Recently tasted wines

Recently tasted wines

Most recently added wines are first. Prices and stockists in the UK are listed in brackets; as a rough guide Ł1 = US$1.90. Date of tasting is indicated by month/year at the end of the note.)

Marimar Estate Don Miguel Vineyard Chardonnay 2004 Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California
This comes from an organic vineyard in a cool part of the Russian River Valley just 10 miles from the coast. 4000 vines/hectare planting density is high for California. With some bottle age, this is quite a serious, mineralic-yet-rich Chardonnay, offering a complex herby, toasty, mealy nose with some lemony freshness. The palate is quite powerful and structured, with warm toasty, bready notes alongside grippy, spicy savouriness and fresh, clean fruit with good acidity. Unlike some California Chardonnays, it doesn’t descend into a buttery, oaky, tropical fruit blob, but keeps its minerally, acidic edges. Complex, powerful stuff that would work well with food. 91/100 (US retail $28) 07/08

Marimar Estate Don Miguel Vineyard Pinot Noir 2003 Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California
Cherry red in colour, this has an attractively sappy nose with some subtle herbal notes alongside the ripe cherry and raspberry fruit. There are secondary notes of tobacco and undergrowth. The palate is smooth and quite elegant with the sweet red berry fruit complemented by some spicy, forest floor notes, as well as a hint of meatiness. Ripe but nuanced. 90/100 (US retail $35) 07/08

Waitrose Joseph Mellot Sancerre La Franchotte 2007 Loire, France
Really fresh, slightly smoky mineralic green herby nose. Tight and a little reductive. The palate is fresh, piercing and focused, with high acidity and slightly herbal fruit. Lovely focus of taut, lemony, grapefruit fruit on the palate. A great food wine, and the antithesis of some flowery, exuberant New Zealand Sauvignons. 88/100 (Waitrose) 07/08

Quinta de Azevedo 2007 Vinho Verde, Portugal
Just 11% alcohol. Light, spritzy and very fresh, with a hint of pithy bitterness under the lemony fruit. A crisp, quite savoury style of wine that’s bone dry and high in acid. Although this is a modern interpretation of Vinho Verde, it still has the distinctive personality of wines from this region. 86/100 (Ł5.99 Waitrose) 07/08

Santa Rita Floresta Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Leyda Valley, Chile
Attractively packaged, this Sauvignon comes from the cool-climate coastal Leyda region in Chile. It’s quite impressive, with a mandarin and grapefruit notes, as well as some green pepper and a bit of minerality. Concentrated but smooth and quite understated, this is sophisticated rather than showy. A serious effort. 91/100 (Ł8.99 Waitrose) 07/08

Howard Park Chardonnay 2006 Great Southern, Western Australia
Fresh but warm nose of buttered toast, spice and citrus fruits. The palate is concentrated and taut with classy, toasty oak combining well with rich tropical fruits offset nicely by herby, lemony freshness. A refined, pure expression of new world Chardonnay that needs a year or two longer to show at its best. Finishes with lovely grapefruity acidity. This is a million miles away from overdone, blowsy Australian Chardonnays of yesteryear. 13% alcohol. 91/100 07/08

Negro Roero Arneis 2007 Italy
Bright, fresh full flavoured white with a distinctively savoury, minerally character, and a little nutty waxiness under the citrussy fruit. The defining quality here is the minerality, which makes this a really useful food wine. Reasonably serious. 88/100 (Ł9.95 Great Western Wine) 07/08

Buglioni Il Clandestino 2007 Bianco Veronese IGT Italy
From Valpolicella country, this is a really attractive fruit focused white. The nose has complex herb, smoke and mineral layers as well as some fresh white peach notes. The palate is focused and fresh with some gentle melony fruit as well as a stony, minerally finish. 89/100 (Ł8.55 Great Western Wine) 07/08

Dönnhoff Oberhauser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett 2006 Nahe, Germany
What a remarkable wine. It’s incredibly rich – much richer than you’d expect a Mosel Kabinett to be – with bold, sweet citrus, melon and pear flavours mingling beautifully with spicy minerality and brisk acidity. All the competing elements are held in almost perfect tension, with the sugar/acid balance supporting the expressive fruitiness quite wonderfully. It’s concentrated and quite sweet, and really elegant and harmonious. It’s great to find so much complexity in a relatively young wine like this. 8.5% alcohol. 93/100 (Les Caves de Pyrene) 07/08

Monte da Peceguina 2007 Alentejo, Portugal
From Malhadinha Nova, this a blend of Alicante Bouschet, Aragonęs, Touriga Nacional, Cabernet Sauvignon and Tinta Caida, aged in French oak for seven months. It’s a vibrant, pure, fruit focused red for early consumption, offering blackberry, raspberry and ripe cherry fruit, with a bit of spicy tang. It’s ripe and sweetly fruited, but there’s a lovely freshness, with good acidity and just a hint of attractive plummy bitterness on the finish, which makes it food friendly. Impressive stuff. 90/100 07/08

Naia Verdejo 2007 Rueda, Spain
Crisp, minerally, complex and elegant, with an aromatic nose of grapefruit and lemon that leads to a palate where there's crisp yet rich textured spicy apple, pear and citrus fruit. Beautifully balanced and quite complex. Drink now. 91/100 (Ł10.99 Indigo Wine [the agent in the UK], Harrods, The Vineyard [Dorking], Christopher Piper) 08/08

Marks & Spencer Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc 'Le Fussier' 2006 Rhone, France
A blend of Grenache Blanc, Picpoul, Clairette, Bourboulenc and Roussane, without oak, from Chateau Mont Redon. Fresh herby, lemony flowery nose is crisp. The palate is rounded and quite fat, as Rhone whites tend to be, but with some crisp minerality on the finish. Delightfully expressive and crisp, and quite complex, too. 91/100 (Ł13.99 Marks & Spencer) 08/08

Quinta de Saes 2006 Dao, Portugal
Beautiful stuff. It's dark and intense with a lovely aromatic nose of dark cherries, raspberries and spice. Pure fruit dominates. The palate is concentrated with dense spicy structure and good acidity adding a savoury complexion to the bold, sweet, pure fruit. A vivid, expressive and rather primary wine of immense appeal. 90/100 (Ł8.29 Cheers Bottle Shop) 08/08

Duas Quintas 2006 Douro, Portugal
Lovely vivid pure sweet raspberry and blackberry fruit dominates here, and it flirts with jamminess. The palate has nicely dense berryish fruit with an attractive spicy edge and some chocolatey richness. It's quite pure with nice balance between the primary fruit and some spicy tannins. 88/100 (Nicolas Ł9.15) 08/08

Ochoa Graciano & Garnacha 2005 Navarra, Spain
A beautiful, fruit-forward red wine made with Grenache combined with the highly regarded but now rare Rioja grape Graciano. Deep coloured, the dominant feature here is vibrant, juicy, sweet raspberry and dark cherry fruit with very little oak impact and a spicy, tangy finish. This is a stylish, modern red wine of real appeal, for current drinking (it's sealed with a purple coloured synthetic cork). 89/100 (Ł7.99 Taurus Wines, Christopher Piper, Bentley's, Arthur Rackhams) 08/08

Maycas del Limari Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2007 Limari Valley, Chile
Super-fresh, this is a bright Sauvignon with a nose showing gooseberry, grapefruit and green pepper. The palate is crisp and fruity with vivid fruit and a hint of greenness that comes across as almost spicy. A beautifully expressive, lean, concentrated Sauvignon that's quite extreme but works really well. Think Awatere Valley with even more edginess. 90/100 (Ł8.99 Tesco) 08/08

Maycas del Limari Syrah Reserva 2007 Limari Valley, Chile
Amazingly deep colour. Beautiful nose of sweet brooding blackberry and raspberry jam with complex spicy notes and lovely purity. On the palate there's a hint of rubbery greenness, which along with the pure blackcurrant fruit which makes it taste a bit Chilean, but there are also warm spicy notes. It's a ripe, fruity wine of broad appeal, and overdelivers for its price point. 90/100 (Ł8.99 Oddbins, Tesco) 08/08

