Waitrose Christmas '06 Wine Selection

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Waitrose Christmas '06 Wine Selection

From: Mark
Category: Wine
Date: 18/11/2006
Time: 09:39:38

Comments

I love Waitrose. If there was a 'main' supermarket in Heaven...it would be this. Their wines are a true revelation. The buying team are demi-gods. How can you squeeze so much excellent wine from £4.99 to £49.99 into so few shelves? It was a real problem limiting my selection to those I have recommended below. It easily could have been twice, if not three times as long. Only Majestic (out of the general wine retail establishment) comes close. Worth a special trip to the nearest one...even if it is 40 miles away.

WHITE

Jackson Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2005, New Zealand £9.99
The world (well Kiwi Sauvignon) has come along way since the appearance of Cloudy Bay. Many of the leading winemakers have done there best to catch up with the cult winery. Jackson Estate, I believe, is one of them. Consistently fine, elegant, mineral and typical. Knocks Sancerre into a cocked-hat.

Chapel Down Flint Dry NV Kent, England £6.99
Do you want a English Chablis or a Kent Sancerre? Then this might be the answer. But very English in its own right but sharing the qualities of the steeliness of Chablis and the gun-flint mineral of Sancerre. Add to this a lovely English hedgerow, replete with nettles scent and hawthorn blossom taste then you have a wine made for fish or pork or turkey.

Ken Forrester Wines Chenin Blanc 2005 Helderberg, Stellenbosch, South Africa £6.99
A legend. Ken's wines have done as much as any to re-write the history-books of South African wine. Ken is a real Chenin Blanc expert (or Steen as it is called on the Cape). This is his entry-level one...but what an impression it makes! Oodles of sweet vanillin's from the oak, quince, honey, a touch of peach. A very rich and sumptuous wine with a long waxy finish. A show stopper for the price.

Wolf Blass President's Selection Chardonnay, South Australia, 2005 £10.00
Wolf Blass (part of Beringer Blass) is one of our larger 'players'. Nevertheless their commitment to quality is no less inspirational than some of the artisan producers I have listed. This is the quintessential Aussie chardonnay...but of the best kind. Restrained floral nose with rich figgy, melon, buttered toast and med/high-char oak palate. Silky finish of persistent length. All truly well judged and not overdone (for a Aussie chardonnay that is!). Classy stuff.

Wente Chardonnay 2003 Livermore Valley, California, USA £6.99
The best value, best quality Californian chardonnay in the shops today. This is somewhere between a rich OTT Cali wine and a Village-level Burgundy. Crisp, precise fruit, part-oak aging to balance and fill the palate out to bolster the ripe yellow fruit. A best budget buy if I ever saw one...and a must if you like Chardonnay and do not want to disappoint guests. A deliciously elegant and crisp version of Californian Chardonnay.

Cune Monopole Rioja Blanco 2004 Spain Bottle: £5.99
I love this wine. Good, white Rioja is back in vogue. Rich yellow melon, yellow plum, plantain and hazelnuts, creamy, oaky vanillin's, lancing acidity and fantastic length. I don't think I need to say more. Go out and buy it. The best sub £6 oaked white 'ere.

Verdicchio Casal Dei Cavalieri 2005, Marche, Italy £7.99
A antidote to the previous four oaky whites. Try this. Unusual and thoroughly classic. This is a top-class Verdicchio (they usually come in a ridiculous, but traditional amphora-shaped bottles). Replace 1er cru Chablis with this wine. It has a pale straw colour with greenish highlights and a delicate fragrant nose. The palate is very dry and round, with a typically citrus rind and almond kernel aftertaste.

Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2005 £10
What can I say about this wine. Made by Brent Marris probably one of the top 5 Kiwi winemakers around today. He was the genius behind Oyster Bay (and 'The Ned'). Typical Marlborough Sauvignon with piercing gooseberry, bell pepper and tropical passion fruits. 5% of the wine is fermented in barrel to add complexity.

A few late additions - just squeezed in prior to Christmas - but these are soooo good I could not leave them out:

Louis Jadot Meursault 2004, Burgundy £14.99 down from £19.99 - one of the biggest styles of Burgudy from a tip-top producer. Classic - but for afficionados only. Needs more time.

W - Pouilly-Fuisse Bouchard Aine et Fils 2005 £7.99 down from £11.99 - concentrated lemon and stoney yellow plum fruit. Classic minerality allied to a touch of smokiness dense lime fruit, stony smokiness

Ned Waihopai Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc 2005 £6.99 down from £9.99 - made by Brent Marris of Oyster Bay and Wither Hills Fame. Another zesty, herby, smoky incarnation from the master of Sauvignon.

