EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN
Anfora Trio 2010 £7.49
Winemaker and winery: Jean Luc Colin Pamukkale
40% Kalecik Karasi 40% Shiraz and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon
Denizli Guney Turkey
Viticulture/Vinification: The vineyards are located on a 750m high plateau with limestone and red clay soils. Grapes are harvested early in the morning and matured during the beginning of September. Maceration takes place in concrete tanks for 2-3 weeks and then malolactic fermentation occurs in stainless steel tanks.
172 stores
14% alc
Dark moody aroma like a French malbec. The alcohol’s a bit warm but the flavours are spicy and interesting.
Red on Black 2011 £8.49
Winemaker and winery: Kostantinos Mitravelas Nemea Korinthias
100% Aghiorghitiko
Nemea Greece
Viticulture/Vinification: Vines are grown on limestone and clay soils at an altitude of 500m and have cool summer nights. The grapes are macerated for 5 days and fermentation is controlled at 24˚C. The wine undergoes malolactic fermentation.
172 stores
13.5% alc
Light red colour. Light cherry nose and a very spicy taste.
Binyamina Merlot 2011 £9.49
Winemaker and winery: Sasson Ben Aharon and Assaf Paz Binyamina
100% Merlot
Golan Heights Upper Galilee and Lower Galilee Israel
Viticulture/Vinification: The name Binyamina comes from the Australian term “bin” denoting wine stocks that were stored in a particular area of the wine cellar. The grapes were matured for a short period in used 2 year old barrels.
172 stores
13% alc
Quite a jammy nose. Oaky spicy warming. Nice. Price is a bit steep.
Cadet de Ka 2008 £8.49
Winemaker and winery: Jean Tannoury Chateau Ka
70% Cabernet Sauvignon 20% Syrah and 10% Merlot
Bekaa Valley Lebanon
Viticulture/Vinification: The vineyards are located at an altitude of 1300m and are a combination of clay loam and limestone. Grapes are harvested by hand early in the morning.
134 stores
14% alc
Quite a brick colour. Some developed cabernet nose. Smooth and nicely ageing. I like this.
Château Ksara Clos St Alphonse 2010 £9.49
Winemaker and winery: James Palgé Château Ksara
40% Syrah 35% Cabernet Franc and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon
Bekaa Valley
Viticulture/Vinification: The vineyards are located at an altitude of 1000m with limestone and clay soils on bedrock. The weather is dry in the Bekaa Valley and the nights are cool. The grapes are harvested destemmed and the wine is vatted for 12-15 days following alcoholic fermentation at 26-30˚C. The wines are drawn-off and then malolactic fermentation takes place. After racking the wine is matured in oak casks for 6 months then blended fined and bottled.
118 stores
13% alc
Rich concentrated blackberry aroma. Lovely taste. Smooth and in fact more cabernet than shiraz in flavour.
Negroamaro Feudi di San Marzano 2011 £6.49
Winemaker and winery: Filippo Baccalaro Feudi di San Marzano
100% Negroamaro
San Marzano Puglia
Viticulture/Vinification: The vineyard is situated at 100m altitude and the soil is mostly composed of clay. Vines have an average age of 20 years. The grapes underwent temperature controlled fermentation over a period of 10 days followed by draining and soft pressing.
314 stores
Lovely spicy aroma. Spicy interesting and the price is great.
Villa Magna Primitivo di Manduria 2010 £9.99
Winemaker and winery: Filippo Baccalaro Feudi di San Marzano
100% Primitivo
Manduria Puglia
Viticulture/Vinification: The soil is clay with a reddish hue due to a strong presence of iron oxides and is composed of calcareous rocks on a clay layer. The grapes are hand-picked then go through temperature controlled maceration followed by fermentation racking and gentle pressing. The wine is aged for 6 months in French and American oak before bottling.
181 stores
14%
Gorgeous smell. Very full-on and rich. High alcohol massive and with liquorice. Good.
RED CHILE
Casa Leona Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 £7.49
Winemaker and winery: Gonzalo Cárcamo Viña La Rosa
100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Cachapoal Valley Peumo
Viticulture/Vinification: Grapes were machine harvested destemmed and crushed. The must was fermented at 27˚C for 7 days and was regularly pumped over. Malolactic fermentation took place. Part of the wine was matured in stainless steel tanks with the remainder in French oak.
