March's Recommendations
We rate our wines out of a 100-points scale.
Our reviews and recommendations are completely independent and we do not have any commercial affiliation with the importers and/or retailers listed.
Please note that prices are correct at the time of our tastings/reviews but are subject to change without us being notified.
Sparkling
Domaines Vinsmoselle Cuvée Antoinette Crémant de Luxembourg Brut NV - 90pts
Luxembourg, Sparkling White, 12% abv, natural cork closure
Auxerrois, Pinot Blanc, Riesling
Pairs nicely with: Aperitif and sushi.
This Luxembourg fizz has a really appealing nose of stewed apple and ripe pear with some raisins thrown into the mix. The result is a very enjoyable wine with great mousse, intensity and interest. Pretty and persistent.
£17.99 (mix six price £14.99) available from Majestic Wine
Cleto Chiarli “Nivola” Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro NV - 89pts
Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Sparkling White, 10.5% abv, natural cork closure
100% Lambrusco Grasparossa
Pairs nicely with: Charcuterie
This really is something a little bit different and definitely worth trying! The colour is sensational; a deep yet vivid purple with lashings of mulberry, bramble and blackberry fruit on the nose and palate. Very pure and attractive and the balance between fruit, tannins and sweetness is perfectly managed which with a red sparkler is no mean feat. Fun and rather fantastic!
£14.99 (mix six price £11.99) available from Majestic Wine
Dry White
Definition Sancerre 2017 - 89pts
Loire, France, Dry White, 13% alc, natural cork closure
100% Sauvignon Blanc
Pairs nicely with: Salads, cheese, light white fish.
A very classic example of Sancerre with some herbal definition and a complexing note of peach, white mushroom and elderflower. Extremely well-balanced and long with weight and texture. Delicious.
£19.99 (mix six price £17.99) available from Majestic Wine
Doudet Naudin Bouzeron Aligoté 2016 - 90pts
Burgundy, France, Dry White, 12% alc, natural cork closure
100% Aligoté
Pairs nicely with: Chicken, seafood and shellfish.
The nose has a slightly flinty, struck match character that is very appealing with some notes of orchard fruits and custard creams and a suggestion of lemon cheesecake on the finish. A good example of Aligoté.
£14.99 (mix six price £12.99) available from Majestic Wine
Caruso e Minini Zibibbo 2018 - 89pts
Sicily, Italy, Dry White, 12.5% alc, natural cork closure
100% Zibibbo
Pairs nicely with: Spicy food, especially Thai and Indian food.
A really aromatic, floral wine with notes of honeysuckle, lime, pineapple, grapefruit, apricots and baked plums. Heady, distinctive and juicy with character and charisma.
£11.99 (mix six price £8.99) available from Majestic Wine
Casal de Ventozela Alvarinho 2017 - 91pts
Vinho Verde, Portugal, Dry White, 13.5% alc, screwcap
100% Alvarinho
Pairs nicely with: Salt baked fish, seafood and Caesar salad.
Pretty and peachy with notes of white stone fruit and flowers with citrus acidity well-balanced by a very attractive texture and length.
£11.99 (mix six price £9.99) available from Majestic Wine
Ceretto Arneis Blangé 2017 - 91pts
Piemonte, Italy, Dry White, 13% alc, natural cork closure
100% Arneis
Pairs nicely with: Battered haddock or cod loin.
The super fresh, floral aromas of this classic North-West Italian variety give way to a delicate yet full-flavoured palate of ripe and juicy stone fruit flavours unhindered by any oak, all finely, seamlessly balanced by a crisp dry finish. Delicious!
£19.81 available from winebuyers.com
Langlois-Chateau Saumur Vieilles Vignes Blanc 2015 - 90pts
Loire, France, Dry White, 14% alc, natural cork closure
100% Chenin Blanc
Pairs nicely with: Sandre (pike-perch) and other river fish au beurre blanc.
Sumptuously endowed with a veneer of vanilla oak from its sojourn in Burgundy barrels, of which 20% are new, this is a classy, full-bodied, food-friendly Loire Chenin Blanc. Its flavour depth is derived from the concentration brought by 35-year-old vines, a hint of oak toastiness, and an appley bite that maintains the wine’s freshness right to the end.
£20.95 available from Davy’s Wine Merchants
Chateau Megyer Dry Furmint 2015 - 89pts
Tokaj, Hungary, Dry White, 13% alc, screwcap
100% Furmint
Pairs nicely with: Ceviche, fish-based tapas.
Showing the trademark fresh acidity of the Tokaj region’s Furmint grape, this delightfully dry white shows floral and mineral notes on the nose while the palate is delicately peachy and full-bodied and slaked with that tell-tale streak of limey acidity that’s made to make the mouth water. Wine’s answer to a page-turner.
£14.45 available from www.slurp.co.uk
Celler Cal Pla Mas d’en Compte Blanco 2014 - 91pts
Porrera, Priorat, Spain, Dry White, 14% alc, natural cork closure
Garnacha Blanca, Picapoll, Pansá, Macabeo
Pairs nicely with: Chicken with tarragon, white meats.
Each grape variety (from low-yielding vines) is fermented separately in big oak barrels and then aged in new French and American barriques before being blended together. The result is a full-bodied wine of sumptuous richness and depth with a complexity compounded by its lightly toasted oak top-notes and leesy undertow, all held together beautifully by a firm acid backbone.
