Neuberger

I am quite pleased that this week I have been able to return, probably briefly, to the original premise of this exercise, which was to select one wine a week based on the initial letter of the name of the principal grape whose juice has ended up in the bottle. As I am on lap five of the alphabet this is becoming harder to achieve, especially for some colour and letter combinations. There are few white grapes with names starting with an 'N' and most of them are not exactly mainstream, which makes this find all the more satisfying.

Week N (2015) Markus Altenberger, Neuberger Reserve 2013. Newcomer Wines £15.90.

I have twice before found my wine of the week at Newcomer Wines, the wine store in a shipping container at the trendy Shoreditch Boxpark that specialises in wines from Austria. The first two were very good.

This is made by Markus Altenberger in his family winery in the village of Jois that can be found in the East Austrian state of Burgenland which describes itself as the sunny side of Austria. Jois itself can be found to the North of the large inland lake the Neusiedler See, relatively close to the borders with both Slovakia and Hungary.

The Neuberger grape is  is a crossing between Roter Veltliner (surprisingly, no relation to the fashionable Gruner Veltliner which is Austria's most widely planted) and Sylvaner. It is an early ripening variety and this gives it the chance to develop relatively high must weight, or sugar content if you would prefer me to be patronising, compared to its parents.

This is the first Neuburger I have tasted, I think, and I was offered the opportunity to spend another £10 to try 'a really top end' version, but I thought it sensible to start at a price point that should provide the producer with enough return to take care and do a good job.

The producer's own notes refer to a sallty finish and after my second taste (glass) I was beginning to understand what they mean. It is certainly dry and quite rich, underpinned with good acidity and a noticeable influence of the seven months it had spent in 500 litre barrels.

The senior member of my tasting panel told me that it cleansed her palate efficiently after she had demolished the smoky bacon quiche that the management had provided by way of a light luncheon. I would agree that it has that ability, but for me it is a little 'austere' (popular word, these days) and for that reason alone unlikely to become a regular purchase. I did enjoy it and it is different from so many of the indentikit wines that frequently fall into the shopping trolley and, therefore, I will keep it in mind for the right occasion.

Merlot

There are a few good films with wine-related themes and most people will have heard of Sideways which is not about wine but it is certainly a theme. One of the two main characters is a dedicated wine enthusiast with clearly defined tastes. It is said that this film was responsible for damaging the US sales of Merlot after Miles, the character in question, declares passionately '...if anyone orders Merlot, I'm leaving. I am not drinking any f*****g Merlot!'

Week M (2015) Casillero del Diabolo, Merlot. 2014. Tesco £8.

So, does it deserve that reaction? No.

Merlot is one of the great grapes of Bordeaux where it contributes soft fruity tones to blends with Cabernet Sauvignon which provides more tannin. This wine is a pure varietal with 100% Merlot and comes from the Rapel Valley of Chile. This is around the middle of the long Chilean wine region, slightly to the South of the mid-point.

The climate is moderated by proximity to the Pacific coast and, therefore, cooler than other parts of the country. This is well suited to the production of a modern style of Merlot which is very easy to drink, not overly complex and has levels of tannin that provide some structure but don't dry your mouth.

There are more interesting Merlots, or Merlot based blends (see Week P (2015)), but this is definitely a good value, pleasing drink. Not going to rock your world, but not going to let you down either. Its the type of thing that makes sense to have a few bottlesin the 'cellar' ready for when the mood strikes, or when the neighbour pops round to be beaten at cribbage.

Concha y Toro is the largest exporter of South American wine and accounts for a quarter of Chile's production. They have been producing wine since 1883 and have many brands and labels in their portfolio. Casillero del Diabolo fits under the broad heading of 'Premium Wines',which I take to mean mid-range, not being the cheapest, but not claiming to fit into 'Fine Wines'. Considering the price, which is about as little as it makes sense to pay in the UK this points to the good value that can often be had from the wines of Chile.

If you haven't seen Sideways, then I would recommend it. Not for the wine advice, but for some very entertaining moments, especially one set on a golf course.

Lamberhurst

Man of Kent, born and bred, weak in the arm and thick in the head. That's me. I spent much of my first half century living south and to the west of the mighty Medway and that separates me from the Kentish Men who colonise the lands to the north and east. The Medway was also the river from which at the age of 16 I plucked a four ounce Dace and by doing so won the Junior Hornsby Cup, a trophy awarded by the Royal Tunbridge Wells Angling Society on an annual basis to their most successful young fisherman. I was the only competitor. The society also held rights to a tributary to the Medway, the River Tiese, which rises in my home town at Dunorlan Park, where I spent much of my teenage life hiring canoes and generally being annoying, and flows through various villages including Lamberhurst which is where the grapes that went into this week's selection were grown,

Week L (2015) Lamberhurst Estate, Bacchus Reserve 2014. M&S £13.

The producers of this wine, Chapel Down, are well known as being amongst the leading group of the English sparkling wine movement and for which they rightly have a very strong reputation. They are based at Tenterden which is some thirty miles deeper into Kent, as Lamberhurst is very close to the border with East Sussex, from where they make a range of sparkling and still wines, together with beer and cider.

The Lamberhurst Estate wine is made from Bacchus grapes all grown in the Lamberhurst vineyard and is an exclusive blend for M&S. They do produce other Bacchus Reserves but I can't say how these differ as I have not yet tried them.

My selection of this wine was in part driven by a mixture of nostalgia and enduring fondness for the part of the world in which I lived for so long, but also in part because I have read a lot recently about how English still wines are beginning to be as noteworthy as the sparkling variety.

