Supermarket Sweeps - Six for £60 - The Co-operative Part 2

Hello All,

 

 

Welcome to the second part of my new series, where I'll be rummaging through the supermarket shelves in search of quality wines for a reasonable price. The remit is; 6 bottles for a grand total of £60 or less. This week, still with the Co-operative, but reds. You can read part 1 here, where the whites had a particularly good start. Can the reds keep up? Let's see... Oh and don't forget to follow me on Twitter for further little nuggets of wine-related stuff.

 

The Magnificent Wine Company, Steak House Cabernet Sauvignon, 2007

£9.49. Magnificently named also! This hails from the Columbia Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area) in Washington State. This was chosen on the basis of the the cool-ish climate of this region. Ah, who am I trying to kid, the attractive bottle artwork did it for me! 13.5%

The Look: A deep black/purple, fading to a slight tawny rim, almost completely opaque.

The Smell: Initially, pure blackcurrant fruit and some cedary/oaky woodiness, but developed a complex nose of plum, leather and coffee bean while maintaining the blackcurrant fruit.

The Taste: Slightly austere at first with grippy tannin, some blackcurrant fruit and slight bitterness but then flourished into dark fruit, mocha, softer tannin but still with some grip, plum and some spice. Enough acidity to balance it out too. On the back of that, I'd decant for an hour or two before hand if we had it again.

The Score: Good stuff, complex, plenty of fruit and some bottle-age complexity. Lovely. 7.5/10. Recommended

VFM: At £9.49 this is still good value at VFM = 0.79

Yalumba, Bush Vine Grenache, Barossa Valley, 2008

£9.99. A household Australian brand, Yalumba make an extensive range of wines, from entry-level £6 wines to classy £50+ wines in the heart of the Barossa Valley, a region more well known for its Shiraz, but Grenache is making headway.  14.5%

The Look: Dark purple core, dark ruby rim, translucent.

The Smell: Vanilla, raspberries and spicy dark fruit with some oak influence.

The Taste: Spicy red fruits, raspberry and cherry in abundance, vanilla and a long finish. Warming, with oaky sweet fruit but acidity to balance it.

The Score: Great. 7.5/10. Recommended

VFM: At £9.99  this is  good value at VFM = 0.75.

Torres, Gran Coronas Cabernet Sauvignon, Penedes, 2006

£7.99. You may remember that we're fans of Torres. They produce a great range of wines at very reasonable prices (but also some high-end stuff). The flavour per £ is almost unbeatable. Nice bit of bottle age on this one, being a 2006, coupled with the Torres name meant I had to try it...Cabernet Sauvignon with a touch of Tempranillo, this is aged in oak and given a bit more special treatment than their entry-level wines. 14%).

The Look: Deep black-purple, plum rim, opaque.

The Smell: Delicious smells of dark berries, vanilla, oak, some black cherry and a mild woody spice.

The Taste: Mouth-filling texture, slightly furry tannins, soft, with lots of blackcurrant and black cherry fruit. Warm with creamy vanilla. Despite the age it still needs a year or two to soften the tannins and I wonder if it has enough acidity to cope, but it was nicely integrated by the second glass and by the last it was delicious. 7.5/10. Recommended

VFM: At £7.99 this is great value VFM = 0.94.

So, in summary: A little on the high-end of this budget series, but still, EVERY bottle was under £10 and EVERY bottle was a recommended wine. That is something. The thing that struck me about Co-op's reds was the average bottle age. Lots of wines are fairly mature, with a good bit of bottle age lending complexity. Good on them. Their storage must be sufficient; not a faulty bottle in sight among these six, or the previous visit for some reds.

If you're after something a little more extravagant there were some Cru Bourgeois Bordeaux bottles from 2003 and 2004 (Chateau Senejac 2004 £15.99), some 2004 Petit Verdot from the US and a host of others. In the whites there were some attractively priced Chablis and Burgundy plus some Muscadet sur Lie that I might just pick up next time I'm there.

Overall a superb performance from the Co-op. This will be the one to beat...


Next time; Tesco!

As always, speak to you soon!

Cheers

WBFTF

Majestic Wine - recommended reds

Hello all!

Majestic Wine have currently got a cracking little deal on, 20% off any two bottles from Spain, New Zealand, Australia, Chile and Italy (Oh and Beaujolais but I didn't get any of those!) so I thought I'd give some recommendations for the ones we've liked over the past few weeks. Reds this week, whites next week. Obviously this is just a small selection (we'd loved to have bought the whole lot, but funds and sense prevailed) so there's plenty more on offer, I suggest you take a look. Enjoy!

From Spain we have...

