Hema Gruner Veltliner 2012

From - Wachau, Austria
Grape - Gruner Veltliner
Alcohol - 13%
Available from - Hema (Holland - yes I do get some 'views' from The Netherlands! sorry, everyone else)
Price - about 6.50euro

Appearance - clear; medium intensity; lemon-green

Nose - Clean; medium intensity; developing; apple, pepper.

Palate - Dry; medium acid; medium intensity; medium+ body;
med+ alcohol; apple and pear, pepper, smoke, a touch of citrus and musky, savouriness.

Quality - good

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

A real surprise.  I bought this several months ago on a trip to Holland and picked it up as I wanted to try the variety.  It is very satisfying and extremely good value, although of course booze is much cheaper in Holland!  the green fruit and pepper is quite obvious on the nose and palate, which makes you think of potential food matches.  There are other, rather subtle flavours afoot.  I've had a stab at naming them but I am not entirely convinced at how I've done.  I am keen to try a higher-end Gruner Veltliner, now, as I understand the features of this wine are typical of the variety.

Autolysis - Champagne

Champagne and Cava makers carry out secondary fermentation in the bottle, adding some extra yeast and sugar, following the primary fermentation in vats.  When the yeast dies, it goes through autolysis, also called 'self-digestion'.  Enzymes from the yeast cells are released, and they break down the cells, and release proteins and polysaccharides into the wine.

Leaving the dead yeast in the wine is called 'Sur Lie ageing' (you may have seen the words Sur Lie on a bottle of Loire Muscadet previously).

This process adds complexity to the drink, such as creamy mouth-feel; bready, toasty, yeasty flavours and reduced astringency.

Sur Lie you can't be serious?  Yes I am being serious, and don't call me Shirley.

Piper-Heidsieck NV Brut

From - Champagne, France
Grape - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
Alcohol - 12%
Available from - Majestic
Price - £30

Appearance - clear; medium intensity; golden

Nose - Clean; medium intensity (maybe even a touch more); apple, lemon

Palate - Medium acid, medium alcohol, medium body, medium length; medium mousse; medium body. Lots of lemon, green fruit (apple), toasty-bready flavours from autolysis.

Quality - Good.  Drink now.

Balance - 9 Length - 7 Intensity - 6 Complexity - 6

This is a really nice wine.  I picked it up cheap (cheaper than shown above) as a bin-end but it is superior to some other NV Champagne that I have tried before.  It is very citrus and appley as one might expect, with the flavours expected from bottle fermentation making it very tasty.  I will post about autolysis separately.

Jojo said it made her think 'apple pie' - which is from the appley quality of the cooler climate Chardonnay, and the bready quality from the yeast.

It did not seem as acidic on the palate as I expected.

The 'balance' score, I assure you, was not contrived.  I contemplated scoring it 'medium+' for length, but I am confident that 'medium' is right.  Medium across the board on the palate makes it pretty balanced, but referring back to one of my early posts, balance isn't everything.

This is probably quite expensive at the full price for one bottle shown on Majestic's website, but I understand it is on fairly regular promotion.  A pleasant and very drinkable bottle of wine.

Chateau Haut Branda 2010

From - Bordeaux, France

Grape - Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon

Alcohol - 13.5%

Purchase from - Waitrose

Price - £9.99 (currently £7.29)

Appearance - Clear; garnet; medium+ intensity; more intense at core.

Nose - Clean; Medium+ intensity, developing, red and black fruit; sweet spice from oak.

Palate - Dry; medium tannin; medium+ alcohol; medium tannin; medium acid; medium length. Red and black fruit, clove, vanilla.

Quality - Good
Balance - 7 Length - 6 Intensity - 6  Complexity - 6

A pleasant and smooth Bordeaux, needing a bit of time to breathe before drinking.  Really good value at seven quid.  It would be a good food wine for those of you of a carnivorous persuasion.

Paul Blanck Gewurztraminer 2012

From - Alsace, France
Grape - Gewurztraminer
Alcohol - 13.5%
Purchase from - Waitrose
Price - £15.49

Appearance - Clear; medium intensity; golden.

Nose - Clean; medium intensity; developing; apple, floral, citrus.

Palate - medium-dry; medium+ acidity; full body; med+ alcohol; medium+ intensity; medium+ length; Pear, violets, tropical fruit, slight spice.

Balance - 8 Length - 7 Intensity - 7 Complexity - 8

This is terrific.  Gewurztraminer gives slightly spicy wines, and this, together with the fact that it has a bit of residual sugar (and so is medium-dry) and lots of fruit flavour, means that it is a great match for a slightly spicy dish.  We had it with mushroom and tofu red curry, and the match worked as well as was hoped.  The quite high alcohol and residual sugar gives it lots of body, and there is a good bit of acid that gives it great balance (and stops it being cloying), and also makes it good as a food-match wine, as acid in wine promotes appetite.  I will definitely buy this again, as it is an excellent example of how spending a bit more can make your wine experience much more satisfying.

Vignale Pinot Grigio 2013

From - Veneto, Italy
Grape - Pinot Grigio
Alcohol - 12%
Purchase from - Waitrose
Price - £5.29

Appearance - Clear; pale; lemon-green

Nose - Clean; medium intensity; apricot and apple/pear.

Palate - Dry; medium+ acidity; medium body; medium alcohol; apricot, pear, lime zest; medium length.

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

This wine delivers impressive value for money.  The length is good and the flavours are interesting.  Just the thing with a summer salad or on its own on a sunny afternoon in the garden.

