Domaine Cordier Pouilly Fuisse 2010

For those that don't know the region, Pouilly Fuisse is a Chardonnay from Burgundy, but it's just south of the golden strip (Cote d'Or), and in the cheaper, warmer region of Mâconnais. It is however the shining star of the region, and many would say that you'd be better off buying a good brand Pouilly Fuisse than a super brand of Bourgogne Blanc, and I'd tend to agree. It does of course come down to style, and being a small vineyard area it has a distinct character and changes dramatically over vintages. So, the rule goes - buy Pouilly Fuisse in the good vintages, and Bourgogne blanc in the poor (because it can be blended over a larger area, and it's even possible that some grapes usually used for better wines will be declassified and added into the blend).

So - this wine. 2010 was a super vintage - low yeilding, good concentration, great acid, and yet still showing some lovely ripe flavours. It's a keeper. This wine is toasty and creamy on the nose with toasted almonds. Fruit is concentrated but not sweet - pineapple/citrus and slightly grapey (yes, I know, wine is made from grapes, but this

Tommasi Bosco de Gal 2010

This is a very inexpensive blend that packs a punch. The grape varieties are Trebbiano, Garganega, Malvasia and Cortese. Cortese is the famed Gavi variety, and Garganega is the same of Soave. Here, they come together with a couple of flavoursome (but often low acid and a little light on complexity) varieties to form a Bianco di Custoza. Custozas are usually fairly good value and this is not an exception. It's fruity, with apricot, orange blossom and cantaloupe up front and some lean lemon peel stretching through the finish. Good balance for the price and a lovely every-day drinking wine.

Drink now
45AED + Tax
14/20

Penfolds Bin 28 Kalimna Shiraz

Australia is famous for its Barossa Shiraz, and it's famous for Penfolds. After all, our most well respected wine, Grange, is a Barossa Shiraz made by Penfolds. When most people go to the shelf and pick up a Shiraz (Syrah to the rest of the world) from this region, they are expecting something intense, full of blackberry jam and chocolate. But the Kalimna is not quite that wine. Sure, it's intense, but not like the bounty bar of sweet oak and syrupy fruit that many might expect. You pay more, you get more. So, in addition to your cheap chocolate bar and jar of preserve, expect to find some black olives, vanilla, briary blackberries and pepper. Maybe even a little iron-like minerality, just ever so slightly bloody. Not the best Kalimna, but as always, a pretty damn good one.

Drink 1-7 years
130AED
14.5/20

Riorret Pinot Noir (Merricks Grove) 2009

Sorry Dubai drinkers - I'm swilling this in Oz, and you'll probably never see it. But it's just so good, I have to tell you anyway. And, I'm going to go on a bit. Maybe it will seal your faith in De Bortoli - the tall poppy label hiding behind this boutique little number. They've always been able to work a little magic with Pinot Noir - whether you're looking at what they do with Phi, the Yarra Valley Reserve range and even good old Gulf Station and Windy Peak (these are available in the UAE). I'd happily raise a flag to them and state they are the most consistent producers of Pinot Noir in Australia at a wide range of price points.

Now. The wine. I'm still sipping it as I write, although I'm sure it will not last long. Considering I'm at my computer and enjoying it so much, I've done a little Google search. I'm not the only one who's loved this - not surprising. What IS surprising is that the reviews I have read do not seem to reflect the wine I've currently got in my glass. Well not entirely. But is this a reflection on the reviewer, the timing, the bottling or the grape?

Caldora Trebbiano d'Abruzzo 2011

Trebbiano is one of the highest yield grape varieties you can get. So it's always pretty cheap. Would it help if I called it Bombino Bianco? That sounds better than common cheap white, doesn't it? And it should - this is a quite explosive little number. The equivalent in Italy of a cheap grassy Antipodaen Sauvignon Blanc, but better, more lemony, subtler, yet still aromatic. This particular one has about 15% Malvasia, which lends it a little strength and backbone. It's citrussy, has some herby spicy notes - more thyme and straw than the grass you often find in Sauvignon. It has a ripe and pear like front palate, and considering its price, a very reasonable length. Great every-day drinking wine.

