So here we go again in no real order as I catch up on a few glasses that I have been enjoying or otherwise over the last few weeks. I've decided to introduce a scoring system so that anyone who wants to can play along and give their own notes and scores. If we can get a few scores I'll try to work out a crowd score that could be a nice and democratic way of giving a fairer review than my tired and jaded palate.
Donnafugata Sherazade
2010 13.5%
Nero D'Avola £11.99
There is something I really enjoy about Sicilian wines a kind of uncomplicated generosity which lets you relax into the wine and just enjoy the upfront fruit and sweetness. The wines of Donnafugata are generally among the best that Sicily has to offer and balance ripeness and concentration of flavour with a clean refreshing mouthfeel. The Sherazade had plenty to enjoy big red fruit aromas cherry and redcurrant were most apparent to me and followed through to the palate perhaps a little too stewed for me. I was hoping for a light juicy red and this seemed over concentrated but I have had it for a couple of years and perhaps should have got stuck in sooner. I can imagine plenty of people really enjoying this wine and it may be that my preconceptions got the better of me as such I am giving it 15/20 please feel free to disagree.
Jacobs Creek
Steingarten Riesling
2005 13%
£15.99
I'm not a huge fan of the standard range of Jacobs Creek but I always think that there is good value to be found in some of the big producers boutique wines. Like a Michelin Starred Chef forced to make burgers all day then getting the chance to go all creative you've got a little something to prove. This is part of Jacobs Creek super premium listing and is numbered to reinforce the small quantities made. The smell was wonderful with honeysuckle and sherbet lemons leaping out the glass underneath a touch of almost kiwi Sauvignon Blanc funk was just apparent. On the tongue the acidity I had expected was there but not as steely or clean as hoped, some limey citrus and crunchy apple flavour came through with a touch of something faintly tropical starting to develop. A very enjoyable wine and certainly a serious glass of Riesling I do wonder if at 13% the fruit had the acidity needed perhaps another vintage with a lower abv would offer that tang. I might still hunt out something from the Polish Hill region if I was looking for good Aussie Riesling 17/20
Santenay 1er Cru La Comme
Burgundy France
Pinot Noir 2006 12.5%
£17.99
It's not that often I get open up a bottle of Burgundy and just take my time over it so this was a bit of a delight as Mrs wineexperience and I shared this one night last week. Santenay is not one of the better known regions like Gevrey Chambertain but shares some of it's more illustrious neighbour's potential to produce extremely elegant wines. If you can get hold of something from a premier cru vineyard like La Comme then at a fraction of the price of Gevrey you'll get something that has plenty to recommend it. This was real Pinot as only Burgundy really produces with an appearance more like a cordial than wine this was bright and clear with a ruby heart. The aroma was bursting with raspberry and cloves and on the palate dried cranberry and raspberries again gave way to cherry and cinnamon/vanilla which all mingled to a lasting and balanced aftertaste. To get burgundy of this kind of quality for under £20 is a minor miracle and goes to show that if you look outside of the big names there are still great wines to be found. With all the stories of fake wines and dodgy dealing maybe it's worth us all keeping the faith and looking a bit harder for something a bit more interesting to drink in 2014. 19/20
Please let me know what you think and if you've tried any of the wines I'd love to hear what you made of them and and scores that you'd like to offer.
Phil
