|
Germany
|
|
|
|
Pinot
Gris, Pfalz 2002,
|
£4.99
|
84
|
|
Riesling,
Pfalz 2002
Attrqctive spicy, mineral notes on nose with lemon and honey on palate.
|
£5.50
|
|
|
Darting
Estate Riesling Durkheimer Michelsberg 2002, Pfalz
Spicy honey and mineral nose with spicy full bodied (12.5% abv) palate.
|
£5.99
|
87
|
|
George
Breuer Estate Riesling 2001, Rheingau
froman important Rheingau estate and it shows in the beautiful texture and
length of this wine
|
£7.99
|
88
|
|
Ürziger
Wurzgarten Vineyard 2002
From Mosel maestro Ernst Loosen, this is a classic beauty with apple and
lemon nose and spicy red apple, lemon and homey palate finished with
tingling acidity and good length.
|
£9.99
|
88
|
|
Italy
|
|
|
|
Bianco
Beneventano 2002, Campania
Party on with a bargain blend of Falanghina & Fiano
|
£2.99
|
84
|
|
Villa
Ulivi Pinot Grigio 2002, Veneto
|
£4.99
|
84
|
|
Pinot
Grigio Podere La Prendina Estate 2002
Much the better of the pair of pinot grigios with melon, pear and orange
fruit and a deliciously easy texture and good length. Great value
|
£5.99
|
88
|
|
Chianti
Superiore Burchino Estate 2000
Spot the Bretttanomyces that buyer Sam Harrop helpfully pointed out on the
nose
|
£5.99
|
79
|
|
Terre
de’ Nocenti Chianti Collio Florentini 2001
Spice and cherry, tannin and acid; in other words very Chianti like.
|
£7.99
|
86
|
|
Nero
D'Avola - Syrah
2002, Sicily
Intensely juicy modern style for friends of Australian wine.
|
£4.49
|
86
|
|
Villa
dei Furesi Primitivo di Puglia 2000
Old bush vines give concentrated fruit and raisin like perfume plus good
length and enough tannin to give focus and stop it getting jammy.
|
£6.99
|
88
|
|
Spain
|
|
|
|
Spainish
White – Litre, Utiel-Requena
|
£3.99
|
82
|
|
Torresoto
White Rioja 2001
Mid weight with lemony fruit and nutty oak character.
|
£5.99
|
86
|
|
Terra
Douro Albarino 2002, Rais Baixas
Light nose but palate shows varietal peach and melon with mineral and good
length.
|
£7.99
|
87
|
|
Spanish
Red – Litre, Utiel-Requena
|
£3.99
|
78
|
|
Las
Almenas Crianza 2000, Utiel-Requena
Decent weight of berry fruit and cedar like oak notes and good length.
|
£4.99
|
86
|
|
Campo
Aldea Tempranillo Rioja 2001
A little reductive at the moment so come back in six months
|
£4.99
|
85
|
|
Mantrana
Rioja 2001
Surprisingly developed for a young wine with mellow toffee and cherry
fruit mingling with oak derived vanilla.
|
£5.99
|
86
|
|
Tomas
Blanco Crespo Rioja 2001
Talented Telmo Rodriguez has delivered a first class 100% tempranillo
based Rioja with rich fruit and good length.
|
£6.99
|
88
|
|
Campo
Aldea Graciano Rioja 1996
A rarely seen 100% graciano and it’s a beauty. There’s a fragrant,
spicy. Liquorice like nose with spicy and fruit on the elegant, very long
palate. Not big but beautifully balanced.
|
£7.99
|
89
|
|
Pago
Real Rioja 2001 £9.99
Telmo Rodriquez again and what a winner this is with great fruit,
structure, tannin, oak and length. It’s all there. Lovely now but would
age too. As good and better than his family’s famous and expensive
Remelluri Estate Rioja
|
£9.99
|
90
|
|
Portugal
|
|
|
|
Safra
Nova 2001, Ribatejo
Find of the tasting. Fragrant, perfumed wine with fruit and spice and
elegant balance that tastes like something twice the price.
|
£3.99
|
87
|
|
Solorico
2001, Ribatejo
|
£4.99
|
85
|
|
Vinha
Padre Pedro 1999, Ribatejo
Iinteresting spicy fruit with medium to good length.
