The London Restaurant Review

Vicar's Choice Sauvignon Blanc 2006

I popped into Majestic the other day since I had run out of decent white wine and found this absolute gem.

I find a good rule of thumb for new world Sauvignon is to drink youngest available.  This one hits the mark for me - citrusy, sharp without being acidic and the perfect wine to drink on its own or with fish or chicken.  It gets a 10/10 from me and should be drunk up in the next 12 months to enjoy it at its best.

Majestic have it on offer at the moment - £8.99 reduced to £7.49 if you buy more than two bottles.

More details can be found here.

I would get it while you can.

Lagunilla Reserva Rioja 2001

A few days ago I wrote about one of the current Sainsburys wine offers - Lagunilla Reserva Rioja 2001

I served it at a dinner party we had last Saturday.  Upon opening, it tasted past its best, so my first thought was the Sainsburys were clearly offloading it a little too late.  But I decanted it for about 2 hours before serving and the result was much improved.

It still tasted a little watery but was much much smoother and so I have given it the benefit of the doubt and rated it a 6.5 out of 10 (before decanting it would have been a 3/10).

Sainsburys Wine Offers

Sainsburys Online has got some good deals on a small selection of wines at the moment.

I have just ordered the following:

Château La Fleur Musset 2005 Montagne Saint Émilion - 6 bottles for £28.47
Lagunilla Reserva Rioja 2001 Spain £28.47 - 6 bottles for £28.47

Both are very good vintages and I am looking forward to drinking them.  The Rioja will be fantastic to drink now.  I would pair it with a good Roast or anything gamey.

The Claret I will probably try to keep for a couple of years.  The 2005 promises to be a really good year for Bordeaux and my guess is that this one will benefit from a little ageing.

Protos, Ribera del Duero

I LOVE Ribera del Duero.  It's a region well-known to Spanish wine lovers, but not well known in the UK.  True, certain supermarkets are starting to stock the odd bottle, and Majestic always has a few on their list, but Rioja still dominates UK buyers, which is a shame.

One of my favourites is Protos, a great wine from a great Bodega.  Last Thursday in Barcelona, the restaurant we were in had a 2003 Crianza on their wine list for 29 euros  - bargain.  We drank the house dry (well, there were 28 of us).

Made with 100% Tinta Fina and with a Ribena-esque fruity taste (with a bit of oak in there too), this is a chunky wine that will go with most dishes, but best suited to red meats.  Chill it and it will go well with seafood.  At 13% though, be careful how much you drink!

I found one UK stockist, Baileys Wine Merchants, who are offering it for £16.50 a bottle.  You can see why I was happy to pay 29 euros for it in a restaurant.

Clos Rene Pomerol 98

Given this bottle by brother for birthday.  We opened it at a dinner party for friends in Nov 06.  It had a few hours to breathe and was pretty smooth, although probably could have done with a few more years in the bottle to really mellow it out.

Overall 7/10 - a good wine, especially with a decent cut of meat, but still slightly too tannic to enjoy on its own.

Fagus Coto De Hayas 2004

I tried a bottle of Spanish Fagus Coto De Hayas 2004 the other day and it was quite unlike any other Spanish wine I have tasted.

100% Garnacha, it is incredibly smooth with soft tannins and an overwhelming vanilla taste.  This disguises the 13.5% alcohol nicely.

I haven't yet found a UK stockist, but The Salt Yard currently has it on its menu.

8/10 high recommended.

German Wines

German wines tend to be very under-rated in the UK - a throwback from the 80's when Hock, Piesporter and Liebfraumilch were the tipples of the masses.

I've been getting more into German wines over the last year or two and last week I was given a fantastic wine by a German colleague, who hails from Heidelberg.

It's from his local vineyard and is delicious:

2005 Clauer Heidelberger Dormenacker Grauburgunder (Kabinett Trocken)

Yes it is a mouthful to pronounce and is a mouthful to taste.  It is incredibly fresh, light (masking a blustery 12.5% alochol and smooth.  Think French Sauvignon Blanc but much more rounded, crisp wthout being citrusy and a finish that is delightful.

9/10 rating.  Delicious.