Jacobs Creek Reserve Riesling 2007

Well, this was a find. Usually I would veer away from any white older than 3-4 years for sale in the UAE (except perhaps a super dooper white that is in the temperature controlled cabinet), due to the storage issues - I've had more than a couple of cooked whites from 2009 this year. But, this wine was under stelvin (screw cap), and I know it well - it ages very nicely, and 2007 was a long cool ripening season for the Barossa region where this comes from - making it a good Riesling candidate for a little extra time in bottle. Besides, I was nostalgic for Aussie Riesling, and this was all I could find.

This time I hit the jackpot - kinda. It's a great example of what happens to Riesling when it ages - it's got that slightly resinous/waxy character that many call petrol - but it's not petrol at all. It's hard to describe. In fact, it would be better to compare it to the smell of lemon essential oil as compared to fresh lemon. Imagine that's what's happened to your fresh floral limey riesling. It's more savoury, more concentrated than the real thing, and sitting a little off-tangent. This oily texture and slightly lanolin nose is accompanied by a little toast (from age, definitely not oak).

Then we get into the fruit. It's still there in buckets - mainly lime of course, with the last lingering floral nuance, which will probably disappear over the next year and be replaced by a dried saffron and then hay character, which is already creeping in. Right before the finish you get a saline/mineral hit. The downer with this wine is that the end is a little short. The acid is still darling, but I was kind of hoping that I'd get a little honey and toast to finish me off. That doesn't really happen - heaps of limey essential oil and a whisper of marmalade.

Ah well, you can't have it all. This wine is very cheap for its quality, and I doubt you'll ever find another aged Aussie Riesling on a Dubai shelf. Get in quick - there's not much left (MMI).

Drink Now
AED 59 + tax
16/20

Fleur Du Cap Unfiltered Semillon 2012

Ok - this is nothing like the Semillons back home (Oz, where they're lean and grapefruity or toasty and linseedy). Nor is it anything like the Semillon blends from France (lean again, with grass and citrus and a little honey, unless of course it's botrytised and that's a whole different ball game). It's uniquely South African, I suppose, but having tasted very little varietal Semillon from the country (it only makes up about 1% of total wine grape production for SA), I couldn't say that with much authority.

It's unusual - medium bodied, milky, with some sweet oak, and finishing only just off-dry. There's a little sweet oak and some nice leesy nuances, and then a whiff of sulphur that isn't off-putting in the slightest - more savoury and funky, showing some thoughtful winemaking. It's Chardonnay in disguise, I believe, but the fruit is more floral and pear-like, so not completely pulling it off - which is probably a good thing - after all, there's plenty of Chardys around, and it's lovely to try something a little novel.

Drink now or for 2 years
50AED (purchased tax free)
15/20

Danie De Wet Limestone Hill Chardonnay 2011

Well, Wine-Ed-101 will tell you that limestone and good wines go together, so I picked this up hoping it wasn't a marketing campaign to make a hill full of stones and planted with lime trees, sell. Lucky, it's not. And, it's quite a lovely surprise. This wine is for those who love their Chardonnays with a real punch. It's that free-draining gravelly soil taking water away from the vine and concentrating the berries. It's absolutely choc-a-bloc with flavour. The nose is lusciously leesy - yeast, butter, vanilla and nuts - like walking past a bakery that's just taken almond croissants out of the oven. The fruit hits after a little sweetness on on the front palate - mainly green apples and white peach. The flavour on finish is a little short, but it's worth it for that tongue smack, and at least the acid plays nicely around the mouth, preventing all those rich and slightly sweet flavours from cloying.

Drink now or for 2 years
AED 55 + tax
15.5/20

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.

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45AED + Tax
14/20

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.

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35AED + tax
14/20

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

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

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. 


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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

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

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

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