Sainsbury’s Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne NV £4.49
98% Colombard and 2% Ugni Blanc grapes from the heart of Gascony. The harvest takes place during the night or in the early hours of the day in order to preserve the freshness of the grapes. The grapes are fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks (16-18°C).
Residual sugar: 6.5g/l. Winemaker: Cédric Garzuel.
Fruity nose. Nice taste as well. Good little wine for next to nothing.
Taste the Difference Bordeaux Sauvignon Blanc 2011 £8.99
100% Sauvignon Blanc grown in the Blaye area of Bordeaux on limestone and clay soils. Grapes were machine-harvested in the last week of August 2011 from vines that range between 10-15yrs old. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks under controlled temperatures using specially selected yeasts. The wine is fined using bentonite and undergoes tangential filtration.
Residual sugar: 2.5g/l. Winemaker: Elodie Barrau for Les Vignerons de Tutiac.
Not a great deal on the nose. Rather stale palate. Not good.
Taste the Difference Sancerre 2011 £12.79
100% Sauvignon Blanc from flint and chalk vineyards on some of the finest slopes of the celebrated appellation of Sancerre in the Central Loire. A high percentage of the grapes for this exclusive cuvée come from the steep south-facing flint of Florian Mollet’s remarkable ‘Clos du Roc’ vineyard just behind the winery itself. Harvesting by hand with yields held to a maximum 60hl/ha (the permitted yield is 65), Florian adds inert gas to both the press and vats to prevent any oxidation of the juice. The wine is fermented at cool temperatures in stainless steel before remaining on its fine lees until racking in March. Residual sugar: <2g/l.
Winemaker: Florian Mollet.
Restrained, elder and mineral nose. Intense palate, which lasts and lasts.
Taste the Difference Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2011 £8.49
100% Sauvignon Blanc from vines with an average age of 25yrs, which are planted on clay and chalky hills, overlooking the river Cher in the heart of the Touraine region. Pressing and fermentation lasts 8-15 days in temperature-controlled tanks (17-19°C) using dry yeasts. The wine is aged for 6 months on fine lees in stainless steel tanks. The wine is fined with bentonite and filtered with kieselguhr. Residual sugar: 0g/l. Winemaker: Pierre Chainier at Pierre Chainier in Amboise.
Catty nose, which is a little floral. Very catty flavour, which has something nasty on it.
Pouilly Fumé Champalouettes 2011 £11.49
100% Sauvignon Blanc from the chalky slopes of the Central Loire appellation of Pouilly Fumé, based around the village of Pouilly sur Loire. Made by François Poirier, oenologist at the co-operative cellar Les Moulins à Vent, the cuvée includes wine from the Cave’s sand and flint vineyards, with each terroir being vinified separately - the combination of soil types adding both primary aromas and an edge of smoky minerality to the wine. While the majority of the wine is fermented at controlled temperatures in stainless steel, a tiny percentage is fermented and matured in new to 3yr old oak barriques. Residual sugar: <1g/l.
New vintage, available mid May, 329 stores, exclusive, screw cap 12.5%
Very appealing nose. Full-flavoured and pretty intense. Served a little warm and so appeared flabby on the finish.
Taste the Difference Pouilly Fumé 2010 £12.79
100% Sauvignon Blanc made by leading independent vigneron André Figeat on his family’s estate set beside the old Roman road that ran from Paris through to the Mediterranean. André selects the grapes for the Taste the Difference cuvée from his domaine’s flint and chalk vineyards around the Central Loire village of Pouilly-sur-Loire. André works with low yields, just 55hl/ha in 2010 (vs. the permitted 65) and careful vineyard management to ensure full ripeness. At harvest he adds inert gas to both trailer and press to preserve the characteristic aromas of the grape. After picking, André ferments the wine at cool temperatures in stainless steel and then leaves it to mature on its fine lees until racking in the spring. Residual sugar: 2.4g/l.
Quite a sweet and fruity nose. Ripe and fruity palate as well. Nice to drink but no good for the purists. A great wine to serve to your semi-winey friends.
