Category Archives: Red wine – Europe

Tsiakkas Winery, Porfyros, Cyprus

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Tsiakkas Winery, Porfyros, Cyprus

Tsiakkas Winery, Porfyros, Cyprus

Cyprus makes some decent wine and this read from Tsiakkas Winery is pretty good. It’s made with Grenache, Merlot and Agiorgitiko. Show me best with food because although you’ve got cherry and blackcurrant and plum flavours with a background of oak, coffee and chocolate, it’s a little unrefined. It’s not so much criticism but it’s a wine for place and time and that’s with food. It went well with a burger! It’s an everyday drinking wine that you can just, well drink and don’t think too much about, enjoy it.

 

Cantina Negrar, Vigneti Di Roccolo, Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico, Italy

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Cantina Negrar, Vigneti Di Roccolo, Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico, Italy

Cantina Negrar, Vigneti Di Roccolo, Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico, Italy

There are many Amarone’s out there and this Vigneti Di Roccolo from Cantina Negrar is one of the best Amarone Della Valpolicella Classico wines I have tasted in many years

There is just so much going on, sure it’s bold, it’s also quite smooth. It’s not overly dry and there’s definite softness on the texture. You’ve got cherry, raspberry, redcurrant, you got some plum, BlackBerry, there’s chocolate and tobacco. Hints of coffee and there’s some smokiness and in a bit of earthiness in there as well, which just complement each other superbly.

The only sad thing is that with spring upon us there will be probably be less opportunity to drink Amarone, you really want to drink this in front of the fire or with a hearty stew. We did have it with homemade pizza which which was probably quite decadent. At £25 a bottle it’s actually good value for Amarone, sure it’s £25, but it’s Amarone.

Herdade, Grand Reserva, 2006, Portugal

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Herdade, Grand Reserva, 2006, Portugal

Herdade, Grand Reserva, 2006, Portugal

Made with a blend of Touriga National and Syrah this Grand Reserva from Herdade is Pretty good, sure at £25 a bottle is not cheap but there is quality. It’s a bold wine with plenty of tannins, very dry with massive flavours of plum, blackcurrant, vanilla, oak and chocolate coming through. There are hints of leather and smokiness that are all really well integrated and after 16 years it’s incredibly drinkable.

Franchini, Valpolicella Classico Superiore Sedèse, 2017, Italy

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Franchini, Valpolicella Classico Superiore Sedèse, 2017, Italy

Franchini, Valpolicella Classico Superiore Sedèse, 2017, Italy

Oohh this a great example of Valpolicella Classico from Italy. There are red and black fruit aromas with a dry, medium tannins and good length in the flavours. It’s a firm but soft red wine that lends itself to red meat meals or cheese and biscuits in front of a wood fire.

At £20 a bottle it’s not cheap but for a Decanter Silver medal winner it’s a fair price.

Gamba, Campedel, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Italy

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Gamba, Campedel, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Italy

Gamba, Campedel, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Italy

There are Amarone’s and there are Amarone’s and this one from Gamba is a great Amarone wine. Made with the Corvina, Rondinella, Croatina and Corvinone grapes, its a dry red that has great length and is smooth with well integrated tannins. There are plenty of flavours of red and black fruits, notes of tobacco, leather and chocolate, a bit of earthiness brings this back from being in heaven to a reality that this is just wine but great wine at that. Its a Bentley of the wine world.

The down side to this is the price of £30 a bottle, but thats Amarone for you.

Provins, Les Titans, Pinot Noir, 2012, Switzerland

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Provins, Les Titans, Pinot Noir, 2012, Switzerland

Provins, Les Titans, Pinot Noir, 2012, Switzerland

This Pinot Noir from Provins winery in Switzerland is quite an interesting wine especially for 9 years old. It’s a light very smooth and dry red wine party as you expect from being a Pinot Noir. You got quite a lot of raspberry cranberry with a bit of earthiness. I found it really quite drinkable although others the try it weren’t that convinced, however the next day it fell off a cliff. Most of flavour had gone and it was very bland, probably best to drink up, at this age in one night.

Swiss wines are expensive anyway and it’s £40 a bottle it’s not cheap. Interesting and I would like to try a younger wine from this winery.

Ernst Loosen, Pinot Noir, 2019, Germany

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Ernst Loosen, Pinot Noir, 2019, Germany

Ernst Loosen, Pinot Noir, 2019, Germany

I do like German wine and this Pinot Noir from Ernst Loosen really shows why. It’s reasonably light got lots of redfruit which is vibrant with decent acidity and smooth tannins which makes this a very easy red wine to drink.

It’s on at £10 from Majestic Wines which makes this really quite cheap and worth buying a few bottles.

E. Guigal, Chateauneuf du Pape, 2011, France

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Chateauneuf de pape is one of those classic red wines from the rhone valley France it’s a safe bet if you just don’t know what red wine to buy

Walking with decent hangings and buying dried and yet there are some soft this to it probably best for food it was a mistake as to source that sort of thing but there’s every some amount going on you do get earthy and leather notes with tobacco, vanilla from the Shiraz and plum, black fruits from the grenache.

It’s a nice wine I can’t say it’s the best but I did enjoy it. The biggest problem I have is with the price at around £35 a bottle there’s just better stuff out there. Think of this as the ultra high-end Porsche, do you really get much more than a normal Porsche?

E. Guigal, Chateauneuf du Pape, France

E. Guigal, Chateauneuf du Pape, 2011 France

Bodegas Muro, Maturana, Rioja, Spain

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Bodegas Muro, Maturana, Rioja, Spain

Bodegas Muro, Maturana, Rioja, Spain

This Rioja from Bodegas Muro is made from the Maturana Tinto grape and it is a lot better than the vast amount of Rioja wine out there.

It does the basics really well, medium but grippy tannins coupled with good lengths on the flavours of plum, cherry with a little spice and hints of chocolate. It went down very well with Lamb and steak at a BBQ.

 

 

Abbotts & Delaunay, Boréas Faugères, 2017, Languedoc, France

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This red from Languedoc is a pretty bold, tannic wine. Very dry with peppery notes and spice on the nose. You do get red fruit on the flavour front with reasonable fruit levels coming through but I would definitely recommend having this with food juicy steak or tomato pasta would be ideal.

At about £10 a bottle is decent value.