Rieslings from Australia has come a long way in the last decade and this one from Rawsons Retreat shows another example of why Riesling is such a great grape. Dry with a decent level of acidity and aromas of ripe pineapple and kerosene that are followed with additional flavours of honey, lime and green apple.
At £7 a bottle its a wine that grows on you, not outstanding but great for curling in front of the TV.
Rawsons Retreat, Riesling, 2015, Australia
Italian wine gets a lot of mixed press and this red from San Marzano shows why.
This is a bold, dry red wine which is smooth and fruity. There are aromas of plum, blackcurrant, tobacco and leather with jammy fruit flavours. Its here that the wine for fails for me. The flavours are overtaken by the jamminess and this masks what should be a complex and fine wine. As it is its an OK red for a party in an impressive bottle.
At £20 a bottle its over priced.
San Marzano, Vindoro Negroamaro, 2015, Italy
I have a fondness for Malbec and Mendoza produces some of the best in the world and this one from Matías Riccitelli is flippin great.
A wonderfully deep purple in colour with aromas of cassis, blackcurrant, spice, leather and hints of violets it opens up with flavours of vanilla and caramel with a long lasting taste that is both elegant, pretty complex. This is a wine for a fillet steak or sipping in front of an open fire. Its grown up plonk, which at £30 is fortunate.
Matías Riccitelli, Malbec, 2015, Mendoza, Argentina
Campo Viejo from spain produces a lot of wine and this winemaker’s art got a solid bronze at the Decanter World Wine Awards in 2018. Its a very easy drinking red Rioja.
It’s got a nice deep red colour, just starting to age a little, but its 5 years old after all. the aromas are red fruit, cherry and hints of blackcurrant and a little earthiness. The taste is firm, good concentration of fruit, with notes of spice, vanilla and hints of tobacco and a cloves. There are medium tannins that are soft but balanced and decent length of flavour.
I enjoyed this and under £10 a bottle is good value.
Campo Viejo, Winemaker’s Art, 2015, Rioja, Spain
East Anglia can produce some fantastic Bacchus wine and Tuffon Hall is in this category. A wonderful light lemon color with aromas of grass, green apple and hints of pineapple. It’s a light wine in texture and the flavors are subtle with citrus, lemon, pineapple and a creaminess undertone that makes this dry white wine absolutely delicious.
At about £12 a bottle it’s on the money for English wine, which is a shame in some ways as it will put some people off what is an excellent white wine.
Tuffon Hall, Bacchus, 2015, East Anglia, England
Tuscany chucks out hundreds of different great quality wines and a lot more good wines each year and this Poggio Badiola, Toscana is the latter. Its a blend of 70% Sangiovese, and 30% Merlot and it gives you aromas of black fruit such as blackberries, black cherries with spice and tobacco. These follow into the flavours but there’s also a toasty under tone in there I think. The finish a bit short and not quite as fully flavoured as I would like, even at £14 a bottle. This medium body, dry red is better with food, pizza, meat dishes or hard cheese.
Mazzei, Poggio Badiola, Toscana, 2015, Tuscany, Italy
Piedmont in Italy does some excellent wine and this Montalbera Ruche di Castagnole Monferrato, La Tradizione is a great example.
A lively red in colour with a smell of raspberries, violets and blackberries. Tasting this you get a sense of balance between the dryness, tannins and black fruit. This is a long lasting wine with the flavours lasting and you wanting to have a second glass.
At £20 a bottle its a bit pricey but very good.
Montalbera, Ruche di Castagnole Monferrato, 2015, Piedmont, Italy
This Marsanne, Roussanne blend from the Glenlofty Estate located in the Pyrenees, Victoria, Australia is very drinkable but is it fantastic? This 2015 got a bronze at the IWSC awards and bronze at the Decanter World Wine Awards
This is a fresh, dry wine with lime and honey aromas which are joined in the flavour department with melon, pear, citrus and hints of flora. This is best to be left 5 or 10 minutes after pouring as the flavours are more pronounced once the wine is allowed to open up. Its a very good wine which I think should have got a silver medal.
It worked with fish and chips and also on its own.
Glenlofty Estate, Marsanne Roussanne 2015, Pyrenees, Victoria, Australia
Capitan Julian, Tempranillo is dry, bold with a dollop of oak. You could sum up this wine like that, but there’s more.
There’s black fruit on the nose and oaky notes. Its smooth on the palate with blackberry, vanilla, spice and hints of tobacco with firm, but not overly powerful tannins. Steak went very well with this wine and even a few days later it was easy drinking on its own.
Its the price that’s the issue here. At £6 a bottle its ridiculously cheap. how, why they are selling it this cheap is a mystery. Brilliant for the drinker though.
Ontinium, Capitan Julian, Tempranillo 2015, Spain
A bronze medal winner at the IWSC 2015. I do have a problem with this, why?
Bronza is stingy, silver for sure. Made from Cab Sav the colour is truly amazing, copper in colour, richer and deeper in colour than most roses. There’s tannins, acidity and dryness which are very pleasant and very good balance.
Redcurrant is the dominate flavour followed by a sour cherry undertone with a bit of strawberry, raspberry and minerality.
Fresh and flavourism is a good way to describe this wine. For me this is a very good rose wine. For under £10 a bottle its very good value.
J.Bouchon Reserva Rosé 2015, Central Valley, Chile