2007
August
Congratulations are in order for Stephen and Prue Henschke, who have just won this wonderful accolade from wine guru, James Halliday ....
In the latest edition of his Australian Wine Companion released today - Halliday rates Hill of Grace ’02 as Australia’s top red.
Halliday also rated Henschke Lenswood Abbott’s Prayer ‘03 and Henschke Eleanor’s Cottage ‘06 as ‘Exceptional’ wines!
Grange no longer top red
Moving up ... Henschke's Hill Of Grace has been voted best Australian wine ahead of the revered Penfold's Grange Hermitage. / The Daily Telegraph
Article from: The Daily Telegraph
By Des Houghton / July 24, 2007 12:00am
PENFOLDS Grange has lost its position as the nation's top red in a tasting survey ...
In wine guru James Halliday's new ratings released yesterday, Penfolds Grange 2002 was listed in second place behind Henschke's Hill of Grace 2002 .
The Hill of Grace red was made from grapes from 146-year-old vines in South Australia's Eden Valley.
Halliday described the Hill of Grace as "harmonious and elegant" with "touches of licorice and spice running through the bouquet".
Winemaker Stephen Henschke said he did not set out to make a wine to topple Grange.
"They are such different wines - as different as John Howard and Kevin Rudd," he said. "We are not trying to compete. We are trying to produce a wine that reflects the blood, sweat and tears of five generations of Henschkes."
He said the extremely low yields meant it was in short supply, hence the price tag.
Wine buffs were still demanding it, he said.
Halliday tasted 5836 wines from 1740 wineries to compile his rankings for the Australian Wine Companion (HardieGrant).
97 Points for 2004 Mount Edelstone
In the Wine Front - The Red Album Top 101 Reds, Campbell Mattinson writes:
"Really blown away by this. Exotic to the hilt - full of plums, pepper, fruit cake, ground spice, tomato leaf, blackberries and lakes of blueberried fruit flavour. There's meat and rhubarb too. And then there's the tannin: rippingly mature, reaching, strong and integrated. Awesone wine. Drink: 2013-2024."
To see a selection of Henschke wines, please click here.
To view the original article, please click here.
July
The Times Magazine-Top 100 Summer Wines 25 best wines under £20. Jane MacQuitty
2006 Langhe Arneis Bricco Capellina, Gianni Voerzio, Piedmont - click wine to buy.
"The arneis grape's floral scent and nutty, stone fruit flavours sing alongside strongly flavoured summer fare such as vitello tonnato. Expect lots of seductive flowery summer scents and exotic lime-pickle fruit from this one"
(02.07.07)
June
The Times Magazine - Jane MacQuitty's Top 100 Summer Wines-25 Best Wines under £12.
2005 Pouilly-Fumé, Domaine Thibault, André Dezat - click wine to buy.
"The Dezat family's lively, leafy and distinctly classy white currant and nettle-stacking pouilly, from their ten hectare Domaine de Thibault estate is, like some of the Loire's smoky, gunflint-scented sauvignons, well capable of ageing. So see if you can resist the temptation of cracking open every bottle you buy this summer"
2005 Juliénas, Domaine du Clos du Fief, Michel Tête - click wine to buy.
"The poshest summer red to chill and serve on hot days with everything from simple cold meats and salads to the grandest patés and terrines is a single cru, or superior village beaujolais. Almost the star red in this section, this gorgeous, fat, silky, cherry and plum-laden juliénas is a real summer treat. Serve cool, as the French do, to show it at its summer best"
(23.06.07)
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Chilean wines win more medals in 2007
Chilean wines have performed extremely well at this year’s International Wine Challenge and Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA’s). This year saw more entries the previous year for both competitions; however more importantly more medals were awarded than last year.- click wine to buy.
May
The Times Magazine - Jane Macquitty
Lay & Wheeler 150th Anniversary Cuvée 1996 Vintage, bottled by Duval-Leroy - click wine to buy
Down £10 until May 31
"A humdinger vintage, 1996 was the best of the past decade, so champagne fans are in for a treat with this gorgeous, ripe, brioche-scented bubbly"
Rosé, Michel Guilleminot - click wine to buy
£17.45 until May 31. "Most pink champagne looks great, but tastes bland at best, so bravo Guilleminot for this partridge-eye pink fizz whose surprisingly rich, sweet, peppery berry fruit makes a flavoursome change"
April
New World Sauvignon Blanc, Victoria Moore - The Guardian Weekend April 21 2007.
