Red Wine Buffs?

nick hanson

Calling all red wine buffs out there,for recommendations
For special occasions,I've generally gone for Chateauneauf du Pape (with a good meal).
Tried an Awesome Southern Australian recently,called Petaluma Coonawarra.But a bit pricier than the average Chateauneauf.
Anyone got any personal reccomendations?

cee

a nice argentinian Malbec always does it for me, or Bremertons Selkirk Shiraz also hits the spot nicely.

Don't personally rate "Shat on this ya pap..."

HungryCol

Any New Zealand reds with a vintage in the last 5 years is good generally.

I particularly like any New World Shiraz at the mo. Oh I also quite like California Zinfandel like Bonny Doon's Cardinal Zin.

Salsiccia

Not really much of a wine buff, but have always liked a nice Brunello di Montalcino.

nick hanson

cee wrote:

a nice argentinian Malbec always does it for me, or Bremertons Selkirk Shiraz also hits the spot nicely.

Don't personally rate "Shat on this ya pap..."

must admit,you can't bother with the cheaper ones.I had some of the Tesco & it was only fit for cooking with :?

ricadus

Barolo, but the wine (and price) can vary greatly depending on whether it is from a modernist or traditionalist vinyard. The traditionally produced one require ageing for up to 10 years to create a smooth wine, whereas the modern method involves a shorter period in smaller, oak casks.

millar time

It really depends on your budget, you could go for a Gevery-Chambertin or a Volnay. Or if you're of a more Bordeaux persuasion you could try a second wine from a famous classified growth, like Alter Ego de Palmer from Ch. Palmer or Les Forts de Latour from Ch. Latour, both of which are serious offerings in their own right.

If you want something from further afield I'd agree with cee's suggestion of an Argentinian Malbec, something like an upscale Trapiche.

Personally I'd go for a Gevery Chambertin.

nick hanson

Thanks for the suggestions,I'd forgotten about the Malbec....had a good one with a meal once,tried some afterwards from oddbins & it was average at best.They do seem to be stocking some more expensive ones now,so shall give it another go!.As Miller Time says,it really does depend on the budget.The Petaluma I mentioned was £20,but superb
(I saw it on a restaurant menu at £58,or £12 a glass!!)
The general budget I am looking at would be up to £12,or more for a special occasion wine

robbarker

If you like Chateuneuf du Pape, you probably enjoy a full bodied wine, but with some pepperiness and a bit of subtelty. Cote Du Rhone (where CdP is) reds are made from Grenache and Syrah grapes, pretty much the same ingredients as spanish Rioja. It would be worth looking for some nice gran reserva riojas at the £8-9 price point - Oddbins, Majestic or Laithewaites seldom sell you a dummy.

Alternatively, try a good quality Chilean merlot.

If you want something memorable, this half case:

http://www.laithwaites.co.uk/article~id ... 13666.aspx

will blow you away.

guinea

Get a nice (almost any) St Emilion from 1990, 2000 or in a few years the 2005. The 2000 Figeac is the best wine I've ever tasted. More like a Medoc than a St Emilion but awesome.

Look out for cheap St Emilion, Pomerol or Medoc from 2000. They will almost all be excellent. Odbins and Majestic usually have a few in.

pneumatic

+1 for Gevrey Chambertin and Brunello di Montalcino

Other full bodied delights are Crozes Hermitage, Gigondas, Cairanne, good Rioja (riserva) and then there's Burgundy: horribly expensive for good ones, but unsurpassed (IMHO). One of my favourite almost affordable Burgundies is Savigny les Beaune. Don't drink them too young, they need time to mature.

I wish I knew more about Chilean wine; I've had some fantastic ones in the past but always ended up too p1ssed to recall the labels. Advice anyone?

SteveR_100Milers

I'm also a fan of Barolo, but the stuff in Tescos is pants at the moment, Morrisons do a good one at under a tenner. Penfolds BIN 389 is also worth trying if your a fan of apple and blackcurrant squash sorry new world wine....

I'm a fan of Spanish wine and a 2001 Faustino 1 is OK at the moment. Lots of tasty riojas lurking on the shelf in my local tescos most of which under a tenner.

tyskie

For good value I often go for South-West French reds such as Minervois, Fitou, Saint Chinian, Corbieres etc. They tend to be quite rich for French reds but not as heavy as some of the new world ones which I often find just too much. They have a bit more freedom down there as to what grapes and methods they can use, unlike the posher AOC's which are more strict.

stjohnswell

I've been drinking Amarone for special treats recently. It's a very full bodied italian red, but not cheap at over a tenner a bottle.