...the excellent and great value (£6.99) Sangre de Toro 2008 from Torres.  Superbly fruity with plum, blackberry and violets with some spice (8/10). Two decent Riojas in the form of the CVNE (pronounced "Coonay") Crianza 2007; (£9.99) very light weight with bright, spicy raspberry, cherry, vanilla and oak (7.5/10) and a Gran Reserva 2003 from Berberana Vina Alarde (£10.99). Delicious with that lovely mellow, smooth, strawberry flavour of aged Rioja and a creamy vanilla woodiness from the oak. (7.5/10). Last up a lovely Ribera del Duero 2006 from Emilio Morro; (£13.99) caramel, chocolate, vanilla and red berries on the nose followed up by bright red fruit, "grippy" tannins and lots of creamy blackberry - superb 8.5/10.

From New Zealand we had some beauts...

The Martinborough Vineyard Te Tera Pinot Noir 2009 (£12.79) was mind-blowing! Bright, clear ruby red smelling of sweet caramel and vanilla, cherry and raspberry - like a berry cheesecake, amazing. The texture was pure silk and abundant fruit on the palate; raspberry, strawberry, redcurrant, blackberry, black cherry, the whole gamut followed by a long, dry and herby finish. First class 9/10! Another Pinot was the Villa Maria Cellar Selection 2008 (£10.79) which had a blueberry, violet and cinnamon whiff about it with plenty of bite and grip in the mouth. Blackberry and dark cherries flowed and although great at 7.5/10, paled in comparison to the Te Tera. The Craggy Range Te Kahu 2008 (£12.99) Bordeaux blend had the typical smoky plum, cherry and blackcurrant of its Cab, Merlot, Malbec and Cab Franc grapes. Smooth tannins and lots of black fruit, powerful and long, but ever so slightly hot  7.5/10.

From Italy we had...

Yes! A Pinot from Italy! And it was great! The Bacaro 2009 was £4.99!!! It smelled of blackberries and oaky spice and delivered with silky tannins, lots of dark fruit, cherry, blackberry and a long finish. With fresh acidity this could age well for a few years too (7.5/10). AMAZING VALUE!

From Chile we had...

A very good 2008 Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon. (£9.99) Intense, smoky, oaky blackcurrant and cedar and in the mouth it was warming, tannic (a good food wine) and had lots of dark fruit; blackcurrant, blackberry and plums but a little hot. 7.5/10. 

And last-up, from Oz, we had...

a respectable Jim Barry Lodge Hill Shiraz 2009. Classic nose of blackberry, blueberry, dark chocolate and oak. In the mouth it was smooth and bright with a crunchy texture. Plenty if plum and bramble fruit with hints of coffee and mocha. Tasty 7.5/10.

So, there we have some great reds from Majestic from their current offers. Next week, we'll be polishing off the whites so stay tuned.

As always, speak to you soon!

Cheers

WBFTF

Laithwaites - Mystery Case

Hello All.

I've always been a fan of these. Don't ask me why, because I don't really know. Logic tells me that I should avoid paying for wine when I haven't got a clue what it is. However, whether cleverly marketed by means of words like "Surprise", "Mystery" and "Discovery", or whether the bargain-hunter in me is hoping to scoop the ever-elusive £600 case,  I still seem to buy them fairly regularly.

So what the hell is a Mystery Case I hear you ask? Basically, it's a collection of random bottles put into a case for £69.99 (or £59.99 if you're buying any other 12 bottles with it). Often made up of Bin Ends (when they tidy up the leftover bottles in cellars) but you can find some of their regular range plonked in as well. You can get mixed (6 white, 6 red), all whites or all reds. See the Website for more details here:  Each case promises a "Bargain" with savings of £17 guaranteed, although I've always been a bit suspicious of those figures (we'll examine it at the end of the case). Including delivery, and assuming you're not buying 12 other bottles it works out at £6.42 a bottle. Not bad at all. 

You can get some lovely bottles. You can get some not-so-lovely bottles. It really is a gamble, but we've been fairly lucky so far and had some nice ones. Anyway, you're always covered by the 100% guarantee from Laithwaites - if you don't like it or it's off, email them and they'll send you a voucher, usually for more than the wine was worth in the first place. Cool beans.

Anyway, what were the first four like...

A.R.H. Family Vineyard, Shiraz-Cabernet, South Australia, 2009

Made by the Hickinbotham Family and named after Prof. Alan Robb Hickinbotham, apparently one of the founding fathers of Australian wine. Matured in a mix of French and American Oak. A big one at 14.5%.

The Look: Unsurprisingly; a deep, dark, nearly opaque, plummy-purple with a violet rim.
The Smell: A lovely mix of blackberry, blueberry, violets, spice and chocolate.
The Taste: Loads of blackberry fruit.  Chocolate and spice. Smooth mouthfeel from the integrated tannins. Delicious. It doesn't say what the blend ratio is but I'd guess it's the majority being Shiraz and a small amount of Cab, say 85/15 at a guess?
The Score: Very fruity, but at the same time refined, complex and classy. 8/10.  Recommended!

