Contea di Castiglione Barolo 2005, Piedmont, Italy (£9.99 Morrisons) Light and gentle, with a slightly cooked character to the plum, cherry and red berry fruit, hints of rose petal and rusty iron, and a fresh but chewy finish. B(-) Marco Porello Nebbiolo d’Alba 2008, Piedmont, Italy (£11-12 imported by Winetraders […]
Adelaide Hills
First Drop Wines Bella Coppia Arneis 2009, Adelaide Hills, Australia (£12.99 from October 2010 New School Wines Ltd, The Secret Cellar, Cambridge Wine Merchants) Clean, fresh and zesty, combining fleshy pear fruit with crisp citrussy acidity and a slightly briny/savoury finish. B+ Zalze Bush Vine Chenin Blanc 2009, Western Cape, […]
Three Cape Chenin Blancs + Viognier, Arneis & Marsanne
Da Vinci Chianti 2008, Tuscany, Italy (£8.99 Liberty Wines, Whole Foods, Noel Young) Juicy, earthy style, combining violet-scented bitter cherry & raspberry flavours with a herby wildness and a sappy, refreshing finish. B+ Poggiotondo Chianti Superiore 2007, Tuscany, Italy (£11.99 Liberty Wines, Whole Foods, Noel Young) More flesh and polish […]
Italian and Italo-Australian reds from Sangiovese & Montepulciano
McHenry Hohnen Semillon Sauvignon 2009, Margaret River, Western Australia (£9.99-£10.99 – see below for vast list of stockists) A touch of green pepper and citrus, but it’s English summer fruit flavours that dominate – apples, pears, and rhubarb – with all being kept in check by a spine of fresh […]
Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigio? Plus Chenin and WA SSB ...
Xerolithia White, Peza 2008, Crete, Greece (£7.99 Oddbins) Nice mix of richness and crispness, rounded and fleshy, with some pineapple flavours, but also a slightly pithy, piney edge and an almost volcanic note on the finish. B(+) Alois Lageder ‘Vogelmaier’ Moscato Giallo 2006, Alto Adige, Italy (£7.60 in the Bibendum […]
Miscellaneous whites from Australia, France, Greece and Italy
Bisol ‘Cartizze’ Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Superiore 2008, Veneto, Italy (£22.99 Bibendum) Starts off lush and peachy, but then the minerally restraint kicks, adding a drier, more serious, clay-like edge and keeping you coming back for more. S- Cono Sur Brut NV, Bío-Bío, Chile (£9.99 Morrisons, Oddbins, Tesco.com) Toasty sweet’n’sour Riesling […]