Cono Sur Reserva Chardonnay 2011 £8.99
100% Chardonnay, 85% of which comes from the El Centinela Estate in Casablanca Valley and 15% from Bío Bío. With its cool nights and foggy mornings, Centinela is by far the coolest area in the Casablanca Valley. The grapes are harvested by hand in April at a yield of 8 tonnes per hectare. Fermentation is temperature-controlled at 13.5°C, with 15% fermented in barrels and the reminder in stainless steel. The wine is aged for 5 months prior to bottling, 15% in new French oak barrels and 85% in stainless steel. It was blended and fined with bentonite before bottling in September 2011. Residual sugar: 5.3g/l. Winemaker: Adolfo Hurtado.
New, available now, 236 stores, exclusive, screw cap 13.5%

Peachy and inviting nose. Pretty good flavour. There's a lot of competition at this level. This one holds its head up.

Jacob’s Creek Cool Harvest Sauvignon Blanc 2011 £8.99
100% Sauvignon Blanc selected from the premium cool-climate vineyards across south eastern Australia. Grapes are harvested in the cool of the night and then delivered immediately to the winery to be destemmed and gently crushed, minimising skin contact. The free run juice is then cool-fermented with specially selected yeast strains. The wine is filtered using SMP/PVPP fining agents. Residual sugar: 11g/l. Winemaker: Rebekah Richardson.
New, available now, 581 stores, screw cap 10.5%

Very little aroma. Fizzy as hell. No.



Evans & Tate Split River Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2011 £9.99
60% Semillon, 27% Sauvignon Blanc, 9% Chenin Blanc, 4% Chardonnay. Grapes are grown in the Margaret River (86%) and Pemberton (14%) regions. The grapes are harvested in the coolest part of the night to capture the freshness in all varieties. The cool grapes are then quickly delivered to the winery and destemmed only (no crushing) before being softly pressed in an airbag press with only the highest quality juice being used to make this wine. The juice is settled for 2-3 days at 10°C before the clear juice is racked off the grape solids and warmed ready for yeast inoculation. A strong, cool fermentation follows and then the wine is clarified to remove the yeast lees before being chilled, stabilised and filtered once prior to an early bottling.
Residual sugar: 0.53g/l. Winemaker: Matthew Byrne at Evans & Tate.
New, available 15th June, 200 stores, exclusive, screw cap 12.5%

Quite a savoury nose. Savoury and not fruity wine. Food wine. Nice with a herbal starter.

Bootstraps Chardonnay, Eden Valley 2010 £9.99
100% Chardonnay from plantings in High Eden which cover terrain up to almost 600m above sea level. The Bootstraps Wine Company was formed in late 2006 by award-winning UK distributor Alliance Wine, building on many years experience of travelling and tasting in Australia. Working in conjunction with leading vineyard owners, Bootstraps draws on sustainable fruit sources and quality winemaking. A small percentage of the wine (approximately 10%) is aged in new French oak barrels for up to 6 months. Residual sugar: 3.3g/l. Winemaker: Peter Leske.
New, available 15th June, 112 stores, exclusive, screw cap 14.5%

Ripe nose. Very sweet and with some texture.

Taste the Difference Hunter Valley Aged Semillon 2006 £9.99
100% Semillon Blanc sourced from the Hunter Valley in New South Wales. Once received at the winery the hand-picked grapes are destemmed, gently crushed and the juice allowed to drain off. After 48hrs settling, the clear juice is racked and inoculated by a natural yeast. The fermentation is slow and cold to retain flavour. One month after fermentation the wine is stabilised and filtered and has no oak treatment to ensure pure fruit expression. The wine is bottle-aged to gain complexity. Residual sugar: <1g/l.
Winemaker: Gareth Stephens at The Mount Pleasant Winery.
Available now, 237 stores, exclusive, screw cap 10.5%

Lovely deep colour. This has an extraordinary aroma. Really nutty and intense. The taste is similar, but somehow toasty, despite being unoaked. Long and savoury. Not for beginners.



Taste the Difference Awatere Riesling 2011 £9.99
100% Riesling from the Awatere Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand. The alluvial soil based vineyards are exposed to high sunshine and wind, cool nights and low rainfall, but produce wines of exceptional elegance. This wine is produced by Yealands Estate, a carbon neutral winery where the philosophy is focused on sustainability and the reduction of environmental impact. The care and attention that goes into protecting the environment is mirrored by the care and attention paid to producing quality wine. The wine is fermented and stored in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks to preserve the freshness. Fined with casein. Residual sugar: 9g/l. Winemaker: Tamra Washington at Yealands Estate.
New vintage, available now, 329 stores, exclusive, screw cap 11.5%

Not a lot on the nose. Just off dry and not Australian in style at all. Rich and sweet. Asian food is the obvious match.