Chablis Premier Cru Sélection, Domaines Brocard 2010 £14.99
100% Chardonnay mechanically harvested during the third week of September in favourable weather conditions. This wine is a blend of selected premier crus from the left bank of the river Serein, predominantly Montmains, Côte de Jouan and Beauregard, on Chablis’ famous kimmeridgian soil. Alcoholic fermentation with natural yeasts takes place between 18 and 22°C. Malolactic fermentation is completed and the wine is left on its fine lees in stainless steel vats for 14 months, adding depth and complexity. Kieselguhr filtration takes place prior to bottling. No oak is used. Residual sugar: <0.5g/l. Winemaker: Odile van der Moere at Domaines Brocard.
New vintage, available now, 536 stores, exclusive, cork 12.5%
Creamy nose. Bright and delicious flavour. Yum, this is gorgeous. Really creamy and tasty, but also juicy and exciting.
Taste the Difference Chablis Premier Cru 2010 £13.99
100% Chardonnay from 15yr old vines. This Chablis is selected from the best single vineyards owned by the famous Union des Viticulteurs de Chablis and blended by their chief winemaker. The juice undergoes cold settling before fermentation. Fermentation is carried out using carefully selected yeasts and both yeast and malolactic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks. The wine is matured on lees in stainless steel tanks for 12 months. The wine then undergoes tangential filtration post lees maturation and finally cartouche and membrane filtration before bottling. Residual sugar: 1.5g/l. Winemaker: Cyril Gros.
New vintage, available mid June, 456 stores, exclusive, cork 13.0%
A hint of lees on the nose. Beautifully rich and leesy palate. This is lovely. Long and correct.
Mâcon-Villages La Côte Blanche 2011, Cave de Lugny £7.99
100% Chardonnay from the villages of Lugny, St. Gengoux and Chardonnay. The vineyards are south or south-east facing, with an average vine age of 35yrs. The soil is a mixture of clay and limestone. The grapes are pressed using a pneumatic press, and fermentation takes place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks at 16-18°C. The wine then remains on its lees in stainless steel tanks for 7 months prior to bottling to add richness and complexity. There is no oak ageing. Bentonite is used to fine the wine and filtration is carried out using the tangential method. Residual sugar: 1g/l.
Winemaker: Gregoir Pissot at Cave de Lugny, the largest co-operative in Burgundy.
New vintage, available mid June, 585 stores, exclusive, screw cap 13.0%
Little aroma. Bright and vibrant. Not bad at all.
Taste the Difference Languedoc White 2011 £8.99
40% Grenache Blanc, 20% Marsanne, 20% Vermentino, 20% Viognier from 20 to 40yr old traditional low yield vines growing on limestone and clay soil in the South of France. The grapes are harvested at full aromatic maturity and each varietal is vinified separately in stainless steel vats and barrel. The wine is aged for 6 months on lees before bottling. Residual sugar: 2g/l. Winemaker: Jean-Claude Mas - the winery was founded in 1892 and is one of the largest family-owned and managed wineries in the Languedoc.
New vintage, available now, 456 stores, exclusive, Diam cork 13.5%
Attractive nose. Sweet and sweaty. It is very tasty but I need more nerve, more acidity, more zing.
Elegant Frog Viognier 2011, IGP d’Oc £8.49
100% Viognier from 11 to 19yr old vines with low yields growing on clay and limestone soil in the South of France. The grapes are harvested partly by hand and partly by machine at night to prevent oxidation. The wine is vinified using 4hr skin contact and a 4 week fermentation under low temperatures. The wine is aged in oak barrels for 3 months. Residual sugar: 1.5g/l. Winemaker: Jean-Claude Mas - the winery was founded in 1892 and is one of the largest family-owned and managed wineries in the Languedoc.
New vintage, available end May, 237 stores, exclusive, screw cap 13.5%
Floral nose. Fat and floral and typical. Pretty rich and peach.
Vouvray La Couronne des Plantagenets 2010 £6.99
100% Chenin Blanc sourced from 8 different growers. The grapes are machine-harvested from vineyards around the old town of Vouvray and Vernou sur Brenne just north of the River Loire. The wine is produced using traditional vinification and only natural yeast strains are used in order to respect the intrinsic character of Chenin Blanc in its traditional home. The wine is fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks, is fined with bentonite and undergoes filtration at 0.65 microns. Residual sugar: 30g/l. Winemaker: Samantha Bailey for Boutinot France.
Available now, 499 stores, exclusive, screw cap 11.5%
A touch of honey on the nose. Definitely medium dry.
This has a lot of savoury flavour and lasts well.