Made by Highfield Estate from low yielding vines with 10% barrel fermentation.

Rich with redcurrent and savoury oak as opposed to sweet oak.

Complex enough to appeal to Burgundy lovers. Not because it tastes of oaked chardonnay but because it's so rich.

Not for me.

6/10

Mr G, I quite liked the 2007, but not a match for Vavaseur's [spelling] The Reach. Interestingly enough, Majestic also sold out of Vavaseur's 2007 MSB on another label last year. Question - who or where has the Vavaseur 2008 vintage MSB offering gone ?

You will be pleased with me, I went to Majestic on Saturday and picked up the 2008 St Clair Oh Block 6 as well as GK's recommended Montana 2008 basic MSB. Whilst I was there I spoke to Mark, the manager about Didier Dag, and he showed me a bottle of Fume' Blanc with the grey embroidered label a Victoian design - he said he got his one bottle from Harvey Nicks and it was a 2002 and £25 more than the Silex - Mr G, which one was this ? I canrt remember the name. BTW, Mark said that Sales of St Clair had accelerated recently......Was That Your recommendation on here ? I speculate.

Occasionally, I can't resist an offer on Good Stuff...........
I picked up some bargain fine wines with 20% off, of which the 1995 La Rioja Alta 904 Grand Reserva was one, and which Jancis Robinson rather likes. Another of her reccmmendations was The Clos de L'Oratoire du Papes 2001. I will report back, when I try one later this year. Mel, you taste for Jancis, you do.

I have quite a bit of 2005 Cote d'Or which is maturing, so I need some ready and mature wines. Some of these Fine wine bargains are cheaper than they were 5 years ago, and they have been stored well at somebody elses expense.
There are just one of two very minor bonuses from the dire Cr Crunch, overall though, Sir Fred and slippery Tricksters like him, have wrecked my years of saving and my pension valuation, which I have deffered.

Sir Fred Goodman Wanted Dead or Alive

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Duncan

Vavasour also make Dashwood at Oddbins £7.99. This is nearly always the best of the 2nd labels.

Cute looking bottle too.

http://www.oddbins.com/products/product ... ctcode=100

Looks like a gooseberry

Sadly, I have to go to the back of beyond to get to Oddbins and their delivery fee of £7.99 is nuts when Majestic - Waitrose and M&S have done away with their delivery fees.

The Didier wine is Pur Sang..

Did you not try the Jackson Estate 2007 ? .... it's lovely..

Oh and leave some Pioneer Block for me ...you buggers !

Goosegogs ~ Could be worse, D...some folk bought RBS and Lloy ~

...and another thing. I've been banging on about Montana's basic 2008 for weeks. That GK is just a johnny come lately wot drinks Blossom Hill white zinfandel.

Yeah, that's him

Hey, what does GK know You been mentioning the Monty basic MSB,......Yeah, I'd been waiting to line up some buying in one trip.

I would like to try the Jackson, but it was not on the shelf in my Waitrose, and I'm running a little tight for space just at the moment and have boxes on their sides in there already . As others have said, I could easily dig down, as the bare earth is 4 feet below the drafty old floor boards. I could build more racks, the timber slot and metal plate versions. I need to be cool, I'm careful to make sure the hobby does not quite consume me !

I'll be on it, when I see it in Store.

Pur Sang Link:

http://personalwinebuyer.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/1036207x.jpg?w=165&h=402

No ....Not this label Mr G, perhaps the label changes from vintage to vintage ? Not to be confused with the Bugatti Veyron Pur Sang either, although just as Racey, rare and pocket draining .

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Duncan

You pair of buffoons wouldn't know a decent bottle of wine if it danced in front of you with a T-Shirt that read 'I'm a decent bottle of wine''.

Anyway, real men drink red wine.

I do like the T-Finest Marlbr Pinot Noir '06, picked up several bottles lately in the sale. Quite refined, a degree or two less sweet than many NZ Pinot's, dry cherry and cream.

You may not be so 'off-beam' than you think. Sometimes I recon my taste buds are in a time warp. I'd say for certain, I'd have some difficulty judging a boring (as it manifests itself to my palate), yet perfectly reasonable budget wine

A case in point is the Montana basic MSB discounted from £7.99 to £5.99 for a multi buy. I was not over enamoured with this 2008 Montana basic. My main reason for criticism is that Montana appear to have used the same formular / process to make this wine, that they used with the 2007 vintage, yet the crop was completely different.

It appears that they have gone for high extraction, yet there is no lychee or nectarine stone, or mineral or Conference pear to lift the wine, and give it additional dimensions that I want from an apperatif. With light vegetarian food, it was much better, and I quite enjoyed it's (cut the palate quality) with homemade pancake envelopes, stuffed with saute mushrooms, a little mature cheddar and sun dried tomato with fresh spinach as a side vegetable. The wine on its own however, becomes astringent after several glasses, the length was shorter, and was a tad stalky or chalky, and the taste right at the end, the one that can linger on the palate, is that of unripe white grape skins.

On the other hand.

The Curious Cove 2008, discounted from £8.99 down to £6.00 in January, was a much more interesting wine. It was slightly pungent and nettlely, danced on it's feet, lighter, more delicate, less astringent, did have a tiny amount of sweet tropical friut notes (ripe mango and nectarine stone perhaps) and the finish, although short as with other 2008's, was not stalky or pithy or chalky.
Frankly, I recon Curious Cove (Wither Hills is it ?) decided on less extraction, possibly sorting the grapes by hand and by eye, and may have waited an extra 2 weeks before havesting the crop. An altogether better effort, and an attempt to do something different with a less ripe harvest.

Sorry, a long post, but I need to qualify my opinion. I may try The Ned 2008 at only 70p more this month. Depends if I'm passing Majestic.

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Duncan

You make a good point, Dunc. The likes of Montana and Nobilo do make a tart basic. However, this tartness does come with a lot of pungency and it is this pungency that we sauvignon lovers love.

Compared to a million dull Bordeaux, Touraine, Chilean, Australian blah de blah whatever else these tart kiwi's are wonderful even if they don't compare to the great sauvs like Didier Gunpowder Plot and Saint Clair Confession Box 96 . For £6 and pennies they're good value....so long as you don't drink them in polite company of course. I mean you wouldn't want to turn to the person next to you and say...


**** me that's a bit sharp....only to find out that the person next to you is the Queen of England..