(2019) A blend between 70% Loureiro and Alvarinho (Albariño). Lovely lemon and herb inviting aromas on the nose, fragrant and dry, it is intense on the palate, lovely clean, crisp character with a touch of skin contact grip. Pure citrus finish, lovely. Waitrose stocks this but appears to have moved on to the 2018 vintage.
(2019) Lovely big, dense chocolate and red plum character, creamy and meaty. Cedar and some tobacco comes through, lightening the picture. Seven months in used barrel, but keen, bright, edgy and focused tart berry fruit character, really grippy tannin and keen acidity add plenty of structure to the fresh fruit.
(2019) Four varieties from Cima Corga, led by Touriga Franca. Nice bright colour, red and black vine fruits, primary, dry and with a slight inkiness, dry and liquorice character, lovely fresh acids and smooth tannins.
(2019) Beautiful lift to the nose here, violets and sweet spices, a slick of black fruits and lightening touch of raspberry in there too. Rich but freshness too, a graphite edge to black cherry and cassis, smooth and fine tannins and beautifully integrated acidity.
(2019) The blend is 75% Antão Vaz with Arinto and Roupeiro. Pleasantly fruit skin and lemon rind hint of waxiness. Nice mouthfeel and textural richness, again a bit of skinny grip in a pleasing style.
(2019) Touriga Nacional, Alicante Bouschet and Aragonez. Perfumed and quite leafy, a vegetal hint to floral and cherry. Deeper and meatier than the Sossego Tinto, a liquorice twist of bittersweet tannin, acid and dark fruit.
(2019) Lovely glimpse of flintiness to the pure apple and pear fruit, very pure and delightfully fresh, this entry level Chenin shows the attention to detail and precision given throughout the Forrester range. It's all about the fruit in this wine, made in stainless steel, and with a sense of limpid purity.
(2019) A wine I have admired for many, many years, FMC is Chenin at its most opulent. From low yielding bush vines planted in 1974, it is harvested at full maturity and fermented with wild yeasts in new 400-litre French oak barrels. Some botrytis is always part of the harvest here, though the 9g/l of residual sugar is easily absorbed by the acidity and structure. Honeyed, nutty and ripe, there's a quince and fig touch to this, before a luxurious palate, rich with honey and nectarine, sheer acidity will ensure longevity too. Price and stockist quoted at time of review are for the latest vintage.
(2019) Lovely biscuit character, attractive light gold colour. Sweet and very attractively done, there is 35g/l of sugar here. Mouth-filling weight and full fruit flavour, and of course good acidity to offset the strawberry fruit flavour and sweetness.
(2019) From an estate owned by Louis Jadot, but run quite autonomously by Guillaume de Castelnau, this is serious Cru Beaujolais, aged in barrel. A little initial funkiness blows off quickly to reveal a charming nose, decidely Gamay with its floral and watercolour paint lift, but with a deeper fruitiness and touch of game adding complexity. In the mouth the sweet fruit impresses in its purity, ripe and tart cherry and black berries, and there is grip here, a firm spicy tannin and very good acidity. This improved with air and might well benefit from ageing a little, or decanting an hour before serving.