I always try to pick up Pinot Noir from Marlborough when discounted in Tesco's or whatever. Very consistent and neither too light or too heavy, so great with food.

pneumatic

I was driving back from France last summer, fresh with the triumph of riding up the Ventoux, and stopped at "Vins sommes nous" in Beaune.

I gave the woman a list of my favourite tipples and she asked:

"Vous voulez le boire maintenant ou plus tard, monsieur?"

Well, obviously, I wasn't going to drink 48 bottles in the carpark.

a. I was driving
b. I was alone
c. She didn't sell crisps or nuts.

So I said.

"Plus tard, madame, bien sur!"

When I got it home and looked up what I had in my boot, the awful truth dawned on me. Now they are sitting in my garage (aka bike temple) with marker pen inscriptions on each box that read "Not ready for drinking before 2012".

Worse, by 2012, my kids will be of drinking age. I don't stand a chance!

synchronicity

As I'm living in Spain (on a grape farm no less ) I reckon you can't go past RIOJA!

Montecillo Gran Reserve 1996 has my father-in-law's approval; he's the one that runs the finca.

Lagavulin

Personally I've I found Tescos own Chilean Merlot (£2.99) nicer than a few Cote du Rhoness at twice the price.

Have found a few of Hardy's special seals highly agreeable too and Rioja.

Earlier this year ASDA had Campo Viejo Crianza on offer at £1 a bottle on mini-bottles (25cl). I loved that. I was in Waitrose on Saturday and its £6.99 a bottle.

I love a nice Chateauneuf though. Not often I'll spend £12 or £13 on a bottle of wine though. Special occasions only.

richardast

Since discovering it a couple of years ago, the only red I buy now is Ravenswood Zinfandel from California.

Oz and James went to the winery in their Big Wine Adventure and it think it was one of their favourite contenders to be a top notch, affordable wine for the masses.

It's about £7 per bottle.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_radio/wineadventure_zinfandel.shtml

portuguese mike

+ 2 for Gevrey Chambertin but also Pommard or Nuits St George are fine burgundies. They are rather expensive so i would also recommend the savigny le Beaune as previously mentioned. If you want something a littel more full bodied then i van recommend Chateaux l'Angludet Bordeaux - it's not 'cheap' but for a decnt ready to drink claret it's excellent.

In the more more affordable range i really rate Lehmans Shiraz (Australia) or a Marlborough Pinot Noir (New Zealand).

Clever Pun

Malbec is good with meat... mmm meat

I've recently discovered the Shiraz Vionger (sp) blend it's a cracking wine taking the edge of the usually unsubtle shiraz

As a recommendation Paul Sauer from Kannonkop in South Africa a full bodied bottle of beautiful it'll set you back about £15-18 but is worth every penny. I think the 2004's are ready for drinking now

Clever Pun

richardast wrote:

Since discovering it a couple of years ago, the only red I buy now is Ravenswood Zinfandel from California.

Oz and James went to the winery in their Big Wine Adventure and it think it was one of their favourite contenders to be a top notch, affordable wine for the masses.

It's about £7 per bottle.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_radio/wineadventure_zinfandel.shtml

yes very nice, got a couple of bottles in my rack after the same program

jc4lab

One for the real experts..Which Australian wine had a bouquet like an Aborigines armpit?

robbarker

jc4lab wrote:

One for the real experts..Which Australian wine had a bouquet like an Aborigines armpit?

I don't know that one, but I did have a bottle of Dead Arm shiraz - think it was the 1998 that Parker awarded 97 points to. Incredible stuff - oily and liquorice-like. Absolutely glorious.

Mike59

Another vote for Gevrey Chambertin, although my fave is Hermitage from Chave.

Agree with Portugese Mike about Angludet - great value, and underated IMHO. Or a great second wine as mentioned above : try Clos de Marquis.

If you have loads of dosh, how about a Cheval Blanc 1962

jc4lab

Which wine has a bouquet like an aborigines armpit ?....
Answer'''Nuit sans Wogga Wogga!"
http://www.phespirit.info/montypython/a ... _wines.htm

Jamie07

Like other people have said if you like Chateauneuf then generally they are made from Syrah (shiraz in the new world= same thing) and Grenache grapes, plus a few others mixed in (13 are allowed in total including a couple of white grape varieties). Grenache is the king in the Southern Rhone where the viilage is located.

These are generally quite 'big' wines of 14%+ alcohol and are absolutely my favourite wines, great with food or on their own, tend to be earlier drinking than say a Bordeaux which quite often need to be kept 8-10 years before being drinkable or not too harsh. I'd say 3-5+ years for the type of prices you are looking for. I would say a decent price range of £12 up to £200 for the super cuvee's.

