It's been far too long since I've posted here - about a month and a half. My apologies. I bought a case of wine from Majestic for Christmas, as did my brother-in-law, whose family was spending the holidays with us. All in all none of the wine impressed. I was so disappointed in their ordinariness that I couldn't even bother to post about them.We're also trying to save money. We've just bought a new house that needs renovating, so every pound saved is valuable. My wine consumption has plummeted, and most of the wines we do drink are favourites that I've blogged about before.
However, it's time to get back in the saddle. I picked up this Cotes du Rhone from Sainsbury's because it was cheap, and had a sticker from the International Wine Challenge on it. The sticker was gold coloured but it didn't say "Gold" on it. I was pretty sure it was meaningless but I bought the wine anyway because I think the 2009 Rhone vintage was supposed to be pretty good.
The wine isn't bad really - you could do much worse for the price. It had obvious spicy Rhone character and quite an impressive nose. Palate-wise it decent..it could use a bit more body and length but it did the trick on the night. Nothing wrong with it really (except if you paid £9.99 for it).
FYI the winemaker seems to be Gabriel Meffre in Gigondas.
Terres de Galets
Cotes du Rhone 2009
Cotes du Rhone AOC, France
Sainsbury's
£4.99 (£9.99)
3/5
Posts
Tim, are you able to list the Majestic wines you had which didn't impress, so that those of us who buy from them regularly can avoid?
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
Giles
Hi Giles,
ReplyDeleteThe most disappointing was the Guigal Cotes du Rhone 2006. The 2005 was excellent, but this was a major letdown, just really average. I'd give it a 2/5.
Others were:
Fairleigh Estate Chardonnay 2008 - 2/5
Lirac 2007, Cave Saint Desirat - 2.5/5
Château Guiot 2009, Costières de Nîmes 2.5/5
Dr Loosen Riesling Beerenauslese 2006 3/5
Deutz Marlborough Cuvée - 3.5/5
I actually just had the Deutz yesterday, and was really impressed with it.
I can't remember the ones my brother in law bought, except and Peter Lehmann Wigan Riesling that I threw into his cart (which I've tried/blogged before). I drank that on my own with Christmas dinner while every else had the reds!
Tim
ReplyDeleteMany thanks. I'm a bit surprised at the score for Farleigh Estate, but then I haven't had it and I suppose even NZ must make some duff wines. I know Fairleigh Estate is one of those "exclusively made for us" wines from a well-known company (is it Wither Hills?), and I've always been a bit susicious of these arrangements.
Anyway, I'm off to NZ in a couple of weeks and will also be spending time in Yarra Valley and the wine regions west of Melbourne; if I come across anything particularly exciting I'll let you know! I'm looking forward to getting my hands on some sparking shiraz in the Grampians.
Interesting, Tim. My wife and I had a bottle of the 2010 vintage. Couldn't remember where we bought it, but may have been Sainsburys. We loved it and will buy it provided it is on offer. I dont like to pay £10 for a general drinking wine, probably because of the number we go through in a week.
ReplyDelete