Drink now
35AED + tax
14/20

Cossetti Barbera d'Asti La Vigna Vecchia

I played wine options with my husband on this wine. He first picked it as New World (as against old), and then as Spanish (rather than French or Italian). He finally got the grape variety (I offered him a choice of Barbera, Sangiovese and Merlot). He was way off on vintage. But he's a fairly good wine taster - why? It's because this wine tastes much younger, more vibrant and more fruit driven than many would expect. It's almost a little like a serious Beaujolais - all dark cherries and spice with nuances of raspberry and vanilla on the finish. Body is medium, tannins are light and acid is fairly soft. There's a little earthy hint to the middle palate, but nothing like the rusticity you might expect to find in an old vine Italian wine from a time-tested region. Quite clean actually, and dangerously quaffable - especially in this climate.

Drink now or for 3 years
80AED = tax
15/20

Chapoutier Bila Haut Blanc 2009

This white is from is a relatively small and high altitude vineyard, from a fairly hot wine growing region by french standards (Côtes du Roussillon). So what you get is a wine with both warm and cool characters - lowish acid combining with a cool honeydew melon fruit. It's both neutral and full, has a little spice and medium body, and a gorgeous earthy character hard to put my finger on - almost like biting into a piece of ripe brie. The blend is grenache blanc, grenache gris and macabeu - three varieties relatively unknown by new world drinkers. Everything is understated. Unlike it's red brother (Les Vignes de Bila Haut), it will not recieve great acclaim - but it's still a very drinkable white, albeit not for lovers of NZ Sauvignon Blanc.

Drink now or next year
45AED + Tax
13/20

Villa Sandi Pinot Grigio 2011

Well this one's a surprise. During wine training I remember someone telling me a good Italian Pinot Grigio would taste like bananas. 15 years later, and I've finally tasted one. This is not your typical insipid crowd-pleaser, but a full and serious wine. It's jammed with flavour, and yet still finishes dry and neutral with that trademark bitter almond lash that keeps it firmly in the relam of 'food wines'. Fruit flavours are mainly up front - banana of course, a little marshmallow and fresh star anise. Apricots are a merest nuance twisting through the middle and back palate. Luverly.

Drink now and for 3 years
AED 65 AED + Tax
17/20

Torres Vina Esmarelda 2010

This is a wine that is hard not to like, at least for the first glass - exceptionally fragrant, and yet deceptively dry. But it's also like a beautiful woman wearing a stunning perfume, just a little too much of it. The fragrance (lychee, jasmine and ripe, ripe pears) can overwhelm all around it, and rather than dissipate as you drink, it almost grows and dominates the palate. Many would not agree, and would argue that it's almost grape-burstingly-textured muscat and luscious Gewurztraminer is a perfect accompaniment to meals so traditionally full of flavour they dominate the wine (e.g. a Thai green curry). I would say it's a gorgeous, clever wine, but just for an aperitif with your melon and jambon, and then onto something a little more neutral.

Drink now or for 2 years
45AED + Tax
14.5/20

Mumm Cordon Rouge NV

Mumm (pronounced on the short side of mewm, not "mum" as many say it) is on the gentle side of the spectrum. It's just sly of dry, seeming to have a higher dosage than many of the other big names. The acid is a little lacking for moi - but with Champagne, many would say this is a personal preference - some simply can't drink the steelier styles and would love this. Fruit flavours are relatively simple - a little yellow peach and dried pear, and there is the trademark Champagne marmite character also shining through. Quite golden in colour, and showing some nice honeyed development, but in my opinion, not the best at the price point.

Drink now or over 3 years
AED 240 + Tax
13.5/20

False Bay Chenin Blanc 2011

The 2010 release of this wine was fab at the price, and this is a good follow-up. Interestingly though, the brighter season has provided a little more fruit ripeness that in my view tips the balance to sweet just a little over the well weighed wine of last year. Lovely yeast characters (wild yeast only), creamy and tropical, and ever so slightly like salted caramel apple pie. Would be perfect with barbecued crays or at least some sweet prawn flesh with old school dipping sauce. In fact, great BBQ wine to replace cheap Aussie Chardonnay if you feel like something different. Good value.

