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March/April/May 2008Previous months' recommendations:
September/October
2006 | November 2006| December
2006 | Jan/Feb 2007 | March
2007 | June 2007 | July
2007 | August/September 2007 | October/November
2007 | December 2007 | January
2008 | February 2008
TMV
Swartland Syrah 2006 South Africa
From 16 year old vines planted on Malmesbury shale, made as naturally as
possible. It has an open, ripe, sweetly dark fruited nose, with meaty,
olive-like overtones. The palate is supple and elegant with dark, meaty
notes. Lovely. 90/100 (£12.99 Waitrose)
Kemblefield
Distinction Gewürztraminer 2006 Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
Very perfumed, distinctive grapey, lychee nose is quite refined. The
palate is broad with lovely restraint and balance to the lychee fruit.
Stylish stuff. 7 g/litre residual sugar. 92/100 (£9.99 Tesco)
Bollinger
La Grande Année 1999 Champagne, France
A blend of 63% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay. Full
aromatic nose shows toasty, herby, lemony fruit. Nice complexity here. The
palate is full flavoured yet elegant with bold fruit. Great acidity. This
is pure and mineralic with lovely focus. 93/100 (£54.99 Tesco)
Quartz
Reef Pinot Noir 2005 Central Otago, New Zealand
Smooth, sweet dark berry fruit nose. The palate is elegant and quite rich
with smooth fruit and nice supporting oak. An assured, classy, rich Pinot
Noir. 91/100 (£15.99 Majestic)
Blind River Pinot Noir 2006
Marlborough, New Zealand
Hand harvested from the Awatare Valley, small batch processing
with indigenous yeasts and maturation in French oak. This has a lovely
perfume: aromatic cherry/berry/raspberry fruit with some dark spiciness
and a bit of sappiness. There's a liqueur-like purity here. The palate is
sweetly fruited with lovely purity and smoothness. A bit of plummy
bitterness adds contrast. An impressive Pinot Noir of real poise. 92/100 (£17.99
Oddbins)
Matetic
EQ Syrah 2005 San Antonio Valley, Chile
One of the most impressive wineries I visited on my recent trip to
Chile, biodynamic estate Matetic have a winner with this brilliant Syrah.
Its inky, dark, meaty, spicy nose is vivid and full. The palate is
concentrated and bold with lovely intensity to the pure dark fruit,
together with some spicy complexity. A deliciously bold wine that retains
some restraint. 93/100 (£16.99 The Wine Society, Majestic)
Les Hauts de Força Real
2003 Cotes du Roussillon Villages, France
Quite a dark, dense wine with a meaty, earthy edge to the
super-ripe black fruits. Big, ripe, but savoury too, and not imbalanced.
Rich, earthy, spicy, tannic palate is very bold, and showing a bit of
Brettanomyces character, but in a rich wine like this it works quite
well, making a full flavoured, attractively savoury wine. 90/100 (£10.99
http://www.therealwineco.co.uk/)
Domaine Julien Courtois 'l'Originel'
Vin de Table, France
This is a 100% Menu Pineau, an old Loire variety, grown
biodynamically. It's a crazy, but lovely wine, reeking of cheese and
cider. Herby, waxy, appley and pretty complex on the nose. The palate is
appley and wonderfully complex with a long, minerally, acid finish.
Fantastic stuff: weird but lovely. 93/100 (£15.99 Les Caves)
Domaine du Closel La Jalousie Savennières
2005 Loire, France
A really fantastic, intense dry Chenin from the Loire, boasting aromas
of herbs, honey, straw and lanolin. The palate is concentrated, mineralic
and dry, with a strong savoury, almost cheesy character to it. Nice
acidity keeps things very fresh. It’s quite a challenging drink now, but
I reckon this will age very well and pick up complexity over the next
decade. 90/100 (£9.95 The Wine Society, £11.95 Tanners)
JM da Fonseca Periquita 2005
Terras do Sado, Portugal
A blend dominated by Castelao, with some Trincadeira and
Aragonez (aka Tempranillo). The nose shows dark, cherryish, blackberry
fruit with a slightly bitter plummy edge, together with some savoury
spice. The palate is dark and plummy with some savoury, spicy
personality. Perhaps a bit more fruity and modern that Periquitas of the
past, this still has a slightly rustic edge, and I reckon it will
develop nicely over the next year or two in bottle. Great value. 84/100
(£4.99 Waitrose, on offer at £3.99 until April 22nd)
Castillo Labastida Aniversario
Rioja 2004, Spain
From the Cosecheros de Labastida Co-op, made for Laithwaites.
Very deep red/purple colour. Ripe, sweet fruit on the nose which is
quite lush, and has a hint of vanilla. The palate is dense and
fruit-driven with some ripe, spicy fruit and a bit of tannic structure.
It's nice to find this density of fruit and a relative lack of obvious
oak in a Rioja. Modern but balanced. 88/100 (£7.06 Laithwaites)
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.
E-mail me with your recommendations or suggestions
at jamie@wineanorak.co.uk
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