Category Archives: Red wine – Europe

H J Kreuzberg, Sonnenberg 2016, Spatburgunder, Ahr, Germany

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Light, dry, smooth, good fruit levels with a decent hit of acidity is what describes this wine. There are tannins, these are well integrated and there’s red fruit aromas of sour cherry and redcurrant on the nose and in the mouth. You get extra flavours of plum, spice, herbs and oak which add up to a great experience.

Germany wine is so under rated outside of Germany. Yes in the past and still now, we in the UK don’t always get the best in the supermarkets, but go to a wine merchant and you can get some crackers with very few duff ones. This got a silver at the Decanter World Wine Awards and it well deserves it.

H J Kreuzberg, Sonnenberg 2016, Spatburgunder, Ahr, Germany

H J Kreuzberg, Sonnenberg 2016, Spatburgunder, Ahr, Germany

Domaine de la Perruche, Terroir de Craie 2018, Saumur-Champigny, France

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Made with 100% Cabernet Franc I had high hopes for this, I really like a Cab Franc by the way.
You get blackberry and floral notes on the nose. It’s rich, delicious, extracted flavours of redcurrant, raspberries, plum and cherry with subtle herby notes and dryness that makes this a quite excellent. Decanter World Wine Wards and the IWSC gave this a bronze medal but I think its better than a bronze.
At £12 a bottle its a little more than I would want to pay but it is very good.
Domaine de la Perruche, Terroir de Craie 2018, Saumur-Champigny, France

Domaine de la Perruche, Terroir de Craie 2018, Saumur-Champigny, France

Hacienda Zorita, Abascal Tempranillo, Ribera del Duero, Spain

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So what’s the wine like after 10 years sitting in the bottle just doing it’s thing. Made with Tempranillo this is a vibrant dark looking wine. On the nose theres expressive black fruits, lots of blackberry, spice and oak under notes. Taste wise it’s dry, with excellent soft tannins. Complex flavours of blackberry, plum, cherry, vanilla, black pepper, and a hint of earthiness.

It’s a great wine, although at £25 a bottle it should be punching above the standard Tempranillo’s out there. Is it worth it? Yep.

Hacienda Zorita, Abascal Tempranillo, Ribera del Duero, Spain

Hacienda Zorita, Abascal Tempranillo, Ribera del Duero, Spain

Quinta dos Termos, Reserva do Patrão, Beira Interior 2016, Portugal

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You can get poor Portuguese wine, I can’t think I’ve actually drunk the bad stuff, yet. Is this the time ?

On the nose you get jammy black fruit with a little vanilla and spice. This is a full bodied wine with a decent amount of oak and ripe cherry, blackberry, some very nice fruit characters in there.
With or without food this is a very good wine. Fresh bread and a selection of cheeses made a great combination for this wine. A good old fashion steak and chips would be another great combination. At about £10 a bottle its good value.
Quinta dos Termos, Reserva do Patrão, Beira Interior 2016, Portugal

Quinta dos Termos, Reserva do Patrão, Beira Interior 2016, Portugal

Chateau Bonhamme, Mademoiselle, Languedoc-Roussillon, France.

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Made with Syrah, Grenache, Carignan and Cinsault this red from the Minervois area has exactly what you expect, Aromas and flavours of sour cherries, red fruit and oak, with spice undertones, It has balanced fruit and dryness, have it on its own or with food but have it over a few nights so you can enjoy it.

Chateau Bonhamme, Mademoiselle, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

Chateau Bonhamme, Mademoiselle, Languedoc-Roussillon, France

Domaine Pardon Fleurie, Beaujolais 2018, France

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Pay the extra with Beaujolais because the cheap stuff is generally not worth drinking. The nouveau beaujolais that’s released each year has done more to harm the wine than anything else.

Get a decant Beaujolais and its a light, fruity with light tannins. Some say simple easy drinking wine and that’s what we have here. You get light black fruit with violets in the background and bit of sour cherry and vanilla undertones. There’s a slight hint of bubblegum but the light fruity taste and aromas of blackcurrant is very nice. At £10 a bottle its decant value for what you get. It got a bronze medal at the Decant World Wine Awards 2019 which is on the spot.