Marias da Malhadinha 2004 Vinho Regional Alentejo
A blend of 40% Aragonęs, 25% Alicante Bouschet, 15% Cabernet, 10% Syrah and 10% Touriga Nacional, aged for 26 months in new French oak. This is an intensely concentrated red with a sweet nose of ripe blackberry and plum fruit with complex spicy notes. The palate is dense and sweetly fruited with spiciness and smooth but firm tannins. This generous red wine is ripe but not jammy, and there's lovely balance between the sweet fruit and the more savoury, spicy elements. Massively intense and multilayered, this should age really well, and in terms of style it's similar to a high-end new-wave Rioja. 94/100 (08/08) 08/08

Vilafonte series m 2005 Paarl, South Africa
A blend of 52% Merlot, 17% Malbec and 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, weighing in at 14.5% alcohol. This has a dark fruits nose with a smooth, spicy, earthy edge and some hints of medicine and old libraries. The palate is earthy with smooth tannins and a long savoury finish. This is an interesting wine: it's not about primary fruit, but rather spicy and earthy notes dominate. Quite stylish with good ageing potential. 89/100 08/08

Vilafonte series c 2005 Paarl, South Africa
66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Cabernet Franc, 22% Merlot and 6% Malbec. This is the more structured and dense of the Vilafonte wines, and I prefer it. The sophisticated, complex nose shows blackcurrant fruit with a herby, spicy, earthy sort of personality. The palate is strongly savoury with spice, earth and medicinal hints to the dense, structured fruit. A bold, savoury, tannic wine with a good future ahead of it. 91/100 08/08

Nathalie et Christian Chaussard Les Longues Vignes 2005 Coteaux du Loir
Slightly chilled, this is a beautifully aromatic red wine with a peppery, spicy edge to the pure, sweet cherry fruit on the nose. The palate is smooth and pure but with a distinctly savoury, earthy, spicy finish. Complex and alive, with lovely freshness. A hauntingly beautiful light red wine. 92/100 (Les Caves de Pyrene) 08/08

Macia Batle Crianza 2005 Binissalem, Mallorca, Spain
Sweet, seductive ripe fruity nose with some savoury, spicy, tarry notes. Quite sophisticated in a warm, ripe style. The palate is sweetly fruited but has bold, earthy, spicy notes, too. Nicely savoury, finishing long and earthy. A complex wine that should evolve nicely for the next three years or so. 90/100 (Ł10.99 Noel Young, The Vineyard Dorking, Thomas Panton, Corks of Cotham) 08/08

Jorge Ordonez & Co Malaga Seleccion Especial No 1 2006
Made from Moscatel grapes dried on the vine. Light yellow in colour, this has a beautifully fresh aromatic nose of citrus oil, grapes and mandarins. The palate is super sweet and quite viscous, but with lovely bright spicy orange fruit and good acid providing a perfect counterpoint. Deliciously fresh, and quite complex for a young wine, this is tremendously easy to drink. 92/100 (Ł12.99 per half, Indigo Wines, Lay & Wheeler, The Vineking) 07/08

Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay 2006 Sonoma Coast, California
Full yellow colour. Nutty nose has a fresh minerality to it, as well as a hint of lemon. The palate shows nice balance between some buttery softness and some firmer, slightly bitter citrussy notes. The overall effect is of a fairly sophisticated, well balanced and food friendly wine that doesn't show too much of that broad, fat, slightly blowsy personality that's the besetting sin of Californian Chardonnay. I'd be happy to drink this in a high-end restaurant with richer seafood dishes, and if it wasn't for the slight hint of bitterness on the finish I'd rate it higher. 89/100 (Ł14.99 Waitrose, Majestic, but will be promoted in both soon at Ł9.99) 07/08

Louis Jadot Les Climats Chardonnay Reserve 2004 Burgundy, France
This is a bit different: from Burgundy, where terroir reigns supreme, we have a blend of different village and even 1er Cru sites, in a wine labelled varietally. It's creamy, sophisticated and a bit toasty on the nose, leading to a precise, gently nutty, lemony palate that's fresh and mineralic, with well integrated oak. With some bottle age, this is showing really well, and is surprisingly unevolved. It tastes like an ultra-sophisticated new world Chardonnay. 90/100 (Ł13.99 Vickis of Chobham, Kingsgate Wine Winchester, Ł18.99 Thresher but with a multibottle deal) 07/08

La Chasse du Pape Chardonnay 'Unoaked' 2007 Vin de Pays d'Oc, France
Attractive broad, fruity nose. It's quite rich with melon, apple and pear. The palate is fresh and nicely fruity, with a really approachable sort of personality. What it lacks in depth, it makes up for in charm. Impressive commercial winemaking. 86/100 07/08

Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet ‘La Souteronne’ Gamay 2007 Vin de Pays de l’Ardčche, France
Fresh, slightly sappy, herb-tinged nose. The palate has a lovely smooth texture and shows pure red cherry and cranberry fruit, with freshness, elegance and just a little spicy grip on the finish, making this a delightful, food-compatible wine of great purity. 91/100 (www.lescaves.co.uk) 07/08

Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet Syrah 2007 Vin de Pays de l’Ardčche, France
This is simply beautiful. There’s a distinctive cool-climate Syrah peppery kick on the nose, which is otherwise really pure and focused, with a gentle leafy character underneath the red fruits. The palate is beautifully supple, slightly sappy, and fantastically elegant, with real purity to the smoothly textured fruit. I guess the granite soils may have something to do with this: it’s light, but aromatic. Just 11.7% alcohol. 93/100 (www.lescaves.co.uk) 07/08

Chateau Tour des Gendres Bergerac Sec Muscadelle Petit Grain 2005 France
Nicely packaged with a musical score as a front label, this is a richly textured Muscadelle of real appeal. It's quite complex, with notes of grapes, lemons, nuts and vanilla ice cream, as well as an almost floral, herby character. In the mouth it is quite thick, with a lush texture and a hint of pithy bitterness on the finish. It reminds me of a cross between an Alsace Pinot Gris and a rich Viognier. Quite a serious effort, and it also tastes quite modern in style, with fruit to the fore. 90/100 (Les Caves de Pyrene) 07/08

Linda Domas Wines Boycat Merlot 2006 McLaren Vale, Australia
Slightly reductive on the nose, with a hint of burnt rubber, but also some really fresh, vibrant berry fruit, as well as a hint of gravel. The palate is juicy and medium bodied, with delightfully expressive, fresh, sweet red berry fruit, a trace of blackcurrant, and also some spicy tannins on the finish. I guess that the McLaren Vale isn't the best place in the world to grow Merlot, but this is still a very attractive, supple, sweetly fruited wine of some appeal. Elegant and very berryish. 88/100 (Ł8.99 Marks & Spencer) 07/08

Domaine Treloar Three Peaks 2006 Cotes du Roussillon, France
This attractive southern French red is the inaugural vintage from this producer, a Kiwi-English collaboration farming just 10 hectares in the Roussillon. It's a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. A concentrated wine with sweet-yet-focused red and black fruits with a spicy lift. There's a distinctly savoury, spicy quality to this wine which has enough tannin and acidity to keep it quite fresh. Finishes distinctly savoury and quite grippy. A food-friendly style that may develop nicely over the next few years. 90/100 (Ł10.25 Leon Stolarski) 07/08

Mont Tauch 'Retro' Fitou 2006 Languedoc, France
Light, with savoury, spicy, slightly earthy cherry and berry fruit, as well as just a hint of that wild herb complexity known as 'garrigue'. A versatile, drinkable red with a sense of place to it. 83/100 (Ł5.99 Tesco) 07/08

Jimenez-Landi 'Pielago' 2006 Mentrida, Toledo, Spain
Beautifully packaged in a deeply punted Burgundy-shaped bottle, this is an ambitious new-wave Spanish red. The nose shows a bit of alcoholic heat, as well as a slightly baked, caramelly edge, along with lush, pure, sweet raspberry and blackberry fruit. The palate is warm and a little jammy, but with a nice spicy definition to the lush fruit. There's a lot going for this wine - the concentrated sweet, ripe fruit, and the attractive spiciness, as well as the fact that any oak is well in the background. But it has just a little too much 'warmth' to it to justify a higher score. New world in style, which I guess is understandable given the fact that it's very much a warm climate wine, made in a modern way. I'd like to see them aim for more freshness, without losing the concentration. 90/100 (Ł20 Handford Wines) 07/08