Drink Now or next year
40AED + Tax
15/20

Chateau Correnson Lirac Rose 2010

My love of Lirac is no great secret, and this is a ripper little example. It's so completely redcurranty it's silly. Seriously, if you steeped the little blighters in a little pure alcohol and added just the right amount of sugar, they might taste a little like this. Just not as good. Even a bourbon slugger would be able to isolate the fruit character in this wine. It's got some lovely light tannins and almondy bitterness on the finish which seals off that vibrant nose and front palate nicely. A little candy-like on the finish, which may sway some - for me, it makes it dangerously quaffable. 


Drink now
50AED + Tax
14.5/20

Chapoutier Beaurevoir Tavel Rose 2010

It's such a vibrant shade, bursting with life, deep like a cherry, but with a flame burning behind it. Great example of Tavel, with all the morello and pomegranate you would hope to find, some super-fine tannins and a chewy/crispy redcurrant finish, complete with the acid you would also find in one of those zesty berries. A little sweet spice on the nose keeps it in balance. Serious rose at a less than serious price.

Drink now
50AED + tax
15.5/20

For more information on Tavel, including travel tips, check out this post:
A golden wine triangle - The best Red, White and Rosé in the Southern Rhone

D'Arenberg "The Stump Jump" White blend 2010

Considering its price, this is a very complex little number - but I guess that's no surprise, as it contains at least 4 grape varieties that are vastly different and incredibly aromatic (Riesling, Sauvignon blanc, Rousanne and Marsanne). It's a funny old thing - tropical and citrussy like a sauvignon and then all fat with honey and rockmelon. A touch of residual sugar makes it supremely quaffable. Good crowd pleaser for a party.


Drink now
50AED + tax
13.5/20

Kientzheim-Kaysersberg Anne Boecklin Pinot Gris Schlossberg 2009

Wow - that name's a mouthful. And this is a whole mouthful of Pinot Gris. It's dessert style, rich and viscous with a lovely hint of botrytis (noble rot). This translates as a forward palate of crunchy nashi pears, a little toasted almond and a nectar finish that's 10% apricot, 90% jasmine. Not only to be drunk during dessert - it's not at the syrup end of the scale, but just sweet enough to also cut through something rich and fatty - like foie gras or a rendang curry.

Drink now or over 5 years
$28 US (duty free)
15/20

Guigal Cotes du Rhone Blanc 2010

Big fruity wine, and quite complex for a simple CDR blend. Almost a poor-man's-Condrieu, with over half the blend made up of mouth-filling apricot scented Viognier. A little spice and peel on the nose, tropical up front, big fat middle palate, and just enough acid to help it finish fragrant and long. A very versatile wine, and flavoursome enough even to go up against a curry. Worth seeking out.

Drink now or over 2 years
85AED + tax
16/20

La Grand Chapelle Bordeaux Sauvignon Semillon 2009 (Antoine Moueix)

A lesson for all buying wine in very hot countries - always check the vintage. Even when it's fresh stock, this kind of wine (low priced Bordeaux Blanc) is really supposed to be consumed within the first year or so of bottling. There could have been a little bottle variation here, but I doubt it. This wine is simply past its use-by. It's the colour of urine and smells like a dirty wet haystack. Relegated to cooking wine (maybe) Bring on the 2011 please...

Drink 2 years ago
30AED + tax
9/20

Jacobs Creek Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2010

My favourite tasting from the range. Shows intense regional and varietal character - it's just a bundle of blackcurrant, eucalypt and mineral salts from that super Coonawarra soil. Quite ripe and forward with excellent body, slightly grippy tannins and some lovely complexity with delicate oak treatment and savoury leaf notes.


Drink now or for 5 years
70AED + tax
15/20

Jacobs Creek Reserve Shiraz 2009

Textbook Barossa Shiraz - super viscous and chocolatey with a spicy and lean blackberry jam backbone. Nice oak treatment - a little sweetness but not over-the-top coconut-flavoured like some from the region. Fairly good vintage too, so will cellar well for a few years. It's already quite nicely balanced, but expect the spice and chocolate to transition to molasses, cedar and coffee. Soft. Yum.