|
£5.99
|
86
|
|
Quinta
de Fafide Estate Reserve 2001, Douro
Really modern but elegant, not jammy. Good length.
|
£7.99
|
87
|
|
France
|
|
|
|
Muscadet
Sèvre st Maine sur lie 2002, Les Moulin des Cosardières
That rare pleasure – a good Muscadet, with zesty orange fruit and
biscuit character from lees ageing.
|
£4.99
|
87
|
|
Sauvignon
Blanc, VdP du Jardin de la France
|
£3.99
|
84
|
|
Domaine
Mandeville Viognier 2002
|
£3.99
|
85
|
|
Vouvray,
Domaine de la Pouvraie 2002
An affordable benchmark for this style of wine with distinctive wet wool
nose and peach, honey and lemon on its medium dry palate.
|
£5.50
|
86
|
|
Côtes
du Rhône Blanc 2002, Domaine du Boulas,
|
£5.50
|
84
|
|
Oak
aged White Bordeaux 2001
There’s plenty of attractive orange, lime and gooseberry fruit but the
wood dominates it at the moment.
|
£6.99
|
86
|
|
Chablis
2001, Dom. Pierre de Prehy
Available in June. Rush out to buy this super Chablis made by Chablis
champion Jean marc Brocard as it’s characterful mineral aromas and
flavours are more like premier cru than village Chablis.
|
£9.99
|
89
|
|
St
Romain 2001, N. Potel
At at the moment it’s rich nutty, buttery fruit is overrun by oak. Big
glasses and time will cure that.
|
£9.99
|
87
|
|
Mercurey,
Dom de la Grangerie 2001
Barrel fermention in 50% new oak has given a buttery, nutty, mini
Meursault style at prices much less than Meursault, but maybe a little
less new oak would have been more welcome.
|
£10.99
|
88
|
|
Gamay,
VdP d L’Ardeche 2002
|
£2.99
|
84
|
|
Old
Vines Grenache Noir, Rousillon
Some very old vines have produced a rich solid wine that’s very good
value
|
£4.99
|
86
|
|
Visan
Côtes du Rhône Villages
Modern style with red fruit, herbs and liquorice.
|
£4.99
|
86
|
|
Château
Planèzes 2000
Old carignan vines plus syrah and grenache make a gutsy, rich fruity,
herbal wine from the Agly Valley in the eastern Pyrenees.
|
£6.99
|
87
|
|
Château
de Surville Costières de Nîmes 2000
Really lovely, rich, modern, blackberry fruit and a touch of spice from
this Grenache dominated wine.
|
£6.99
|
87
|
|
Vaqueyras,
Cuvée Vielle Vignes 2001
Why drink overpriced Châteauneuf when you can buy a beauty like this from
the Southern Rhone at half the price? Weighty
rich spicy fruit, structure and great length.
|
£8.99
|
91
|
|
Bourgogne
Rouge 2001, J. Sordet
Scented raspberry fruit.
|
£7.99
|
86
|
|
Mercurey
2001 Dom. Levert
Quite silky for a Mercurey with supple raspberry and cherry fruit.
|
£10.99
|
88
|
|
Organic
|
|
|
|
Villa
Masera Bianco Veronese 2002
100% gargenega grape (ie Soave), but fresh and very easy to drink.
|
€5.99
/£4.49
|
85
|
|
Botteghino
Chanti 2001
|
£5.99
|
82
|
|
Dom.
de Deves Côtes du Rhône 2001
Smoky red fruit with medium to good length
|
£5.99
|
87
|
|
Château
du Parc 2002, Languedoc
A stalwart of the M & S organic portfolio and showing well in this
vintage.
|
£4.99
|
86
|
|
Kirrakurra
Shiraz-Cabernet 2002
Mint and chocolate fruit are the key flavours here in an all too rare
Australian organic wine.
|
£5.99
|
86
|
|
Australia
|
|
|
|
Pheasant
Gully Bin 228 Semillon – Sauvignon 2002
|
£4.99
|
83
|
|
Pheasant
Gully Bin 492 Gewurztaminer – Riesling 2002
perfumed orange fruit with good length. Interesting.
