(2024) From Utiel-Requena in the southeast of Spain, this is a cheap as chips party glugger offering considerable bangs per buck. Don't come looking for complexity in this £4.99 blend of 60% Tempranillo with Bobal, but it delivers a fragrant nose of black cherry with floral aspects and a smooth as silk, moreish palate of black fruit. Most importantly, it finishes dry without being tricked-up with residual sugar as so many cheap brands. Definitely a crowd-pleaser. Watch my video review for more information.
(2024) This Villages appellation Nouveau marches to a different beat from some of the cheaper examples, fermented with wild yeasts and with no added sulphites. It comes from a vintage when the vineyards were ravaged by torrential hail at just the worst time: this estate lost 70% of its crop on one day, the 31st July. Quantities are therefore small, but thankfully the surviving fruit was a of very good quality. Lightly leafy and floral with a cool, crisp aspect to the fruit, a touch of Indian ink suggests a dry and savoury style. In the mouth it maybe lacks a little of the fleshiness that this Nouveau often boasts, but makes up for that with a pure quality of black cherry and cranberry, dry and gravelly, vivid acidity etching the finish. It is another fine Beaujolais from this estate, especially given the problems of the vintage.
(2024) Michel Chapoutier is one of the superstar names of the Rhône Valley, but his acquisitive company now has wine brands from Australia to Champagne. This Languedoc wine comes from vineyards owned by the Chapoutier family planted on clay and limestone soils. It is made without added sulphur, and part of its easy-going charm may come from the fact that a little unfermented grape juice is in the blend giving natural sweetness. It is buoyant and has an elegant floral and cherry lift to the aroma, then the palate is plush and supple, lots of fruit concentration and sweetness on the mid-palate, before ripe and creamy tannins and pert acidity balance. Wild boar or hare ragu would be fabulous with this. Watch the video for more information.
(2024) Morandé appears to be a wine company taking its environmental responsibilities seriously, this already certified sustainable, but they have announced a new initiative in partnership with a Swiss company that will capture 10% (2.6 tons) of historical CO₂ emissions and bury these safely underground, rather than emitting them as greenhouse gases. The wine comes from a single vineyard in the original cool-climate Casablanca Valley. It's a Sauvignon for fans of the distinctly elderflower and nettle style, passion fruit and lime added to the mix. In the mouth it has plenty of grapefruity cut that slices through the mid-palate richness, leaving this textured wine dry in the finish. Watch the video for more information and food-matching ideas.
(2024) The IGP Mediterranée appellation is a relatively new one that covers all of Provence, but extends north into the southern reaches of the Rhône Valley and includes the island of Corsica. All of that is rosé wine country, but the blend of grapes allowed here is greater, and in this case includes Merlot as well as Grenache and Syrah. It's a very nicely realised wine, fragrant and delicate with watermelon and rose-hip over a hint of peach, then a dry but fruity and mouth-filling palate of pulpy red berries. It has a pleasing ripple of texture and very nicely balanced acidity. At its very low price, and occasionally on offer even lower, it is really rather good. Watch the video for more information.
(2024) Kleine Zalze is one of the bigger names in Stellenbosch, producing a whole range of Chenin Blanc wines, so if this is the one you want, check the label before buying. From 35-year-old bush vines in two vineyards, it had 24 hours skin contact then was pressed to a combination of older French oak barrels and terracotta amphora. The nose has plenty of ripe, vanilla-touched apple, but there's a stone-fruit, apricot and yellow plum deeper note too. In the mouth a generous texture has a bit of fat and weight giving good mouthfeel, the fruit stays this side of exotic, and the barrel adds nothing more than a whisper of creaminess. Quite long and rather satisfying Chenin. Watch my full video review for more details.
(2024) Tavola is part of the small range that introduces Ponzi, made with a combination of estate and purchased fruit from across Willamette. Max calls this a 'fun' wine and a 'pizza wine'. Nicely pale and transparent, it is leafy and perfumed, touches of pot-pourri spices and red fruits. The palate has brightness and plenty of drive. It is medium-bodied, and the mid-palate fleshes out with creamy and sweet berries. Tannins and acid combine to again add a sparky, lemony freshness to the finish. Note price and stockist for previous vintage at time of review.
(2024) Paler than it's Sunset cousin, Grenache Gris dominates this rosé along with 40% Carignan. More subtle and mineral than the Sunset cuvée, and a year younger, red fruits and peach in the background. In the mouth it is drier than the Sunset, with more of a lemony thrust of acid at its core but there is still sweetness to the berry and stone fruit, and that drier citrus finish adds welcome balance.
(2024) From a vineyard on clay-based Pakohe soils, this was whole bunch pressed to French oak barriques for fermentation with indigenous yeast, then matured in barrel for 11 more months. Medium green-gold, the nose here has a discreet whiff of flint, but is more about fine oak aromas of roasted chestnut and toast, the fruit suggesting fig and quince. In the mouth it has a creamy texture and real vitality. Don't over-chill this, as it is very much a textural wine, almond and oatmeal joining ripe pear and peach before a crisp, lightly flinty and lemon jelly finish. Note price and stockist is for the previous vintage at time of review.
(2024) Grown metres from the Pacific Ocean at Te Awanga, this is whole bunch pressed to French oak, around 25% new barrels. There's a hint of mint to the creamy almond of the nose, cashew and on to ripe stone fruit and apple. The hint of salinity on the palate must surely relate the terroir, but there's a very juicy citrus and peach fruit and again echoes of that nuttiness of the nose. Powerful but not lacking in elegance or length. Price and stockist for a previous vintage at time of review.