VFM: This is normally £7.99 so the £6.42 case-average works well in our favour. At this price VFM is exceptional at 1.25

Solar de Coteba, Cabernet Sauvignon, La Mancha, 2008 

Made in Castilla-La Mancha in Spain from 40 year old low-yielding vines. Reasonably high altitudes (600m) allow cool nights to counterbalance the blazing sun and produce concentrated flavours and aromas in the grapes. There is a small percentage of Tempranillo in the blend, apparently, but labelled as varietal Cab Sauv.13.5%.

The Look: A dark, inky-black/purple, not fully opaque and with a ruby-red rim.

The Smell: Very nice - Oaky, spicy blackcurrant and blackberry. Some vanilla.

The Taste: Warm and spicy with lots of fruit and creamy Cassis. A "mouthful" feel to it. Bright acidity.  On the verge of being too "hot" - needed a bit more restraint.

The Score: Very nice, but just too big for its structure to handle, too much alcohol apparent. Just misses a recommendation at 7/10. 

VFM: This is normally £6.99 so the £6.42 case-average gives us a small saving. At this price VFM is albeit very good at 1.09

 And on to the whites...

Les Vertus d'Antan, Colombard-Gros Manseng, Cotes de Gascogne, 2008 

Made in Gascony, south of Toulouse. Here Colombard grapes are often made into wine to be distilled into Armagnac. However, this one has been blended with the little-known Gros-Manseng which should add freshness, spice and florality at the fairly low alcohol level of 11.5%.

The Look: A deep gold colour.

The Smell: Citrus, grapefruit and spice on the nose. Very aromatic!

The Taste: Very bright lemon/lime zing to start, followed by a grapefruit-like bitterness. The acidity is very strong, leading to a "spritzy" mouthfeel but there are no bubbles in this! Mouth-puckering, but refreshing.

The Score: Nice, but a little overdone on the acidity. 7/10. 

VFM: This is normally £7.49 so the £6.42 case-average gives us a reasonable saving. At this price VFM is again very good at 1.09

Visionario, Bianco delle Venezie, 2009

Made in the delle Venezie IGT (Indicazione Geografica Tipica) which signifies quality but is less strict than the DOC/G rules. Venezie encompasses many regions in Northern Italy including Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige. An undisclosed white blend here at 13%.

The Look: A pale, medium yellow.

The Smell: Sweet toffee-apple, floral, hints of grass and tropical fruit.

The Taste: Slightly off-dry with lots of fruit-character, peach, apple, toffee. A bit sweet but balanced by the acidity. Very gluggable but a bitterness on the finish let it down.

The Score: Chill it fiercely and swig it back. Not bad at all 6.5/10. 

VFM: This is normally only £5.99 so we've paid a little more for it this time around. However, still very good value at VFM =  1.08. saving.

So, there's the first four. Not bad at all. Nothing mind-blowing, but a very good Shiraz and some perfectly good wines for the price.

Part 2 next week. Bring it on...

As always, speak to you soon!

Cheers!

WBFTF

The Wine Society - Part 1

Hello All...

We've finally gotten around to drinking the case we bought from the Wine Society. If you don't already know them then, in a nutshell, they are an old (established 1874) "not for profit" organisation. £40 buys you a lifetime membership. Most of the profit (after wages, advertising, blah blah) is supposed to go back in to the organisation to secure the best deals for its members. I promptly joined to see what they were like. It was pretty cool. I got a hand-written membership card, certificate and a nice catalogue to browse. Plus £10 off the first order. Not too shabby.

The plus points were a great range, free delivery on 12-bottle orders over £75 and a smooth online ordering process. However, those "best deals for members" were not immediately apparent. Prices on brands were  not that any different to any other large online retailers for wines common to all. Some wines were more expensive so they are undoubtedly limited by the RRP and profit margins. Oh and they are heavily old World biased, although they do carry a significant new World range to be fair; 134 wines from the South of France alone versus 73 from Chile as a whole, 50 from New Zealand and 61 from Australia. Argentina, the US and South Africa are considered "rest of the World" rather than having their own search links on the left-hand-side.

Anyway, after the dismay of the promised "best prices" not being delivered, and no sign of making back the £40 outlay via discounted wines anytime soon, (minus one point) I did manage to find pockets of value in the form of the Society's own wines. Don't let the term "own wines" put you off - these are made by serious players (Concha Y Toro, Craggy Range, Villa Maria, Hunter's to name but a few) and are VERY well priced.

