Monthly Archives: December 2009


Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Valle Central, Chile (~£7) Classic Chile blackcurrant pastille tinged with mint, but also with a warm Mediterranean dusty herb edge, plus berry and vanilla flavours. B+ Wakefield Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Clare Valley, Australia (£8.49 Majestic – £6.49 until end of Jan 2010) Warm blackberry […]

Cabernet Sauvignons from Australia, Chile, France & Spain


…isn’t all that bad – a couple of pounds, mostly of home-made stuffing. It’s been wonderfully snowy in Saddleworth which has meant that I haven’t been out each evening at all those parties that get squeezed into the Festive Fortnight. Shame on the social front, but good on the waistline. […]

Post-Christmas weight minus Pre-Christmas weight…


Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo Reserve Porto NV (£9.95 per 500 ml Halifax Wine Company, Oakley Wine Agencies) Juicy young port, warm and welcoming, with an almost velvety texture, broad but still fragrant berry and damson flavours, and a citrus tang to the finish – you could almost […]

Four Ports – Quinta do Noval and Quinta Nova




Domaine du Tariquet Les Premières Grives Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne 2008, South West France (£9.40 slurp.co.uk) Off-dry, fresh and zippy white, packed with fruit – peach, pear, apple – with a herby edge and a clean fresh finish. Lovely summer day wine, good with fruit salad. B+ […]

Five sweet wines – France, Chile, Spain, Australia


Houghton The Bandit Shiraz/Tempranillo 2008, Western Australia (£8.99 – available from Spring 2010) Young but not disturbingly so, with bright strawberry, blackcurrant and jammy dodger fruit, a touch of reduction and hints of mint and milk chocolate. B(+) D’Arenberg “d’Arry’s Original” Shiraz Grenache 2006, McLaren Vale, South Australia (£9.95-£12.99 The […]

Australian Shiraz – with variations