Casa Silva Doña Dominga Single Vineyard Syrah 2010, Colchagua Valley, Chile (£7.49 Waitrose) No shortage of plump, plummy sweet berry flesh, but it’s let down by rather obvious wafer-biscuity oak, and while they’ve tried to use reduction (excluding air from winemaking process) to keep some freshness, it hasn’t worked, and […]
South Australia
Chapel Down Chardonnay 2010, England (~£14 – ’09 is current vintage, but ’10 should be available from chapeldown.com, slurp.co.uk, Majestic) (from vineyards in Kent, Sussex & Essex) Pale and very interesting style, quite bracing, and showing easy yeasty bruised/baked apple flavour with a nutty undercurrent – think Mâcon fruit, Chablis […]
Wine Tasting Video: Chardonnay & Chardonnay/Viognier blends – England, Chile, ...
McWilliams Mount Pleasant Isabelle Chardonnay 2010 Tumbarumba, New South Wales (£9.99 Waitrose) Refreshing, fruity style, a mix of citrus (tangerine/clementine) with stone fruit (apricot/nectarine/plum) with a light veneer of smoky toasty oak, ripe but sleek, with a slightly briny tang on the finish. B+ Thorn Clarke Mount Crawford Chardonnay 2010, […]
Wine Tasting Video: South Australian Chardonnay + a NSW interloper
The Spee’Wah Cuvée Chardonnay NV, Murray Darling (£9.50 The Drinkmonger, Bibendum) Simple, sherbetty style, has a honeyed edge to the cooked apple fruit, quite broad and biscuity, but lacks freshness. C Jansz Tasmania Premium Non Vintage Cuvée (£13.99 see below for stockists) Fresh, elegant style, strawberry, raspberry and apple, with a […]
Wine Tasting Video: Australian Sparkling Wine
Nicolas Perrin Syrah Vin de France 2010 (£13.99 Wine Rack) Vibrant, juicy oak-free Syrah, bouncy and fragrant, with a savoury edge to the smoky berry fruit, delicious and refreshing red wine. S(-) Château d’Anglès La Clape Rouge Classique 2008, Languedoc, France (£11.99 Wine Rack) On the mellow side, with the […]
Wine Tasting Video: Syrah/Shiraz from France, Australia & South Africa
Some wines I filmed before Christmas when I’d been banished to one of the darker rooms in the house… Wakefield Estate Merlot 2009, Clare Valley, Australia (£9.99-£10.99 Cheers, Constantine Stores, Majestic, Nidderdale Fine Wines, Oliver’s Beer and Wine, Saxty’s, Sommelier Wine Co) Reasonable ruddy berry and plum fruit with a […]