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TASTING NOTES
The tasting notes listed here (available by clicking on the Notes icon next to each wine) are simply the abbreviated tasting notes. If you would like the full Daily Drinker tasting note with information on variety, producer and region, these can be found on The Daily Drinker blog  or on the Back Issues page.

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DAILY DRINKER WINES

September 2010 – Issue 22

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2008	* Principio, Antonio Camillo, Toscana, Italy Notes: N.B. This is 100% Ciliegiolo and 13.5%abv.   A deep colour in the glass. The nose is an amalgam of fruit and spice. I find black cherry and bramble and, for a moment, something like candied cranberry. There's a hint of cocoa powder, the merest murmur of something floral and strawberry-esque, plus a dry spiciness, verging on pepper. This doesn't offer up a flamboyant nose, but it does come across as quite complex and confident.   A cool and smooth palate. There are some mild tannins like velvet paste, as well as a slight salinity to the berry fruit. Good shape this: controlled drive through to the mouth-coating finish. Fresh and spicy wine that picks up juice and structure and grip through the palate to a finish that has something of the nut paste about it.		6x75cl	£57.00
2009	* Verdejo, Vina Cascarela, Rueda, Spain Notes: This is a pale straw/lemon colour in the glass.   The nose of this wine is floral, displaying a pleasing richness. I found herbal notes and a slight pepperiness to the aromas, as well as hints of banana to the green melon and cut green apple fruit.   Once in the mouth, this delivers salted minerals cross the tongue. It's juicy fresh and there's that hint of pepperiness again. A good density of granular minerality. The finish is long, dry and powdery. Purposeful, concentrated, expressive wine.   Later, at 10 degrees C: Very lemony nose, those floral notes again. Lemon palate, nicely focussed and fresh. Good fruit texture. The minerals are less in evidence, although the finish still has a powdery aspect. N.B. I found that the optimum temperature for this wine is c. 16 degrees C		6x75cl	£48.00
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August 2010 – Issue 21

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2009	* Gamay Rosé Les Hexagonales, Jean Mérieau, Loire Valley, France Notes: NB. Initially tasted at 22 degrees C.   A mid-salmon pink colour.   Wealth of fruit and nut on the nose. I found fruits very much of the hedgerow persuasion: haw and rosehip and red plums. There's an aroma of nut paste here.   This is one super-fresh wine that gains in juice throughout its length to a truly lemon finish. Zippy, one might almost say. The fruit flavours are similar to those found on the nose and there's an earthy minerality that rather coats the tongue. Be interesting to see how this changes when chilled.   2nd tasting at 11 degrees C: the wine exhibits fruits of a more domestic kind: raspberry and redcurrant. This is pared back pink wine and all the better for it. There is no puppy fat, just a dry fruit expression, full of tension and freshness.		12x75cl	£99.00
2009	* Picpoul de Pinet, Château de la Mirande, Côteaux du Languedoc, France Notes: N.B. I tasted this at 10 degrees C: about right!   A rich and clean nose of lovely ripe fruits. I can identify pear and white peach, certainly, as well as sugared grapefruit. There's a sort of nuttiness here, as well, and for a while I identified - a little hauntingly - white lilies.   The palate is clean and delightfully fresh, the acidity medium and really citrus. A long wine and there are some earthy minerals wrapped around the finish in particular. Pear and lemon fruit flavours. Lovely on its own, or with salads, fish and simple chicken recipes. Bouillabaise (when you've had enough of rosé!). Oysters!!		6x75cl	£48.00
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July 2010 – Issue 20

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2008	* Kekfrankos, Weninger, Sopron, Hungary Notes: There's a lovely black cherry tang to the fruit on the nose. Those cherries are intertwined with summery floral aromas.   Across the tongue the fruit is rich, a touch of bitterness ratcheting up the sensation of freshness. There's a satchel full of structure here in the form of an almost metallic minerality and chunky, ripe tannins. This is one highly vigorous wine and an intense one. The finish is all about sour black cherry fruit.   Take food with this; it's not a wine to be drunk whilst chatting over the garden fence. Lamb tagine would be ideal; snags from the Barbie, perhaps.		6x75cl	£69.00
2007	* Coda di Volpe, Cantina Vadapierti, Campania, Italy Notes: N.B. This was tasted at 11 degrees C. Start there and let it warm in the glass.   Not exactly pale; really quite mature-looking gold/lemon colour Curious nose and one hard to describe. Dried fruit peel and nuts, as well as something like surgical lint. Ripe citrus fruits, through lemon to orange and beyond. Phew! Really struggling to name those aromas.   It's complex, anyway. Damp earth. This is one very mineral mouthful, with excellent underlying acidity. Flavours are similar to the aromas i.e. nuts and citrus. A juicy wine. This has an almost ashen dryness underlying this odd fruit. But I do like it. It's quirky in the extreme.   Drink with gouda, chicken and its skin, wild mushroom risotto, smoked duck and other.		6x75cl	£61.50
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June 2010 – Issue 19

