Supermarket Sweeps - Six for £60 - Sainsbury's - Part 2

Hello all!

Following on from last week's return to frugality after the festive indulgences, this week we conclude the look at Sainsbury's with the red wines we had. As I said last week, there was little of interest in the standard supermarket reds that dominated the shelves but some interesting wines presented themselves from the "Taste the Difference" range. The whites fared pretty damn well, so let's see if the reds kept up...

Oh and don't forget to follow me on Twitter for further little nuggets of wine-related stuff.

Taste the Difference, Priorat, 2008

£7.49 Priorat is a Catalan wine growing area (Priorato in Spanish) where the reds are usually Grenache dominated blends, if not 100% Grenache (or Garnacha in Spanish). This one is mainly Grenache with a bit of Mazuela thrown in, and weighing in pretty heavy at 14.5%

The Look: Dark purple core to a dark cherry/violet rim.

The Smell: Great nose of black cherry, lots of spice, some raspberry and some sweet oakiness, reminiscent of a Bordeaux!

The Taste: This took me by surprise - very good indeed; velvety tannin, plenty of fresh acidity, the high alcohol was almost non-existent on the palate (served on the cool side of room temp.) The fruit profile was black cherry and something sharper - maybe raspberry, punctuated by a highly oaked vanilla and cedar note, but well-handled. Slightly bitter but not too detracting. This was superb after being open for two days - transformed to blackcurrant fruit and sweet caramel, suggesting that this will keep very well and get better with time. 7.5/10.  Recommended

VFM: Very nice for an "own label" wine and bang on the money with a VFM of 1.0!

Taste the Difference, Penguin Sands, Pinot Noir, Central Otago, 2010

£9.99. This pinot is from the much hailed Central Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. A great price point to get people to sample NZ pinot, but a much-contested market. Can it hold up? 13.5%

The Look: Dark purple core to a cherry rim.

The Smell: Very familiar - I swear we've had this before, but from the Producer (Sacred Hill I beleive?) I don't think we have. Anyway, strawberry, blueberry and oak with a floral character too.

The Taste: Fresh, vibrant acidity, tangy, plenty of cherry, raspberry and bright red fruits, quite sharp. Slight hotness and bitter tannin - feels a little over extracted.

The Score: Not the best in this price point. Better than Oyster Bay (not much praise) but search for something else (Villa Maria, Spy Valley, et al - there's plenty more to choose from) 6/10

VFM: Not horrendous, but not the best either; VFM = 0.6

Taste the Difference, Malbec, Mendoza, 2010

£7.99. Mendoza Malbec is a staple for any wine drinker on a budget. It packs a brambly, powerful, tannic and often teeth-staining punch in its inky blackness, begging for a steak. £8 is at the lower end but there's still great stuff to be had here. Is this worthy of the name...? 14.5%

The Look: The de-facto inky black-purple.

The Smell: Initially very acidic, almost vinegary but with a violet, floral backbone so I gave it some time. Not faulty, developing a nice nose of blackberry crumble, spice and a wet-stone minerality. All good so far after a shaky start.

The Taste: Again, very acidic and floral off the bat so gave it two hours in the bottle with the cork off; it remained hot, some pleasing black fruits and crushed-rocks minerality but unfortunately retained a horrible bitterness on the finish and a mouth burning hotness. Unfortunately, badly made wine, overcooked the extraction trying to get deep colour which was achieved at the cost of balance and fruit. Poured the second half down the drain...

The Score: Food did calm it down but I would avoid. There's plenty more from Mendoza and cheaper too, that gladly, aren't like this, which is frankly, pretty shit. 4.5/10

VFM: Even at £7.99, you can beat this hands down at pretty much any wine merchant. VFM = 0.56

So after a great start, and apart from the 2008 Priorat, the reds "pissed on Sainsbury's chips" to coin a phrase. So, only a few supermarkets remain; Morrisons, Asda and if I can pluck up the courage, Aldi and Liddle. Who knows, maybe a £3 Cotes du Rhone will knock my socks off! By my reckoning, Co-Op still leads, but we'll have a full summary when all is complete.

Our birthdays are fast approaching so we may afford ourselves a couple of indulgences before getting back to the nitty gritty of frugal drinking. Until next time...

As always, speak to you soon!

