47 Degrees, Chardonnay, Moldova
47 Degrees, Chardonnay from Moldova is a pretty good example of a decent white wine from Moldova. It’s an off dry Chardonnay that’s soft on the palette with immediate aromas of honey and flavours of pineapple, lemon, honey and an underlying oak layer. It’s the oak I wasn’t a big fan off but saying that I did like it.
At £7 a bottle from Majestic Wines It’s pretty good value.
The Guv’nor, Majestic Wine, Spain
The Guv’nor from Majestic Wine is wine from Spain that really surprises for it’s an amazing white wine blend. It is fresh and crisp with lots of citrus with hints of pineapple. Great acidity, balanced and at £6 a bottle it’s amazing value too.
New Zealand wine was made on the back of some excellent Sauvignon Blanc, Cloudy Bay and Greywacke to name 2.
Pinot Noir is another excellent wine that New Zealand produces and so far I’ve not had a bad bottle, you do get some poor NZ Sav Blanc now a days. Russian Jack is Majestic wine in house NZ Pinot Noir and at £13 a bottle it’s not a cheap NZ Pinot Noir.
You get a fair amount of red fruit, strawberry, redcurrant, plum, cherry, both on the nose and in the mouth. It’s dry with an earthy undertone but it’s a little light all round. There’s little tannins and it’s quite smooth. At £10 or under this would be great but for 3 or 4 pounds more you can get better. Personal I would say nice, but spend a bit more.
Russian Jack, Pinot Noir 2017, New Zealand
I am a fan of desert wines, sip on their own or have with, well desert, they give that warm, sweet happy feeling. I accept that those feelings could be caused by all the other alcohol drunk earlier in the evening.
Thereare a few excellent desert wines coming from Australia and New Zealand, the Ned, D’arenberg and De Bortoli, who produced a Decanter gold medal winner under the Tesco Finest label a few years ago.
This Sauvignon Blanc from Waihopai Valley is similar to D’arenberg’s Stump Jump Sticky Chardonnay. The grapes have been allowed to hang on the vine for longer allowing them to really ripen and suffer from Botrytis for extra sweetness. There are aromas and flavours of honey, citrus and apricot. The acidity is high but is wonderfully balanced, never drink too much, just sip and enjoy. At £16 for 500ml its very good value.
Sticky – New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc desert wine