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2008	* Chenin Blanc, Bogle Vineyards, California, USA Notes: There are aspects of white flowers to the ripe nose giving off scents of classic Chenin "wet wool" as well as green apple and something more exotic; pineapple, perhaps and melon.   The palate is, perhaps, a touch off dry, but choc-full with profusion of ripe fruits, green and yellow. In the mid-palate I found a suggestion of rose petals - just a nuance - and the whole thing leads on to a very credible long finish. A well balanced and "true" example of the variety.   Excellent to drink on its own, or with salads of various kinds. Fish and plain chicken dishes would probably work okay, as would the milder fish curries.		12x75cl	£126.00
2008	* Nebbiolo d'Alba, Marco Porello, Piemonte, Italy Notes: Medium deeply coloured and with the classic Nebbiolo colour: ruby with an almost gold cast to it.   The nose here is a touch floral, with notes of sugared almonds and sweet-smelling fruit of red and black cherries. There's a salinity to the aromas and a smell like gingernut biscuits. Hints of dried fruit, too, and something that reminds me of menthol. Blueberries, some of them squishy. Aromas of sweet spice: liquorice and ground coriander.   An immediately fresh wine, this. Nice weight of crisp red fruits, the acidity becoming stronger throughout to a lipsmacking finish. A juicy wine and one with a fine dusting of really quite elegant tannins that become increasingly tacky as the wine breathes. Excellent length here. This is a welcome jab in the taste buds with delicious fruit. A food wine offering flavours of red and black cherries, some dried and salted.   This would drink very well with lamb, pork, roast chicken, cheese and quite a lot else besides. And it would last a couple of years, no problem.		12x75cl	£120.00
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May 2010 – Issue 18

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2009	* Vale da Murta Branco, Quinta da Murta, Portugal Notes: N.B. This is made from Arinto with a pinch of Esgana Cão (or "dog strangler").   The nose here is very approachable. Friendly aromas of ripe fruits - white currant - accompanied by notes herbal, lactic, of spice and peach, the whole thing a touch leafy.   The palate is cool and compact and there is more than a hint of grapefruit about both the fruit character and the acidity. There are herbal flavours here, too. Very juicy wine and a very pleasant one.   Great on its own; excellent with salads, fish or chicken.   I would drink this within a year, although it might be fun, should you buy a case, to retain a few bottle and see how they develop, since Arinto is certainly capable of ageing.		6x75cl	£54.00
2009	* Barbera La Colonia, Bodegas Norton, Mendoza, Argentina Notes: Light, airy nose of red and black currant fruit. A touch floral and, perhaps, the merest hint of liquorice. A smoky whiff. Can I identify a slight note of fish?!?   Very cool and medium weight. This is both a mineral wine and a fresh one. I found crisp, refreshing tannins that are a touch grainy and altogether lip-smacking. Structured, appetising and delicious, displaying fruit both red and black. This will hold for at least a year, most probably two.   As it's under screwcap, it would be best to store this (if kept for any length of time) standing up.   This is quite drinkable on its own, would be perfect with roast chicken, pork and simply cooked red meat dishes.		12x75cl	£84.00
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April 2010 – Issue 17

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2007	* Marselan MusT, Domaine de la Graveirette, Vin de Pays de la Principauté d'Orange, France Notes: The nose here is initially rather shy, opening up somewhat with aeration. It offers up very nutty aromas intertwined with scents of my mother's gingerbread (tasting notes should, to a degree, be personal items!) and the freshest black plums.   I found a rich fruit concentration in the mouth. There's nice, cool fruit of black plum with hints of spice. The medium tannins are very fine and ripe and texturally paste-like. This has some mineral underpinnings that come across as a slightly granular earthiness. The finish is crunchy/juicy. Good wine.   Could perhaps keep to 2 years.		12x75cl	£108.00
2008	* Roussette de Savoie Cru Frangy, Domaine Bruno Lupin, Savoie, France Notes: N.B. This was initially tasted at 9 degrees C: way too cold. (See below)   The colour is a very pale, very clear lemon.   The nose is crisp, of white flowers with hints of lemon. The nose did not initially seem to be the most expressive nose, even though I did locate some whiffs of stoniness.   First impression on the palate is of cold white wine; one without a great deal of character. The fruit is crisp and does adhere in concentrated fashion to the tongue. Acidity is somewhere between lemon and grapefruit, crisp and juicy. There is length here and it is pleasingly straight in the mouth. There's a slightly earthy mineral thing going on at the end and a suspicion of the crispest green apples. One for a summer day, perhaps. And a wine that can certainly be drunk on its own. As it warms, the impression of fruit becomes that of candied lemons.   At 14 degrees C, things start getting much more interesting. The mineral quality on the palate becomes much more pronounced. The nose takes on an aspect of wet nuts. There's a great deal more fruit concentration across the tongue. Suddenly the wine is worth the money!		6x75cl	£66.00
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March 2010 – Issue 16