Cheers

WBFTF

Naked Again - part 2

Hello all,

Welcome to the final part of our return to Naked Wines. As mentioned in my previous post, these were provided as a preview for their upcoming "meet the winemaker" tasting tours.

No fuss this week; straight into it...

Antoine Simoneau, Sauvignon Blanc, Touraine, 2010

Made in the Touraine winery that has been in the Simoneau family for generation upon generation (since 1790!). Touraine in the Loire Valley is a source of Sauvignon Blanc considered slightly more down-to-earth than the over-hyped Sancerre and heady Pouilly-Fumé but can be a source of great value wines, when compared to those two. This is 12%

The Look: A crystal clear, watery-white with very slight lemon tinge.

The Smell: Grassy, minerally and lots of gooseberry. Slightly floral too.

The Taste: Very fresh, bright acidity with a strong burst of ripe gooseberries and a lemon/lime hint. Backed up by a savoury green pepper and mineral edge. Long tangy finish.

The Score: Not a stunner but a well-made, pleasing wine. 7/10.

VFM: At £9.49 this is on the high-side for Touraine, but still giving good VFM at 0.74. Angels would probably find the price more in line with other Touraines with their 33% off (£6.26). Really the price for this should be around £7.99 - there's a glut of other Touraines about, possibly better than this, at that price. 

Mauricio Lorca, Angel's Reserve Torrontes, La Rioja, 2010

Very little information regarding this, either on the website or the bottle other than the "passionate winemaker" and it's from Argentina's La Rioja. This is 13%

The Look: Pale but fairly deep lemony yellow with green hues.

The Smell: Intriguing smells; woody, herby, slight smoke, hedgerow and elderflower.

The Taste: Slightly smoky and sauvory on the first sip, that gives way to dry, herby elderflower, then florality, finishing with a flat, very bitter, vaguely grapefruity tang.

The Score: Lacks any sort of Wow. Interesting flavours let down by a poor, way-too-bitter finish. 6/10.

VFM: At £8.99 this gets a reasonable VFM at 0.67. Again, "Angels" would probably find the price a bit more palatable, but I would suggest better Torrontes alternatives in this price bracket with a little effort.

Domaine O Vineyards, Trah Lah Lah, Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

This one was faulty so  I can't comment. Did show promise with some smoky plum on the nose but was hot, musty and bitter - faulty.

So, there we have a return to Naked Wines. Some good value wines, especially if you're prepared to commit to the Angels scheme (£20 a month for 33% cashback on purchases) but nothing mind-blowing I'm afraid. Who knows, maybe the next case will convince me that it's worthwhile...

As always, speak to you soon

Cheers

WBFTF

Laithwaites Mystery Case - Part 2

Hello all!

Continuing with the Laithwaites Mystery Case this week we unfortunately had 3 reds that were corked! The odd bottle; fair enough but 3 in a case? Highly unusual. Anyway, true to their word, one swift email to customer services and I was offered a £25 refund; no quibbles. You can't really argue with that.

Anyway, what we did manage to drink were...

Croftwood Estate, Chardonnay, South Eastern Australia, 2009

Made by Andrew McPherson of the "McPherson Family Estate" brand that is also sold by Laithwaites. In fact, Laithwaites tend to do that; sell multiple different "Branded" wines that actually come from the same producer, McPherson is one, Sam Trimboli another, Opi Sadler another... to name but a few. Are they falsely inflating their range??? Anyway, this Chardonnay is lightly oaked and comes in at 13%.

The Look: Pale gold with very apparent green tinges.
The Smell: A burst of tropical fruit, lemon/lime citrus and a "nutty" oak character to it.
The Taste: Lovely smooth texture, plenty of citrussy fruit. Not massive acidity but enough to give it a firm freshness and balance. Some minerality showed in the form of a grapefruity-bitterness but not overly harsh. 
The Score: Lovely. A drinkable refreshing Chardonnay at a great price 7/10.

VFM: This is normally £5.99 so we were penalised a little by the £6.42 case-average. Even so, you can't fault the value for money at VFM =  At this price VFM is great at 1.09

The Forefather, Gran Reserva Malbec-Shiraz, Mendoza, 2008

Named after the Frenchman; Miguel Pouget who first brought Malbec to Argentina in 1853. Apologies again for the lack of proper photo, some over-zealous recycling took place again, so this was taken from the Laithwaites page here: 14%.

