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Everyday whites

Everyday reds

Serious reds

                                    HTQI ratings    
A wine to seek out and enjoy as much as you can superbly over 140
A fairly reasonable wine worth trying, certainly better than its price suggests
111  to 140
Sound commercial wine for the price – goodish but no surprises
 90 to 110
A wine you should probably be thankful you didn’t buy, just try to enjoy at a friend’s  place –
65 to  89 points
If someone gives you this wine as a present, use it in the salad dressing or to de-scour  the kettle, or both sadly less than 65
  The HTQI is simply calculated by taking assessed value of wine divided by the actual retail price, so a wine “worth” £7.99 but costing just £4.99, has a HTQI of 799/499 = 160.  A really good buy indeed. 
       
Special Whites

 

 Comments Outlet Price HTQI Date tasted
Grand Cuvée Fournier Pouilly Fumé 2001 Vieilles Vignes Loire Valley France Pale colour suggest that it is not oxidised.  Nose contradicts this with a hint of apple and sulphur.  We once had a stand-up argument with a restaurateur in South West France when trying to send back a Sancerre Vieilles Vignes - he insisted they should have this maderised aroma - well maybe they should!!  But, we don't like it one bit.  Shame, cause it's full & well balanced in the mouth. Majestic £12.49 56 29th January 2004
Warwick Estate Wine, Simonsberg, Stellenbosch, Sth Africa  2002  Absolutely fine, with a hint of class.  Some wood, some peachy flavours and decent length of interesting  flavours.  Needs stronger chardonnay flavour to stand out from the crowd.  Still, nobody will find it offensive which can not always be said for ... Waitrose £7.99 100 10th January 2004
Les Griottes Pouilly-Fume, Loire Valley, France  2002 Jean-Pierre Bailly Acidic yes, flavoursome no.  Reasonable mouthfeel but that's not enough.  Oh yes and we forgot - charming old fashioned label.   Majestic £9.49 84 6th January 2004
Waimea Estates, Nelson NZ  Sauvignon blanc 2003 Fascinating to learn from the back label that the sugar content of the grapes at harvest was 21.7 Brix.  Armed with this, tasting is much more interesting but its a shame that the wine itself is nothing special at all - still, much better than the average Pouilly Fume at same price, but compared to its compatriots it is not excellent value.  Strong nettles flavours and well balanced.  We are starting to expect too much from NZ     Majestic £8.99 88 4th January 2004
One Tree Unoaked Chardonnay Hawkes Bay NZ 2002  Sound and eminently drinkable, if somewhat dull and boring chardonnay - nice change from the oaky/woody New World wines.  This has reasonable length of peach flavours, but needs a lift.     Waitrose £7.99 100 1st January 2004
Babich Marlborough NZ 2003  Pinot Gris  Quite different due to the slight sweetness which is a shock.  Fruity and spicy with a reasonable length.  Not really that satisfying.  Unwins £7.99 78 15th December 2003
Blason de Bourgogne Cuvée 2001 Saint-Veran Chardonnay Burgundy A lovely clean fresh chardonnay without any wood from the overlooked area close to (the expensive) Pouilly-Fuissé  - nothing totally sensational but truly decent value that should sell for around £10. Tesco £7.99 125 4th December 2003
Inama Vin Soave 2001 Soave Classico Superiore, Italy Hooray hooray, a drinkable Italian white.  Heaps of buttery flavours, generous mouthfeel and long after-flavour.  Not cheap, but truly decently different and Superiore. Sainsburys £7.99 125 23rd November 2003
Pallister Estate Martinborough, NZ Sauvignon blanc 2002 Not bad - loads of fresh herbaceous nettles flavours, not too acidic and feels rich across the palate - but one can readily buy its competitors more easily and more cheaply.  Virgin Wines £8.90 89 12th November 2003
Nga Waka Chardonnay 2000 Martinborough New Zealand Excellent mature & simple chardonnay.  Go out and buy it. Majestic £7.99 145 25th September 2003
Fairview Viognier 2002 South Africa Luscious and big as you'd expect from the land of milk and honey, but a fly-half would be more interesting than this overweight & lumbering front-row.  Being 14.5% doesn't help - a little short of sherry.  OK, so it has varietal character (apricots) - shame it has to shout so loudy. Oddbins £9.99 80 18th September 2003
La Chiara Gavi  2002 DOCG Pale in colour, even paler in flavour.  Made from the cortese grape in Italy.  Too subtle for most to get excited about. Oddbins £7.49 80 15th September
