Escarpment 'The Edge' Pinot Noir 2011 Martinborough, North Island, New Zealand
13.99
100% Pinot Noir from the 24ha Escarpment vineyards on alluvial gravel terraces on the edge of a sloping escarpment on the banks of the Huangarua River. Grapes were hand-harvested February 2011 during an exceptionally warm season which allowed fully ripe fruit to be harvested early. Fermented in open top fermenters using wild yeasts and hand-plunged twice daily. The wine spent between 2 - 3 weeks on the skins. A portion of the final blend was aged in 2nd and 3rd fill French oak barrels. Winemaker Larry McKenna. Suitable for vegetarians. Alc 13.5%, TA 5.1g/l, pH 3.55, RS <1g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 211 branches.

Light on the nose. A much less flamboyant style than Marlborough or C Otago. Quite plain.

Mountford Estate Village Pinot Noir 2008 Waipara Valley, Canterbury, New Zealand
24.99
100% Pinot Noir from a stretch of land in the Waipara Valley dubbed the ‘Golden Mile’. Made under the careful guidance of blind winemaker CP Lin. The estate is not certified but it is managed following biodynamic principles. Grapes hand-harvested mid-late April 2008 into small picking bins clone by clone. Fruit was chilled for 2 nights at 4°C for cold maceration. Destemmed into 1.8tonne open top fermenters without crushing and naturally warmed in fermenters to 12°C over 3 - 4 days. Inoculated with cultured yeast and fermented for 7 - 10 days with 3 hand-plungings per day. Post-ferment maceration for 3 - 5 days, then the free run and press run were separately aged in French oak barrels for 15 months. No fining or filtration so suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Only 650 cases were produced. Alc 14.2%, TA 4.6g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 2 branches.

Very pale colour. Wonderful aroma. Exactly pinot. I could just sit and sniff this all afternoon. The taste is gorgeous too. Soft, almost no tannin and sweetly oaky. The best red of the tasting so far. Perfect.



Mt. Difficulty Pinot Noir 2009 Bannockburn, Central Otago, New Zealand
25.99
100% Pinot Noir, from one of the pioneer estates in Central Otago, founded 1992. Vines are up to 18 years old and planted on a mixture of gravel schist (ex. gold mining) and clay. 2009 saw a cool, wet Summer with a long fine Autumn leading to excellent concentration and good acidity but a 15% reduction in volume. Grapes hand-harvested 1st April to 1st May. Cold maceration for 8 - 9 days, then fermented for 6 days up to 34°C with indigenous yeasts and daily hand-plunging. Post ferment maceration for 6 - 8 days then matured in French oak barrels (one-third new) for 11 months. Winemaker Matt Dicey. Suitable for vegetarians. Alc 14.0%, TA 5.4g/l, pH 3.66. DWWA 2011 Silver and IWC 2011 Bronze Medal Winner. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 142 branches.

Perfectly lovely pinot nose, but the Mountford Village before has spoilt me for all pinots. This one does taste lovely. Really juicy and fruity. Seems more than a year younger than the Mountford. Hasn’t gone very far down the development road, but has everything it needs for the journey.

Brazin Old Vine Zinfandel 2009 Lodi, California
12.99
100% Zinfandel from Lodi vines, located due east of San Francisco where this variety thrives in the Mediterranean climate. The sandy soils force the vine roots to dig deep and Lodi experiences warm days and nights, cooled by Pacific breezes funnelled through the Carquinez Straits. Brazin is made from fruit sourced from older, head-trained Zinfandel vineyards that range from 40 to 100 years of age. This unique combination of climate, soil and old vines fosters small berry size, which in turn, leads to intense colour and bold, complex flavours. Aged for 7 months in small French and American oak barrels. Winemaker Tim Wong. Alc 15.0%, TA 5.9g/l, pH 3.54, RS 1.0g/l. Special Offer: Save 20%, £12.99 - £10.39 from 07/06 to 26/06. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 257 branches.

Very inviting nose. The American oak is lovely and the fruit sweet and heady. Yum. Sweet and gorgeous. Really, very good indeed. Can’t feel the 15% alcohol. Delicious.



First Press Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 Napa Valley, California
17.99
90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Petite Sirah and 2% other red varieties, primarily from the Wooden Valley, a cooler growing region within Napa Valley just east of the town of Yountville: and the Pope Valley, a warmer region in the north-eastern section of the Napa. Fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks with daily pumpovers to enhance flavour and colour extraction from the skins. After completing primary fermentation, the wine was pressed into predominantly French oak for malolactic and a 15 month maturation. Winemaker James Ewart. Alc 14.5%, TA 5.8g/l, pH 3.58, RS 2.0g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 4 branches.

Lovely spicy nose. A very ripe style of cabernet. Quite light in the mouth and with warm alcohol.  Not for me.

Mayu Selected Vineyards Syrah 2009 Elqui Valley, Chile
9.99
100% Syrah. Produced by the multi-award-winning winery Viña Mayu in the Elqui Valley, the northernmost wine region of Chile. Vines are grown on stone and gravel soils in the El Tambo and Quebrada de Talca vineyards at 500m altitude. The Elqui valley is blessed with a perfect climate enjoying more than 300 days of sunshine a year and plenty of water from snow melt in the Andes. Grapes were handpicked, carefully selected and crushed. Cold macerated for 4 days without yeasts followed by 12 days of fermentation with punching down of the cap. Natural malolactic fermentation and about 40% of the wine was aged in oak for 6 months. Winemaker Giorgio Flessati. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Alc 14.0%, TA 4.5g/l, pH 3.7, RS 2.9g/l. Special Offer: Save 20%, £9.99 - £7.99 from 07/06 to 26/06. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 230 branches.