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2009	* Torrontes Urban, Bodegas y Viñedos O Fournier, Cafayete, Argentina Notes: The aromas one finds here are absolutely definitive of this variety and not 1M miles away from the grapiness of a Gewurztraminer or Muscat. I find a perfumed wine, redolent of grapes and flowers and herbs. There's something of the rose petal and the finest Sobranie cigarette smoke.   For what smells as though it could well be a sweet wine, this sure is mineral and focussed. It is very direct across the tongue; compact even. A dry and nicely fresh example with a delightful lift of freshness at the back of the palate.		12x75cl	£90.00
2006	* Crianza, Bodegues Macia Batle, Binissalem, Mallorca Notes: N.B. This is a blend of Manto Negro, Callet and Cabernet Sauvignon.   This is an almost opaque ruby red colour in the glass.   The nose is rich and dense, giving up creamy milk chocolate wood aromas, along with ripe, black plum fruit.   Taking a sip, I found a pillowy mouthful of black fruit. Half way through minerals and some fine tannins arrive, making the whole more serious than one has, perhaps, initially assessed. This is crisply fresh, with some chocolate wood appearing at the back. Long enough and the finish, although woody, is structured and persistent. Touch of cold tea and beef extract. This will keep another year, perhaps two, and would perfectly accompany red meats, meat-and-tomato pasta dishes and game.		6x75cl	£73.50
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February 2010 – Issue 15

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2008	* Pecorino Le Merlettaie, Ciu' Ciu', Marche, Italy Notes: A pale but pronounced lemon yellow colour in the glass.   I found a rich nose, one of delicious yellow fruits: super-ripe pears; yellow melon; hints of apricot and sweet nut. There's a lovely richness of fruit on the palate, fruit that is quickly joined by a fine, almost pumice/ash-like minerality.   The palate is nutty and that richness quickly becomes checked by the structure: that minerality and the fine, medium acidity, almost cached beneath the ripe fruit. The structure gives the palate shape. There's much more than mere fruit going on here. Definite herbal wisps and a distinct stoniness. There seems to be a complexity of soil influence in this wine. A long wine. The fruit adheres tackily to the tongue long after it's swallowed. Highly unusual mouthful, bright, rich and choc-full of character. Drink with oily fish, chicken dishes (even creamy ones) and, perhaps, pork chops. On its own or with seafood wouldn't be a bad idea, either.		6x75cl	£60.00
2007	* Reserve Carmenère, Vina Tabali, Limari Valley, Chile Notes:		6x75cl	£57.00
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January 2010 – Issue 14

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2008	* Pinot Bianco, Cantina Andrian, Alto-Adige, Italy Notes: N.B. This was tasted at 10 degrees C and could be consumed a little warmer.   A pretty wine in the glass; pale-but-pronounced lemon yellow.   A nose aromatic with ripe yellow fruits. There are spiced pears, a slightly lactic note, like fresh fruit stirred into Greek yoghurt, plus notes of nectarine and dried fruit skins. There's a delightful sweetness to the aromas. Grilled hazelnuts; the merest hint of something herbal.   Nice richness of fruit on entry, but this lacks nothing in structure. Spice and dried fruit skins again appear in the mouth. There's an orangey aspect to the fruit and, particularly, the acidity. Length is nice and there are mild mineral sensations to be found - like pumice dust - around the finish. Balance is notable, with the acidity rising to the fore gradually throughout the wine's length. A peary thing, this, and a very lovely one. Hint of bitter almond left in one's mouth after swallowing/spitting.		6x75cl	£67.50
2008	* Canforrales Clasico Tempranillo, Bodegas Campos Reales, La Mancha, Spain Notes: N.B. This wine is made to be consumed young, but can be consumed with pleasure over the next year to eighteen months. It can be drunk with cured and white meats, simple red meat dishes and salads.   Good colour: a very deep ruby purple.   A clean nose of fresh black secondary fruit. I find the freshest black cherries and plums. There's a note of dark chocolate here, almost chocolate fudge, and a hint of the burnt edges of a gingerbread.   Palate, too, exhibits clear, fresh fruit. Crunchy fresh flavours of black cherry and plum. This is very mineral and has some quite grainy, solid tannin in support. A greatly textured wine, long and highly structured.		12x75cl	£81.00
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December 2009 – Issue 13

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2007	* Malbec, Achaval-Ferrer, Mendoza, Argentina Notes: There's a great intensity of colour in the glass: a very deep ruby-purple. Glass nose-ward and one is met by aromas of ripe fruits that include plum and cherry. There's a touch of creaminess about the nose, along with hints of pepper. This goes into the mouth creamy and plush. There's fine control to the palate which, I am sure, speaks of the altitude of the vineyards and the day-night temperature contrast, warm days followed by cool nights, lending aroma and finesse. Tannins are fine, medium and slightly nutty and I located minerals that resemble the finest sand. Beautifully long. A structured, fresh and plummy wine.		12x75cl	£150.00
2008	* Canforrales Lucia Airen, Bodegas Campos Reales, La Mancha, Spain Notes: I found a pretty, pale lemon liquid in the glass. A clean nose of ripe lemons and other fresh citrus aromas; perhaps a hint of Satsuma and green orange. A nutty note, too. Very fresh palate; there's acidity running right through this. Lovely drive through the palate to a long finish shrouded with fine granular minerals. Nice earthy expression at the end. Lemon fresh and lively wine. Good, cool, linear shape in the mouth. Lemon and lime fruit.		12x75cl	£72.00
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November 2009 – Issue 12

