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| Beer and Wine |
Wine between £8.00 and £12.00 per bottle
Val de Oron 2005 - £8.79Price on 16-Jun-08 from Laithwaites.If you are a fan of Spain's modern, richly fruity, oak-aged reds you simply have to try this beauty from a new, go-ahead cellar in Ribero del Duero - ''the Spanish region to drink'' (Decanter). Oron is made from the famous Rioja grape Tempranillo, known in these parts as Tinta del Pais and is named after the river that flows nearby to the estate. Winemaker Miguel Lopez aged the wine for 6 months in American oak to achieve that classic vanilla character found in the all the most popular Spanish reds. But this wine has more than that - it has real depth, complexity and class too. Well worth discovering.
Castillo de Valdestrada 1997 - £8.79Price on 16-Jun-08 from Laithwaites.Castillo de Valdestrada is a 1997 masterpiece! It's aged for 30 months in oak barrels (six months longer than Rioja Gran Reserva), followed by a five year siesta in the historic family cellar. Such attention to detail - Alfonso Schlegel tastes his grapes on a daily basis to decided exactly when to harvest - explains why this old-vine Tempranillo has been awarded a host of medals and offers such great value for money. ''Brick red, with intense berry and vanilla aromas. Soft, long-lasting strawberry, plum and spice flavours are cradled by a rich seam of toasty oak.'' Ageworthy rarities like these always cause a flood of orders - so snap yours up now!
Casa Donoso Clos Centenaire 2004 - £8.79Price on 16-Jun-08 from Laithwaites.Treat yourself, and indulge your wine-loving dinner party guests with this Cabernet-rich Chilean rarity. As you'll taste, absolutely no expense spared, with handpicked parcels from the extraordinary fruit of 100-year-old vines. Intense ruby colour with captivating aromas of coffee, chocolate and blackberries. Full of lavish, velvety, ripe forest fruit flavour, superb balance and a delicious almond twist. Roast coffee, cedar and spice with old-vine concentration and layers of flavour and finesse.
Split Rock Dry Riesling 2005 - £8.79Price on 16-Jun-08 from Laithwaites.Deliciously dry, aromatic Split Rock Riesling comes from the oldest boutique family winery on New Zealand's South Island - an estate that beat Cloudy Bay to world-class quality. The Seifried estate lies in the emerging region of Nelson, which receives more sunshine that its revered neighbour Marlborough giving even deeper fruit concentration. In charge of winemaking is Chris Seifried - the country's most awarded young winemaker. For this Riesling, the estate's finest grapes are vinified in tiny quantities to give you pure flavours that the big boys just can't replicate! ''Complex aromas of lime, orange and spice give rise to bone-dry mouthfuls of intense citrus and apricot. Deeply satisfying. Enjoy by itself or with Asian cuisine.''
Simonnet-Febvre Les Champtars 2005 - £8.79Price on 16-Jun-08 from Laithwaites.Sauvignon de St Bris is a fascinating wine grown in the greater Chablis region yet more akin in style to the grassy-fresh wines of Sancerre 60 miles to the West. The House of Simonnet-Febvre has been based in Chablis since 1840. Their Sauvignon is made to the same exacting standards as their Chablis and exhibits classic aromas of gooseberries and blackcurrant leaf. It's well balanced to with a weighty palate and racy acidity. Serve with grilled seafood kebabs, prawn risotto or a fresh goat's cheese salad.
Split Rock Dry Riesling 2006 - £8.79Price on 16-Jun-08 from Laithwaites.Deliciously dry, aromatic Split Rock Riesling comes from the oldest boutique family winery on New Zealand's South Island - an estate that beat Cloudy Bay to world-class quality. The Seifried estate lies in the emerging region of Nelson, which receives more sunshine that its revered neighbour Marlborough giving even deeper fruit concentration. In charge of winemaking is Chris Seifried - the country's most awarded young winemaker. For this Riesling, the estate's finest grapes are vinified in tiny quantities to give you pure flavours that the big boys just can't replicate! ''Complex aromas of lime, orange and spice give rise to bone-dry mouthfuls of intense citrus and apricot. Deeply satisfying. Enjoy by itself or with Asian cuisine.''
Feudo di Maria Zibibbo 2006 - £8.79Price on 16-Jun-08 from Laithwaites.Hugely aromatic, deliciously refreshing and from Italy's ''awesome'' 2006 vintage (Giorni del Vino). A superb aperitif, it's a must-try with fish.
Massivo Nero d'Avola 2006 - £8.79Price on 16-Jun-08 from Laithwaites.Fans of BIG reds are in for a treat with this NEW 15% alcohol release from our old friend Giorgio Flessati. Key to the dense fruit flavour is ''Sicily's finest red grape'' (Jancis Robinson MW), Nero d'Avola, which Giorgio sourced from high-altitude vineyards planted with gnarled 50-year-old vines. Even in average vintages, old-timers like these produce really concentrated fruit, but during the near-perfect conditions of 2006, the results were truly breathtaking. Hand harvesting ensured only the best grapes made it to the crush to produce this deeply coloured, warming wine. If you like Shiraz, you're going to love Massivo. Unoaked to let the fruit shine through, this complex, velvety red has the inviting aromas and flavours of gently spiced blackcurrant and blueberry. Juicy and very moreish, this robust Italian is a fine accompaniment to rich casseroles and tomato pasta.
