Majestic Old World Reds

RED BURGUNDY

Givry Rouge Antonin Rodet 2009
£13.99 Buy 2 save £4 = £11.99
Warm, composty smell with ripe redcurrant. A lovely taste. Silky smooth, juicy and tasting of ripe redcurrants – not something you often taste. Very good.



Cote de Beaune Jadot 2009
£14.99 Buy 2 save £4 = £12.99
A little warm oak on the nose. A little more grip than the Givry. Again, a lovely juicy fresh flavour.

Santenay Charmes Roger Belland 2010
£19.99 Buy 2 save £6 = £16.99
Gorgeous aroma. Warm, vanilla and compost. Mmm.Very savoury taste. There is oak, which is much more obvious than the two previous wines, but there’s enough fruit to balance. This has the balls and the complexity to stand up to turkey trimmings, if that’s the way you’re leaning.

Gevrey Chambertin Latour 2007
£23.00
New and also toasty oak on the nose. Very juicy and with baked fruit. Lovely.

RED BORDEAUX

Chateau Moulin Eyquem 2002
£9.99 Buy 2 save £6 = £6.99
Certainly showing its age. Brick red and with a very developed, animal nose. A great opportunity to taste claret with some age, if you don’t often get the chance. Don’t buy to lay down, but it is good. Very savoury and developed.

Chateau Griviere 2004
£11.99 Buy 2 save £6 = £8.99
£11.99 Buy 2 save £8 = £7.99 Dec Promo
Beautiful aroma. All vanilla and ageing fruit. Mmm. Very oaky taste. Quite dry and savoury. You’d definitely need food with this. Quite animal in character.

Chateau du Moulin 2001
£11.99 Buy 2 save £4 = £9.99
Brick red. Very deep, rich, dark fruit on the nose, with some mint. Savoury, cedary and a very pleasing claret. Buy this. It does exactly what you want it to and the price is more than fair.



Chateau La Croix La Bastienne 2009
£12.99 Buy 2 save £6 = £9.99
Seems very young after a group of older clarets. Blackcurranty aroma. Grip of tannin and plenty of ripe, dark fruits. Not overly oaky although there is some grip on the finish.

Chateau Senejac 2007
£14.99 Buy 2 save £4 = £12.99
Fragrant vanilla on the nose. Dry, cedary, Haut Medoc with bells on. Good for a « what does Haut Medoc taste like » tasting. However, for enjoyment, the Ch du Moulin is much more lovely.

Clos Sainte-Anne Pomerol 2007
£19.99 Buy 2 save £6 = £16.99
Rich, round, spicy nose. Quite farmyardy. Sweet and lovely taste. This is gorgeous. Fresh and juicy acidity.



Ch Grate-Cap 1999, Pomerol
£19.99
Brick red. Fabulous, fabulous aroma. The taste is good, but if I had to have a go at it, the palate is a tiny little bit dilute. I’d still love to have a case of this.

Reserve de Leoville Barton 2006
£25.00£20.00 Dec Promo
Deep, dark blackcurrant aroma. Full flavoured, rich and punchy. Wish it were cheaper. Savoury, quite oaky finish. Nice.

RED RHONE

Côtes du Rhône 2010, Vidal-Fleury
£9.99£8.74 Buy 2 save 20% = £6.99
Spicy plum nose .Fruity, with some oak. Nice little wine. Good price when reduced.

Lirac Garrigues 2011
£9.99 Buy 2 save 20% = £7.99
Plum crumble aroma with, perhaps, cinnamon. Nice spicy taste. Quite fruity. Very easy drinking and, I imagine, popular with crowds. The label leads with the word Garrigues, so don’t go looking for Lirac in big letters.

Vacqueryras Bastide St Vincent 2010
£16.24 Buy 2 save 20% = £12.99
Plummy nose, with savoury oak. A lot of liquorice on the palate and a huge wack of alcohol. It says 14.5% and feels like 15.5%.


RED SPAIN

Rioja Crianza 2009, Gran Vendema
£9.99 Buy 2 save £8 = £5.99
Light and fresh aroma. Light taste. Light price. Look down the back of the sofa and trade up.

Rioja Reserva 2007, Berberana
£10.99 Buy 2 save £10 = £5.99 Dec Promo
Rich, oaky, sweet aroma. There’s a lot of American oak/popcorn on the palate. If Rioja is your think, this is very Rioja indeed.

Rioja Gran Reserva 2003, Viña Eguía
£12.99 Buy 2 save £10 = £7.99
Just turning to brick red. Interesting aroma of developed fruit, white pepper, and baking. Gentle tannins, sweet vanilla. Nice wine and a very good reduction.



Rioja Reserva 1994, Viña Pomal
£9.99
An orange/brick colour. This is downright old. It has an appealing raisin aroma. Sweet and lovely taste. This is a really interesting wine.. It is starting to fail, but will be good up to Christmas.

Rioja Reserva 1994, Beronia
£11.99
Deep, amber colour. Quite a caramelised nose. Sweet, savoury, quite lovely taste. £11.99 is a fair price for this. Don’t be tempted to buy what appears to be the same sort of wine for £2 less (above). This is a beautiful example.



Rioja Reserva 1994, Marqués de Murrieta
£17.99
Dark amber colour. There’s some mintiness on the nose. Wonder if there’s a dash of cabernet in this. It’s quite stinking, farmyardy and evolved. The taste is gentle and it doesn’t seem to be too old. Nice wine. Since I’m so tight with wine money, I’d go for the Beronia.

Rioja Gran Reserva 1994, Urbina
£14.99
Very tawny colour. Looks like old vintage port. Animal, prune aroma. It has a sweet, raisined and exciting taste. I love it, but its life expectancy is very limited.


RED PORTUGAL

Marco de Pegões 2010, Terras do Sado Tinto
£7.49 Buy 2 save £2 = £6.49
Deep, dark, moody aroma. Dark, sweet and with coffee flavour. The price is fair.

Vinha do Monte 2010, Alentejano Tinto
£8.49 Buy 2 save £3 = £6.99
Not a great deal on the nose. Spicy, with hot alcohol. Not my type.

RED ITALY

Rosso Piceno Conte Saladino 2010
£8.99 Buy 2 save £4 = £6.99
Very little aroma. Baked and quite warm palate.

Barbera D'Alba Porello 2011
£11.99 Buy 2 save £6 = £8.99
Sweet, fruity nose. Nice, easy, fruity, spicy taste.

Morellino di Scansano 2011, Poggioargentiera
£11.99 Buy 2 save £6 = £8.99
Fabulous label. A touch of violet on the nose. It’s rustic, farmyardy and I do like it except there’s just a hint of fizz, which is never acceptable on a red wine. Am taking a picture because the label’s so lovely. The fizz removed its star.

Surani Costarossa 2010, Primitivo di Manduria
£9.99 Buy 2 save £4 = £7.99
Sweet, raisin aroma, with a touch of tropical fruit. The taste is pretty sweet, but it is Zinfandel and so is typical. I rather like this and the price is excellent. Lovely floral aftertaste.



Aglianico Donato D'Angelo 2008
£12.99 Buy 2 save £6 = £9.99
Very green, woody nose. Oaky, green taste. Alcohol is just, but only just, low enough at 14%.

Fonteneruoli Chianti Classico Mazzei 2010
£19.99 Buy 2 save £10 = £14.99
This has a nutty aroma. Maybe they’ve used interesting oak. Very nutty, almost peanutty, taste. Not for me.

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