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2008	* Gavi del Commune di Gavi Granée, Bene di Batasiolo, Piemonte, Italy Notes: A cool blast of spiced, fresh pear and green apple nose, with hints of fennel, lemon grass and fresh herbs: lime leaves perhaps.   Beautifully cool palate (coolness becoming something of a theme, I think!). I found sugared almonds and pears. This is a very long and controlled palate, with a touch of spice about it.   N.B. Some time after opening, I noted that the nose had taken on a dominant aroma of very ripe grapefruit.		6x75cl	£60.00
2008	* Marcillac Lo Sang del Païs,, Domaine du Cros, Midi-Pyrénées, France Notes: A very deep ruby purple in the glass.   Really fresh and crunchy nose of spice and blackcurrants a couple of days from ripeness, along with a suggestion of purple flowers. Raspberries, possibly salted ones. Maybe a lick of liquorice. Is there a hint of earth here? I think so.   The palate is very cool, crisp, with lovely fresh concentration. If you look hard for tannin you can find a very little, powdery stuff, but it's slight to say the least. There are distinct flavours of nuts here; almond paste, perhaps. A long wine and a wine of real charm. The tannins become more evident right at the finish.		6x75cl	£49.50
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October 2009 – Issue 11

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2007	* Marsanne, Domaine de Montmarin, Vin de Pays de Côtes de Thongue, France Notes: N.B. This was tasted at 14 degrees C, but is so rich that one could chill it down to 8 or 9 degrees without losing aroma/flavour intensity.   This is a wine for flavourful chicken and pork dishes.   The colour is a pronounced pale lemon yellow. Really ripe fruits on the nose: dense, medium intense dried fruit aromas. Tropical fruits: a bit of mango, perhaps even a hint of lychee. A slightly peppery scent. Nut, too.   A very rich wine across the tongue showing rather creamy lychee fruit. Really decent length here, with quite enough freshness at the end to prevent it being flabby. This is almost a touch oily, but, importantly, it finishes very clean. This comes across like a liqueur of yellow fruits, delicious but filling.		6x75cl	£39.00
2008	* Feteasca Neagra Caloian, Crama Oprisor, Romania Notes: N.B. Being sort of claret-weight, I would drink this with beef, lamb, venison, cottage pie, beef burgers, spaghetti bolognaise and only moderately gamey game.   The colour is a beautiful, very deep ruby-purple.   This gives up a fresh nose of crisp black fruits. There's a hint of pepper and other dry spice to the crunchy black cherries and plums accented by a touch of dark chocolate.   A fresh, pure fruit palate. Rich and fine, slightly tacky tannins and there's a hint of the alcohol (14%abv) at the end. Medium weight, with good juice at the back. Juicy finish. Plum crunch and nut.   Later on: cold apple and blackberry pie, plus putty/wet paint aromas.		6x75cl	£48.00
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September 2009 – Issue 10

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2007	* St Nicolas de Bourgueil , Frédéric Mabileau, Loire Valley, France Notes: There's the merest hint of blue to this medium-deep ruby wine.   A good Daily Drinker wine in that the nose here could be nothing but Cabernet Franc. Signature aromas of sap, spice and pencil shavings accompany notes of liquorice, cocoa powder and blackcurrants a day from ripeness (some would say blackcurrant leaf). Aromas of dried herbs then, later, red plum and cranberry.   Very cool wine across the palate, with an almost laser-guided focus. There's real bite to the ripe tannins. Flavours of tangy red and black fruits are underscored by a minerality that manages to be both chalky and granular. The tannins are ripe, fine and lightly apple-pippy. Hint of tobacco. The finish here is really busy.		12x75cl	£132.00
2007	* Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Pignocco, Santa Barbara, Marche, Italy Notes: A lovely richness of unrestrained ripe yellow fruits here. Some of those fruits smell dried, others crystallised. A symptom of its aromatic complexity is the time one wants to allot to simply taking in its spectrum of aromas. This has one delicious aura!   Really concentrated fruit on the palate. If you consider the difference between plain water and the texture of this wine across the tongue, you really notice how much is crammed into each mouthful. There's a great swathe of minerals across the palate, as well as a peppery spiciness. The fruit flavours stay in the mouth for ages i.e. it's a very long wine. Get to the end of the palate and one realises that all the boxes have been ticked: significant structural underpinnings; fabulous balance, and a rich dimensional finish. Voilà! Excellent wine.		12x75cl	£96.00
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August 2009 – Issue 9

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
NV	* Brachetto d'Aqui Spumante Conte di Gropello, Terre da Vino, Piemonte, Italy Notes: A lovely, summery nose of floral raspberry and strawberry aromas A lovely nose, the aromas of which almost define summertime. I found raspberries and strawberries in profusion, along with a distinct aroma of rose petals.   In the mouth, this is gently fizzing and semi-sweet. There are those delightful strawberry flavours that linger nicely on the palate.   N.B. Okay, okay; so it's a rather concise tasting note. But then this is a wine that's not supposed to be complicated in any way. It is purely a thing of pleasure and what's wrong with that? "Unashamed" sums up the joy to be had in its consumption.		6x75cl	£63.00
2007	* Viognier, Domaine de Coudelet, Vin de Pays d'Oc, French Country, France Notes: The nose is a ripe compote of fruits, both fresh and dried. Sun-drenched apricots meet fresh ripe peaches and a distinct nuttiness in this fat, concentrated nose. I also found dried flowers and a note like gunflint. (N.B. This specific aroma - pierre de fusil in French - is a scent imparted by the soil.)   Great focus here in the mouth, especially for a variety that can be presented over-ripe and rather shapeless. Ripe fruit in the same vein as the aromas i.e. very ripe stone fruits, some of which are dried (those dehydrated apricots that have such a dramatic effect on one's digestion). This retains a freshness that prevents the wine being too heavy. The substantial mineral content also lifts the palate. Very long in the mouth.		12x75cl	£87.00
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July 2009 – Issue 8

