Wine Cellar - Undiscovered Gems from France, Spain, USA and beyond

All wines apart from the Introductory wines were served blind

• 2021 Lagar de Cervera Albariño Rías Baixas 88 Points

  Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas

  A pleasing, bright freshness on the nose, with aromas of quince, pineapple and yellow apple that segue into yellow flower, fresh herbs/Alpine flowers, chalk dust and Asian Pear. The palate is well-balanced and focused, with a breadth of fruit and equally great concentration all underscored by a saline-edged acidity, salted lemon and a hint of almond. The long finish is pithy, almost phenolic, but very enjoyable.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2020 Les Héritiers du Comte Lafon Mâcon-Villages 91 Points

  France, Burgundy, Mâconnais, Mâcon-Villages

  (Tasted Blind) Light gold in glass with salt, cordite, minerals, and crushed stone aromas. The palate has a grippy, mineral character with bracing acidity and a touch of peach flesh and mandarin peel, giving some flesh to the mid palate. There is an appealing saline-led, acid frame, and the finish lingers with a hint of a salt lick. It is surprisingly complex for its designation, exhibiting a remarkable purity of fruit. Certainly better than a number of these Macons I have had Comtes Lafon, but possibly I find some don’t age, so instead enjoy them young.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2021 Querciabella Mongrana Bianco 86 Points

  Italy, Tuscany, Toscana IGT

  (Tasted Blind)
  Light gold to mid-yellow colour, with delicate, soft aromas capturing the fragrant notes of ripe apple, Asian pear and an alpine-like freshness. The entry is rich yet simple in structure with a lemony tang that lingers in the mouth and packs a good length. It is a fun and approachable wine.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2021 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Bianco 90 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  Calicante grapes. (Tasted Blind) this has a light to mid-yellow hue in the glass with an aromatic nose of ripe yellow fruits, yellow flowers, lemon verbena, a hint of wet pebbles, and a touch of strawberry, reminiscent of Alsace. On the palate, the wine presents a savoury entry with some almost meat-like edges, a hint of rubber and a strong presence of salinity, that ozone note standing on the seashore. The wine is linear, pulling one in on the first sip, with lemon oil and good length towards a dry, salty finish. Smart wine.

  Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2017 Trimbach Pinot Gris Reserve 89 Points

  France, Alsace

  (Tasted Blind) Mid-gold colour with a gentle pink edge suggests a grape like Pinot Gris.
  The nose offers red apple, Bartlett pear, and a hint of almond, a twist of lemon and mineral that gives way to an intense palate with a grippy texture, linear focus, and strident acidity. Pear skin texture, the minerals have cut and thrust and linger, yet a touch of sweetness balances nicely, leading to a long, pithy finish—impressive wine with that distinct Pinot Gris styling but perhaps not the complexity of a top site.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2019 Arnot-Roberts Chardonnay Watson Ranch 92 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  (Tasted Blind): Organically farmed Chardonnay on steep wind-beaten slopes towards the San Pablo Bay (soils Clay over limestone), this wild fermented Chardonnay is a rich golden colour. An enticing bouquet of apple blossom and quarry dust that is both vibrant and intense. An initial reduction showing fresh rubber morphs quickly to mineral, dry stones and Maldon salt. It feels like an airy, ozone-like quality, coupled with salty sea kelp and vibrant citrus notes, as though one is sitting on the seashore. With a grippy texture, this is a dry, chalky, poised wine that already shows complexity but will age further, and the just-ripe lemon and chalky edges carry through to a long, lingering finish. This is an excellent wine, and I enjoyed its tension and tautness.

  Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• NV Drappier Coteaux Champenois Perpétuité 90 Points

  France, Champagne, Coteaux Champenois

  (tasted blind): A 100% Pinot Noir (Blanc de Noir) blend from the vintages 2002 to 2019. Mid-gold colour with clear orange-copper tints. The nose presents intense aromas of mineral, pink lady apple, Bartlett Pear, and a bruised apple, almost lactic yoghurt quality. The palate offers more volume with a crescendo of acidity that initially point toward Chenin Blanc but more towards Jura as a wealth of salted nuts and savoury notes are matched by the immensely saline-edged, strident and linear acidity. A fairly long finish that closes with chalk and further savoury edged. Very much a dry, Champagne-like wine. I found it interesting to taste but not sure what I would serve with it, nor challenging to drink on its own. Perhaps these types of wine will acquire more complexity as the climate warms up.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2018 Fruitiere Vinicole d'Arbois Arbois Arbois Trousseau 91 Points