Giesen Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2011 £9.49
100% Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough. The 2011 blend comes from 32 separate parcels spread the length and breadth of Marlborough’s Wairau Valley. The range of vineyards demonstrates a wide variety of soil structures and characteristics, ensuring a multi-dimensional aroma and flavour spectrum. The grapes were picked earlier than usual in 2011 from late March to late April allowing a lower alcohol than usual at 12.5% abv. Each separate parcel is fermented at relatively cool temperatures using selected aromatic yeast strains. The wine is fermented in stainless steel and sees no oak treatment. Residual sugar: 3.4g/l. Winemakers: Andrew Blake, Anna Kingscote and Hamish Kempthorne.
New, available 15th June, 570 stores, exclusive, screw cap 12.5%

Catty, but also tropical, nose. Really, quite like a mango. A hint of spritz on the palate, with long gooseberry/elder flavour. Lasts very well. Good.



Taste the Difference Coolwater Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2011 £8.49
100% Sauvignon Blanc from a variety of sites and terroirs throughout the Wairau Valley. The grapes are machine-harvested with harvest beginning in the last week of March. The wine is cool tank-fermented at 14°C and is followed by minimal lees ageing prior to skimmed milk and light isinglass fining. Residual sugar: 4.1g/l.
Winemaker: John Jackson at Grove Mill - the world’s first carbon neutral winery.
New vintage, available now, 585 stores, exclusive, screw cap 13.0%

This has a very strange painty aroma. The flavour is good. Quite sweet, but also dry on the finish, which is textured.

Taste the Difference Riverblock Single Vineyard
Sauvignon Blanc 2011
£9.99
100% Sauvignon Blanc from a 260ha single vineyard site in the Waihopai Valley of Marlborough. The grapes are machine-harvested from the Waihopai River Vineyard owned by Marisco which spans 3 terraces of ancient riverbeds comprising free drained and stony silt with loam topsoil. The wine undergoes temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The fining agent used is isinglass. Residual sugar: 3g/l. Winemakers: Liam McElhinney and Brent Marris - the company was founded in 2004 and is 100% family-owned and operated by the Marris family. New vintage, available now, 237 stores, exclusive, screw cap 13.0%

Very savoury nose. Savoury rather than fruity flavour. Good.

Brancott Estate Renwick ‘R’ Marlborough
Sauvignon Gris 2010
£12.99
100% Sauvignon Gris sourced from the Renwick vineyard, made up of silt and stone, and the Brancott vineyard which is older with higher proportions of clay. Grapes are harvested from late March to mid-April and are crushed and gently bag pressed. The juice is then fermented slowly at cool temperatures. The wine is filtered using SMP/PVPP fining agents. Residual sugar: 3.8g/l. Winemaker: Nigel Fraser.
New, available 15th June, 200 stores, screw cap 13.0%

Peapoddy nose, with some coconut. Savoury, with a lot of texture. Grown up Brancott. Nice.

Taste the Difference Fairtrade Chenin Blanc 2011 £8.99
100% Chenin Blanc selected from 13yr old vines from the Wellington Region of South Africa. Vines are grown on granite soil in the foothills of the Green Mountain. Fermentation takes place over a 3 week period in stainless steel tanks with no oak ageing. Bentonite is used for fining and then cross flow filtration. This wine is fully Fairtrade accredited. Residual sugar: 2.75g/l. Winemaker: Petrus Bosman.
Available now, 442 stores, exclusive, screw cap 13.5%        

Little aroma. Just off dry. Lasts pretty well, but can't get excited about this.

Springfield Estate Special Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc 2011 £8.99
100% Sauvignon Blanc. This wine originates from 21yr old vines rooted in sand rock formations on a prime site in the estate’s Riverine area. Vinification is carried out with care and with minimal intervention. The grapes are harvested at night and settled without enzymes at -3°C for 2-3 weeks. The wine undergoes an 18 day fermentation with 100 days on primary lees, during which time is it racked only twice under CO2. The wine is stabilised at -3°C and undergoes bentonite fining and only 2.5 micron filtration prior to bottling on the estate.
Residual sugar: 1.3g/l. Winemaker: Abrie Bruwer.
New vintage, available now, 236 stores, screw cap 12.5%

Very upfront catty nose. Bright, catty and sharp.  Good, but very full-on.

Gallo Family Vineyards Moscato 2011 £6.79
76% Moscato, 24% French Colombard. The grapes are grown in specially selected Central Valley vineyards with cool evenings to facilitate the delicate structure required of Moscato. The season had an above average cool and damp spring which lead to fertile growth of the vines and development of the fruit during the summer. The grape canopies were managed to allow just the right amount of sunlight on the fruit. The winemakers have used hand-selected yeast and a cool fermentation process, halting it to allow the natural sugars from the grape to remain in the wine. The wine is fined with bentonite and filtered prior to cold stabilisation and bottling. Residual sugar: 73.3g/l. Winemaker: Cal Dennison, E&J Gallo Winery - established in 1933, it is the largest family-owned winery in the world.
New, available now, 571 stores, screw cap 8.5%

Smells of roses. Sweet and tasting of roses.

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