Mountain View Monterey County Pinot Noir 2009

This Pinot Noir was a lovely colour, bright, light red.  It could be mistaken for one of Spain's more assertive pink wines.  It smelled fresh and fruity, and that carried through to the taste, there were fresh squashed cherries and maybe some damsons.  These tasted best when it was cool.  As the bottle warmed up in the room there was a touch more oak bringing some vanilla and toastiness, but not an overwhelming amount, and not quite enough to make up for he loss of fruitiness.  I'd aim to keep it reasonably cool.

At £11 it wasn't cheap and I had the sneaking suspicion that for that money I could have bought something with a bit more complexity from France.  Realistically mid-priced American wines aren't generally a good choice outside the USA, the cost of transport is so much higher than just crossing the channel.  I'll keep having a go now and then, but generally I'll save myself and just drink American wines in-country.

Conde de Monterroso Tempranillo 2010

It's Europa Cup night, with an all Spanish final, so here's an all Spanish wine.

I like Tempranillo, I have quite a clear mental smell-age (like an image, only smelly) of what it should be like.  The fresh, oak-free fruit of this took me a little by surprise.  I slowed down and took a look.  It was lighter than I'd have guessed, but the surprises didn't end there.  It was sweet.  Yes sweet.  Well, maybe off-dry if I'm being picky, but certainly sweeter than I would have anticipated.  It was a cheery fruit bomb.  The Merlot that made it into the mix added extra fruit, and whilst I might have expected the Shiraz to add spiciness, I didn't taste it.

It took a while for my brain to catch up with my senses and settle down into enjoying the wine, and enjoy it I did.  That's not something I thought I would say about sweeter than average red wine.  I have another bottle.  I think I'll save it until it warms up outside and I'll serve it cool.  I think that would really work well.

Stella Morella Primitivo di Manduria 2007

I know it's not smart to buy a wine based on the picture on the label, but you must admit, the label on this one is just so pretty I couldn't resist.  It's also Primitivo, something else I find hard to resist.  The American translation is Zinfandel, the variety brought over from Italy by early settlers, but this is the real deal, from the heel of Italy, in this case farmed organically, old-style.

It's a rich deep purple with good legs, it smells of squished blackberries and loganberries with a hint of festive spice.  It feels soft and warm with just a smidge of firm tannins, at the upper end of medium alcohol level.  The fruit has a scrummy fruit crumble cookedness to it, rather than jamminess.

It's ready to drink now, I don't think there's much room for it to get better.  It was £15 from Berry Bros & Rudd, not a cheapo bottle, but a worthwhile treat for the Easter weekend.

Naked Wine Voucher 2012

The nice people at Gardening Express sent me a Naked Wines Voucher, unfortunately, it's for brand new customers only so it's no use to me, but might be of use to you.

The code is : GDN2211

Password: ASP32XYN
Expiry: 17/4/2012

There's no obligation for further purchases, which makes it a reasonable intro offer.

On Pink Fizz

It was Valentine's Day this week. It seems that over the years it has gradually become a bigger deal in the UK. We don't really do US style 'holidays' in the UK, so we haven't yet reached the stage of everybody buying everybody else a Valentine gift, or decorating offices in pink and red, but it's certainly a more commercial event. As both me and my 'Valentine' would rather clean a toilet with our own toothbrushes than dine out on Valentine's Day amongst a sea of couples comparing their relationships with the people on the next table whilst paying through the nose for a set menu, we opted to eat at home.

Dinner was wonderful - seared tuna with a coriander (cilantro) pesto. However, we did fall for a cheesy Valentine bottle of pink fizz. I quite like fizz, and I do like a lot of pink wines, but I've never found a good pink fizz combo. This was no exception, best described as a Champagne that someone had dissolved a handful of wine gums into.

Never mind, we had a good evening, and next year we'll remember not to get suckered into the commercial hype. Now, where's that green food colouring?

Latest £40 Naked wine Voucher 2012

The nice people at Thompson & Morgan sent me a Naked Wines Voucher, unfortunately, it's for brand new customers only so it's no use to me, but might be of use to you.

The code is : THOM1201

Password: ASP32XYN

Expiry: 17/3/2012

There's no obligation for further purchases, which makes it a reasonable intro offer.

Domaine des Costes Merlot 2010

This wine had a strong, fresh purple colour, as evidenced by the mess it made of the label. It was a robust wine, plenty of juicy plummy fruit, but with a touch of spiciness that made it taste more like a southern French wine rather than a Bordeaux. I suspect a few bunches of Syrah made their way into the wine, and that's not a bad thing.

