Chateau Ste Michelle, Syrah, 2017, Columbia Valley, USA
The U.S. can produce up notch wine and this Syrah from Chateau Ste Michelle in the Columbia Valley is a good example. It’s a bold, dry red with aromas of black fruit, oak and chocolate with earthy notes. The flavours are well integrated with softness of plum, cherry and blackberry with licorice and herb hints.
Easy drinking yet perfect with a steak and under £20 it’s a compelling wine to try.
Black Sage Vineyard, Viognier, 2017, Okanagan Valley, Canada
Canadian wine is generally excellent and a lot of the time exceptional, which this Viognier from Black Sage Vineyard in the Okanagan Valley, Canada is. This us a dry, crisp wine. The aromas are clean minerals, citrus and hints of peach these follow through into the taste with lime.
This is a clean wine that has subtle flavours that are delightful, playful and long enough for you to say ooohhh.
Alpha Estate, Assyrtiko Ecosystem, Aghia Kiriaki, 2017, Greece
Wine from Greece is not the first choice for many wine drinkers but this one from Alpha Estates is very good. It has mid yellow colour, going towards straw.
Its a concentrated wine both in smell with citrus and stone fruit coming though. The taste is clean with good length and a decent balance on the flavour front with lemon, peach and flint notes working together.
This is a good wine.
Supermarkets do sell excellent wine and this Extra Special, Chardonnay from the Barossa in Australia from Asda is pretty good, it may not be a gold medalist at Decanter but what I liked about it is how easy it was to drink.
Its light, medium bodied white with light aromas of peach and pineapple that come though in the flavour, there’s creaminess and hints of oak which are very welcomed. Day 2 and the pineapple came through more but still easy drinking. It lacks in many ways but as I’ve mentioned before with other wines, its a wine for a moment. In this case its in front of the TV or in the garden on a summers day. At £7 a bottle its great value, pick up a box of 6 and just enjoy.
Asda, Extra Special, Chardonnay, 2017, Barossa, Australia
The red blend of Syrah, Merlot and Xinomavro from Alpha Estate in Greece is a rather decent red wine.
A dry, reasonable light red it has aromas of red and black fruit with earthy and spice hints. The flavours are defined, plum, blackcurrant and cherry with oak notes, strong but not overpowering.
People rubbish wine thats not from the traditional wine areas but this shows that many non main stream wine countries can produce very good wine. The only downside is the price, EUR20 a bottle is a bit pricey.
Alpha Estate, SMX Red, 2017, Greece
California wine is pretty good in general and this Lynx Petite Syrah, Zinfandel is very good example of a very drinkable red wine. A good deep red in colour with aromas of red fruit and hints of smoke and oak. There are flavours of red and black fruits, strawberry, berry, plum, blackcurrant and its very well rounded.
Soft, fresh with decent length and so easy drinking, Great and its only £7
Lynx, Petite Syrah, Zinfandel, 2017, California, USA
Get a good Beaujolais because otherwise you are likely to be put off for years as it was in my case, this one from Château Bonnet is decent and a good one to start with.
Light, smooth and dry are 3 words i would start with to describe this wine. There are aromas and flavours of red fruits such as raspberry and cherry and also of plum and blueberry with a bit of pepper in there. Its not a complex wine but is very pleasant and easy drinking which is what a lot of consumers want. It reminds me of Australian wines 15 or 20 years a go when they had got it right, right what the consumer liked and wanted. Its just a shame that it costs about £18 a bottle.
Pair with pasta and lighter meat dishes, such as chicken.
Château Bonnet, Vieilles Vignes Chénas, 2017, Beaujolais, France
General the rule of Chateauneuf du Pape is that you spend a lot more than usual to get a good one and £18 a bottle for this Hugues Valrasque one is not quite enough. Its decent but what if you spent another £5 or £7, could you get a better one? probably.
Very dry, bold and reasonable smooth with a chuck of red and black fruits, cherry (lots of cherry on the nose), blackberry, fig, spice with an earthy, oaky undertone. The issue I have is that’s a little unbalanced and not quite “there”. It fails to elevate itself to a great Rhone red, decent but spend more.
Hugues Valrasque, Chateauneuf du Pape, 2017, Rhone Valley, France
Soumah does make a great cool climate dry Chardonnay. The grapes are picked earlier than other vineyards and this gives you aromas of green apple and grass that lead into flavors of grapefruit, stone fruit, citrus and herbal notes that isn’t unpleasant. It has great length and freshness and worthy Decanter Silver medal winner. This is a wine that would go well with sea food or sipping it in the garden on a summers evening.
At £20 a bottle its not cheap but its worth spending a bit extra every now and again.
oumah, Chardonnay, 2017, Yarra Valley, Australia
England produces alot rosé and some are light with little taste and some are full of flavour like this one from Chet and Waveney in Norfolk. Made from the Regent grape, this 2017 vintage has smells of strawberries, redcurrant and hints of cream soda, it’s delightful. Theres a lot of flavour in this and good flavours. On taste front you get what you smell with a bit of raspberry. Well balanced and very smooth this is an outstanding rosé from any country. With or without food this is wonderful. The Redwing line is the latest Regent which I think retails at about £12 a bottle and is very good value, one of my top 5 rosé wines.
Chet and Waveney, Regent, dry rosé, 2017, England