£21.50 available from Fareham Wine Cellar
Value choice of the Month
Quinta da Raza Avesso Vinho Verde 2017 - 89pts
Vinho Verde, Portugal, Dry White, 13.5% alc, natural cork closure
100% Avesso
Pairs nicely with: Dressed crab, mild prawn curry.
Vinho Verde comes in a surprising variety of forms, from light and crisp to rich and full-bodied. This delightful dry white Vinho Verde made from the Avesso grape fermented in stainless steel is in the latter category, very much a food wine for its juicy, enveloping stone fruit flavours all underpinned by a refreshing appley bite.
£13.49 available from The Butlers Wine Cellar
Lavradores da Feitoria Branco 2017 - 91pts
Douro, Portugal, Dry White, 13.5% alc, screwcap
Viosinho, Gouveio, Malvasia, Síria
Pairs nicely with: Grilled sardines, whitebait.
Made from a classic blend of native Douro Valley grape varieties, this is a rich and creamily full-bodied dry Portuguese white with melon-like and peachy flavours all undercut by a cleansing fresh acidity that makes this such a good - and good value - food wine.
£11.99 available from The Oxford Wine Company
Pasji Rep Zelèn Vipavska Dolina 2017 - 89pts
Vipava Valley, Slovenia, Dry White, 11.5% alc, natural cork closure
100% Zelèn
Pairs nicely with: Aperitif or al fresco Spring sipper.
There’s a Spring blossom fragrance to this charming, light-bodied Slovenian dry white while the peachy palate is imbued with a ginger spice quality and finishes on a satisfyingly dry note.
£12.15 available from Stone, Vine & Sun
Wine of the Month!!
René Lequin-Colin Bourgogne Chardonnay 2017 - 90pts
Burgundy, France, Dry White, 12.5% alc, natural cork closure
100% Chardonnay
Pairs nicely with: Grilled firm white fish, for instance cod, haddock, or halibut.
A well-crafted white Burgundy from the Santenay district of the Côte de Beaune, whose juicy Chardonnay fruit is complemented by complexing leesy notes of barrel work, while the opulently ripe fruit quality is finely balanced and marked by a cleansing citrusy finish.
£18.95 available from Stone, Vine & Sun
Rosé
Black Cottage Rosé 2014 - 88pts
Marlborough, New Zealand, Dry Rosé, 12.5% alc, screwcap
Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris
Pairs nicely with: Salads, chicken, seafood.
A fashionably pale, almost Provençal colour with light crushed berries and a whiff of roses. Fresh and light-bodied with tight acidity, this is a lovely Spring pink.
£12.99 (mix six price £10.99) available from Majestic Wine
Dry Red
Esprit de Bégude Pinot Noir 2017 - 91 pts
Haute Vallée de L’Aude, France, Dry Red, 13% alc, natural cork closure
100% Pinot Noir
Pairs nicely with: Game, venison, tuna, chicken.
An extremely enticing nose of pure, soft red berry fruits and spice with raspberry, bramble and loganberry. This is a really attractive wine with length, balance and a certain je-ne-sais-quoi.
£17.99 (mix six price £15.99) available from Majestic Wine
Wine of the Month!!
Saint Clair Pioneer Block Pinot Noir 2017 - 92pts
Marlborough, New Zealand, Dry Red, 13.5% alc, screwcap
100% Pinot Noir
Pairs nicely with: Game terrine, charcuterie, venison, duck.
Saint Clair are still producing sensational wines and this Pinot Noir is no exception; made in a really classic style with plenty of ripe red berry fruit swaddled in a light cloak of oak. Fantastic purity of ripe cherry fruit on the finish completes this tasty wine.
£21.99 (mix six price £18.99) available from Majestic Wine
Value choice of the Month
Wisdom Tree Touriga Nacional 2017 - 90 pts
Dão, Portugal, Dry Red, 13% alc, natural cork closure
100% Touriga Nacional
Pairs nicely with: Red meats such as lamb, beef and sausages.
A lovely deep colour with bacon, black fruits and violets on the nose and palate. This is very pretty and soft and reminiscent of wines from the Northern Rhône at a fraction of the price with this floral fragrance and charm.
£11.99 (mix six price £9.99) available from Majestic Wine
Poggerino Chianti Classico Nuovo 2016 - 91 pts
Tuscany, Italy,Dry Red,13% alc, natural cork
100% Sangiovese
Pairs nicely with: Roast thyme and garlic chicken, guinea fowl.
The Nuovo here refers to the fact that Piero Lanza’s Sangiovese is aged for a year in a small concrete egg of 650 litres, allowing the wine the continuing movement it needs to bring about the required fragrance, complexity and a really juicy-textured cherryish fruit quality that makes this wine, although young, moreishly approachable. £26.95 when you buy by the case.
£29.95 (£26.95 when you buy a case)available from Lea & Sandeman
Mofete Etna Rosso 2015 - 90pts
Sicily, Italy,Dry Red,14% alc, natural cork
Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio
Pairs nicely with: Lamb cutlets, pork belly.
Relatively pale red in colour, as befits Etna Rosso, this Nerello Mascalese-dominated blend from the slopes of Mount Etna shows delicately succulent red fruit flavours, a cross almost been Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo, yet with a characteristic herbal note all its own and that trademark volcanic Etna bite on the finish.
£18.95 (£16.95 when you buy a case)available from Lea & Sandeman