Pinot Noir, Burgundy’s most famous if a little fickle grape, requiring optimum growing conditions to produce what often becomes an elegant wine. Although it is often described as a “difficult” grape to grow, it can sometimes be a difficult wine to drink and as I found from my daughters reaction it may not be for everyone. This particular Pinot is made by the Garcés Silva Family coastal winery in the Leyda Valley in Chile, an…

Regular readers will know I rate wine with a simple Cork rating and back in September 2018 after a long while searching for my first 9/10 corks I tried a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand called the Elara by Waimea which I was blown away by and now it just happens that another Sauvignon Blanc this time from South Africa the De Grendel has equally impressed me enough to award the elusive 9/10 Corks again….

Visiting London? fancy a glass of wine? then why not head down Villiers Street at the Embankment, seek out Gordon’s Wine Bar, enter by the side entrance carefully walk down the rickety steps and enter a world that transports you back in time. Established in 1890 it’s said to be the oldest wine bar in London, Home to Samuel Pepys in the 1860’s and Rudyard Kipling who lived in the building in the 1890’s as…

Another bottle from Spain, this time a Garnacha but from the Rioja region where Tempranillo is king. La Maldita literally translates to ‘The Cursed one’ referring to the fact that Garnacha is very difficult to grow due to its thin skin and low yields in an area which only boasts around 10% of all vineyard plantings in Rioja. The grapes are sourced primarily from estate-owned vineyards located largely in the sub-region of Rioja Baja. Predominantly…

What can I say about this wine, well, believe it or not, it’s Spanish, it’s a Tempranillo blend although there’s no clue as to what the blend is? It’s cheap and the bottle itself has a rather naff looking label with a silly name. Not much going for it then you may well ask but not everything is as it seems and this was, lets say interesting. Bought from Aldi for £5.49 but don’t ask me…

A Super Tuscan, a wine made in Tuscany that uses the IGT label, doesn’t follow the traditional DOCG rules but still uses grapes grown in the Tuscan region. Well, this Villa Antinori 2015 is from Tuscany, yes it is made with predominately Sangiovese and yes it includes non-indigenous grapes including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah from the area but is it truly a Super Tuscan, when I say super I mean is it really a…

Another year almost finished and another year writing about something I love, wine. First let me thank everyone who has followed my ramblings over the last 12 months and whether you’re new to my blog or a regular reader you are all very welcome and hope you will continue to drop in and find out what 2019 has in store, please feel free to let me know what you think in the comments section. Some…

A few weeks ago was lucky enough to be picked for the latest Aldi Wine Club review panel, not my first time I hasten to add and I’ve always enjoyed participating to give my view on a selection of wines Aldi have been kind enough to send to me for free. Being given free stuff is always nice and the temptation is to always give the product glowing recommendations, I hope that I have been…

If you ever find yourself struggling to decide which wine to open for guests, whether it be a dinner party or just a get together with friends then reach for a bottle of Les Dauphins and I promise you won’t be disappointed.  This French brand from the Rhone valley is the creation of the Co-operative ‘Les Cellier des Dauphins’ which is one of the largest producers in the area and made its debut in the…

Been a bit of an Italian Job last week with these two very enjoyable bottles  finding there way onto our dinner table. One a white from the north of Lake Garda the Lugana bought from Asda and the other a delicious red wine  from Puglia the ‘Domodo‘ Negroamaro purchased from Majestic. Below is a quick review of both bottles Lugana  The Lugana was our forum (Cuvee Reserve) Novembers wine of the month, so I will…

Most people think of Andalucia as mainly a holiday area full of hotels, tourists, sunloungers and fiesta, so when you see this bottle on the shelf although there’s no doubting it’s a Spanish wine with its colourful abstract Flamenco label, where it’s from may come as a surprise. This is a blend of Tempranillo 50% and Syrah 50% made in the cool ‘Laujar valley’ vineyards high up in the Almeria Province of Andalucia, located between…

Seems like ages ago I was in Manchester at the Albert Square Chop House sitting in a room full of fellow wine enthusiasts, both amateur and professional as a round 1 judge for the 2018 People’s Choice Wine Awards.  This was a unique awards competition unlike any other, where everyday drinkers/consumers of everyday wines, mostly found in popular supermarkets and retailers get a chance to pick the wines they would actually like to drink and buy…

Not another over the top buttery Chardonnay, I hear you cry, yes it is but and It’s a big but (if you pardon the expression) this is an over the top quality Chardonnay from the ever-reliable Luis Felipe Edwards and I would quite happily, drink this whenever. Very rarely I buy a case of the same wine, it has to be pretty special for me to do so but every now and then there comes…

Hot on the heels of our recent trip to Tuscany, where we tasted some pretty decent wines, I am still enjoying and actively seeking out anything Italian that looks remotely interesting and this ‘Villa Nardelli’ fits the bill perfectly. Not that the bottle looks anything special, in fact, it reminds me of something you would find gathering dust at the back of a sleepy Italian restaurant but believe me, don’t let the label fool you…

Times, they are a changing in the world of rosé wine. The image of it being a young persons pre-drink of choice before going out on a Saturday night bender where it’s easy to down and just as easy to find it coming back up again, may well be a thing of the past, maybe it’s wishful thinking but what I do know is there is much more quality rosé wine around now to combat…

I often ask myself, ‘who reads wine reviews’ and why should I bother with investing time and effort in letting people know what I think of a certain bottle of wine when I am realistic enough to know that probably only a hand full of people are likely to read it, won’t really care what I think and will more than likely never return. Who can blame them, they don’t know who I am and…

This ‘Les Nivières’ French beauty which comes from the banks of the Loire in the castle town of Saumur is a fresh, vibrant Cabernet Franc and I must say it’s one of the better examples of this grape variety that I’ve tasted in a while. Waitrose & Partners currently have it on offer at £7.49 (normal price £9.49) which is fantastic value for a wine of this quality. Cabernet Franc most commonly found as part…

The saying ‘ It does exactly what it says on the tin’ seemed to fit this gig perfectly, ‘The People’s Choice Wine Awards’ an event in which a  selection of people with different backgrounds, some in the wine trade, enthusiastic amateurs and some who have no experience apart from being consumers who actually drink the stuff, get together to judge and select the best wines in a series of categories. The wines submitted were from…

It certainly wasn’t the label that attracted me to this bottle, it’s pretty bizarre, to say the least. I bought it because I like Grenache or Garnacha but this kind of threw me, initially I didn’t like it then I did and this went on a while before I realised that the bottle was almost finished (not that I drank it all myself ) and I still couldn’t quite make up my mind. This was…

Every now and then a wine comes along with the Wow factor and this New Zealand Sovee Bee (Sauvignon Blanc) is just one of those times. Took a chance with this from Majestic on their WIGIG (When It’s Gone it’s Gone) promotion. Regular readers of my blog will know I’m forever on the hunt for my first 9/10 corks and this may well be the one (you’ll have to find out at the end of…