Been in France for most of the last fortnight, but managed to find time last week to host a tasting of Henschke wines for the enterprising West London Wine School. Afterwards I sat down with proprietor and professional hat-wearer Jimmy Smith to talk about what we’d been tasting. First three […]
Riesling
Kuentz-Bas Riesling Tradition 2008, Alsace, France (£9.50 The Wine Society) Clean and fresh, yet quite full, lots of green apple and citrus tang plus an undercurrent of spicy minerality, full but dry finish. S- Crossroads Medway Vineyard Riesling 2009, Marlborough, New Zealand (£9.50 Mentzendorff) Just too simple, with lemon & […]
Riesling from Alsace, Australia & New Zealand
O Fournier Urban Uco Torrontes 2009, Cafayate, Salta, Argentina (£7.50 Bowes Wines) Clean, fresh, zippy, the grapey edge of Muscat meets the more perfumed hand-cream and lychee edge of Gewürztraminer, not hugely complex but good perfumed quaffer. B(+) Snoqualmie Naked Riesling 2008, Columbia Valley, Washington State, USA (~£11.50 Stratfords Wines) […]
Rieslings from Germany & Washington State plus a tasty Torrontes
A couple of wines from a well-known (in the UK at least) singer’s estate in the Algarve plus a rather unusual sweet wine from the Ribatejo – or Tejo, as we should now be calling it. Onda Nova Verdelho 2008, Algarve (£9.99 www.mollybrownswinelist.co.uk ) Clean, fresh, tight peach, citrus peel […]
Portugal – white, pink and sweet
Cast your mind back, dear reader, to the year 2000. Pulp fans were actually able to discover what that girl in the song was doing on Sunday Baby (not much in reality, but the cafe at IKEA was open), Bordeaux produced a spectacular vintage, certainly a candidate for vintage of […]
Mount Horrocks Rocks
Thanks Enotria for the six Rieslings that landed on the doorstep recently, two with corks, two with screwcaps and two with those very pretty Vinoloks. It’s been a rather soggy afternoon in the Pennines, but these brightened up matters considerably. More on this week’s First Taste page here.