More Naked and Virgin Wines

I didn't get to spend as much time evaluating these wines as I would have liked. Miriam had some guests over on Friday night, and being short of 'party wine' we had to raid the wine rack, and among all I had on hand were these samples from Virgin and Naked Wines.

So I will be brief. The Grasshopper Rock Pinot (£17.49) was a typical NZ Pinot, rich and fruity. Pricey at £17.49 though, and I don't like this style of Pinot enough to warrant a purchase, and that's just pure preference on my part.

La Livineire Minervois 2008 (£11.99) from Benjamin Darnault was interesting. I served it too cold - my wine rack is in the kitchen of our currently rented house, and it's freezing. Anyone living in the UK knows what I mean with the weather the way it is now. Anyway, it was muted at first because of the low temperature, but after a while it opened up with notes of violets. It definitely had some depth and character, and is one that I'd like to try again.

From Virgin Wines, Cuvée Les Trois Merles Cabernet Franc (£7.99) was the one that got the least attention from me, because it was 1:30 AM and I was dying to go to bed. I have no idea where in France the wine was made, thanks to there being no information on the bottle or the Virgin Wines website. I will say though that it had a bit of structure to it, and didn't seem like the light, fruity summery reds like you get from the Loire Valley.