Chivite Gran Feudo Garnacha Rosado 2009, Navarra, Spain (£7.99 Waitrose) Sappy young rosé packed with blackcurrant, apple & blackberry pie flavours, refreshing and juicy, with a dry, succulent finish. B(+) Palo Alto Shiraz Reserva Rosé 2009, Maule, Chile (£7.99 Asda, Booths) Gentle style, maybe lacking some freshness, pleasant red berry […]
Chile
A dozen wines from Naked Wines arrived on the doorstep – here’s what I thought of the first six… Château Lagrave Cissan Listrac-Médoc 2005, Bordeaux, France (£12.99 www.nakedwines.com) Gentle, tender claret, with touches of gravel, tobacco and cedar to its blackcurranty fruit, and a refreshing finish. S- Ocaso Malbec 2007, […]
Naked Wines Reds – Part 1
Snoqualmie Naked Merlot 2007, Columbia Valley, Washington State, USA (~£11.50 Stratfords Wines) Starts with a pleasant leafy edge, a touch of tobacco and reasonable plummy fruit, but then goes rather dilute, with clunky oak coming through. C Snoqualmie Naked Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Columbia Valley, Washington State, USA (~£11.50 Stratfords Wines) […]
Four Bordeaux-inspired reds from Chile & Washington State
Montes Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Curicó, Chile (£6.50 www.qpwines.com) Clean and fresh, slight lime and lemon jelly, zippy and zesty, with a touch of river pebble, a simple but honest style. C+ Montes Limited Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2008, Leyda, Chile (£9.40 www.qpwines.com) A mixture of lushness, warmer and rounder, a touch […]
Three Chileans, One Washingtonian – all white
Undurraga TH Pinot Noir 2008, Leyda (£10.99 Eagles Wines, Dorje’s Wine Club) A good combination of decadent strawberries (both fresh and tinned) with a fresh, quite grippy structure of acidity and tannin. It’s ripe but never OTT, and there’s an earthy, vegetal note to the finish. S- Undurraga TH […]
Chilean Pinot Noir Part 2
Just tasted my way through a selection of Chilean Pinots for a piece I’m doing for Square Meal. Here’s the verdict on the first four… Emiliana Reserva Pinot Noir 2008, Casablanca (£7.99 Amps, Noel Young) A wine that scores by not trying too hard to impress. Instead it concentrates on […]