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Recommended wines

Reliable, independent buying advice from the wine anorak
March 2004

Wines under £8 | Wines over £8

Previous months' recommendations: February 2003 | March 2003 | April 2003 | May 2003 | June 2003 | July 2003 | August 2003 | September 2003 | October 2003 | November 2003 | December 2003 | January 2004 | February 2004

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   

Domaine Tourtourel Pic St Loup 2001 Coteaux du Languedoc, France
Perfumed red fruit nose with some spicy character. The palate shows a meaty, spicy edge to the red fruits with a savoury finish. It’s quite an elegant, supple red that manages to capture some of that Pic St Loup typicity. Very good+ 89/100 (£7.99 Majestic) 02/04

Boekenhoutskloof Porcupine Ridge Sauvignon Blanc 2003 Coastal Region, South Africa
I’m very impressed with the Porcupine Ridge cheapies from star Franschoek winery Boekenhoutskloof, with my favourite being the lively, meaty Syrah (recommended last month). This Sauvignon isn’t as showy as some examples, but it shows class. Tight, limey nose with some grassy, spicy notes. The palate shows a good concentration of grassy fruit with good acidity. Very youthful tasting but high quality. Very good+ 88/100 (£5.99 Oddbins) 02/04

Château de la Negly La Côte 2001 Coteaux du Languedoc, France
Wonderful stuff: natural winemaking at its best. Slightly hazy in appearance. Powerful perfumed nose of roast meat, herbs and ripe spicy fruit. The palate is rich and ripe with a lovely meatiness to the fruit and lots of garrigue and black olive notes. Nice savoury stuff with good acidity. Very good/excellent 92/100 (£7.95 Moriarty Vintners, www.moriarty-vintners.com) 02/04


Wines over £8

Domaine Patrick Javiller ‘Cuvée des Forgets’ Bourgogne 2001
This is stunning quality for a Bourgogne: I’d have this in preference to most village Meursaults. A reasonably deep colour, it has a fragrant nose of nutty, rounded, slightly honeyed fruit. There’s a whiff of smokiness. The palate is broad with more nuttiness and a nice minerally finish with lovely acidic structure. Very good/excellent 91/100 (£12.45   Berry Bros & Rudd)

Château Massamier La Mignarde ‘Domus Maximus’ 2000 Minervois La Livinière
Deep coloured, this immediately makes an impression with its nose of ripe, sweet forest fruits with a spicy, liqueur-like character. The palate is fruity and ripe with a lovely spicy, liquoricey complexity together with some chocolatey richness. Great concentration and some elegance too. There’s an earthiness underpinning all the ripe fruit. An up-front wine that nicely straddles the old and new world styles, full of appeal. Very good/excellent 91/100 (£9.95 Berry Bros & Rudd)

Defaix Chablis Vieilles Vignes 2000 Burgundy, France
From a traditional-style Chablis producer, this is more expensive than many other straight Chablis, but it’s better than most 1er Crus from other growers. It has a complex, forward nose of citrus fruits (marmalade even), herbs, nuts and minerals. On the palate it is quite tight and minerally with a savoury, nutty character and high acidity. Lots of flavour and concentration. Very good/excellent 92/100 (£12.99 Wine Rack, Thresher) 02/04   

Tenuta di Trinoro 'La Cupole di Trinoro' 2000 Italy
Andrea Franchetti is fanatical about his wines, and this is quite stunning. A blend dominated by Cabernet Franc, it has a wonderful perfumed nose that is distinctly gravelly and minerally with ripe, tarry fruit and some smoky notes. The palate is structured and open with minerally notes and firm but smooth tannins. Striking stuff. Excellent 95/100 (£34.31 Corney & Barrow)

Lagier Meredith Mount Veeder Syrah 2000 Napa, California
A California garage wine made by retired UC Davis professor Carole Meredith and Steve Lagier. The first vintage from this tiny 4 acre Mount Veeder vineyard was as recently as 1998, and fewer than 400 cases are currently produced. It’s a deep coloured wine with a seductive but not showy nose of intense ripe black fruits. The concentrated palate is bold and spicy with a good depth of fruit and smooth but firm fine-grained tannins. Good balance. Not cheap, but probably worth it. Very good/excellent 93/100 (£41 American Wine Merchants, www.americanwinemerchants.co.uk)

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