I opted for the "Top Society Sellers" - basically a mixed case of the Society's own wines. £79 for 12, which after the £10 discount worked out at a magic £5.75 a bottle! A word of warning here though: BE CAREFUL - they use the same name for different cases of wine!!!  The one I thought I had ordered was indeed called "The Society's Top Sellers" but that had sold out. The website still displayed a case called "The Society's Top Sellers" but had different contents. I bought purely on the name of the case and didn't check the alphanumeric case code. The catalogue is not always the same as the website. If in doubt check the case code and double check the contents. Lesson number 1 harshly learned. Minus another point.

Oh and the free delivery date can be up to two weeks away as the Society's Own Driver brings them round in a van. Minus another point. These wines had better be bloody good...

Anyway, it turned up and we're getting stuck in, so without further ado, this weeks wines were...

The Society's Claret, NV

A non-vintage blend from Bordeaux, meant to be "drunk young" but might improve for a year or so. The actual blend changes every year , so I'm not sure there's any consistency to it, but I believe it is Cabernet dominant with some Merlot. From the Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux. 13%.

The Look: A silky, reflective sheen to it, a sort of garnet red, purple rim and some brick-red to it..

The Smell: Smells slightly smoky, cedary, with cherry and blackcurrant. Oddly I would associate the smokiness and woodiness with oak but this has not been oaked.

The Taste: Some decent spicy blackcurrant fruitiness, smooth integrated tannins and a decent acidity. After an hour or two it did open up with more fruit and spice which would suggest that keeping, or opening a few hours before drinking might be beneficial. A very slight bitterness on the finish was apparent.

The Score: Good for the price. Bordeaux at this price is frankly, normally crap. This was surprisingly good.  7/10. 

VFM: At £5.95 a bottle this is great value at VFM = 1.18.

 

The Society's Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009

Made by the giant Concha Y Toro (makers of the truly amazing Trio, and supermarket stalwart Casillero del Diablo among many others) in the Maipo Valley. Aged in large oak barriques for 8 months. 14%

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

The Smell: Mint, blackcurrant leaf and dark chocolate.

The Taste: A big mouthful. Smooth but slightly furry tannins, plenty of them too. Black cherry, lots of blackcurrant and dark chocolate. A long chocolaty and coffee-like aftertaste. Good bright acidity - remained light and not too heavy. Very well made and will keep.

The Score: Lovely fruit and spice. Great for the price  7.5/10. Recommended

VFM: At £5.95 a bottle this is exceptional  value at VFM = 1.26.

 

The Society's New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, 2010

Made by the giant Villa Maria (who's wines we have enjoyed on every occasion - search the Blog for "Villa Maria"). This is from Marlborough made in the classic style. 13.5%

The Look: A pale watery white with a slight lemony hint.

The Smell: Unsurprisingly a big hit of gooseberry, slight cut-grass, pod-peas and passion fruit. All the tell-tale signs of Marlborough.

The Taste: Bursts with ripe gooseberry and an intense passion fruit acidity. Very zingy and fresh. Slight herby hints of green pepper and peas. Not at all reserved,  but loud and in-your-face. As it should be? After a while the bitter green pepper became a bit too apparent, but still very enjoyable.

The Score: Very good Sauv Blanc. Great for the price  but there's better. 7.5/10. Recommended

VFM: At £8.95 a bottle this is good  value at VFM = 0.84.

 

The Society's White Burgundy, Macon-Villages 2009

From the Maconnais in the South of Burgundy. Chosen annually from selected villages to maintain the quality. 13.%

The Look: A medium gold with lemony highlights.

The Smell: Lovely smell of melon, honey, some spice.

The Taste: First noticeable is the smooth texture. Fruit is restrained giving way to some complexity; creamy,  vanilla, woody, spicy (I would swear that his has been oaked but the label says no!?). Fruit is definitely secondary but there is a lovely soft melon/peach character that finishes with a lively acidity. Some citrus hints and a mineral, grapefruit-like tone.

The Score: Tasting blind I would have said this was a Burgundy of some repute. Very good 7.5/10. Recommended

VFM: At £7.50 a bottle the VFM is cock-on at 1.0.

 

So the first four appear to be a success. The value for money is right on the button and quality-wise I am impressed. So is D - "There hasn't been a bad bottle yet" - and I'm inclined to agree. Next week will be part two followed by the final part after that.

As always...

Speak to you soon.

Cheers

WBFTF

Slurp.co.uk - value wines for January pockets!

Slurp (www.slurp.co.uk), according to their website, are the UK's largest online retailer of wines, beers and spirits. Quite surprising, considering who else is out there (Majestic, Waitrose Direct, Tesco, Berry Bros etc.). They are also growing. Growing at such a rate that their Chief Investment Officer, back in May 2010, saw it necessary to inform the Decanter (magazine) staff and readers that they are doing very well indeed. All this in a recession? Well done to them.