Malhadinha Nova Pequeno Joao 2005 Alentejo, Portugal
A small production run of Cabernet, Aragones and Syrah that's bottled in 50 cl format. Beautiful purity of sweet raspberryish fruit with foresty, blackberry notes in the mix too. The palate is pure and intense with lovely fruit intensity and nice spiciness. Ripe, rich, fruit-driven and delicious. 92/100 07/08

Simonnet-Febvre Bourgogne Rose 2006 France
Pink orange in colour, this has a sweet nose of strawberry and redcurrant fruit, with a herbal freshness. The palate is richly textured with a nice sappy finish along with the sweet fruit. Stylish and appealing. It's hard to make serious rose, but this is almost there. 87/100 (Ł9 Hayward Bros, Anne et Vin, Hennings, ND John) 07/08

Chateau Haut Bergeron Sauternes 2004 Bordeaux
Golden colour. Attractive sweet herbal nose with dried fruit, apricot, citrus peel and spice. The palate is viscous with citrus and barley sugar character as well as some appealing spiciness. A dense, mouthfilling sweet wine with some complexity. Deliciously rich. 90/100 (Asda Ł9.99/half) 07/08

Vendanges d'Automne Muscat de Saint Jean de Minervois NV, France
Golden colour with some brown hints. Rich and quite viscous with notes of baked apple, dried apricot and organge peel, as well as some tea-like complexity. Very sweet, with a bit of spice on the finish. A satisfying, thought-provoking wine. 89/100 (Co-op Ł11.99/50 cl) 07/08

Guerrieri Rizzardi Bardolino Classico 2007 Veneto, Italy
Light red in colour, this is like a very dark rose more than a red wine. Sweet, bright cherry fruit dominates the nose and palate. It's quite rounded, with a rich texture, a hint of sappiness and just a touch of spicy tannin on the finish. Joyful and quite drinkable, but would work well with a range of foods, too. There's a place for this sort of wine. 87/100 (Ł7.49 Longford Wines, Davy's wine shop) 07/08

Monte Tondo Casette Foscarin 2004 Soave Classico, Italy
Yellow/gold colour. Complex nose of lemon, mandarin and herbs leads to a palate that is mouthfilling, dense and rich, with citrus fruit, honey and a bit of nutty depth. There are some pithy, bitter notes on the finish. It's a complex, food-friendly white that's peaking now. 91/100 (Ł12.30 Great Western Wine) 07/08

Guerrieri Rizzardi Costeggiola 2007 Soave Classico, Italy
A single vineyard blend of Garganega and Chardonnay. Quite deep yellow colour. Fresh and herby with citrussy notes and a slightly pithy bitterness. A full flavoured wine with a tangy finish. Distinctive. 89/100 (Ł8.99 Longford, Davy's, Fortnum & Mason, Harrods) 07/08

Tamellini 2006 Soave, Italy
Full yellow colour. Rich and a bit nutty with a sweet, mealy, toasty richness and some melon fruit, as well as some finer honeysuckle notes. Sophisticated and broad with a distinctive sweetness. 89/100 (Ł9.99 Cadman Fine Wines) 07/08

Julien Schaal 'African Dream' Syrah 2005 Western Cape, South Africa
From a vineyard in Elgin, this is made by a French winemaker and matured in 900 litre French oak barrels, and it's really good. The nose is sweet and ripe with dark cherry and blackberry fruit framed by a subtly roasted, spicy character, as well as a bit of meatiness. The palate combines lush fruit with spicy definition, as well as bright acidity. It's very ripe, but minerally and fresh with it. I wouldn't go so far as to call it Rhone-like, as some has done. It's more like an elegant take on Barossa Valley. Finishes fresh. Great value for money, this. 91/100 (Ł9.99 Handford Wines) 07/08

Chateau Paul Mas 'Les Dons' Vinus 2005 Coteaux du Languedoc, France
A Shiraz/Grenache blend from 40 year old vines on clay and lime soils, with a bit of maritime influence, this is sleek and sophisticated. Harmonious, smooth red and black fruits combine with fine-grained tannins and fresh acidity to make a very stylish, modern red wine of real appeal. Warm climate elegance here. 89/100 07/08

Palatium Pinot Blanc 2007 Pfalz, Germany
Bright, fresh and fruity with some melony richness to the fruit, as well as a touch of honey and a crisp, slightly herby, citrussy finish. With a hint of sweetness and a subtle smoky hint, this is a rather stylish, versatile, fruit-driven white that's good value for money. 84/100 (Ł5.29 Tesco)

Clos des Rochers Pinot Blanc Wormeldange Nussbaum 2006 AOC Moselle Luxembourgoise
I think this is the first wine from Luxembourg that I've tried, and it's pretty good. It's a sort of cross between Germany and Alsace in style. The rich, fruity, smoky spicy nose has real appeal. The palate is just off-dry, with a hint of sweetness to the rich, spicy, herby, baked apple and citrus fruit, which finishes nice and spicy. The high acidity keeps things fresh. A sophisticated white wine that's pretty useful with spicy food. This is actually really good value for money. 89/100 (Ł8.99 Waitrose) 06/08

Chapoutier Crozes-Hermitage Petite Ruche 2005 Northern Rhone, France
This northern Rhone Syrah is bright, fresh and juicily vibrant, with focused raspberry-tinged fruit as well as a subtle peppery meatiness. There's good fresh acidity here, and it's nicely savoury, but it does taste quite light and commercial when compared with more serious Crozes Hermitage. A useful food wine, I'd buy this if the price was right - around Ł6. 84/100 (Waitrose)

Domaine Richaud Cairanne 2006 Cotes du Rhone Villages, France
A dark, concentrated Southern Rhone wine, this is a blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre and Carignan. The nose is ripe, meaty, peppery and quite pure. The palate is dense with lovely sweet blackberry and raspberry fruit combining well with a savoury, spicy, slightly reductive streak. There's some lushness here (it's 14.5% alcohol), but it avoids being over-ripe. The most impressive aspect is the concentration and purity of the fruit. With its richness, this could almost be a new world Syrah, but if it was, it would be one of the very best because it's still really well balanced and quite elegant. 92/100 (this was around 10 Euros from a Paris wine shop) 06/08

Fortnum & Mason Amontillado VORS
This is a 40 year old wine but it has so much vitality. It has a massively complex nose of citrus peel, smoke and old furniture, that’s fresh and fruity but also very rich. The palate is dry, tangy and mouthfilling with lovely length and complexity. ‘It’s almost hypnotic in its power and strength, with a salty character, tar, caramel and dried figgy fruits’, says Tim. This unctuous wine is great with food, particularly nuts and smoked fish. ‘It’s a wine to be discussed and enjoyed with company’, says Tim. ‘There’s so much to get into, you need the helping hand of education to enjoy it.’ (Ł18.50/half bottle) 95/100 06/08

Fortnum & Mason Oloroso VORS
This has a richer, nuttier nose than the Amontillado, with some caramel and fudge. ‘There’s a layer of richness that is almost like Christmas cake’, points out Tim. The palate is soft, rich and broad-textured. Smooth, complex and nutty with woody, slightly earthy notes. The finish is intense and almost eternal: you can still taste it minutes later. ‘The thing I love about it is that despite its age, there is still some fruit here with a broad array of secondary flavours, such as smoky bacon, burnt toffee, leather and tobacco’, says Tim. ‘It’s as if you have a magnifying glass: all these flavours come into such focus.’ It’s a wine that is luscious and sumptuous on the palate, yet it is bone dry. How would you use a wine like this? ‘The dream partner is top air-dried Spanish ham’, reckons Tim, ‘but one can be versatile with it: it’s lovely with a big rich beef stew, great with cheese, and works brilliantly as a digestif’. As with all these sherries, a little goes a long way, and you can keep an open bottle for a long time, so even though it isn’t cheap, a bottle can provide a lot of pleasure over many evenings. (Ł18.50/half bottle) 94/100 06/08

Fortnum & Mason Pedro Ximénez VOS
This is mind-blowing stuff. It’s a concentrated brown/black colour with a consistency of used engine oil. The super-sweet aromatic nose is raisiny, yet fresh at the same time. The palate is thick, viscous and incredibly sweet, while remaining quite pure and even a little elegant. ‘This is impossibly unctuous with huge intensity’, remarks Tim. ‘It’s so intense and opulent’. He reckons it works bizarrely well with blue cheese and also works well with chocolate. ‘It’s a pudding in its own right: you almost need a spoon to drink it’. (Ł19.50 half/bottle). 93/100 06/08

