Tag: Majestic

If you enjoy bone dry, steely and vibrant white wines with some bracing acidity then this may well be the bottle for you. Assyrtiko is a Greek wine from the island of Santorini and has recently gained a lot of favourable attention. If your not familiar with Greek wines then this white made with the distinctive Assyrtiko grape variety may well, for many people, provide an alternative to Sauvignon Blanc. Apparently over 80% of vines…

I first came across this Kangarilla Road Shiraz a few years ago at a tasting event where I sampled the 2009 vintage, the impression it made has always stayed with me and now it remains as one of my favourite Shiraz’s in this price range. The pleasure from this wine starts with the elegant looking bottle with its simple iconic vine leaf label and the elegance continues when you open the screw cap and first…

Vidigal is a family run company in Portugal, making good affordable wines, with over 1,000 acres of vineyards around the Lisbon area as well as vineyards in Tagus, Douro, Alentejo, Dão, Beiras and Vinho Verde, the company produces over 3 million bottles a year. Remember when the Porta 6 broke the Majestic stores website, due to it’s large demand after TV celebrity chef James Martin claimed it was the best tasting red wine he has…

I first tasted a Nautilus Sauvignon Blanc last summer sitting in our back garden enjoying the sunshine during a mini heatwave and I must admit I thought it was one of the better Sovee Bee’s I had tried in a long time. So when I came across their Pinot Noir I had no hesitation in buying a bottle on the strength of the Sovee hoping it wouldn’t disappoint but I shouldn’t have worried this was…

Here’s a short selection of a mixed bunch of wines I’ve been drinking over the last week or so, some very good and one I couldn’t quite make up my mind about even though I’ve been looking forward to drinking it for a while. Esprit De Chablis 2018 Waitrose £10 (usual price around £17) Picked up during the recent 10 For £10 promotion, everything a good Chablis should be, lively citrus fruit, very dry, lots…

Do you enjoy Chardonnay? and why is it still treated with some apprehension? Rich and loud, popular in the 90’s although Bridget Jones did her best to make it slightly naff drinking copious amounts usually with tears running down her face. It was the bottle to take to a party where you could knock it back without thinking about what you are drinking, most of it being little over the top in flavour, too buttery,…

I have to bring to your attention two white wines which I have enjoyed during our recent spell of hot weather. To start with I revisited a Vinho Verde from Waitrose/Majestic that I first tasted a few years ago and then a real gem of a find from the Co op, a quite superb Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc (Sovee Bee). The Vinho Verde was a real surprise I will explain why in a moment and the…

Semillon, most widely known and grown in France and Australia. France in particular use it as a integral part of making White Bordeaux. and is the 3rd most planted grape variety in the country behind Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Bit of an acquired taste this with sharp tangy, lemon flavour along with an oiliness akin to some Rieslings. This particular Aussie bottle from Lindeman’s was part of a case I bought from Majestic a few…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Fancy some cheap and I mean really cheap wine? then take a trip to the Calais and hit the numerous wine outlets where you will find hundreds of bottles at sub £5 prices and some of them surprisingly, very drinkable. On average tax on wines in Britain is an astonishing eight times higher, so jump in your car, clear some space get a couple of friends to share the cost and head over to France…

This was a pleasant surprise, well, maybe not so much of a surprise as I tend to like most Italian wine but this red The ‘Maretti Langhe Rosso’ from the Piedmont region of northern Italy definitely woke up my taste buds. A blend of Barbera 70% and Nebbiolo 30% making for an interesting blend along the lines of a baby Barolo. A fairly hefty tasting wine which I would describe as chewy and chunky. Probably…

Majestic Amersham were holding a Spring showcase tasting in their plush new store on the 3oth April, so I thought on a cold rainy night, what better way is there to spend a few hours than tasting wine. I arrived a little early partly to have a look around the new shop and I was suitably impressed. Everything was neatly on display with all the portable shelves immaculately adorned with bottles lined up from around…