Domaine Pardon Fleurie, Beaujolais 2018, France

Domaine Pardon Fleurie, Beaujolais 2018, France

Weingut H.J. Kreuzberg Devonschiefer, Spatburgunder Trocken 2016, Ahr, Germany

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This was a silver medallist in the Decanter World Wine Awards 2018. At about £20 a bottle it needs to good but there are a few issues

  1. Its German – people still think Blue Nunn in the UK
  2. Its £20 plus
  3. German Pinot Noir is not readily available in the UK supermarkets where a lot of wine is purchased

But this comes from the Mosel and they know how to make great wine. The colour is ruby, its starting to age a bit and smells of red cherries, sweet spices and has a bit of woody/pine notes. This is a lovely light wine, pretty smooth and dry but it does have acidity in there, a little more than you may expect. Flavours of red berries, light oak and hints of vanilla, pepper and smoke, make this an elegant wine that we opened a little early but still really enjoyed. Put it with chicken or pork once its about 8-10 years old to get the best of it.

You may think what’s the kettle got to do with the wine, absolutely nothing.

Weingut H.J. Kreuzberg Devonschiefer, Spatburgunder Trocken 2016, Ahr, Germany

Weingut H.J. Kreuzberg Devonschiefer, Spatburgunder Trocken 2016, Ahr, Germany

Domaine Pascal Bouchard Beauroy Chablis, Premier Cru 2004, France

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Old Chablis is not like the fresh flavour, younger vintages. As it ages it softens and loses some of those fresh green notes. The acidity loses its edge and flavours change.

This is true of this Premier Cru, there are subtle light aromas of green apple and vanilla, a lightness of texture and a light taste of creaminess. Delicate and quite special this has been waiting in our wine store since about 2006 and finally we get to try it.

At 15 years old its not something you are going to get even in a decent wine merchant. That’s a shame as few people will get to try what an older white wine tastes like compared to a much one of the same region or producer, even if the younger Chablis is a supermarket standard one.

Find a 15 year old Premier cru and its going cost you upwards of £40 a bottle, my suggestion is by a few of these when young, put them to one side and wait.

Domaine Pascal Bouchard Beauroy Chablis, Premier Cru 2004, France

Domaine Pascal Bouchard Beauroy Chablis, Premier Cru 2004, France

Gevrey Chambertin, Vieilles Vignes 2014 from Domaine Rossignol-Trapet in Burgundy, France

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At £40 a bottle you expect something very special. A friend bought this round for a dinner party we were hosting.

There are delicate aromas of red fruits, redcurrant and hints of raspberries with an earthy and undertone. These come through in the taste but its subtle. Very smooth and elegant but pretty dry.

Its a premium Burgundy and not an everyday wine. We had it with a Norfolk Black Turkey and the extra flavour from this type of turkey worked very well with the light red fruit flavours but also took the edge off the dryness of the wine.

Would I spend £40 a bottle, no, its more my personal taste than anything else. I prefer cheaper fruit driven Pinot Noirs from Burgundy.

Gevrey Chambertin, Vieilles Vignes 2014 from Domaine Rossignol-Trapet in Burgundy, France

Gevrey Chambertin, Vieilles Vignes 2014 from Domaine Rossignol-Trapet in Burgundy, France

Lirac Vignobles Abeille 2017 Mont Redon, Chateauneuf Du Pape 2017, France

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“I love Chateauneuf Du Pape, its the only decent red wine” I’ve heard people say. Ask them why and they can’t really say. may be they are impressed that it can contain 15 different grapes!

The southern Rhone area has been making and selling wine for hundreds of years, they know what they are doing, balance is the key here between flavour, acidity, dryness and aging.

Deep purple in colour with smells of red fruits raspberry and redcurrants and of blackberry, with subtle herb hints and liquorice. There oakey and earthy notes, this is a robust wine with strong tannins but all in balance. At £15 a bottle pretty good value.

ignobles Abeille 2017 Mont Redon, Chateauneuf Du Pape 2017, France

ignobles Abeille 2017 Mont Redon, Chateauneuf Du Pape 2017, France