A fourth set of wines with an Aussie theme in celebration of the week in which Australia Day falls. Today, Cabernet. Ish… Villa Maria Private Bin Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2012, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand (£12.99 Majestic, Morrisons, Globe Wines, Matthew Clark, nzhouseofwine.co.uk) Reasonable leafy fragrance, but there’s a slightly baked edge […]
Chile
A tasting of two halves… Aquitania Carmenère Reserva 2013, Maipo, Chile (£9.95 Winety – looks like I got the price wrong on the video) The more elegant end of the Carmenère spectrum, just the right side of jammy, this has lightly spicy blackcurrant and blackberry flavours joined by a note of […]
Two Carmenères from Chile
If you’d asked me in advance which of these would be my favourites, I don’t think I’d have been too close… Sol de Sol Pinot Noir 2010, Malleco, Chile (£19.95 Winety) Very impressive wine, lithe and fragrant, with a fresh and lightly cooked strawberry edge, s touch of leafy eucalyptus […]
Pinot Noir from Chile, Australia, California & New Zealand
Three different Chardonnays, three different countries, three different styles… Champ Divin Côtes du Jura Chardonnay 2013, France (£15.60 Tanners) Sets precise citrus fruit against muskier pineapple and hazelnut flavours, and adds is flor-like élevage elements for good measure. Lovely fresh, complex style, shames many similarly-priced Burgundies. S Torres Gran Viña Sol […]
Chardonnays from Jura, Spain & Chile
Aquitania is the Maipo winery established in 1990 by Bordeaux big-wigs Paul Pontallier (Château Margaux) and Bruno Prats (ex- Château Cos d’Estournel), along with Chilean winemaker Felipe de Solminihac. The first wines were released under the Paul Bruno label, but they’re now called Aquitania. Since 2002, Ghislain de Montgolfier of […]
Two reds from Aquitania in Chile’s Maipo Valley
Grown-up Chilean Savvy Casa Silva Cool Coast Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Paredones, Colchagua, Chile (£15.95 Oxford Wine Company, Fine Wines Direct, Averys) Precise, high-cheekboned style, with a minerally citrus spine round which some richer nutty, creamy pineapple flavours are wound, elegant, lithe and very tasty. S