Pieropan Soave 2011

There's a whole heap of Soave out there that makes it hard for any decent producerer in the region to charge a reasonable amount for their product. It's a bit like all that $5 Australian Chardonnay, in that it's created a niche for itself that is broadly "tastes OK for a cheap wine". And so, we can buy any number of Soaves off the Dubai shelf for about 30AED - they've got a little in the way of aromatics, some zing, and are always good with food (probably because they are so watery and neutral).

But just like Aussie Chardonnay, that's not what Soave is really all about. It's about a grape called Garganega, which, when made well, has an intense level of natural spice, is fragrant and floral, and has a long and flavoursome finish full of citrus and stone fruit. In the Soave Classico DOC, where this Pieropan wine hails from, the alluvial soils are less fertile than on

Martin Codax Albarino 2011

Warm straw coloured. Wow - smashing banana lollies on the nose, giving way to pineapple and herbs, very aromatic. Palate has citrus and apricot and some ever so-subtle lean grassiness. Finish is lemon pie and minerals. Slightly oily on the palate, in a good way - makes it very gluggable. Nice and dry, and an excellent alternative to give all my Sauvignon Blanc loving friends when I'm sick to death of New Zealand gooseberries and cats pee. Drink with grilled fish with a salty charcoal crust.

Drink Now
15/20
70 AED + Tax

Zenato Santa Cristina Vigneto Massoni Lugana 2011

It's Trebbiano, Jim, but not as we know it. There are some who would say it's not Trebbiano at all, but something else, closer to Vermentino, but not quite that either. Lugana is a tiny region that runs along the shore of Lake Garda in Veneto, and there are a couple of wines styles from the region, but all come from the same grape, Trebbiano (or it's little sister).

It's so much richer and more vibrant than the slightly nutty but fairly neutral Trebbianos you might find elsewhere. Instead it's perfumed and slightly floral, and also a little like a vanilla tea cake. I'm not quite sure where this vanilla/cake flavour comes from though, because the wine is completely unoaked. The palate reveals a little sneaky citrus - almost like a clementine but so soft, and then bending into white peach and orange blossom. It finishes with just a touch of green almond.

Fantastic food wine, but keep the dishes fresh and simple - chicken caesar salad, grilled white fish, or for a contrast, a gentle triple brie with some herb crackers - you know the kind of thing. Lovely, lovely wine.

Drink now or for 1-2 years
60AED + tax
17/20

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

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

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

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

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

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