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

The Wine Society - Part 2

Hello All!

Ok, so we're continuing with the "Top Society Sellers" case from the Wine Society. You can find Part 1 here; which had some very good (both value and quality-wise) wines. Can they keep form? Let's have a butchers...

The two whites were:

The Society's Muscadet Sur Lie, 2009

Oddly for France, Muscadet is the name of the grape (as well as the region in this case). Muscadet comes from the Loire Valley and is also known as Melon de Bourgogne. Usually a refreshing, very dry white. The "Sur Lie"  means "drawn off the lees without racking" which is essentially drawing the wine off the sediment deposits without syphoning or filtering. 12%.

The Look: Medium, lemony yellow with gold highlights.

The Smell: Very muted, doesn't give much away. Slight grapey-ness and quite minerally.

The Taste: Very fresh acidity, very lively burst of grapefruit. A certain minerality and some spice. Honeyed on the finish with a sort of  lemon/lime hint ("Quite like Sprite" - D), although remaining dry and taut. Surprisingly good. Very good!

The Score: Again, great for the price.  7.5/10.  Recommended!

VFM: At £6.50 a bottle this is great value at VFM = 1.15.

The Society's Chilean Chardonnay, Limari, 2009

From the Limari Valley - touted as one of best new World sites  for Chardonnay. Sea breeze induced cool-climate and limestone soils with little rainfall, plenty of sun and virtually no frost, breeds some superb wines. Aged on its lees (see above) and about 10% is oak-matured. This is made by the mighty Concha-Y-Toro. 14%.

The Look: A light but deeply coloured medium gold with hints of green. 
The Smell: Fig? Perfumed and floral but with some smokiness.

The Taste: Great! Mouth-pleasing acidity. Lovely complex quality (fig, sweetness, spice, cinnamon) great fruit strength. Alcohol is apparent but not overpowering; just a nice warmth.

The Score: Everything you'd want and more from a wine of this price!   7.5/10.  Recommended!

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

And the Reds...

The Society's Chianti Rufina, 2008

From Tuscany in Italy ("The Bordeaux of Italy") this Rufina comes from North of the more common Chianti Classico sub-region. Rufinas are normally "elegant and complex". 12.5%.

The Look: A fairly dark, plummy-red/purple. Brick-red on the rim and not quite opaque.

The Smell: Smells like spicy cherries, cinnamon, oaky. Almost hot initially (on a BIG sniff) but did fade away - clean, not faulty.

The Taste: In all honesty - I was dreading this. We've had some acidic-horror-Chiantis at this price before...but...WHAT a surprise - it was bearable, I might even say "mild", and delicious. Still plenty of lively acidity but integrated with lots of cherry fruit and a savoury/herby edge. A long, warming finish. Superb with meatball spaghetti. Slightly "chewy" tannins and lots of them. Slight Bordeaux resemblance with the oaky cherry. Very nice. Opened-up nicley after an hour.

The Score: Very good. Open an hour before drinking or maybe more. 7.5/10 Recommended.

VFM: At £6.95 a bottle this is great value at VFM = 1.08. Bargain.

The Society's Corbieres, 2008

This Corbieres is Carnigan dominant but has some Grenache and Syrah thrown in the mix. From the Languedoc region of France (Corbieres is its own AOC within Languedoc-Rousillon) made by producer Pierre Bories. Corbieres are normally very spicy, dark-fruited wines.14%.

The Look: Dark, opaque purple with a violet rim.

The Smell: Smells plummy, slightly smoky and some definite blackberry and raspberry.

The Taste: Some blackberry fruit and some graphite-like minerality, some spice but mainly just heat! Too hot and too harsh. The alcohol is too apparent - tongue feels like I've had a whisky!

The Score: If you're going to do 14% alcohol then it needs to be less apparent and be balanced by other things. Not horrendous but not great - bit of a let-down. 6/10

VFM: At £6.50 a bottle this is great value at VFM = 1.15.

So part 2 pretty much followed on from the first; very good wines for the price. As simple as that. For everyday drinking, you can't really go wrong. Unless there are some horrors in the last four wines (which I doubt) - this could possibly be the best value for money mixed case we've seen. 

I guess we'll find out next week!

As always...

Speak to you soon.

Cheers

WBFTF