Domaine la Tonnellerie Sancerre 2002  northern France A perfectly respectable Sancerre (at last!).  Not as luscious as its (estranged) cousin from Marlborough, but still an attractive, if somewhat thin, mouthful.   Oddbins £9.49 95 25th August
Somerset Hill Unwooded Chadonnay 2001  Denmark, Western Australia The interest with this wine is to guess whether more of your guests will find it too bitter or the flavours too abominable.  We did not like this wine at all.  The back-label promises an enticing mix of five different fruits - we couldn't find them!  Avoid. Oddbins £9.99 55 7th August 2003
Chateau de Varennes Savennières 2000  Loire, France Hats off to Oddbins for trying to flog something quite different.  From the decidedly unfashionable central Loire and made from under-appreciated Chenin Blanc grape.  Only slight trouble is that the appley flavour isn't really all that attractive if you are used to Sauvibmon or Chadonnay.  Great mouthfeel and plenty of complex & lasting flavour..... but is it nice?       Oddbins £9.99 93 5th August 2003
Oyster Bay  2002   Sauvignon Blanc  Marlborough New Zealand One of the affordable classics from NZ.  Now keenly priced at Safeway - a reliable performer with all the tell-tale flavours, fresh acidity and "give-me-another-glass" qualities of lots of Marlborough whites.   Safeway £7.03 109 3rd August 2003
Comte Lafond Sancerre 2001 France Still pale colour, with subtle (being kind) fruit flavour of no real interest but mountains of body/mouthfeel - especially from wine of "only" 12.5% alc.  A tad low in acid.  Our suggestion is to buy a bottle Montana Sauvignon - blend the two and you'll have the best of both worlds!  Try it. Majestic £14.99 67 28th July 2003
Yalumba The Virgilis Edan Valley Viognier  South Australia Wine Buying Rule #23 - Any wine that needs to prefix its name with "The" should be avoided!   Nice heavy bottle, smart label - shame the marketing dream isn't bourne out by the stuff in the bottle.  Decent apricot flavours but no overpowering complexity which one would hope for at this price. We'll stick to the £5.99 versions from South of France thanks.  Condrieu need not panic!   Wimbledon Wines £22.00 40 27th July 2003
Beringer Vineyards 1999 Napa Valley Chardonnay A big pleasant mouthful of old fashioned Californian chardonnay with several moments of length - and not wood dominated.  A big serious wine for those who find Chablis 1er Cru and St Aubin a little to anaemic.  Majestic £11.99 100 20th July
Renwood Sierra Series 2000 Viognier California Massive, mind-blowing and mouth-filling - has it been laced with something illegal from the 60's!!  Surely not, but what a kick.  Not shy, nor retiring this is a whooping wine to be enjoyed with free-range chicken.  A hint of reticence would have be tasteful. Oddbins £10.99 84 16th July 2003
Thelema Sauvignon Blanc 2002 Stellenbosch South Africa Lovely crisp  & flavoursome wine which is too expensive.  Stick with Marlborough. Majestic £10.99 75 7th July
Selaks Premium Selection Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough  NZ 2002 Along with Vila Maria and Montana, this wine is a benchmark of tasty NZ sauvignon blanc which are so popular.  Lovely crisp nettley fruit, good balance and a refreshing joy all summer.   But, is it getting too expensive? Oddbins £7.99 95 1st July
Hawkesbridge Willowsbank Vineyard Marborough NZ  2002 Excellent zesty and zingy gooseberries - kept fresh by screw-cap, lingering fruit flavours and well balanced - great on its own or with prawns.  Bit too pricey Oddbins £8.99 94 30th June
Cloudy Bay, Marlborough NZ  2002 Sauvignon blanc A good wine, a great reputation.  Still reasonable value compared to better Sancerre, but in truth not £5-6 better than lots of its classy siblings from Marlborough.  Lovely clean gooseberries with solid structure, and fairly long persistance.    Wine Cellar £13.99 82 5th March 2003
Cape Mentelle, Margaret River, Western Australia  Semillon & Sauvignon Blanc  2001 Not a sensationally wondrous wallop of flavour from the glass, but in the mouth this gem is truly expansive.  Velvet in the mouth, with long lingering fruity (not gooseberry) flavours.  Superb Waitose £9.99 130 25th February 2003
Montagny 1er Cru  La Grande Roche, southern Burgundy, France  2000  Louis Latour Subtle clean chardonnay with a teensey bit of oak flavour.  Balanced and safe, but give us the wine above any day.  (Good vinatge, good shipper, and just how do they continue to get away with it??) Majestic £9.99 72 22nd February 2003
Giyani  Chardonnay  2001  Robertson, South Africa  Danie de Wet 

