Oddbins
Casa Santos Lima Fernão Pires
2003 Estremadura, Portugal
Three unusual whites this week. This Portuguese white
is a versatile food wine, with a bright lemony, fresh nose with a fruity anise
note. The palate is full and rounded, nutty and fruity. Quite distinctive but
still with a nice modern fresh feel. (Oddbins £6.99)
Flagstone
‘The Berrio’ Sauvignon Blanc 2002 Elim, South Africa
Elim
is one of South Africa’s cooler (in terms of temperature) wine regions, and
this delicious aromatic white shows rounded grassy fruit and plenty of flavour.
Sealed with a screwcap, which emphasizes the wines freshness. (£9.99 Oddbins)
Fetzer Valley Oaks Syrah Rosé
2004 California
Perfect for summer. It’s a very deep colour for a rosé:
almost a light red wine. Very full, weighty nose with lots of bright cherry
fruit. The palate is fresh, fruity and rather appealing. A big, fruity rosé. (£5.99
Oddbins, Thresher, Unwins, Asda, Sainsbury, Somerfield, Tesco, Waitrose)
Avila Côtes d’Avila
Grenache/Mourvedre/Syrah 2002 Santa Barbara County, California
This Rhône-style red from California has a lot going
for it. Lovely vivid, spicy raspberry fruit dominates. Good density and lovely
balance, relying on the fruit for its character. (£10.25 Berry Bros & Rudd,
Oddbins)
Vergelegen
Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2003 Helderberg, South Africa
Sauvignon Blanc is a white grape that, over the last
five years, has emerged as a bit of a star in the Cape. This first wine is
expensive, but worth it. It has a bright, complex, taut nose with some classy,
seamless fruit and even a bit of minerality on the palate. (£11.99 Sainsbury,
Majestic, Oddbins)
Vale de Clara 2002 Douro, Portugal
This is a good, affordable introduction to the fantastic red wines of
Portugal’s Douro valley. It has a perfumed, almost aromatic nose and the
palate is fresh, savoury and well balanced, with a sappy texture and some supple
red fruits. (£6.29 Oddbins)
Oracle Pinotage 2004 Western Cape, South Africa
£4.99 Oddbins
Classy stuff with a lovely spicy, vanillin sheen to the ripe, silky plum and
berry fruit. Tasty and very drinkable – again, this displays just enough funk
to make it interesting without it being a distraction. Very clever winemaking.
Flagstone
‘The Berrio’ Sauvignon Blanc 2002 Elim, South Africa
From the trendy cool climate region of Elim, this is a
deliciously rich and fruity interpretation of Sauvignon. Bold, full flavoured
and attractively grassy. (£9.99 Oddbins)
Buitenverwachting
Sauvignon Blanc 2003 Constantia, South Africa
The name’s a bit of a mouthful, but this is a lovely
white with a precise, assertive grassy nose and great balance to the subtly
herby fruit on the palate. From Constantia, one of South Africa’s prettiest
wine regions.
(£7.99 Oddbins)
Lingenfelder
'Hare Label' Gewürztraminer 2003 Pflaz, Germany
Think German wine sucks? Then you should try these three elegantly packaged
beauties from quirky winemaker Rainer Lingenfelder. They’re named after
animals. This Gewürztraminer is boldly flavoured with thick, peachy, lychee-like
fruit and is best drunk alone or with Asian-influenced food. (£6.49 Oddbins)
Lingenfelder
'Fox Label' Dornfelder 2002, Pfalz, Germany
This
second wine is a lovely, sweetly fruited supple red with an amazingly soft
texture. But it’s more serious than it seems on the first sip. Thought
provoking and very approachable. I bet you won’t have had many German red
wines before. (£6.99 Oddbins)
Lingenfelder
Pinot Grigio 2003 Pfalz, Germany
This
is a delicious full-flavoured food-friendly white that offers great value. Much
more intensity than most Italian Pinot Grigio, with
Domaine Clavel 'Les
Catalognes' 2003 Coteaux du Languedoc Terroir de la Meanjelle, France
This savoury, southern red has a rich, aromatic spicy earthy nose with hints of savoury garrigue-like
character. Dry and dusty. The palate is savoury and earthy with soft, slightly
sweet herb-tinged fruit, but with a dry, tannic clamp: a signature of many 2003s
(an unusually hot vintage across most of Europe). (£6.49 Oddbins)
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