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Archive for the ‘Wine’ Category

Blossom Hill Shiraz ‘Limited Release’

19 Nov

This was £5.00 from Asda. I feel ashamed to say we bought two as it was ‘Limited Release’. Yup, suckered in by the marketing…

Blossom Hill Shiraz Limited Release

This was a lovely colour that I’m learning seems to be typical of shiraz. It was a dense purple colour, the kind you know will stain your mouth.

The aroma wasn’t particularly strong. Mostly grape, with a solventy kind of ester smell. Not particularly pleasant, but not particularly unpleasant either. The taste was very light, maybe a touch of chocolate in there but nothing exciting at all. I’d even go so far as to say this was a bland bottle of wine.

Apologies for the short review but I wouldn’t recommend this.

 
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Yellow Tail Shiraz 2009 – worth the extra?

27 Oct

I recently read an article itemising the current costs that go into an individual bottle of wine in the UK. Duty around £2, VAT and packaging at about a £1, plus transportation costs. No dispute from me there. Because of these costs, it recommended spending at least £5 on a bottle of wine.

All of the wines I’ve reviewed on here so far have been under that level. As an experiment, I thought I’d try a more expensive bottle of wine. In the article, Yellow Tail was recommended as a brand so I bought a bottle of the 2009 shiraz from Asda for £6.48. Hopefully I’m not the victim of marketing here.

Here’s the bottle:

Yellow Tail Shiraz 2009

The wine itself was a beautiful purple colour, the kind that Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Berberana Rioja Reserva 2005

24 Oct

I honestly have no idea where it came from or how much it was. Given that I don’t normally like rioja, there’s a very high likelihood it cost less than £4 or I wouldn’t have bought it.

Berberana Rioja Reserva 2005

The picture isn’t very clear as they insist on making the label super-dark. It says: Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Tesco Claret

12 Oct

I’d had both the Tesco and Asda clarets recommended to me by different people, so I grabbed this £3.79 bottle when I spotted it.

Tesco Claret

Upon opening there was a slight raw grape aroma with a touch of vinegar. Not a promising start but I’ve had bottles that have been much better than I expected from the smell. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Buckfast Tonic Wine

26 Sep

I am under the impression Buckfast has a bit of a reputation in Scotland. I’d heard various rumours about its intimate entanglement with anti-social behaviour, so upon spotting a bottle in an off-licence in Dolgellau in May 2009, I had to buy it. Purely in the name of research you understand. With 15% ABV and 37.5mg/100ml caffeine on the label I had this stuff pegged as mental juice.

Buckfast Tonic Wine

The reason why I haven’t opened it until now is I was assuming it was going to be disgusting. Having been out on the town for the evening, a little Dutch courage inside me, I decided to finally open the bottle. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Tesco Australian Red Wine

10 Sep

This was £3.49 from Tesco.

Tesco Australian Red Wine

Upon opening, the dominant aroma I got was strawberry with that subtly carrying through to the flavour. I also noticed some oak, and there was a very slight drying feel. After it had been open a couple of hours it Read the rest of this entry »

 
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2008 Asda Syrah Vin de Pays d’Oc

25 Aug

The suspiciously cheap price of £3.37 from Asda, coupled with the fact I’d not tried a Syrah before made this too tempting to pass up.

2008 Asda Syrah Vin de Pays d'Oc

I left it open for a while and tried to ignore my Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Tesco Chilean Merlot

18 Aug

This red wine was £3.69 from Tesco. I was actually quite pleased with this addition to the wine rack.

Tesco Chilean Merlot

Aromas of blackberry with a touch of cherry and perhaps some chocolate. The taste was pretty similar, slightly drying with a little raspberry in there. Had some depth to it too. For a cheap wine, I’d certainly buy it again.

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2007 Gabbiano Chianti

18 Aug

Not sure where this red wine came from, but it will most likely be Tesco or Asda at about £4 a bottle.

2007 Gabbiano Chianti

When I opened the bottle the cork was rather vinegary and I was a bit concerned that was how the wine was going to be. Fortunately it wasn’t, but it didn’t stand out in any way really. Drinkable, but little to recommend it over others in the price range.

 
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Marchesini Vitis Pinot Noir

18 Aug

Bought on offer at Tesco for £3.99.

Bought this for a change from the merlot we normally drink, as at one point I was partial to a bit of Burgundy. It appears my tastes have moved on since then! Read the rest of this entry »

 
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