It's no secret; online retailers can offer better value (less overheads due to the lack of need for real estate for shops, staffing, etc... etc.), but whether they do offer real value is usually down to the individual retailers, their range and pricing. I try to promote buying online as a great way of getting value for money.

So, what is the Slurp range like? If I'm permitted to use a colloquialism; it's berserk. (NB: That's good!). Literally thousands of wines. The Slurp Express range (where you can order single-bottle quantities) for mixed cases of 6 or 12 bottles has over 1200 wines alone! They also offer a large range of "fine" wines if you're after something special, but as it's January, we'll concentrate on the "value end"...for now.

The one minor gripe I have with the website is the search function - it can be misleading. Don't get me wrong, it's very comprehensive, you can filter by Grape, Country, Region, Vintage, Price, ad infinitum. However, when you do filter by a category, further irrelevant option are not removed. For example, select Argentina as a country and you will see the 1978 vintage displayed, along with all the others. BUT, as you might guess, clicking on 1978 does not yield any wines. Similarly, if you pick Chile for example, the Region options still show things like Barossa, which is clearly not relevant, but to the novice might mislead. Oh and don't type in "wine" from the homepage search to try and separate out the beers and spirits - you get 0 results! LOL.

Anyway, the wines... So, I received a case of six, 3x reds and 3x whites and a mix of old and new World, showcasing some of their value wines, all between £6 and £9 a bottle. Here's how they went down...

First the whites...

Alpha Zeta "S", Soave, 2009

Made in Veneto by the Kiwi export Matt Thompson, 75% Garganega and 25% Trebbiano di Soave 12.5%

The Look: Golden with green hints. Deeply coloured.
The Smell: Delicate at first (straight from the fridge) but warmed up to give orchard fruit, peach, apricot, floral whiffs and spiciness.
The Taste: Again, restrained at first but developed into pear, peach and apricot. Hints of honey, marzipan, lemon/lime and spice. Balanced acidity and a mineral finish. A good food wine, it won't overpower it.
The Score: Pretty decent. Don't serve too cold and have it with food 7/10.
VFM: At only £6.60 a bottle this is very good value VFM = 1.06.

Vidal, Natural Ferment Chardonnay, Hawke's Bay, 2007

From the exquisite Hawkes Bay region of NZ, where wild yeasts were allowed to complete the fermentation, apparently. A big one at 14.5%

The Look: A lovely pale gold.
The Smell: Tropical fruit and grapefruit with a "flinty" minerality. Hints of smoke and spice.
The Taste: Zingy acidity, smooth and a lovely minerality. Tangy, spicy with hints of orange, cream, smoke and citrus. Beautifully complex, lots of flavour and intrigue. Delicious. High alcohol not at all noticeable.
The Score: Great, one of the best Chardonnays we've had recently. Something different from the hordes of apply/citrussy "clones" on the shelves. 8/10. Highly Recommended
VFM: This has very recently gone up from £8.65 to £9.50, which is a shame and impacts the VFM, but still pretty good at VFM = 0.79.

Monte Clavijo, Rioja Blanco, 2009

A Rioja Blanco here made from 90% Viura and 10% Malvasia. 12%

The Look: A pale gold.
The Smell: A bit reticent, even when "warmed up" but hints of citrus, spice and minerals.
The Taste: Mainly apple - green apple. Fresh acidity and a decent long finish. Some lemon/lime and maybe hints of orange or orange blossom? Good with a creamy prawn spaghetti.
The Score: Nice. Not mind-blowing by any stretch, but a reasonable food-wine. Not much flavour for drinking on its own. 6.5/10.
VFM: Again, great value as this is only £6.10. VFM = 1.07.


And the reds...

Concha Y Toro, Trio, Cabernet Sauvignon*, Maipo Valley, 2008

Something special from Chilean giant Concha Y Toro. The asterisk* is because although Cab is the dominant grape, there's also some Cab Franc and Shiraz in the blend - hence the "Trio". Highly Parker-rated this one at 90+ points and also highly praised by Decanter in a recent Chilean Cab tasting. 14%.

