Frédéric Mabileau St. Nicolas de Bourgueil Les Rouillères 2015

From - Loire, Fr.
Grape - Cabernet Franc
Alcohol - 12.5%
From - jouwwijnvriend.nl (Marius), The Wine Society - thewinesociety.com
Price - £12.50 or 12.99euro

Appearance - Clear, medium intensity, purple

Nose - Clean, medium+ intensity, red fruit of cherries and raspberries, herbal (leafy). Youthful.

Palate - Dry, medium+ acid, long, medium alcohol, medium body, medium- tannin, medium+ acid.   Red fruit of raspberry, cherry, red plum, redcurrant.

Very good quality.  Drink now.

This is a really classy and beautifully made, organic red wine, and is highly recommended.  It has a stylish and simple label that emphasises the natural and traditional wine growing and making.  This wine, at this price, is a great example of how Marius in the Netherlands and The Wine Society in the UK do excellent wine at a great price. 

Giffords Hall St Edmundsbury 2016

From - Suffolk, England (yes, it's true!)
Grape - Rondo
Alcohol - 10.5%
Available from - giffordshall.co.uk, Suffolk Food Hall.
Price - £13.95

Appearance - Clear, medium- intensity, purple.

Nose - Clean, medium intensity, black fruit (blackcurrant, blackberry, red fruit (plums, redcurrant, charry), floral (violets).  Youthful.

Palate - Dry, medium intensity, medium- alcohol, low tannin, medium body, medium+ length, medium acid.

Drink now, very good quality.

It is great to be able to give a positive review to a wine that has been grown and made right here in Suffolk.

This is a lovely, smooth and fruity red.  Lighter and with lower alcohol, it would be great on a warm day, and would even work well lightly chilled.  It would be a good match for Sunday lunch or Italian dishes.

Giffords Hall is a wonderful place to visit, and I would encourage East Anglian readers in particular to head down there as soon as you can, for a visit (but ring them first!).

Villa Blanche Terret Blanc 2016

From - Languedoc, France
Grape - Terret Blanc
Alcohol - 12%
Available from - Waitrose (selected stores)
Price - £8.49

Appearance - Clear, medium- intensity

Nose - Clean, medium+ intensity, herbal (nettle), green fruit (apple, gooseberry), citrus (lemon), mineral (smoky). Youthful.

Palate - Dry, medium alcohol, high acid,  medium+ length, medium+ intensity medium+body,  medium+ length.  As above, emphasis on the fruit.

Drink now.  Very good quality.

What excites me most about wine is the variety.  And this is something genuinely different.  Waitrose believe that this is the first varietal Terret Blanc widely available in the UK for a very long time.

It has a great nose, surprising complexity and pleasing length.  It is easy on the alcohol, and I think would appeal to drinkers of acidic, aromatic varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc.  I really enjoyed it, and I think it delivers a lot for the price.

Here is the (empty) bottle next to a Chameleons album with which it shares similar artwork!