Fiano di Avellino 2004/05 Feudi di San Gregorio, Campania, Italy £9.49 - Fiano is one of Italy's oldest grape varieties and was highly praised by Latin writers. The Roman soldiers often remarked that the fruit was so rich that it was difficult to keep the bees away. Thus, the grape became known as apiano meaning "loved by bees," from the Latin apis or "bee." Over this centuries, the name was transformed from apiano to affiano and finally fiano. This wine is capable of great aging even though it can be consumed with realise in its youth. Rich, peachy, waxy, nashy pear, honeysuckle, powerful, aromatic, stunning. From a real go-ahead estate.

Rully 1er Cru 2004/05 Drouhin, Burgundy, France £9.99 - I love this producer. Quality, quality, quality. Crisp, ripe, toasty, buttery....rich with great length and character. An excellent and extremely well priced example of a top-notch Chardonnay. Worth a few pounds more, at least!

Chateau Tour Léognan 2004, Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux, France £9.99 -A fantastic value and top class white Graves from Chateau Carbonnieux. This classic white Graves is steely, mineral, smoky, rich and totally classic. Complex and ageworthy. For this price it outshines ALL comers. Waitrose have indeed stolen the march on the competition by getting this wine listed. Usually found in much more specialist operations. Well done.

RED

Tsantali Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 Halkidiki, Greece £6.99
This wine just goes to show the potential for el Greco. The climate is similar to Sicily or Sardinia or the hot south of the Italian mainland....and has just as much potential. This is from north-east coastal Greece and shows what a great little, classy wine you can get for £6.99...and organic to boot. It has all the cassis ripeness you need but with a medium body, oaky length to it. Get your guests guessing. They won't be able to place it. The nearest wine (I have recommended) to the place where wine was first made (Georgia). So in a way it is the newest old wine in the world!

Feiler Artinger Blaufränkisch 2004 Burgenland, Austria £7.99
More unusual is this Austrian red. This is made from the indigenous Blaufränkisch grape. Let that not put you off. This is a fantastic antidote to the ubiquitous flavours of Cabernet or Shiraz. Spicy, black hedgerow fruits with brighter red currant and red cherry. It comes in somewhere between a Cahors and a Beaujolais. Unusually this bottle is sealed with a glass stopper rather than a cork.

Château d'Aiguilhe Seigneurs d'Aiguilhe 2004, Côtes de Castillon, Bordeaux, France £7.99
The second wine of this fashionable Chateau (the first wine costs around twice as much). This gives you a fantastic opportunity to get a feel for the classic and classy flavours of good Bordeaux - black-cherry and cigar-box aromas wrapped in a rather chunky, juicy, sometimes earthy cloak. Great length to the palate. If you like this wine then wy don't you try the stunning bigger brother - the estate's 1st wine - Château d'Aiguilhe 2001 Côtes de Castillon, Bordeaux, France at £18.95. This is a trophy winner....no doubting it.

Clos de los Siete 2004 Mendoza, Argentina £10.98
Made under the direction of the second most influential wine 'personage' in the world, Michel Rolland (the first being Robert Parker). Michel consults across the globe but his home is crafting cult wines at scores of Bordeaux estates. With Merlot he is king but he can also weave his magic with another traditional South-West French grape variety, Malbec. This wine is of course from Argentina - a place where Malbec (like it does in Cahors, SW France) excels. Under his expert guidance he has crafted a stupendous wine. Cassis, fruits of the forest, ripe fig and Swedish liquorice balanced against an overt but finely-grained expert use of French oak. It has excellent weight and structure. Is this Argentina's best wine?

Cape Mentelle 'Trinders Vineyard' Cabernet / Merlot 2003 Margaret River, W Australia £11.99
From the same stable as Cloudy Bay (the cult Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc) this wine is from Western Australia. This area, in my humble opinion is capable of produce some of the great Cabernets (indeed Shirazes and Rieslings) of the world. An ideal maritime climate tempers the heat of the interior of the continent at the point is washed by the Indian and Southern Oceans. The quality to come form producers such a Cape Mentelle (as Vasse Felix) are testament to the potential unfolding in the Margaret River area. This area is doing to Bordeaux blends what New Zealand did for Sauvignon Blanc (although arguable they have gone on to be accomplished at other things aswell). This wine is an excellent example of what the are can produce: a kind of new-world old-old world bridge. Claret-style elegance and finesse with a new world energy.

