Category Archives: Red wine – Europe

Lambuena, Crianza, Ribera del Duero 2015, Spain

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Spain produces a lot of wine and some regions get better attention than others. Rioja is probably the most well known, mainly for cheap, red easy drinking wine. Ribera del Duero wines are a little less known but very accessible and affordable with many well under £10 a bottle. A decent one can age for 7+ years. This is a decent one. Deep purple in colour and high in alcohol seem fairly standard for a red wine from a hot region. On the aroma and flavour front theres lots going on, black cherry, vanilla, tobacco which are quite intense on the nose. Undertones of licorice, and sweet spice with hints of smokeyness come through on the taste. The balance and structure are very good with tannins that are softer than you may expect and sweetness that’s welcome.

This for me was an easy drinking wine but a wine that I wanted to savour, not guzzle. Excellent.

Lambuena, Crianza, Ribera del Duero 2015, Spain

Lambuena, Crianza, Ribera del Duero 2015, Spain

Al Cantara, O’scuru O’scuru 2016, Sicily, Italy

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In the UK for £28 a bottle you expect something quite special. This is made from the Nerello Mascalese grape. You get smells of red and black, hints of oak and spice. The flavours are fruity with herbaceous undertones and an earthy nuance, all of which have decent length. It’s a very nice wine, esp with food. We had it with a Quorn Bolognese and it complemented it well.

I would have expected it to be a little smoother and a bit more refined for £28 a bottle. That said, nice bottle.

Oh and cat was found of it too.

Al Cantara Oscuru Oscuru 2016, Sicily, Italy

Al Cantara Oscuru Oscuru 2016, Sicily, Italy

Henry Bouachon, Chateauneuf du Pape 1985, France

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From one of the most respected Rhone families and before the winery became part of Skalli Family Wines, this is 34 years old french perfection. Well it was 34 years old before we drank it. Was is perfect in today’s world of wine?

Its 34 years old and wine at this age is not like the stuff you get in the supermarket or wine merchant. It needs to wake up, to open up and to be slipped, not gulped. The last bit was a challenge to me! There’s delicate aroma’s of redcurrant, oak and light spice notes. These follow in the taste, but you smell and taste these once its been left opened for about an hour, esp the spice notes. Tannins, what tannins. Silky smooth hints are found but I felt joy when sipping this wine. I don’t like heavy tanniny wines, this is such delight to drink.

This probably should have been drunk a bit earlier but its held up very, very well and I think every wine drinker should have the chance to taste older wines and appreciate the changes they go through and what a powerful wine turns into.

These older wines are not cheap and the cheaper Chateauneuf du Pape wines don’t really age well, spend £30+ on a younger wine and leave it somewhere cool and dark for 15 or 20 years to do its thing, in our case, a wine merchant to a wine fridge.

Henry Bouachon, Chateauneuf du Pape 1985, France

Henry Bouachon, Chateauneuf du Pape 1985, France

 

Rioja Vega 2016, Spain

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Made with 75% Tempranillo and 25% Graciano this is a limited edition of only 84,320 bottles! its got a herbaceous and red fruit aroma. There’s a plum and cherry hit on the taste buds, more cherry but subtle background flavours of other fruit, mainly plum but also a little redcurrant which have a good length. There’s definitely tannins, a little rough though which obscure the spice notes.

Have this with food and its better, you need food with a bite, a bit spicy to help soften the tannins and match the little bit of spice in the wine, in my case veggy fajitas.

At £13 a bottle its a bit pricey. A bronze medal winner at the Decanter World Wine Awards in 2019, its good but it should be under £10.

Rioja Vega 2016, Spain

Rioja Vega 2016, Spain

Château Lamartine Malbec 2016 , Cahors, France

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Another french red malbec! I always thought it was in short supply yet and Argentina had the market share but I’ve been drinking quite a lot of french Malbec recently.

I couldn’t quite get a big aroma hit, there are very subtle notes of cooked red fruit and a spice under tone. The taste opens it to more red and black fruit fruits. The tannins are a little harsh and quite oaky with leather poking through.

Have this with food or drink it in 5 years when it hopefully softens, its not smooth enough yet for me. At about £14 a bottle its a bit pricey, a Malbec from Argentina is likely to be better at this price, sorry France.

Château Lamartine Malbec 2016 , Cahors, France

Château Lamartine Malbec 2016 , Cahors, France

Château Villerambert Julien, Incarnat 2017, Languedoc, France

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I like Languedoc red wines, and at Eur13 a bottle this is an amazing cheap wine.

Does anyone need to know more? Made with Syrah, Grenache and Carignan there are aromas of jammy black fruits, pepper with full flavours and a great dryness and acidity balance.

Château Villerambert Julien Incarnat 2017, Languedoc, France

Château Villerambert Julien Incarnat 2017, Languedoc, France

Quinta do Pégo Douro DOP, 2015, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Sousão, Portugal

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Made from Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Sousão grapes this is a portuguese red that is pretty good, really rather good. I could say excellent but if I did that you may not read any further.

This has a rich, ruby colour. Theres are red and black berry flavours with oaky over tones from spending 12 months in french oak. The tannins are of medium intensity but are soft and well integrated. Its a little too dry when drunk on its own but beautiful when drunk with a steak. Its probably great with other meats but steak does it for me.

It’s hard to get a bad bottle of red from Portugal in the UK, it’s more of a case of how good. At £15 a bottle this is very good but drink with food.

Quinta do Pégo Douro DOP 2015 red from Portugal

Quinta do Pégo Douro DOP 2015 red from Portugal

Col de la Ramière 2018, Languedoc, France

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Its another french Languedoc red. I like wines from the Languedoc as they are not so pretentious as other parts of France, or the world for that matter.

Made with Carignan, Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre the are aromas and flavours are quite big, you get loads of red fruit with herbaceous and spice undertones. On the taste you get blackberries coming through as well. The downside is that its a little short on the finish and I would have liked more black fruit.

At about £10 a bottle its a fair price for a reasonable bottle.

Col de la Ramière 2018, Languedoc, France

Col de la Ramière 2018, Languedoc, France

Marqués de Murrieta Dalmau, Rioja 2013 from Spain

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Theres cheap and expensive Rioja and it’s worth just trying the expensive side once in a while. It shows that you should just cut back, drink less but pay more for quality wines.

Redcurrant, cherry and pepper notes on the nose are added to by well integrated acidity and tannins. I had this with food which was probably for the best, but its pretty smooth. Even though it’s 6 years old it’s still a solid ruby in colour and has great flavours.

At over £40 a bottle it’s expensive, great though. If you are pushing the boat out on a Rioja for the first time look at £20 a bottle. You should still see the difference between cheap and pricey.

Dalmau Rioja 2013 from Spain

Marqués de Murrieta Dalmau Rioja 2013 from Spain

Masi Costasera, Amarone 2013, Italy

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There’s lots of red fruit and a hint of tobacco on the nose. There’s a hint of sweetness on the taste with flavours of old leather, dark chocolate with black plum.

This is a big wine, medium to high tannins and with decent acidity that puts in the better half of Amarone out there. At £30 a bottle its the price you pay for decent Amarone, just drink it over several nights, then the price doesn’t seem so high.

Masi Costasera Amarone 2013, Italy

Masi Costasera Amarone 2013, Italy