The Look: Very dark, opaque, plummy-purple, violet rim.

The Smell: A heady mix of smoky, leathery raspberry and blackberry. Something floral and something like a mix of deodorant and a hard day?
The Taste: Bright, hot and acidic. But, a nice fruit quality. It overcomes the hotness on the mid-palate but then returns and drowns out the fruit with burning alcohol. Not great. Maybe a slightly bad bottle or on the turn. The nose is clean but the taste...?
The Score: Assuming it is clean then its not very good. Unbalanced by hotness. 5.5/10. One to try again to confirm maybe?

VFM: This is normally £7.99 so the £6.42 case-average saved us a bob or two. Despite the taste, the VFM remains good at 0.86 (but only 0.69 at normal price), however, I would avoid this one, unless I can disprove on the next tasting...

So there we have it. A fairly limited selection this week due to faults. We have 3 whites left to finish off with next week...

As always...

Speak to you soon.

Cheers

WBFTF

Supermarket Sweep: Reds from the Co-Operative

Hello All!

Bit of a change of plan this week; I was due to review the Mystery Case from Laithwaites but our timetable has been a bit disjointed over the last week or two so we haven't got round to glugging them yet. However, a few friends have been recommending wines from the Co-Op recently so I decided to pop in and have look. Well, pop in and loiter in the wine section for an hour and a half... Twice.

Going back what feels like a few years ago, I used to regularly get wines form the Co-Op. That's when I was into the big brands. It's probably more than a few years by now; time goes so quick when you get older... Anyway, once I'd passed through my Blass, Hardys, Gallo et al phase, there really wasn't much else for them to offer (or so I may have thought back then) and didn't give them a second look until recently. Bloody hell, things have CHANGED! Oh, but they don't do online sales (yet?) so you'll have to do it "old-school" and get yourself down there.

Ok, so they still do the big brands; obviously, being the massive sellers they are, but there's so much more! And offers! Lots of them. At the front door I was greeted by a rack of £4 wines. I almost dismissed them in a "Pfft...four quid? Yeah right, what a load of boll...." but "Oh wait...St. Hallett Riesling? Hmmm...  2005 Cru Bourgeois Bordeaux, £7?  Prosecco, £4?  Cava Rosé, £4. I best get myself to the proper wine section, quick!". I basketted the Riesling and Bordeaux and moved swiftly on. And there I spent the next hour and a half, mesmerised.  So much so, that I had to return the following week to pick up more.

We did drink the Riesling (and it was great, 7/10, amazing for £4) but as this is a reds review, I'll keep that one for next time. Anyway, to the wines...No pictures this week I'm afraid, due to "logistics" shall we say. Some might say forgetfulness, like binning the bottles before taking pictures?

For those who like to drink with a clear conscience, the Fairtrade wines aren't too bad. The 2009 Malbec Reserva from Argentina was a decent fruity bottle with smoke, vanilla and dark berries (6.5/10). The 2009 Shiraz, also from Argentina just pipped it at 7/10 - a good value example of the grape with warming spicy berries. Both opened up with more fruitiness after an hour so give them time. Both also under £7.

The Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Noir 2008 (£8.99) I was surprised to see. I love VM wines and don't really see them as a "Mega-Brand" although I'm probably looking through rose-tinted specs when it comes to their wines. It was however, initially a slight let-down, not in the league of their Whites but was good nonetheless with summer berries and some black cherry. Very bright, almost harsh acidity straight from the bottle but did mellow to acceptable levels after a few hours and food. It developed into a lovely wine but remained sprightly acidic. (7/10). 

If bright acidity is your bag then the Piccini Sigillo Rosso Chianti Riserva 2006 (normally £8.99 but only £5.29 on the day - bargain). This was recommended by a good friend (Cheers Willmot!) and although mouth-puckeringly acidic to start, was delicious. Showing signs of bottle age with tawny and brick red tinges to the dark ruby core, it exuded cherry and oaky spice on the nose. Again, cherry flavours dominated the palate but with raspberry, vanilla and peppery spice. A bit too acidic for my palate, but good nonetheless and a good candidate for putting away for a few years for it to mellow. Have it with food. 7/10. 

