Brent Marris’ well-distributed Sauvignon tends to be on a deal more often than not, but even at its full retail price it delivers in the glass, unfurling flavours of passion fruit, gooseberry and melon. Flavoursome stuff at a fair price.
December Mop Up Tasting
17 December 20132011 The Co-operative Truly Irresistible Domaine de La Noblaie Chinon, Loire
( £8.95, 13.5%, The Co-operative )Unoaked Loire Cabernet Franc is one of my favourite styles wine: light, fresh and grassy, with subtle lead pencil aromas and a bright, cool climate finish. That’s exactly what you get here, with acidity that works really well with cheese and red meats.
NV Henriot Blanc de Blancs, Champagne
( £44.00, 12%, Oddbins )Sourced mostly from the Côte des Blancs and including 30% of reserve wines, Henriot’s Blanc de Blancs is a non vintage wine that tastes like a vintage release. It’s rich, toasty and just off dry with notes of brioche and toast and a subtle, tapering finish. One of the best Blanc de Blancs on the market.
2005 Majolini Franciacorta Electo Millesimato, Ome, Brescia
( £24.76, 13%, Bat & Bottle )Made entirely from Chardonnay, this Franciacorta fizz doesn’t show its age. It’s on the swee side, with notes of peach and apricot, small bubbles and a soft, caressing finish. A good Champagne substitute at a decent price.
2007 Hugel Gewurztraminer Vendage Tardive, Alsace
( £33.00, 13%, The Wine Society )There’s no mistaking the grape variety of this late picked Alsace dessert wine. It’s a classic lychee and rose petal style Gewürz, with sweet apricot, pineapple and peach flavours and a hint of exotic spice. Very decadent.
2012 Steitz Grauer Burgunder Trocken, Rheinhessen
( £13.00, 13%, Chix and Buck )You might be surprised to learn that Germany sells more Grauer Burgunder (aka Pinot Gris) in the UK than Riesling. The statistic is less depressing when you taste a wine like this soft, pear, fig and apple-like example from the Rheinhessen, however. A very appealing dry white with more acidity than is immediately apparent.
2012 Neudorf Moutere Chardonnay, Nelson
( £37.80, 13.5%, Christopher Keiller )Tim and Judy Finn’s Chardonnay is established as one of the three best Chardonnays in New Zealand and this vintage more than lives up to its reputation. It’s a leesy, creamy, deftly oaked wine with attractive stone fruit flavours, hints of cashew, oatmeal and toast and a focused, minerally finish. Superb stuff.
2008 LaFou De Batea, Terra Alta
( £26.17, 14.5%, Contact the winery for details )The top red wine from LaFou is an impressive blend of mostly Grenache with lesser amounts of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon, again showing judicious oak handling, refreshing minerality and ripe, but not over-ripe flavours of plum, chocolate and red fruits, with hints of tapenade and a brisk, refreshing finish. This is winemaking of a high order.
2011 LaFou El Sender, Terra Alta
( £10.15, 14.5%, Contact the winery for details )The use of oak is restrained here (one of the distinguishing features of this impressive Terra Alta winery) allowing the fruit to express itself. It’s a subtle, finely crafted blend of mostly Garnacha with 30% Syrah and 10% Morenillo (yup, I had to to look that one up, too), showing, sweet red fruits, subtle vanilla spice, bright acidity and polished tannins.
2012 LaFou Els Amelers, Terra Alta
( £12.82, 13.5%, Contact the winery for details )Made entirely from Garnacha Blanca, this delicately oaked white is creamy and herbal, with lovely texture, pear and honeysucke fruit. a touch of aniseed and a taut, minerally finish.
2008 Château Ollieux Romanis Atal Sia, Corbières Boutenac, Languedoc-Roussillon
( £17, 14%, The Wine Society )Sourced from the best area of the Corbières, this Carignan-based blend is a stunner, exhibiting aromas of lavender, mint, rosemary, plum and blackberry, with serious, ageworthy tannins and an unmistakeable whiff of garrigue. Essence of the south of France. And another wine that has aged extremely well.
2008 Domaine de Montcalmès, Coteaux du Languedoc, Languedoc Roussillon
( £20, 14%, The Wine Society )One of the best reds in the Languedoc (and at a very affordable price, too), this blend of Syrah with 20% each of Grenache and Mourvèdre also proves that the region’s top wines age gracefully. It’s sweet and savoury with fruit flavours that nod towards Pinot Noir as well as more Mediterranean varieties, but with a dusting of wild herbs and a touch more alcohol.