Sentiero Pinot Bianco 2006 - £8.79Price on 16-Jun-08 from Laithwaites.Pinot Bianco is a speciality of the exclusive Trentino region and no one there handles this crisply elegant grape as well as our old friend Giorgio Flessati. His high altitude vineyards give whites of huge concentration. Packed full of zesty citrus and hints of almond blossom, this delightful, fresh white makes a delicious aperitif.
Hommage a Pierre Alexandre Jean-Marie Raimbault 2006 - £8.95Price on 16-Jun-08 from Laithwaites.For Sauvignon Blanc of mouthwatering purity and elegant minerality, most fans ideally head for Loire's Sancerre and Pouilly Fume regions, to an acclaimed producer and a great vintage, like 2006, in which wines ''are among the best ever'' (Wine Report). And they'd expect a hefty price tag too! Well today, you've a chance to enjoy a stunning, best-ever vintage Sauvignon ... and a classic to rate among the world's finest! Hommage a Pierre Alexandre is made in Sancerre (at one of the region's top cellars), but crafted with grapes grown in next-door, insider's secret Coteaux du Giennois, so you enjoy Sancerre quality ... at a very un-Sancerre price! And it bears all the hallmarks of the extraordinary 2006 harvest! As Jancis Robinson reports, ''the Loire had a terrific 2006 vintage ... success was not limited to Sancerre ... the smaller appellations nearby produced some mouthwatering wines''. Sparkling bright in the glass, this tantalizing white bears all the hallmark Sancerre characteristics. Exceptionally fresh and packed with vibrant cut-grass, gooseberry and green-apple flavours, it also has a mouth-biting crispness that Sauvignon fans will adore!
Castello d'Albola - £8.95Price on 16-Jun-08 from Laithwaites.The Castello d'Albola estate, dating back to the 12th century, sits high in the Tuscan hills. Here the vineyards rise up to 1600 feet giving this Chianti Classico excellent freshness to accompany its enticingly full flavours. ''Classic ruby-red in colour, the scent of violets combines with delicious red fruit. Thanks to careful barrel-aging, the wine is brimful of elegance and power. A superb accompaniment to rich dishes.''
Gran Bombero 2006 - £8.99Price on 16-Jun-08 from Laithwaites.If Bombero owes much of its flavour intensity to Cari?ena's gnarled, bush-trained old Garnacha vines (among the very oldest in all of Spain!) - imagine what the concentration would be like if you picked fruit only from the very oldest of these - vines of up to 95 years old! In 2006, the vintage that won El Bombero Best in Class at the London's IWSC (the toughest show of all!) Xavier Domeque did just that - selecting his most prized, lowest-yielding Garnacha vines, and only the smallest, ripest bunches from these ... just how deep could flavour concentration go, he wondered ... The meticulously selected fruit was treated to months in soft, vanilla oak (American oak best complements velvety Garnacha) and the wine was rounded to perfection ... barrel-matured, reserva-style - what a triumph! Generous aromas of ripe dark cherries and plummy richness. Lovely, mouthcoating concentration with dense bramble fruit flavours, edged in cassis and polished with a touch of sweeter oak. Gorgeous, so smooth and very memorable! Delicious with the classic, spicy Aragonese lamb dish 'Ternasco.'
Schroeder Estate Pinot Noir - £8.99Price on 16-Jun-08 from Laithwaites.When our buyers heard a whisper about an international medal-winning Argentinian estate beginning to make Pinot Noir in Patagonia, they just had to check it out. So they caught the first plane they could to Buenos Aires and then made the long trek down to the very south of the country ... where they found Pinot Noir wines to rival any New Zealand, and even Burgundy, offerings! The reason for such quality? Despite its reputation for an inhospitable climate, Patagonia boasts extremely long sunshine hours - perfect for ripening - and cold nights that lock in fresh, intense flavour. In these extreme conditions the Pinot Noir berries are bursting with hugely concentrated colour and flavour. And in the hands of top winemakers Roberto Schroeder and consultant Leonardo Puppato, the resulting wine is groundbreaking. ''Rich red with powerful aromas of raspberry, plum and light, spicy oak. Full and rounded in the mouth, with smooth, ripe tannin and fresh red fruit flavours. Wonderfully balanced, a great choice for game and rib of beef.''
Domaine Touzot 2004 - £8.99Price on 16-Jun-08 from Laithwaites.Deliciously rich, white Burgundy from a southeast-facing vineyard in the Macon, similar in aspect to the top vineyards of the Cote d'Or ... and at 35 years old (plus), the vines here only produce a small quantity of very concentrated fruit. Barrel-fermentation in new oak barrels has added a layer of rich, creamy vanilla to the powerful, apricot fruit, beautifully balanced by a tang of citrus freshness. The wine has been made by a French winemaker whose experience has led him to South Africa, Greece and Cyprus. This has given the wine an almost New World character. Serve with cheesy choux pastry with a creamy filling, pasta with a luxurious seafood sauce, or rich white meat dishes. Only gently chill.
Pagos de Tahola Crianza 2004 - £8.99Price on 16-Jun-08 from Laithwaites.Two generations of the Chavarri family, father Francisco and daughter Ruth run the estate along with winemaker Miguel Lopez Nunez. The house style is based on exuberant fruit from vines grown in some of Rioja's highest vineyards, framed by careful maturation in high-quality French and American oak barrels. Painstaking care is lavished on this superb Crianza. Sourced from the family's own old vineyards, the grapes are hand-harvested to allow the intense fruit flavours to shine through. 12 months' ageing in a judicious blend of new and old French and American oak barrels has given a deliciously soft wine, overflowing with vibrant, succulent bramble and damson fruit. Superb value.
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