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Slideshow
Top 10 wines in the UK press
Matthew Jukes recommends a “sensational wine with a very classy aroma” and Jane MacQuitty picks out a “gorgeous, beefy, complex and richly spiced” red wine from Australia.
Writing in The Times, MacQuitty’s features some thoughts on where to find summer wine bargains. She wrote: “Drinking less but drinking better is all very well, but what if you want to drink wine every day yet are on a tight budget? The answer is to shop around to get more bang for your buck.
MacQuitty added: “If you are avoiding fine wine merchants because you believe that they do not stock the everyday wines that you like to drink, think again. Many are struggling to survive and have tailored their lists accordingly.”
In the Daily Mail, Matthew Jukes featured “five superb wines for picnics and Wimbledon parties”, adding “picnic wines are always fresh, fruity and multitalented.”
Click through the following pages to find out more about these wines and others recommended in the UK press over the last week.
Hewitson Miss Harry 2010
Fiona Beckett picked out this wine in The Guardian, writing that “Oz is still the place to go for lush, full-bodied reds, particularly Grenache and Shiraz.”
She added: “You could find a blend such as Hewitson Miss Harry 2010 cheaper in the south of France, but it wouldn’t have that sensual edge of sweetness Barossa fruit has.”
Domaine Marcel Deiss Riesling 2011
David Williams picked out this wine in The Observer as he featured a selection of Riesling wines. He wrote: “One of my favourite literary wine quotes is James Joyce’s explanation of his preference for whites: ‘White wine is like electricity; red wine looks and tastes like liquefied beefsteak.’”
Williams added: “Of all whites, rieslings most frequently live up to this description: the best have a pulse of acidity that makes them feel charged with energy, and few show this to better effect than biodynamic producer Deiss.”
Leitz Rheingau Riesling Spätlese 2012
Williams also recommended this wine, writing: “Along with Alsace and Austria, Germany is Riesling’s spiritual home, but its byzantine labelling requirements and the fact that even small producers make dozens of bottlings each year, with varying degrees of sweetness, can make it tough to find the right bottle.
“Leitz labels are a model of clarity and this low-alcohol, off-dry meeting of ripe peach, lime, steel and minerals is a perfect summer-afternoon wine.”
Domaine Des Grands Bois Viognier 2012
In The Independent, Terry Kirby recommended this as a wine to enjoy with a “midweek meal.”
He wrote: “Praised by wine guru Robert Parker as delivering exceptional value for money, this gorgeous Viognier from a highly regarded southern Rhône estate certainly punches above its weight. Enticingly creamy, spicy and smoky, and an ideal foil for shellfish, substantial summer salads and white-meat dishes.”
Porcupine Ridge Syrah Viognier
Olly Smith chose this as his “wine of the week” in the Mail on Sunday, he wrote: “smoky, perfumed and powerful, this soft, juicy red has a massive character. Delish and fabulous value, at £6.99 if you buy two.
2012 Vouvray, Cuvée de Perruches, Domaine des Aubuisières
This is the wine which Matthew Jukes, writing in the Daily Mail, calls a “sensational wine with a very classy aroma and flavour.”
He added: “Luxurious, silky and blessed with apple blossom and wild flower nuances this is a brilliant picnic white for sophisticated gatherings with fine food. It will complement every dish you can think of, too, such is its class.”
2012 La Vieille Ferme Rouge, Côtes du Ventoux
Jukes, who featured wines for picnics and Wimbledon this week, also recommends this wine writing: “My picnic reds are always chillable.”
He added: “Start them off cold like the whites and then let them warm a little as time passes. This gives you crunchy cherry fruit initially followed by more foresty, berry nuances as the wine evolves.”
2010 Moss Wood Pinot Noir
This is the wine recommended by Jane MacQuitty in The Times, who picked this out as a “keeper”. She wrote: “Moss Wood was the second estate to plant vines in Western Australia, after Vasse Felix, and Pinot Noir has long been a passion of theirs. So much so that the Mugfords of Moss Wood have now bought vines in a prime spot in Victoria: the windy, maritime-influenced Mornington peninsula. The first Moss Wood Pinot Noir vintage here was 2008, but this gorgeous, beefy, complex, richly spiced 2010, with lots of fleshy, structured strawberry-stashed fruit, is their best yet. Compare and contrast this magnificent Pinot Noir with Red Claw now. Alternatively put it away until 2015 and beyond for more truffle and rich game flavours to develop.”
Brown Brothers Orange Muscat & Flora 2011
In the Sunday Telegraph, Susy Atkins featured dessert wines, writing: “We Brits don’t drink dessert wine nearly often enough and, let’s be honest, often leave out the dry wines from the main course to go (or not) with pudding.”
In recommending this wine, Atkins added: “A popular classic, and one that carries a note of spiced citrus along with fresh orange zest and honey. Especially good with the Middle Eastern apricots.”
2012 Merlot delle Venezie
And finally this wine is recommended by Brian Elliott in The Scotsman, who wrote: “A great-value summer red naturally low in alcohol and with appealing seasonal acidity to enliven the soft vanilla flavours, but given a cherry-centred tannic twist by the 15% Sangiovese it includes.