La Différence Carignan 2009, IGP Pays des Côtes Catalanes (£5.99 Tesco) Yum! A wine at an everyday price that packs in the personality. Has the classic peppery violet freshness of Carignan, but there’s more juicy flesh here than normal, bold berry flesh with that fragrant grape must smell of a […]
Wine Education
Washington Hills Merlot 2008, Columbia Valley (£6.49 The Co-op) Overripe with rather hard baked blackberry character, concentrated but overdone, should have been picked earlier and made with less force. C(-) Powers Merlot 2006, Columbia Valley (£10.99 – £11.49 Handford Wines, Wines of the World, Bottle Apostle, Hennings Wines, Rodney Densem, […]
Washington State reds with a nod to Bordeaux
Louis Moreau Chablis 2008, Burgundy, France (£9.99 Marks & Spencer) Has the lean, keen green apple backbone you expect of Chablis, along with a pleasant nutty character, but it lacks the substance to stand up to the structure. OK, but not fine. B(-) Louis Latour Mâcon-Lugny 2009, Burgundy, France (£8.99 […]
Chardonnay from France, Australia & New Zealand – and what ...
La Différence Viognier-Muscat 2009, IGP Pays d’Oc, France (£5.99 Tesco) Pure, fresh and honest wine, with the rich oily/peachy edge of Viognier combining with grapey freshness of Muscat to pleasing effect. B(+) Creyssels Languedoc-Picpoul de Pinet 2009, France (£7.75 Stone Vine & Sun) Richer than many Picpouls, with pear and […]
Languedoc whites plus a South-West interloper
Crossroads Syrah 2008, Hawkes Bay (£13.50 Mentzendorff) Has a fragrant, peppery roasted aroma, along with fresh blackcurrant, plum and raspberry fruit, but could use a little more body to live up to that fragrance. B Vidal Gimblett Gravels Syrah 2008, Hawkes Bay (£10.99 Waitrose, Halifax Wine Co, Trina’s Wines, www.nzhouseofwine.co.uk) […]
Six New Zealand Syrahs
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, […]