Albariño is currently rather fashionable, particularly when from Rias Baixas in Galicia. It’s a somewhat forgotten, often rainy inland area of North Western Spain. The salty hint to the wine makes it go particularly well with food. From Elena Adell, Campo Viejo’s talented wine maker. Tasting notes: Pale straw colour. Light-bodied. Citrus, apple and floral notes on the nose. Relatively high acidity. Refreshing citrus flavours. Dry. A good Albariño has a hint of saltiness – this one had a pleasant briny note of minerality. Medium crisp finish. Balanced, acidity. Good wine, fairly priced. Wine C ..read more

Britain’s sparkling wine market is still worth £1.5bn and 140m bottles of bubbly are sold here each year. Most of the market is made up of prosecco, which has surged in popularity as a champagne alternative over the last few years. We are by quite some way the greatest consumers of champagne outside France, drinking 3 million more bottles then 2nd place USA and twice as many as third place Japan. We love the stuff Tasting notes: Pale golden colour. Perfectly well balanced. Medium length finish. Complex notes of apple, citrus, white flowers and stone fruit. Has had 4 years cellar ageing ..read more

Britain’s sparkling wine market is still worth £1.5bn and 140m bottles of bubbly are sold here each year. Most of the market is made up of prosecco, which has surged in popularity as a champagne alternative over the last few years.There are occasions, however when only champagne will do. Thankfully we found cause to celebrate and had Bollinger four times in the last year. Tasting notes: Produced by Louis Roederer. Very pale yellow colour. Perfectly well balanced. Medium length finish. Complex notes of pear, brioche, walnuts and cream. Unusually has had some oak ageing. Delicate mousse, v ..read more

Another novelty bottle? No – this is despite it’s £7.50 price tag, pretty serious wine. It’s from the Perrin family – well-respected producers, who produce ‘Miraval’ Rose (reviewed here https://atimeforwine.blog/2020/07/27/miraval-cotes-de-provence-rose) with their celebrity partners Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie. It’s a white Cotes du Rhone wine from one of the world’s largest wine-producing regions and is a blend of the local grapes. When I did a little research I found out that this wine had been recommended in The Wall Street Journal – and also noticed that review after review featured t ..read more

I’m currently comparing M&S ‘Classics’, Tesco ‘Finest’ and Sainsburys ‘Taste the Difference’ wines. This compared well.This family’s winery has produced wine in Bordeaux since 1791. A warming winter red. Tasting notes: Its appearance is deep purple in colour. Red fruit notes on the nose. Medium body. Balanced acidity. Soft tannins. Short finish. Reasonably intense. Ripe red fruits on the palate with some herbal notes, so a little complexity. Wine Colour – Red Price – £9 Where do I get it from? Sainsburys Current Vintage – 2018 Grape – Blend of mostly Syr ..read more

With its ‘Classics’ range M&S set out to produce wines which are the epitome of a grape, blend or region. I like this idea very much. I’m a fan of Austrian wine in general and Grüner Veltliner in particular. I hosted a live zoom wine-tasting recently and none of the participants had tried one before. I think people’s memories of tall thin bottles of German wine like Liebfraumilch, Piesporter Michelsburg & Niersteiner Gutes Domtal had deterred them from trying it and I managed to convert a few people to the grape. Tasting notes: Pale straw colour. Characteristic green apple notes on th ..read more

The first wine of 2021 to be sent back. This was faulty. I think the agglomerate cork had failed, let in oxygen and the wine was becoming vinegar. The failure rate of this closure is less than a natural cork (7% – or approx 1 bottle per case). On returning it to Sainsbury’s, they no longer stock it; I wonder why? Tasting notes: N/A Faulty Region of Origin – Tuscany Wine Colour – White Price – £8 Where do I get it from? Sainsbury’s Current Vintage – 2019 Grape – Vernaccia Country – Italy Verdict – Faulty Food Pairings: n/a ..read more

With its ‘Classics’ range M&S set out to produce wines which are the epitome of a grape, blend or region. This wine is the first in the series that has been merely OK. For another pound, elsewhere you can better Cotes du Rhone. Tasting notes: Its appearance is deep purple in colour. Cherry notes on the nose. Medium length. Medium body. Lacks intensity on the palate, and a mere hint of spice makes for a restrained Cotes du Rhone. Balanced acidity. Short finish. Wine Colour – Red Price – £7 Where do I get it from? Marks & Spencer Current Vintage – 2019 Grape – Blend of (I’m gu ..read more

With its ‘Classics’ range M&S set out to produce wines which are the epitome of a grape, blend or region. I like this idea very much; at wine tastings – especially blind ones – I don’t really want quirky surprises. Is this wine unmistakably Picpoul de Pinet? Almost all Supermarket Picpouls come from the Costieres de Pomerols cooperative – this is a notable exception; from Paul Sapin, a respected French merchant. This was good Picpoul de Pinet. Tasting notes: Pale straw colour. Light-bodied. Initial nose of green apples, citrus… Fresh & refreshing relatively high acidity. Refreshi ..read more

With its ‘Classics’ range M&S set out to produce wines which are the epitome of a grape, blend or region. I like this idea very much; at wine tastings – especially blind ones – I don’t really want quirky surprises. At a blind tasting before lockdown I had several ‘atypical’ wines and got them wrong. However I did get the Californian Chardonnay right! I have travelled the length of the State tasting wine: I really like Californian wines – they are distinctly New World, often oaked, and often have had malolactic fermentation. This wine is unmistakably Californian Chardonnay and at £8 is goo ..read more