I thought I would post my 6 favourite wines....as time stands.

It would be good if lots of you could add your own 6 favs ( and that includes you too Mel ) and we can all go out and try each other's favourite wines and hopefully discover something new.

In no specific order

1- St Veran Les Monts 2004 - M&S - ?7.99

Unoaked, buttery chardonnay with a wonderful long finish that even has a touch of strawberry.

2- Menetou Salon Henri Pelle 2005 - Oddbins - ?8.99

Sauvignon blanc at it's best. Green and nutty and the equal of the very best Sancerres

3- Leasingham Magnus Riesling 2005 - Sainsbury - ?7.49

Classic Aussie riesling. Lime and petrol with a slight spritz

4- Pheasant Gully Gewurztraminer/Riesling - M&S - ?4.99 ( SE Australia )

Far too pale and crsip for an Alsace but the flavours...rose petal and lychee and for 5 quid !!!

5- Jean Paul Mollet ' Les Sables ' Pouilly Fume 2005 - Oddbins - ?11.99

In your face gooseberry and as pungent as the Loire gets

6- Tesco Finest Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc - Tesco - ?7.49

Part oaked and a wine to die for. Blackcurrant leaf and green pepper flavours with a rich smooth finish thanks to the 5% oak aging.

what, no reds?

am off on a train for the day and so will compose my list. am i only allowed 6? what about 6 reds and 6 whites?

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mel

My favourite 6 under ?10.
1. Chain of Ponds Novelle 2003 . Barbera, Grenache and Sangiovese. Medium bodied. Rich, complex red berry flavours, with a spicy touch to finish. Booths ?6.49
2. Les Figuieres 2004, Cotes du Rhone Blanc, Jean-Luc Colombo. 50/50 Marsanne Viognier. Rich, peachy, floral. It knocks my socks off. Oddbins ?9.99 [ but 20% off if part of 6]
3 Chateau Laval, Costieres de Nimes 2004. Syrah, Grenache and Cinsault. Typical big southern French red, smooth tannins. Great value for money. Booths ?3.49
4. Montana Sauvignon Blanc 2006. Classic NZ Sauvignon; I like Wither Hills best, but this is better value for money. All over, anywhere between ?6.99 and ?3.85
5. Chateau Guiot Rose 2005, Costieres de Nimes. Same grapes as the Laval. Summer afternoons in the garden- lots of red fruit flavours, not bone dry. Majestic ?5.99
6. Chateau de Beranger, Coteaux du Languedoc. Picpoul de Pinet. Zippy, light, seafood wine. Booths ?4.99

I very rarely drink red.

If I had to drink wine with steak or roast beef I would probably choose white Burgundy.

But, yes a list of red and white is fine.

Roses too as they seem to be very much in fashion these days and there are some very good ones around

This a toughy, will give this some thought, I think it would be fair to stick to 'under ?10' for this exercise though.

OK, will go with under ?10. Had a CNDP Ch de Beaucastel at Waitrose tasting on Thurs which moved my world, but at ?38 isn't for normal drinking and also is only in two stores, which is quite a relief. I would rather spend ?38 on this than a pair of shoes. Bear in mind they also gave us Mouton Rothschild 2003, which was astonishingly fab, but the Beaucastel was exquisite.

Will work on the top 6 under ?10 over breakfast and get back

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mel

This isn't my all time favourite six, but my favourite of what's out there now and wines I have drunk fairly recently.

WHITES

Ch de Jolys, Jurancon Sec 05 - Waitrose - ?6.99
A very odd wine. Don't give this to beginners. Fantastic acidity. I've been dreaming about this wine.

Ch de Sartre, Pessac Leognan 2002 - Aldi - ?8.99
The last bottle of 2002 I had was a little tired so hopefully they'll be moving on to the 03 soon. Very savoury, oaky Pessac. Tasty, tasty, tasty.

Ermita Veracruz, Verdejo, Rueda 05 - Majesstic - ?7.99
Nice seagull on label. Catty, herby smell. Like a pile of freshly chopped herbs. Searingly refreshing.

Cape Mentelle Semillon/Sauvignon
bit of a cheat, this, but if you buy 3 in Thresher it comes down to 9.99
Actually, the last bottle I had was quite dull. This is a wine I have loved for years. Aroma more Sauvignon than Sem, but nice fat waxiness from the Sem makes it perfect.

