TASTING WITH WILLIE No.8
“A tasting to showcase some more unusual whites and reds that are particularly well priced. Another range of excellent wines!”
For this tasting I chose a pair of wines from each Supermarket, Sainsburys Tesco and Waitrose. All £10 and under. The lowest score was 17 out of 20.
THE WHITES.
Felsner Moosburgerin Grüner Veltliner, Kremstal 2019 £7.99!18 points
Lovely fresh, clean,attractive bouquet. Lots of flavours zinging everywhere. Great elegance, but full of zippy fruit. A more complex drink than Sauvignon Blanc. YUM! Perfect to fool your friends and enemies. Halfway between Chablis and Riesling! Give it again. Easily worth £20
Sainsburys TTD Tokaji Dry Furmint 2019 £8.50 17 points
The Royal Tokaji Wine Company was founded by the Wonderful Hugh Johnson a hero of the contemporary wine scene! Dry Furmint is another fragrant, nutty, very dry white that would be a perfect partner for typically rich Hungarian food. Nicely full bodied that reminds me of proper White Bordeaux made from Semillon grapes. The only criticism is a trace of bitterness that might disappear with decanting. This could also partner Spicy Asian food.
Tesco Finest Viré Clessé Bouchard Ainé et Fils 2019 £10.00 17.5 points
A cracking Chardonnay from a village in southern Burgundy. Produced by the Negociant House of Bouchard Ainé. At £10 a bottle this is a real bargain. A single Domaine Viré Clessé would set you nearer £20! This has an unbelievably seductive bouquet, hints of honey and herbs, great broad rich chablis like flavours. Perfect with food. Not a slugger.
THE REDS
Three really unusual reds all BRILLIANT value!
La Reine de Fleurie Beaujolais France 2019 £8.99 18 points
Again, Fleurie, the most famous of all Beaujolais villages for under £9! Smells of wild strawberry jam with a touch of rootiness. Incredibly stylish. Rammed with incredible fruit. This was a real surprise. Full of character, discretion, fantastic toasty, strawberry fruit. INCREDIBLE VALUE for under a tenner.
Sainsburys TTD Morador Cab Franc Argentina 2019 £9.00 18 points
Another of my hero grape varieties! This beauty more than reflects the variety’s raspberry, leafy flavours. The Uco Valley is at quite high up in the Andes foothills. Consequently, the fruit gets ripe but not overly alcoholic.Tip top perfume scent, and edged by hints of vanilla from new oak. Raspberries, cherries, spicy and rich! If you like young punch fruity wines, this is for you. Get some red meat on the barbie! Again wonderful value!
Vasse Felix Margaret River Shiraz Tesco 2018 18 points
Vasse Felix has been making terrific wines in Western Australia since the late seventies. The wines from Margaret River are much more delicate that the wines from Barossa and Hunter Valleys. What a fabulous bouquet of blue mineral fruit. Blueberries and blackberries. The flavour is like a classic St Joseph from the Northern Rhone. Full bodied, but so delicate! The most complex red of the night and another joke of a price. Worth twice the money.
CONCLUSION
Wine for wine, the most impressive tasting of 2021. All for a tenner or less!
