Wines in the Press: From top wine schools to Tesco

Tuesday, 02 September 2008

With the summer behind us, so too this week is talk of suitable wines for the warm weather. Jancis Robinson, back from her summer holiday, has a last word of advice on seasonal tipples, but for the most part the wine writers are turning their attentions to other matters. Jonathan Ray gives us his run down of the UK's top wine schools, Victoria Moore has her patience tried out by a good Bordeaux and Anthony Rose indulges in a spot of Tesco's finest.

Jancis Robinson MW, The Financial Times, Saturday 30 August 2008

The complexities of modern air travel pose a problem or two for wine writers and wine lovers these days, says Jancis Robinson. The banning of liquids in hand luggage and tougher restrictions on baggage weight limits make transporting bottles home a bit of a headache. In any case, says Robinson, wine might just be one souvenir actually worth leaving behind. As she points out, "the red, white or rosé that tasted so glorious on a vine-shaded terrace seems just plain ordinary under grey skies." The wines Robinson enjoyed on her recent holiday, and didn't bring back were:

• 2006 Dom Laguerre, Le Ciste, Côtes du Roussillon (€12.50, www.185.com)
• 2004 Ch Prieuré Borde-Rouge, Ange, Corbières (£15.50, www.winehunters.co.uk)
• 2006 Les Clos Perdus, Cuvée 41, Corbières Grenache (£13.99 www.zelas.co.uk)
• 2005 Dom La Combe Blanche, Clos du Causse, Minervois La Livinière (Contact www.chevaliervins.com)

Jonathan Ray, The Telegraph, Saturday 30 August 2008

Jonathan Ray gives us his run down of the ten best wine schools in the UK this week. Unsurprisingly, the programme run by the Wine and Spirit Education Trust - probably the best known of the lot - is up there, but also worthy of a mention from Ray are courses run by Christie's and Sotheby's, The Berry Bros & Rudd Wine and The Devon Wine School. The course run by the Quaff Fine Wine and The Butlers Wine Cellar in East Sussex sounds like fun, apparently it invariably ends up in a lock-in at the Hanover pub over the road.

Jane MacQuitty, The Times, Saturday 30 August 2008

What constitutes a vegetarian, or vegan wine? Jane MacQuitty has been investigating these specialist sections of the wine market this week. If you didn't know, vegetarian wines allow the use of casein, the main protein in milk, and egg white, routinely used to filter fine red wines. Vegan wines ban both, plus other animal products such as dried blood powder - a frequently used fining agent. The results don't come cheap but they do come good; MacQuitty recommends any of the following for non-meat lovers:

• 1996 Fleury Champagne (£42, Vintage Roots)
• 2007 Meinklang, Grüner Veltiner (£7.50, Vintage Roots)
• 2004 Quinta do Côa Reserva from the Douro (£12.99, Vintage Roots)
• 2005 Basconcillos, Ribera del Duero (£9.90, Vintage Roots)
• 2006 Gigondas Les Romains (£14.99, Waitrose)

Victoria Moore, The Guardian, Saturday 30 August 2008

To enjoy a good Bordeaux, have patience advises Victoria Moore. Moore was all but ready to give up on the region until an experiment with a bottle of Marks & Spencer's 2000 AOC Margaux changed her mind. Eight years holed up in a desk drawer later (the wine, not Moore) and she found herself with what felt like a bargain vintage on her hands, "fine, fragrant, everything for which I would have hoped but would not have got had I been more impatient." Sticking with the French theme, her top picks this week are:

• 2005 Château Tour Prignac Cru Bourgeois, France (£10.99, Oddbins)
• 1997 Château Tour du Haut-Moulin Cru Bourgeois Haut-Médoc, France (£8.99, Adnams)
• 2005 Château Grand Village Bordeaux Supérieur, France (£12.95, Roberson)
• 2005 Château la Croix Taillefer Pomerol, France (£22.50, Waitrose Wine Direct)

Anthony Rose, The Independent, Saturday 30 August 2008

Tesco's Finest range is under the scrutiny of Anthony Rose this week, and the verdict is that there are some fine gems in amongst the 85 strong collection. The "excellent new, lime-frothy" 2005 Tesco Alsace Crémant Riesling (£8.99) gets an honourable mention, as does the "medium-sweet fresh pear fruit" of the 2007 Vouvray Demi-Sec Gaston Dorleans (£6.99). The Alsace section is "dispiriting" but the new world Pinots fair well, as does the sweet selection, which according to Rose is "excellent". Tesco's produce aside, his picks this week are:

• 2007 Rosso di Puglia (£4.49, Marks & Spencer)
• 2007 Gobelsburg Gruner Veltliner Kamptal (£5.99, Waitrose)
• 2006 Saint Clair Sawcut (Block 4) Pinot Noir (£16.60, Kevin O'Rourke Wines)

Tim Atkin MW, The Observer, Sunday 31 August 2008

Bad backs, wild boars, storms, unreliable assistants and financial worries are all par for the course when setting up your own vineyard, warns Tim Atkin. Aktin has been following the Channel 4 series on ‘Château Monty', which sees wine-writing colleague Monty Waldin do battle with nature, the elements and his bank balance to produce "a paltry 6,547 bottles of red wine" in France's Agly Valley. It wasn't all bad news for Waldin though, not only did he make £18.30 profit (not bad, points out Atkin, when you consider that most fledgling wineries don't break even for years), he also managed to produce some fairly decent bottles, including the 2007 Monty's Red, Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes (£7.99, Adnams). Aktins says it stacks up well against these other regional varieties:

• 2005 Laurent Miquel Nord Sud Syrah, Vin de Pays d'Oc (£7.49, Tesco)
• 2006 Montypeyroux, Clos du Pioch (£7.99, Marks & Spencer)
• 2005 Fitou, Les Quatre, Mont Tauch (£8.99, Waitrose)