St Hallett (Australia) Chardonnay & Shiraz 2001
St Hallett is a very high quality Australian winery, recently taken over by a giant drinks group. Clearly they are determined to make inroads for this brand, starting with an amazing discount offer on this pair of wines. At their regular 5.99 I would happily recommend either, but a half-price offer at Tesco from Wednesday 16th October for two weeks makes them utterly irresistable. Whilst typically Australian with plentiful fruit, lowish acids and tannins, and easy-drinking appeal, these wines also manage to avoid the overly-commercial sweetness and jamminess the afflicts many similarly priced wines. Tucking away a case of each as your winter house wines would be a shrewd move. The IWC silver medal-winning Chardonnay is delicately oaked and suffused with sweet-edged pear and waxy lemon fruit, with medium-body and plenty of smooth-textured, ripe and classy fruit on the palate. Some toasty oak adds depth to the finish. The Shiraz is just delicious, with a warming nose of nutmeg, berries and pepper, leading on to a soft palate of ripe cherry and black fruit, finishing with soft background tannins and oaky spice.Tesco 5.99 – 2.99 from 16/10-29/10
