The Sampler is such a great wine merchant. I spent some time at the South Kensington store this evening tasting wines from their enomatic machines. You don’t need to spend much money to have a lot of fun here, and they have a lot of interesting things on tasting, including some older vintages. Here are the notes from my sampling session.
JJ Prüm Wehlener Sonnenhur Riesling Spätlese 2007 Mosel, Germany
Honeyed, sweet and mineral with lovely citrus fruit as well as melony richness. Precise, complex and quite spicy. A lovely Riesling. 93/100 (£35 The Sampler)
Eben Sadie T Voetpad 2012 Swartland, South Africa
A remarkable Chenin Blanc. Very fresh, mineral and precise with citrus and herbs, and amazing minerality. Pear and grapefruit, with great precision and focus. Lots of acidity. 95/100 (£32 The Sampler)
Eben Sadie Treinspoor 2012 Swartland, South Africa
A Tinta Barocca. Ripe, supple and quite elegant with vivid cherry and blackberryfruit. Supple with some drying tannins and lively pepperiness. Very drinkable, showing real personality and freshness. 93/100 (£28 The Sampler)
Eric Texier Brezeme Vielle Serine 2010 Rhône, France Amazingly fresh and bright with lovely pure black cherry fruit. Alive, peppery and bright with some sweetness but also amazing precision and some savoury olive-like complexity. Just brilliant. 95/100 (£24 The Sampler)
Quinta de Foz d’Arouce Vinhas Velhas de Santa Maria 2007 Beiras, Portugal Warm, sweet spicy nose is rich and full, with lovely black fruits. The palate is dense and structured with fresh black fruit but also notes of spice and olives. Tannic and full, with some grippy savouriness under the lovely fruit. 93/100 (£34 The Sampler)
Trimbach Gewürztraminer 1988 Alsace, France Lovely crystalline fruits, rose petal, wax, herbs and grape notes. Textured and subtly nutty, with pure fresh fruit and notes of tangerine. Very stylish: this has aged beautifully. 93/100 (£35 The Sampler)
François Cotat Sancerre La Grande Côte 2012 Loire, France Powerful, rich and textured with rounded pear fruit. Sweet rounded texture, with a smooth mineral quality. Almost off-dry. Really distinctive wine. 92/100 (£38 The Sampler)
Folding Hill Orchard Block Pinot Noir 2010 Central Otago, New Zealand
Lovely aromatics, with vivid black cherry, plum and spice notes. Concentrated, quite structured and delicious with lovely finesse to the black cherry fruit, underlain by a distinctly spicy structure. 94/100 (£35 The Sampler)
Château Latour à Pomerol 1970 Pomerol, Bordeaux
Sweet and berryish with a cocoa/chocolate edge to the fruit, as well as herbs, earth and a bit of smokiness. There’s good acidity and some tannic grip. Nicely savoury; old but lovely. Quite fine. 93/100 (£160 The Sampler)
Marc Bredif Vouvray Moelleux Nectar 1986 Loire, France
A complex, intense wine with a nose of straw, herbs and goats cheese as well as appley citrus fruit. The palate is sweet and savoury at the same time with great acidity and sweet citrus and honey characters, as well as herbs and marzipan. Brilliant. 94/100 (£35 The Sampler)
