First Drop Wines Bella Coppia Arneis 2009, Adelaide Hills, Australia (£12.99 from October 2010 New School Wines Ltd, The Secret Cellar, Cambridge Wine Merchants) Clean, fresh and zesty, combining fleshy pear fruit with crisp citrussy acidity and a slightly briny/savoury finish. B+ Zalze Bush Vine Chenin Blanc 2009, Western Cape, […]
California
Tesco Finest Sonoma County Chardonnay 2006 (£9.99 Tesco) Ripe and oaky, but not OTT in either respect, this has freshness and zing missing in virtually all similarly priced competitors, touches of pineapples and peaches, with mealy nuttiness and just the right amount of toasty oak. B+ Wild Boy Chardonnay 2008, […]
Three Californian Chardonnays + a Burgundian interloper
…isn’t all that bad – a couple of pounds, mostly of home-made stuffing. It’s been wonderfully snowy in Saddleworth which has meant that I haven’t been out each evening at all those parties that get squeezed into the Festive Fortnight. Shame on the social front, but good on the waistline. […]
Post-Christmas weight minus Pre-Christmas weight…
It’s a struggle to find sensibly priced Californian wines in the UK – here are three that deserve closer attention… Castle Rock Central Coast Pinot Noir 2008, California (£13.99 Adnams Cellar & Kitchen) Soft spice, gentle ripe raspberry red cherry, a hint of Mivvi lollies (vanilla and strawberry if you […]
Castle Rock Winery – Californian wines that won’t break the ...
Not sure how they’ve managed to do it but Majestic has got hold of a parcel of wines from four Constellation wineries – Bay of Fires in Tasmania, Houghton in Western Australia, Ravenswood in California and Flagstone in South Africa – and are selling them at prices that will doubtless […]
Fill yer boots – New World madness at Majestic
Different names for the same gutsy grape – but how different are they? Watch this to find out