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Recommended wines Reliable, independent buying advice from the wine anorak
December 2001
Wines under £8 | Wines over
£8
Previous months' recommendations: November 2000
| December 2000 | January 2001
| February 2001 | March
2001 | April 2001 | May
2001 | June 2001 | July
2001 | August 2001 | September
2001 | October 2001 | November
2001
My rating
system explained
Bargain picks: wines under £8
Château Grande Cassagne 'Les Rameaux' 2000, Costières de
Nîmes
Pure Syrah, this is a brilliant wine for the money. Very deep coloured
with a delicious savoury nose displaying roasted, meaty notes and
spicy, coffee elements. Palate shows good concentration of rich, spicy
savoury fruit with a lovely liquoricey edge. Wonderfully rich and a
superb food wine. Highly recommended. Very good/excellent (La
Vigneronne £6.95)
Materne Haegelin Tokay Pinot Gris 1999,
Alsace
I was really taken with the latest releases from Materne Haegelin,
who offer authentic Alsace wines at very good prices. The Riesling
Bollenberg and Gewürztraminer (also stocked by Majestic) are both impressive, but my favourite
was the beautifully poised Tokay Pinot Gris. The nose shows notes of
smoky bacon and herbs, with a fresh, acidic lift, and leads to a
richly textured palate that finishes dry. A full-on food wine: one for
the Christmas turkey? Very
good/excellent (Majestic £7.99, currently on offer at buy 2 save £2 = £6.99)
Tim Adams Semillon 1998, Clare Valley,
Australia
Tim Adams refuses to work with Chardonnay; instead, he makes
superb Riesling and Semillon. A yellow/gold colour, this fine example
of the latter has a striking nose of lemony fruit, coconut and herbs.
Complex and savoury on the palate, with powerful fruit flavours and a
savoury, herby edge. Unusual stuff: with great concentration and
intensity, this is a super food wine. Very good/excellent (Majestic,
Tesco £7.99)
Banfi Chianti Classico Reserva 1998
Quite deep coloured, with an attractive spicy, herby, slightly
medicinal nose. Good concentration of savoury cherry and plum fruit on
the palate, with dry, spicy tannins and a dry finsih. A substantial,
complex wine with great potential for further development. Very
good/excellent (Majestic: normally £9.99, but sneaks into this
category as it's currently reduced to £7.99)
Wines over £8
Rabasse-Charavin Côtes du Rhône Villages
Cairanne Cuvée d'Estevenas 1998
The name is a bit of a mouthful, but this is a breathtaking expession of
Grenache from ancient vines and low yields. I was blown away by the full-on,
attractive, fragrant and peppery nose. This leads to a palate displaying
concentrated, ripe spicy fruit with a touch of sweetness to it. Very
good/excellent (£10.67, A&B Vintners)
Heidler Gruner Veltliner Spiegel
2000, Kamptal, Austria
A pale yellow colour, this has a subtle, rounded lemony nose with
a touch of spice. The palate shows good balance, with a nice mineral
character and some lemony notes, together with a peppery edge. Good extract
and concentration. Pretty classy stuff, and will probably improve with short
term cellaring. Finishes dry and spicy. Very good+ (£8.95 Berry Bros &
Rudd)
Château Musar 1996, Bekaa Valley,
Lebanon
The latest release of this unusual, characterful wine. 1996 is described by Musar as
a more elegant year for them; it's interesting to compare it with the
equally good but different 1994 and 1995 versions. A deep red colour with a bricking rim. Appealing
and expressive 'southern' nose with a pronounced edge. It's only a
touch volatile; otherwise it's remarkably clean. The palate is firm
and tannic, with some warm, spicy character. Complex and elegant, this
is delicious stuff, with potentially a long life ahead of it. It
reminds me of a solid Châteauneuf du Pape in character. Very
good/excellent (£12.50 La Vigneronne, Handford)
D'Arenberg Dead Arm Shiraz 1998, McLaren
Vale, Australia
Surprisingly, still available on the UK market at opening price, despite
being awarded 96 Parker points a while back. Rich, exotic nose is quite
striking, showing complex notes of tarry, liquoricey fruit and
menthol-edged new oak. The palate is rich and dense with lush fruit,
hiding a whack of tannin. It's a substantial wine, potentially very good
indeed in time. I'd buy a few bottles of this and tuck it away for a few
years. Remember, in the USA this sells for at least twice the UK price.
Very good/excellent (£17.50 Bibendum)
Montana Reserve Chardonnay 2000, Marlborough, New Zealand
Tried twice recently with consistent notes; I'm not afraid to recommend
large production, branded wines when they are this good. Lovely nose shows ripe peach and tropical fruit, combined well with toasty,
nutty oak. The palate is deep, rich and nutty, with lots of fruit and quite
a dash of oak influence. There's also a herbal edge and a bit of spice and
coconut in the background. Great concentration of flavour. Very
good/excellent (£8.99 Tesco)
E-mail me with your recommendations or suggestions
at jamie@wineanorak.co.uk
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