688 stores
13.5% alc
Sweet blackcurranty nose. Rather dry and unlovely.
Los Molles Carmenère 2010 £9.99
Winemaker and winery: Felipe Muller Tabali
100% Carmenère
Limari Valley
Viticulture/Vinification: The grapes harvested and undergo a pre-ferment when they reach the cellar for 3 or 4 days. The wine is then fermented in stainless steel tanks with a daily pumping over. The wine is then matured in French oak barrels for 12 months then filtered and bottled.
195 stores
14% alc
Very spicy earthy nose. The alcohol leads. This is dark and not at all fruity.
Lucero Syrah 2010 £15.99
Winemaker: Evelyn Vidal
100% Syrah
Casablanca Valley
Viticulture/Vinification: Vineyards are located in high steep hills with lean soils. Once harvested the grapes go through long cold soaks and native yeast fermentation. After extraction the wine goes straight to barrel where it completes malolactic fermentation. The wine is left to mature in French oak (15% new) for around 14 months.
65 stores
13.5% alc
Heady floral aroma. The palate is hot and hard. Not good.
RED ARGENTINA
Fragoso Merlot 2012 £6.99
Winemaker and winery: Rodolfo “Opi” Sadler Bodegas Santa Ana
100% Merlot
Mendoza
Viticulture/Vinification: Vines have an average age of 17 years are trained vertically and spur pruned during winter. Following harvest the grapes were destemmed and crushed with a 48 hour cold soak. Fermentation took place with selected yeasts in stainless steel tanks between 23 and 25°C lasting 8 to 10 days. This is followed by gentle pressing in a pneumatic press. The wine is then left in stainless steel tanks before bottling.
526 stores
13% alc
Not a great deal of aroma. Spicy and young.
Canale Estate Reserve Merlot 2010 £11.99
Winemaker and winery: Humberto Canale Horacio Bibiloni
100% Merlot
Rio Negro Patagonia
Viticulture/Vinification: Alcoholic fermentation takes place for 20 days with periodic racking. Malolactic fermentation follows then the wine is aged for 12 months in French and American oak followed by 6 months in bottle.
150 stores
14% alc
Showing some age. Very appealing nose. Nice fruit flavours and the oak’s nice but the alcohol is warm. Otherwise it’s very nice.
RED SOUTH AFRICAN
Pinotage 2011 £8.99
Winemaker and winery: Tertius Boschoff Stellenrust Winery
100% Pinotage
Stellenbosch
Viticulture/Vinification: Grapes are crushed and cold soaked for one day then fermented in open tanks with manual punchdown every 2 hours then macerated for a further 3 days. The wine is then left to mature for 12 months in French oak barrels.
181 stores
14% alc
A bit stinky. Hot alcohol and chewy tannin. Stale tasting. Not good.
Land Of Hope Pinot Noir 2011 £15.99
Winemaker and winery: Edouard Labeye and Jacques de Klerk Winery of Good Hope
100% Pinot Noir
Western Cape (Elgin and Stellenbosch)
Viticulture/Vinification: The wine undergoes a natural fermentation in open-top 600L oak barrels using wild yeasts. The wine is matured in French oak barrels for 12 months then bottled without filtering or fining.
156 stores
13.5% alc
Very chocolatey aroma. This bears no relation to pinot noir.
Petit Plaisir 2010 £7.99
Winemaker and winery: Niel Bester Plaisir de Merle Estate
51% Shiraz 39% Cabernet Sauvignon and small amounts of Merlot Petit Verdot and Malbec
Paarl
Viticulture/Vinification: Grapes are hand-picked and then fermented in stainless steel tanks at 24˚C for 9-11 days with daily pump overs followed by maceration for 8 days. Malolactic fermentation followed. The wine was matured in new second and third fill French oak barrels for 12-16 months then blended and bottled.
181 stores
14% alc
Cabernet stalkiness on the nose. The flavour is good. Nice mixture of grapes. Not like an Australian because there’s no rich heavy sweetness but it’s nicely oaky and the right weight. Good.