Sainsbury’s Portuguese Red NV £4.99
60% Baga, 30% Tinta Roriz and 10% Touriga Franca. The grapes are de-stemmed, crushed and then fermented under controlled temperatures in stainless steel tanks at 25°C for about 8 days with pumping over. After malolactic fermentation, the wine is matured in stainless steel tanks for about 6 months before bottling. Residual sugar: 8g/l. Winemaker: Manuel Vieira at Sogrape. Available now, new label, 562 stores, exclusive, screw cap 12.5%
Red fruity nose. Pleasant, fruity, juicy taste and a great price.
Selección de Otoño Bobal 2011 £8.99
100% Bobal from the San Juan village in DO Utiel Requena. The grapes are hand-harvested from 60-80yr old vines. The soils are clay loam with a high content of limestone. The grapes are de-stemmed and crushed then transferred to open top concrete tanks, passing through a paste exchanger to lower the temperature to 10-14°C. Maceration takes place for 24-48hrs without starting the fermentation with one or two daily pumpovers. Selected yeasts are used to start fermentation under controlled temperatures of 22-28°C. The wine is aged in concrete tanks and does not have any oak ageing. It is fined with gelatine and undergoes tangential filtration. Residual sugar: 1.8g/l. Winemaker: Modesto Frances from Valsan 1831 family winemakers.New, available late October, 137 stores, Diam cork 13.5%
Very little aroma. Woody and dry. Nope.
Encanto Roble D.O. Bierzo Mencía 2009 £6.99
100% Mencía from Viños de Arganza, a family-run winery. The grapes are hand-harvested in Bierzo D.O. in the north-west of Spain from vines up to 100yrs old. ‘El Bierzo’ has a specific microclimate with influences from Galicia and the plateau of Castilla y León. It is protected by mountains and therefore from the worst of premature frosts. This wine is aged for a minimum of three months in a combination of American and French oak barrels. Residual sugar: 1.4g/l. Winemaker: José Luís Santín Vázquez. Available now, 135 stores, exclusive, natural cork 13.0%
Not much aroma. Nice palate. It has a bitter kernel flavour and dark, ripe fruit.
Llebre Tinto 2009 £7.99 28% Tempranillo, 21% Merlot, 18% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Garnacha, 11% Cariñena and 10% Syrah, grown on calcareous clay soil. The vines are located in the DO Costers del Segre in the mountains of Sierra de Prades at 750m altitude. The grapes are hand-picked and cool-macerated. The wine is fermented in stainless steel at 24ºC with a short period of skin contact. The wine is aged for 4 months in French oak barrels. Residual sugar: 1g/l. Winemaker: Tomas Cusine from Bodegas Tomas Cusine, founded in 2003 and named Best Winery by the Catalan Sommelier Association. New, available late October, 272 stores, neutrocork 13.5%
Lovely orange label with a pencil drawing of a rabbit. Very appealing aroma. The taste is great as well. There’s fresh, bright, alive acidity d the couple of years’ age has smoothed out the tannins very nicely.
Pasico Old Vine Monastrell Shiraz 2011 £5.99 90% Monastrell and 10% Shiraz from 20-30yr old bush vines grown in the harsh climate of Jumilla. The vineyards are sited on the slopes of the Penarubia Mountain at 700-850m above sea level. The grapes are fermented at low temperatures of 24-25°C with fermentation lasting between 12-15 days. The wine is aged in stainless steel tanks for approximately 6 months and filtered at 0.65 microns prior to bottling. Residual sugar: 3g/l. Winemaker: Bertolme Abellan at Bodegas Juan Gil. New vintage, available now, 235 stores, exclusive, screw cap 14.0%
Young, redcurrant fruit on the nose. A sweet, fruity taste, with liquorice. Good price.
Marquesa de la Cruz Garnacha Syrah Mazuelo, DO Campo de Borja, 2010 £6.99
70% Garnacha, 20% Syrah, 10% Mazuelo. The grapes are picked from 20yr old vines grown on free-draining clay and chalk soils from vineyards around Romeroso, Labarco and Huechaseca situated in the foothills of Mt. Moncayo, Campo de Borja’s highest peak. Fermentation is in stainless steel and epoxy tanks at 26-28°C for 10-15 days. Malolactic fermentation is encouraged and bâtonnage is used to extract maximum flavour and colour. No fining agent is used. Residual sugar: 1.8g/l. Winemaker: Norrel Robertson MW - a Scotsman who the bodegas know as ‘El Escocés Volante’ (The Flying Scotsman). Available now, 329 stores, exclusive, synthetic cork 14.5%
Sweet and fruity nose. Spicy and fruity. The alcohol is firm but balanced. Not bad.