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2008	* Lambrusco Reggiano Concerto, Ermete Medici & Figli, Emilia-Romagna, Italy Notes: This is opaque in the glass and demonstrates a rather fetching purple froth when poured.   The nose is of very black fruit with hints of pepper. I found slight notes of pear drops , too.   Across the tongue, this is a rich wine and one with a fine fizz to it. There's no real austerity here, as one might expect from some of the less civilised  Lambruscos. A wonderfully fresh mouthful full of black cherryish fruit, along with those black pepper notes again. The finish is big and busy. There are some very fine, integrated tannins. As ever, this is one to drink with spag bol or similar!		6x75cl	£51.00
2008	* Trebbiano d'Abruzzo, Fattoria Nicodemi, Abruzzo, Italy Notes: N.B. I tasted this wine unchilled at 21 degrees C. Take it out of the fridge half-an-hour before consuming and drink on its own, or with chicken and salads.   The first aromas I identified in this wine were wet almonds with hints of Plasticine. Believe me, this is not as bad as it sounds! On the contrary, I smelled this and wanted to dive straight in. After the aforementioned nut-and-modelling-clay, I also found pear and apple fruit, some dried; lemons, with spice notes. This is very nutty smelling and a touch floral: yellow blossom.   There's a lovely weight of fruit in the mouth. Dried fruits marry with tangy acidity and the rather metallic minerals at the back of the palate. There is a touch of fresh grip to this long wine and a lemon lift at the back.		12x75cl	£111.00
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June 2009 – Issue 7

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2008	* Txacoli Rubentis, Ameztoi, Geraria, Spain Notes: N.B. This is 100% Ondarrabi Beltzer.    The colour is a pale salmon pink and the wine has evident fizz. On the nose, I found expected aromas of peach, with wisps of red fruit; a spice that I couldn’t identify, plus something entirely unexpected that I could only dub garlic?! There are also floral aromas.   A dry wine, with quite a gentle fizz to it. There are distinct mineral notes to the lemon flavours and lemon acidity. As with the (more common) white Txacoli, this is one lively wine and perfect for cleansing the taste buds before a meal or simply for consuming in the heat of a torrid summer (whatever that is).		12x75cl	£117.00
2007	* Bairrada Branco, Casa de Saima, Bairrada, Portugal Notes: N.B. This is a blend of 50% old vine Bical and 50% of young vine Cerceal and Arinto.   A pale lemon straw colour in the glass Lovely clean nose of pure yellow fruits: pear, with hints of flowery apple. There are also aromas of almond blossom, banana and dried banana. Perhaps I found those slightly acetone notes of bananas that have gone squishy.   A very good weight of ripe, clean fruit in the mouth, with undertones of salted minerals. The flavours hint at pineapple and lemon with some grapefruit freshness. Excellent length carries the wine through to a crisp finish.		6x75cl	£48.00
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May 2009 – Issue 6

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2007	* Barbazzale Rosso, Cottanera, Sicily, Italy Notes: N.B. This is 91% Nerello Mascalese, with a 9% splash of Nero d'Avola.   The nose is full of rich, black fruits - plums and their crunchy skins when they're just ripe - as well chocolate notes. Raspberries intersperse the plums.   This goes into the mouth cool, supple and medium weight and then starts to pick up juiciness and grip and intensity. There's a little, fine, integrated tannin here. The fruit is black plum and those tangy skins. Great freshness here to this essentially hot climate wine. Great length, too.		6x75cl	£72.00
2008	* Grüner Veltliner Federspiel Terassen, Domaine Wachau, Wachau, Austria Notes: N.B. At 12%, this is another white of modest alcohol. 12% abv used to be the norm for many wines, but now seems like a Weightwatchers portion.   I tasted this at 19 degrees: perfect for evaluating a white wine. But I think this would benefit from refrigeration: 12 degrees would be about right.   This is pale in the glass and there are some obvious fine bubbles (CO2) in suspension.   A lovely fresh, clean nose here. There are hints of peppery spice – a characteristic of this variety – to the ripe pear fruit. I found some dried fruit, too, and a herbal note: sage?   This is noticeably pétillant and the ripe fruit is all about those peppery pears. Acidity is just medium, although the palate gains in juiciness throughout. Then I found some slate minerals. This is nicely long and, whilst not bone dry, welcomingly refreshing. There’s gentle grip at the end. I find it summery, like orchards in a full state of ripeness.		6x75cl	£54.00
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April 2009 – Issue 5