  France, Jura, Arbois

  (Tasted blind): 100% Trousseau. A light garnet to brick-red colour, the nose is bold and intense with lifted notes of rose petals, strawberry and dried flowers. The palate offers a marinated fruit quality with a sinewy texture and hints of tar, raw meat and lava, more reminiscent of Piedmont or, as it opened, felt richer like Etna that is underpinned by fresh, racy acidity. The lifted fruit tones and intense, ripe style make this a wonderfully approachable and exciting wine to drink, almost like a Spatburgunder (initial thoughts). Finishes medium with a soft chalky edge more towards Etna than the Jura regions it hails from.
  Score: 91/100. Nicely priced

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2020 Tenuta delle Terre Nere Etna Rosso 89 Points

  Italy, Sicily, Etna DOC

  (Tasted Blind): A light red wine with a slight brick-red core and a wider rim of pale rose. Pronounced mineral notes join fresh strawberries, typical of Etna’s volcanic tones. A much cleaner, focussed entry with mineral and ripe fruits similar to a New World pinot. Its grippy texture and vegetal notes suggest stems, and it finishes with a tremendous amount of chalky stemmy grip and a touch of phenolic. The mid-palate provides a smoky, cherry-scented and vibrant mineral-driven character that closes with a long finish.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2020 Niepoort Bairrada Lagar de Baixo Quinta de Baixo 90 Points

  Portugal, Beiras, Bairrada

  (Tasted Blind): From the Lagar de Bairo of Portugal's Bairrada region, the wine is light ruby coloured and bright in appearance. The nose brings forth plenty of ripe fruit focussed on rose petals and wild strawberries, enhanced by an underlying savoury hint. With a rich palate entry, the wine has breadth and intensity. There are sweet fruits that intermingle with a savoury edge and a fruity tannin but with a stemmy (stem-included) feel to the wine that adds some grip and backbone. Whilst the fruit feels initially southern Burgundy, the rising firmness and touch of minerality feel akin more to Etna. Yet all said and done, the refreshing, alive mouthfeel of higher acidity points more towards Portugal. Closes with orange rind, crushed red roses giving it a sumptuous edge, then meatier than drying tannins - lots of items to keep the taster on their feet! Very enjoyable.

  Post a Comment / 1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2019 Terrazas de Los Andes Malbec 86 Points

  Argentina, Mendoza

  (Tasted Blind): Medium purple-ruby with pleasant aromas of blue flowers, loganberry, mineral, fresh rubber and some black plum. Sweet entry with narrow tannins, a firm, slightly metallic acidity coated in ripe raspberry and loganberry pulp. It has that slightly hard, metal Cinsaut note given the sweet compote juicy fruit, yet the texture moves more to a plum skin (perhaps Malbec?), and the finish is far more drying than Cinsaut would be. No noted oak influence; the wine has a tannic bite that builds as the wine opens. It lacks much persistence on the finish and generally is a quaffable, generic wine with little to excite.

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2019 Sijnn Red 93 Points

  South Africa, Cape South Coast, Swellendam, Malgas

  (Tasted Blind) A mid to deep ruby graduating to a bricking rim. Intense nose showcasing floral notes (touch garrigue or wild scrubland), tobacco, crushed cherries, torn sage and more. A sumptuous, succulent entry that is rich and deep with fine-grained chocolate edged textures that are filled with wet tobacco, damson plum and mincemeat (leaning to moist fruit cake), tinned cherries, and a whole lot more! Firm tannins and a lively to crisp acidity support the fruit and give it a long, exciting finish. Very smart, this is an impressive wine.
  A blend of 31 Syrah and 69% (Touriga Nacional, Tinta Amarela, Cabernet Sauvignon and Mourvedre).

  Post a Comment / Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Report Issue

• 2019 Domaine Tempier Bandol 89 Points

  France, Provence, Bandol

  (Tasted Blind): Mid, ruby and bright. Lifted aromas of initial smoke and fresh rubber lead to alpine flowers and savoury edges. Medium-bodied, the entry is sweet with candied fruits such as oranges, raspberries and a slight hint of heat. This sort-of balances with the firm, almost abrasive tannins whilst the acidity is medium. I say ‘sort of’ because the wine felt a little at sea at the moment, with the tannins building towards the end and finishing rather drying and gum-clenching. Yet there is some focus, lift and certainly a frame with inbuilt power. It just hasn’t come together yet. Probably better to decant.
  Blend of 75% Mourvedre, Grenache, Carignan, and Syrah, with ageing in large oak casks.

  Post a Comment / 2 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue