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
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