Dr Loosen Urzinger Wurtzgarten Kabinett Riesling 2012

Grape - Riesling
From - Mosel, Germany
Alcohol - 8%
Price - £15.99
From - Waitrose, Ocado

Appearance - Clean; medium - intensity; lemon-green

Nose - Clean; medium intensity; developing; pear, grapefruit, a little spice

Palate - Medium-dry; low or medium- alcohol; medium+ acidity; medium body; medium intensity; medium length; apples with pears and citrus.  A little spicy.

Good; mid-to-high price; ready to drink but may improve

Balance - 7  Length - 6 Intensity - 6  Complexity - 6.5

Drinking this wine was a great experience.  It is something different from the normal bottle you would pick up.  German wines are categorised on the amount of sugar remaining in the grapes when harvested, and Kabinett is at the bottom end - that is not to say that a Kabinett cannot be a great wine, as demonstrated here.

The lower alcohol, residual sugar and rather high acid made it unusual, but the sugar provides body that is often provided by the alcohol.

This is quite a pricey wine, but we were not disappointed.  Sadly it disappeared very quickly!  Below is a lovely picture of the vineyard.

Waitrose Partnership Douro 2010

From - Douro Valley, Portugal
Grape - Touriga Nacional, Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo), Touriga Franco
Alcohol - 13.5%
From - Waitrose
Price - £11

Appearance - Clear; medium+ intensity; garnet

Nose - Clean; medium intensity; developing; lots of plums

Palate - Dry; medium+ tannin; medium+ alcohol; medium+ body; medium to medium+ length, medium intensity; Cherries, plum, bramble.

Balance - 8  Length - 6.5  Intensity - 7.5  Complexity - 6.5



We had this with a mushroom roast, veg and gravy.  This was a good match, and brought the blackberry more to the fore.  We drank it slowly over the evening, having decanted first for an hour, and as time went on the black cherry flavour really came through, making it very pleasant to the end.

Waitrose Bright & Fruity Italian Sparkling White

From - Veneto, Italy
Grape - Glera
Alcohol - 11.5%
From - Waitrose
Price - £6.49

Appearance - Clear, pale to water-white; almost colourless

Nose - Clean; medium- intensity; developing; apple

Palate - Dry; medium acid; medium- body; creamy mousse; medium- intensity; medium- length; apple, lemon

Balance - 8  Length - 4  Intensity - 3  Complexity - 3

This is a light and refreshing fizzy white, and is a bargain.  I used it for a tasting and it went down a storm.  It uses the Glera grape, which is the same as is used for Prosecco.  However, this wine is produced just outside the proscribed geographical area for it to carry the Prosecco name.  This, together with it being shop's own brand, means that it is much lower price than it would otherwise be.

Tabali Encantado Reserva Chardonnay 2012

From - Limari, Chile
Grape - Chardonnay
Alcohol - 14% abv
Bought from - Waitrose
Price - £10

Appearance - Clear; pale; gold.  Strong legs from high alcohol

Nose - Clean; medium intensity; developing; apple and pear, tropical fruit, nutmeg

Palate - dry; med acidity; medium+ alcohol at least; medium intensity; medium + body; medium intensity; medium length; apple, lemon, sweet spice.

Balance - 5  Length - 6  Intensity - 6  Complexity - 7

This is a decent bottle of wine and the price is about right.  I prefer the nose to the palate, as for my taste the flavour of alcohol is a little dominant.  For this reason I think there is potential for the wine to develop.

vivino.com app

This is a fun app for wine enthusiasts.  What you do is you capture an image of the label and the app gives you reviews, ratings, prices and (hopefully) where you can buy it.

http://www.vivino.com/

Les Dauphins Cru des Cotes du Rhone Vinsobres 2013

From - Rhone, France
Grape - Grenache, Syrah, Carignan
Alcohol - 14%
Available from - Waitrose
Price - £13.99 although currently £8.99

Appearance - Clear; medium intensity; purple to rim, more ruby to core.  Persistent legs due to higher alcohol.

Nose - Clean, medium intensity, developing, cherries, raspberries, alcohol

Palate - Dry, medium acid, medium tannin, medium+ alcohol, medium+ length; medium+ body, medium intensity; very fruity, strawberry, cherry, blackberry, some spice.

Balance - 7 Length - 7.5 Intensity - 6.5  Complexity - 7

This is a lovely, smooth, very moreish bottle of Rhone red.  Grenache is the dominant grape in the blend, which means it has lots of red fruit, with perhaps a little more alcohol and less tannin than if Syrah was dominant.  The length is very good, smooth and subtle, probably the highlight for me.

This is the type of wine that would work well with stews, we had it on its own to start with and then with a slightly spicy beetroot stew and it seemed to bring the blackberry to the fore.  As it is so smooth and fruity I imagine it being fairly adaptable to food.

I will definitely buy more.  Pass the bottle.....

Heaven on Earth Organic Muscat

From - Stellar Organic Winery, Western Cape, South Africa
Grape - Muscat
Alcohol - 11%
Available from - C1000 (NL); vintageroots.co.uk
Price - 7 Euro; £9.40

Appearance - Clear; Medium+ intensity; amber

Nose - Clean; medium intensity; developed; honey, floral

Palate - Sweet; medium+ acidity; medium alcohol; full body; medium+ intensity; medium+ length; honey, stone fruit; raisin.

Balance - 7  Length - 7  Intensity - 7  Complexity - 6.5

This is absolutely beautiful.  A take-home from a trip to Holland, I am pleased to see it is available from the good folks at Vintage Roots, but at a significantly higher price.  It has a full body due to the sugar, and enough acid to balance the luscious sweetness.  This is gorgeous and if you like your dessert wines, you must try it if you get a chance.

To make this wine sweet, the grapes are dried on straw and rooibos tea.  No doubt the tea contributes significantly to the flavour.