Maison Gutowski, M–G Rosé Grande Cuvée, 2019, Provence, France
Provence normally screems rosé and this is typical of Provence, albeit this one from Maison Gutowski is a good rosé.
There’s not much on the nose but there are sublime flavours of redcurrants, citrus, watermelon and grapefruit. It’s dry, high in acidity and refreshing. It’s over £15 a bottle so not cheap, that’s the only fault in it.
Spain produces and also lots of wine and not all of it particularly good however this one from Vina Arnaiz is pretty good, I’ll go as far as say is excellent.
Dry, fresh and full of flavour. There’s a real freshness on the nose with delicate notes of citrus and stone fruit. There’s flavours of lemon and lime with a little bit of grapefruit. The acidity thats there, you know it’s there but so well integrated, it would be fantastic with seafood. Downside is that you can easily drink a bottle of this in one go.
Vina Arnaiz, Verdejo, 2019, Rueba, Spain
Calmel & Joseph, Les Terroirs, 2019, Languedoc, France
Made with Syrah Grenache and Carignan this is a full on red which packs plenty of aromas flavours. It’s a bold dry my red with decent hit of acidity. There’s aromas of tobacco and chocolate and and sour cherry, you’re getting additional flavours of BlackBerry and redcurrent.
At £12 a bottle us a bit expensive but it’s well made with good length.
I had never heard of Fourth Wave Wine or their Farm Hand, Organic, Cabernet Sauvignon but I certainly like it. You get a hit of blueberry and then blackberry on the nose with additional flavours of cherry and this is a very fruit driven, soft but very dry red wine. It’s not complicated, just well rounded and very easy drinking.
It only got a commended at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2020 which is stingy, bronze medal surely! At £9 a bottle it’s great value and worth a case any day.
Fourth Wave Wine, Farm Hand, Organic, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2019, NSW, Australia
Chapel Down make approx 1 million bottle of wine a year and this offering of sparkling Bacchus shows that a big(ish) UK wine maker can make decent wine.
With this dry white wine you get aromas and flavours of gooseberry, elderflower, pineapple and citrus with an undertone of grapefruit nodding its way through. Sure there are places like Hambledon or Camel Valley that make better but they also cost more and at £18 a bottle this is great alternative.
Chapel Down, Bacchus Sparkling, 2019, England
I’ve not had many dry white Bordeaux wines and this one from Château Guiraud was tasted by me and 3 other, all socially distancing in the garden, on a warm Sept evening.
There’s aromas of smoke and hints of minerals and citrus, on the taste front you get notes of gooseberry and citrus and a big wack of grapefruit. Its this grapefruit that we had an issue with which over powered the other elements. The colour is a lovely lively lemon and the length is good and its a bit heavier in the texture than most white wine, which is good but its too unbalanced.
We had it with a few spring rolls but I think a creamy pasta dish or fish with lemon and herbs would be needed to make this worth drinking. At £16 a bottle is a bit pricey and there are better Bordeaux whites out there I was told.
hâteau Guiraud, Bordeaux Blanc Sec, 2019, Bordeaux, France
Malbec is normally, dry, bold and smooth. This is no different although both aromas and flavours are not quite as bold as I’ve had in the past. Its pretty smooth and and its dry. There are aromas of blackcurrant and an underlying dryness that makes this a sippable wine on its own or drinkable with food, bread and cheese is a good combination I found.
Flavours are black fruit as expected but they are not as expressive as I would have like. I like the dryness and smoothness. Its a good solid Malbec, just not fantastic. At £10 a bottle it is decent enough value.
I think the cat liked it!
Opi Malbec 2019, Mendoza, Argentina