Medium bodied with medium alcohol, the slight spiciness gave it just the teeny edge it needed to save it from complete forgetability. For about £6 it's a reasonable buy for a midweek wine with a bit of personality, but it won't make it to anyone's favourite wines list.

La Croix Chaptal Clairette Blanche 2008

I'm a sucker for a good story, and this wine was made on an estate that housed an abbey in 804. I like that kind of pointless detail, the idea that monks were busy making wine from the same soil that I'm enjoying wine from now.

I don't see much Clairette, it's not an easy grape to make a good wine from, and much of the production goes to make Vermouth, the Martini Extra Dry of my mother's generation. Martini and lemonade was the first drink I ordered in a pub, mostly because I was surprised that the bloke behind the bar was actually going to serve me and I panicked and it was the first thing that came into my head. Future panics led to me be mocked by a waiter for ordering Campari and soda. I have not yet asked for a gin and Dubonnet, but I'm sure under the right stress conditions it could happen. I digress.

This wine was good. It had a non standard flavour, some sort of lemon curd on toast kind of thing which was fruity and flavourful, but hard to pin down. Perhaps that's why the label writer had claimed that this is "a full bodied white wine which will surprise you with fish in sauce". I love the notion of opening the bottle and a little dish of fish in sauce popping out with the cork to surprise me, but this didn't happen. It did however go very well with a seafood risotto with spinach. I can't say I felt peculiarly surprised though.

I would buy it again.

Champagne Pierre Darcys NV

Champagne isn't my favourite wine, but I do like it. There are some occasions which really suit fizz. Christmas morning and New Year's Eve, weddings, new jobs, that kind of thing. Very often a Cava, Prosecco or even Asti will do the trick really well, but Champagne does shout 'celebration' more than any other wine.

The producers of Champagne have really made the most of this and can charge premium prices. Again, for some occasions it seems worthwhile to choose a favourite Champagne and really savour it, but on others, picking up a bargain bottle works just as well.

I picked up a £12 bottle from ASDA. My expectations were low. Champagne Pierre Darcys appears to be a re-branding of the ASDA 'Extra Special' Champagne, as own-brand Champagne doesn't sound quite as fancy as some kind of French Jane Austen character. Oddly, it wasn't bad.

It was a pale straw colour, with quite a fine mouse. It smelled lemony more than biscuity and had just a smidge more residual sweetness than I'd choose, but not by any means a cloying amount. I wouldn't pay £24, or whatever curious amount the supermarkets choose to label up their Champagnes at times when they don't expect to sell any in order to get around fair trading rules, but I'd choose it again if I needed cheap fizz with the C-word on the label.

Cooper Point Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay 2009

I don't drink much American wine outside the USA. It seems a little weird to import it to Europe. The really good Californian wines are absurdly expensive here and the ordinary wines are still ordinary, but with a pile of airmiles. This bottle arrived in a mixed case, and I didn't pay much attention to its origins when it came out of the fridge. It was a Chardonnay that could be sploshed into a risotto, and drunk.

What struck me as soon as I opened it was the waft of French oak, a whole forest of it. There was some pineapple and melon too. When I tasted it the melon and pineapple had the flavour of fruit baked over toasted oak, with a blob of butter.

This wasn't my favourite wine, but it did act as an instant aeroplane. The wine tasted of the USA, and I enjoyed it.

Laithwaites Amazon £60 Wine Voucher

It seems you people like wine vouchers at this time of year. Today's Amazon parcel came with a £60 Laithwaite's Voucher. Laithwaites are the people behind most of the wine clubs you see out there, and have been in the business for yonks.

This voucher is for brand new customers only, ordering a 15 bottle case normally priced at £110 so you'll need to shell out £50. It comes with a free corkscrew, don't let that sway you either way. You'll need to sign up to their quarterly club, although you can turn down their cases and then cancel in the future. Visit www.laithwaites.co.uk/c9h1c

If this offer isn't for you try clicking 'Wine Offers' below for the most up to date ones.

£40 Naked Wine Voucher

The nice people at Amazon sent me a Naked Wines Voucher, unfortunately, it's for band new customers only so it's no use to me, but might be of use to you.

The code is : AMAZ1125

Password: ASP32XYN

Expiry: 31/1/12

There's no obligation for further purchases, which makes it a reasonable intro offer if you're stocking up for Christmas.

Click for more wine offers