Miolo RAR Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2004 Campos de Cima da Serra, Brazil
From one of the coolest regions in Brazil, at over 1000 metres altitude. Refined, sophisticated nose showing fresh red and black fruits with some classy oak. Ripe but with an attractive minerally edge. The palate shows focused dark fruits with lovely spicy structure. Surprisingly Bordeaux like, although this is closest to cool climate New World in style. Really well balanced and a serious effort. 90/100 06/08

Lidio Carraro Merlot Grande Vindimia 2004 Encruzilhada do Sul, Brazil
This wine has a warm, spicy, earthy nose that’s not unattractive, but which is quite old fashioned. The palate has some ripe fruit, but it’s largely driven by warm spicy notes, together with a subtle medicinal/earthy character. Finishes quite dry. An appealing if slightly rustic wine. 85/100 06/08

Dr Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett 2007 Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany
A delightfully bright example of Kabinett, with a lovely aromatic, fresh lemony, flowery, honeyed nose. The palate has a brilliant balance between the sweet tropical fruit and the high grapefruity acidity, with some spicy complexity and lovely precision. Fruity, fresh and low in alcohol (7.5%), this is the perfect lunchtime wine, but it’s also great for casual sipping, and would work well with light seafood dishes. Just off-dry, but still very fresh. 90/100 (Ł11.99 Waitrose, Booths) 06/08

Le Clos de Tu-Boeuf La Guerrerie Vin de Table Français
This is actually from the 2006 vintage, and it’s a wine made by Thierry Puzelat in the Loire, from a blend of Cot (aka Malbec, 70%) and Gamay (30%), with the grapes grown in the Cheverny appellation. Following Doug Wregg’s advice (he’s the dude from Les Caves de Pyrene who import this into the UK), I chilled it down and decanted it before drinking. It’s fantastic, life-affirmining, ‘alive’ wine. It’s aromatic with some earthy, spicy depth to the dark fruits. In the mouth it’s refreshing and bright with a lovely dense, grippy, spicy earthy quality under the focused bright fruit. It finishes quite grippy, but the defining feature is the brightness. It’s a natural tasting sort of wine that’s just so easy to drink. It’s kind of like Pinot Noir, but with some edges. 91/100 (Ł11.75 Les Caves de Pyrene) 06/08

Domaine de la Grande Palličre Rosé 2007 Côtes de Provence, France
This organic rosé is a beautiful pale salmon pink colour. The dominant theme here is fresh strawberry fruit with good acidity and a smooth, luxurious texture. There’s a bit of spicy, bite too. It’s the sort of wine you could quaff without too much though, but if you give it some contemplation, it rewards you with some complexity. 89/100 (Ł9.95 Nicolas) 06/08

Les Maîtres Vignerons de la Presqu’ile de Saint-Tropez Cuvée Carte Noir 2007 Côtes de Provence, France
In a very elegant round-shouldered, tall bottle, this is an attractive salmon pink colour. There’s gentle strawberry fruit here, along with a savoury mineral character and an attractively rounded texture. A stylish, grown-up sort of rosé that’s perfect for a summer’s day, and has the ability to recreate summer if you drink it in another season. 88/100 (Ł9.50 Nicolas) 06/08

Cline Syrah 2005 California
A distinctive wine, showing ripe plummy, berry fruit along with some meatiness, a touch of olive character and a hint of herbal greenness. It's ripe, sweet and accessible, but there's a savoury meatiness that reminds me a bit of some South African Syrahs (although this isn't meant to be taken negatively). My only criticism is that it's tending towards the medicinal end of the spectrum. 86/100 (Ł7.99 Co-op) 06/08

The Magnificent Wine Co. 'Steak House' Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Columbia Valley, Washington State
Nicely packaged, and billed as a steak wine, this is a bright, quite refined Cabernet that is light in style. There's some bright red fruit here, but also a complex, earthy, spicy, slightly phenolic quality that makes me suspect a bit of brettanomyces. Fresh and quite European in style, this is attractive and food friendly. 87/100 (Ł7.99 Co-op) 06/08

Marks & Spencer Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie 2007 Italy
A bright, fresh, modern expression of Pinot Grigio with lemon and lime fruit coupled with some herby depth. It’s nicely savoury with a crisp, dry character. A versatile white. 84/100 (M&S) 06/08

Louis Jadot Rosé 2007 Beaujolais, France
Deep salmon/pink colour, this has a strongly herbal edge to the strawberry fruit, as well as a bit of butteriness. Finishes crisp with high acidity. A bit disjointed. 83/100 (Waitrose) 06/08

Laurent Miquel Nord Sud Rosé Syrah Grenache 2007 Coteaux du Languedoc, France
Delightful rosé with lovely balance between the sweet strawberry fruit, some warm herbiness and fresh acidity. Attractively packaged, too. A very stylish wine that’s perfect for summer drinking. 86/100 (Ł7.19 Tesco) 06/08

Lagunilla Reserva Rioja 2003 Spain
A rich, warm style of Rioja with a nice combination of sweet fruit and sweet spicy oak, together with soft, contoured tannins. There’s a bit of tarry, charred edginess, too, which adds a savoury bite to what would otherwise be rather a tame wine. This is one for lovers of the traditional Rioja style. 86/100 (Ł9.99 Sainsbury, Morrisons) 06/08

Marmesa Vineyards Hollister Peak Chardonnay 2005 Edna Valley, California
Unusually for California, this is an unoaked Chardonnay, aged on its lees to add complexity. It’s rich and boldly fruited, with a warm, buttery, broad character balanced nicely by citrussy, stony freshness. Imagine Chablis, taken up a couple of notches in richness, ripeness and weight, and you’ll be close. Unoaked Chardonnay runs the risk of being boring, but this certainly isn’t. 89/100 (Ł9.99 Oddbins) 06/08

Mount Nelson Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Marlborough, New Zealand
This is a Marlborough Sauvignon from an estate owned by Marchese Lodovico Antinori. Does it have a European feel to it? Yes, at least a bit. It’s crisp, fresh and minerally with a lovely grassy, gently herby edge to the vivid citrus fruit and grapefruit core. Very refreshing, with high acidity. Quite serious. 91/100 (Ł13.99 Bottle & Basket, Edencroft, NZ House of Wine, Portland Wine, Wimbledon Wine, Planet of the Grapes) 06/08

Frankland Estate Olmo’s Reward 2003 Frankland River, Western Australia
This is a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot, with a bit of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon in the mix, and it’s brilliant. Lovely ripe, aromatic nose with fresh, intense black fruits and a minerally edge. Expressive. The palate shows real poise and elegance with ripe, dark fruits and fresh minerality. Structured and savoury. 94/100 (Ł16.75 Berry Bros & Rudd) 06/08

EOS Reserve Petite Sirah 2004 Paso Robles, California
An inky dark purple black colour, this is a bold, intense red wine of real character, although it won't appeal to everyone. It's bursting with rich blackberry and raspberry fruit, together with some bitter dark chocolate notes, as well as a bit of earthiness. I'm even getting a hint of rubber here. All this is underlain by some firm spicy tannins. Not at all shy, but savoury and dense enough to stop it being just another sweet, over-ripe, over-cooked new world red. Hard to score such a distinctive wine. It's edgy, imperfect, but interesting. 89/100 (Ł9.99 Co-op) 06/08

Pierre Luneau-Papin Semper Excelsior Clos des Noelles 2002 Muscadet Sevre et Maine, France
After a 30 month elevage, this attractively packaged Muscadet is just beautiful. It's a concentrated, full flavoured white with expressive, complex mineral and herb notes on the nose. The palate is rich with powerful mineralic fruit and hints of citrus pith, as well as an almost marine-like quality that's hard to describe. Almost profound. 90/100 (Available in UK from Les Caves de Pyrene) 06/08

Billaud Simon Chablis Grand Cru Vaudesir 2002 France
Fine, bready and minerally, this is fresh and bright yet rich and deep at the same time. Quite serious. 92/100 05/08

