92
NV Wiston, Cuvée Brut, South Downs
£25, 12%, Corney & Barrow
A cuvée of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay made on the South Downs by Irish winemaker, Dermot Sugrue, this is a complex, toasty, savoury fizz with fine bubbles, lots of yeasty, bready autolysis and a bone dry, tapering finish. A winery that deserves to be every bit as famous as Nyetimber, Camel Valley and Ridgeview.
Available from (as of date of review): Corney & Barrow
Drinking window: 2014-16
90
2013 A l'Envers, Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux
£12, 12.5%, Tesco
Made by David Hohnen, the Aussie who created Cloudy Bay Sauvignon, and British Master of Wine Clem Yates, this is a tangy, smoky, reductive style with notes of struck match, citrus and pink grapefruit. It doesn't taste like a Kiwi Sauvignon, but that's no bad thing. Taut and refreshing, it shows that Hohnen hasn't lost his touch with Sauvignon.
Available from (as of date of review): Tesco
Drinking window: 2014-16
88
2012 Zalze Chenin Blanc Reserve, Coastal Region
£9.99, 13.5%, Sainsbury's
Kleine Zalze deserves to be more famous than it is in South Africa. It consistently turns out a very good range of commercial wines, as well as smaller quantities of top end stuff. This belongs in the latter category and it's a great example of ripe, tropically fruity Cape Chenin. Pineapple and melon notes are balanced by the refreshing acidity that's the variety's calling card and rounded out by subtle oak fermentation.
Available from (as of date of review): Sainsbury's
Drinking window: 2014-16
92
2011 Gandolini, Cabernet Sauvignon, Las 3 Marias, Maipo Andes, Maipo Andes, Maipo Valley
£25, 14%, The Wine Society
This impressive Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the foothills of the Andes rather than the flatter expanses of the Maipo Valley and it shows in the quality and definition of the wine. It's a dense, compact, ageworthy red with rich flavours of plum, cassis and blackberry, sweet, toasty oak, structured tannins and excellent concentration. Built to last, it should develop further complexity over the next five to eight years.
Available from (as of date of review): The Wine Society
Drinking window: 2014-16
95
2012 Mas Amiel, N Vers le Nord, Maury Sec, Languedoc Roussillon
POA, 14%,
I was sent this wine direct from France, so I don't have a UK stockist for it, but it surely won't be long before someone imports it, because it's one of the best red wines I've ever had from the Roussillon region. Made from a combination of Grenace and Syrah, grown on three different soil types, it's a marvel. Deeply coloured, concentrated, yet not over-ripe or pruney in the least (something that's not true of a lot of dry Maury reds) it's mineral and tangy, with a chalky undertone and flavours of balckberry, plum and sweet Asian spices. A remarkable red wine.
Available from (as of date of review):
Drinking window: 2014-16
94
2013 Los Amigos, Rogue Vine, Grand Itata, Itata Valley
POA, 13.2%,
Made with a combination of old vine Cinsault and País, grown in the southerly Itata Valley, this is one of the most exciting Chilean reds I've had in years. Perfumed, spicy and full of personality, it's fresh and minerally with subtle raspberry and red cherry fruit, understated (non existent?) oak influence and vibrant, cool climate vivacity. Like a Pinot Noir crossed with a northern Rhône Syrah, but with an ancient Chilean personality that is all its own.
Available from (as of date of review):
Drinking window: 2014-16
94
2011 Los Amigos, Rogue Vine, Super Itata, Itata Valley
POA, 13.1%,
If its name is anything to go by, this is the top of the range red from Leonardo Erazo's Itata operation. It's a typicaly harmonious blend of Syrah, Malbec and Carignan, made in homeopathic quantities. Light, fresh and focused, it's another outstanding red with savoury tannins, tangy acidity and a beguiling combination of flavours: clove, pepper, plum, black cherry and graphite. Complex winemaking of a high order.
Available from (as of date of review):
Drinking window: 2014-16
94
NV Henriot Rosé, Champagne
£46, 12%, Harvey Nichols, Fortnum & Mason, Oddbins, Soho Wine Supply, Planet of the Grapes, Taste Fine Wines, Roberts & Speight, Ann et Vin, www.vintagemarque.com
A rosé that deserves to be just as famous as Laurent Perrier's, this is a blend of mostly Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims and Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs with a little Pinot Meunier. The high percentage of reserve wines (25%) gives the wine added depth and complexity. It's a complex, red fruit-dominated rosé with a hint of blackcurrant leaf, a balsamic undertone, fine bubbles and refeshing acidity. A really good food rosé.
Available from (as of date of review): Harvey Nichols, Fortnum & Mason, Oddbins, Soho Wine Supply, Planet of the Grapes, Taste Fine Wines, Roberts & Speight, Ann et Vin, www.vintagemarque.com
Drinking window: 2014-16
93
2011 Cloudy Bay Te Koko Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough
£29.50, 13.5%,
Te Koko is made in much smaller quantities than Cloudy Bay's regular Sauvignon Blanc, and it's a much more interesting wine, benefiting from wild yeast fermentation in French oak. Some people find the funky flavours a little challenging, but I love them. This is smoky and complex, with yeasty, doughy aromas, pithy grapefruit-like acidity, a touch of wax and gunflint and long, lingering finish. A wine that wouldn't look out of place in Pessac-Léognan.
Available from (as of date of review):
Drinking window: 2014-16
93
2010 Los Amigos, Rogue Vine, El Insolente Single Vineyard, Itata Valley
POA, 12.8%,
Like the 2008 vintage of El Inosolente, this is made entirely from bush vine Carignan grown in the Itata Valley. If anything, it's a step up in quality, which is saying a good deal. Deeply coloured and concentrated, yet not heavy or ponderous in any way, this is a wine that's all about fruit and balance rather than oak and extraction. Perfumed, savoury and refreshing, with bramble and balckberry fruit, firm but harmonious tannins and a long, refreshing finish.
Available from (as of date of review):
Drinking window: 2014-16