After enjoying an immense Cab Sauv from Trio (D's favourite wine!)  I spotted the Concha Y Toro Trio Merlot/Shiraz/Cab 2009 (no price for this I'm afraid but it was sub-£8). This was almost black! Very intense for a Merlot blend. Ripe, sweetish red berries in abundance and enhanced by chocolate/toffee hints. Fresh acidity and a long finish which brought out the Cab Sauv. Lovely 7.5/10. Another Merlot was recommended by a friend (thanks Ailsa!) from Chile's Rapel Valley, the Anakena Merlot 2009 (£5.99). Very light, I literally thought it was a Rosé on pouring, it looked like a fairly robust Garnacha Rosé. Plenty of strawberry and caramel on the nose and followed up by bright red fruit, sweetness but with a fresh, balancing acidity. A slight bitterness on the finish let it down, but at this price...you can't really complain? 6.5/10

The Cru Bourgeois was the Chateau Dasvin-Bel-Air 2005 (£7 on offer) and was a plummy-purple, showing some age with a brick-red rim. Blackcurrant, cherry, cedar, blackberry, graphite and oak on the complex nose and tasted very similar. Very bright acidity, plenty of tannin yet to shed and abundant fruit. I wish I'd picked up a few of these to put away for a year or two. A medicinal/menthol finish added to the complexity - delicious 7.5/10.

The Cline Californian Syrah 2005 was immense, a deep opaque purple and a lipstick rim. Immediately meaty, with loads of blackberry and pepper. Great taste, akin to a NZ Syrah, or even the Northern Rhone with pepper, spice, dark berries, full and lush. 8/10.

The Yering Station Little Yering Pinot Noir 2006 comes from a famous stable. The oldest winery in Victoria, Yering Station's top Pinots and Shiraz-Viogniers go for upwards of £50 a bottle. This "little brother" was £9.99. A nice bit of age showing although this was a young-pup. Initially, meaty forest floor odours gave way to red berries and caramel. Cherry and a cinnamon-like spice were evident. Similarly on the palate, lots of strawberry, cherry and cinnamon lead to a long finish of bright red fruit. Very bright and acidic although not in the least bit overpowering. This will last for a good few years yet and will improve well-past its 7.5/10 mark, tasting better the second day (screwcap put back on for 24hrs).

Finally, the St. Hallett Faith Shiraz 2008 from the revered Barossa Valley was a gem. £9.99 and well worth it. An intense inky-black-purple, was a bit shy at first but then fumed with blackberry, violet, caramel, toasty oak and pepper smells. On the palate it was super-concentrated; a small sip explodes in the mouth. Intense, very ripe black fruit combined with plenty of fresh acidity, some tannin and a long, warming, fruit-driven finish. Chocolate and smoothness developed after a while and was even fresh the following day (again with the cap on for 24hrs). Maybe not everybody's cup of tea; it's big, bold, powerful, intensely fruity, maybe even a much-maligned "fruit bomb" but has the complexity and quality to shed that moniker, in my humble opinion of course. 8/10.

So, there you have a small summary of some of the Reds available from Co-Op. I will return. I need to try the Whites, Rosés and Sparklers and there were still a few Reds I wanted to get but my wallet disagreed, groaning already under the strain of the bulk-buy. Of the remaining reds that showed promise were the Steakhouse Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 from Oregon USA,  EOS Petit Sirah 2006 from Paso Robles I believe, Chateauneuf du Papes 2007, 2003 Bordeaux, Montes Alpha Malbec, Barbera di Asti, more Chilean stuff; Carmen, Santa Rita 120 etc. Loads more, and that's only the reds.

I highly recommend you take a look. But don't spend an hour and a half there (twice) unless you can put up with whispers from other customers (and staff) along the lines of "Wino!", "Alky!" and "Is he nuts?". LOL.

As always,

Speak to you soon.

Cheers

WBFTF

Birthday Celebrations 2

Hello all!

