Panel Tasting - The last of the Winter Warmers

25 February 2006.

A cold, wintry, February Saturday night. The venison and pheasant casserole is bubbling away in the oven. Had we had a fireplace, I would have added another log to the roaring fire. Time to crack open a bottle of warming red. Or six in this case.

One wine from the Corbieres, in the Languedoc region of southern France, managed to scoop the five stars, as did the only wine from New Zealand. The Spanish wine did well, but it was Italy that disappointed a bit. All three ended up trailing behind.

The tasting was done completely blind, with all wines decanted into generic bottles and bagged up by a different person to the decanter. This ensured none of the panel knew which was which.

A pretty successful tasting in all. Some pretty high scores and none of the wines tasted were bad. Just different levels of goodness and value for money. The number one wine is certainly value for money, but it would be a disservice to describe it as just that. Produced by two Brits, fully biodynamic and with a very original policy of supplying the customer directly via their website. That cuts out the middle-man and is the reason why they can supply such a stunning wine at such incredible value. Other than the Cuvee 21, which we tasted here, Les Clos Perdus produce another two wines. I will be tasting these soon and will report on them in due course. (See Biodynamics for more details on Les Clos Perdus.)

Here are the wines in order of merit:

Les Clos Perdus

Cuvee 21

Corbieres

www.lesclosperdus.com - £7.50

Wow! This is really fabulous stuff. A beautiful deep red, with a lovely damp forest nose, quickly moving to herbs and lavender and then sweet plums. The palate is beautifully balanced with great black fruit intensity and well-rounded tannins and a great length. Absolutely delicious. And it will keep, although I doubt it will be very long in my house.

5 Stars (29.5/30)

Lone Range

Syrah 2002

Gimblett Gravels

New Zealand

M&S - £14.99

Inky black colour. A very dark, concentrated nose of tar, black olives and sweet vanilla icing. The palate is generous, very deep, warm and luscious. Truffles, black fruit, olives, dark chocolate, in fact anything dark. Forever lasting.

Also see Wine Collection Jan/Feb 06

5 Stars (27.5/30)

Vega Riaza

Roble 2004

Ribera del Duero - Spain

M&S - £6.99

Made from Tempranillo, locally known as Tinta del Pais. Quite deep, purple-red colour. Warm vanilla spice on the nose and some blueberry. Smells like my grandmother's house one of the tasters commented. Warm and inviting I'm sure. Plummy fruit, rich dark chocolate and noticeable tannin. A strong wine with good length.

4 Stars (23.5/30)

Rubesco

Lungarotti

Rosso di Torgiano 2001

Umbria - Italy

Valvona & Crolla - £9.50 (now sold out, but 2002 available on-line through everywine.co.uk)

A blend of Sangiovese and Canaiolo, as used to make Chianti the Rubesco has a deep red colour. An interesting nose, quite floral, roses or violets, not very intense though. On the palate this is deep and luscious. Spicy cinnamon, blackberry, with smooth tannins. Medium body and decent length. Possibly starting to fade a little.

3 Stars (18.5/30)

Barolo 2001

Tesco Finest

Piemonte - Italy

Tesco - £14.99

Although the same score as the Rubesco, the price puts this Barolo a little further down. Frankly, a bit disappointing for a Barolo. The colour is going brick red. The nose has a piercing spearmint note, followed by lavender and oak. There was a hint of soy sauce on the palate, fairly light, but with very drying tannins. Medium bodied and fresh with decent length. I'm just not sure it warrants paying £14.99

3 Stars (18.5/30)

Aglianico 2004

Tesco Finest

Basilicata - Italy

Tesco - £4.99

From Italy's deep south, the Aglianico grape makes some very powerful wines. At the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter I tasted a Taurasi (made from the same grape variety) which was power in a glass.

This one doesn't come near. But then, it is under a fiver, whereas the Taurasi sells for upwards of twenty pounds.

The nose is a bit one-dimensional. Sweet vanilla and honey. Quite a generous palate of wild strawberries and liquorice. Light and just not very interesting.

3 Star (17/30)