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Reviews

Cape Diversity Sauvignon Blanc 2010

24 August 2011
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It may not be the most inspiring looking bottle in the world, but this South African Sauvignon Blanc has a lot going for it. Although it has the appearance of an ineffectual flowery French or Italian table wine from the 1980s, it’s immediately apparent on opening that this is a great example of a grape whose strength [...]

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La Toledana Gavi Vendemmia 2010

17 August 2011
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I find it hard to drink red wine in this hot and sticky weather we are having at present. I used to drink beer on days like these but I’ve since weened myself off the amber liquid and onto white and rose wines. While its difficult to replace beer as a thirst-quencher (and I still [...]

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Three Cows White 2009

10 August 2011
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Perhaps it’s the sheer scarcity of English wines that makes them seem like a novelty item. I’ve had very little (if any) bad English wine over the years, but I so rarely seek it out; when I try one as fine as the New Forest’s own Three Cows, it does make me wonder why exactly [...]

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Long Meadow Ranch, a Californian Sauvignon Blanc

5 August 2011
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Californian wines just don’t seem to have found their place in the UK market which is a shame because they are not all “red fruit bombs” or “butter bomb” Chardonnays. I was in Brighton recently for a Napa Valley winemakers dinner and the very first wine served to us was a Californian sauvignon blanc. Many [...]

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Maestro Italiano Chardonnay Pinot Grigio 2008

27 July 2011
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Why do I do these things to myself? I could quite happily go through life without ever buying any Italian wine – let alone any Pinot Grigio – and just enjoying my NZ Sauvignon Blanc, Californian Chardonnay and German Riesling in peace. But there’s the constant nagging suspicion that I’m missing out: that I’m just [...]

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Pamona No 11 2007 Pinot Noir Rosé

25 July 2011
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This is so different to the last Pinot Noir Rosé I tried that it’s almost hard to believe it’s the same beast. But I suppose a few hundred miles and a slightly different cultivation/growing/winemaking technique can make all the difference. And the terroir, perhaps, too: this bottle doesn’t give much away to Google, (other than [...]

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Southern Right Sauvignon Blanc 2010

21 July 2011
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I can be a bit of a snob when it comes to wine labels. Generally if a wine label has got a picture of an animal on it I tend to steer clear. “Never judge a book by its cover”, I hear you say, but in my limited experience of tasting and drinking wines that [...]

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Circumstance Cape Coral Mourvèdre 2010

18 July 2011
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I don’t think I’ve ever had a bottle of Mourvèdre before – let alone in rosé form. As far as I was aware, it was almost always a lesser constituent of the Rhône blends like Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Vacqueyras: but apparently it has a life of its own away from Syrah and Grenache, and indeed away from the austere [...]

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Tons de Duorum 2010 – a Portuguese White Blend

11 July 2011
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I don’t usually write reviews about wines I haven’t enjoyed. I prefer to write about wines that I have enjoyed and want to share with my readers, but I had a wine the other day that although not bad was just disappointing in so many ways. The Tons de Duorum White 2010 is a blend [...]

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Villadoria Gavi di Gavi

29 June 2011
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Gavi is one of the many Italian appelations famed for a wine few others make. The constituent Cortese is certainly not a high street or supermarket-recognised grape, nor is it one of any recognised big five, big ten or big twenty, as far as I know. It is, however, relatively well-represented outside of Italy in [...]

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2009 Monte Schiavo Verdicchio

22 June 2011
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For me, by far the most interesting thing about this wine is the bottle. And, as with the wine, I’m in two minds about it – possibly a product (or a tradition) of the region from whence it hails, it’s kind of quirky and interesting and different, but it looks a little funny: awkward perhaps; [...]

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