Herewith 65 wines from the current range at Majestic in the UK. It's not a flawless offering, but does a pretty good job of combining mainstream varieties and regions with some esoterica. There's certainly an option for every palate – with the exception of natural wine fundamentalists, perhaps!
The notes are presented by style, colour and descending score.
SPARKLING
Proper apple fruit, fragrant floral top-notes. Just about...
Dull and uneventful. Puts the sham in champagne. (RH)
Pretty discreet. Apple and perhaps a hint of cherry, but their...
Impressively developed. Loads of crunchy green apple fruit –...
Bit of honey on the nose, but very neutral on the palate. White...
Weird confected character. Banana. Deathly dull. Clearly made to...
WHITE
Fantastic – if you want archetypal, balanced, sensitively made...
Unoaked. Yellow fruit, full body – alcohol seems a bit...
Lime fruit, light and all a bit forgettable. (RH)
Grassy, herbal nose. Pine-fresh. Commercially very appealling...
Broad, waxy, interesting palate with peach, pear and a sort of...
Creamy and a little bit oxidised. Lots of chewy extract, and a...
Mealy and rounded, bit of firework smokiness. Chardonnay by the...
Closed on the nose but abolutely singing on the palate with...
Going gold, and showing a smoky and slaty character plus loads...
Well defined fruit. Compact, intense. Clearly premium – for its...
Lots of ripe fruit and green beans. Playful reduction on the...
Grassy, green, lots of gooseberries. Fair enough for the (lower)...
Plain, flat. Austria doesn’t do cheap well, and Grüner has an...
They’ve squeezed some good flavour out of this – ripe and a...
Stone fruit, quite a bit of spritz, finishes quite abruptly and...
Ooh, very fragrant and bright, actually. Lime, flowers, soft and...
Nutty, dry, textural. Still fresh, but not really maturing –...
Not much to write about here, I’m afraid. A shadow of a Chablis...
Sensitively oaked, and evokes modern Australia – rather than...
Flinty, rather attractive nose that leads to a modest palate...
Made by an unidentified co-op. Very little varietal character...
Spritzy, lemon-infused but all a bit run of the mill. Works well...
Sweaty, lemon drops, minerals. Knocks the socks off the Pinard...
Smoky, light and fragrant style. Not sure I like it much for £20...
Distinct yeastiness with the requisite lemon fruit. Good...
ROSÉ
Yuck. There are some sulphur compounds on the nose that are...
RED
Still youthful, lots of vibrant black fruit upfront. All...
The quality of the fruit is so evident here – clearly and...
Smoky (but not rubbery) and firm on the nose, lots of bold black...
Blackcurrant, blackcurrant leaf, lots of fruit but a good...
96% Syrah. Really excellent fresh black fruit, meat, perhaps a...
American oak makes a big impression here, but the juicy, ripe...
Blackcurrant juice, a bit of herbaceous bitterness and a very...
Black fruit mass in a really stonewalling sort of way. Hard work...
Blackberry fruit, soft structure, pretty simple but enjoyable...
Forceful and impressive fruit definition. Bit of medicinal lift...
Ripe, juicy, but stinky and reductive too. Pale and light, rough...
Very lovely on the nose, really spicy and open with a claret...
Crude, slightly light body. Red fruit, basic. (RH)
Baked summer fruit pudding, distinctively Portuguese and bold...
Taut and firm, dense black fruit. Very powerful, almost cordial...
Lots of creamy oak, bramble fruit. Very charming. Long and...
There’s a reductive, pongy artifice to this that I don’t much...
Unobjectionable, but crude. Tastes like it costs a fiver. (RH)
Lovely fragrant, lifted nose and plenty of firm, dark fruit...
Plenty of spicy, sappy oak. Tight, modern, furry. Bitter notes...
Attractive blackcurrant and leather. A bit anti-climactic on the...
Chocolate, black cherry fruit. Sweet spices on the palate, but a...
Smoky, sophisticated, flinty nose – real complexity and class...
Fabulous earthy, developed, fragrant nose. Good amount of grip...
Classic pencil fragrance and fully ripe black fruit – no...
Very good blackcurrant fruit, has the lightness of 2007 but that...
Ripe, rich, modern but recognisably Cahors-esque thanks to a...
Plummy, baked fruit. Very decent, savoury structure. Rustic but...
Really earthy, savoury stuff here. Emphasises the non-fruit...
Lovely redcurrant with a touch of bitterness that works well...
Nice stalky and strawberry fruit here. Tangy acidity, fine lines...
Conventional, safe, lovely bold acidity. Fresh, bright, correct...
