Dona Paulina

At £4.95 (WS) this is a fantastic example of what can be done at this end of the market. Interesting to compare it to the Navarran Sabina which is the same price. I had thought the Sabina good value but can now see it was opting for a 'safety first' approach: inoffensive but pretty thin with little discernable fruit. The Paulina has fruit in abundance but manages to stay balanced and in no way cloying.

A good reason to make further forays into Chile.

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Domaine Champagnon Fleurie 2006

Last of the mixed case from Nick Dobson.

Abundant black cherries, chalky finish. Loads of large, bark-shaving shaped sediment, as seems to be the case with relatively old Beaujolais (tartrate crystals? Very little about this online). Very agreeable all round. It is a pity that I can't bring myself to order more regularly from Dobson. Yet to have a bad - or even mediocre - bottle from him. The lack of cheaper superplonk means I don't split orders when I should. If I was loaded I would order more from the likes of Dobson, Yapp etc but still go for Majestic/Wine Society for the bulk stuff.

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Stellenbosch, Rustenberg 2006

Cracking flavour here. Earthy, cigar box nose. Soil-like edge to the fruit. £13 at Majestic but I'd go back for more. The blend is very claret-like. Perhaps more cabernet sauvignon dominated? If so, would we find a left bank wine of this calibre at this price? You suspect not. Must make greater effort with Stellenbosch, it does look like it avoids some of the cloying issues I (perhaps unfairly) associate with new world reds.

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Caves du Molliere Piquepoul

Last of the case we brought back from Pezenas. Waitrose have a Piquepoul for 7 quid, this cost us about 3 quid a bottle. Part of me is delighted to have found such an agreeable wine (whose constituent grape I had never heard of, let alone tasted) but part of me feels bitter that the UK fails to offer anything approaching this level of value.

Anyway, the wine itself is superb. If I hadn't been aware that the French were enjoying this at such an absurdly low price I would be snapping this up at twice the price. It manages to be a refreshing apperitief but avoid the excessive acidity of low cost sauvignon blanc (e.g. Tourainne). Not a great comparison as it's much deeper in colour and almost has a similar subtle fruit edge (can't say what exactly) to the Samour.

Apparently the Caves du Molliere cooperative was transformed from a run down dive to the impressive outfit it was when I bought this wine. Sad to think that I won't be back in that part of the world for a long time.

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Domanie des Chazelles, Vire-Clesse, 2003

Ripe indeed. Heavy glossy-ness about this. Deep yellow colour. Not a million miles from the Domaine de la Croix. Reduced to a tenner at Nick Dobson and good value at that. I wonder what it would taste in a few years? It's bin-end status suggests no better than now.

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Cuvée de Richard 2010 - Pays de l'Hérault

Billed as 'Amazingly smooth' by Majestic this comes in at £4.99 so will be judged relative to the Armandieres. Majestic no longer stocks the latter but tell me it's made by the same people (conglomerate?).

It has rather more of the baked fruit about it than I'd prefer but it isn't offensive in any way. Leaves me thinking that I'd rather have low-end wines on the thin side (e.g. WS' Sabina Tempranillo) than try too hard with robust flavours. It often feels like they are in danger of highly unbalanced.

Still, this is a contender for good honest superplonk of the red variety.

Gigondas

Further proof that Rhones of this type are just not my thing. This is around 23 quid (M&S) and in all honesty, tastes much the same as the jammy, slightly sweet, spicy new world shiraz/granache wines the seem to be everywhere these days but do at least cost half the price. Feel like I'm missing out on a big pillar of France but can't really bring myself to make many more (expensive) forays into this area.

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Guardian article - 'The trouble with pinot grigio'

Looks like Pinot Gris and Pinot Grigio are in fact the same grape - incredible that it can taste so wildly different in Italy and Alsace.

Wine: The trouble with pinot grigio | Life and style | The Guardian

Saumur

This is the last of the Yapp bros batch. I had forgotten just how good this is. An excellent example of how pure and satisfying Chenin Blanc can be. Restrained fruit, minerality, poise. I remember it being around 6 quid at one stage but it's now 8 ish. Still worth it.

