A heady, wild cocktail of Syrah and Grenache from the hills of the Roussillon region of southern France. Youthful, fiery, spicy, with notes of lavender, thyme, sweet red fruit and liquorice. Needs food, preferably rich food, to show at its best, but this is an unoaked star, with bags of flavour and focus.
July Sample Tasting
12 August 20122009 Domaine de l'Espigouette for Harvey Nichols, Plan de Dieu, Côtes du Rhône Villages
( £12.50, 14.5, Harvey Nichols )A really first class Rhône blend specially blended for Harvey Nichols by Domaine de l’Espigouette. It’s a spicy, full-throated number from a warm vintage, based on Grenache but with 15% Syrah and 5% Mourvèdre for support and complexity. It’s still youthful (though very drinkable) with dense black fruits, lovely balance and the sort of perfume that really reminds you of the south of France. Heady stuff.
2009 Marimar Estate Chardonnay La Masía Don Miguel Vineyard, Russian River Valley, California
( US$35, 14.5%, Contact the winery for details )This is the most elegant Chardonnay I’ve tasted yet from this Green Valley winery, marking a step change in freshness, minerality and balance. The wine is still Californian in style, but the oak and acidity are nicely intertwined adding a refeshing backrop to the pear and citrus fruit. The lees work is exemplary, too. A wine that wouldn’t look out of place in a line up of top Meursaults. Bravo.
2010 Neudorf Moutere Pinot Noir, Nelson
( NZ $49.90, 14%, Contact the winery for details )Lighter and more approachable than the Home Block release, but not far behind it in quality, this is a ripe, structured, red fruits scented Pinot with savoury, toasty oak, subtle, filigree tannins and some grip on the finish. Another wine that needs a year or two in bottle to show at its best.
2010 Neudorf Moutere Pinot Noir Home Vineyard, Nelson
( NZ$79.90, 14.5%, Contact the winery for details )This is unashamedly New Zealand, even Nelson, in style rather than a Burgundian copy. It’s rich, savoury and textured, a wine whose pale colour belies its concentration, depth and complexity. The oak is a little too evident at the moment, but don’t hesitate to give it five or more years in bottle. Sweetly fruited, perfumed and very long.
2011 Neudorf Moutere Riesling, Nelson
( £17, 9% )The Riesling from this brilliant Nelson winery is often overlooked, such is the quality of its Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs, but this medium dry style is a delight, all lime peel and stone fruit, with a steely backbone of acidity that wouldn’t look out of place in the Rheingau.
2010 Neudorf Moutere Chardonnay, Nelson
( £35 (approximately), 13.5%, Local stockists from the vineyard )Neudorf’s status as one of the very best Chardonnay producers in New Zealand is only enhanced by this delicious new release: nutty, savoury, bready notes with well integrated oak, citrus acidity and nuanced lemon, vanilla and peach flavours. The wine has the concentration and structure to age further in bottle.
2010 Mere et Fils Adelaide Hills Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia
( NA, 13%, Contact the winery for details )The qualty of Australian Chardonnay has leapt forward like a roo on heat over the last few years. This cool climate example from the Adelaide Hills is typical of the quality on offer from Down Under. Wild yeast fermented in older oak, some creamy lees on the palate and fine, citrus-tinged fruit with an echo of apricot. Subtle winemakin from Matt Gant.
2011 Semeli Mantinia Nassiakos, Mantineia
( £10.95, 12%, The Wine Society )Greece’s answer to Gewürztaminer? This perfumed, floral white, made entirely from the Moschofilero grape, is just the thing for a late summer tipple: crisp and zesty with rose petal notes and a refreshing finish.
2008 Château Trillol Corbières, Corbières, Languedoc
( £8.95, 14%, From Vineyards Direct, The Wine Society )If you’re a fan of wild, Medieterranean herb-scented reds from the hills of the Corbières, this should be right up your grande rue. The oak is subtly done here, allowing the spicy, heady fruit to express itself. The tannins are svelte and nicely integrated, the fruit dense yet supple, the finish long and refreshing. The altitude of the vineyards is what gives the wine its balance and length.
2011 Lagar de Costa Albariño, Rias Baixas, Galicia
( £11.50, 12.5%, The Wine Society )The old vine (60 years to be precise) concentration really comes through in this refreshing Galician white. Focused, minerally and very long on the palate with notes of lemon zest and lime and a hint of spritz. A really classy Albariño that’s worth paying a little extra for.
2002 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs, Reims, Champagne
( Approx £100, 12, Widely available )If I had to choose just one Blanc de Blancs Champagne to lay down on a regular basis, this would be it. It’s hard to believe the wine is 10 years’ old, given its freshness and perky acidity. Floral, understated, citrus and brioche aromas sashay into a pure, focused, beautifully defined palate showing flavours of citrus, fresh bread and lighty grilled nuts. The finish on the wine goes on for a minute. Great now, but tuck some away if you can keep your hands off it.