M&S Christmas '06 Wine Selection

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M&S Christmas '06 Wine Selection

From: Mark
Category: Wine
Date: 04/12/2006
Time: 20:31:42

Comments

M&S have really invested some time into re-visiting their wine selection over the past few years and it is really beginning to show. From no-where they now challenge others as to the most consistently good range of wines on the high street. Quality is good across the board - however good is not what I am looking for here! I am looking for excellent. The selection below is. May I say that it is good to see a mass-retailer taking White Burgundy by the horns showing that it can be the backbone of a retailers offering.

WHITE

Meursault (Le Cave de la Colombe) 2004, Burgundy, France £20
Yup - expensive yes but one of the better Meursault's I have tasted this year. Do us a favour, instead of buying a average bottle of non-vintage Champagne why not try this ultra-sexy Chardonnay from Burgundy. Massively aromatic, smoky, roasted nuts, toasty oak, cinnamon spice, apples and pears. This wine has all the class you could hope for. Worth the money? Yes definitely.

St-Veran (Cave de Prisse) 2004, Burgundy £8
£20 squid too much for you? Well another Chardonnay from Burgundy - admittedly not of the same class but gives some inkling as to what its more illustrious cousins further north in Cote de Beaune can offer. This still shows why chardonnay is not only totally different but more exceptional in this part of the world than anywhere else. Period. This gold-straw wine has the tell-tale nutty, oatmeal biscuit back-notes with a great gobful of lemon, nuts and butter on the palate. However everything is given some structure with some decent minerality.

St-Romain (Nicholas Potel) 2004, Burgundy £10
Yup...yet another Chardonnay from the Cote de Beaune. Riper, sweeter flavours are present with both citrus and zest/peel fighting for attention. This is a bigger, more powerful wine that I would expect from St-Romain but with class - as shown with its huge length...leaving a very pleasant memory and beckoning for the next sip! This wine is a little more than a stone's throw from the more famous villages of Montrachet, Meursault and share a little of what has made them so famous...but at a far more modest price. Nice.

St Aubin 1er Cru, Domaine du Pimont ‘Les Charmois’ 2004, Burgundy, France £14.99
Even better is this wine - from just over the border from Montrachet / Puligny-Montrachet / Chassagne-Montrachet. This wine has been fermented and aged in French oak and has big, ripe classic flavours matched to a fine minerality, nuttiness and fresh lees (the fresh but dead yeats at the bottom of the barrel that can give it extra richness, freshness and character). a top tipple at a very fair price.

Chablis, La Chablisienne, Burgundy, France 2004 £9
Right, the final word on a super selection of white Burgundies is this - from the very northern tip of Burgundy: Chablis. This is from the go-ahead and ultra-quality conscious co-operative La Chablisienne. This is a fantastic wine for the price. A newer style of Chablis (i.e. it has some oak aging - probably new-ish oak) but is well pegged back by the acacia-honey richness on the nose and fresh but very concentrated citrus-fruit acids, minerals wrapped in butter complexity on the palate. Excellent length but really could do with another year or two to improve further. Very good value.

Mineralstein Riesling Matthias Gaul 2005, Germany £6
If you really have gone off Chardonnay in recent months then have a go at this little gem. It is dry and from Germany. A very well made, ripe, accessible, slate-mineral nose gives way to a round, generous but not over-blown dry riesling palate. Chill down and let this refresh your jaded taste buds.

La Prendina Pinot Grigio 2005, Lombardy, Italy £7
Still not convinced? Love Pinot Grigio? Then try this peachy, lemony, melony little number. It won't dissappoint. The winemaker has squeezed every drop of flavour into this wine.

Of the Sauvignon Blancs on offer in M&S I would recommend two. Pirque Estate 2006 Sauvignon Blanc from Chile at £7 and Kaituna Hills Reserve Sauvignon Blanc 2004 from New Zealand at £8. If it came down to it I would give the Kaituna the edge but why not buy both and compare.

RED

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Domaine Senechaux 2004, Rhone, France £14
A blend of the classic Chateauneuf varieties - syrah, grenache, mourvedre - their ripe red fruits encased in a fine tannic structure with a wonderful spiciness. Rich and long. Excellent quality for the money.

NoS Riqueza Ribera del Duero 2004 £9.99
A cracking wine...in true Duero style. This comes from the upper reaches of the Duero river (same as the river Douro in Portugal that is world renowned for its Port) in Northern Spain. Made from the same grape variety as Rioja (Tempranillo) this hip area has been wowing the world for a few years now and is also home to Spain's most famous and expensive wine Vega Sicilia 'Unico'. A little cheaper (well a hundred plus pounds cheaper!) this wine demonstrates why this is on the up and Rioja needs to reinvent itself. This pure-fruited, black and red cherry, concentrated creation is smoothed out with expert oaking (in French and American oak) and is very balanced, structured and has a decent, silky finish

Pirque Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Maipo Valley, Chile £7
One of my favourite areas for Cabernet in Chile, Maipo Valley. This blackberry and cassis, chocolate and smoky, earthy liquorice-swathed wine is a very decent example.

Clock Tower Pinot Noir 2004 Marlborough, New Zealand £10
A 'typical' Kiwi Pinot - rich, ripe, very oaky with rich cherry and chocolate palate but with a silky, slinky texture. Should integrate in flavour over a little time. But why wait. If you like this style of Pinot then you'll love it.

Viña Leyda Secano Estate Pinot Noir 2005 San Antonio Valley, Chile £7
Okay...you are not convinced about New World Pinot Noir? Lets face it is is a capricious grape and does not travel outside its home of Burgundy very well. Few places grow it well and can be counted on one hand - Carneros California; Yarra Valley Australia; Martinborough, maybe Marlborough and Otago in New Zealand....and several areas in Chile. Maybe this is one of them? This does not pretend to be Burgundy. Sweet, ripe strawberry, raspberry and cherry, high acidity but balances the sweet, ripe fruit very well....then the signature silky satin-like finish.

FORTIFIED

Taylor's NV 10 Year Old Tawny, Port, Portugal £11
I always expect to pay a decent amount of money for a good Tawny Port so I was quite suprised by this excellent wine. 10 years Old - masses of spice, figs, wood and spirit. Its big alcohol is balanced by the great, sweet fruit and lively acidity and the lovely length it has on the finish. Class.