Reliable, independent buying advice from the wine anorak
January 2003

Wines under £8 | Wines over £8

Previous months' recommendations: December 2001 | January 2002 | February 2002 | March 2002 | April 2002 | May 2002 | June 2002 | July 2002 | August 2002 | September 2002 | October 2002 | November 2002 | December 2002

My rating system explained. Use www.wine-searcher.com to locate a stockist in your area. 

Bargain picks

Natural State Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2001, Italy
50% aged in French oak for 7 months. Inky red/purple colour. Vivid sweet fruit on the nose with a savoury edge. Very appealing chunky modern fruit on the palate with some spicy structure. Lovely modern wine with lots of intense fruit. Modern but very good. Very good+ (Waitrose £4.99)

Pasqua Maruggia Rosso del Santo 2001, Italy
70% Sangiovese, 30% Primitivo. Deep coloured, this shows taut, savoury black fruits on the nose with a liquoricey richness. The palate displays juicy, savoury, tarry-edged black fruits with a firm spicy edge. Really lovely, and brilliant for the price. Very good+ (Majestic £3.99)  

Quinta da Alorna Casa da Alorna Colheita Seleccionada 2000 Ribatejo, Portugal
A blend of Trincadeira, Tinta Miuda and Castelão. Lovely red berry fruit nose with a spicy richness. Richly fruited, spicy, chunky palate. This has a lovely texture and is very modern and boldly fruited. Cherryish finish. Still distinctly Portuguese. Very good/excellent (£6.95 Selfridges, Lay & Wheeler, Villeneuve, Christopher Piper, Laymont & Shaw)

Chapel Hill Verdelho 2001 McLaren Vale, Australia
From Chapel Hill’s Kangarilla vineyard, where the vines are trained to offer three levels of ripeness. No oak used. Deep coloured. Intriguing nose shows herby, tropical fruit with some floral notes. Rich, concentrated palate displays some herbal complexity with good acidity. Very appealing. Very good/excellent (Waitrose £7.49)

Wines over £8

Bonterra Chardonnay 2000, Mendocino, California
This organic wine is fermented in a mix of new and old French and American oak barrels, and is a really good interpretation of full-on Californian Chardonnay. Very appealing sweetly fruited nose with ripe fruit and toasty oak. The palate is concentrated and shows bold vanillin oak flavours and ripe fruit, with a creamy, bready richness. Appealing but not for the oak-shy. Very good/excellent (Waitrose £8.99, and several other outlets: this is pretty widely available)

Nepenthe Riesling 2001 Adelaide Hills, Australia
No oak or malolactic fermentation. Striking expressive nose is very exciting, with lifted floral, limey notes. Vivid crisp, limey palate with good acidity. A lovely fresh expressive style of Riesling that should age for up to a decade. Very good/excellent (Waitrose £8.99)

Jackson Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2002 Marlborough, New Zealand
100% Massey clone Sauvignon Blanc from Jackson Estate’s own vineyards. Lovely expressive fresh aromatic grassy nose with some floral hints and herbal complexity. The vividly fruited palate shows nice balance. Fresh and lively. Very good/excellent (Majestic, Waitrose, Oddbins £8.99)

Lis Neris Pinot Grigio 2001 Isonzo del Friuli, Italy
Lis Neris has been in the hands of the Pecorari family since 1879, and this wine is fermented and matured exclusively in stainless steel. If you are used to bland, characterless Italian Pinot Grigio, this may come as a bit of a shock: it has more in common with a richly flavoured Alsace Pinot Gris. Quite a deep colour. Intriguing savoury nose is rich with a meaty, bacon/cured ham character and some smokiness. The palate is fat and richly textured, but with good acidity to provide balance, and a herbal edge. An appealing full flavoured white. Very good/excellent (Berry Bros £9.95)

E-mail me with your recommendations or suggestions at jamie@wineanorak.co.uk