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Rather unfairly, I slotted rosé tastings into the weeks that would normally occupy whites and so we tasted far fewer white wines than normal. Below are our favourites.
We tasted Viognier twice. In the South of France our favourite was Cazal Viel 2005, which is £7.99 from Thresher or £5.33 if you buy it on 3 for 2. Despite being 13.5%, the wine was in balance. It smelt of lemon and tropical fruit, possibly fried in butter - what a delicious idea! It had good balance between its acidity and body. It was fat and rich, tasting of apricot kernels, and these flavours lasted well. The alcohol didn't predominate, and it finished with delicious grapefruity acidity. In the New World, our favourite wine was, satisfyingly, one of the cheapest. The Boulders Limited Release 2004, from California, is £4.99 from the Co-op. It smelt cattily rather like Sauvignon, with something creamy and oaky. Sue was reminded of tête à tête daffodils. I think the reason we liked it so much was that it had a cleaner, fresher taste than the others, which we felt were almost over rich.
We tasted Sauvignons three times. Twice from New Zealand and once from Sancerre. Our favourite kiwi wine in January was Stoneleigh 2004, which is £6.99 from Waitrose. The smell was fabulously attractive with just a hint of gooseberry. It was zingy, almost tangy, in the mouth and the panel was very, very positive about it. In December, our favourite was Kaituna Hills Reserve 2005, which is a very good buy at M&S for £7.99. It absolutely reeked of gooseberries in a very attractive, inviting way. It was beautifully acidic in the mouth – a very good example. Our favourite Sancerre was Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference, at £8.99. It had a fresh, pleasant aroma, a little more fragrant than the others and it had just a touch more residual sugar, making it more approachable. It is still searingly dry and acidic.
We tasted Chardonnay at least five times, in a variety of different guises. Our favourite unoaked Chardonnay was Angove’s Bear Crossing Unwooded Chardonnay 2005, which is Australian and a very reasonable £4.99 from Waitrose. It smelt ripely of tropical fruit – Nikki suggested mango, which was as close as we could come. It had that faintly dirty smell that tropical fruit has, whilst being highly perfumed. It was good in the mouth. Not too sweet or unbelievably thick. It had good balance and a long flavour. Our favourite from the Languedoc was Ile La Forge 2004, which is £4.99 from Aldi. The aroma was tropical – I picked up pineapple and Alex found banana – which is fairly typical. In the mouth it was, as David put it, quite well put together. It had fresh acidity and some nice grip. Our favourite from New Zealand was Oyster Bay 2005, which is widely available, but is £6.99 in Morrisons, and had the slightest hint of damp labrador, but this lifted almost immediately to fresh grapefruit and general citrus zing. In the mouth it had great balance between acidity and fruit sugar and finished very nicely. Our favourite New World Chardonnay was Porta Reserve 2005, which is Chilean and is £5.99 (3.99) from Thresher. Rhonwen thought it smelt of toast and marmalade and it also tasted toasty, but also of butter and vanilla. While tasting wines with animals on the label, we felt the Little Penguin Chardonnay was the most likeable wine. It was very approachable, being oaky and sweet. The smell was initially of smoky toast, with some tropical fruit and coconut, but veered towards treacle as the evening wore on. It was very, very oaky in the mouth, with warm alcohol and sweet fruit. Alex picked up a coffee flavour from the intense oakiness. It was also darker in colour than the other wines. It costs £4.99 from Sainsbury's, and is clearly made to appeal to younger people. We feel that it fulfilled its brief. The cute little penguin might boost sales, as well.
The memorable bargain of the year was Canti Sicilia Catarratto/Chardonnay 2005. It’s £3.99 at Morrisons and Tesco. I advised readers to get as much as they could cram into the fridge when it was reduced to £2.99. It’s perfect for a summer party and might be just the carrot you need during a sultry afternoon - a cool glass of this at 6 o’clock would make up for all number of frustrations. It initially smelt of tinned pears, but as it warmed up it became floral and then spicy. It was fabulously fresh and clean in the mouth, almost tart.
Our favourite Spanish white was Dreaming Tree Verdejo 2005, which is £5.99 from Morrisons. There are a lot of good reasons for visiting Morrisons wine aisle, and this wine makes it worth driving out of your way. It has a catty, green smell, but Dennis also found passion fruit. It has a zingy mouth feel, and is an intense mouthful. The acidity is fresh, but it doesn’t bite. The flavour is long and full. Delicious.
Our favourite sweet wine was Villiera Inspiration, Noble Late Harvest, Chenin Blanc, which is £9.99 for a half bottle from Tesco. This South African copy of a sweet Loire wine is fabulous. The label is plain with a small bee, suggesting the honey aroma of sweet Chenin. Nikki thought it smelt of honey biscuits. It was amber coloured and I thought it tasted of barley sugar, but Nikki got closer with toffee apple.
If any of you have suggestions for tastings you’d like us to do in 2007, let me know. The forum is the best way to do this, or you can send me an email (details are on the "contact" page - see the links at the foot of this page).