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Mixed Case of the Month – November 2004
Dehesa de Rubiales ‘Alaia’ Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y Leon 2001: something of a mouthful, but then so is this wine; and how many of you have tried Prieto Picudo as a varietal before? I know that I hadn’t. This is excellent value red, grown on an 180ha estate in Leon, towards Spain’s fertile North West. I had the good fortune to pay it a visit in September of this year. Excellent wine growing conditions if a little on the dry side, but then the vineyard has its own reservoir slap-bang in the middle! Vino de la Tierra is roughly equivalent to the French Vin de Pays and offers some of the most interesting and best value wines in Spain. £6.00 Brown Brothers Victoria Tarrango 2003: a well-established red from the little known Tarrango grape, but then the pioneering Brown Brothers seem to enjoy the challenge thrown down by something a little away from the norm. This is often described as ‘Aussie Beaujolais’ on account of its delicate cherry colour and supple fruit forward style. Some of the blend is produced using Carbonic Maceration - a technique widely used in Beaujolais to extract maximum colour with a minimum of tannin, so you’ll know when you’ve been ‘Tarrangoed’ (groan!) £5.75 Clérac Merlot/Cabernet Vin de Pays d’Oc 2001: ripe and fruity red produced by Bouey Frères, a well-respected and innovative Négociant in Bordeaux. This is a classic ‘Bordeaux Blend’, weighted in favour of Merlot that has a good structure and ripe cherry fruit grown in the warm climate of ‘Oc’ - essentially, the hinterland of the fashionable Languedoc. £3.95 Marktree south east Australia Semillon/Sauvignon/Chardonnay 2002: refreshingly clean, crisp and aromatic, this is a project wine made from fruit sourced in south eastern Australia. On the face of things, this would seem to be an unduly complicated blend, but it does actually work extremely well giving a fresh, lively wine with a decent level of acidity and soft and rounded fruit. £4.75 Señorio de Sarría Navarra Rosado 2003: a delicious offering for summer, this is deceptively deep in colour, fading out to a classic ‘onion skin’ colour at the rim. The Garnacha based Rosados of Navarra have always been regarded as the best in Spain, and I have always rated those from the Sarría estate as the best of those. This is a deliciously fresh and fragrant wine with good weight and ripe fruit. £5.50 Honoré de Berticot Côtes de Duras Sauvignon Blanc 2003: one of the most established favourites on our books from the Côtes de Duras which is essentially an extension of Bordeaux, so it is not surprising that it has an affinity for both Sauvignon and Sémillon. This is a lovely, fresh, zesty example of the former with a delicate, grassy nose with gooseberry and citrus fruits on the palate. £4.75 This mixed case is just £57.50 and comes with detailed tasting notes. We can dispatch this case to anywhere on the UK mainland for £9.95 P & P. Delivery locally (Merseyside) is free.
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