Cripps Wines
Domaine Vigné-Lourac in the Gaillac region of south-west France is owned by Alain Gayrel, a winemaker of great experience and skill, producing wines with New World fruit appeal with a French style of balance and elegance.
Vigné-Lourac Sauvignon Blanc 2005/6, Vin de Pays des Côtes du Tarn
Exemplary crisp Sauvignon aromas of gooseberry currant leaf with refreshing acidity and minerality on the palate, and good length of flavour.
Vigné-Lourac Cabernet-Merlot 2004/5, Vin de Pays des Côtes du Tarn
Ripe blackcurrant and cherry fruit character with spice and vanilla beneath. Supple, well balanced and easy to drink, with ample fruit flavours and notes of spice and cherry stone.
* * *
Barton Les Bateaux Chardonnay-Terret
Slightly gilded light yellow colour. Typical Terret fresh fruits with Chardonnay white flowers, some brioche and woody notes. Mouth well balanced with volume but also a nice acidity which gives length to the taste.
Barton Les Bateaux Merlot
Violet red colour, nose of great aromatic intensity with ripe red fruits and flowers. A very nice balance in the mouth with the supple tannins enhancing the concentration of red fruits. Persistence on the finish.
* * *
Touraine Sauvignon, Domaine Jean-Pierre Baron
2006
A classically styled Loire Sauvignon with grassy aromas and a crisp citrus acidity on the palate balanced by a delicate touch rounded with a clean, dry finish.
Ch des Erles Cuvee Ardois, Fitou 2003
30% Syrah, 40% Grenache and 30% Carignan. The carignan is vinified using carbonic maceration while the syrah and grenache is vinified traditionally. The wine is then aged in oak for 12 months prior to bottling. Deep garnet rich colour with delicious red fruit on the nose. The palate is charming and refined with superb balance. Very fine tannins with spices and red fruits make this a wonderfully elegant Languedoc.
* * *
Two top quality examples of small estate Italian wines, with dedicated owners working under the guidance of oenologist Paolo Caciorgna, one of Italy’s – and the world’s – most skilful winemakers. Fantastic quality at any price.
Soave 2005/6, Tamellini
Superb dry white wine, hinting of peach, quince, citrus and flowers, with succulent fresh fruit depth and length of taste, and underlying spicy minerality. Produced near Verona on a small hillside vineyard with dark volcanic soil from 100% Gargenega vines, the classic vine of Soave, this wine is a revelation.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 2005, Nicodemi
Fresh raspberry, cherry and blanched almond aromas with undertones of lightly coffeeish spice and sweet leather – refined and expressive. Delicious balance, with delicately spicy tannins and long fruit intensity. Montepulciano is the traditional red wine grape of the Abruzzi region east of Rome towards the Adriatic.
* * *
A limited production single-estate wine, grown and crafted with a passion not to be found in the industrial scale of most champagnes that dominate the market.
Champagne Franck Bonville Brut Sélection Blancs de Blancs Grand Cru
A champagne that compares with the top grandes marques (in fact Bonville supply wines to a number of the best-reputed houses for their blends) from 100% grand cru Chardonnay grapes grown on the slopes of Avize, Cramant and Oger, the most highly rated (and expensive) vineyards of Champagne. Lovely buttery pâtisserie aromas, hinting of apple, citrus, hazlenut and may-blossom, with delicious balance, depth and length. Great class. |
