The UK-based Wine Society continued its biannual tradition of showing off the great value it offers its members (who have admittedly to pay £40 for a life-time share in this wine-buying co-operative). Note the number of GVs and even VGVs below.
The reds were even more impressive, if anything, than the whites, although Mac Forbes' Blind Spot bottlings from all over Australia were outstanding value by any measure, especially when one thinks of the strength of the Australian dollar (although I thought the Yarra Chardonnay from his home patch one of the weaker wines in this range). There were some great bargains from Portugal, too.
Wines are listed by colour and in descending score order.WHITES
Château Cantegril is owned by father-and-son team Pierre and...
Gosh, how evocative to have such a sweet, relatively mature...
Certainly a textbook Gewurz at a great price with just a hint of...
Delicate, well balanced, slightly salty. Quite light and racy...
50% tank fermented and 50% barrel fermented. Broad palate entry...
Sulphides rule! And rob this wine of a little of its fruit. Hard...
Part barrel-fermented. Juicy, green and with a hint of popcorn...
Unoaked. Very competent but perhaps not quite as exciting as the...
Pungent and pure. Just the ticket. Very competent. (JR)
Brilliant texture, flavour and quality for the money. Such...
Big and off dry with quite a bit of residual sugar – borderline...
Pretty, well-judged sugar-acid balance in this sort of feinherb...
A beautiful wine showing the finesse and balance that may be...
Light and fresh. Delicate grapey fruit with a dry finish – quite...
Water white. Sweetish and sherbetty. Off dry. Charming and full...
Complex smoky nose. Creamy and rich. Then a dry finish. Really...
Rather industrial nose. Fast fade on the finish. (JR)
Good positive aperitif wine with some nettles and well...
70% Moscatel, 15% Sauvignon Blanc plus others. Heady and sweet...
100% Roussanne from a single vineyard. I'm a fan of The Foundry...
Bit dull but very green, fruity and refreshing. Competent even...
Hugely satisfying, broad, interesting blend. Drink up but VGV....
About 10% barrel-fermented wine. Very tight with something...
Organic. A bit ordinary and mass market on the nose. Slightly...
Tangy and bone dry. As though picked just a little before full...
ROSÉS
40% Nielluccio, 40% Sciacarello, 20% Grenache. You have to...
REDS
Fabulous value for such a mature wine sold in Australian dollars...
Carignan, Syrah, Grenache. Massively exuberant then minerally...
Sweet transparent and scented – very unlike the GSMs of old...
Not mad about the sweet oak. More appetising than the pure...
More serious than the Marselan, this has very sweet fruit with...
Lively, clean and fruity though far from the best value in this...
60% Gualtallary fruit at 1450 m, for perfume and finesse, and 40...
The Wine Society tasting note says it all: 'Fresh tasting...
Sweet and vibrant nose then a bit dull and sour on the end...
The second wine of Gruaud-Larose, farmed organically. Not...
Matured for a year in French oak barrels, 35% of which were new...
Fairly standard issue. Slightly inky. Not much charm. Wait? (JR)
85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Great price! Juicy and...
Useful half bottle. Lovely pure scent, even from this...
Deep crimson. Very nervy and rich on the nose with sleek, well...
Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch blend. Dusty fruity nose. Lots of...
Lower key and less dramatic than many a Douro red, but so much...
Rather sweet and modern and a tad industrial. Quite a jolt in...
Proper wine at a supermarket price. Just slightly dull on the...
Wonderfully seductive complex nose. Lighter and more open than...
Xynomavro, 40-year-old vines. Looks and smells quite evolved...
More complex nose than the Craggy Pinot made especially for the...
From their Te Muna Road vineyard. Interesting nose that splits...
Very aromatic and ethereal after the much earthier Marsannays...
Intense and rewarding, though still awfully dry after a very...
Pale cherry red. Bracing and uncompromising. None of the...
70% open-topped tanks and with new oak reduced from 40% to 20%...
Barbera and Bonarda. Lifted, fruity nose. Then real structure...
Scented and exuberantly ripe. Bone dry and tangy – almost as...
Exciting mineral streak cuts through the vibrant fruit. Dry...
Very fine and fresh and dense. Explosive but appetising fruit. G...
Very fresh and pretty on the nose. Bone dry but some very...
La Morra. No clarification or filtering. Quite pale crimson...
Aragonez (Tempranillo), with Touriga Nacional, Alicante Bouschet...