So, Sunday was my birthday. That meant wine! Plus we've been doubly-celebrating both D's, and mine in the last few weeks. Anyway to cut a long story short; I was spoiled. Treated to filtered coffee and pastries for breakfast and then had Steak Diane cooked for me in the evening (although I was responsible for the roasted sweet potatoes!). As an aperitif we had a great bargain champagne; Charles de Ravon Brut NV. I can't remember where I had this one (possibly Tesco), or how much it was , but I'm sure it was only about £12! It was a pale watery lemon colour, light citrussy nose but had great apples and pears, lively bubbles and a bit of toasty/biscuity complexity. A great marriage of fruit, acidity, bubbles and a touch of sweetness. Absolute bargain, 7.5/10 and Recommended. 

We had a bit of a Shiraz/Syrah week as I've been stock-piling a few lately. We also had a nice Pinot Gris from NZ (embarrassingly I always used to think this was pronounced "Peen-oh Grease" rather than the correct "Peen-oh Gree").

Tinpot Hut, Pinot Gris, Marlborough, 2009

Another name for Pinot Grigio but more often than not called Pinot Gris in NZ (similar to the way they only call it Syrah not Shiraz). This one's from Slurp. 13%

The Look: Medium lemony yellow.

The Smell: Apples. The typical  varietal aroma (for me anyway) of  "fruit salad sweets".

The Taste: Lovely freshness. Apples. Some tangy passion fruit with a minerally edge to it too. Very balanced and refreshing.

The Score: Good. Very good. There's nothing not to like. 7.5/10. Recommended.

VFM: At £9.95 the value-quotient is pretty good at VFM = 0.75. It's not the cheapest Pinot Gris/Grigio but if you've yet to try the NZ style then give it a go.

Vidal, Gimblett Gravels Syrah, 2008

From the spiritual home of NZ Syrah (Hawkes Bay) and the revered Gimblett Gravels area. It's no secret that fantastic wines are made here and this is a real value offering at just over £10. Vidal is one of the oldest producers in the area. Another from Slurp and again, 13%...let's see if it's any good...

The Look: Deep, dark purple with a slight violet rim.

The Smell: Smells of dark berries; blackcurrant and blackberry with hints of violets and pepper.

The Taste: The taste is very similar, blackberry, violets and some peppery spice but BY GOD; the acidity is sharp!!! It made me wince and I could almost feel it eating the enamel off my teeth! A good one for Chianti fans...

The Score: Good. Tasty, but too acidic for my palate. I think it needs a year or two to dim the acidity a bit - which is entirely possible as this should keep for a few years yet. 7/10. 

VFM: At £10.50 the VFM is reasonably good at = 0.66.

 

Waterford Estate, Kevin Arnold Shiraz, Stellenbosch, 2007

A "luxury" Shiraz here from South Africa's Stellenbosch region. This was recently listed in Decanter's top 50 Syrahs for under £25.  This one has 10% Mourvedre in the blend. Another from Slurp . Big at 14.5%

The Look: A very silky sheen to it. Opaque purple with only the slightest rim of violet. Big and clingy on the glass it exudes quality, to the eye at least...

The Smell: A peppery warmth of black fruit with some nuttiness, woody and smoky. Hint of cherry-drops.

The Taste: The lightness was surprising; a "barely there" ethereal quality in the mouth. Spicy, warm, black and red fruit combine and fade to a dark chocolate finish. Still very young. Sharp, bright acidity (a little too much for me) suggests that this needs another few years in bottle.

The Score: Definitely drunk too young, but this could be "class in a glass" in a few years.  7.5/10. Highly Recommended. if you can wait. I'd like to revisit the 2007 in a few years, but do I really want to spend another £20? Hmmm....

VFM: At £19.55 the VFM is obviously going to be fairly poor at = 0.38., but this was a treat. You can probably match the taste quality for £12 to £15, but not perhaps the overall feel and experience? This is one to nurture and return to I think...

D.V. Catena, Syrah, Mendoza, 2007

From the Catena Zapata stable. This one is named after  Domingo Vicente Catena who married Angelica Zapata in 1934 creating the Catena-Zapata tradition. Or so the bottle says anyway...This is from Majestic . 13.5%

The Look: A dark, inky black-purple with a slight rim of violet. Opaque.

The Smell: Smoky black fruit, pepper, sawn-wood and dark chocolate.

The Taste: Again, a combo of blackberry, violets, pepper and some chocolate. Bright acidity, apparent tannin and still a bit in-your-face. Could do with a year or two...Very long finish.

The Score: Delicious, but again, perhaps drunk a little too young  7.5/10. Recommended.