|
£4.99
|
86
|
|
Pheasant
Gully Bin 346 Cabernet Merlot
|
£4.99
|
83
|
|
Pheasant
Gully Bin 201 Shiraz Cabernet 2002
|
£4.99
|
84
|
|
Heemskerk
Sauvignon Blanc 2002
Very pungent green peapod style – not for me and I thought 2001 was fab.
|
£6.99
|
84
|
|
Lenbridge
Forge Sauvignon Blanc 2002, Yarra Valley
Elegant, ripe gooseberry and lemon fruit style with good length.
|
£7.99
|
88
|
|
Wickham
Estate Chardonnay 1995
Very golden colour with toffee-ish fruit that is over the hill for me but
some will enjoy
|
£7.99
|
85
|
|
Banwell
Farm Riesling 2002, Eden Valley
Once again Riesling proves a winner in Australia with zesty orange and
lime fruit on the nose and palate plus chalky mineral character and good
length.
|
£7.99
|
90
|
|
Lenbridge
Forge Pinot Noir 2002
Very New World spicy cherry fruit with good length.
|
£8.99
|
88
|
|
Dorrien
Estate Bin 442 Shiraz 2001, Barossa
Pretty typical Barossa with rich almost sweet berry fruit and coconut and
fudge aromas on the nose from ageing in American oak.
|
£7.99
|
89
|
|
Bush
View Shiraz 2001, Margaret River
Intense, rich wine with plum fruit and coffee like spice. Alcohol a little
too high for balance.
|
£8.99
|
88
|
|
Kaituna
Hills Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2002, Marlborough
A pungent nose showing a mix of gooseberry and lemon with a little too
much green peapod for me but probably not most NZ sauvignon lovers.
|
£7.99
|
88
|
|
Kaituna
Hills Reserve Pinot Noir 2001, Marlborough
Pinot noir style cherry fruit, but it falls away a little quickly to
justify the reserve tag.
|
£9.99
|
86
|
|
South
America
|
|
|
|
Casa
Leona Chardonnay 2002, Chile
|
£4.99
|
85
|
|
Tupungato
Chardonnay 2001, Argentina
Serious barrel fermented, butterscotch style chardonnay with good length.
Made by leading producer Catena in high altitude Tupungato, Argentina’s
best district for white grapes.
|
£5.99
|
88
|
|
Canale
Merlot Reserve 2001, Argentina
Serious kit. There’s a lot going on here with plum, chocolate and oak
all evident. Very young still.
|
£9.99
|
88
|
|
Polo
Sur Tannat 2000, Uruguay
Spicy liquorice scented ripe fruit with some tannin adding weight and
length. Good.
|
£9.99
|
87
|
|
California
|
|
|
|
Freedom
Ridge Viognier 2002
|
£5.99
|
85
|
|
Father
Oak Chardonnay 2001
Despite the name some elegant use of oak allied to rich buttery fruit.
|
£7.99
|
88
|
|
Zamora
Zinfandel 2001
Very perfumed raisin like fruit – very zinfandel and so is the huge 15%
abv.
|
£6.99
|
86
|
|
Marin
Ridge Malbec 2001
Berry fruit plus herbs and spice. Quite good, if too expensive.
|
£9.99
|
87
|
|
Rockridge
Sauvignon Blanc 2002
|
£4.99
|
85
|
|
Rockridge
Merlot 2002
|
£4.99
|
82
|
|
Sparkling
Wines
|
|
|
|
Sparkling
Pinot Grigio
|
£5.99
|
82
|
|
Champagne
de St Gall Brut NV
Good quality for a supermarket with its classic biscuit nose derived from
bottle ageing 2 – 3 years.
|
£17.99
|
87
|
|
Champagne
de St Gall Blanc de Blanc Brut NV
Best value of the St Gall range for me with classy lemon, honey and butter
fruit. Aged from 3 to 5 years says the M & S blurb.
|
£17.99
|
88
|
|
Champagne
de St Gall 1988
Drawn from grand cru vineyards, this is another bl. de bl., but it’s
more full bodied than the NV with toast and lemon fruit and good length
|
£19.99
|
88
|
|
Champagne
Duc d’Ambleny 1997
Another blanc de blanc but I prefer the St gall wines and prices.
|
£24.99
|
87
|