Bernard Van Berg Le Vin Le Plus Simplement 2005 Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire, France
This red Burgundy shows what you can do with a lowly terroir and yields of just 18 hl/ha. It's quite reductive (burnt match) along with vibrant red berry fruit. It's fresh and quite elegant with freshness and nice depth of fruit and a bit of meatiness. Very stylish for this appellation, and with a few years in bottle should shed its reductive youth and turn out very nice. 90/100 05/08

Caves S. Joao Reserva Particular 1959 Portugal
This old bottle is a blend of fruit from Bairrada and Dao. A deep colour with some brown hints, this has a wonderfully aromatic nose that is dark and meaty with a lovely spiciness. There's old wine complexity here, but it is still really alive, with bloody, iron-like notes in the background. There's also a bit of herby undergrowth character. Brilliant old wine. 94/100 05/08

Chapoutier Hermitage 1978
Very fresh and complex with minty, herby notes emerging, as well as some dark fruit character. This an appealing wine with brightness and elegance to the fore. It's not a big, heavy wine, but instead shows a precise, well focused personality, and you get the feeling that this has still got a bit more to give. 93/100 05/08

Niepoort Pinot Noir 2006 Douro
Still in cask, soon to be bottled. This is from the highest, coolest Niepoort vineyards, and this year Luis Seabra said he cut his holidays short to pick on the 24th August, to keep the wine fresh. It certainly is fresh, with bright, ripe red fruit character and a bit of mintiness. There's some elegance and nice texture, with hints of vanilla oak on the finish. This is actually pretty stylish. 89-93/100 05/08

Robustus 2004 Douro
Robustus was the name of Dirk's first table wine, made in 1990 (for more, see here). This new Robustus is a wine made repeating many of the 'mistakes' Dirk made back in 1990, and it's fabulous. It's half Redoma, half Batuta fruit, bottled after four years in wood. Deep coloured, it has a fresh, pure dark fruits nose that leads to a focused palate with elegant fruit and some oak imprint. There's brilliant freshness here with good tannins. It's quite firm with lovely freshness and density. Serious stuff. 'Not a modern, fruit-driven, square wine', says Dirk. Just four 1200 litre barrels made. 94/100 05/08

Niepoort 1963 Vintage Port
We tasted this blind. The others were in the 1970s; I was in the 1960s but got no closer. It's mature, super-elegant, spicy and a bit floral. There's nice freshness here as well as a seamless texture. Almost perfect balance: this isn't a big, heavy wine at all. 95/100 05/08

Secano Pinot Noir 2007 Leyda Valley, Chile
Made for Marks & Spencer by Vina Leyda. This is a really vibrant Pinot Noir with lovely pure, sappy cherry and raspberry fruit, complemented by a subtle spicy, medicinal note that remains in the background. It's perhaps a little too green and herbal, but the fresh, bright fruit here has a lovely purity to it. It's a delightfully fresh wine that tastes like Pinot. Very primary, but quite joyful. 88/100 (Ł6.99 Marks & Spencer) 05/08

Corralillo Chardonnay Reserve 2005 San Antonio, Chile
This biodynamic white comes from Matetic, one of Chile's most exciting producers. It's almost overpowering, with intense flavours of nuts, vanilla, figs, citrus fruits and spice. Super-rich and very ripe, this wine almost has too much flavour for its own good. It really comes into its own with richly flavoured food, where the weight of the wine isn't quite so obvious. It would also work quite well with cheese. A big, complex Chardonnay for current drinking, and not for the timid. 90/100 (Ł9.99 Marks & Spencer) 05/08

Verus Vineyards Furmint 2007 Slovenia
(Alternative name: Verus Stajerska Slovenia Kakovostino Vino ZGP Šipon 2007, where Šipon is a synonym for Furmint.) Beautifully packaged, this is a really stylish wine that reminds me a bit of Austrian Gruner Veltliner. It has a lively, fruity, almost peppery nose with some grapey depth to it. The palate is really lively and fresh, with an exuberant fruity, spicy character and a hint of spritz on the bright, acidic finish. This is a very pure, clean, minerally white that's full flavoured but zippy, and would be a versatile food wine. I like this a lot. 12% alcohol. (See www.verusvino.com for more details). 90/100 (Ł7.99 http://www.therealwineco.co.uk/) 05/08

Disznóko Tokaji Dry Furmint 2006 Hungary
The ancient variety of the Tokaji region makes dry whites like this, as well as the legendary sweet Tokaji. This has a broad, rich, deep nose with a smoky, spicy edge to the melon and herb fruit. The palate is quite complex with a fresh minerally character underpinning broad, grapey, slightly spicy fruit. There’s lots of interest here: a really food friendly style with a lot of personality. Beguiling stuff. 91/100 (Ł9.19 rrp, contact fionacampbell@btopenworld.com for more information) 05/08

La Baume 'La Grande Olivette' Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Vin de Pays d'Oc, France
Beautifully packaged in a deeply punted bottle, this is a serious Sauvignon Blanc. The nose shows lots of rich, almost pungent gooseberry and passion fruit (technically, this is a thiol-rich style, and it's almost sweaty), together with some green pepper notes. The palate is concentrated and intense with richness combining nicely with grassy freshness. Stylish stuff. 90/100 (Ł6.99 Waitrose) 05/08

Shaw & Smith Adelaide Hills Shiraz 2006 Australia
is pretty impressive. It has a fantastic peppery, cool-climate Syrah character, with some meatiness and raspberry fruit. There's also a darker blackberry fruit character, and some spicy oak in the background. At the moment this is quite tight-wound and tannic, but I'm very impressed by the freshness and definition. This is pretty serious. 93/100

Esporăo Reserva (Tinto) 2005 Alentejo, Portugal
A blend of the Trincadeira, Aragones and Cabernet Sauvignon grape varieties, this is a deep-coloured wine. It shows fresh, bright plum and blackberry flavours, with a distinctive slightly roasted, tarry savoury edge and a hint of bitterness, that isn't completely masked by the sweet coconut and vanilla characters from the American oak that was used here. It's an attractive, food-friendly red, but, if I'm going to be ultracritical, I don't find the oak that well integrated, and the bitterness on the finish is a bit off-putting. 85/100 (Ł12.30, UK agent Charles Hawkins) 05/08

Esporăo Reserva (Branco) 2007 Alentejo, Portugal
A blend of Arinto, Antăo Vaz and Roupeiro that spends six months in new French and American oak barrels. The nose is attractive, with lemony fruit as well as some grapefruit freshness, and any oak notes right in the background. The palate is savoury, with citrus pith and grapefruit, together with a hint of waxiness and good acidity. A food-friendly style of wide appeal, with very little obvious oak, aside from a hint of vanilla. It's a really nice wine. 89/100 (Ł9.95 UK agent Charles Hawkins) 05/08

Burgans Albarino 2006 Rias Baixas, Spain
A classic Albarino with a subtly floral, lemony nose and a palate that displays grapefruit and citrus pith character. It's fresh and quite precise, but with good depth of flavour. Stylish. 89/100 (Ł8.99 Oddbins) 05/08.

