This is an "English Varietal Wine" and was sent for appraisal. It has 11% alc.

I'm afraid the nose is mainly sulphur - sort of wet cardboard. It's lightweight and tart, with a touch of residual sugar on the finish. We were sorting out some stuff in the dining room, and drinking it without concentrating, and it just slipped down, un-noticed, but once you start thinking about it, it really isn't nice.

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mel

I seem to remember that the '09 wasn't too bad.

You gotta feel sorry for those guys trying to produce something drinkable from the lousy Summer we had.

In my garden the cold greenhouse tomatoes were lush (not cooked), but Outside - Nothing was up to usual form, other than the fleshy weeds. The strawberries were rubbish, tons of watery and flavourless raspberries, which would go moldy in 36 hours. Mangetouts were just about ok, early planting, and May was fine. Runner beans after the 1st flush, and later in the season were not succulent nor peppery, end of season, as tough as old boots, the evenings were naff, so the young ones were stalled.

It was cabage growing weather ! - Even the potatoes were a bit weird - growing in fits and starts, cold evenings, and then that deluge of rain to wash all the flavour away. My vine on the wall produced a large crop of tasteless tiny grapes that the wretched pigeons then crapped all over.

The jet stream is out of position The future weather scenario is not very promising for most of ole blighty.

I remember Tribs saying that up there, he was wearing oil skins all Summer

Sorry about this post - You don't need a reminder.

Oh ! Nearly forgot, the Comice de Dordogne pear tree threw a large crop - no frost at blossom time.

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Duncan

Yep, the '09 was lovely. My parents were given a bottle that we shared on their Ruby Anniversary last year.

And I agree with everything Dunc says about last summer. Especially the oil skins.

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tribs

I've tried the Ara Compo '09 MSB from Majestic.

Don't go there even at £5.99. Of course there are a load of naff MSB's out there, and this will be better than some. I believe, that there is a fault from the storage. Weird spritz from being in a stainless steel tank and under pressure from some sort of inert gas to stop oxidation (Well that is my take on it - who knows !)

The Middle palate is a very heavy grapefruit and unfresh pith that has matured within the body of the wine, so heavy that it is out of balance. The flavour has a propensity to tell your taste buds that there is a bitterness there - but it is not bitter per se'
The nose is quite tropical fruits though, and almost convincing.....until.....You get under way. Very strange ?

Pity, I think the wine would'ave been fine 18 months ago. It is a very odd experience to get the spritz first, and then to be followed on by a mature middle palate flavour.

Bottle variance ? Dunno. Some say it is OK for £5.99 - NO - we are looking for quality and value.

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Duncan

The wine is better next day. if you bought (which many folks have done) On opening, tip into a decanter, and stir out the spritz. then the wine, and feel in the mouth, is more in proportion with the maturity of the fruit. Not unacceptable with gooey and sticky goats cheese !

An odd ball ....Is this a Captain Hubble or a Walter Mitty wine

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Duncan