Wine Review: Waitrose Douro Valley Reserva Quinta da Rosa, 2015

With the clocks going back this weekend, those long winter nights will soon be upon us - that maybe true but what better than to be tucked up indoors with a hearty stew and a warming bottle of red? Portugal is a region that deserves more exploration and there is more, much more to the wines of Portugal than the eponymous fortified ‘Port’, with many indigenous (and often unpronounceable!) grapes and little known regions to explore.  Sadly many consumers…

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Wine Review: Gattinara, Torraccia del Piantavigna 2011

You may never have heard of it, but Gattinara is, like it’s more famous neighbours Barolo and Barbaresco, another Piedmont DOCG for the Nebbiolo grape. Don’t be misled by the colour or nose: pale ruby in appearance and with a delicate quite floral aroma of rose and violets alongside black fruits (cherry and plum), for this belies the tannic power of the grape. On the palate this is dry with a fullish body, high in both alcohol and acidity,…

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Wine Review: Dereszla Tokaji Furmint, 2016

Less common in the UK than it probably should be is the Furmint grape. Most people know it or have possibly drunk it without realizing, for this is the main grape of Tokaji which is mostly seen on our shores in its sweet form.  However, Furmint is more than capable of turning out some lovely dry wines and this is a great example of that at a truly brilliant price! Pale lemon in colour, the wine has some lovely…

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Wine Review – Domäne Wachau Classic Riesling Federspiel 2016

From the same producer as my recent LIDL find, I've included this wine despite it not readily being available on the UK High Street as I wanted to show there is far more to Austria than their signature variety Grüner Veltliner. This elegant Riesling is a great example of the range of wine the country can offer. There is a lovely balance to this Riesling: limpid lemon in appearance, the nose betrays attractive aromas of peach, lime, crab apple…

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Wine Review – Domäne Wachau Grüner Veltliner Wachau Terraces 2016

Don’t be put off by the thought of drinking Austrian wine, whilst very much under-represented in the UK market this is a region where you can really get value for money as a recent trip to my local LIDL proves... Very much the signature variety of Austria, the key characteristics of the grape are very much in evidence here: on the nose there are obvious vegetal aromas (think celery), white pepper notes alongside fresh citrus and green apple with…

Continue ReadingWine Review – Domäne Wachau Grüner Veltliner Wachau Terraces 2016