Selection Laurence Feraud Seguret 2006 Cotes de Rhone Villages, France
Quite deep in colour with attractive aromas of sweet red fruits and peppery spice. The palate is brightly fruited with some grippy, peppery tannins and a distinctive spiciness that nicely counters the sweetness of the fruit. There's also a hint of meatiness here, together with a bit of earthiness. This is quite seductive, in a modern, fruit forward style, but there's also some old world earthiness and spice that I find really appealing. Isn't cheap, but it is good. 90/100 (Ł9.99 Virgin Wines) 05/08

Island Vines White 2006 Cyprus
A blend of the Xynisteri, Ugni Blanc, Malvasia Lunga and Gordo grape varieties. This is quite rich and minerally, with taut savoury, herby, citrussy fruit and good acidity, as well as a slightly grippy persistency on the palate. It's very fresh, but there's depth here, too. A bright unoaked white that's highly food compatible. You'd expect the 2007 to be on the market now, which would have added freshness, but this is still a very appealing white wine with a hint of seriousness. 87/100 (Ł3.99 Co-op) 05/08

Island Vines Red 2006 Cyprus
A blend of Carignan, Alicante, Mavro, Mataro and Cabernet Sauvignon. There's sweet, slightly baked jammy, raisined fruit here, but this is countered by some peppery, spicy freshness. It's quite tasty, though: the fruit remains to the fore, and the rather grippy, peppery structure, leading to a drying finish, serves to counter the sweeter, more-ripe elements of the wine. Overall, a satisfying, grippy, peppery red that's very food friendly. 84/100 (Ł3.99 Co-op) 05/08

Vasse Felix Cabernet Merlot 2005 Margaret River
Lovely expressive well-balanced nose showing elegant blackberry and dark cherry fruit. The palate is ripe with lovely freshness to the sweet, berryish blackcurrant fruit, which is backed up by spicy tannins. Delicious stuff, with freshness, ripeness and balance. A delicious, expressive Margaret River red in quite an elegant style. 91/100 (Ł10.50 Majestic, Tanners, Christopher Piper) 05/08

Vasse Felix Shiraz 2005 Margaret River
Weighing in at 15% alcohol, this is a dense, deep coloured red with a nose that shows sweet dark fruits, but which is tight wound and spicy, too. The palate is sweet and dense with ripe, intense blackberry fruit and some firm spicy tannins providing a counter for this sweet, lush fruit. There's also a bit of a chocolatey, coffee-ish richness. Pretty serious stuff. 92/100 (Ł10.50 Hennings, Hailsham Cellars, Cambridge Wine Merchants) 05/08

Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Margaret River
This spends 18 months in French oak. An intense, sweet ripe nose showing blackcurrant fruit with some lovely earthy, chalky, spiciness and lush intensity. The palate is sweetly fruited with lovely depth and a really attractive minerality. A refined, fresh Cabernet of real depth, this has good medium term ageing potential. Intense but balanced. 94/100 (Ł14.50 Hailsham Cellars, Selfridges, Direct Wines) 05/08

Chateau Grand Barrail Lamarzelle Figeac 2005 Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux
14% alcohol. Sweet, open blackcurrant fruit with a bit of herbiness and some attractive minerality on the nose. The palate has classic dark fruits with a gravelly edge. This is ripe, balanced and quite elegant, with nice tannins, but it's not unapproachable. 90/100 05/08

Chateau La Clariere Laithwaite 2005 Cotes de Castillon, Bordeaux
14.5% alcohol. Rich blackcurranty fruit on the nose with some chocolatey richness and spice, but to an extent this is closed. The palate is rich and spicy with sweet fruit and some alcoholic heat. A rich, ripe, modern-styled Claret that's a little closed now - needs time to open out. 88/100 (Ł14.99 Laithwaites) 05/08

Clos Henri Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Marlborough, New Zealand
Amazing stuff, this Sauvignon made by Henri Bourgeois of Sancerre. It's beautifully textured with good balance between the sweet, ripe pear and peach notes and the green grassy herby, gooseberry character. Real intensity and complexity here, with lovely focus and just the right amount of greenness to confer savoury freshness. I love the packaging, too - this is one of the few (5%?) of New Zealand wines that is still cork sealed. 93/100 (UK agent Les Caves de Pyrene) 05/08

Villa Maria Reserve Merlot 2005 Gimblett Gravels, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
This tastes so much of the Gimblett Gravels - it reminds me of the Syrahs that I've had from here, even though it's a Merlot? Is that terroir? I still think Syrah is the best variety for this patch of ground, but there's no doubting that this is a lovely Merlot. Deep coloured, it has a lovely fresh, bright peppery, gravelly edge to the well defined blackberry and raspberry fruit. The palate has lovely definition with lovely freshness, concentration and ripeness. There's some nice tannic structure. Pretty serious, especially for a Merlot. 93/100 (Ł15.99 Waitrose, http://www.nzhouseofwine.co.uk/) 05/08

Château De La Ligne Cuvée Prestige 2005 Bordeaux Supérieur
This property, with 11 hectares of vines planted in 2002, is owned by Northern Irish businessman Terry Cross (read about the project here). It comes in a heavy, broad-shouldered bottle. The fresh nose shows some fresh red fruits with a bit of tarry spiciness – some American oak was used here as well as French. The palate is bright with super-fresh red berry fruits and a bit of spice, but the dominant theme here is the firm tannic structure and high acidity, giving the wine an almost austere, savoury feel. While I like the freshness of the fruit, and the ample concentration, there’s not enough charm here - and far too much structure - for this to be an enjoyable drink at the moment. It may well blossom, however, with a decade in the cellar – hard to tell. Considering that the vines are still young, it’s a good performance. 85/100 05/08

Château Barreyres 2005 Cru Bourgeois, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux
Given a couple of hours of air, this wine opens out to show a classic, attractive Bordeaux nose of subtly leafy, minerally blackcurrant and red berry fruit. The palate is beginning to evolve a little, showing soft green spicy notes underneath the fruit, held together with some tannic structure and good acidity. A balanced, well proportioned claret beginning to enter its drinking phase, and offering good value. Drink now and over the next couple of years? 86/100 (Ł8.75 Sainsbury’s) 05/08

Diane de Belgrave 2005 Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux
The second wine of fifth growth Château Belgrave, this has a really attractive nose showing dark fruits, minerals, olives and spice. The palate shows generous, rich blackcurrant and raspberry fruit backed up by spicy, mineralic structure. There’s some elegance here, and it isn’t as square and tannic as some of the other 2005s I have been tasting of late. Stylish stuff that’s beginning to be approachable now. Drink now and over the next three years? 89/100 (Ł11.99 Majestic) 05/08

Château Preuillac 2005 Cru Bourgeois, Médoc, Bordeaux
Very attractively packaged, this deep coloured wine has a slightly closed nose showing fresh blackcurrant fruit with some dark spice character. The palate is ripe and fresh, with a strongly savoury, gravelly, spicy streak, as well as some attractive chocolatey richness. The tannic structure is fairly dominant at the moment, and there’s good acidity, as well as a bit of oak. Tastes a bit tight and young at the moment, but there’s no reason to suppose that this won’t age well in the medium term. Finishes with dry, grippy tannins. Lose in the cellar for five years? 87/100 (Ł12.99 Soho Wine Supply) 05/08

Pedra Basta 2005 Vinho Regional Alentejano
This is the wine from (writer) Richard Mayson’s Quinta do Centro, made by Rui Reguinga. It’s a blend of traditional varieties Trincadeira, Aragonez and Alicante Bouschet with Cabernet Sauvignon, aged for a year in French oak barrels and weighing in at 14.5% alcohol. It’s a bit restrained and tight on the nose at the moment, not offering a lot. Closed? The palate is savoury with brooding dark fruits and a distinctive minerally, earthy seriousness. This is ripe, but it’s fresh and well defined at the same time – not as showy or new-worldy as some Alentejo wines can be. Although this is a little angular and closed at present, I think it’s quite a serious effort and I suspect this will age well in the medium term. 90/100 (Ł9.95 The Wine Society) (You can read Richard’s informative diary here) 04/08

Howard’s Folly 2006 Vinho Regional Alentejano, Portugal
A blend of Syrah, Alicante Bouschet and Touriga Nacional, made by Portuguese-resident Aussie winemaker David Baverstock. It’s a deep-coloured wine with a seductive nose of sweet dark fruits and nicely integrated oak. The palate is broad and sweetly fruited with nice density and some freshness. Ripe, full and generous; made in a modern, new world style but it seems to me that this is still retaining a sense of Portugueseness (albeit only just). 89/100 (Ł8.95 UK agent Charles Hawkins) 04/08

Château Le Boscq 2005 Saint-Estčphe, Bordeaux
The nose here is perhaps slightly reductive, with a hint of rubber and some roasted notes (or is that from the oak?). The palate, though, is fresh and dense with well proportioned, ripe, slightly chocolatey dark fruits, as well as firm tannins and some supporting oak. It’s dense but not at all heavy, with some minerality and plenty of upside potential for the patient. 89/100 (Ł17.39 Sunday Times Wine Club, Laithwaites) 04/08