Mas de Victor Graciano, DOCa Rioja 2011 £8.99
100% Graciano from Bodegas Manzanos’ vineyards situated at the top of a plateau at the convergence of the rivers Ega and Ebro, comprising 150ha of vines that are spread across the Rioja countryside, between the towns of Aldeanueva de Ebro, Alfaro, Azagra, and San Adrian. The vines are planted on clay limestone soil at an average altitude of 400m. The average age of the vines is 20-25yrs, with a cluster of some over 50yrs old. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel vats for 18 days and then 50% of the wine is aged for 4 months in French oak and the remaining 50% held in concrete tanks prior to final assemblage. Residual sugar: <1g/l. Winemaker: Borja Ripa at Mas de Victor who have the single largest vineyard holdings of Graciano in Rioja.New, available now, 250 stores, Diam cork 13.5%
Dark fruit on the nose. Oaky, savoury, with nice dark sweet fruit. Good.
Marques de Montino Rioja Joven 2011, DOCa Rioja £6.99
85% Tempranillo and 15% Garnacha (80% machine-harvested, 20% hand-picked) from the Rioja Baja sub-region. The vineyards are located at approximately 400m altitude and the average age of the vines is 20yrs. The soils are well-balanced with similar percentages of clay, silt and sand. 100% of the wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks using selected yeast. The fermentation temperature is 25-27ºC with daily pumping over to extract the colour and aromas. The wine undergoes malolactic fermentation after the alcoholic fermentation. This is a young wine without any oak ageing and it spends 1-2 months in bottle before release. Gelatine is used for fining and the wine is filtered using crossflow filtration. Residual sugar: <2g/l. Winemaker: Rodrigo Espinosa - Agricultural Engineer and oenologist from the University of Chile. New vintage, available now, 484 stores, exclusive, screw cap 13.0%
Pleasant fruity nose. Dark, fruity, liquorice taste. Lasts well. Good price.
Sainsbury’s Rioja Reciente NV £5.49 80% Tempranillo, 15% Mazuelo and Graciano and 5% Garnacha. Fermentation takes places at a temperature of 28-30°C in stainless steel tanks using selected yeasts. The wine is racked in large vats and aged in oak barrels. Residual sugar: <4g/l. Winemaker: Javier Martínez de Salinas y Manso de Zúñiga at Bodegas Olarra. New label, available now, 587 stores, exclusive, natural cork 13.0%
“Reciente” is just a brand name, meaning “recent” but nothing legal. A very attractive aroma. All vanilla and warm oak. Good taste. Just what you expect from Rioja and no worse for being Non Vintage.
Sainsbury’s D.O. Cariñena Gran Reserva 2006 £5.99 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Tempranillo and 10% Garnacha from Bodegas Virgen del Águila in Paniza, Spain. The vineyards are situated at 700m above sea level. After de-stemming and crushing, the grapes ferment in stainless steel tanks at a temperature of 28ºC, with pumping over every day and maceration for 15 days. After malolactic fermentation, the wine is racked and passed to American and French oak barrels where it ages for 24 months. The wine is then bottled and aged in Bodegas Virgen del Águila’s underground cellar for a further three years. Residual sugar: 2g/l. Winemaker: Antonio Serrano.New, available late October, 482 stores, exclusive, natural cork 13.5%
Gorgeous smell. Mmmm. Lovely, nicely evolved fruit. Oaky, chocolatey taste. This is very good indeed for the price. It’s not Rioja, but it would suit Rioja lovers, particularly those on a budget.
Taste the Difference Viñedos Barrihuelo Rioja Crianza 2008 £8.99100% Tempranillo from Elciego right in the heart of the Rioja Alavesa sub-region of Rioja. The vines are grown on very poor, chalky soils with clay and sand. The vines have an average age of 40yrs and are grown using the traditional gobelet system. The grapes are hand-harvested during the second week of October. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel temperaturecontrolled tanks with regular pump overs in order to achieve good aroma, colour and structure. The wine is then put into American and French 225ltr oak barrels where it matures for 14 months with a racking in between. After this the wine is racked to stainless steel tanks where it is lightly fined. Bentonite and gelatine are used for fining and the wine is lightly filtered before bottling. Residual sugar: 2g/l. Winemaker: José-María Ryan at Bodegas Muriel. New vintage, available now, 562 stores, exclusive, Diam cork 13.0%
Very strongly oaky nose. Like newly cut wood, toasting in front of the fire.
The taste is oaky as well. Actually, I prefer the carinena above, which is significantly cheaper.
Taste the Difference Rioja Reserva Cepa Alegro 2007 £9.99 90% Tempranillo from Criadores’ 60yr old Cepa Alegro vineyard, in the very heart of the town of Haro, where some of the finest Rioja wines are produced, and 10% Graciano from 30yr old vines located on a terraced plot with ideal sun orientation. Both varietals are grown on a good balance of clay, limestone and alluvial soils. The grapes are harvested by hand and stored in trays with a capacity of 15kgs to enable the bunches to arrive at the winery in perfect condition. The wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature of 28ºC, using selected yeast for 12 days. After fermentation, the wine is aged in American oak barrels for 12 months and a further 6 months in French oak barrels. Residual sugar: 1.9g/l. Winemaker: Paloma Redondo at the Winery Criadores de Rioja, established in 2000, a familyowned property with four generations’ experience in the production of high quality Rioja wines. Available now, 587 stores, exclusive, Diam cork 12.5%
An equal balance of oak and fruit on the nose. It’s as expected but I prefer the Carinena.
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