VFM: At £11.99 the VFM is reasonable at 0.63 but there is a buy-2-for-£9.99-each deal on at the moment.

So, that ends our celebrations for the time being. We're both another year older. Maybe not entirely wiser.

 

Back to normal frugality next week as I start reviewing the "Society's Top Sellers" case from the Wine Society. It's a mixed-12 of their "own label" stuff but made by some very serious players; Villa Maria and Concha Y Toro to name but two!

So, as always;

Speak to you soon,

Cheers

WBFTF

Majestic Wine - Part 1

Welcome to the first part of the Majestic Wine case, handpicked mixed-12 according to my rules. A quick summary of what I chose can also be found here:

We Had 3 reds and a white this time.

You can now follow my Tweets at http://twitter.com/#!/WineBlogFrugal

By the way, for any new readers unfamiliar with my blog, please see my other posts over to the right and down a bit or read my introduction here:

Chateau Musar 2002

Lebanon may not be synonymous with wine to most of us (sadly, most of us probably are aware of it due to the war-torn political landscape), however, wine has been abundant here for over 6000 years and is even quoted in the Bible. From fertile plots, 1000m up in the Bekaa valley, the sons of the founder (Gaston Hochar) produce a unique blend every year, although heavily Cabernet dominated. 14% alcohol.

The Look: A deep, plummy purple with brick red edges and some brown hints, nicely showing its age..

The Smell: Powerful smell. Lots of aromas. Cabernet fruit, blackcurrant and some blackberry maybe some cherry with some tobacco and sweetness. Took on more blackberry aromas after a few hours.

The Taste: Decanted and hour before drinking: Initial taste is bright red fruit, suprisingly still very acidic but in a good way! Some blackcurrant, black cherry, some tannin and some spice. Good length. Plenty of life in this yet! After an hour or two, more blackberry fruit developed and jammy black fruit.

The Score: Still tannic and young but very good indeed. It should develop nicely over the next few years. 8/10. Highly Recommended.

VFM: At £17.99 a bottle this is was a treat and not really for "value drinking". The resulting VFM  is naturally low at VFM = 0.44 but at the case average of just £8.39 it is well-worth-it! (VFM = 0.95)

Finca Las Moras, Viognier, Mendoza, 2009
From the San Juan province of Argentina, typically hotter and drier than Mendoza. A big one here at 14% alcohol.

The Look: A pale medium-yellow.

The Smell: Some peach and mellon immediately apparent with also some floral smells and maybe some grapefruit or even pineapple.

The Taste: The taste was lovely initially, smooth mouthfeel, peach, plenty of fruit and acidity. However, there was a slight bitterness on the finish, somethin akin to chewing on orange rind, which let it down.

The Score: A bit rough around the edges, but a decent introduction to Viognier. 6/10.

VFM: At £5.99 a bottle you can't really argue with a VFM = 1.0. A decent, drinkable bottle but for £2 or £3 more you could get something a bit more pleasing.

Yarra Hils, Cabernet Sauvignon, Yarra Valley 2008

A Cabernet from the cool climate Yarra Valley in South Eastern Australia. Matured for 6 months in French Oak. 13%% alcohol.

The Look: A deep, blackish purple, opaque but lightening to a violet at the rim.

The Smell: Quite an array of aromas; blackberry jam, graphite or wet stone, currants, some toffee and violets.

The Taste: Blackcurrants, violets with some blackberries and spice. At first it seemed a bit harsh but did mellow. More complex than I first thought.

The Score: Not too bad at all. Open an hour before drinking. 6.5/10.

VFM: At £7.49 a bottle this is pretty good value, giving VFM = 0.93.

Corona de Aragon, Shiraz, Cariñena, Spain, 2008
From Cariñena in Northwest Spain. Unusual to see a varietal Shiraz with Spain on the label., so this pricked my interest... Aged in American Oak 13.5% alcohol.

The Look: A very dark purple.

The Smell: Blackberries, raisins, coffee and graphite with a slight sweetness.

The Taste: Good taste, raisiny, blackberry, spice, good tannin and balanced acidity. Better after an hour with more intense blackberry and some spice developing.

The Score: Again, not too bad at all. 7/10. Recommended

VFM: At £7.49  a bottle this is again gives VFM = 0.93. Good value stuff!

