The label may be jokey, but the wine is seriously good – why buy £10 Bordeaux when you can have this? Paul Mas Striking French! Merlot Pays d’Oc 2012, France (£9.99 Majestic) Still on the youthful side, with toasty oak quite prominent, but the main attraction is the wealth of […]
Video
Modra Frankinja is also known as Blaufränkisch. And Lemberger. And Kékfrankos. And Jubiläumsrebe. And even Sirokolidtnyj… Pullus Modra Frankinja 2011, Stajerska, Slovenia (£9.95 Winety) Refreshing red wine, juicy and sappy, with a slightly earthy undercurrent to the fresh cherry and blackberry flavours, and a slightly leathery, rustic note on the […]
Pullus Modra Frankinja 2011, Slovenia
Interesting fact: the Fernão Pires grape changes sex and becomes Maria Gomes as you travel further north in Portugal… (In fact many Portuguese grapes have dual identities – Sousão/Vinhão, Aragonez/Tinta Roriz, Trincadeira/Tinta Amarela etc) Tagus Creek Chardonnay/Fernão Pires 2013, Tejo, Portugal (£6.49 Asda) Simple but honest and tasty wine, with […]
Tagus Creek Chardonnay/Fernão Pires 2013
Some Priorat can be a bit bloated and plodding: not this one… Torres Salmos Priorat 2011, Spain (£18.99 Waitrose, vintagemarque.com) A lovely combination of exuberance and freshness, packed with plush berry, plum and damson, with an ever-so-slightly rustic raisinny note too, but there’s also an earthy coolness, presumably a product […]
Torres Salmos Priorat 2011
The second of a couple of 2013 rosés from Yves Grassa’s Domaine du Tariquet – the, first, Rosé de Pressée, is HERE Domaine du Tariquet Marselan Rosé Côtes de Gascogne 2013, South West France (£9.40 Wineservice, Old Butcher’s Wine Cellar) Gentle red berry aromas with a touch of spice – cinnamon? […]
Domaine du Tariquet Marselan Rosé Côtes de Gascogne 2013
Perfect sausage-friendly mid-week glug Le Petit Chat Malin Rouge Pays d’Oc 2012, France (£5.99 Waitrose, Booths, Nisa, Budgens, Londis, Bargain Booze, Rhythm & Booze) It’s a bit jammy – jammy dodger biscuits to be precise – but alongside the berry and briar jam flavours, there’s some earthy freshness and even […]