The Look: A super-dark, intense black-purple only lightening slightly at the rim.
The Smell: Spicy, smoky, peppery black fruits on the nose. Similar to an an Elqui Syrah. Hints of mint/toothpaste and cherry too. A beauty.
The Taste: A lovely fresh acidity bursts into minty blackcurrant from the Cabernet, followed by spice and a perfumey blackberry/raspberry from the Shiraz and some slight graphite with violets from the Cab Franc. Hints of redcurrant and pepper. Smooth tannin. Excellent and would keep well I imagine.
The Score: Unsurprisingly, Parker and the Decanter lot were spot-on. Very good indeed. This is now D's favourite wine (she reckons it's a 10!). I kept my cool, but still I think it deserves an 8.5/10 and is unequivocally Highly Recommended. Maybe in a year or two this will be a 9, or maybe the ever-elusive 10? For under £10??? Wow...
VFM: At only £8.65 a bottle this is very good value VFM = 0.98 and the quality to price ratio that makes this all worthwhile.

Borgo Selene, Nero Mascalese/Nero d'Avola, 2008

A 50/50 blend of two grapes here from the Island of Sicily. Fairly light at  12.5%

The Look: An intense dark purple, violet rim.
The Smell: Smells like a cross between Malbec and Cab Sauv; blackcurrant and spice with smoky cherry. Smelling blind I would have said Cab.
The Taste: Bright red acidic fruit with lots of blackcurrant too. Smooth velvety tannin, revealing oaky vanilla. Some cherry on the finish. Great with Bolognese.
The Score: Lovely. Not mind-blowing but a solid wine for the price 7/10.
VFM: Once again, great value as this is only £6.65. VFM = 1.05.

D'Arenberg, The Stump Jump, GSM**, 2008


A big (14%) blend of **Grenache/Shiraz/Mourvedre from South Australia.

A real shame here, we were looking forward to this, and it did show promise with spicy black fruit, however, a deep sniff resulted in a burning sensation in the nose - possibly faulty...

...confirmed on the taste - too acidic, "hot" and Porty so I'm not sure if it was oxidised, volatile acidity or both?

Anyway, one in 12 they say, and we've had a reasonably good run lately so were probably due a bad one. That said, D'Arenberg wines are normally superb, even the entry-level ones like this, and at £8.95 I'll most likely give it another shot some time.



So, there we have it. Some great wines from Slurp but most importantly, great value. All had VFM scores in the region of 1.0 which is where you want to be for this price bracket. Well done Slurp and thanks for finding D a new favourite wine - you realise she'll be wanting a case off me now for her birthday don't you? I can't wait!

As always...

Speak to you soon,

Cheers
WBFTF

Oh and if you're interested in Wine Investment you can read our story of it here:

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

Tesco Delicious Dozen final part...

Welcome to the final part of the Tesco "Delicious Dozen" review. If you're not familiar with the Blog then please see my other posts over to the right and down a bit in the Blog Archive, and read my welcome notice here: 

Ok, so these were again served up blind, without me seeing the bottles. Bit of a disappointing end to the case this...First up the two reds, or so we tried...

Faustino Rivero, Rioja Reserva "Black Label", 2003

Really looking forward to this...13%

The Look: Beautiful brick red with signs of brown showing its age.

The Smell: Urgh. Not good. Musty, dusty, old cardboard. Off.

The Taste: Not good. Musty, dusty, old cardboard. Off.

The Score: Disappointingly off - corked. 1/10 Corked.

VFM: N/A.

 

The Stonewalker, Cabernet Sauvignon, South Africa, 2009

14%. Again, looking forward to this one, but again...

The Look: A really deep hue of purple.

The Smell: FFS! Off again! Musty cardboard, bad cork.

The Taste: Horrible cork taint.

The Score: Bleurgh.  1/10  Corked.

VFM: N/A

 

Lets hope the whites do a bit better...

Jacktone Ranch, Viognier Reserve, California, 2008

A stable mate of the red in the earlier Tesco review. 13.5% alcohol this one.

The Look: Again, a typical pale, mid-yellow.

The Smell: Floral and perfumed, grapefruity.

The Taste: Smooth, but with an almost "bubbly" acidity. Long finish of mellon and grapefruit. Refreshing. Was great with our cod fillets and parsely sauce. Ever so slightly off-balance with the acidity a bit too sharp, but not too distracting.

The Score: This is good, especially for a fiver! 7/10 Recommended.

VFM: at the case price of £5 a bottle it gets an excellent VFM = 1.4, At its regular price of £10 it still gets a respectable VFM =  0.7.

 

and finally...

The Stonewalker, Sauvignon Blanc, South Africa, 2010

Fresh off the blocks this, being a 2010. Failry light at  12% alcohol.

The Look: Not quite water-white, but a lemony pale yellow.

The Smell: A nice smell of tropical fruit and the characteristic limey, grassy hints of Sauv Blanc.

The Taste: Not quite as good as the smell suggests. Ok flavours of tropical fruits and zesty citrus, but pretty poorly done. Nagging bitterness on the mid and back palate.

