Like Victoria Moore, JOANNA SIMON has been reading The Wine Diet by Roger Corder and latches on to the message that moderate wine drinkers are less likely to be overweight than non-drinkers.
She draws her readers attention to the chewy, plummy, toasty' Ctes de Saint-Mont, Chteau de Sabazan (13.95), and 2001 Madiran, Plnitude (12.99 to 14.95).
Chile made its name with Cabernet Sauvignon and the red Bordeaux blends. But TIM ATKIN says that it will also be famous for cool-climate Syrah, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. He observes that in the 1990s, most of the country's wines were inferior copies of French originals. Now Chile has become one of the world's most exciting wine-producing regions with a mind-boggling number of vinyards.
Forgetting to celebrate Burns Night would be a big mistake, says JANE MacQUITTY. Wishy-washy white spirits might be well and good but grown-up spirits drinkers graduate to the full-on flavours of whisky. Decent blends consist of two-thirds or more of a decent characterful malt and Bailie Nicol Jarvie (13.46 Tesco, 13.49 Waitrose) is a wondrous eight-year-old blend with an arresting gingery spice.
Read more...JANCIS ROBINSON MW recently tasted 19 luxury Champagne cuves. 'Champagne is the one wine in which image and reputation can influence the palate most powerfully,' she says. That's why 'assessing the wines on the basis of taste alone can be so revealing'. The most impressive were 'the extremely energising and intriguing' Taittinger Prlude Grand Cru and the 'underpriced and under-appreciated' Charles Heidsieck, Blanc des Millnnaires 1995 Blanc de Blancs - 'a beautifully mature wine'. Majestic is selling the Taittinger Prlude for 24.99 a bottle if you buy three or 34.99 at larger Tesco stores for a single bottle. The Heidsieck is much harder to find in the UK; www.vintagewinegifts.co.uk is selling it for 89.99, with a corkscrew, wine pourer, drip stopper and wine stopper thrown in. Meanwhile, Laurent-Perrier Grand Sicle and 2000 Taittinger also showed well in the tasting, and Philipponnat Clos des Goisses 1996 'should be wonderful in a year or three'. Krug Ros is worth a mention for being 'much more beguiling than any current bottling of Krug Grande Cuve to have come my way in the last year.
Read more...Turning the spotlight on the Irish, JAMIE GOODE picks some value-for-money buys to complement classic dishes like Irish stew and beef in Guinness. He highlights an Australian fizz that he reckons his readers will either love or hate. The 2002 Green Point ZD Vintage Brut (13.99; Waitrose) is described as special for two reasons: first, it is sealed with a crown cap; and second the usual dosage' - the addition of sweet wine - has been omitted. A bone-dry finish and great with food is Goode's verdict. Among the others, he reckons 2005 Vielle Fontaine Vin de Pays de Comt Tolosan (2.99; Tesco) is a good cheap wine: fresh, fruity and with a savoury bite.
Read more...In the wake of the publication of The Wine Diet by Professor Roger Corder (9.99, Sphere), VICTORIA MOORE responds to readers asking about the wines he recommends.
Corder has identified a compound - procyanidin - that is abundant in some red wines and which he maintains is good for the heart. While Moore takes the view that the book's title is a little too good to be true, she gamely tried a handful of the wines Corder recommends.
She says that generally the wines are unyielding heavy characters, though she was most taken by the relatively accessible' 2003 Chteau de Sabazan, Ctes de Saint-Mont (12.99; Nicolas, Grape Ideas, Bedales) and 2001 Madiran Plnitude (about 14.99; Bedales, Adnams).
Having done her duty by her readers, the gloves come off: I can't help feeling it might be easier to take procyanidins from food, and drink wine for pleasure and at whim,' she says.
JONATHAN RAY has been interviewing a happy man: Christian Seely, MD of AXA Millsimes, the vineyard-owning arm of AXA Insurance. I can't imagine enjoying myself more,' he tells an unsurprised Ray.
Read more...A visit to the Cape winelands is a walk on the wild side that ANTHONY ROSE has discovered. Not only has African wine been on a role since the end of apartheid, with Tulbagh an emerging new wine region, you don't have to venture far to see cheeky baboons.
Read more...JONATHAN RAY travels round Roussillon with Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Roussillon export director Eric Aracil, passing through some of the 35,000 hectares of Grenache, Carignan, Syrah, Cinsault and Mourvdre. 'Although it's sunny, it can be cold and windy here, with damp blown in from the sea. But the weather, the grapes and the low yields all result in intense and fascinating wines,' Domaine Ferrer Ribire winemaker Bruno Ribire tells Ray over dinner in the tiny village of Terrats.
Read more...Now that Canada is producing world-class wines, it is surely high time the industry educated Canadians properly about their own products, says JANCIS ROBINSON. She knows of no nation more defensive about its wines than Canada. In tasting 70 wines, of which 17 she pronounces as world class', Robinson meets a woman whose job it is to brief Canadian diplomats on the glories of their own country's wines'.