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2007	* Vinho Verde, Quinta de Avelada, Minho, Portugal Notes: N.B. At 11.5% abv this isn't going to give you too much of a headache if you consume it in the sun.   Temperature? Depends how you're drinking this. If on its own and on a hot day, straight from the fridge would be appropriate. With light food let it warm a little. This is very pale in the glass and there just a hint of the CO2 that one expects with these wines.   The nose is clean as a freshly shampooed whistle. There are ripe aromas of green apples, with hints of almond nuttiness. Melon is not inconceivable; nectarine not out of the question. The ripeness of the fruit becomes more apparent as the wine warms.   There's that same mélange of melon and apple turning slightly to lemon towards the back of the palate. At its core, minerals are to be found, licked from the subsoil of the vineyard by the vines' roots. And the CO2 prickles ever so slightly, adding that extra dimension of freshness.		6x75cl	£42.00
2004	* Carignan Orzada, Odfjell Vineyards, Maule, Chile Notes: Deep in colour; a beautiful ruby red.   The aromas are of creamy fruit, cassis and blackberry, as well as black cherry. I also found a nuance that made me think of nut paste. Not sure why.   In the mouth, the fruit is wonderfully pure and shot through with crystalline minerality. There is a great thrust of intensity about this that quickly raises one's opinion of it. And there are rich, fine, integrated tannins which travel right through to the long finish.   I think that this can be drunk now with great pleasure, or kept for up to 5 years. Best consumed with red meat. An ideal wine for roast beef.		12x75cl	£132.00
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March 2009 – Issue 4

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2006	* Vale de Murta Tinto, Quinta da Murta, Estremadura, Portugal Notes: This is a different animal altogether. There’s nothing refined about this wine, which is a brooding, grubbing about, earthy kind of red. It is black as night, fascinating and has everything New World reds offer, but is more interesting by far. One for charred hamster, possibly on a stick.		6x75cl	£48.00
1995	* Muscadet "L" d'Or de Luneau, Pierre Luneau Pepin, Loire Valley, France Notes: N.B. Initially, I tasted this rather warmer and then drank it later on at 14 degrees, which thought was spot on.   The colour is a bright lemon/straw: very young looking for a white wine of this age, but the firm acidity - a salient feature of Muscadet - has probably helped fix the colour to some extent.   The nose is ripe, cool and full of mineral interest. The fruit is that of green apples and is backed by spiced mineral and aromas of powdered rock. There's a hint of dried flowers, as well as notes of cereals and, oddly, clean leather. This still exhibits excellent fruit concentration.   The palate is predictably cool and there's good integrated grip. That acidity comes across as really lemony and juicy; rather more than medium fresh and well covered by the fruit. Showing lemon and salted melon fruit, this wine is long and really lively.		6x75cl	£76.50
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February 2009 – Issue 3

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2005	* Aglianico Contado, Di Majo Norante, Molise, Italy Notes: This sits in the glass and rather glowers at the taster being, as it is, a very deep, ruby/garnet colour.   The complexity of this wine is immediately apparent. I found mineral notes to the rich, new leather-shrouded, milk chocolate tinted, meaty black fruit.   The palate is rich in turn. There's a great deal of structure here,mineral underpinnings and a delightful freshness of acidity that runs right through it. Additional structure is added by the fine, tacky tannins. Notice the great energetic crunch at the end. A grippy wine is one that takes the tongue and makes it feel as though a grapy vice is gently squeezing it and grip is what I found here. There's great purpose to this fabulous red.		6x75cl	£67.50
2007	* I Graniti Vermentino di Gallura, Pedra Majore, Sardinia, Italy Notes: N.B. This wine is made from vineyards that are cultivated organically.   Pale straw yellow in colour with a green tinge.   A bright, brilliant, clean nose. I found fresh, ripe apples, as well as almonds and flowers, some of which are dried (chamomile?). There are mineral aromas, too. And perhaps some of the fruit is dried, reminding me of those slices of dried pear and apple that one can buy in those hand-knitted health shops. Ripe lemons. Spice. Perhaps a hint of pine.   This is cool and really very nutty and choc-full of grippy, fine, slightly earthy minerals. This is a really fresh mouthful of wine, the effect of the medium acidity being ameliorated by the refreshing minerality, which comes across like salted lemons. I love the shape of this in the mouth; it's very linear and straight. A concentrated wine that leaves the tongue coated with a fine, powdery deposit: terroir, I think!		6x75cl	£75.00
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January 2009 – Issue 2

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2006	* Bourgogne Aligoté, Guy Amiot, Burgundy, France Notes: Pale straw lemon colour.   This has something of the earthy mineral aromas that one thinks probably defines this variety. There are herbal nuances to the rich and pure nose. The fruit is all about pears and there are notes of nut, as well as dried lime flowers.   There's a creaminess to the fruit here, possibly resulting from the antiquity of the vineyard. Rich fruit, but with very good freshness. The medium acidity is juicily citrus. There's that hint of earthiness again, plus rather delicious apple and pear fruit. This is very satisfying. Top Aligoté, as usual from this source.		12x75cl	£117.00
2007	* Higueruela Tinto, Bodegas Tintoralba, Almansa, Spain Notes: N.B. This was opened and tasted straightaway. The remainder of the bottle was left open and tasted again 24 and then 48 hours later. It was at its best on day two and still very pleasant on Day three. Please give it lots of air! A good nose and a pure one here. I found an aroma that I could only describe as “black raspberry”. This is an expression that I have seen in Robert Parker’s notes for years and always wondered what he was on about. In this case, it seemed to fit the bill perfectly! Along with the aforementioned BRs, I found a lifted spice aroma, as well as hints of cocoa and smoke. This is a rich wine, but has delightful freshness right the way through it. There are rich, fine tannins and fine, integrated minerals. This is well balanced, with excellent intensity and concentration and there’s energetic grip to be found at the end. There’s black, herb-tinged fruit running through to the long finish.		6x75cl	£42.00
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December 2008 – Issue 1