For the same type of flavours with the same grape blends look at the whole Rhone valley area - BTW AVOID 2002 it was a complete wash out year for this area. Don't buy anything from that vintage. The rest are all great from '98 to '07.

good Cotes du Rhone producers include Gramenon, Chaume Arnaud, St Cosme (les Deux Albions is superb), Domaine de la Mordoree, Pegau, Beaucastel, Domaine du Caillou and Chapoutier (Oddbins stock his wines). These tend to range from £5 to £15 and are all good value and tasty.

Gigondas is another from that area, these tend to be a little bigger and more serious, good names to look for are Santa Duc, St Cosme again, Brusset. Prices are a bit more at £10 to £15 but these will keep longer or you can buy older vintages which will be nice right now '98, '99, '00 and '01 all good.

For Chateauneuf itself whatever you do DO NOT go for the supermarkets own, they are normally pish, I'd recommend Pegau, Domaine de la Mordoree, Chapoutier (Barbe Rac), Beaucastel, Marcoux, Charvin, Caillou, Font de Michelle, Clos des Papes. These are all fantastic producers, some only produce small amounts of wine and some like Beaucastel are big (100,000 bottles+ year). They make great wines year on year and can be found at local wine merchants (e-mail me if you want some recco's for some)

Go a bit further afield then look at Minervois/Chinian/Roussillon/Ventoux with same types of blends, good producers are La Combe Blanche, Chateau Sainte Eulalie (brilliant La Cantilene), Mont Tauch Co-operative ( found in Majestic), Ferrer-Ribierre, Negly.
They are between £4 to £15 max, are all really juicy, easy drinking but definitely French styled wines, good with foods (red meat)

Burgundy red wines tend to be lighter, more subtle, not so high alcohol, they all are made from the Pinot Noir grape. Good areas are Gevrey, Vosne Romanee, Nuits St Georges. It can be completely hit or miss with this area and its down to the best producers within there.
The best wines from Burgundy can REALLY pricey (£1000+ per bottle!) but the wines can be the most amazing.
For good value go to areas like Givry (producers include Joblot and Lummp).Around £10 to £20.

Bordeaux is a big subject but try for good values, Poujeaux, Chase Spleen, La Tour Carnet, Cantemerle (all Chateau names) £10 to £20 each.

Aussie shiraz (syrah) are big, in your face wines generally. Producers that you can find that are really superb are Two Hands (oddbins), Glaetzer, Heartland(cheaper), Mitolo ( these three made by Ben Glaetzer who is a genius for this style), Yalumba, Brokenwood, D'arenberg (oddbins), Wynn's, but even the big producers like Wolf Blass and Penfolds make decent wine but spend around £10-£20 for them.
Prices for all these go between £5 to £30.
Aussies are more for drinking on their own I find as they are so big and sweet.

For South American wines try Casillero del Diablo- Cabernet, Shiraz or Merlot for great value, Errázuriz , Concha e Toro, Trapiche for Malbecs. Good food wines again from £5 to £20.

A few good pointers, if you buy a more expensive wine(£10 or above), open it at least a COUPLE of hours before or even decant it if you can it really, helps the wine soften and makes a huge difference to the taste and smells. Honestly this does change the wine for the better.

Find a good local wine guy/merchant they are always willing to talk and give you some recco's for you to try. This will be invaluable.

Above everything! try loads of different wines, you are the only one who will know what you really like. Whether its £2 or £200, taste and you will like , love it, or you won't. You'll then know what your tastes are and you can buy what you know you'll enjoy.

Cheers!!

Mark Alexander

for me, I'm a big fan of 'New World' wines Argentinean, South African, Australia and especially Chillian Reds. I stay away from French wines because they seem to keep the best stuff for themselves!! Who can blame them.

just as an extra thought.
I don't drive but Tesco now delivers without having to use the wine service. My Dad uses the wine club thing and gets great wines at excellent prices. [free delivery over £100 apparently]

fnb1

,

Chateau Neuf rocks you boat, then try a Graves, Chateau Martin would be my recomendation. most delicious red of the moment I would say. Every one I try it on rates it a lipsmacker!

neeb

Chateau Neuf rocks you boat, then try a Graves

I rarely spend more than 10 Euros on red wine and usually go for Chilean or Argentinian merlots/carmeneres or SA shiraz. As it happens though, I'm just about to open my first ever bottle of Graves. It's a 2000 Chateaux de Castres.

il_principe

94/95 riojas are always pretty good. Although I have totally gone off red in the last year, i'm mostly drinking NZ Riesling these days - Avery's always have a good selection.

captain_oakley

Having visited the area a couple of years ago, the Margret River reds are superb.

Not easy to get in the UK but try Cullens 2005 Mangan & Vasse Felix 2004 Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon. Pure nectar in a glass.


'Bonfire of the Panties'