Beauvignac, Picpoul de Pinet 2015 £6.75 AOC Languedoc, Picpoul de PinetClassic lovely, racy, zesty Picpoul. Plump melon fruit with an attractive bitter twist. The perfect match for shellfish or enjoy it as an aperitif.
Terrazze della Luna Nosiola 2015 £6.75
Cavit, Trentino This is award-winning wine is classic Nosiola. Pale lemon/green in colour with a nose of white flowers and clementines, it is full of green apple fruit with hints of hazelnut and mint, finishing long with citrus notes. Fantastic value for money!
Domaine Pre Baron Sauvignon Blanc 2016 £7.75 AOC TourainePure Sauvignon aromas of elderflowers and hedgerows lead into a racy mouthful of redcurrant leaf and gooseberry fruit. More than a match for many more expensive Sancerres!
Tabali Pedregoso Gran Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2015 £6.95 Limari Valley, ChileA really unusual Sauvignon with chalky grassy aromas and subtle green pepper and cream soda flavours and gentle acidity. One to appeal to those who find Sauvignon Blanc can be too assertive.
Novas Gran Reserva Sauvignon Blanc, Organic 2015 £7.50 San Antonio Valley, ChileThis marginal terroir, influenced by the cold, foggy Pacific, is perfect for Sauvignon. Like no other Chilean SB that you’ve tasted – delicious, full-on, fresh, passion fruit, zingy style. If you like the NZ Marlborough Sauvignons, you’ll love this!
Domaine du Pré Semelé 2016 £11.95 AOC SancerreA brand new wine on the list. This gentle, understated style contrasts with the Touraine Sauvignon. It is elegant with lovely mouthfeel – think kiwis and peaches – subtle mineral flavours and good length
Emiliana, Signos de Origen La Vinilla Organic 2015 £7.95 Casablanca Valley, ChileVery popular find last year! A blend of Chardonnay, Marsanne, Viognier and Roussanne, it is rich and full of the flavour of lychees, honey, ginger and a touch of cream soda! Oriental food…
The Paddler, Riesling 2012 £9.50 Malborough, New ZealandWe’ve been very lucky to get some of this bargain-priced single vineyard Riesling. Mature grapy nose with hints of petrol, a hint of residual sugar, complex, elegant and only 9.5%. An absolute joy!
Domaine Meyer-Fonné Riesling Réserve 2013 £9.25 Alsace This is a classic dry Alsace Riesling with great minerality and length with wonderful purity and concentration of fruit with racy lime/lemon zest undertones. Slips down with smoked salmon.
Domaine Meyer Fonné Riesling Réserve 2008 £9.25 AOP Alsace This is classic Alsace Riesling with great minerality and length, wonderful purity of fruit and a racy lime/lemon zesty finish. A great match for smoked salmon
Domaine Vedilhan Viognier 2015 £5.95 IGP Pays d’Oc A wonderful floral, honeysuckle nose leads into a ripe, apricot and greengage mouthful of fruit with a zesty finish, good acidity and length. Classic well-balanced Viognier!
Domaine de Malavieille Alliance Blanc 2014 £8.50 AOP Côteaux du Languedoc This is made from 85% Roussanne and 10% Grenache Blanc and 5% Viognier, gently oaked in Burgundian barrels. Nose of white flowers and honeysuckle with toasty notes. This leads into an elegant mouthful of apricot and peach, with hints of honey, followed and great length.
Monte Schiavo Pallio di San Floriano 2015 £7.95 DOC Verdicchio Classico SuperioreBeautifully crafted Verdicchio – soft grapy fruit with hints of lemon meringue pie, almonds and gentle acidity. Great value for this level of quality.
Domaine la Motte 2015 £10.50 ChablisGood value Chablis is extraordinarily hard to find, but we’ve got it here! This has all the hallmarks of quality – mouthwatering green apple fruit, steely acidity and great minerality…
Terres de Chatenay, Fontenay 2015 £11.50 AOP Viré-ClesséThis is made from vines with an amazing average age of 80 years, and 10% of the wine is aged in oak barrels. The nose is floral with hints of acacia and apple. Concentrated, with a silky mouthfeel. Rich yet elegant with flavours of pineapple and peach. Great mineral acidity and length. A mini Puligny-Monrachet!
RED WINES
Le Cazalou 2015 £5.50 IGP d’OcMerlot with the addition of some Syrah and Grenache make up this inspired blend. Full of vivid raspberry and blackcurrant fruit, with a hint of liquorice at the finish – all too easy to drink! Simple but delicious!
Château Saint Jean d’Aumières Les Collines 2015 £6.50 IGP d’OcA new find of wonderful Merlot, gently oak-aged. This has a nose of ripe berries with hints of toasted brioche. This leads into a soft, ripe mouthful of silky plummy fruit, finishing with soft tannins and hints of tobacco.
