WINNING
REVIEWED BY WES GAME
AUSTRALIA
The Hedonist - Shiraz
HUNGARY
Campanula – Pinot Noir
Waitrose £15
Laithwaites £8
Australia may be the fourth largest exporter of
wine to over 120 countries, but this wine is not a
mass produced one. The McLaren Vale region
is famous for its intensely flavoured Shiraz, but
the cool coastal afternoon breeze helps to keep
this wine soft with ripe tannins. Packed with
dark fruit aromas, there is more than a hint of
redcurrants and cherries. Add a little spice and
chocolate to the mix and you will be glad you
paid a bit extra for this smooth sensual wine.
Thankfully a little more subtle than other Aussie
wines. Certainly pleasurable, hence the name.
Indulge yourself.
Hungary has seen a huge investment,
improvement and expansion of its wine industry
following its communist period. With long warm
summers and short winters, there is plenty of
time for the grapes to ripen in the autumn and
produce outstanding flavours. As you would
expect from a medium light red wine, there are
fresh strawberry and raspberry flavours with
rounded tannins. With aromas of violets and
cherries, this is too easy to drink by itself or
with a light meal. Hungary’s wine reputation
is growing each year. Not the lightest of Pinot
Noir’s but what a bargain!
PORTUGAL
Taylor’s Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) 2009 Port
SPAIN
Vega De La Reina – Verdejo
Majestic £12-15
Majestic £9
Port was created by British merchants in the
18th Century by adding brandy to red wine to
stop its fermentation half way through. This left
some residual sugar and therefore a sweet wine
that could survive long voyages. More than 8o
different grape varieties can be used. This one
has Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca and Touriga
Francesa in its blend. LBV means that the port is
from a specific year and has been aged four-six
in casks. Filtered and ready to drink without
decanting, this port is certainly sweet and spicy
with rich berry aromas. With plenty of dark fruit
flavours it leaves a good warming mellow feeling
inside. Worth upgrading from a Ruby Port or a
simple Reserve. Great value and leaves your
mouth watering.
Situated North West of Madrid, the Rueda wine
region focuses on white wine with red wine only
recently being produced. Verdejo is traditionally
grown here as the evenings are cool (up to 20
degrees less at night) due to the altitude. This
helps to produce highly acidic wines with subtle
flavours and is best drunk young- no problem
with that! Whilst there are hints of citrus flavours,
melon and peach are key to this wine’s appeal.
A little green apple makes this light wine very
enjoyable and easy to drink. Expect to see more
of this grape variety on the shelf, so impress your
friends with this one and pretend you know what
you are talking about. I do.
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