Petit Verdot

…beginning in Portugal Quinta Nova Reserva Terroir Blend 2015, Douro, Portugal (£16.48 Portugal Vineyards) Smells like a port winery at vintage time, the air thick with heady aromas of berries, cassis, violet and herbs, buoyant, spicy dark fruit flavours in abundance and a backbone of citrus freshness and ripe tannin […]

A mixed bag of reds from around the world…

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Viñalba Malbec Bonarda 2016, Mendoza, Argentina (£9.99/£7.99 mixed 6 Majestic) Alluring, savoury, fragrant style, almost with a Pinot Noir-like character, with its sweet plummy attack and wild hedgerow fruit, lovely texture with a light briny edge to the finish. Great value. S- Clos de los Siete 2013, Mendoza, Argentina (£15.75-£16 […]

Two Argentine red blends

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Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, Margaret River, Australia (£59 Jeroboams) Absolutely delicious combo of richness and refinement, with intense, earthy blackcurrant, blackberry and plum set against notes of graphite, cedar and mint, with slightly vanilla-tinged oak hovering in the background, and a framework of juicy acidity and fine-grained tannins. Very […]

Moss Wood Cabernet Sauvignon 2014, Margaret River, Australia

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Altaïr Sideral 2014, Cachapoal, Chile (£20 Hanging Ditch) Desperately young wine, very Chilean in its blackcurrant intensity, and with the imprint of new oak still to the fore, but behind the currently shouty youthful flavours, there are notes of spice, tobacco and herbs, and enough of a backbone to support […]

Altaïr Sideral 2014, Cachapoal, Chile

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Kaiken Terroir Series Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec/Petit Verdot 2014, Mendoza, Argentina (£9.99 Wholefoods, Fenwicks, Cornelius Beer & Wine) Rich, juicy and ripe, with dark plummy baked berry flavours and notes of, vanilla and marzipan. There’s also a smoky note, maybe from the Petit Verdot, that stays just about the right side of […]

Two Cabernet Sauvignon-based blends from Argentina

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