2006 Sauvignon Blanc, Dominique Portet, Victoria £10.00 - click wine to buy
Description- Made by a Frenchman with bordeaux pedigree, and very different from the other wines here. The fruit is leaner and calmer, there's noticeable oak (15% is fermented in new French barrels) and the whole has weight and mass.
Drink it with- better with food than drunk alone; try scallops or prawns with garlic and lemon.
March
For a small producer, Austria makes a big noise, and Gruner Veltliner is its strongest suit - The Times Magazine - Jane MacQuitty
2004 Henry's Seven Shiraz/Grenache/Viognier, Henschke, Barossa - click wine to buy
"Henschke is one of Australia's great wine families, and this decidedly alcoholic 15 per cent red, made primarily of shiraz and grenache, offers plenty of bright, ripe, spicy, perfumed, faintly rustic fruit."
(10.03.07)
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The Times Magazine - Jane MacQuitty
2005 Juliénas Domaine du Clos du Fief, Michel Tete, France
"just in time for Easter, Lay & Wheeler has scooped up five different 2005 red beaujolais that will be a treat with the new season's lamb. Don't miss out on this sweet, plum and raspberry-laden delight"
2005 Moulin à Vent, Cuvée Vielles Vignes, Domaine Hubert Lapièrre
"Moulin a Vent is the longest lived of all the superior beaujolais crus, so you can wait for another five years before you broached this rich, heady, plummy bottle. Frankly, I would dive straight in"
(31.03.07)
February
Wine-Anthony Rose "White heat" - The Independent Magazine - Anthony Rose
2006 Lawson's Dry Hills Sauvignon Blanc
"In Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud, sauvignon blanc is king. Thanks to the runway of success of its world-class sauvignon, New Zealand wine has easily the highest average retail bottle price in the UK at £5.93, compared to the market average of £3.91. Yes, sauvignon is making waves in South Africa and Chile too, but Marlborough, the home of Kiwi sauvignon, has established itself as the crème de la crème of the New World by consistently improving the quality and broadening the style. Gone is the strident cat's pee on a gooseberry bush (to quote Jancis Robinson), in favour of a range of tropical styles, blends and even a handful of Graves-style oaked versions. Whispers it quietly, but the French bastions of Sancerre and Pouilly Fumè are under threat from once dismissed as "alcoholic pineapple juice" by one noted wine authority. The wonderfully aromatic 2006 Lawson's Dry Hills Sauvignon Blanc belies such snobbery."
(24.02.07)
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North Italian Reds - The Guardian weekend - Victoria Moore.
Elio Grasso Barbera d'Alba Vigna Martina 2003, Piedmont, Italy
"this was a scalding hot year, so this barbera is richer and plumper than usual and ready to drink now" Drink it with "Charcuterie or capaccio of beef- it would be a shame to detract from the wine with anything complicated"
(03.02.07)
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Jancis Robinson MW Champions New Zealand Chardonnay
Jancis Robinson MW explored the potential of New Zealand Chardonnay in her column in last week’s FT Weekend. Pointing out that New Zealand has a climate that “many a chardonnay producer in warmer climes would kill for”, she goes on to say that although many examples have high acidity and seem “a bit like Sauvignon Blancs without the Sauvignon flavour”, there are “some glorious exceptions”. One particular exception that we at Lay & Wheeler have been championing for many years is Fromm Winery, especially the Clayvin vineyard which Jancis praises for its “depth of flavour”.
(20.02.07)
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Jane MacQuitty Recommends 2004 Lay & Wheeler Pinot Noir
Jane MacQuitty turned the spotlight on New Zealand Pinot Noirs in last weekend’s Times Magazine, saying that she has rated pinot as one of “the kiwis’ star turns” since the early 1980s. She points out that at least half a dozen different styles of Pinot have emerged in New Zealand over the past decade producing “thrilling, sweet New World fruit flavours with the elegance, structure and purity of the old world’s best bottles, and that includes those from the Côte d’Or.”
From Marlborough, Jane recommends Lay & Wheeler’s own label Pinot Noir made by Greenhough:
“Marlborough is the warmest New Zealand pinot noir region and its wines with vivid floral flavours – as displayed by the 2004 Lay & Wheeler Greenhough Pinot Noir complete with a gamey, strawberry-laden finish – are sure to impress.”
(20.02.07)
January
The Times Magazine - "With the big wine sales putting new offerings within easy reach it's time to get adventurous" - Jane Macquitty
Colin Deléger's 2003 Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chaumées
1996 Dominus from California's Napa Valley
2003 Lay & Wheeler Bourgogne Pinot Noir