See this guide to our autumn collections. Lucky old Richard is currently in Argentine wine country but the total of nearly 100 tasting notes below were all taken in London over the last few weeks by all of us. The wine reviews are grouped by country, within each country by colour, and then in descending score order.
ARGENTINA
WHITE
100% Torrontés from the La Riojana co-operative, the world’s...
Easy, round but a bit dilute. Slightly oily. (JR)
Slightly oily and sweaty but fair enough. Peaches. A real fruit...
Nice satin texture and sufficient fruit and acidity. Very...
A bit tarty on the nose, salty on the palate and altogether very...
Not much nose but very lively and with some freshness...
Aromatic, dry, zesty and more than a bit Gewürz-a-like. Works...
Leesy and a bit creamy – light and charming. Has the same sort...
A blend of Sauvignon Vert, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Torrontes...
100% Sauvignon Blanc grown south of Mendoza in the Uco Valley on...
Youthful, underripe citrus aromas. Odd – what is this trying to...
Youthful green fruit character. Pretty low acid. Not bad, just a...
Interestingly reductive – from Viognier at this age, this is...
85% Torrontés, 15% Riesling. Lovely floral grape juice nose. Not...
Spoofy oak scent and overripe fruit. No definition, no class. A...
Lovely ripe pineapple fruit and no overshadowing oak. Soft...
Creamy, buttery, smooth, nice understatement despite the obvious...
Pleasantly restrained – manages to creep in under 13% alcohol...
Modern, clean stone fruit. Juicy, soft. The wine equivalent of a...
Banana, cream, butter. Off-dry. All very commercial. Expensive....
Little bit of sulphidic matchstick reduction, toasty but...
Quite heavily oaked, in an un-integrated, unsubtle way...
Not as oaked as the name led me to believe. Decent freshness...
'YAC' yet another Chardonnay. Grist to the ABC mill. Some toffee...
Buttery, pineapple, creamy. Very worked. Overdone, with immodest...
Very soft dairy character on the nose – not even butter, but...
Popcorn and toffee nose. Lots of smoky oak, and a ripe stone...
Buttery and spritzy. Pretty good structural balance, but...
Buttery, creamy, slightly underweight fruit. Not the most...
Green apple, very spritzy – very young. Should harmonise with...
Pinched, underripe fruit. Sour finish. (RH)
Boring, neutered cold fermentation neutrality. Unbalanced...
Neutral fruit with a grapefruit bitterness on the palate. Rather...
Almost honeyed fruit. Very ripe. Leesy dairy character in the...
Buttery and over-ripe. Seems very old fashioned nowadays...
Very pronounced tropical fruit – pineapple chunks, cream, apple...
RED
100% Malbec from fruit carefully selected from prime Mendoza...
This is one of their three single-vineyard Malbecs. Quite heady...
Called after a mythical animal. Blend of Malbec with Bordeaux...
Savoury but with some oak rather obvious. Tastes a bit floral...
Sweet and coffee and not very appetising. Damp fur. Sickly...
Lovely freshness and direct appeal. Racy and lively. Could serve...
Rich and round. Easy and leathery. Not complex. (JR)
Deep, bright, savoury, floral, soft and textured. Bang on target...
From vines planted in 1930. 18 months in barrique. Serious stuff...
Very youthful fruit – black and vibrant. More interesting than...
Violets and black bramble jam with a light oak dusting. Very...
There's some lovely maturation on the nose, showing how...
Bright blueberry fruit on the nose. Smooth and rounded palate...
Tame palate with a slight stink on the nose. Smooth and light...
Smells a little like leather glue. Black coffee and treacly dark...
50-year-old vines, 12 months in barrels. Packs a powerful punch...
85% Malbec, 8% Tannat, 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Syrah from...
100% Malbec from Finca Flichman estate vineyards located in...
Made from four different lots of wine from three different types...
Predominantly sandy and silty soils with some limestone. Zaha is...
90% Malbec with 10% Cabernet Sauvignon from an excellent-quality...
40% Malbec, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot. Bright dark ruby...
A blend of 40% Malbec, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot...
Bright crimson. Big and beefy. Sweet but not over the top...
Salty and round. Lightly perfumed. Just a tad rusty nail. (JR)
Very heavy bottle. Rather dull fruit. Doesn't get the best from...
50% Malbec, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Shiraz, 10% Merlot...
40% Malbec, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Syrah. Chocolate...
40% Malbec, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot. Some mintiness...
Has the sort of eucalypt and menthol blackcurrant character that...
Attractive blackcurrant juiciness and a nicely done chocolate...
Very heavy bottle. Attractive bronzing garnet and a true...
At last – Malbec with some nuance and sensitivity. Delicious and...
Unnecessarily heavy bottle. Dense black fruit, smooth tannic...
Black bramble fruit. Very soft and with a definite portiness and...
Unnecessarily heavy bottle. Minty, meaty, chocolate. Juicy...
Unnecessarily heavy bottle. Chocolate, raisined fruit. Has got...
Unnecessarily heavy bottle. Juicy raspberry fruit – quite...
Unnecessarily heavy bottle. Milk chocolate, creamy texture, dark...
Very pleasant leafy lift with a bit of menthol too – more...
Juicy, youthful red fruit. Raspberry, redcurrant – almost...
There’s a certain animal funk to this nose which gives it some...
Rich, drenched in fruit with a sweet oak overlay. Made not grown...
Incredibly dark purple. Violets and spice on the nose and very...
Rich, chocolatey and complex. Lovely breadth and ripeness with a...
Closed nose, soft texture on the palate. Not much going on...
Rich, juicy, fragrant. Loaded with plummy, ripe flavour but does...
95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Cabernet Franc. Crude black fruit...
Dark crimson. Florally perfumed and transparent. A world away...
Sweet and soft and lively. (JR)
URUGUAY
WHITE
Bodega Garzon is a label of a big company called Agroland, one...
Five hours' pre-fermentation maceration at 5 ºC. 15% fermented...
Unnecessarily heavy bottle. A blend of barrel-fermented and nine...
RED
Bodega Garzon is a label of a big company called Agroland, one...
Ridiculously heavy bottle, even worse than the 2004 1er Cru d...
This wine has since been renamed Massimo Deicas (see note on the...
Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit...
Tannat, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit...
Garzón Vineyard in the Valle de los Manatiales, near Punta del...
Garzón Vineyard in the Valle de los Manatiales, near Punta del...
Horribly heavy bottle – worse than the other reds. Tannat/Merlot...
Unnecessarily heavy bottle. 14 months in new US oak. Bottled...
Unnecessarily heavy bottle. Bottle number 1965 out of 1982. 11...
Bottle number 829 out of 2000. Single vineyard. 10 months in US...
