My Dream Cellar
by Tim Atkin
Imagine, just for one minute, that you were richer than Bill Gates: more loaded than a Hollywood film star, Warren Buffett and a Russian oligarch put together. Which wines would...
Country: Italy
2009 Paololeo Primitivo di Manduria, Puglia
( £10.99, 14.5%, Waitrose )Paololeo is one of the most exciting producers of Primitivo in Puglia, making stylish, modern, concentrated wines that aspire to match the quality of southern Italy’s best reds, especially at a price like this. Figs and pepper spice on the nose, with sweet vanilla oak, flavours of dark chocolate, plum and fresh tobacco and a refreshing, yet structured finish. The wine looks as good as it tastes, which is saying a good deal. Drink now to 5 years.
Crystal ball gazing: the world of wine in 2012
by Tim Atkin
As this is the last OLN of 2011, I’ve pulled my dusty crystal ball from my bottom drawer a little earlier than usual. Predicting anything is unwise at the moment...
Twelve Christmas wines under £10
by Tim Atkin
Bearing in mind that most of us are broke at this time of year, I’ve decided to keep things simple and affordable this Christmas, restricting my choices to just a...
The pick of Waitrose’s wine range
by Tim Atkin
RED 2010 Saumur, Les Nivières (£7.49, 13%) Essence of Loire Cabernet Franc, this unoaked red is a delight: soft and grassy with fresh acidity, no oak and pure blackcurrant and...
My pick of Sainsbury’s 25% off wine deal
by Tim Atkin
Sainsbury’s is offering a 25% discount on six bottles of wine until midnight on 1st November, both online and in store. This includes fine wines, Ports and Champagnes. There is...
Who needs generic wine tastings?
by Tim Atkin
Hands up who watched, let alone attended, any of the party conferences this autumn? Yup, I thought so. You have to be a serious political wonk (or a paid lobbyist...
Wine dynasties and how to survive them
by Tim Atkin
The comedian John Cleese once published a conversational if surprisingly serious book called "Families and how to survive them". You don’t have to be Sigmund Freud, or a member of...
Independents’ day with The Dirty Dozen
by Tim Atkin
Dartmouth House, the home of the English Speaking Union, is an unlikely place for a revolutionary gathering. Set in the heart of Mayfair, it feels like a slightly fusty gentleman’s...
2010 Planeta Carricante, Sicilia
( £17.99 - £16.50 for the 2009, 13%, Great Western Wine )Is Mount Etna Italy’s greatest secret when it comes to whites? It certainly makes some amazing wines from the Carricante grape: taut, minerally and refreshing. This is stony and crisp with notes of white flowers and lime blossom and a tangy finish. Sicily’s answer to Chablis. Drink now to 3 years.
2007 Passopisciaro, IGT Sicilia
( £29.99, 14%, Corney & Barrow )If your impression of Sicily is of a sweltering island making chunky reds, cheap, New World-style whites and Marsala, you haven’t discovered the Nerello Mascalese grape from Mount Etna yet. Andrea Franchetti’s Burgundian-style red, sourced from vines as old as 120 years, is remarkable: perfumed and elegant, with notes of red cherry and wild strawberry, savoury tannins, refreshing acidity and impressive length and complexity.
2010 Cerutti Moscato d'Asti "Suri Sandrinet", Cassinasco
( £11.75, 5%, Berry Bros & Rudd )Moscato is one of my favourite summer aperitifs, capable of greatness as well as perfume and zing in the hands of a top producer like Gianmario Cerutti. This one comes from a sunny (“suri” in Italian) vineyard located at 350 metres, combining freshness with fruit concentration. This has 125 grams of residual sugar, but you don’t notice it thanks to the citrus fruit acidity. Grapey, frothy, filligree bubbles with a palate-cleansing finish.