Reliable, independent buying advice from the wine anorak
July 2003

Wines under £8 | Wines over £8

Previous months' recommendations: June 2002 | July 2002 | August 2002 | September 2002 | October 2002 | November 2002 | December 2002 | January 2003 | February 2003 | March 2003 | April 2003 | May 2003 | June 2003

My rating system explained. Use www.wine-searcher.com to locate a stockist in your area. See also: the wineanorak's shopping list - recommended wines from each of the main UK retail outlets.

Bargain picks   

Ermitage du Pic St Loup 2001 Coteaux du Languedoc Pic St Loup, France
Lots of interest here with this rich, meaty red - more than you'd expect for the price. Beguiling nose of meaty, savoury red berry fruit follows through with some fairly complex chocolatey fruit on the palate. Drink with relish over the next couple of years. Very good/excellent (Waitrose £5.99)

Yalumba Y Viognier 2002 South Australia
Yalumba are the Australian specialists with the trendy Viognier grape, and this dry white shows lovely peach and pear fruit with a floral edge, together with a soft, rich texture. A pretty wine, perfect for sipping on its own. Very good+ (£6.99 Tesco)

Banwell Farm Riesling 2002 Eden Valley, Australia
Marks & Spencer's range has improved greatly of late, but they still have the annoying habit of rebranding wines with their own label. This impressive Riesling is made by Barossa-based producer St Hallett, and to my palate is exactly the same as the St Hallett Riesling, which also comes highly recommended. It is a striking white wine displaying lots of savory, limey fruit with a spicy edge. Delicious, bone dry and great with seafood. The pinnacle of St Hallett's range, in my opinion. Very good/excellent (£7.99 Marks & Spencer)

Villa Lanata Barbera d'Alba Sucule 2000 Piedmont, Italy
A heavy, grand bottle, but the contents live up to it. The nose displays sweet, tarry liquoricey fruit, which leads to a palate showing concentrated sweet berry and black fruits. Lovely. Very good/excellent (£7.49 Majestic)

Wines over £8

JL Wolf Wachenheimer Riesling 2001 Pfalz, Germany
Tesco are stocking a number of premium Rieslings, and this is one of the best, hailing from Ernst Loosen's Pfalz estate, JL Wolf. It's a lovely full flavoured white wine with a citrussy intensity to the fruit. Good acidity keeps things lively, and because it’s dry this would make a great fish wine. Worth every penny. Very good/excellent (£8.49 Tesco)

Domaine de Ravanès 'Le Prime Verd' 1999, Vin de Pays d'Oc, France
This varietal Petit Verdot from the Languedoc is remarkable. Opaque black/red colour. Spicy, minerally, liquoricey dark fruits on the nose, and a huge concentration of firm, tannic spicy fruit on the palate. Bold stuff: an enormous wine. Very good/excellent (£24.50 La Vigneronne)

Cave Spring Riesling 'Indian Summer' Late Harvest 2000 VQA Niagara Peninsula, Canada
I've never been taken by Canadian wines before, but this sweet white is lovely. Intense, sweet, piercing limey nose. Lovely rich sweet lemony palate with great balancing acidity. Intense, bright and fruity. Very good/excellent (£9.95 Berry Bros & Rudd) 

Niepoort Batuta 2000 Douro, Portugal
It seems a shame just to recommend wines that are easily available; from time to time you have to allow me the indulgence of including something that relatively few will be able to find, purely on the grounds of excellence. Batuta is Dirk Niepoort's flagship wine, made from ancient vines at Quinta do Carril. Modern, intense spicy nose is quite tight with some roast coffee notes. The palate is hugely concentrated yet still quite elegant with firm spicy tannins and well structured berry and black fruits. Needs time to fulfil its huge potential. Excellent (Availability: selected independents - contact UK agent Raymond Reynolds [danny@raymondreynolds.co.uk] for details; if you see the debut vintage, 1999, then snap it up promptly, it's sensational. £45 retail)

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