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October 2005Previous months' recommendations:
September
2004 | October 2004 | November
2004 | December 2004 | January
2005 | February 2005 | March
2005 | April/May 2005 | June
2005 | July 2005 | August
2005 | September 2005
The Standish Shiraz 2001 Barossa,
Australia
Impressively packaged, this is one of the best of the new wave Barossa
wines, made by Dan Standish whose day job was until recently as winemaker
with Torbreck. It's a fantastic effort: bold, powerful yet expressive. The
nose is sweet, dark and intense, leading to a smooth, rich palate of
massive concentration. They don't come much better than this. Excellent
95/100 (c.£30 Bordeaux Index, The Cellar Door)
Petaluma Coonawarra 2000 Coonawarra,
Australia
A 50:50 blend of Cabernet and Merlot, this is perenially one of
Australia's top red wines, and I think it is substantially underpriced,
and thus a bargain. The 2000 was a short crop, and it has produced a dark
wine with a sweet, smooth ripe nose that is quite elegant, showing some
chocolatey richness. The palate is quite dense but with lovely expressive
dark fruits. Fantastic fruit and lovely structure. A brilliant effort.
Excellent 95/100 (c.£20 Oddbins, Bibendum) [If you can't find the 2000,
the 1998 and 2001 are almost as good - I rated both of these at 94.]
Glen Carlou Tortoise Hill Red 2003
Paarl, South Africa
Deep coloured. Lovely nose of ripe black fruits with a minerally,
tarry edge. Quite refined. The palate has a nice balance between the sweet
dark fruits and the spicy, earthy structure. There's a slightly meaty
richness to this win that is very appealing. Very good+ 89/100 (£6.99
Oddbins, sawinesonline.co.uk, Christopher Piper, George Hills)
Casa Silva Lolol
Viognier 2003 Colchagua, Chile
Powerful perfumed nose of sweet apricot and pear fruit, with a slight
muskiness, too. Very striking. The palate is viscous and rich textured
with nice balance: a delicious, rich white wine with lots of Viognier
character and a hint of vanilla. Very good/excellent 91/100 (£8.99
Barrels and Bottles, Cairns & Hickey, Frank Stainton Wines, Great
Northern Wine Co., Michael Jobling Wines, Richards & Richards, Tim
Morrison Fine Wines, Thameside Wines)
Philippe Butin
Cuvée Speciale 1999 Côtes de Jura, France
Now for something weird but wonderful. This white wine has a powerful,
pungent sherried, spicy nose with nice savoury intensity. The palate is
thick and, once more, slightly sherried with a tangy, almost salty
character. It's long, full and delicious - a perfect match for Comte, I
suspect. Very good/excellent 92/100 (£13.95 Berry Bros & Rudd, www.bbr.com)
Asda
Cava Brut NV, Spain
So
you’re throwing a party where fizz is called for, and because of the
thirsty guests you don’t feel the need to spend a fortune on a posh
Champagne. But at the same time you don’t want your guests to gag on the
wine, or suspect you of being cheap. Well this tasty Cava could be just
what you are looking for: it’s surprisingly sophisticated for the price,
with nice savoury richness and refreshing tart acidity. Toast and lemon
flavours dominate. Very good 83/100 (Asda £3.72)
Jacob’s
Creek Sparkling Rosé NV, Australia
There’s something special about pink fizz, and this Aussie blend of
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes is one of the good ones. It’s great
fun, with some creamy softness to the berry and citrus fruit. Fresh,
bright and accessible, it’s a hard wine not to like. Very good+ 86/100
(£7.97 Asda, Tesco)
Wyndham
Bin 555 Sparkling Shiraz, Australia
Sparkling Shiraz, a peculiarity of Australia, is weird but wonderful. If
you haven’t tried it yet, you should. This one is a remarkably dark colour,
and shows lovely sweet, intense, meaty fruit with a smooth spicy
character. It takes a while to get used to the idea of fizziness in a red
wine, but this fizz gives a zip to the sweet fruit that helps keep things
balanced. Delicious but odd. Very good+ 89/100 (£7.99
Morrisons)
My rating
system explained. Use www.wine-searcher.com
to locate a stockist in your area and my directory
of UK wine merchants for details of those listed here. See also: the wineanorak's
shopping list - recommended wines from each of the main UK retail
outlets. These recommendations are truly independent: I don't accept
payment or other favours for inclusions, nor do I sell wine.
E-mail me with your recommendations or suggestions
at jamie@wineanorak.co.uk
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