WHITE CHILE
Tierra y Hombre Sauvignon Blanc 2012 £7.99
Winemaker and winery: Roberto Carrancá, Viña Indomita
100% Sauvignon Blanc
Casablanca valley
Viticulture/Vinification: Grapes are direct pressed. Alcoholic fermentation occurs in stainless steel tanks at 13-17ºC using selected yeasts
310 stores
12.5% alc
Floral and attractive aroma. Nice fresh gooseberry taste. Not like Marlborough but like eating a gooseberry. Lovely.
Casa Leona Chardonnay 2012 £7.49
Winemaker and winery: Gonzalo Cárcamo, Viña La Rosa
100% Chardonnay
Cachapoal Valley, Peumo
Viticulture/Vinification: Grapes are handpicked in the early morning and cold macerated at 8-10°C for 10-12 hours. The must is fermented at controlled temperatures (between 14 and 16°C). After fermentation the wine is racked and then aged on its lees for 6 months.
688 stores
13.50%
Savoury aroma. Not immediately chardonnay. Quite refreshing, or rather it isn’t oily. There’s some texture. It’s OK.
WHITE ARGENTINA
Fragoso Chardonnay 2012 £6.99
Winemaker and winery: Rodolfo “Opi” Sadler, Bodegas Santa Ana
100% Chardonnay
Mendoza, Cuyo
Viticulture/Vinification: Vines are aged from 5-30 years and trained on pergolas. Grapes are harvested, cold soaked for 4-6 hours and fermented at controlled temperatures (between 15˚C and 17˚C) for 15-18 days in stainless steel tanks. No malolactic fermentation occurs and the wine is aged for 3 months in bottle before release.
515 stores
12.50%
Fresh, limey fruit and some vanilla. Am surprised it’s unoaked because there’s a sweetness about the smell that seems oaky. Lovely fresh taste, again with texture. Nice wine and a cracking price.
WHITE CALIFORNIA
Cupcake Chardonnay 2011 £8.99
Winemaker and winery: Adam Richardson, Underdog Wines
100% Chardonnay
Central Coast, California
Viticulture/Vinification: The vineyard is located in Soledad, California where warm days give way to cool nights as the fog rolls in off the Pacific Ocean. The grapes grown slowly and are gently pressed and fermentation is controlled at cool temperatures. Malolactic fermentation occurs and then the wine is left on its lees. The wine is then aged for 9 months in American oak before bottling.
200 stores
13.5% alc
Wonderful aroma. Just the right amount of oak on the nose. Quite sweet, but with fresh tangy acidity. Very nice.
WHITE SOUTH AFRICAN
Old Vine Sauvignon Blanc 2012 £8.99
Winemaker and winery: Anthony de Jager, Fairview
100% Sauvignon Blanc
Swartland
Viticulture/Vinification: The grapes that make this wine come from one of the oldest known Sauvignon Blanc vineyards in South Africa, planted in 1965. They are planted as bush vines, in Swartland, where the climate is fairly continental with cold wet winters and hot dry summers. The grapes are destalked and cold fermented, and then settled in stainless steel tanks. There is no oak use. The wine spent 3 months on lees, before being filtered and bottled.
250 stores
13% alc
Very, very catty nose. Really very green and fresh. Tart and fruity. The label makes it look like a value wine, which is a pity. This, if it were cheaper, could be a handy house wine.
Vergelegen Amphitheatre Sauvignon Blanc 2011 £9.99
Winemaker and winery: André Van Rensburg, Vergelegen
85% Sauvignon Blanc from 2011 and 15% from 2012.
Stellenbosch
Viticulture/Vinification: Vergelegen is a cool climate area, very much influenced by ocean winds. The vineyards range in age from 10-24 years old. The soils are decomposed Stellenbosch granites with a clay base, excellent for water retention in the long, dry summers. The grapes were hand-picked in the early hours of the morning and whole bunch pressed or crushed/destemmed. No skin contact was allowed and the grape juice was settled at 5°C for 72-96 hours with lees stirring every 12 hours. Fermentation took place at 14°C for 14-21 days. After alcoholic fermentation, the wine was left on its lees for 4 months.
200 stores
13.5% alc
A very savoury, non-fruity, sauvignon nose. I’d have this as a ripe Loire, from the aroma. The taste is also much more Loire. This is lovely. Not fruity, not sweet, but pure and clean.
Iona Chardonnay 2011 £14.99
Winemaker and winery: Andrew Gunn, Iona Vineyards
100% Chardonnay
Elgin
Viticulture/Vinification: The grapes were destemmed and then whole bunch pressed. The juice was settled for 24 hours, after which it was racked to barrel. About 90% of the Chardonnay is barrel fermented and 10% fermented in stainless steel. 100% French oak barrels are used, about 25% of which were new oak.
100 stores
14% alc
Quite a deep colour. Oaky nose, butter doesn’t smell heavy and oily. Good, high quality oaked chardonnay. This would be a great wine to have in at Christmas if you’re a Burgundy fan.
Ferricrete Riesling 2012 £11.99
Winemaker and winery: Andries Burger, Paul Cluver
100% Riesling
Elgin
Viticulture/Vinification: Riesling vines are 25 years old and cover 4.64 hectares, equating to 5% of the plantings in the vineyard. The soil type varies and is composed of a ‘ferricrete’ top layer (surficial sand and gravel masses) on decomposed Bokkeveld Shale and/or light clay. Sustainable viticulture is rigorously followed. Grapes are handpicked early in the morning in late February/early March. The grapes are destemmed, crushed, gently pressed, fermented and remain on lees for 2-3 months in stainless steel tanks.
148 stores
10% alc
Sweet, grapey nose. This is a Germanic style. Light, fresh and grapey.