Laboure-Roi Cote de Beaune-Villages 2012

From - Nuits St Georges, Cote d'Or, Burgundy, France
Grape - Pinot Noir
Alc - 12.5%
Price - £10.99
From - waitrosecellar.com

Appearance - Clear, pale, ruby.  Paler to rim

Nose - Clean; medium+ intensity, developing; red fruit (raspberry, red cherry); sweet spice

Palate - dry; medium+ acidity; low tannin; medium alcohol; medium body; medium intensity; raspberry and spice, earthy.

Conclusions - very good; mid priced (at least); ready to drink, may improve.

Balance - 7 Length - 8 Intensity - 6.5 Complexity - 7

I really like this.  It is more intense on the nose than the palate, and the experience begins as soon as you open it.

The low tannins and lightness of the wine, and higher acid, would make it a versatile wine with food and more likely to be of the palate of someone who doesn't always enjoy reds.  The earthiness is, I understand, very common in red burgundies, and is really very palatable.

This vintage I think is now hard to get hold of, but look out for the next one.

Beronia Rioja Reserva 2009

From - Rioja, Spain
Grape - Tempranillo, Graciano and Mazuelo
Alcohol - 14%
Price - £13.49
From - Waitrose

Appearance - Clear; deep intensity; lighter at rim; ruby to garnet.

Nose - Clean; developing; medium + intensity; red fruit; spice.

Taste - dry; medium acidity; medium tannin; medium+ alcohol; medium+ intensity; medium body.  Red fruit, black fruit, spice incl. cloves, musky

Conclusions - good; higher price; ready to drink, may improve a little.

Balance - 7 Length - 7  Intensity - 8  Complexity - 8

No, this is not my third bottle of the weekend!  To keep the reviews coming, I am posting one I had six weeks ago and noted in my wine diary.

I loved this one, that's why I chose it.  I scored it 9 out of 10.  It was very smooth, I think that the tannin was perhaps higher than I have scored here, but as it has been matured well, and probably because of a high standard of grape selection, the tannins are smoother and therefore less obvious on the palate (to me, anyway).

I really liked the smoothness, complexity, and the flavours.  This is about the same price as Cune Reserva Rioja, and for my money is the better of the two.

Montgras Reserva Sauvignon Blanc 2013

From - San Antonio, Chile
Grape - Sauvignon Blanc
Alc - 13.5%
Price - £9.49
From - Waitrose

Appearance - clear; pale; lemon-green; paler at core compared to rim

Nose - Clean; medium; developed; citrus (grapefruit & lime) apple, grass, mineral, maybe a touch of spice.

palate - dry; medium+ acidity, medium alcohol; medium body; medium intensity+; medium + length; apple, lime, melon, sweet pepper, asparagus.

Conclusions - good, mid-priced, ready to drink, unlikely to improve.

Balance - 6 Length - 8 Intensity - 7 Complexity - 7

You can get some EXCELLENT value for money from Chilean Sauvignon Blanc.  I will probably do a post about the grape in general soon, but this wine in particular is really good value.  Unfortunately, I think this specific one is no longer available for the vintage but no doubt the 2014 one will be out before very long, and unlikely to be too much different, so look out for it.  Sauvignon Blanc rarely improves with age, rather it is inclined to simply become dull with age, and therefore is produced to be drunk sharpish.

Chilean SB tends to really emphasise the grassy element, which I find very pleasant.  Also gooseberry flavours can be at the fore but not in this one as far as I can discern, which has more citrus fruit and melon.  The high acid levels that you get from SB makes it good for an aperitif, but I had this with a salad (rocket and baby-leaf with tomato, green pepper, beetroot) dressed with balsamic dressing.  The acid made a good match for the dressing (standing up to the vinegar, cutting through the oil), the tomatoes (that are acidic) and the green, grassy flavours were complimentary to the dish.

Like (some) other Chilean SBs (not all!) the length is really good for a wine at this price.  As I type, I've not had a glug for about five minutes and I still have citrus and grass flavours in my nose and mouth.  I think that length is a huge part of how much value you are getting from your wine (just as long as the flavours that linger are pleasant!).

The vegetal flavours in this wine are very agreeable and exciting to me, adding to my perception of complexity, making this almost a savoury flavour.  Also, despite the fact that you may not consider the balance to be particularly good, the refreshing nature of the wine makes it very drinkable.  I would imagine that this would be a great match for the reputedly difficult-to-match asparagus (particularly if dressed with balsamic vinegar - that's how I like mine).

I know that Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is all the rage, and for good reason with the face-full of flavour you can get.  However do check out Chile for SB as you might get an absolute bargain, particularly if you like your SB to be more intense than the more restrained types from Loire or Bordeaux.

Bouchard Pere et Fils Beaune du Chateau Premier Cru

From - Burgundy, France
Grape - Chardonnay
Alc - 13.5%
Price - £25.99 (currently £20.99)
From - waitrosecellar.com

Appearance - Clean, medium intensity, lemon.

Nose - Clean; medium+ intensity; developed; lime; herbs and spice, maybe gooseberry?

Palate - dry, medium to medium+ acid; medium+ body; medium intensity.  Apples, limes, mineral, medium+ length.  Silky.

Quality - very good, higher price.

Ready to drink, but can improve.

Balance - 8 Length - 8 Intensity - 6 Complexity - 7

This is an interesting wine.  It is quite high priced but there are subtle characteristics that mean you get a feeling for it being higher quality.

There is a silky-smooth mouth-feel, a good bit of length, and nice minerality (if you like that, not everyone does).  The citrus flavour is the most full-on, so it's important to savour it to consider the other aspects.

A really agreeable point is the fact that the balance is very good, and the experience of drinking it got better and better as the bottle went down, backing up the comments that I made previously about the considered importance of balance.

With a wine with subtle complexity like this, it is important to allow the temperature to raise a little from chilled to lightly chilled, as a very cold serving temperature can inhibit flavour.

I did enjoy this wine very much, but it is expensive.