If you’re ready for a change from Pinot Grigio, this IGT Toscana white is a blend of 70/30 Vermentino/Chardonnay in stainless to preserve the crisp, bright fruit. Green apple, melon, Asian pear and perfumed lemon blossom on the clean, simple palate. Drink now, preferably with kale salad.
A bargain Italian with a personable nose of savoury red fruits, herbs, spice, nutmeg, earth and raspberry bush. It’s vibrant but nicely mature on the palate with plush tannins, lovely savoury spices and integrated red and dark berries.
An easy-drinking, budget-friendly Chardonnay from the Colchagua Valley. Straw colour with a lime tint; minerally, spicy, apple nose; custard apple flavour, soft on the palate with a touch of sweetness.
Made from Canadian rye as well as the customary malted barley, this red/amber coloured ale opens with rich malty and fruity aromas with a whiff of spice. Rounded, lightly sweet dried fruit and malt flavours come with medium weight on the palate, gentle effervescence and an agreeable light bitterness on the finish.
Somewhat jammy ripe red berry and spice on the nose, with warm climate fruit and mocha character in the mouth, balanced by appropriate acidity and solid tannic grip.
The perfect summer sipper. The bouquet of orange blossom and honey suggests sweetness but the wine has a grapey, cidery flavour that finishes freshly in the mouth. Chill it well and serve it as an aperitif wine.
The idiosyncratic winemaker plants his vines very densely (6,600 per hectare) and matures his wine in unique cigar-shaped barrels to administer just the right touch of oak. Particularly when made from a great year like 2009, the result is a very deeply coloured, complex potion scented like a raspberry pie, with dates, raisins and Merlot herbs and spices. The fruit still tastes fresh at the moment, and some remaining tannins still provide structure, but this should be enjoyed in the next couple of years.