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Slideshow
Top 10 wines in the UK press
Craggy Range Te Muna Road Pinot Noir 2012
This “gorgeous, sumptuous” Pinot from Martinborough in New Zealand was recommended by Terry Kirby, writing in The Independent.
“Surprisingly complex and weighty, with black cherry and spice with an earthy edge, but retaining Pinot’s traditional elegance and silky finesse. Roast magret de canard or butterflied leg of lamb will match perfectly.”
Price: £23.60 (or £17.99 each for two bottles), nzhouseofwine.co.uk; £25 (or £20 each for two as part of a purchase of six mixed bottles), Majestic
Sauvignon Gris Rosé Griset IGP Pays d’Oc 2014
Kirby also picked this “unusual rosé” from the Languedoc, made from the Sauvignon Gris grape.
“The palest pink, it has vibrant citrus and grapefruit flavours in place of the normal rosé palette of red fruits and herbs. Wonderful with spicy fish dishes, goat’s cheese salad or tapas.”
Price: £7.50, henningswine.co.uk
Jules Billaud Chablis, France 2013
David Williams, writing for The Guardian, picked three “lovely” bottles of Chablis this week, which he said “may be one of the world’s great wines, but all too often it fails to deliver”.
“It took me a while to really get Chablis”, he said. “I understood that it was supposed to be sharper, more incisive, more seafood-ready than other styles of Chardonnay. But too often that was taken to extremes. They were tart, wincingly so, rather than refreshing, and the flavour was restrained to the point of minimalism. I changed my mind after realizing that 1, I wasn’t drinking the right bottles, and 2, Chablis is as much about the feeling as the taste. It’s not that they lack in flavour, it’s just that the flavour (green apple, lemon, crème fraiche, minerals) is carried by (and seems to reflect off) the swish of glinting, steely acidity. Which is exactly what happens in this delightful pure, unoaked example from Samuel Billaud.”
Price: £16.99, Oddbins
Tesco Finest Premier Cru Chablis , France 2011
Williams listed this “racy but tangy” example from Tesco as his “pick of the bunch” of supermarket Chablis.
He said: “Two producers are behind most of the best supermarket Chablis. The refined premier cru wines of Jean-Marc Brocard are worth seeking out at Asda and M&S, while the well-run local co-operative does an excellent job with the straight Chablis at Morrisons, M&S and Tesco, the cheaper (£9) Petit-Chablis at Sainsbury’s, and, the pick of the bunch, the racy but tangy and slightly nutty Tesco Premier Cru.”
Price: £13.99
Hambledon Classic Cuvée NV
With Wimbledon kicking off this week there can surely be no more appropriate drink than a glass of English fizz?
“Not having been for years, I have no idea what Wimbledon offers at its catering facilities these days, but it should by rights be doing its bit to promote English wine”, said Fiona Beckett writing for The Guardian.
Citing Hambledon’s Classic Cuvée NV as the perfect accompaniment, Beckett said: “For a lighter, fresher, more canapé-nibbling and Wimbledon-watching style, try the crisp Hambledon Classic Cuvée NV from Hampshire. It’s an indication of how seriously English fizz is now being taken that Hambledon’s winemaker, Hervé Jestin, used to be chef de cave for champagne house Duval Leroy.”
She added: “The great thing about English fizz is that, as the vines mature, it’s getting better and better. Most people would already be hard pushed to tell it apart from Champagne, and I’m betting that in five to 10 years many of us will choose it for preference.”
Price: £28.50 Fareham Wine Cellar, or £26.95 from Berry Bros if you buy six or more; 12% abv
2013 Negroamaro, Feudi di San Marzano, Puglia, Italy
Matthew Jukes, writing for the Daily Mail, recommended this “chunky, berry-stuffed” Negroamaro produced by one of the “most professional outfits in the ‘heel’ of Italy”.
“Negroamaro is a power-packed red grape with a velvety texture and feisty liquorice and coffee tones which infiltrate the palate”, he said. “This is a bargain-priced version.”
Price: £7.50, Marks & Spencer
2013 Riesling Kabinett, Riechsgraf von Kesselstatt, Mosel, Germany
“I must draw your attention to this amazing Mosel Riesling”, said Jukes of this next wine.
“Drinking this wine is like going back in a time machine because the flavours are so light, juicy, grapey and feather-light. It reminds me of the genteel Mosels from the 70s with its amazing poise and effortless beauty.”
Press: £9.99, Co-operative
Torres Viña Sol Rosé 2014, Spain
“We have gone mad for rosé over the past decade and especially for the very, very pale pink wines that come from Provence in the south east of France”, said Tom Cannavan writing in The Huffington Post.
“The message has been, the paler the better, some of the lightest rosés being barely more colourful than a typical white wine. This style has had such an impact that now winemakers from all around the world are striving to make their wines in a similarly pale and interesting style. This one bucks the trend however, and is a lovely, fruit filled rosé from the north east of Spain, not far from Barcelona, made by one of the world’s most reliable wine producers, Torres.
“It’s a pink with plenty of colour depth and loads of sweet summer berry fruit, and so offers a nice contrast to the sea of pale, Provence-style rosés crowded onto our wine shelves this summer season. Brimming with flavour and joie de vivre its a lovely way to kick off the summer.”
Price: £6.99, Asda, Booths, Majestic, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose.
Domaine Raffault Chinon Blanc 2014, France
Victoria Moore, writing for The Telegraph, recommended her pick of wines to drink this summer, from “crisp, icy whites for balmy evenings” to “full-bodied reds for the barbecue.”
She described this bottle as a “rare and extremely good white Chinon”.
“Lithe and elegant, this Chenin Blanc from the Loire races through your mouth”, said Moore. “I can’t get enough of its luminous acidity – Riesling and Sauvignon drinkers might like to try it. Utterly mesmerising summer drinking.”
Price: Yapp, £13.50
Cigliuti Langhe Nebbiolo 2013 Italy
Finally, Moore recommended this “spellbinding wine” made from the Barolo grape in Piemonte.
“A fragrance of dried rose petals and sandalwood (from 18 months in Slavonian oak), tannins clipping at your tongue like a fragrant black tea”, she said. “Black truffles or vitello tonnato would work.”
Price: Lea & Sandeman, £16.50