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June 2005Previous months' recommendations:
April 2004 | May
2004 | June 2004 | July
2004 | August 2004 | September
2004 | October 2004 | November
2004 | December 2004 | January
2005 | February 2005 | March
2005 | April/May 2005
My rating
system explained. Use www.wine-searcher.com
to locate a stockist in your area and my directory
of UK wine merchants for details of those listed here. See also: the wineanorak's
shopping list - recommended wines from each of the main UK retail
outlets. These recommendations are truly independent: I don't accept
payment or other favours for inclusions, nor do I sell wine.
Château
de Fesles Rosé d’Anjou ‘Le Jardin' 2003 Loire, France
We begin this month with a seasonal wine: a Rosé with a hint of
seriousness to it.
A blend of Gamay and Groslot, this is very clean, fresh and fruity,
with a palate of soft summer fruits with a subtle herbiness. Very clean
and smooth. Nicely balanced, this is very accessible with an off-dry
character. Just a hint of seriousness – a brilliant summer wine. Very
good+ 87/100 (£6.39 Oddbins)
Montana
Sauvignon Blanc 2004 Marlborough, New Zealand
Another seasonal wine, and one that will be familiar to many readers. Remarkably engaging fresh,
in-yer-face grassy Sauvignon with benchmark
nose of aromatic gooseberry fruit. The palate is savoury, acidic and has
some green herbal notes. It’s delicious: how do they do this for £5?
Very good+ 88/100 (widely available, £5.99)
Excelsior
Viognier 2004 Robertson, South Africa
Viognier is fast becoming the new Chardonnay. It used to be a niche
grape – a curiosity – restricted to the northern Rhône, but now
people have woken up to its unique capabilities. And of late, even
inexpensive Viogniers are tasting like the real deal. This is a brilliant
example, showing peachy, rich fruit with a lemony edge. Perfumed and open.
It has a rich, broad, fruity palate with more of that peach character;
flat without being flabby, and absolutely delicious. Very good+ 88/100 (Waitrose
£5.99)
Tio
Pepe Palomino Fino Extra Dry Sherry
A brilliant wine for very little money. Let’s face it, Sherry is
wildly unfashionable still, despite efforts from all quarters to get
punters to change their minds. But this Fino style is versatile, fresh and
food compatible, and with only 15% alcohol it isn’t any more
intoxicating than many new world table wines these days. This is a
complex, nutty wine with a bracing, marine-like freshness and good
acidity. The mid-palate is kind of flat, but this is the sherry style.
It’s got lovely freshness, so keep it well chilled and drink it within a
few days of opening. Very good/excellent 90/100 (Tesco £4.22/half, £7.06/full
bottle)
Albert
Mann Tokay Pinot Gris Grand Cru Hengst 2002 Alsace, France
Very sweet, ripe open nose with lovely typicity: just what you’d
expect from top-notch Pinot Gris. Richly textured palate with
concentrated, soft, sweet gently herbal fruit, in particular melon and
pear. Very rich textured and quite delicious. (£16.50 Waitrose)
Domaine
de l’Ancienne Cure Monbazillac 1999 Southwest France
Christian Roche has fashioned a fantastic sweet white wine here, that
I’d prefer to most Sauternes. A yellow gold colour, this has a lovely
open nose of peachy, apricotty fruit with notes of straw, herbs and
lanolin. The palate is viscuous and lush with lovely botrytis complexity
and sweet apricotty fruit. Good balance here: a delicious sweet wine. Very
good/excellent 93/100 (Les Caves de Pyrene, about £6 per half – I’ll
double check)
Phillippe
Butin Vin de Paille 1999 Côtes du Jura, France
Moving up in price, this is a profound wine from the wonderful Jura
region. Quite deep coloured, this has a complex, expressive herby,
undergrowthy nose with some subtle cheesy notes. The palate is fresh and
open with lovely refreshing acidity. It’s in a rich-textured savoury
style, but at the same time its very sweet and fantastically rich. Hard to
describe, but with great length. Very good/excellent 94/100 (Berry Bros
& Rudd £17.95/half bottle)
Cave
des Clairmonts Crozes-Hermitage 2003 Northern Rhône, France
I’m sorta undecided about the 2003 vintage in the Rhône, in both
north and south. It was hot, yes, which normally would be good. But this
time, I think it was too hot, leading to an odd sort of phenolic
development and some rather awkward tannins in the final wines. Harvest
began here on 20 August, for goodness sake. But it was by no means a
disaster, and this is one of the success stories. It shows forward, sweet
raspberry fruit on the nose, and the palate is supple with lovely forward
ripe fruit character. There’s savoury structure underneath this forward
Syrah fruit, reminding us where we are. Very good/excellent 90/100 (£7.49
Waitrose)
Poliziano
Rosso di Montepulciano 2004 Tuscany, Italy
This is a serious wine at an affordable price, which nicely combines
modern and traditional aspects to fashion a classy red of broad appeal. A
vivid colour, this has a lovely focused, savoury intensity to the pure,
smooth red fruits. The palate shows restrained pure fruit with a savoury
edge to it. Really lovely. (£8.99
Sainsbury)
E-mail me with your recommendations or suggestions
at jamie@wineanorak.co.uk
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