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2007	* Nero d'Avola Rossoibleo, Azienda Agricola Gulfi, Sicily, Italy Notes: The colour in the glass is a very deep ruby purple.   The nose is fresh and quite complex, of crisp black cherry fruit showing fine purity. There are hints of liquorice, tobacco and, perhaps, chestnuts. A touch of earthiness, with wisps of bonfire smoke and dark chocolate. Touch of meat.   The palate finds satin-smooth black cherry fruit with very good integrated freshness. Acidity is medium and quite citrus. There are some fine tannins in evidence. This is knit and long and there's good grip at the end. Quirky and lipsmacking!		12x75cl	£114.00
2006	* Vini Estremi Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle, La Cave du Vin Blanc de Morgex et de la Salle, Valle d'Aosta, Italy Notes: A delicious, berry-ish nose giving of aromas of tangerine fruit, along with wisps of smoke. There are floral notes of almond flowers, as well as clean ripe pears. This is rich in the mouth and very mineral. Clean and compact. The tangerine fruit appears again on the palate, as well as a nutty nuance. This is long and very juicy and highly intense at the end, with an aftertaste of citrus fruit and ripe apples. Just fabulous wine.		6x75cl	£70.50
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Other Bowes Wine Drinking Wines

Sparkling

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
NV	Prosecco, Cipriano di Venezia, Veneto, Italy Notes:		6x75cl	£54.00
NV	Gosset Brut Excellence, Champagne, France Notes: The quality is immediately apparent in this non-vintage wine from one of the greatest, and yet lesser-known, champagne houses. The aromas are rich and broad and bready. The palate bursts with mature flavours and the finest mousse: a sure sign of quality. Try any of Gosset’s wines for profound champagne experiences.		6x75cl	£150.00
NV	Prosecco di Conegliano, Carpene Malvolte, Veneto, Italy Notes: There’s something about Prosecco, perhaps the fact that, unlike all those champagne-alikes one finds emanating from all corners of the globe, it doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. Here’s we find soft aromas of flowers, tangerine, with notes of some of the softer fruits. The palate isn’t dead dry and is all the more user friendly for it. Gently sparking and just sooooo drinkable. Get it cold; pour it out. And have another on stand by!		6x75cl	£60.00
NV	NV Cuvée Réserve Rosé, Champagne Philipponnat, Champagne, France Notes: There a good, rich wealth of red fruits to be found on the nose here, including redcurrants and a hint of toast. The mousse is very fine indeed, the whole palate fresh and crunchy and, more importantly, absolutely delicious. Real zip here. Lovely stuff.		6x75cl	£180.00
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White

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2007	Sauvignon de Touraine, Domaine Guy Allion, Loire Valley, France Notes: A pungent Sauvignon Blanc nose of crushed Choisya leaves, fresh cut grass and herbs. Very clean and lively smelling with green apple aromas as well as minerals. Really good weighht of fruit here. I found currant leaves and lemon and the acidity is citrus. Excellent shape and concentration. Grapefruit. Very long and with fine tension. There are ashen minerals at the finish. Better than many a Sancerre.		6x75cl	£42.00
2006	Sauvignon Blanc, Oak Valley, Elgin, South Africa Notes: The nose is quite aromatic, but lacks the extravagance of many kiwi examples. There are smoky, nettly aromas, along with scents of green orange and lemons. Complex, with really good ripe fruit. This is fresh, but not overly so. Leafy, crunchy and juicy wine. Long, with that green orange finish. Fabulous stuff and living proof that South Africa can produce among the world's best Sauvignons.		6x75cl	£49.50
2006	Verdelho, Pyramid Hill, Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia Notes: This offers a wonderfully clear and clean nose, completely unoccluded by oak, and giving up aromas of ripe pear juice and herbal hints. Apples are in there, too, plus hints of fennel, maybe, and pepper.   The palate is rich-but-crisp and of spiced pears; crunchy-ripe, with a very slight aniseed twist. Medium acidity is quite enough to keep this fresh. Satisfyingly long and crunchy at the end, I would drink this as an aperitif, with chicken, salads or hard cheese.		12x75cl	£105.00
2006	Verdicchio Castelli di Jesi Classico, Vigna delle Oche, San Lorenzo, Marche, Italy Notes: This is paler than the 2005 that we previously stocked, but still a positive lemon-gold hue. A rich nose meets the taster, giving up complex aromas of fresh, crystallised and dried fruits: pineapple; apricot, and peach. Very ripe nose. The peaches have warm furry skins! They are friends of yellow cherries. A membrillo hint, plus a wisp of fennel/liquorice. The palate's rich, too. Really good definition here. There's an earthy note to this concentrated and very long wine. Intriguing flinty mineral flavours. Acidity is barely medium, but there's quite enough to keep this fresh. This is one delicious, big mouthful; a touch meaty. Powdered minerals at the end and a fabulous finish. Different to the '05, but no less stunning a drinking wine.		6x75cl	£60.00
2007	Roero Arneis, Negro, Piemonte, Italy Notes: The nose is smoky, with a suspicion of Chablis like flint about it. It's also very nutty and covered with ripe apple fruit. In the mouth, this is compact and structured and nutty; balanced, with medium, well covered acidity. Long and even a bit age-worthy, with delicious pure pear and apple fruit. Near parallel shape. Very long, with a full, complex finish.		12x75cl	£120.00
2005	Riesling Beblenheim, Trapet, Alsace, France Notes: A rich nose and a toasty one, full of lime fruit undercut by slate minerals. This is rich, with big mineral stamp: very slaty. Concentrated, but highly structured palate. Balanced and persistent. Very long, with that lime fruit filling the middle palate and medium plus acidity lifting the finish. This is quite a masculine example and a fine one.		6x75cl	£84.00
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Red