So, not a bad start to the Majestic case. A lovely treat in the form of Musar 2002 and a good-value Shiraz from Spain. The other two were half decent. I look forward to supping on the rest of them. As always...

Speak to you soon.

Cheers

WBFTF

Oddbins Part 2.5

Welcome to the second part of the second part (if that makes any sense!) of the Oddbins case, handpicked mixed-12 according to my rules. Again a quickie - only two bottles this week. Apologies for the pictures, I was at the mother-in-law-to-be's for these and didn't have my camera so had to make do with the mobile.

By the way, for any new readers unfamiliar with my blog, please see my other posts over to the right and down a bit or read my introduction here:

Casillero del Dioblo, Pinot Noir, Chile, 2009

Owned by the large "Concha Y Toro" brand. Picked from several vineyards in the Cassablanca Valley. It has had some maturing in French Oak barrels for 8 months. 13.5% alcohol.

The Look: Bright raspberyy-red with lipstick-red highlights.

The Smell: Very fruity smell. Red fruit squash and an uncanny smell of "Ribena".

The Taste: Again, bright strawberry, raspberry and cherry with some spice, doubtless from the Oak-ageing. Alcohol was a little too hot and overpowering. The acidity was also maybe a little bit too harsh. We had this pre-dinner and the mother-in-law-to-be enjoyed it (not normally a red drinker) and D liked it too.

The Score: Not too bad. A tasty, fruity, value quaffer but lacking in any sort of finesse. 6.5/10.

VFM: At £7.49 a bottle this gives good value for money at VFM = 0.88.

 

Familia Zuccardi Reserva Bonarda, Mendoza, 2008
One of the oldest winemaking families in Argentina.Their "Zeta" Malbec blend sells fro £30+ a bottle. This is a little more affordable but hopefully from a good heritage nonetheless.Sourced from the arid Santa Rosa vineyard which is practically a desert and Oak-aged for 10 months. 13.5% alcohol.

The Look: Quite a deep plum-purple, not quite opaque but almost.

The Smell: Smells of lovely dark black fruit and some spicy Oak. Couldn't really pick out any strawberries or raspberries  (as described by the online tasting note) but the kitchen was filled with the smell of D's awesome lamb dinner cooking so maybe they were there?

The Taste: Lovely creamy mouthfeel. Balanced acidity, fruit and tannin. Strong black cherry finish with some vanilla, spice and warmth. It was great with the lamb dinner and rich gravy, it didnt lose any flavour or overpower the food. Not normally a match with lamb but for the lack of a Cabernet we had it anyway!

The Score: Good wine. Decent value. Not a lot else needs to be said.  7.5/10. Recommended

VFM: Normally £8.99 a bottle giving decent value at VFM = 0.83.

 

So, 8 out of 12 sunk and going strong. We'll hopefully have a bit more time to relax this week and should complete the reviews of the Oddbins case in the normal style of 4-bottles per posting. Soon I'll be ordering from Majestic Wine. No discounts or vouchers per se, but with an exceptional range of wines they have once again won the Decanter retailer of the year award - so I must take a look.


Speak to you soon.

Cheers

WBFTF

Oddbins - Part 1

Welcome to the first part of the Oddbins case, handpicked mixed-12 according to my rules. We had a sparkler to kick things off and that was followed by 3 reds. Here's how they went down...

Lindauer, Special Reserve Brut Cuvée, NV

A sparkling wine from New Zealand, made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  Non-Vintage (NV). Embarassingly, I forgot to note the alcohol level, but sparklers tend to be around the 12% mark.

The Look: A huge suprise actually - it's PINK!!! I was expecting this to be a sparkling white (which it still is, kind of). An almost Rosé-like salmon pink. Some skin contact with the Pinot grapes has coloured this with a pink blush.

The Smell: Lovely smell of sweet biscuits or more accurately perhaps, "crumble mix".

The Taste: Strawberries and pink-lady apples! Very nice. Good acidity. Good bubbles. Neither of which were too aggressive.

The Score: Great stuff. Reasonably priced to celebrate any occassion and won't break the bank. 7.5/10. Recommended.

