WINNING
REVIEWED BY WES GAME
ENGLAND
South Ridge, Ridgeview USA
Dark Horse, Cabernet Sauvignon
£25 – Laithwaites/Sunday Times
Wine Club £8-9 Tesco, Sainsbury’s and
Morrisons
Made exclusively for Laithwaites, Ridgeview is a
multi-award winning family run vineyard based
in Sussex. Enjoying similar soils to champagne
has led to a huge demand for their wines
including Downing Street and The Queen. This
is a chardonnay dominant blend made using
traditional methods, which gives the fine mouse
like bubbles. An elegant bottle of bubbly with
toasted notes and a hint of honey. A lovely crisp
citrus flavour. An amazing wine for an amazing
price. Dark horse has been in the UK for a couple
of years now and can be found in several
supermarkets. It’s made from grapes across
the northern parts of California when the long
ripening season is required. It’s not a wine
for the faint hearted with big bold flavours of
chocolate, blackberry and even black cherry. It
has spent some time in large oak casks to add
flavour. There are some tannins also but you will
still need to eat something hearty with this wine.
Maybe a Barbecue?
FRANCE
Chateau Philippe Lamour, Grenache blend FRANCE
Laurent Miquel, Viognier
£10-11 Laithwaites/Sunday Times
Wine Club £9 Waitrose
This wine is a contender for Chateauneuf-du-
Pape lovers as it is made with Grenache, Syrah
& Carignan. It is made in the classic southern
Rhone style and the vineyards even have the
sandstone “pudding” stones that retain the
daytime heat and release it at night. Medium
bodied with a purple red colour, there are soft
red fruit flavours as well as little spice. It’s lighter
than it looks and is very easy to drink over lunch.
France continues to be the 2nd largest wine
producer, behind Italy, which is why there is
such a variety of wine produced. Viognier is
growing in popularity as a grape variety and
this is a great example. “Vendanges Noctures”
translates as night harvest because the owner
picks the grapes at night to ensure the delicate
flavours of peach and honeysuckle are retained.
An unoaked crisp wine with a lovely floral aroma
this wine is well balanced and right up my street.
Certainly one to enjoy over the long British
summer!
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