 

 Big mouthful of 66% chardonnay and 34% oak.  Most folk will enjoy this because of the massive mouthfell and lingering oaky flavouts.  A wine that deserves to be popular, but could hardly be called "fine", in spite of the fancy heavy bottle.  Marks & Spencer £9.99 112 18th February 2003
Wither Hills Marlborough New Zealand  2002  Sauvignon Blanc Bulk standard NZ sauvignon blanc - but there's nothing wrong with that as we have an interesting flavour and consistent quality year in year out.   Pleasing long cut grass flavours.  Good stuff. Waitrose £7.99 108 7th February 2003
Tim Adams 2001 Riesling Clare Valley, South Australia We tasted this in May last year and said "Disappointingly timid flavours make this just dull and uninteresting.  Maybe several years in bottle will help it to open out, but we have our doubts"  Well, we were wrong, it has blossomed in bottle in terms of kerosene flavours.  An interesting wine, but not for the faint-hearted. Tesco £7.49 100 19th January 2003
Capel Vale Riesling 2001 Western Australia Too much carbon dioxide to breathe life into this rather overpowering mouthful.  Not enjoyed Sainsburys £7.99 50 17th January 2003
Saint Aubin 1er Cru, Les Murgers de Dents de Chiens  2000 Vincent Girardin  Burgundy Catchy little name for a wine.  Pity that reading the label is more fun than drinking the wine.  Oh yes, it has subtle chardonnay flavours - but you'd expect that from a great vintage with a little age.  Leave it on the shelf.  Majestic £13.99 67 15th January 2003
Fairview Viognier 2001 Paarl, South Africa Compared to most Condrieu this is good value, but against the vast majority of affordable Viognier (except Yalumba) this is NOT a steal.  OK, so there are hints of apricot and the mouthfeel is generous, but Le Midi from Sainsburys gives you that for less than £5 Sainsburys £8.99 83 14th January 2003
Chateau Suduiraut, 1er Cru Classe Sauternes 1998  France Luscious rotted and honey aroma.  Not a flavour that will widely appeal, but it is a class act - still needing 5 years in bottle at least.  Longish and persistent flavour, but overall the price can only be judged as extortiant.   Charles de Gaulle Airport - Duty Free

Half-bottle

Euro40

 40 10th January 2003
Neil Ellis Chardonnay, Stellenbosch, South Africa  2001 Powerful rich and classy chardonnay flavours.  Well balanced in the mouth with long aftertaste.  Will repay a few years in the wine-rack, but splendid now  Tesco £8.99 144 7th January 2003
Broglia Gavi La Meirana 2001  Piemonte, Italy Pale colour - so far so good.  Very subtle floral and nutty flavour - interesting.  Good big mouthful of wine with no Italian astringency.  So, overall its OK.  But most people will just not find it interesting enough at this price.  Tesco £8.49 85 23rd December 2002
La Duchesse Sancerre 2001  Cave de Sancerre, eastern Loire, France Another failure to live up to the once prestigious appellation.  Before NZ, they goy away with this quite easily - but no more.  There's nothing actually wrong with it except the lack of fruit flavours, a restricted aftertaste and of course the price.  Avoid. Majestic £8.99 78 19th December 2002
Les Griottes, Pouily-Fume, 2001
Jean-Pierre Bailly		 Insipid is a strong word, but not the wrong one! Maybe the French were able to get away with selling this sort of wine before the "flavour-driven" New World winemakers arrived. We would be surprised if Majestic get many repeat customers! Majestic £7.99 63 15th December 2002
Chablis 2000 Labelling at its most simple, and honest. This is reasonable old-fashioned Chablis. If you even wondered what Chardonnay was like with oak/wood, buy this and enjoy the simplicity of flavour. Clean and appealing, but no steal. Marks & Spencer £7.99 100 12th December 2002

Domaine du Pimont, Saint Aubin 1er Cru, Burgundy. 2000 		The above wine is
much better value, but this is pretty good stuff as well - the only real
difference is the wood flavours. Again from an excellent vintage a classy
wine - but a little too expensive.		 Marks & Spencer £12.99 85 11th
December 2002

