I didn’t taste these side by side, but I’ve ended up giving them all similar marks – would happily drink them all, but none had me jumping out of my seat and shouting ‘Whoopee!’ Vergelegen Premium Chardonnay 2013, Stellenbosch, South Africa (£12.49 Majestic, Roberts and Speight, Stewart Wines, Liquid Treasure, Noble Green […]
California
Byron Pinot Noir 2013, Santa Barbara County, California (£16 Slurp.co.uk) Some will like the soft, vanilla tinged ripe red berry flavours here, but others will think that (like many Californian Pinots) it veers too much towards the overripe. I tasted this over a couple of days to see if a […]
Four Californian Pinot Noirs
An opinion divider… Apothic Red Winemaker’s Blend 2012, California (£9.99 widely available) Rich, juicy and round, sweet but not excessively so, with a slightly confected blackberry jam/blackcurrant pastille character alongside the creamy vanilla, coffee and chocolate cherry liqueur flavours. C+ (tried this later that evening with a local wine group […]
Apothic Red Winemaker’s Blend 2012, California
Shaw + Smith M3 Chardonnay 2013, Adelaide Hills, Australia (£24.99 Majestic, Bentley’s Wine Merchants, CellarVie Wines, D Byrne & Co, Harrods, Leamington Wine Company, ND John Wine Merchants, Noel Young Wines, Ozwines.co.uk, Philglas & Swiggot, Provender Brown, Taylor’s Fine Wines, The Secret Cellar, Shills of Cockermouth, Slurp.co.uk, Winedirect.co.uk) Initially shy […]
Chardonnay from Australia, France, South Africa & California
Albanta Albariño 2013, Rías Baixas, Spain (£12 Asda) Showing the exotic side of Albariño, this has a rich, almost Viognier-like nut kernel character plus notes of peach, passionfruit and lychee, but just when it was in danger of going a bit wobbly, a stony citrus side chips in to provide […]
Three Albariños from Spain and California
Final post from the week in which Australia Day falls, with the accent today on Pinot Noir. Louis Latour Maranges 2012, Burgundy, France (£23.54 Spirited Wines) There’s gentle raspberry fruit in here, but overall, it’s rather fey, with not enough flesh and flavour to back up the stalky notes, and […]