This is my kind of wine. In fact, I could drink a bottle of this almost every day and never get bored. Classic, perfumed Crozes, with violet and rose petal aromas, textured tannins and lovely, gluggable flavours of blackberry, black olive and liquorice. The tannins are silky smooth, the oak beautifully integrated and there’s enough tannin to add some backbone.
Daily Wines
27 September 20152014 Weingut Markus Huber Grüner Veltliner Morrison Signature, Niederösterreich
( £8, 12%, Morrisons )It’s great to see an Austrian Grüner of this quality in a major supermarket. It’s not a power packed wine, but what it lacks in weight, it makes up for in freshness. Floral and medium weight, with some pepper spice, pear and citrus fruit flavours and a zesty, tangy finish. A really good food wine – and I don’t say that very often.
2013 Chez Rocailleux Braucol Rosé, Côtes du Tarn, South West France
( £11.99, 12%, Red Squirrel Wines )Light, elegant and refreshing, this is a south-west French wine that wouldn’t look out of place in Provence, give or take a slightly green, grassy undertone that’s typical of the Braucol grape. Summer berries, tangy acidity and bone dry with a note of capsicum and a long, tapering finish.
2007 Mount Pleasant Cellar Aged Elizabeth Semillon, Hunter Valley
( £14.95-£17.80, 11%, Berry Bros & Rudd, Hedonism, Slurp )Not many white wines age as wll as Hunter Valley Semillon and this is well up to speed, as its haul of medals (plastered all over the front label) testifies. It’s just starting to shift into another gear, developing the toasty notes that are so typical of the style. Refreshing, waxy and taut with custard, honeysuckle and citrus peel notes. Long and satisfying.
2014 The Tea Leaf Chenin Blanc, Piekenierskloof
( £12.49, 14%, Cambridge Wine Merchants, Noel Young Wines, Woodwinters Wines )Sourced from vineyards at 750 metres (which is high for South Africa), this was made by the talented Donovan Rall from the under-rated Piekenierskloof region. Tangy, refreshing and crisp, it’s tauter than some Cape Chenins with apple, pear and herbal notes and a creamy mid palate.
2013 Gerovassiliou, Malagousia Single Vineyard, Epanomi, Greece 2013, Epanomi
( £16.99, 13.5%, Wine Rack )We have Vangelis Gerovassiliou to thank for rescuing the Malagousia grape from obscurity in the 1970s. This comes from his oldest plantings and it’s typically rich, textured and scented, with grapey, musky aromas, flavours of stone fruit and orange peel and a ripe, satisfying finish. At its best with spicy food.
2014 Josmeyer Le Pinot Blanc, Mise de Printemps, Alsace
( £11.50, 12%, The Wine Society )Pinot Blanc tends to get overlooked in Alsace behind Pinot Gris, Riesling and Gewürztraminer, but when it’s as good as this biodynamically farmed example, it’s delicious. Textured, rich and focused with a touch of appealing bitterness, presumably from skin contact, and notes of white flowers, honey and beeswax. The wine finishes refeshingly dry.
2013 Kosi Bay Selection Shiraz, South Eastern Australia
( £5.99, 14%, Wine Rack )The dip in the value of the Aussie dollar has made it easier to source wine like this again, which is great news for UK consumers. Spicy, soft and just off-dry, with smooth tannins, a hint of spicy oak and juicy brambly fruit. A great party red.
2014 Terre de Gneiss Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Muscadet Sècre et Maine, Loire Valley
( £19.99, 12%, Carte Blanche )Not many wine writers have the guts to make their own wines, so take a bow Christelle Guibert, my colleague from Decanter for making something as good as this from her native Loire Valley. As the label suggests, it was grown on gneiss soils (in case you were wondering) and was fermented in über trendy concrete eggs. It’s all about old vine texture rather than perfume, owing as much to Burgundy as to the western Loire. Mineral, refreshing and bone dry, this is one of the best Muscadets I’ve ever drunk. Let’s hope this is the first of a range of wines.