She singles out Daniel Lenko's 2002 Syrah from the Niagara Peninsula as truly outstanding' and also mentions two joint ventures, Clos Jordanne and Osoyoos Larose. The majority of the wines she tasted were from Niagara and, if they had a fault, it was lack of concentration. Canada is also plagued by ladybirds, which taint the wines by imparting a raw horseradish or peanut shell aroma.
Now that Canada is producing world-class wines, it is surely high time the industry educated Canadians properly about their own products, says JANCIS ROBINSON. She knows of no nation more defensive about its wines than Canada. In tasting 70 wines, of which 17 she pronounces as 'world class', Robinson meets a woman whose job it is to brief Canadian diplomats on the 'glories of their own country's wines'. She singles out Daniel Lenko's 2002 Syrah from the Niagara Peninsula as 'truly outstanding' and also mentions two joint ventures, Clos Jordanne and Osoyoos Larose. The majority of the wines she tasted were from Niagara and, if they had a fault, it was lack of concentration. Canada is also plagued by ladybirds, which taint the wines by imparting a raw horseradish or peanut shell aroma.
Read more...In Monday's edition of the paper ALEXANDRA FREAN AND ALEXANDRA BLAIR report that 10 million annually is now generated by further education colleges in selling their own products. Plumpton College, in East Sussex produces 23,000 bottles of wine and Reaseheath College in Nantwich, Cheshire, having recently invested 1 million in building a winery, has its wines now listed at London's Michelin-star Hakkasan restaurant.
Read more...Apparently, if you send a turnip round the world, it still comes back a turnip, according to a friend of TIM ATKIN's dad. Atkin moves onto talk about Tempranillo as a world-class grape that is 'vastly superior to Merlot, more reliable that Pinot Noir and ages as well as Cabernet'. From a recent Spanish tasting, Atkin says it is Ribera del Duero that stands out, with Rioja not far behind and La Mancha showing enormous potential. His recommendations are: 2004 Castillo La Paz, La Mancha (4.99, Sainsbury's); 2004 Jme Rioja (5.97, Asda); 2003 Valmoro, Toro (8.99, Great Northern Wine); and 2003 Finca Villacreces, Ribera del Duero (21.95, Liberty Wines and Bennetts Fine Wines). Not a turnip among them, he says.
Read more...Brunello di Montalcino is the subject of ANTHONY ROSE's column this week. Of the region that was the first to receive Italy's DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) in 1980, he says: 'Even within Italy, no zone offers such a vivid expression of the Sangiovese grape.' His recommendations include: 2001 Banfi Poggio Alle Mura (22, Majestic); 2004 Sesti (14.50, Jeroboams); and 2001 Barbi Brunello (27.50, Cambridge Wine Merchants).
Read more...ANDREW DOWNIE heads south to visit a 20,000ha vineyard in the middle of Brazil's northeastern desert, eight degrees south of the equator. Owned by Portuguese winemaker Do Sul, ViniBrasil has an irrigation system that pumps river water across a 120,000ha holding. With 12 hours of sunlight for 300 days a year, Brazil can have as many harvests as it wants, says ViniBrasil's Carlos Moura. The company produces the Rio Sol brand, from which a Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz blend will available in Waitrose later this month (4.99).
Read more...JANE MacQUITTY chooses her Top 100 Winter Wines' under 12. Her Star White' is 2004 Chteau Rives-Blanques, Ddicace, Limoux Chenin Blanc (8.95; Great Western Wine) and her Star Red' is 2005 Domaine Boudau, Le Clos, Ctes du Roussillon, Vronique et Pierre Boudau (8.75; Lay & Wheeler.
This week JAMIE GOODE has to match wines with Welsh food. Among the wines he goes for are: 2005 Element Terre Blanc, Vin de Pays du Comt Tolosan (4.99, Asda); 2005 Otra Vida Chardonnay (4.99, Sainsbury's); and 2005 La Chsse du Pape Winemakers Selection, Ctes du Rhne (7.99, Morrisons).
Read more...VICTORIA MOORE visits the Gotham Bar and Grill in honour of writer Jay McInerey, whose wine essays were published last year. She chooses a Vire-Clesse from Rijckaert to go with a seafood risotto.
Read more...JOANNA SIMON says Chilean producers are so keen on their new wines and varieties that is easy to forget the good value Cabernets, Merlots and Carmeneres, and specifically mentions Concha y Toro's Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon (3.99).
Read more...VICTORIA MOORE takes a bottle of 2003 Vino de Calidad de Arribes (7.49) back to her local Oddbins because it 'just wasn't right'. She gets Colin the manager to taste it, and he reckons it's oxidised. She asks him whether it is worth the price, and if not what would he recommend. He suggests a 2001 Dehesa la Granja, the third winery of Alejandro Fernndez in the Zamora province up the Duero in northern Spain. At 9.99, a bin end, Moore is happy with this oaky Tempranillo. She also recommends 2005 Old Vine La Sabrosita Garnacha from Calatayud (4.99, Marks & Spencer); 1998 Montecillo Gran Reserva Rioja (16.95, Partridges; 15.15, Longford Wines); 2002 Taste the Difference Elegia Rioja Reserva (8.99, Sainsbury's) and 2005 Martin Codax Albario, Ras Baxas (7.49, Majestic).
Read more...
