SUMMARY
Top selection of Spanish reds and really good selection of £5 to £10 wines. The tasting I went to has made me fall in love with chardonnay again, there are some real belters that have obviously been made with a great deal of care and attention. Wines from Majestic are particularly good value when bought two bottles or more, all the following wines are listed with their single bottle price followed by the multiple bottle price in brackets.
KEY
The reds are written up in this colour
The whites in this colour
Pink in this colour
The fizz in this colour
Desert wines in this colour
WINE PRICE DRINKER RATING
>£5
Quinta de Azevedo Vinho Verde (Por) £6.49 (£4.99) 83
Slight spritz, grapey, fruity nose, zingy acidity, refreshing
Fairhall Cliffs Sauvignon Blanc (NZ) £6.24 (£4.99) 85
Floral, aromatic, zesty, restrained tropical fruit, refreshing, great price
Alain Grignon Carignan Vielles Vignes 2009 (Fra) £6.99 (£4.99) 82
Light red fruit nose, fruity simple juicy palate good stuff, good price
Late Harvest S. Blanc 2006 Maule Valley (Chi) £5.99 (£4.79) 85
Sweet, peach, pear, good acidity, well made, top value
>£10
Muscat Sevre et Maine Sur Lie Tourmaline (Fra) £6.99 (£5.99) 82
Full sur lie depth of flavour, hints of sherbert lemon
Menetou-Salon Domaine du Manay (Fra) £9.99 (£8.99) 86
Unripe peach, beautiful, elegant, complex and good value
Picpoul de Pinet Prestige Guillama Cabrol (Fra) £7.99 (£6.99) 82
Fresh, zesty, ripe pear and citrus
Chateau de Pennautier Chardonnay VdP D’Oc (Fra) £8.99 (£6.99) 83
For oaky chardonnay lovers, good price
Chablis 2009, Jean Bourguignon (Fra) £9.99 (£7.99) 84
Stony mineral nose, unripe apple and flint on palate, long finish
Saint Romain 2008 Laboure-Roi (Fra) £9.99 (£7.99) 87
Complex apple blossom nose, elegant lime zest, fantastic wine
Vega de la Reina Verdejo, Rueda (Spa) £7.99 (5.99) 83
Peach nose, dry, fruity, hints of marzipan, good value
Wither Hills Chardonnay, Marlborough (NZ) £8.74 (£6.99) 83
Green apple, chardonnay minerality, very good value
Waimea Estate Gewertztraminer, Nelson (NZ) £11.99 (£9.59) 83
Medium, good sweetness/acidity balance, floral, complex
Peter Lehman Riesling, Eden Valley (Aus) £8.69 (£6.95) 84
Chalky, floral, dry, full flavour, great value
Kangarilla Road Chardonnay, McLaren Vale (Aus) £10.99 (£8.79) 84
Green leafy chardonnay, vanilla, spice, cedar
Adobe Chardonnay Casablanca Valley (Chi) £7.49 (£5.99) 82
Good rich chardonnay, citrus and green apple, good value
Errazuriz Wild Ferment Chardonnay (Chi) £10.99 (£8.79) 83
Complex, elegant, good minerality, lime zest, well made
Novas Winemaker’s Selection chardonnay, marsanne, viognier (Chi) £9.99 (£7.99) 83
Peach blossom, dry, fruity, pear, good acidity, top value
Prinz Von Hessen Riesling Kabinett Trocken (Ger) £9.99 (£7.99) 82
Wonderful style, dry, floral, mineral, slate, complex
La Grille Pinot Noir Rosé, Sylvain Miniot (Fra) £6.99 (£5.99) 82
Beautiful salmon pink, red fruit nose, raspberry palate, dry
Marquis de Pennautier Rosé Cabardès (Fra) £6.99 (£5.99) 82
Dry, ripe red fruits, hints of rhubarb, raspberry
Bourgueil Les Sent Boisselées 2003 (Fra) £9.99 (8.99) 83
Blackcurrant aroma, some development, oak and blackberry palate
Volnay 2006 Labouré-Roi (Fra) £11.99 (£9.99) 82