Henschke Henry's Seven 2004 Barossa, S Australia £14.99
Made by a husband and wife team (Stephen and Pru) who make the greatest single varietal, single vineyard red wine in Australia: Hill of Grace Shiraz (think £120+ a bottle). They have been making a range of superlative wines for years, across the whole premium and super-premium price range. This wine is their superb interpretation of the northern Rhone's famous Cote Rotie (or Roasted Slope). A blend of Shiraz, Grenache, Mourvèdre and a splash of co-fermented white Viognier. Class in a screwcap. Turn up with a bottle of this to someone's Christmas dinner and if they are worth their salts then they will know what good taste you have! If you like Henschke wines as much as I do (they are my favourite estate in Australia) and agree that all their wines are world class then try this one aswell Henschke Keyneton Estate Shiraz / Cabernet Sauvignon / Merlot 2002 Barossa Valley, S Australia £17.57

Brampton Shiraz 2004, South Africa £8.99
If stretching to £15 makes your eyes water then you could do a lot worse than try this monster wine from the class South African winery Rustenberg. Similar to the wine above (minus the Grenache) this has a splash of Viognier in it that gives extra aroma and freshens up the dark chocolate, mulberry, leather and mace flavours that are caged behind some chunky tannins. If you like your wines big but well made then this is one for you.

Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2002 Carbonaia, Toscana, Italy £9.99
If your tastes run to something more refined, reserved....maybe elegant then take a look at this wine. Made from a tradition clone of the Sangiovese grape (the grape that makes Chianti) this noble Tuscan is a class act in its own right. Full-bodied but restrained, with quite a bit of oak, but its is well judged. That gives more backbone (and some toasty, smoky undertones) to the red, stone-fruited flavours of the wine. A powerful full bodied fine wine that's similar to a Chianti Classico. I think that this is one of the most balanced, elegant wines in my recommendations (aside from the Mas La Plana). No rough edges at all.

Louis Jadot Combe aux Jacques 2005 £6.98
I love the lip-smacking raspberry and banana fruit of a good Beaujolais. At its best it is like a pretty girl frowning. This is from the super-ripe 2005 vintage so it demonstrates very deep colour, great depth and richness but with an amazing purity of raspberry fruit. A wonderful example from a top Burgundian negociant.

Mas La Plana, Miguel Torres 2001 Catalonia, Spain £19.99
If you felt like really, really spoiling yourself this year or forsaking a bottle of Champagne or Port then please, please try this wine. A bit of a cult, consistently fine and truly one of my favourites. This cabernet sauvignon has perfect balance, truly well crafted, expertly judged oak aging, top quality fruit and demonstrates dark cherry, cassis, cedar backed with fine-grained tannins. Simply heaven in a glass. But don't expect to be overwealmed - this is elegance and balance incarnate. Only for those with taste-buds!

SPARKLING

Quartet Roederer Estate Brut Non Vintage Anderson Valley, California, USA £15.99
My favourite non-Champagne sparkling wine. Period. Buy several, put half away for a year (or even two) it will really repay some landed bottle-age.

Bredon Brut NV Champagne, France £13.99 (or less on offer - sometimes down to £11)
A Waitrose exclusive. If I was to recommend one Champagne in the super-budget area (that tastes as good as some Champagnes at twice the price) then it would be this one. Made by Piper & Charles Heidsieck, which was led by the demi-god, the late Daniel Thibault. This fizz is made predominantly from Black Grapes (it is still a white fizz though!): Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. It has a lovely yeasty, toasty nose (with a touch of red summer fruits in there) with a creamy, vanilla-rich palate. It has a fine mousse and bubbles - a giveaway that it is a quality wine hiding behind a modest price.

Montana Pinot Noir Reserve 2005 Marlborough, New Zealand £9.49
This is a surprisingly classy reserve-level wine from the big outfit Montana. But it has all the parts to make it - silky strawberry / summer pudding fruit, toasty oak, gamey, smoky, some meat juices but with a lovely aroma of violets. A meal in itself. Nice!

DESSERT WINES

Royal Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos 1999 25cl, Hungary (sweet), 25cl £8.99
What! £9 for a third of a bottle I hear you say? Well not true. In fact it is a half bottle. Tokaji only comes in 50cl bottles. Having said that you would not want to drink much more than half a litre of this super rich nectar. Tokaji is my favourite sweet wine. Much sweeter than Sauternes but also much more acidic (rather like cutting cream and honey with lemon juice). The flavour defies normal wine descriptions save to says that lemon (zest), orange (peel), acacia honey, jersey cream, beeswax, lanolin, noble rot, quince, grapefruit....I could go on. 25cl of pure Heaven. Nothing comes near it. Nothing ever will. This is a well priced example from a top Estate (Royal Tokaji). This is their entry level wine. The others just stack, like Angels, up the side of the Almighty's dais.