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Pinot Gris, Bollenberg Château d'Orschwihr, 2009

...having said that, this was a genuinely interesting wine:

Via the power of suggestion, I had imagined Bollenberg to be an obscure Alsatian grape that had been blended with Pinot Gris - it turns out to be the name of the specific vineyard - and set about attributing the unexpected flavour to this. It has a very deep yellow colour. The palate began with plenty of voluptuous aromatic lychee-type fruit before evolving into an odd - but very pleasant - almost Riesling-like oily dry finish. It would appear I got it from Oddbins and look to have paid around £14 quid but I'd go back for more (if they hadn't gone bust).

I shared it with M & D whose penchant for Gewürztraminer was helpful in their approach (Beccy wouldn't countenance anything as full bodied as this).

Brouilly - Domanie Regis Champier

Yet another disappointment from Oddbins. We can surely now say that they just don't 'get' Cru Beaujolais. Overpriced and thin, verging on sharp.

Just two days after drinking this I see Oddbins has filed for bankruptcy. It's been a long steady fall from grace which you can't say hasn't been self inflicted.

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Codorniu - Pinot Noir

A revelation. I was fearing the worst but it was highly enjoyable. Shades of the sparkling Langedocian Cabernet Sauvignon we had at the cheese evening in Harrogate. Really dry, crisp fruit with a clean finish that lends its self to rapid swigging! By far the best Cava I've ever had and, in terms of balance, it would give many pink champagnes a run for their money at a third of their price.

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Leon Beyer Sylvander 2009

Excessive acidity on the finish with very little discernible fruit of any kind. Is this typical for Sylvander? Poor value at 8 quid (WS).

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St Mont

7 qid (Majestic). Slight aromatic edge. Reminiscent of some Jurancon Sec in that it has that apple ish body to it. Must be something in the Gros Mensang that is characteristic - apparently it is common to both areas. Much more rounded than the Brumont green label.

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Domanie de la Croix Senaillet, St Veran - Les Buis 2006

Tried this alongside WS's own label White Burgundy (see earlier post on this) by way of accompanyment to the Ramsey Seafood veloute. My earlier attempt to equate the two now seems pretty delusional. The St Veran was outstanding. Real depth of flavor. Wonderful honeyed, buttery edge to it but still kept a cripsness throughout.

May have to take the plunge and order some more of this. It has been a good advert for buying en primeur.

The Society's Beaujolais-Villages 2009

A well structured Villages which bears up well against its 7 quid price tag. This would be a good glugger.

Still, next to the ultra-bargainous Gamay it struggles.

Domaine des Eyssards 2009 Bergerac

£6.99 (Waitrose). Was hoping for some sense of the Luc du Conti I enjoyed back in the Old School Lofts. It failed to provide this. Rather rustic in a typical south-west of France type way. Dad and I have had some wonderful reds form this area that have provided real class without the prices hikes of similar quality examples from neighbouring Bordeaux but that was a fair while ago. Maybe more experimentation is called for.

Beaujolais-Villages, Château de Lacarelle, 2009

At £6.95 (WS) this is a big disappointment. Thin and somewhat sharp. This is the kind of stuff that gives Beaujolais a bad name.

Gamay, Vin de Pays des Gaules, Jacques Dépagneux, 2006

At £4.95 (WS) this is the best value red I have come across in years. Shades of Matt's find: Raisins Gaulois Lapierre 2009 but just under half the price. Both from 'declassified Beaujolais', suggesting this is worth more effort from the likes as Majestic etc? Real freshness to the fruit. Really lively. No hint of the two stage flavour that seems to there in the Cru's such as Thivin (no peppery/violet finish) but at this price ye cannae go wrong.

Baron de Ley Rioja 7 Vinas Reserva 2004

Here's what Decanter had to say about it:

Very expressive on the nose with aromas of sweet black berry fruit and spice. The palate is full-bodied and has concentration but is well integrated with the structure and acidity; well-integrated spicy oak on the finish. Modern style but very stylish wine.

Can't say I agree with this at all. I bought this out of nostalgia more than anything else. It was perfectly pleasant but again confirms my concerns for the complexity of high end Riojas. At £18 (Tesco) I feel confident that it could be slapped down fairly severely by an equivalent priced Claret. No real feeling that this wine was trying to do anything other that be smooth.