Leasingham Magnus Riesling 7.99 ish and 5.33 in thresher (3/2)
Zingy and quite austere. I have a strange relationship with Aus Rieslings because they're not very lovable, which makes me love them. No, can't actually explain it, but this one is the best, in my opinion

Warwick Estate Chardonnay, SAF, Waitrose ??8.99
There are dozens of new world chardonnays which bore the pants off me, but this has something fresh and lovely. Plenty of new oak and ripe fruit.
Chucked this one in, while reading Waitrose price list. Probably could have done better. No doubt will wake up in the night with the obvious 6th wine.

REDS

Lacrima di Morro d'Alba "Rubico" Oddbins ?7/8
Open this one in good time because the smell is beautiful and needs to breath. It smells sweetly of violets. Even people who couldn't care less about wine notice the smell. It's medium bodied and pretty in the mouth, but the smell is intoxicating.

Rioja Reserva, Marques de Concordia 2001 - Majestic - 9.99
Again, a beautiful smell. A very, very good example of Rioja Reserva. To make it perfect, I'd drop a degree of alcohol, but that might just be me.

Matahiwi NZ PN 2004 - Oddbins - ?8.99
Beautiful Pinot smell with some mint. Heady and perfumed. Delicious.

Cape Mentelle Cab/Merlot - again cheating at Thresher brings it to 9.99
So minty and fresh. Again, best opened in plenty of time.

Cuvee Extreme, Languedoc - M & S - 7.99
Dark colour. Very appealing, oaky, savoury, herby, lavender smell. Inviting. Sweet fruit, fine tannins. Herby finish.

Can I drop in a sweetie as well? Of course I can, it's my forum.

Chateau de Jolys Jurancon (same producer as white above) Waitrose - 9.99 for a half.
Fabulous, stunning, astonishingly complex wine. Seems a pity to drink this at the end of a meal when you can't really appreciate it.

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mel

making this list spurred me on to visit Aldi and i bought another bottle of the Pessac-Leognan mentioned above. they're still selling the 2002 and this bottle was still fresh and delicious. it's sold in a colourless bottle and i noticed that a few bottles had darker wine in them.

don't buy dark white wine.

the wine has a very strong aroma. it's quite normal for Semillon to smell of lanolin but this one was almost petrol like. reminded me a little of Hunter Valley sem. oaky but also fresh and fruity in the mouth.

delicious.

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mel

Amazing how tastes change so quickly. I don't even drink most of these wines now.

I still rate the Saint Veran Les Monts as my favourite unoaked chardonnay but it's so close in style and flavour to the basic Chablis at Tesco that I rarely pay the extra £2 for the SV.

The utterly gorgeous Saint Clair Vicar's Choice 2006/07 has replaced the Tesco Finest MB sauv. The Coteaux Du Giennois Domaine Villargeau is a cracking Pouilly Fume style sauv at just over half the price of the Mollet PF.

I have also found a beautifully elegant Sancerre by Millet Et Fils for £9 which repleaces the Henri Pelle ( very Touraine like with no minerality in 2006 ).

I have completely lost my taste for Alsace style wines inc gewurztraminer.

I am even close to giving up Aussie riesling. I find the inexpensive ones too sharp and the good ones just aren't worth the £8 or so you have to pay for them.

The Sancerre Les Ruettes rose @ M&S...Montana's sparkling chardonnay/pinot and Jacob's Creek sparkling chardonnay/pinot rose are also on my new list of favourite wines.

Is there anyone out there who has tried the Vicar's Choice.....you're missing something wonderful if you haven't.

End of ramble

G

Did you try the Henri Pellé Clos du Ratier bottling (at Waitrose)? Definitely a cut above the regular one.. Like most good Sauvignons, it repays ageing for a bit. I recently finished my last 2001.

Yes, the 05 was very good.

Tasted more of Pouilly Fume than Sancerre. It had those classic smokey apple flavours. The basic Henri Pelle MS 05 at Oddbins was more sancerre like.

I am impressed that an unoaked sauv has lasted 6 years without losing it's flavours.

I might try ageing some.

Menetou Salon Morogues, Clos de Ratier 2005 Waitrose 7.99

Not much smell, perhaps some peapod. Very intensely tasty. Very good indeed. Perfect aperitif or starter wine.

Note the date of tasting. Haven't had it recently.

12/10/2006

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mel

I would say that the last bottle of 01 (not a great vintage either) was just starting to go downhill when I drank it last Xmas (I think). The biggest plus of this wine is the aroma, I think, which really develops with some age. I reckon any GOOD Sauvignon should be better after 3 or 4 years than after 1 or 2.