Adega de Monção, Vinho Verde, 2010, Portugal (was £5.95 The Wine Society) Quite a lot of Alka-Seltzer-like spritz and saltiness, with a touch of sherbet to go alongside the tight, lean apple & pear flavours, bring on the oily fish. B(+) Crasto Douro Branco 2010, Portugal (£8.95 The Wine Society) […]
Wine Education
El Patito Feo Graciano Roble 2009, Navarra, Spain (£8.99 Virgin Wines) Slightly boisterous youngster at the present, but calms down to show pure, plush blueberry and blackberry flesh, a fresher raspberry edge, notes of clove and new leather, and a warm dusty finish. B+ Tesco Finest* Viña Mara Rioja Reserva, […]
Wine Tasting Video: Spanish reds from Rioja, Navarra & Penedes
Casillero del Diablo Brut Reserva NV, Limarí, Chile (£7-11 Morrisons, Waitrose, Ocado, Tesco.com, yourfavouritewines.com) Rather classy fizz, quite full in flavour with hints of apple crumble and a toffee-ish richness, but then a seam of minerality and zesty acidity kicks in, ripe but refined, great value. S- Miguel Torres Pinot […]
Wine Tasting Video: Sparkling wines from Chile, England, New Zealand ...
Casillero del Diablo Merlot 2010, Rapel, Chile (£6-£8 widely available) Quite a flashy, fleshy style, with rich ripe blackcurrant and blackberry plus touches of vanilla, but there’s also a more restrained leafy, cedary edge to add some freshness. B+ Groote Post Merlot 2010, Darling, South Africa (£11-13 Francis Fine Wines, […]
Wine Tasting Video: Merlot & Malbec from the southern hemisphere
The second batch from a set of eight whites split extremely scientifically according to the height of the bottles – these are the stubbiest four (and the other four are here – the Furmint is a stunna) Gaba do Xil Godello 2010, Valdeorras, Spain (£9.25 The Wine Society) Young, tender […]
Wine Tasting Video: Three Spanish Whites + a lone Californian
What a fascinating set of four wines! It’s the first half of a set of 8 whites I had to get through recently, so I sorted them by height…. The second batch is here. Tesco Finest Picpoul de Pinet 2010, Languedoc, France (£7.29 Tesco) Has a bit more oomph than […]