Montagny 1er Cru, La Grande Roche, southern Burgundy 2000 Louis Latour
Appealing chardonnay flavours, and delightfully rich as you'd hope for from 2000. Well balanced and approachable, about the right price		 Majestic
£9.99 		90 10th December 2002
Domaine Bott-Geyl Riesling Riquewihr 1999 Alsace, France Pungent "diesely" but pleasant aromas, mouth-filling quality and long aftertaste. A classy wine which a lot of people won't enjoy as its so far from chardonnay. Applaud the fact that it dares to be different. Will age well and become even more assertive Majestic £7.99 125 8th December 2002
Tim Adams Semillon, 1999 Clare Valley, South Australia If you like chewing oak trees then this is your baby.  If you happen to prefer grapey wines then avoid like the plague. Full bodied. (The back label claims "intense Semillon tropical flavours", which is brave considering the tough UK Trades Description laws.) Avoid. Tesco £7.99 50 7th
December 2002
Hugel Tradition Alsace, France Riesling 1998 Simple class. A Ronseal wine. At its apogee of pungent oily and flinty flavours. Long aftertaste, enjoy it with salmon. Buy some, and shock the chardonnay-crowd. Tesco £9.99 125 6th December 2002
Marques de Murrieta Ygay Capellania, Rioja, Spain
Viura, Garnacha blanco, Malvasia 1996		 This is without doubt the worst wine (or salad dressing or embalming fluid) that we have sampled in 2002. Horrid musty and weird flavours complemented by a raw astringency. We tried several bottles assuming it was just a one-off problem. If only!! Majestic £8.49 12 4th December 2002
Martin Codax, Rias Baixas, Galicia, Spain Albarino 2001 Fresh acidity, but not excessive. Delightful floral flavours which come out slowly. A classy wine from an esoteric grape, which most people would drink without noticing. Pity. Sit down with this senorita and get to know her on her own terms. Majestic £7.99 112 4th December 2002
Sancerre, Les Champs Clos, Les Caves des Vins de Sancerre.  2001 What would you expect from all the individual growers who were too disorganised to sell/make their own wine!!  No seriously, its not toooo bad, with clean and subtle sauvignon flavours - a total lack of New World assertiveness. Nicolas £9.99 82 7th October 2002
Capel Vale, Western Australia Riesling 2001 Classic ripe and intoxicating riesling flavours - very agreeable.  Full bodied with thank goodness enough acidity to mature.  Dry.  Classy, but keep it a few years Majestic £7.49 120 10th October 2002
Jackson Estate, Marlborough, NZ, Sauvignon blanc, 2001 Almost over the top fruit flavours, hint of acidity and pleasing grassy/nettles flavours.  Archetypical NZ sauvignon - shame that they are getting so expensive  Majestic £8.99 92 7th October 2002
Montagny Premier Cru Caves Buxy 1999 southern Burgundy Tired old drop that perpetuates the myth of France producing good wines. Lacking both fruit flavours and long pleasant aftertaste - avoid at this price Nicolas £11.00 68 12th September 2002
Craggy Range Winery Avery Vineyard 2001 Sauvignon blanc Marlborough NZ Good solid, if somewhat uninspired wine.  Hints of nettle and gooseberries, but the length disappointing. Well balanced. Waitrose £9.99 80 10th September 2002
La Poussie Sancerre 2000 France Fantastic old fashioned black & white label with photo.  Suggested that this was a truly old fangled gem.  Its not. Nicolas £12.95 54 29th August 2002
Sancerre Antique Claude Riffault 2000 Disappointingly dull which is a shame as the label is really attractive!  A classic - case of relying a little too much on the name Sancerre.  Not offensive and well balanced but missing the class that this asking price demands Majestic £11.99 67 14th August 2002
Fairview Viognier 2000 Coastal Region South Africa Intense and attractive fruit, lowish on finesse but overall a pleasing fruity mouthful.  Unoaked.   Oddbins £8.99 100 14th August 2002
Selaks Premium Selection Sauvignon blanc 2001 Marlborough NZ Very close to being totally over the top - has it been doctored to have such massive green nettles flavour?  Otherwise well balanced and pleasing, but we remain suspicious. Oddbins £7.49 120 13th August 2002
Buitenverwachting 2000 Chardonnay Constantia South Africa Floral attractive flavours unfettered by oak.  Simply attractive.  Well balanced and reasonable value Oddbins £8.99 111 12th August 2002