Attila Pince, Birtokbor, 2015, Eger, Hungary
Hungarian red wine can be very good and pretty cheap and this red from Attila Pince is good. A blend of Syrah, Cab France, Merlot and Pinot Noir its dry, pretty bold with good red fruit flavours. Its a bit bland and is just better with red meat or tomato based pasta than on its own. A party wine.
Idiom, Sangiovese, 2015, Western Cape, South Africa
In 2017 we went to South Africa and did a little wine tasting at Idiom. Its quite a place with amazing views and excellent food in the restaurant they have at the vineyard.
Its a solid red wine, not to heavy with very soft balanced tannins and a hint of sweetness. Lots of red cherry and raspberry with notes of tobacco, oak, leather and vanilla with a little smokey undertone that pops through.
Pair with beef or a tomato pasta dish for a perfect match.
Bald Hills, Single Vineyard, Pinot Noir, 2015, Central Otago, New Zealand
New Zealand Pinot Noir is some of the best in the world and this one from Bald Hills really shows class. Refreshing, light, red wine that’s very smooth and dry with lots of cherry and raspberry flavours with hints of strawberry. There’s some oak and chocolate and vanilla in there and earthiness which is refreshing, not overpowering and shows subtlety.
Sure it’s £25 a bottle but it’s worth it.
Thomas Brothers, Greystone, Pinot Noir, 2015, Waipara, New Zealand
Quite wonderful is how I would describe this Pinot Noir from the Thomas Brothers. Read the below if you want but this is the Pinot to get for special occasions, at £50 a bottle it’s not cheap. There’s flawless integration of tannins, red fruit, oak, with hints of chocolate and leather. There’s a smoothness to this dry red wine where nothing is out of place and a desire just to sip and enjoy.
It only got a bronze at the Decanter World Wine Awards which I think is more down to price than quality. I loved this wine.
Zantho, St Laurent, 2015, Burgenland, Austria
Austrian wine has had a bit of a come back in recent years and this St Laurent from Zantho in Burgenland shows why.
There is some much going on, aromas and flavours of cherry, plum, blackcurrant, tobacco, licorice, hints of chocolate and oak. It’s dry, medium bodied with soft but “present” tannins. The length of these are good and integration is excellent.
One of the best wines I have tried in years and at approximately £15 a bottle it’s great value.
Marisco, Pride and Glory, Sauvignon Blanc, 2015, New Zealand
This is the first Sauvignon Blanc from Marisco that I have tried and and the name is quite correct, they can certainly claim pride and glory in what they produced.
You get tropical notes with a bit of gooseberry a little butter and vanilla on the nose and flavours that are subtle reasonably complex but well integrated hint of oak finishes this off and it’s certainly an excellent wine it’s just a shame at £35 a bottle it’s out of reach of most people. The one that is equally as good and half the price that should be tried is the Greywacke standard range Sauvignon Blanc.
Camel Valley, Bacchus Dry, 2015, Cornwall, UK
Bacchus is the english grape as Sauvignon Blanc is to New Zealand and its generally good. There are exceptions and this 6 year old Bacchus from Camel Valley in Cornwall is flippin great. 6 Years old and its still fresh, crisp, light in texture but with loads of flavours of citrus, gooseberry, and a hint of elderflower.
This is wine making at it finest and quite frankly at about £15 a bottle its not cheap but there is value here for the quality.
Saint Péray, Grain de Silex, 2015, Rhone, France
I do like a Rhône valley white but this one from Saint Peray has passed its best though, which is a shame because you can still taste what was.
You get hints of ripe citrus, grapefruit with honey on the nose and with flavours that follow on with peach, almond, melon with buttery notes and a grown up feel. It’s a very acidic wine dry but with good body and I suspect if I had drank this after 2 or 3 years from bottling it would have been a really excellent wine. So lesson learnt, don’t save what you think is great wine too long.
Campo Viejo, Reserva, 2015, Spain
Another Rioja, which let’s face it, it’s fairly standard for UK drinkers of red wine. This is actually pretty good and get red fruits on the nose.
It’s dry, relatively intense in the flavours of plum, redcurrants, oak and vanilla coming through with little bit of herbaceous notes.
It’s normally about £9 which isn’t bad, but get it when it’s 25% off and it becomes pretty good value. It’s not a red wine that’s going to embarrass you and for the summer good drinking.
CM by Carlos Muro, 2015, Rioja, Spain
Rioja produces an awful lot of wine and much of it drinkable and there are some truly excellent reds are produced but is this from Carlos Muro a drinkable or excellent one. The aroma is a little flat, you get some red cherry but that’s pretty much it. It’s a dry fairy bold wine with plum and strawberry flavours and soft tannins which I warmed too. This got a bronze at the Decanter World Wine Awards in 2018. It’s definitely better than most easy drinking and you don’t have to think about it which in many ways makes it a great drinking wine.
At about £20 a bottle it’s too much money though. I think they should really be a £10 bottle at the most.