The Score: Ok, but no great shakes. Ok, it's only a fiver but I think I'd rather pay another quid or two to get something with better flavour. 5.5/10 

VFM: at the case price of £5 a bottle it gets an excellent VFM = 1.1, At its regular price of £10 it gets a pretty average VFM =  0.55.

 

So there we have it. A pretty poor end to the Tesco Delicious Dozen case. 3 bottles were corked out of 12. I'm not sure how to get refunds (or even if the do them) from Tesco Wine so I'll have to let this one slide. There were a couple of recommendations and pockets of great stuff, but essentially limited appeal. 

 

Three corked bottles in 12? I think I'll be avoiding Tesco mixed cases from now on, at least until they get their shit together, but will probably still pop in to the store, or order things online that I know are good, like the excellent Taniwah Sauv Blanc here: and the odd bottle of Maycas del Limari Syrah here:

 

 

Semi-blind tasting continues...

So as I've said in  previous posts, I'm trying to develop my blind tasting skills. D serves them up at random, with bottles hidden from view and I have to guess at the 

• Grape type
• Country or Region
• Year
• Alcohol level

So, here are my notes, transcribed directly from my note book: We'll forget the two corked reds and just show the whites this week....

Wine #1:

Initial nose is intriguing, floral perfumed, maybe Viognier or Gewurz? Medium yellow, pale. 13 to 13.5%. Initial thoughts are Viognier - bubbly acidity, smoothness, melon and grapefruit. Ever so slightly off balance - acidity-wise. Nice with the Cod.

The guess: Viognier, New World - maybe Australia?, 2008, 13.5%

The reveal: Californian Viognier, 2008, 13.5%! Ah, nearly!!! I wouldn't really know how to tell Cali from Oz in a Viognier anyway. NOTE TO SELF: Once you can pick out a grape you need to examine the nuances of each region to identify them. Learn!

 

Wine #2:

Not water-white but pale lemony yellow. Lovely limey, citrussy, grassy smells. Sauv Blanc? Ok. Tropical and zesty/grassy citrus but not very good. Too bitter. Acidity over cooked. Light one, not much alcohol, 12.5%? Young.

The guess: Cheap Sauv Blanc, not very good vineyard, Chile or South Africa, 2009. 12.5%.

The reveal: Soth African Sauv Blanc! 2010. 12%! Again pretty close. I think I could pick out Sauv Blanc even with a cold now! Still, I have no idea how to pick out the individual regional characteristics apart from maybe France vs. New Zealand. NOTE TO SELF: Need to learn the regional differences. Drink more wine to find out! Yeahssssssssss! :)

 

So, there's the first two cases finished! Not a bad drinking effort. This coming friday (24th Sept) we have an Oddbins in-store tasting. I will write that up at the first opportunity over the weekend (probably). I've also devised a plan to get the maximum diversity out of picking your own mixed 12 - to try and discover new wines or beat old favourites. Stay tuned for that. Anyway...

Speak to you soon!

 

Cheers.

WBFTF

Tesco Delicious Dozen Part 2...(& semi-blind tasting)

Welcome to the second part of the Tesco "Delicious Dozen" review. If you're not familiar with the Blog then please see my other posts over to the right and down a bit in the Blog Archive, and read my welcome notice here: 

Ok, so these were again served up blind, without me seeing the bottles. We had the two whites first this week:

Abbot's Vale Chardonnay-Viognier, Yarra Valley, 2008

Made by Kate Goodman of Punt Road winery in the Yarra Valley. This is cool-climate Victoria (this winery also makes a lovely Punt Road 2005 Shiraz which is maturing nicely now). 13% alcohol.

The Look: A pale, medium yellow

The Smell: Quite restrained, but subtle hints of apple and mellon. D says "water mellon".

The Taste: Wow. The first thing you notice is the texture - like silk, or a glass of cream. So smooth. Oppulent apples, mellon, cream and peaches. Beautiful. Very drinkable

The Score: This really is very good. I'd never have expected a £5 bottle to be so good. 8/10 Highly Recommended.

VFM: at the case price of £5 a bottle it gets an excellent VFM = 1.6, At its regular price of £10 it still gets a pretty good VFM =  0.8. Snap it up while it's still a Fiver! Seriously, get some - I will be getting more...

 

Domaine Baillard, Chablis, 2008

An AOC Chablis produced by Jean Claude Fromont.12.5% alcohol

The Look: Again a pale medium yellow, lighter than expected.

The Smell: Apples, tropical fruit and maybe a bit toasty.

The Taste: Beatiful, good fresh acidity, lots of fruit with apple, pineapple, tropical fruits but with a steely-dry minerality. A long finish - you can taste this for a ges after swallowing.