I have tasted English still wines but never really found the reality to match the marketing. This one is a definite step in the right direction. The makers claim it is an alternative to Sauvignon Blanc and I expected to find that it would, at best, be an alternative to the rather bland examples of the world beating grape, however, I was really surprised by the intensity of the ripe melon, grapefruit and, yes, elderflower flavours that this wine delivers.

It is very fruity in the lengthy finish and has a level of acidity that some of Marlborough's Sauvignon Blancs would be pleased to match. The alcohol level is 12% and that's about ideal for this style of wine.

Chapel Down are an innovative organisation. They are on a mission to change perception about English wine and, based on the success to date, have diversified into a range of beers following a very successful crowdfunding campaign. Very trendy. They also have a vine leasing scheme, so if Santa Claus is reading this.....

Kangarilla Road

There were a couple of changes in the UK retail wine market this month. Firstly, Tesco has decided to reduce the number of different wines it sells and to stop 'discounting' wines. That is, they will abandon the irritating practice of telling customers that their £6 bottle has been reduced from £9.99 (or similar). This is very welcome, although I think the result is that the wine in question will now always cost you £6.50.  Swing:Roundabout. Banana:Pyjama, you choose.

The other move was by Majestic, who have removed the six bottle minimum purchase rule and again, this is very welcome. The downside on this one is that you do, in effect, pay a premium for not by six bottles, because that's when the discounts kick in. Had I popped this week's selection in the trolley on November 1st, when I picked up a total of 22 bottles, it would have cost £9.98, but as I didn't, it cost almost a third more all of four days later. Irritating, but my fault through poor planning.

Week K (2015) Kangarilla Road Shiraz, McLaren Vale, 2013. Majestic £13.32

McLaren Vale is a varied wine-growing region of South Australia that was first planted with grapes in the 1830's, along with other famous regions in the same state. One of the early growers in these parts was Mr Thomas Hardy, but as with another vinous pioneer, Sam Smith, it's not that one. This Mr Hardy didn't have anything to do with Tess of the Madding Crowds in Casterbridge, but did go on to establish the eponymous Australian wine brand which produces countless millions of bottles of the jolly swagman's favourite tipple. I only mention that to fill space, as if that wasn't obvious.

I expect you know that Shiraz is the Australian name for Syrah, the red grape variety with a Persian name famous for its role in the wines of the Rhone valley, and that in Australian hands it can produce very 'big' wines that are full of jammy fruit and so much spicy, pepper character that it makes you cough. Well, this one doesn't.

The producers report that the rainfall in the winter of 2012 and the late summer in 2013 set up the vines perfectly and that together with the long warm autumn days and cool nights this has helped them produce a very nicely balanced wine.

I would agree with that. There is the fruit that Australian wines are noted for, dark berries and prunes today, and also some spice, but not of the aggressive variety. There are some floral aromas, too, and some gentle oak induced softness that comes form 25% of it spending 16 months new French and American hogsheads and the rest relaxing in older barrels.

It was bottled in December 2014 by winemaker Kevin O'Brien and unbottled in November 2015 by li'l old winedrinker me. I was at school with a Kevin O'Brien in the 1970's but although his nickname was 'cobber' on account of his initials he wasn't one, so I doubt this is the same man. Cheers to him, or them, either way.

Jackson Estate

New Zealand again. But I am quite excited about this one. As my regular reader (who, coincidentally is also the major contributor to this column) knows I am a fan of Kiwi Pinot Noir and do understand why the nation is famous for its Sauvignon Blanc, even if it has only been growing the stuff for a fraction on the the time that the French have been at it. This is neither of those.


Week J (2015) Jackson Estate, Botrytis Riesling, 2011. Marlborough. Majestic £19.99. 37.5cl

Not cheap, but then dessert wines generally aren't. It used to be unfashionable to like sweet wines. Big mistake that, as are most fashion based choices, because sweet wines often offer huge pleasure through a great combination of flavour complexity, mouthwatering acidity and low alcohol. True, they may not be the best choice to accompany a beef Wellington, but I like a good, hoppy, bitter real ale and that wouldn't be great with a creme brulee. With wine we should think outside the box, not just use it to get out of your box. Experiment, that's what this pointless blog is all about.

I won't bang on again about Botrytis, or noble rot, because you must be reading this on an internet enabled device and that means you can use Google, Bing, or the search engine of your choice to find a nearly reliable definition on some other wine typist's outpourings. I will, however, note that I was attracted to this wine because I have tasted some great German Botrytised Rieslings, but not one form New Zealand.

How do they compare, I hear no-one ask?

Pretty well, would be the answer if you actually cared. This is very sweet, has mouth-coating, almost syrupy texture which benefits from gentle chilling, and tastes of honey, apricots, citrus and warm spices like cinnamon. In the finish its Riesling character comes through. Up until that point it could be almost any Botrytis influenced dessert wine, but then it steps up a gear and is really very nice indeed.

This is not, at least by my standards, a cheap wine. At this price a full bottle would set you back about £40, unless of course you bought it as part of a job lot when you could get 25% off (that would have been a good idea), however, it is remarkable and the investment as an occasional treat is probably justified. Probably.

You may notice there is a tree on the label. This is, so I have read, a gum tree planted by the original estate owners, Adam and Alice Jackson, in 1867 some 12 years after they bought the land. It stands in what is now the Homestead Vineyard although at the time there were no vines to be seen. The first of those was planted 120 years after that gum tree and it is only since 1991 that wines have been sold. It is quite remarkable how much progress has been made in the development of the region as a major source of excellent wines, in under a fifth of the life of that tree.