good red wine, but this time I’m trying Rosé which is actually really very good, not just for English Rosé but in general. This is fine stuff at £10 a bottle excellent value.
It has redcurrant and raspberry on the nose and this follows through in a taste with stone fruit and a ziggingness that is fresh, slightly on the sweetest side but it’s more of an undertone sweetness that makes this ready excellent summer drinking. If this was the only rosé I had all summer I would not be disappointed. It’s probably the best rosé I’ve had in 2021.