Château Pey de la Tour Reserve 2005 Bordeaux Supérieur
95% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Sauvignon and 1% Petit Verdot, so pretty much varietal Merlot. This is pretty impressive for the price. It’s dense, tight and firm at the moment, with the ripe dark fruits somewhat clamped by firm tannins and good acidity. But there’s lots of weight here, and plenty of charm waiting to emerge. I reckon this is one to hold onto for a couple of years, although you could drink it now with food. It’s proper Bordeaux, without the greenness and unresolved tannins that are the besetting sins of many wines at this price point. 88/100 (Ł8.99 Waitrose, The Wine Society) 04/08

Dourthe Barrel Select Saint-Émilion 2005 Bordeaux
70% Merlot blended with 30% Cabernets (Franc and Sauvignon). Fresh nose is quite classic, with blackcurrant and blackberry fruit along with herbal, subtly green notes. The palate has a distinctive minerally, chalky, slightly herbaceous streak alongside the fruit, which makes it very fresh and savoury. It’s a good food wine, but for me (and I’m probably being fussy here) the tannins are just a little too green, and the fruit just a little short of ripeness for this to really hit the spot. But it isn’t unripe, and there’s some class here, although I think Dourthe do better for the price elsewhere. 82/100 (Ł8.99 Waitrose, Ł9.46 Tesco) 04/08

Cabernet Franc sample from Calvet Reserve 2005 Bordeaux
In 2005 some Cabernet Franc found its way into the Calvet Reserve blend, and this is a sample of it. Smells a bit funky (as tank samples often do, with some oxidation) on the nose, but the palate shows lovely dense, tight, ripe red fruit character with lovely firm structure. Pretty good stuff, and a bit of a shame to see it in a bigger blend – it’s a really nice wine in its own right. 04/08

Calvet Reserve Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Bordeaux, France
Pleasant sappy dark fruits nose with a slightly green edge. It’s savoury and fresh. The palate shows some ripe red fruit character, together with a leafy, chalky greenness that isn’t unpleasant. There’s some firm tannic structure on the palate, which is overtly savoury. For negociant Bordeaux at this price it is a good effort: if you are used to reds with sweet fruit and soft tannins, this might come as a bit of a shock. I reckon it’s a good session claret, and with food you could drink this quite happily. Top marks for the packaging, though – it’s a nice bottle shape and the label design is quite classy. 82/100 (Ł6.99 Waitrose, Co-op, Sainsbury’s) 04/08

Château Lapelletrie 2005 Saint Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux
70% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Franc, from a 12 hectare vineyard. Quite deep coloured. Aromatic, with attractive blackberry and blackcurrant fruit on the nose, framed with a nice chalkiness. The palate shows ripe red and black fruits combining well with firm, spicy tannins. There’s some softness here, as well as a bit of sweetness to the fruit, which in combination with the slightly grippy structure makes for a very self-assured, versatile and food friendly Saint Emilion. This is pretty serious for the price. 89/100 (Ł11.99 Tesco) 04/08

Château Tour Prignac 2005 Cru Bourgeois, Médoc, Bordeaux
A roughly equal blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from a 147 hectare estate. I like the nose, which is quite classic. There’s some smoky, earthy, tarry red fruit along with a subtle gravelliness. The palate already shows some evolution, with lovely balance between the sweet fruit and the slightly earthy, minerally savouriness. Drinking well now, although with potential for development over the next couple of years. I guess this is what most people come to Bordeaux for: something digestible and approachable that shows some character but isn’t too heavy. 86/100 (Ł9.99 Oddbins) 04/08

Château d’Arcins 2005 Cru Bourgeois, Haut-Médoc, Bordeaux
55% Merlot and 45% Cabernet Sauvignon from a 100 hectare vineyard. Very attractive nose, showing some evolution. It’s fresh, gravelly and attractively fruited, with some warm plummy blackberry fruit. The palate has soft, ripe fruit bolstered by grippy, minerally structure and a hint of oak. A really approachable wine: a classic claret for current drinking, but don’t hold on to this in the hope of improvement – it’s nice now. 87/100 (Ł13.50 Nicolas) 04/08

Familia Zucchardi Bonarda Reserva 2006 Mendoza
A deep-coloured, oak-aged Bonarda weighing in at a modest 13% alcohol. This has an attractive, savoury nose of spicy plummy fruit, which leads to a palate that's dense, savoury and structured. There's plenty of forward red berry, cherry and plum fruit here as well as well integrated oak. Some grippy tannins on the finish make this a useful food wine. Great value for money and really delicious. 88/100 (Ł6.99 Oddbins) 04/08

Waipara Springs Riesling 2006 Waipara, New Zealand
Weighing in at 10.5% alcohol and with 29 g/litre residual sugar, this Riesling is just gorgeous. Very fresh nose with some carbon dioxide spritz. The palate is off-dry and nicely delicate with good acidity, nice fruit and good balance. It's a Kabinett or perhaps even a Spatlese style that really works well. Interestingly, a quarter of the blend saw some partial ageing in old oak barrels to add a bit of complexity. I reckon you could stick this away for a few years and it would develop beautifully. 92/100 (http://www.hellionwines.com/) 04/08

Mud House Sauvignon Blanc 2007 Marlborough, New Zealand
This is deliciously concentrated and fresh, with a lively, assertive cut-grass and green pepper herbaceousness, as well as piercing lemony, grapefruit pith fruit. A wake-up call to the palate. Deliciously intense and well balanced, this is a versatile wine that would match up well with some of the strong flavours of modern fusion cuisine. 90/100 (Ł12, UK agent MMD Ltd) 04/08

Sizanani Pinotage 2006 Stellenbosch, South Africa
40% of this brand is owned by an employees trust (http://www.sizanani-wines.co.za/). It's a really gluggable, fruit-forward wine with soft sweet berry and dark cherry fruits countered by a bitter, plummy, tarry, slightly rubbery twist. The overall effect is of a juicy red wine with a sense of deliciousness and enough savouriness to make it work with take-away pizza or spaghetti bolognaise. It takes the slightly negative features of Pinotage and turns them into positives in the context of this wine, so I think it's worthwhile in the right context. 83/100 (Ł5.99 Oddbins) 04/08

Meerlust Rubicon 2003 Stellenbosch, South Africa
A South African classic that lives up to its reputation. In past vintages I've found Rubicon perhaps a little hard and angular, but today the 2003 is showing beautifully, with sweet, elegant fruit. The nose is ripe, sweet, mineralic and cedary, with a subtle gravelly edge to the ripe red and black fruits. There's some soft earthiness here, too. The palate has a lovely combination of sweet fruit with minerally earthiness, in quite a Bordeaux-like mould, but perhaps without the sternness that classic Bordeaux can show in its youth. It's a fantastic wine in quite a traditional style, which is drinking well now but which will age well. 93/100 04/08

Domaine Treloar ‘Tahi’ 2006 Côtes du Roussillon
The top wine from this domaine, who advocate the use of sustainable viticulture. It’s a big old wine, made with a fair dollop of new oak, but there’s more than enough fruit to deal with it. Tight, dark, concentrated and quite tannic, this could do with a few years to become more approachable and is potentially very long-lived. Ripe dark fruits dominate, with a subtly roasted coffee oak edge and a bit of plummy bitterness on the finish. There’s a lot going for this wine, but it’s pretty tannic and full-on at the moment, and the tannins overpower the finish. I’d be fascinated to see how this wine will taste in a decade: I reckon it will be pretty serious. 93/100 (Ł16.50 Leon Stolarski here) 04/08

Landelia Malbec ‘Single Vineyard’ 2005 Agrelo, Mendoza
A bit of a bargain this: it’s a dense, dark, fruit driven Malbec of real poise, with some purity to the sweet dark fruits nose that’s nicely complemented by some meatiness and a bit of spice. The palate is densely fruited with chocolatey richness and earthy, spicy complexity, finishing quite savoury. Tastes much more expensive than it is, and is acceptably modern, with lovely focus and purity. Surprisingly low alcohol (13.5%) considering how ripe the fruit profile is. 91/100 (Ł8.49 Virgin Wines) 04/08

Domaine de la Chevalerie 'Chevalerie' 2005 Bourgeuil, Loire, France
Deep coloured, this has a lovely focused, tight nose with rich, spicy, dark fruits, and just a subtle hint of reductive funk. The palate is concentrated with lush, sweet fruit backed up by rich spicy elements. A generous ripe style with lovely focus, this is a gorgeous expression of Cabernet Franc. 92/100 04/08