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2005	Roulette Rouge, Lammershoek, Coastal Region, South Africa Notes: The colour here is a very deep ruby purple. The one lifts it nose-ward and one is met by an array of spices, notes of leather and rich bramble and plum fruit. This is not New Worldy, being cooler and less outgoing, but there is a delicious pastille-like ripeness. There is also a fascinating aromas I can only describe as being like fenugreek! There may also be some ginger, so we're well on our way to a curry. The palate is cool and nicely brough into focus by medium, very fine, integrated tannins. There's great freshness and good length...plus that bright, black plum and cherry fruit. This reminds me of nothing so much as a super-clean, expressive Rhône wine.		12x75cl	£120.00
2006	Côtes-du-Rhône Les Deux Albions, Château de Saint Cosme, Southern Rhône, France Notes: N.B. This is 50% Syrah, 15% Grenache, 15% Mourvèdre, 10% Carignan and 10% Clairette (yes; a white grape!).   N.B.x2. When I first tasted this wine, I thought drinking dates of 2010-16 would be suitable. I have no doubt that the wine will drink superbly until 2016, but having tried it recently, I can say that it is drinking very well, esecially if given time to breathe and preceded by a mouthful of meat.   This is really quite closed, but there are some fresh black cherry and plum aromas intertwined with scents of purple flowers. It hints at dark chocolate, too.   This is creamy across the tongue and shows very black fruit. There are rich and nutty tannins in profusion right through this. This is backward and highly structured, with medium acidity well hidden beneath the fruit. Very, very long. There's fabulous energy to the finish.   "...an almost Guigal Côte Rôtie La Mouline-like floral complexity to the black fruit character. 90/100." Robert Parker		12x75cl	£129.00
2006	Morellino di Scansano, Trevvalle, Toscana, Italy Notes: N.B. This wine is oraganic and 90% Sangiovese, 7% Merlot and 3% Alicante (a red grape with coloured juice: one of the very few) A fresh nose with hints of spice framing ripe fruit of red plums and cherries, a touch creamy. There are notes of the biscuit tin. The palate is fresh and very long and dusted with very fine ripe, mild tannin. Fresh red fruits hide an arrow of crisp acidity arcs across the tongue and nails it to the full, grippy finish. With breathing, the nose plumps up and starts to take on bramble aspects, as well as aromas of smoke and black cherries. The palate retains its freshness, but the entry fills out. Tannins are nutty; acidity fresh, almost citrus. Lipsmacking stuff!		6x75cl	£60.00
2006	Meandro Tinto, Quinta do Val Meao, Douro, Portugal Notes: A brilliant nose, as ever, here. Soaring aromas of red and black fruits: plum and bramble. There are also nuances of grilled meat and smoke.   The palate offers great complexity already. Punctuating the rich, meaty fruit are spicy (peppery) flavours and the long finished is wreathed in mineral terroir. There are some grainy tannins here thaht suggest this would be best enjoyed with a large chunk of something that was recenlty walking the earth.		6x75cl	£90.00
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Rose

Vintage	Wine		Case size	Price Duty Paid
2006	Rosé (organic), Casa Agricola Roboredo Madeira (CARM), Douro, Portugal Notes: Here we're almost getting into the realms of what in Bordeaux would be called a clairette, somwhere between a red and a white wine.   The colour is an intense and rather beautiful cherry red. The nose reminds one of a plate of fresh summer berries, red and black, as do the flavours on the palate. This is big wine: a real fruit salad mouthful. Presented to my family over dinner on the Isle of Wight recently, it met with universal approval.		6x75cl	£51.00
2007	Rosé, Château de Pibarnon, Bandol, France Notes: The pale "onion skin" colour of the "pink" Pibarnon utterly belies the wine's concentration and intensity - almost meatiness - in the mouth. The aromas and flavours suggest nut and red, ripe fruits. The palate gives a weight of fruit that makes this very much capable of accompanying food, whilst fresh enough to be enjoyed on its own. Forget frivolous pink wine; this is something altogether more serious...and it's one that won't have a problem being forgotten until the no-doubt glorious English summers of '09 and even '10.		6x75cl	£93.00
2008	Bandol Rosé, Domaine Tempier, Bandol, France Notes: Very pale in colour, somewhere between salmon and onion skin A clear nose showing hints of spice to the bright red berry fruit. Wild plums This is concentarted a linear in the mouth. There are nutty touches from the Mourvèdre, which makes up 50% of this blend. This is wonderfully fresh and very long in the mouth. Above all, it is thoroughly delicious. Not sure, however, that it'll be worth the money until it's been cellared for a year or two. Will last 4 or 5 easily, I'd have thought.		12x75cl	£204.00
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