Champagne Piper-Heidsieck Brut NV (£30.99 Waitrose)
Dainty, lively wine, with pineapple flavours and biscuity richness kept in check by taut apple and citrus acidity. Classy and elegant, very tasty. S(+)
The second in a series of three videos on red wines that – according to a range of wine merchants in the Yorkshire Dales – might not be averse to a spell in the fridge, and which could be served in Spring with lamb. The first and third videos are here and here. Today, it’s all Pinot Noir…
Domaine de Clovallon Pinot Noir Pays d’Oc 2011, Languedoc, France (£12.50 Terroir Languedoc)
Juicy but tender style, with spicy strawberry and raspberry flavours, gentle tannins and an unforced yumminess. S(-)
Pacifico Sur Pinot Noir Reserva 2010, Curicó, Chile (£9.60 Yorkshire Vintners)
Bold in flavour, but has the blackcurranty reduced character of Chile, and veers towards the overripe, with a slightly minty note to its stewed red fruit. C(+)
Windy Peak Pinot Noir by De Bortoli 2010, Victoria, Australia (£9.99 Booths)
Quite pale in colour, and not hugely concentrated, but offers generous ripe red berry and cherry flavours and a backbone of spicy tannin and acidity. S(-)
Champagne Jacquart Rosé NV, France (£27.95 Slurp.co.uk, Great Western Wine)
Quite subtle with some biscuit maturity to its raspberry and strawberry flavours, an elegant style, but given richness by a level of dosage which may be a touch to high for some. B+
Cycles Gladiator Pinot Noir 2011, California (£8.99-£9.99 The Co-op, Wine Rack, The Vintner)
This is OK, but lacks freshness, and reminds me too much of Jammie Dodgers, both in the strange baked red jam flavours and the biscuity edge. C
Lay of the Land Ben Morven Farm Pinot Noir 2011, Marlborough, New Zealand (£15.99 Naked Wines)
I like the cool earthy character here and ripe cherry flavours, but the slightly stewed fruit note and touch of cola suggest overextraction. B
Château de Grandmont Beaujolais-Villages Nouveau 2012 (£7.75 Christopher Piper)
Lively, crunchy style, with jolly raspberry and blackberry flavours freshened up by an apple-y bite and some earthy spice, B(+)
Les Pionniers Champagne 2004 (£25.99 Co-operative)
Young, lively and fresh style with broad, rich citrus fruit flavours and a green apple bite, not huge complexity, but a rich, honest juicy style. B(+)
Champagne Duménil Brut Millésime 2004 (N/A in the UK)
Smells as if it’s going to be quite sleek and elegant, with notes of brioche, crystallised pineapple, citrus and apple, but actually quite full in body, with additional notes of chocolate and coffee, all kept in check by precise freshness and acidity. S
Champagne Duménil Cuvée Prestige Vieilles Vignes Brut NV (N/A in the UK)
Pale and very interesting style, combing the svelte edge of Chardonnay with nutty/toasty richness. Plenty of flavour – walnut, pear, peach, pineapple, very ripe apples – but again with elegance. Good for shellfish. S(-)
Champagne Duménil Amour de Cuvée Blanc de Noirs Brut NV (N/A in the UK)
Quite rich and full bodied, with a peppery note to the red berry and pineapple flavours, and a touch of gingerbread too. Very wine-y style of Champagne, would be great with some game. S-
Chapel Down Rosé Brut NV (£22.99 Majestic, chapeldown.com, simplywinesdirect.com, slurp.co.uk)
Reasonable citrus, apple and red berry notes, but there’s a smoky elderflower note that speaks of underripeness, and a slightly burnt edge too. C+
Chapel Down Three Graces 2008 (£24.99 chapeldown.com)
This is more like it, lovely balanced style, combining a toasty, caramelised richness with the tang of Bramley apples (fresh and stewed), lemon and grapefruit, and finishing with crisp, elegant aplomb. S
Chapel Down Blanc de Blancs 2007 (RRP £26.99 Harvey Nichols, chapeldown.com)
Svelte style, lean but never scrawny, and with a smoky note to its juicy green apple and citrus flesh. S
Chapel Down Pinot Reserve 2006 (£22.99 chapeldown.com, Berry Bros & Rudd, simplywinesdirect.com, slurp.co.uk)
Quite bready and rich, but while I don’t mind the cooked apple and pear flavours and citrus bite, it seems just a little stolid after the two previous wines. B
Harvey Nichols Pinot Noir 2010 (Framingham), Marlborough, New Zealand (£18.00 Harvey Nichols)
Reasonable plummy strawberry flavours with a touch of spice, but there’s also a stewed edge that speaks of slightly heavy-handed winemaking and just-too-ripe fruit. B(-)
Marimar Estate Don Miguel Vineyard Pinot Noir ‘La Masía’ 2008, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California (N/A in the UK – contact JE Fells for details)
The warm, generous, plummy berry and liquorice aromas and touch of spice are almost Rhône-like, but it’s just too ripe and obvious for real class. B
Marimar Estate Don Miguel Vineyard Pinot Noir ‘Cristina’ 2007, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California (N/A in the UK – contact JE Fells for details)
Certainly fresher and more confident than the above, with less of the liquorice, but then the heat of alcohol kicks. Juicy and rounded, but top heavy, and lacks the allure or good Pinot. B+
Harvey Nichols Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore NV, Veneto, Italy (£15.00 Harvey Nichols)
Friendly young wine, with the classic peach and apple of Prosecco, a touch of pumice and a toffee-like richness. B(+)
Codorníu Cava Reina Maria Cristina Blanc de Noirs 2008, Catalonia, Spain (£14.99 Majestic)
Remember Fruit Salad chews? Lots of citrus and cranberry flavours, but with the ripe flesh reined in zesty freshness and crisp minerality. S-
Coates & Seely Blanc de Blancs NV, Hampshire, England (~£26 www.coatesandseely.com)
Classy style, fresh but rounded with ripe citrus and green apple (fresh and cooked) and citrus, touches of the hedgerow (blackberry and hawthorn) and a yeasty/bready/uncooked cake mix note too. S(+)
Domaine Pfister Crémant d’Alsace Blanc de Blancs Brut NV, France (£18.50 Slurp.co.uk)
Rounded, soft and yeasty with a touch of spice, the apple charlotte flavour is pleasant, but I just wish it were a little more prominent. B(-)
Errázuriz Estate Pinot Noir 2011, Aconcagua, Chile (£9.99 Majestic)
Good fresh strawberry and cherry flavours veering towards but never hitting the jammy, but let down by an excess of chocolate wafer-like oak – why? B(-)
(a wine that combined the freshness and extraction of the Errázuriz with the oak handling of the Private Bin would be welcome…)
Forrest Pinot Noir 2010, Marlborough, New Zealand (£12.99 Adnams)
Deep and interesting aromas, there’s a savoury wildness here, along with earthy plum, cherry and red berry fruit, plus a hint of vanilla from sensitive use of oak, and a fresh but juicy finish. S
Villa Maria Reserve Pinot Noir 2009, Marlborough, New Zealand (£18.99 Tesco, nzhouseofwine.co.uk, Matthew Clark)
I like the seductive, lush loganberry, plum and cherry aromas and silky, truffley allure, but (as with the Private Bin above) it’s slightly let down by some of that overworked/stewed fruit character – shame, as the raw material seemed very promising. S-