Domaine Vincent Caręnne Vouvray ‘Le Peu Morier’ 2005 Loire, France
A fantastic Vouvray that is just off-dry. Lovely mineralic nose with some fruit richness. The palate is richly textured with lovely herb and citrus fruit notes, and just a bit of Chenin funk. Finishes really mineralic. 92/100 04/08

Stéphane Tissot ‘Les Bruyčres’ Chardonnay 2004 Arbois, Jura, France
The proprietor asked whether we knew this wine when we selected it – it was a warning that it isn’t the sort of thing to everyone’s taste. But I think it’s fantastic. Remarkable nose with smoky, minerally, flinty notes as well as the toastiness and richness you might expect from ripe Chardonnay. The palate is rich but bone dry, with more of those reductive notes and lovely minerality. Fantastic stuff. 93/100 04/08

Domaine Richaud Cairanne 2006 Côtes de Rhône Villages, France
A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvčdre and Carignan. Deep coloured, with a dark, spicy, meaty nose that is intense and quite savoury. The palate is dense with bold sweet fruit countered by spicy, earthy savouriness. A powerful, intense win of real appeal. 92/100 04/08

Howard Park Riesling 2007 Great Southern, Western Australia
I reckon this is one of Australia’s very best Rieslings. It has a beautifully expressive, elegant limey nose, with a bit of floral perfume. The palate is bone dry but not at all phenolic or rough, with concentrated, delicate (but not fragile) citrussy, minerally fruit. There’s a hint of grippy tannin on the finish, which is pretty dry and perhaps a little bitter (but not overly so). A versatile, stylish and potentially long-lived Riesling of great appeal. 12.5% alcohol. 92/100 (Ł12.50 Bibendum) 04/08

Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling 2007 Clare Valley, Australia
A drought vintage, with much warmer temperatures than the average (heat summation 1556 degree days versus long-term average of 1332 degree days), but this is still a superb wine. Attractive lime and tangerine peel nose is fresh and balanced. The palate is hugely concentrated with a dry citrus-pith character and minerally length. There’s some real richness and power here, but the delicacy of the variety persists. A beautifully balanced wine with some real weight and potential for further development. 13.5% alcohol. 92/100 (Ł10.99 Oddbins) 04/08

Howard Park Leston Shiraz 2005 Margaret River, Australia
Vibrant red/purple colour. The nose is distinctly Australian, with some mint, eucalyptus and tarry spiciness, along with sweet red and black fruits. The palate shows lovely freshness, with tight dark fruit and good acidity, along with well integrated oak. A really fresh, juicy style of Shiraz with real precision – I reckon this will age well. It’s a classically Australian style, but with more freshness and focus than most. I reckon this will be peaking in five years but good for 10 more. 91/100 (Ł14.50 Bibendum) 04/08

The Aurora Vineyard Syrah 2006 Bendigo, Central Otago, New Zealand
A beautiful cool-climate expression of Syrah. It has a really lovely white pepper and spice definition to the raspberry and dark cherry fruit, with an almost Burgundian elegance and freshness. There’s lovely purity to the fruit here, which is ripe and dark with great natural acidity. Real elegance here: it seems nicely poised between the new and old worlds in style. Not a big, dense, showy sort of wine, but utterly compelling – it reminds me of the best of the Gimblett Gravel Syrahs in style. Bendigo is a warm subdistrict of Central Otago, which explains why they’ve been able to make this wine from somewhere you wouldn’t expect to excel with Syrah. 92/100 (Ł16.99 http://www.hellionwines.com/) 04/08

Luis Felipe Edwards Carmenere 2006 Colchagua, Chile
A delicious, inexpensive example of how good Carmenere can be. Broad, richly textured, smooth dark fruits dominate, with a subtle minerally, spicy undercurrent that holds the interest. It's quite blackcurranty, but there's some darker, spicier depth to the fruit that I like. 86/100 (Ł5.99 Tesco) 04/08

Yali Winemaker's Selection Cabernet Carmenere 2006 Colchagua, Chile
With a neck-tag announcing that the CO2 emissions of this wine have been offset. There's a subtle rubbery edge to the nose, which otherwise displays bright, ripe berry fruit, with a hint of plumminess. The palate has a savoury edge to the ripe berryish fruit, with a sort of bittersweet character. Quite attractive in an easy-drinking style. 82/100 (Ł5.99 Majestic) 04/08

Fuzion Shiraz Malbec 2007 Mendoza, Argentina
From Familia Zucchardi. Sweet, pure, ripe berry and black fruits dominate here, and there are some autumnal, foresty flavours, too. There's a hint of sweetness, but the dominant feature is the attractive pure fruit. Over-delivers for the price. Just 13% alcohol, too. 83/100 (Ł3.99 Somerfield) 03/08

Finca Flichman Reserva Shiraz 2006 Mendoza, Argentina
A dark, spicy, slightly meaty wine with lovely fruit intensity. This is joined by a subtle roast coffee edge, perhaps from the oak. There's some grippy structure on the palate which adds savouriness: I reckon this is a style best with food. Some substance here. 86/100 (Ł5.99 Waitrose, Stevens Garnier) 03/08

Terrazas Reserva Chardonnay 2006 Mendoza, Argentina
From high vineyards, at 1200 m altitude. This initially strikes me as very ripe, with tropical fruit, honey and vanilla to the fore. It's smooth, nutty and rich-textured, but there's also a brightness to the fruit, with some citrussy notes. It's a rounded, well integrated sort of wine of real appeal, although some might prefer their Chardonnays to have a bit more in the way of 'edges' and contrast between the various flavours. I like the way it is so 'together'. 89/100 (Ł10.99 Harvey Nichols) 03/08

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 (Ł15.99 Les Caves) 03/08

Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle 2006 Vallee d'Aoste, Italy
From the Cave du Vin in Morgex, this is a pure, fresh mountain wine that's part of the Vini Estremi group (http://www.viniestremi.com/). Weighing in at just 11.5% alcohol, it's delicate and minerally with a subtle apple and herb flavour and high acidity. There's a lovely bright savouriness to it: remarkably refreshing stuff. I do like mountain wines. 88/100 (Les Caves de Pyrene) 03/08

Parducci Pinot Noir 2006 California
Mendocino-based Parducci are these days riding the sustainability wagon (I haven't used the perjorative term 'bandwagon' here) - see www.parducci.com/sustainability. I remember Oddbins used to stock a Parducci Charbono a few years back; now they are stocking this Pinot Noir. By Californian standards this is an inexpensive wine, and it certainly tastes like Pinot, although at this price point it's facing strong competition from the cheaper NZ Pinots. The nose is quite sweet, with bright berry and cherry fruit, but there's also a savoury green herbal streak. The nicely balanced palate has a bit of this sweet and savoury thing going on, with sweet berry fruit countered by a spicy herby savouriness. It's not quite elegant enough to be a must buy, but it's certainly acceptable at this price, and avoids being confected and forced. Reminds me a bit of the Cono Sur Pinot. 86/100 (Ł8.49 Oddbins) 03/08

Domaine Mas Viel Pinot Noir 2006 Vin de Pays d'Oc, France
Sealed with ProCork, a natural cork with a special membrane attached to each chamfered end, to prevent any risk of TCA transmission from the cork to the wine: I haven't seen many of these around. It has a ripe, forward sweet berry fruit nose that's richer than you'd expect from Pinot. Quite dense on the palate with some firm tannins, ripe fruit and a herby tang, together with some sweet vanilla oak notes. It's attractive, in a flirty sort of way, but this doesn't really taste like Pinot. Still, it's quite cheap, and I suspect that if it was from Chile or California, it would have its fans. 81/100 (Ł6.95 http://www.therealwineco.co.uk/) 03/08

Blason de Bourgogne Mercurey 2003 Burgundy
This is bright and quite tart, displaying cherry and raspberry fruit with some stern, savoury earthy undercurrents. It's lean, a bit acidic, and ungenerous. There's also a rustic herbal streak. It was just a shade under Ł10 from Tesco and Asda a couple of years ago, and I think it was a bit overpriced. It would work well as a food wine, I suspect, but it's a bit severe on its own. 80/100 03/08

Castillo Labastida Aniversario Rioja 2004
From the Cosecheros de Labastida Co-op, made for Laithwaites.