Why Domaine Etienne Sauzet Bourgogne La Tufera 2017 is a standout from the early tastings of this great but not stellar vintage...
Cape Mentelle Wallcliffe Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2015, Margaret River, Australia, 13.5% (AU$40, WineSquare) If you follow us on Instagram you’ll already be aware that I was lucky enough to spend a glorious ten days touring some of Australia’s finest vineyards in December. It was a trip that...
Chinuri Skin Contact 2015 Iago Bitarishvili, Chinuri Skin Contact 2015, Kartli, Georgia, 13% (£19.60 for the 2016 vintage, Les Caves de Pyrene) If a recent trip to Georgia proved anything, it was the fact that no one single phrase neatly sums up the style of Georgian wine, whether...
Robert Mondavi Winery Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 1976, Oakville, California, 13% (Not commercially available) California’s Mondavi Winery is owned by Constellation Brands, a principal supporter of the Institute of Masters of Wine and sponsor of the IMW’s Robert Mondavi Winery Award. This award is given each year to...
Château Lynch Bages 2014, Pauillac, Bordeaux, 13.5% (c £70 per bottle in bond, BBR, Farr Vintners etc) This was a standout wine at a big tasting of 90+ Bordeaux wines from the 2014 vintage held at Vintners Hall by the Institute of Masters of Wine. Also impressive were the...
Flint Vineyard Bacchus 2017, 11.5% (£15.99 from the winery or £16.95 at BBR) The 2018 vintage will be a game-changer for many reasons in English and Welsh wine. This was the joint warmest summer on record, with beautiful weather from June to August, and then a very gentle...
Adnams Riesling 9% (£9.99, Adnams) ‘Seriously, what’s the point of wine with no alcohol in it?!’ Such was the reaction of a good friend when we told her we’d been doing a tasting of low-and-no-alcohol drinks. (The category is known in the industry as ‘low-and-no’.) On one level, the...
Cà dei Frati Rosa dei Frati 2017, Lombary, Italy, 13% (c. £15, independents) I gave a bottle of rosé to a friend recently. He took one look and almost gave it straight back. ‘That’s not real wine, is it?!’ he exclaimed. ‘I mean, it looks like it’s a...
Màquina y Tabla Páramos de Nicosia Clarete 2017, Toro, Spain, 13.5% (from £13.95, Lea & Sandeman) We’re both big fans of Màquina&Tabla’s characterful, energetic Spanish wines, which dare to be different. It’s an operation based out of Valladolid and a lot of the fruit comes from the nearby...
Chateau de Bel Franc de Bel NV, Bordeaux, France £23.90-29, Jaded Palates, Queen's Park Wines or via Wine Searcher This is Bordeaux, but not as we know it. Olivier Cazenave has a broad smile and big ambitions. He's going against the grain in Bordeaux, one of the most...
Morandé Gran Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2016, Casablanca, Chile £13-14, The Drink Shop, Corking Wines or via Wine Searcher Earlier this year I had the misfortune to participate in one of the most depressing Decanter panel tastings ever. We had 62 Chilean Sauvignon Blancs. The overall standard was thoroughly...
Casa Silva Lago Ranco Riesling 2016, Chile, 11.5% c £20, Field & Fawcett, Portland Wine co, Randalls, Jackson Nugent Vintners I've tried this wine twice recently and both times it has impressed. The first was in Chile in February with the winemaking team. Then, it stood out for...
The BIB Wine Co Straka Blaufränkisch 2017, Burgenland, Austria £33.50 per 2.25-litre box (bottle equivalent = £10.05 per 75 cl) The BIB Wine Co What's that famous saying about middle age? It's when your broad mind and narrow waist begin to change places. Wine lovers (and producers) aren't...
Familia Deicas Massimo Deicas Tannat 2013, Uruguay Right at the end of a short but intense visit to Uruguayan wine country, I stopped at Familia Deicas winery. Their consultant, the well known international winemaker Paul Hobbs, also happened to be visiting, so it was a great chance...
Pisano RPF Tannat Family Reserve 2013, 13.5% (£19.50-22, The Wine Reserve or globally via WineSearcher) It was shortly before I headed out to Uruguay that I realised how little I really knew about it. The learning curve was fast and fascinating. After all, it was one of the...
Errázuriz Aconcagua Costa Pinot Noir 2016, Chile, 13.5% (£15.50-17, indies inc Stone Vine & Sun, Ocado, Oxford Wine Co, Eton Vintners) Last night at the Lanesborough Hotel in London, Eduardo Chadwick was officially crowned Decanter Man of the Year 2018. It was a typically showy, enjoyable occasion -...
Château La Conseillante 2005, Pomerol, Bordeaux, 13.5% (Peter, 8-8.5/10, March 2018) The 2005 vintage is one of our all-time Bordeaux favourites from the modern era. The 2009 and 2010 were labelled great but all too often the top wines are overblown, borderline egotistical. With the 2005s, there’s...
Domaine Takahiko Pinot Noir 2016, 11.5%, Hokkaido (Peter, 6/10, Feb 2018) One of the brilliant things about wine is its capacity to surprise and delight you. This sprightly, funky Pinot Noir grown on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido by Takahiko Soga, a Pinot fanatic, was a...
Changyu Noble Dragon Cabernet Gernischt 2013, China, 12% (£8.50-£10, Sainsburys or via Wine Searcher) Susie writes: This Saturday Kitchen wine is a particularly significant one – because it’s a glimpse into the future. For a start, it’s from China. This vast nation now boasts the world’s second largest vineyard,...
Coeur de Caroline Côtes de Provence Rosé 2016, France, 13% (£8.99, Co-op) Ching-He Huang is well known for her deliciously modern, healthy take on Chinese food. The dish she cooked up on Saturday Kitchen for Chinese New Year was no exception. Hong Kong style fried fish and...