RAISE A GLASS
I HAVE no idea how wine experts can taste, taste, taste all day long! Many of the award stickers you see on wines are based on judgments from people who have blind tasted wines for hours on end.
It was my turn last week. Not to declare awards, but to pronounce my favourite wines out of a selection of over 40 bottles, their identities hidden by grey plastic.
Wow, my tastebuds and senses were tired by the end of it.
The team from Wines of Chile (winesofchile.org) organised a Chile Challenge and I joined over 30 people to blind taste 41 wines and declare our top four (avoiding a couple of rogue non-Chilean wines!).
Master of Wine Richard Hemming gave a quick outline of Chile before we began. He explained that Chilean winemakers are being innovative at the moment; he suggested grapes to look out for are pais, muscat and cinsault – yes, I say, go and seek some!
I know Majestic sells a decent pais, Morande Reserva One to One Pais 2016, which is £8.99 or £6.99 in a buy six deal. It is similar to beaujolais in style.
But back to the challenge. The overall top four Chilean wines, as voted for by our little blind tasting group, were:
■ 1st: Errázuriz Max Reserva Carmenere (RRP £15.90, amazon.co.uk, Asda online and vinowines. co.uk) I blindly said: Spicy plums, chocolate, pepper and earthiness.
■ 2nd: Carmen D.O. Quijada No 1 Semillon Sauvignon Blanc (RRP £25 – this has limited availability in the UK – ring Santa Rita Estates 01865 404 700). I blindly said: Lemon, a murmur of spice, a touch of honey and some savoury notes.
■ 3rd: Luis Felipe Edwards LFE 900 Malbec (RRP £30, houseoftownend. com). I blindly said: Dark red, powerful, blackberries, spice.
■ 4th: Pérez Cruz Limited Edition Carmenere (RRP £14.99, wineman.co.uk, strictlywine.co.uk, greatwinesdirect.co.uk, nywines.co.uk) I blindly said: Hedgerow fruit, plums, vanilla, spice.
Follow Wines of Chile on Twitter – @WinesofChileUK
■ Also in my glass… Aldi has added four Sicilian wines to its range and three of them are under a fiver.
The Fire Tree Sicilian Vermentino 2016 (£4.99,
13% abv) has honeysuckle aromas together with a ripple of citrus. It is juicy, with refreshing citrus and acidity to taste. It’s a sunshine wine. Today it’s sunny – I’ll be taking a glass
into the garden in a minute.
The Fire Tree Sicilian Pinot Grigio Sauvignon Blanc 2016,
(£4.69, 12.5% abv) is a blend of pinot grigio and sauvignon blanc. I thought the combination was pretty flat to be honest, with the vermentino winning on the flavour stakes. This wine is what it is, chill it for a while and its low-key citrus and gooseberry vibe will be fine for a cheap summer wine to take to parties.
Other wines in the range include The Fire Tree Sicilian Riserva 2013 (£7.99) and The Fire Tree Sicilian Nero D’Avola Appassimento 2016 (£4.99) and they’re available in store and online (aldi.co.uk).