The Score: Very well balanced. Very good 7.5/10 Recommended

VFM: at the case price of £5 a bottle it gets an excellent VFM = 1.5, but the true bottle price is £13, giving a modest VFM =  0.58. Definitely one to look for in a mixed case at reduced price, but good nonetheless!

Jacktone Ranch, Petit Sirah, California, 2008

Produced at an old mid-19th century horse breeding farm, who were the first to plant vines in the San Joaquin valley. Petit Sirah is also known as Durif. 14% alcohol.

The Look: A very dark, deep purple turning to violet at the rim.

The Smell: Strong smell of blackcurrants/Cassis with some spice and pepper, maybe some sweetish vanilla.

The Taste: Much the same as the above! Lovely spicy blackcurrants. Alcohol is slightly overdone leaving a burning sensation on the tongue. Not much complexity.

The Score: A decent fruity drop for the price. 6.5/10 

VFM: at the case price of £5 a bottle it gets a very good VFM = 1.3, but I'm not sure what the regular price is as it seems to be out of stock now.

 

Left Bank, Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux AOC, 2007

Modest Bordeaux AOC here, and 2007 was a particularly un-ripe year so not expecting big things...

The Look: To be honest I didn't make a note because...

The Smell: ...Phoo, that's not right. Musty and sour.

The Taste:  Horrible musty, sour, cardboard and mouse pee (or what I imagine that would taste like). Corked.

The Score: Probably one of the worst cork-taints we've had. 1/10 It's a shame, it could have been good but we'll never know.

VFM: Not applicable. I guess we were due a corked wine - they say 1 in 12 bottles are corked or otherwise tainted and we've had a good run lately. Oh well, such is life. If this was the Laithwaites case I'd get a full refund, although with Tesco, I'm not so sure?

 

Okey doke, so there's part 2 of the tesco case done. Next time around part 3 of the Laithwaites case, the final four whites. There will be one more part to the Tesco case and then we'll be looking for some new cases! We have an Oddbins tasting coming up soon, so if we're impressed we may go there (they offer 20% off mixed cases and your tasting ticket price back). Also, I've received a £40 off Virgin Wines voucher, so I really should take advantage of that in the pursuit of oenological frugality!

 

 

Semi-blind tasting continues...

So as I've said in  previous posts, I'm trying to develop my blind tasting skills. D serves them up at random, with bottles hidden from view and I have to guess at the 

• Grape type
• Country or Region
• Year
• Alcohol level

So, here are my notes, transcribed directly from my note book:

Wine #1:

Pale medium yellow. Sticky. 13.5%? Beautiful texture - like cream! Restrained nose, maybe mellon and apple. oppulent and smooth. Peaches, just off-dry. Chardonnay? Smoothness could be Viognier? Great. Oak aged I think, 2007. White Burgundy, good quality.

The guess: Chardonnay, probably very good quality white Burgundy, 2007, 13.5%

The reveal: Australian Chardonnay-Viognier, 2008, 13%! I picked up the Chardonnay but dismissed the Viognier. Silly boy. NOTE TO SELF: The smoothness comes from Viognier and so does the Mellony flavour. White Burgundy is more of a "pee-like" yellow, for want of a better expression!

 

Wine #2:

Pale medium yellow again! 13%, not so sticky. Smells of apple, tropical and toasty. Good acidity, fresh, balanced, smooth, steely dry. Minerally. Apples, tropical fruits, pinapple. Long finish. Good Chardonnay? 2008. Yes.

The guess: Chablis. 2008. 13%.

The reveal: Chablis! 2008! 12.5%! Oh God-Damnit, so, so close! NOTE TO SELF: Ok clever-cloggs, so you can pick out Chablis occasionally.

 

Wine #3:

A very deep dark purple with violet rim. Quite sticky, 14%? Strong blackcurrant/cassis smell. Cab Sauv? Spicy though, spicy like Shiraz! Taste is spicy blackcurrant, pepper. Alcohol is overpowering. Slight burn. This is new world due to power and colour. A bit of oak so maybe 2 year old, 2008? Blackcurrant and oak has to be Cab Sauv? USA?

The guess: USA Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008, 14%

The reveal: Bloody Petit-Sirah (i.e. Durif)!. California.2008. Hmmm, thrown by this one! It was too spicy for Cab Sauv but too blackcurranty for Shiraz, although it had the deep colour that could have been either. Label says "Blackcurrant and oak" so got that right but, NOTE TO SELF: Recognise this for the future. You've had Durif before and should know it!

 

Wine #4:

Uch! Corked! Sour, musty cardboard and mouse piss!

The guess: N/A

The reveal: N/A

So, not too bad on the whites. Bit of a non-event on the reds this time around. Looking forward to the next wines, which will be the remaining four whites from Laithwaites -all blind!

Speak to you soon!

Cheers.

WBFTF