We've had some crackers in this case and I must admit, I've been very impressed by the quality to price ratio of most of the wines. Let's see if the case finishes in style...?
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Guigal is one of the Rhone's most famous producers.The name attracts some serious money for prestige wines such as Cote Rotie or Condrieu. This entry level wine certainly comes from a good stable. 13.5% alcohol.
The Look: A deep, dark red with opaque purple lowlights and ruby highlights. Very slight hint of age with its brick-red tinges.
The Smell: Smells great, spicy, slightly smoky, peppery, dark forest fruits and plums.
The Taste: The first taste is bright, acidic, spicy and some good tannin, slightly restrained fruit with a cherry finish. With food (Morroccan Lamb) and after a little while it opened up with much more red fruit, cherry, redcurrant and even raspberry hints. Lovely spice.
The Score: Superb for the money. 8/10. Highly Recommended.
VFM: At £9.99 a bottle this is good value at VFM = 0.8. However, if you're quick there's an offer on at Majestic now for get 2 for £6.79 each!.
White Rioja here using the Viura grape. This brand is a supermarket stalwart for its red Riojas but I must admit, I'd never seen the white until now. 12.5% alcohol.
The Look: A plae yellow with some straw colour.
The Smell: Lovely and aromatic, honey, sweetness, some citrus and flowers.
The Taste: Taste is quite retrained, not a lot of flavour. Acidity was too harsh to pick out much fruit and it left a bitter aftertaste (although I do think I served this a bit too cold, which may be unfair). Quite minerally but unfortunately spoilt by the harshness.
The Score: This was ok. Nothing more. 5.5/10.
VFM: At £7.99 a bottle this is reasonable value; VFM = 0.69.
This is the first Rosé from the producers who started the winery in 1992. Ripe pinot and plenty of skin contact ensures a deep colour. 12% alcohol.
The Look: Very intriguing - more orange than red, a rusty, vivid sunset type colour.
The Smell: Initially a bit reticent (straight from the fridge) but given time to warm up a bit it displayed lovely sweetness, strawberries and raspberries.
The Taste: Again, initially vague but after a while it bloomed into a pleasing, bright, mouthful of strawberries, sweetness and a hint of smokiness. Some spun sugar or caramel on the finish too which was a bonus.
The Score: Very good Rosé. 7.5/10. Recommended
VFM: At £9.99 a bottle this is pretty good value; VFM = 0.75.
So, there we have it: 11 bottles polished. A cracking result for Majestic; I will most certainly be returning to get more in the near future. 3 Highly recommended, 5 recommended and the remaining three weren't that shabby, considering the price.
So, Christmas is fast-approaching. Keep your eyes peeled for Wines of the Year, What we'll be drinking over Xmas, Wine investment the novice way and anything else I can fit in!
As always...
Speak to you soon.
Cheers
WBFTF
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