A joint venture between J Bouchon of Chile and South African Sauvignon specialist, David Nieuwoudt, this is a wine that lives up t its pre-release hype. Creamy, goosberry and nettley fruit with bags of texture and tangy acidity and a long, elegantly tropical finish with a touch of sweetness.
October Wine reviews
26 October 20142011 Paul Bertrand, Crocus, Malbec, Cahors, South West France
( £34.99, 14.5%, The Vineking )What do you get when you cross Paul Hobbs, one of the leading New World wine consultants and a man who makes his own wines in Argetina, with a Frenchman producing wine in Cahors? The answer is something pretty special, a rich, ripe, but well balanced Malbec that sits midway between France and Argentina in style, with some of the perfume and plushness of the former and the structure of the latter. Inky, floral and refined with notes of plum and black cherry and sweet oak.
2010 McGuigan, No 3471 The Shortlist Cabernet Sauvignon, Coonawarra, South Australia
( £15, 13%, Tesco Wine Online )Grassy, elegant and perfumed, this is a lighter style of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, showing notes of graphite, mint and green pepper and refreshing acidity supported by fine tannins. Not a wine to keep, but enjoyable to drink over the next couple of years.
NV Chapel Down, Vintage Reserve, Kent
( £20, 11.5% )A lees-aged blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier from innovative producer, Chapel Down, this is a well-priced English fizz that delivers in the glass. Toasty and malty with refreshing acidity and a dry, savoury finish, showing fine bubbles.
2013 Collefrisio, Vignaquadra, Abruzzo
( £13.50, 13.5%, Dvine Cellars )An impressive Pecorino from the Frisa hills of the Abruzzo, this shows that you don’t need wine to make a tasty white. Peachy and just off-dry, it’s got bags of flavour, bright acidity and a taut, minerally finish.