Oddbins Christmas '06 Wine Selection

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Oddbins Christmas '06 Wine Selection

From: Mark
Category: Wine
Date: 08/12/2006
Time: 19:43:08

Comments

Oddbins...despite a bit of a dip in things have started to pull back (I hope). There are some cracking wines in here and certainly worth a 20 minute browse. There is something below to suit all tastes and palates...and wallets. So give these a go for Christmas.

WHITES

Vergelegen Sauvignon 2005, Stellenbosch, South Africa £8.99
I think this sauvignon is truly superb. Not like a Kiwi or a Chilean or a Sancerre. But different and just as classy as top offerings from these areas. You could not accuse this wine of being bland. Mainly sauvignon with a dash of smoky semillon giving this wine more richness. Gooseberries, fig, passionfruit, mown grass, capsicum and flinty minerality show a wine of great balance and style. During fermentation, the must was 'shocked' making the yeast produce glycerol, which added body and richness. Whilst many other sauvignons are getting OTT this is one you could drink bottles of and never get tired.

Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 2005, New Zealand £8.50
Okay, so we have quaffed oodles of Kiwi Sauvignon...and we still want more! In the 90s it was Cloudy Bay, last year it was Jackson Estate. This year we recognise the stoic success of one of NZs larger producers, Villa Maria with an absolute classic. This has more gooseberry, more grapefruit, more tropical fruit more of everything that makes Kiwi's great. Villa Maria has moved this wine from just good to truly excellent.

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

Fiano d'Avellino 'Terre di Dora' Terredora 2005, £12.99
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. This peachy, jasmine scented wines has real honeysuckle, white nectarine-pear notes but given a structure by its very adult minerality.

Savennieres Château de Varennes 2003 Savennières, Loire Valley, France
This is from an area which produces the finest dry Chenin Blanc's in the Loire...if not the world. This gently oaked, supple version gives you the impression of waxy honey and green floral apples allied to a stern minerality and acidity. Something more akin to a Chablis but at the same time nothing like it at all. Different, stylish, special, unique.

Viña Leyda 'Garuma Vineyard' Sauvignon Blanc 2005, £7.99
A top-flight single block Sauvignon giving grapefruit and capsicum flavours with a great richness and classy minerality. Somewhere between a Kiwi and a Sancerre.

Wolf Blass President's Selection Chardonnay, South Australia, 2005 £10.00
Wolf Blass (part of the mighty Beringer Blass empire) 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.

Wakefield Riesling Clare Calley 2004 £7.99
A regular favourite of mine. A typical aussie Riesling crammed full of lime and lemon flavours with a good weight and cleansing acidity too. Complex and will age. Knappstein Hand Picked Riesling 2005, Clare Valley £6.99 This is a cracker of a wine at this price. More upfront with the kerosene, some lime and acacia blossom, cutting acidity and decent length. Most refreshing. Like a cold shower on a hot day! Will perk up those taste-buds!

Peter Lehmann Semillon, Barossa, Australia 2004 £4.98
I find alot of Semillon wines a bit hit or miss. Its wines often exhibit a bit of hollowness in the middle of the tasting experience. This can be often 'cured' or filled by either bottle ageing, use of oak or the mouth coating qualities of 'noble rot' and sugar - both present in such great as Sauternes. However when it young, unoaked and unmodified by sugar/noble rot then it often disappoints. But this is a great value lemon-citric wine with a full, soft, round palate that is not hollow. For this price its a steal.

Domaine Costa Lazaridi Amethystis 2005 Drama, Macedonia, Greece £8.59
A classy, cool-flavoured wine that does not point to the hot Med as its growing area. Very, very, very mineral and very dry with strong grassy flavours. Needs a bit of time but this is Classic sauvignon-style wine. Will fool any wine-bore.

REDS

Katnook Estate Founder's Block Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 Coonawarra, South Australia, Australia £8.98
A well-priced Coonawarra Cabernet that oozes class from the stylish Katnook Estate. Yum. The more expensive ones from this estate are indeed better but at this price you are getting some of the Katnook magic.

Marques de la Concordia Tempranillo 2004 Rioja, Spain £5.99
I have omitted Rioja from most of my recommendations as I think they could do better. This however, for the price, is a cracker. A really polished and classy wine for the money. Rich, red cherry and berry fruits, plenty of spicy oak vanillins. Why not? Buy two!

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?

d'Arenberg The Custodian Grenache 2004 McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia £8.50
Probably one of my top 10 Aussie Grenache's this year. Old vines, low yields, masses of oak but still typical raspberry, pencil and cinnamon. Rich, deep and complex.

Ktima Kosta Lazaridi Amethystos Red 2004 £10.50
One of Greece's top reds - combining classic Greek varieties and classic cabernet - made with new world expertise and old world tradition. Masses of fruits of the forest, cassis and loganberry lean again a sizeable door of oak. Starting to integrate and should improve spectacularly with a little age. Nice one Cyrl.

Cairanne - Hermas' Domaine de L'Ameillaud 2004 £7.99
Forget the more expensive cousins in the Rhone - try this wonderful, powerful, blackberry, plum , liquorice, tobacco, white pepper and mace spiced wine - unoaked, pure-fruited and full-bodied. Well worth the money if you like Cote du Rhone style wines.

Peter Lehmann Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia £9
Mint and blackberry incarnate. Smashing quality for the price.

Vergelegen Cabernet Sauvignon 2001, Helderberg, South Africa £14.99
I know I keep on waxing lyrical about Vergelegen. This is a must have red. Complex, stylish, polished, balanced - a cabernet-merlot multi-plot blend that oozes plums, cassis and spice but held within a great tannic structure. Strictly for adults only.

Petaluma Coonawarra Red, Australia 2001 £19.99
One of the finest reds in Australia. Certainly one of the finest Cabernets. Serious, professional, structures, pure-fruited blackcurrant and dark plum with mint, liquorice and truly fine-grained tannins provided by the extraction from the grape skins and the oak. Has a claret-esque tinge of cedar/cigar box. Massively long, complex and with the ability to age. Why bother with claret?

Just a quicky on the rest I am afraid.

If you are after Ports then look at:

Quinta do Noval 1999 Late Bottle Vintage, Port, Portugal £10.98 or Dow's 2000 Crusted, Port, Portugal £13.98

Or if it is other tawny-style non-ports from across the globe then take a look at these wonders: Campbells of Rutherglen Campbells Muscat NV £7.98 or De Bortoli Show Liqueur Muscat NV Riverina, New South Wales, Australia £10.98

Finally...as a fizz...look no further than H. Blin & Cie Brut Tradition NV Champagne, France for £17 or Pierre Gimonnet & Fils 1er Cru 'Fleuron' 2000 at £25