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La Prendina Estate 2008

27 August 2010
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Pinot Grigio Italy Marks & Spencer Mixed case £45 Natural Cork 12.5% This is a wonderfully-crisp, modern, aromatic, dry medium-bodied white wine from the Lombardy region in the North of Italy. The initial bouquet on the nose was of lemon and lime, pear drops and a hint of spiciness. I feel this is a well-knitted, [...]

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Seresin Estate 2005 Riesling – organic and biodynamic from New Zealand

20 August 2010
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Organic. Biodynamic. Sustainable. Buzz words all but do they catch your eye when you’re choosing a wine or a restaurant? I ate recently with representatives of the Sustainable Restaurant Association as they tried to convince me of the viability of sustainability in the restaurant trade. We sampled the food and wine from 3 different central [...]

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2008 Casa Marin ‘Cipreses’ Sauvignon Blanc

9 August 2010
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There we go: Chile – possibly my favourite wine-producing nation in the New World – has gone and done what even New Zealand hasn’t so far managed, and converted me to the wily ways of the Sauvignon Blanc grape. All of my former criticisms of this particular white wine grape have gone out the window [...]

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McGuigan Chardonnay 2009

25 July 2010
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Chardonnay is a very versatile greape. Its ubiquity tells of its comparative simplicity to grow and its unfortunate status as the 1990s wine of choice – favourite beverage of Bridget Jones and favourite name for the firstborn females of WAGs – has left it something of an unfashionable drink in this day and age. For [...]

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Tesco Finest Gavi 2008

10 May 2010
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Retailer: Tesco ABV: 12.5% Closure: Cork Price: Tesco Finest 2 for £10 on offer After watching James Martin on Saturday Kitchen on the BBC on Saturday May 1st and watching Chef Bjorn Van Der Horst cook a dish called Al cremate with a little gem, dandelion and watercress salad served with homemade aioli. They recommended [...]

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Canepa Novisimo Sauvignon Blanc 2009

17 March 2010
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ABV: 13% Closure: Screw Top Serving Temp: 10ºC to 12ºC Price: £9.99 approx Retailer: Naked Wines After unscrewing the bottle I took a ‘sniff’ and was hit in the nose immediately with the smell of pears with a hint of grapefruit. My kind of wine I thought and I was not disappointed. It is a [...]

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35° South Latitude Chardonnay Semillon

18 February 2010
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Producer: San Pedro Retailer: Sainsbury’s Closure: Screw Top ABV: 13% Price: Usually £7.99 but on offer at the moment 3 for £10 The flavours that came through on the first nose to me was of fresh cut melon with vanilla hues. On the first slurp it oozes crisp juicy yet soft in the mouth tropical [...]

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Brewery Hill Chardonnay Viognier 2008

3 February 2010
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Chardonnay is not one of my top 5 favourites of white wine so it was interesting to taste it mixed with Viognier, a wine I know little about. The combination was great, and not too over powering with flavour, even though the alcohol percentage was high for a white wine. I shared this wine with [...]

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Delirium Sauvignon Blanc 2008

9 November 2009
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Colour: Pale yellow, sunshine in a glass! Scents: Green apple, melon and a fresh zesty tang. Taste: Tangy and very broad in scope, the mineral undertones of this wine make it quite intense on the tongue. Apple and lemon aftertaste, quite dry. ABV: 13%

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Te Kauwhata – Quarry Road Estate – Pinot Gris

30 October 2009
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A rare variety in New Zealand – light glittering colour, vanilla bouquet with a firm body, dry and crispy. Other Quarry Road wines include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Merlot/Malbec – of these, some are relatively new plantings which are just reaching full production. The quality can be testified by numerous [...]

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Finca El Picador Sauvignon Blanc 2008

21 August 2009
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Closure: Screwtop ABV: 12.5% Price: £6 Approx The first thought on tasting this wine was “oooh this is really nice” leaving me wanting more and more as it is an excellent very easy to drink Chilean Sauvignon Blanc. It is recommended that this Central Chilean wine is best served well chilled with chicken dishes but [...]

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