Château Saint Jean d’Aumières Les Marnes, Medaille d’Or Paris 2015 £6.50 IGP d’OcThis is pure Cabernet with a nose of cedar and cassis. Pure, concentrated cassis fruit dominates the palate, with leafy hints and a touch of cedar at the finish. The tannins are soft and ripe and there is good length.
Domaine Girard Cuvée Néri 2012 £8.95 AOC Malepère Only a tiny amount of this star is made, 60% Merlot & 40% Cabernet Franc, which is then oak aged. A deep wine, divine cedary nose, with blackcurrants, blackberries, spice and great length. Triple award winner!
Château Saint Martin de la Garrigue Cuvée Réservée 2011 £6.95 IGP Côteaux des Bessilles – Largely Cabernet Sauvignon with some Merlot and Grenache, aged in the Bordeaux barriques, this has a cedary nose with lashings of cassis and damsons on the palate, finishing very long
Château Saint Jean d’Aumières L’Alchimiste 2013 £9.50 AOP Terrasses du LarzacMade from 45% Syrah, 40% Grenache & 15% Carignan, and partially aged in oak, this has a mint/truffley nose. It is bursting with black fruits, with rich complex gamey flavours. Knock-out!
Culte by Bagatelle 2013 £10.50
AOP Saint Chinian Very unusual for the appellation, this is 97% Syrah with just 3% Grenache. Very low yields and subtle oak ageing. Fabulous nose of roses, raspberries and vanilla, with silky, ripe black cherry flavours. Very much Hermitage in style!
Domaine Boutinot Les Côteaux 2013 £7.50 AOP Côtes du Rhône VillagesMade from mainly Grenache with some Syrah from six adjacent villages including Cairanne & Seguret. This is full of juicy, soft gluggable fruit – Côtes du Rhône Villages at it’s best!
San Felice Chianti Classico 2013 or 2009 (both available) £8.95 DOCG ChiantiClassico Classic Chianti from the best region, made from mostly Sangiovese. A very elegant wine, full of cherries and damsons, with a touch of almonds at the finish. Perfect for pasta! Try the 2009…
Crocera Barbera d’Asti Superiore 2014 £6.95
DOCG PiemonteThis is a great example of the Barbera grape – deep in colour, a vibrant brambly nose, leading into a big mouthful of juicy brambly, appley fruit. Delicious!
Montressor Capitel della Crosara Ripasso 2012/13 £10.50
DOCG Valpolicella This continues to be one of the great bargains that we show year after year. Made from the Ripasso method, this is medium/deep in colour with a gorgeous nose of morello cherries, and a soft, ripe, intense mouthful of morello cherry fruit.
Ontanon Ecologico Rioja Organic 2013 £6.95 Rioja Made from 100% Tempranillo, it spends just 5 months in oak. It is deep with a hint of oak on the nose, with super mouthfeel, juicy damson flavours and a hint of toast at the finish. Great value!
Ontanon Rioja Reserva 2005 £9.50 Rioja From mountain vineyards at 900 metres altitude in the Rioja Baja, this marvellous Reserva with ripe damson and bramble fruit, and spice and orange peel, combines classic Rioja with a touch of modernity.
Sileni Estates Plateau Pinot Noir 2014 £9.50 Hawkes Bay, New ZealandA wonderful Pinot Noir nose of strawberries with hints of iron. Black cherry flavours explode on the palate with good complexity and a poised balance of fruit and oak. Sublime!
Novas Gran Reserva Carmenère Cabernet Sauvignon Organic 2014 £7.45 Colchagua Valley, Chile Dense colour, a racy, leafy cassis nose leads into a silky mouthful of blackcurrant and raspberry fruit with ripe tannins and good length. All too easy to drink!
Tabali Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 £7.50 Maipo Valley, ChileAlmost opaque, this has a classic blackcurrant Cabernet nose, and is bursting with ripe blackcurrant fruit with hints of green pepper and liquorice, underpinned by soft full tannins. Superb!
Fizz, Port & Dessert Wines
Domaine J Laurens La Rose £10.95 AOC Crémant de LimouxA great find. Made from Pinot Noir & Chardonnay by an ex-Champenois vigneron, this is a very delicate pale pink. It has a nose of wild strawberries, and delicious flavours of strawberries and red currants with a crisp, dry finish. You’d have to pay double this to get champagne of comparable quality!
Château Crabitan Bellevue 2010 £8.95 AC Sainte-Croix-du-MontThis was an excellent year, combining great ripeness with freshness. Lemon/straw in colour, on the nose there are citrus notes with hints of marzipan, it is concentrated yet very elegant, with flavours of honey, crystallised fruit and frangipani , finishing with clean acidity and great length
Krohn Port LBV 2009 £10.50 Port A superb port, this has all the style and flavour of a vintage port, but with an amazingly affordable price! It needs decanting to avoid the sediment, then savour the intense aroma of black plums, spice and dried herbs…..