Gorgeously farmyardy nose. This is really inviting. Gorgeous fruit, spicy oak and sweet vanilla on the finish. Lovely.



Errazuriz Don Maximiano Founder's Reserve 2007 Aconcagua Valley, Chile
32.49
82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 6% Syrah. The hand-picked grapes were carefully transported to the winery in 12kg boxes, where they underwent 2 inspections on a sorting table to remove stalks, tendrils, leaves, and defective berries. Must was fermented in small stainless steel vats to maximize contact with the lees. Selected yeasts were used in the process, which occurred at temperatures ranging from 24°- 28°C. 3 pumpovers were carried out daily and maceration lasted from 16 - 28 days, depending on the development of the individual batch. All of the lots were aged for approximately 20 months in new French oak barrels. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Alc 14.5%, TA 6.6g/l, pH 3.49, RS 2.9g/l. DWWA 2011 Silver Medal Winner. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 8 branches.

There are so many different aromas coming off this. Dark cassis, herbal, perhaps eucalyptus and sweetness as well. The taste is the same.  This must be one of the best New World cabernets there is. It really is excellent.



Kaiken Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 Mendoza, Argentina
8.49
96% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Malbec. Just as Kaikens (wild geese, indigenous to Patagonia) fly over Patagonia, criss-crossing the land between Chile and Argentina, so have Montes Wines crossed over the Andes and into Argentina. Grapes for this wine are mainly from the first zone, around Mendoza, predominantly on loam and sandy soils. Grapes were destemmed and crushed, and the must given long skin contact (30 - 40 days) in concrete vats, with initial 5 days cold-soaking at low temperature. Fermented with selected yeasts. Winemaker Aurelio Montes. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Alc 14.5%, TA 3.43g/l, pH 3.82, RS 2.8g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 148 branches.

Not a great deal on the nose. Spicy and dark and seems more malbec than cab.

Thelema Shiraz 2008 Stellenbosch, South Africa
16.99
100% Shiraz from a vineyard nestled on the side of Simonsberg Mountain near Stellenbosch. At 400m above sea level, the 11 year-old vines grow on the north-facing slopes made of hutton decomposed granite. Planted at 3,200vines/ha and cane and cordon pruned. Grapes were hand-harvested after a cool and late vintage, gently squeezed using a pneumatic press. Fermented dry on skins with naturally-occurring yeast in stainless steel tanks. 4 days post-ferment maceration.
100% malo in barrels, then matured for 18 months in 40% new 225 litre French oak, with the remainder in 2nd and 3rd fills. Winemaker Rudi Schultz. Suitable for vegetarians. Alc 14.7%, TA 5.0g/l, pH 3.69, RS 1.6g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 4 branches.

Stinky, farmyardy nose. Oaky, savoury, with a little development. Nice.

Bird in the Hand, Two in the Bush Shiraz 2010 Mt Lofty Ranges, South Australia
10.99
100% Shiraz harvested by hand and machine in March 2010 at a yield of 7t/ha from premium areas of the Mount Lofty ranges, primarily the Adelaide Hills and Clare Valley. The soils in this area are deep, red schist formed from metamorphic rock. The grapes were crushed into small open fermenters. Each fermenter was pumped over twice daily, for a minimum of 7 days at 26 - 28ºC to maximise the flavour and tannin extraction. The wine was matured in a combination of French and American oak for 14 months. Andrew Nugent runs this family-owned winery in the Adelaide Hills, assisted by Kym Milne MW as Director of Winemaking. Suitable for vegetarians. Alc 14.5%, TA 6.26g/l, pH 3.53, RS 1.53g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 150 branches.

Foul label – in both senses. Nicely spicy taste.  Really alive.  Great price.



Moss Wood Amy's Blend 2010 Margaret River, Western Australia
14.99
50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Petit Verdot, 12% Malbec and 5% Merlot harvested mid-April 2010 in a bountiful, high-quality vintage in Margaret River. The fruit was destemmed into a combination of small, open fermenters and large, static fermenters. In the former, extraction was by hand plunging 4 times per day and in the latter, each batch was pumped over 3 times per day. The various different batches spent between 10 and 20 days fermenting on skins. After pressing, each batch was settled in stainless steel tanks before being racked off gross lees and undergoing malolactic fermentation. The final blend was made and then passed to barrel to mature for 12 months. Winemaker Keith Mugford. Suitable for vegetarians. Alc 14.4%, TA 6.2g/l, pH 3.17, RS 0.73g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 224 branches.

Dark and moody cabernet on the nose. Nicely balanced palate. Really very nice indeed.



Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz 2007 Barossa Valley, South Australia
32.99
100% Shiraz from the best fruit of the vintage from Peter Lehmann growers’ Barossa vineyards. Usually no more than a dozen small, old plots are selected each year, the oldest planted in 1885. The berries are small and sparse with crops typically less than 1.5tons/acre. 2007 was a low yield vintage producing solid Barossa reds. The fruit was fermented and macerated on skins for 2 weeks with some partial barrel fermentation. After pressing and clarification the wine was matured in 90% French oak and 10% American oak hogsheads for 18 months prior to bottling and then further matured in the cellars prior to release. Winemaker Andrew Wigan. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Alc 14.5%, TA 7.0g/l, pH 3.53, RS 2.7g/l. Available from Waitrose Wine Direct and 142 branches.

Baked and typical nose. Gorgeous taste. Savoury, herbal, cassis and great balance. Lovely.

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