VFM: This normally goes for £11.99, making it good value when priced against Rosé champagne and gives a reasonable VFM = 0.63. However, I only paid £8.14 a bottle on-average after discount so the VFM increases to 0.92. Great value for money.

 

Bodegas Renacer, Punto Final Malbec, Mendoza, 2009


The 2008 was a Gold Medal winner at the recent Decanter World Wine Awards but they'd run out of that so I settled for the 2009. Actually 97% Malbec with 3% Cabernet Franc added to the mix. 13.5% alcohol.

The Look: A dense, dark, opaque purple with a violet rim. Also came with the most bonkers cork I've ever seen (see pic below main pic) - Bright fluorescent orange plastic. Certainly distinctive!

The Smell: Initial smell is smoky, leathery, black cherries, blackcurrant and almost Bordeaux-like hints (no doubt coming from the Cab Franc which I didn't realise was blended in until writing this). After a while, more fruit was dispalyed especially blackberry.

The Taste: Spicy, plummy and black cherry-like taste. Warming i.e. warms the chest! Balanced acidity. Not too harsh but fresh. Some tannin present. And a decently long finish. After an hour or so, much more blackberry and sweet black fruit was evident.

The Score: The more we had the better it became. Developed into a stunner 8/10. Recommended

VFM: Normal price of £9.99 yields a VFM of 0.80 but at the case average price VFM = 0.98. Very good value, either way.

 

Villa Wolf, Pinot Noir, Pfalz, 2008

This one was actually off (volatile acidity). I swear that it changed in front of my eyes, fine one minute, faulty the next! But more than likely, my palate didn't immediately pick up on it. A shame, we were looking forward to German Pinot (or Spätburgunder as they sometimes call it, which translates to "Late Burgundian".

No score unfortunatley.

 

Craggy Range, Block 14 Syrah, Gimblett Gravels, 2008

Ever so slightly pissed off that I ordered the 2007 but the 2008 came. 2007 was superb for the Hawke's Bay area of NZ. 2008, in all honesty, I know nothing about. Anyway, this is from the Gimblett Gravels area, the spiritual home for New Zealand Syrah (never called Shiraz here for some reason). 13.4%

The Look: The bottle is majestic! Class oozes from the label and colour scheme. The wine itself a super-dense, completely opaque purple. Only a very slight lightening at the rim to a violet colour.

The Smell: Straight from opening it exudes a peppery, spicy scent mixed with dark fruits such as blackberry, blueberry, plum and something floral like violets or lavender. D says "Soap and sweetcorn" - I agree with the "soap" possbily coming from the lavender/violets but "sweetcorn" I couldn't smell! :)

The Taste: Right this bugger wasn't cheap so I was determined to write as detailed an account as possible. The bottle was left open for an hour before tasting:

The first thing you notice is a striking, vibrant acidity.

This then flourishes into black fruit across your tongue - blackberry, blackcurrant and slight hints of blueberry.

Then it delivers a spicy, peppery after-kick.

Mouth-feel is very smooth. Some tannin evident.

Lovely long finish. 

There are hints of Aussie Shiraz at the fruit end, but more complexity and the peppery-ness (if that's even a word) sets it apart. Absolute class. After an hour or so even more fruit, aroma and spice came out.

Still a bit young.   With time, the remaining tannin will integrate seamlessly and the vibrancy of the acidity should fade slightly giving even more pleasure. The bottle says it's capable of being aged up to 7 years from bottling date (so 2015 effectivley). I'd say in 2 years it'll be at its peak, but hey, I'm no expert!

The Score: Absolute class. Delicious. Damned expensive.  9/10. Highly Recommended if you've got 20 sheets burning a hole in your pocket! If this was £12 a bottle I'd be out robbing Grannies to pay for a case. At £18.99 is it worth it? Phooo, tough decision. I'd like to say yes, and I think I'm going to...Yes it is worth it, but not very often. Once a year treat I think.

VFM: Normal price of £18.99 yields a VFM of 0.47 which is immaterial really, this is a treat, not value for money drinking. The case price averaging out to £8.14 eases the pain a little giving VFM = a whopping 1.11.

So, that's the first part of the Oddbins case done. 3 out of 4 recommended (one highly) and one faulty. Not a bad start at all. We'll be getting stuck into some whites this week, so as ever...


Speak to you soon.

Cheers

WBFTF