The Daily Telegraph

JONATHAN RAY profiles some lesser-known grape varieties, such as Carmenre, Tannat and Sauvignon Gris. He says no one could be bothered to replant Carmenre in Bordeaux post-phylloxera, 'because of its perceived lack of structure and finesse', despite top-class Chilean Carmenre being 'plummy, soft and supple, and excellent with roast meats'. Tannat, which originates from south-west France, 'makes powerful, punchy wines that take an age to mature', but in Uruguay, where it is the country's most widely planted variety, they are 'softer and fruitier, but still pack a punch'. And the rediscovery of Sauvignon Gris, according to Bill Gunn MW, 'is as exciting as the re-emergence from the jungle of one of the Victorian cultivars in the Lost Gardens of Heligan'.