Red berry and leather nose, soft supple red fruit palate, firm tannin
Villa Maria Cellar Selection Pinot Noir (NZ) £12.49 (£9.99) 84
Fruity, metallic, bloody nose, soft chewy fruit, good structure
Drystone Pinot Noir Berridge Vineyard 2004 (NZ) £12.49 (£9.99) 89
Development on appearance, nose and palate, leather armchair, top wine
Doamine St Rose La Garrigue Syrah Grenache (Fra) £6.99 (£5.99) 87
Smoky BBQ nose, black fruits, good outdoor wine, great value
Domaine Les Yeuses ‘La Soure’ Merlot Syrah (Fra) £8.99 (£6.99) 83
Light black fruit and violet nose, soft mouth feel, concentrated, rich
Chateau St Colombe, 2004 Cotes de Castillion (Fra) £9.99 (£7.99) 83
Developing well, brick colour, leather nose, black pepper spice
Cotes du Rhône Belleruche 2008 Chapoutier (Fra) £7.99 83
Cracked black pepper, red currant, raspberry, smoke, cedar spice
Barberino ‘Classico 1877’ Reserva, Mentrida (Spa) £7.99 (£5.99) 85
Deep intense colour, liquorice, menthol nose, white pepper, plum jam
Mas de Subria 2006, Priorat (Spa) £12.99 (£7.99) 83
Bramble and blood nose, hints of medicine cabinet, sweet spice
Rioja Reserva Vendimia Seleccionda 2004 (Spa) £9.99 (£5.99) 83
Soft supple Rioja, pepper spice, warmth, bramble
Rioja Gran Reserva 2000, Casa Del Comandor (Spa) £13.99 (£8.99) 87
Developed, drink soon, complexity of age, good fruit, smooth tannin
Polago Vallestanta 2008 Umbria (Ita) £7.49 (£5.99) 82
Rich cherry, warm, generous, intense, sound tannin, well balanced
I Satiri, Salice Salentino Riserva 2005 Candido(Ita) £8.49 (£6.79) 85
Developing well, blackberry, leather, good fruit and integrated tannin
Corvina Rosso Veronese 2006, Ca’ del Pipa (Ita) £9.49 (£7.59) 82
Balck pepper, black currant, good fruit and spice in harmony, well made
The Lodge Hill Shiraz, Clare Valley (Aus) £9.99 (£7.99) 83
Stuffed vine leaf and menthol nose, deep concentrated black fruit
Costero Pinot Noir 2009, Vina Leyda (Chi) £8.74 (£6.99) 84
Good pinot noir, red cherry, leather, spice and smoke
The Ned Noble S. Blanc 2009 Marlborough (NZ) £12.49 (£9.99) 84
Sweet, hints of raisin, good light refreshing stickie
Dr Loosen Riesling Beerenauslese 2006 Mosel (Ger) £9.99 90
Sweet. Floral, aromatic, rose petal, world class wine
>£15
Cape Crest S. Blanc, Te Mata Hawkes Bay (NZ) £17.49 (13.99) 82
Floral on nose, some minerality, good grapefruit character
St Clair Pioneer’s Block Chardonnay (NZ) £14.99 (£11.99) 84
Really well made wine, elegant, soft full fruit flavour, apple and pear
Beaune Montee Rouge, Robert Gibourg (Fra) £14.99 (£12.99) 83
Leather, farmyard, oak, soft blackberry, complex
Beaune 1er Cru Rouge, Louis Jadot 2005 (Fra) £19.99 (£14.99) 82
Top price for top quality, leather notes, developing well, soft tannin
Craggy Range Zebra Vineyard Pinot Noir (NZ) £17.49 (£13.99) 83
Fruit compote nose, intense blackberry, black cherry, good finish
Craggy Range Te Kahu Gimblett Gravels (NZ) £13.74 (£10.99) 87
Blackcurrant, nutmeg nose, spice, black pepper, complex
Chateau Caronne St Gemme, Haut Medoc (Fra) £13.99 (£12.99) 84
Black cherry nose, concentrated black fruit palate, good tannin structure
<£15
Beaune Blanc 1er cru Bouchard Pere et Fils(Fra) £19.99 84
Lemon zest, orange blossom, full rich complex, worth every penny
