August’s wine is the 2016 Bodega Amalaya Blanco, Salta, Argentina (£10.95 from www.slurp.co.uk).
Decanter magazine says:
“The nose offers a beguiling mix of pineapples and grapes. Inviting jasmine and crisp peach flavours meld with an attractive mouthfeel. Superbly made, with splendid varietal characters. One glass of this won’t be enough!” (95/100)
Decanter World Wine Awards 2017: Platinum – Best in Show: Best Value Dry Aromatic
July’s wine is the 2016 Abel Mendoza Jarrarte Maceracion Carbonica Joven, Rioja DOC, Spain (€6.70 from www.bullmet.com).
Robert Parker says:
“The delicious, aromatic, juicy and showy red 2016 Jarrarte Maceración Carbónica is a lot more serious than the name might suggest to many. The nose is simply spectacular and the palate is soft, gentle, approachable but not banal..” (91/100)
June’s wine is the 2015 Vouvray Sec Tendre Lieu-Dit Rosnay, Loire, France (£11.50 from www.thewinesociety.com).
Jancis Robinson says:
“Very pale straw. Rich nose of toast and honey and then masses of acidity and structure and potential. Summer in a bottle. Bravissimo! VGV.” (17/20)
April’s wine is the 2014 Quinta de Soalheiro Alvarinho, Vinho Verde, Portugal (€8,85 from www.fernandoswinehouse.pt).
Decanter magazine says:
“Star buy of 2015. Clean, expressive apricot and peach aromas. Very aromatic and classic with a broad, full, herbal palate and a rounded finish. A solid Alvarinho. Complex pithy orange, honeysuckle, silky peach, savoury lees and nutty nougat; dancing acidity and minerality dominate a long finish.” 95/100
March’s wine is the 2011 Barón de Magaña (£9.28 from www.decantalo.com).
Robert Parker says:
“The wine comes across as a Right Bank Pomerol* from Bordeaux, with an opaque ruby/purple color, lush, sexy plum, black cherry and blackcurrant fruit, a touch of licorice and forest floor. It’s a layered, medium to full-bodied, pure, luscious and heady wine to drink over the next 5-7 years.” 91/100
*In other words: if you close your eyes, you’d think this nine quid Spanish cabernet is from one of Bordeaux’s most prestigious areas!
February’s wine is the 2014 Mas de Cynanque, Althea Blanc, St-Chinian (€13.40 from www.saint-chinian.pro)
Jancis Robinson says:
“This is one of those wines that just stuns you from the moment you put your nose in the glass to the last lingering taste of it. It smells intensely of candied lemon peel and apricots, lilies and beeswax. Coiled with tension, tasting of wild honey and orange blossom, dancing towards you then darting away. Acidity is strung from start to end like an electric current, dangerously alive. I got back home and ordered a case straight away. VVGV” 17.5/20
January’s wine is the 2014 Chateau La Dournie Saint-Chinian (€8,40 from www.jadopteunvin.fr).
*2014 sold out. 2016 available from www.thewinesociety.com.*
Robert Parker says:
“A gorgeous wine any way you look at it, the tiny production (83 cases) sports a vibrant purple color as well as sensational notes of black cherries, plums, lavender and exotic spices. Rich, medium to full-bodied, light on its feet and with a great finish, it will cruise for 7-8 years on its balance, yet is already hard to resist.” 93/100
November’s wine is the 2015 Orvieto Classico Superiore Castagnolo, Barberani (£8.50 from www.thewinesociety.com).
Jancis Robinson says:
“Lemon and cobnuts on the nose with lots of crisp, crunchy white grapefruit on the palate. Taut yet full of flavour and a hint of nuttiness drawing towards the finish. Yuzu lemon on a deep finish. So much packed in here. VVGV at The Wine Society price.” 16.5/20
October’s wine is the 2015 Domaine Lafage Bastide Miraflors (€8.90 from www.weinpalais.de).
Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate says:
“This wine is almost too good to be true. It’s a ripe, sexy, heady beauty that exhibits a deep, purple color as well as killer notes of smoked meats, chocolate, blackberry and black raspberries. Deep, unctuous, open knit and layered, it continues to change in the glass, has a seamless and silky profile, and not a hard edge to be found. It’s a sensational value that needs to be tasted to be believed. Drink it anytime over the coming 2-4 years.” 94/100
September’s wine is the 2013 Philippe Michel Cremant du Jura Chardonnay Brut, France. (£7.99 from www.aldi.co.uk).
Jancis Robinson says:
“Extraordinarily smart packaging for the price. A impressively steady, tiny bead. Smells quite pungent and smoky. Assertive green apples but no aggressive astringency. You can smell the Jura Chardonnay and the whole is a thoroughly satisfying marvel at this price. There’s even a bit of persistence and the finish is clean and dry. No excess of flavour, but in this sort of wine, that’s a compliment. VVGV”
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