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Wines in the press - November 19-21

The Guardian

Fiona Beckett has never been a great one for forward planning - but says sorting out Christmas drinking now is a good move because retailers are in full swing with seasonal wine offers.

Beckett says we still seem to revert to the classics at Christmas, such as Châteauneuf, Chablis and Bordeaux when we might prefer an Aussie Shiraz, which in her opinion is a better match for turkey than a "slightly tired" Claret. She recommends Heartland Stickleback Red 2008 (£7.50, the Wine Society). For seafood and smoked salmon Beckett thinks the Western Australian 2009/10 Vasse Felix Sauvignon Blanc Semillon (£9.99, Waitrose) is a good all rounder and another "delicious" white she discovered through Twitter is Naia Verdejo 2008( Define Food & Wine £11.50). "Nice-looking bottle, too."

The Telegraph

A tasting room tends to fall silent for one of two reasons, says Victoria Moore. Either the wines are dismal or so good that everyone has lost themselves in their glass. The latter happened to her in Calatayud, Spain, where she says the Garnacha/Grenache-based reds smelt, variously, of bowlfuls of sweet mulberries, violet petals, drinking chocolate and bottled plums. Moore is a big fan of Garnacha but the area is under threat of disappearing as vineyards are uprooted. Part of the problem lies in the distribution of EU subsidies which makes it easier and more profitable to grub up a vineyard than to try to work it. She says according to a spokesman for Calatayud DO: "The young aren't interested in going into wine these days". In her opinion the fact that the area is heavily co-operatised can't help. She asks where's the incentive for someone new, hoping to make their mark?

The Financial Times

The vignerons of the Rhône valley didn't undersell the virtues of their 2009s and are asking us to believe that nature has given them a second good-to-great vintage in a row. "We shall see," says Jancis Robinson MW. In the meantime Robinson was asked to taste as many significant 2009s as she could. She says the 2009 harvest in the southern Rhône was, by contrast, particularly early as summer was exceptionally dry with the drought more pronounced than in 2007. She thinks you can taste the effect of this prolonged drought on some of the southern Rhône wines as they seem to lack juice. Not that this criticism applies across the board, adds Robinson as there are some truly lovely Châteauneuf-du-Papes. She found the fault generally less common in Gigondas, even though many of the wines have 15% alcohol on the label.

The Mail

Olly Smith says if you reckon Australia is only good for beefy reds and oaky Chardonnay, think again. "Like the cricket team, the Aussie winemaking fraternity are inventive, comprise talent from distinctive regions and are prepared to take risks to get the right result," he adds. Smith recommends to keep an eye out for wines of Pewsey Vale and O'Leary Walker. Sémillon is a grape variety that performs brilliantly in the Hunter Valley and he found a "shrill, crisp" white Vermentino, a grape found more often in Sardinia. Reds, too, offer a good selection, says Smith ranging from gutsy Shiraz and rich Cabernet Sauvignon to more deft styles such as Pinot Noir.