Drink now to 10 years
70AED +
14/20

Jacobs Creek Reserve Chardonnay 2011

Squeaky clean chardy that is bound to be a room pleaser - not too heavy and buttery, and not the other flinty extreme either. Just some light fruit hints of green mango and lemon oil, mixed with gorgeous bready yeast, which is the highlight. Does not taste like a mass produced wine, and will probably even age for a year or two - rare for an Aussie Chardonnay.

Drink now or over 3 years
70AED +
14/20

La Chablisienne Petit Chablis 2010

This entry level Chablis (100% Chardonnay) is pretty decent. It's got a couple of years on it now, and is showing some richness that it wouldn't have previously, and has softened out nicely around the edges. Saying that, it's still slightly mineral and has some lovely lemon peel notes, so retains its Chablis style - it's far from flabby. Best thing about it is the lingering finish, complex and creamy like a great quality organic honey on artisan sourdough. Ok - a bit verbose, but true. High priced for a Petit Chablis, but probably worth it.

Drink now
80AED + tax
14.5/20

Sauvion Plaisir de Vigne Muscadet 2010

This is a simple Muscadet, so does not have the "sur lies" specification, meaning it does not rest "on lees" - on the spent yeast, but may be filtered. It's therefore a clean neutral wine. It's beautifully crisp, very mineral, and has a lovely flor sherry character (which, incidentally comes from the yeast). It's absolutely perfect for oysters. But don't stop there - it's a food wine, and will go with almost anything, particularly if its seafood or herb based. A great dinner party wine for connoisseurs if you can't afford Champagne. Careful though - you'll throw it back like lemonade.

Drink now or over next 2 years
40AED +
14/20

Henri Fabre Pure Dédicace Bandol Rosé 2010

This is probably breaking the rosé budget for many. At about 100AED plus tax in Dubai, it's not going to qualify as a quaffer. However, it's also a very good example of what you get when a winemaker takes rosé seriously. It's richer, fruitier, creamier than any rose I've had recently, and yet, still light in body, and steely dry on the finish. There's extra complexity, something a little cakey and spicy. Almost Eton mess in a glass - strawberries, redcurrant jelly and cream. But with a marzipan twist and dry, beautifully dry. Gorgeous.

Drink now
100AED + tax
16/20

GPG Garganega Pinot Grigio 2011

I picked this one up for three reasons - one, it was cheap, two, it has Garganega in it, and I'm a big fan of Soave (Garganega is the main grape variety of this great value dry, fragrant and yet neutral white wine), and it's a joint operation between a UK merchant I know little about, but more importantly, a Piemontesi wine producer by the name of Araldica, who are improving their quality by leaps and bounds. It's a simple wine, but well made. The nose is full of stewed apples and pears, and the palate has some lovely acidity. It's a fab everyday wine, and definitely worth the money.

Drink now
35AED + tax
13.5/20

Cantina di Custoza Pinot Grigio 2011

A little more forward than many other Pinot Grigios on the market. Ripe nose, full of fruit (pears mainly), but also a little chemical/oily smell, which fortunately does not dominate. A little spice on the palate, again, rare for modern Italian Pinot Grigio, and welcome, as far as I am concerned. Lovely long tropical finish - dried pineapples - and a little almond kick just to make sure it doesn't cloy. Fuller body than most PGs, and good for drinking on its own, rather than all the others, which need something served with them to make them taste like something.

Drink now
50AED + tax
13.5/20

Pegasus Bay Semillon Sauvignon 2010

Complex little number from Waipara, South Island NZ. Close enough to Malborough to still be famous for Sauvignon, but fortunately far enough away to avoid that tragic cats' pee nose so many cheap NZ Sauvvies have. Still a little herby, but in a gentle, farm-straw kind of way rather than a freshly mowed lawn. This is helped by the addition of some mild oak and some yeast lees that add richness, funk and sweet vanilla to the mix. Still, the wine has some lovely tropical notes, more towards the lemon and passionfruit spectrum.

Drink now and over 1-2 years
100AED + tax
14.5/20