We’ve a really peachy quartet of wines this week courtesy of FromVineyardsDirect, all at extremely attractive prices. Messrs Johnstone and Campbell of FVD are dogged in their pursuit of bargains and have done us proud.
The 2011 Château Bauduc, Bordeaux Blanc (1) will be familiar to diners-out as the house white in both Gordon Ramsay’s and Rick Stein’s restaurants. Don’t let that put you off, for it’s a beauty.
It was very well received at our reader tasting in London the other week. A classic Bordeaux blend of 80 per cent Sauvignon and 20 per cent Sémillon from the Entre-Deux-Mers, it was applauded for its fresh, ripe fruit and its supple, deliciously rounded finish. As David Campbell said, naked Sauvignon Blanc is best left to the Loire — in Bordeaux it needs a splash of softening Sémillon, making this example extremely moreish. £9.45.
The 2012 Domaine La Vitalis, Cairanne, Côtes du Rhône Villages (2) also scored highly. A spicy, succulent blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre from the village of Cairanne (one of only 18 permitted to append its name to the appellation of Côtes du Rhône Villages), we all loved its pepperiness, its long finish and its downright juiciness. We were keen on the price too: £9.95 is about four quid lower than it would normally be, thanks to FVD spotting that the winery needed space for the next vintage and making a crazy offer.
The 2008 Rioja Vega Reserva (3) from the choicest vineyards of Rioja Alta is my pick of the bunch. Being a reserva, it has been aged for three years with at least one year in oak and it boasts all sorts of dark and bitter cherry flavours, vanilla, leather and cedarwood. It will keep of course, but it is so soft and enticing now, I recommend uncorking it the second you get it home.
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