Golly's Wine Drops

Laithwaites Amazon £60 Wine Voucher

2011-12-12T16:51:00.005Z

It seems you people like wine vouchers at this time of year. Today's Amazon parcel came with a £60 Laithwaite's Voucher. Laithwaites are the people behind most of the wine clubs you see out there, and have been in the business for yonks.

This voucher is for brand new customers only, ordering a 15 bottle case normally priced at £110 so you'll need to shell out £50. It comes with a free corkscrew, don't let that sway you either way. You'll need to sign up to their quarterly club, although you can turn down their cases and then cancel in the future. Visit www.laithwaites.co.uk/c9h1c

If this offer isn't for you try clicking 'Wine Offers' below for the most up to date ones.

£40 Naked Wine Voucher

2011-12-08T14:05:00.003Z

The nice people at Amazon sent me a Naked Wines Voucher, unfortunately, it's for band new customers only so it's no use to me, but might be of use to you.

The code is : AMAZ1125

Password: ASP32XYN

Expiry: 31/1/12

There's no obligation for further purchases, which makes it a reasonable intro offer if you're stocking up for Christmas.

Click for more wine offers

Picco del Sole Falanghina 2010

2011-12-06T20:58:00.004Z

Falanghina always makes me think of Friends, when Phoebe called herself Regina Phalange for reasons that I can't quite remember, but were amusing in the 1990's. That's probably not a great reason to buy a bottle of wine.

This wine is fine. It's Goldilocks to some degree, not too sweet, not too dry, not too sharp, not too flabby, not too strong, not too weedy. That said, there's nothing really that marks it out as a wine I'd want to buy again. I wouldn't reject it, or refuse it as a gift, I just wouldn't mind if I didn't drink it ever again. There's a lot of wines that fall into that bracket, it's no bad thing, the search for my favourite wine continues.

Virgin Wines Voucher

2011-12-06T20:28:00.000Z

The good people at LoveFilm sent me a voucher for £40 of any wine I like at Virgin Wines. That was kind, but as it's for 'brand new customers only' it's of no use to me. If it's of use to you (in the UK) go to www.virginwines.co.uk/lovewine36, the code is LOVE36 and the password is Discovery. It claims a use by date of 30 days from now. Enjoy.

Ermitage du Pic Saint Loup

2011-10-29T10:01:00.003Z

Disturbing news through this morning from Aldeby Wines. It seems that the good people at Ermitage du Pic Saint Loup only had a small harvest and all their wines this year have been allocated so there's none available for UK retail. This is sad, however, I guess it does provide an opportunity to try some other wines, and Aldeby can help with that.

Portinho do Covo 2010 - Fernao Pires, Muscat, Verdelho

2011-10-22T12:20:00.003Z

We had risotto, which means random white wine out of the fridge. This one looked particularly random, a white blend of grapes seemingly selected by a drunk passing through the dreg ends at a party.

I was pleasantly surprised by the smell. Half expecting Cheesy Wotsits and cigarette butts, I got a rich fruity combo that was reminiscent of an Alcasian wine at a far higher price. A kind of pinot gris flavour carried through to the palate, I was about to rave about the wine before a slightly bitter after-taste cleared the scruminess and replaced it with something more battery-acid like. This made me sad. We chilled it down to a much lower temperature and tried again.

Some of the fruit was flattened, but the after-taste was squashed clean out. It was much better. I'd love to see if the winemaker could identify which grape is doing what and re-balance a little, this could be quite a hit. As it stands its a good mid week wine at a good price, just remember to serve it very cold.

Les Dix du Pallet Muscadet 2010

2011-09-28T11:53:00.002Z

The fridge always has a few random bottles of white, ready to be thrown in to a risotto at a moment's notice. It also has a bottle or two of pink, ready to be thrown into me at a moment's notice. This was a risotto wine. A good glass full goes into the risotto then we share the rest over the evening. Sometimes this is a pleasant experience, sometimes it's a bad experience, mostly it's a meh experience, this was on the good side of meh.

There's fruity fruit but not so much as to be overpowering, and a pleasant acidity with a bit of unripe zinginess. It won't make it onto any top ten lists, but it will make it into Italian dishes.

Virgin Wines £40 Voucher

2011-09-13T09:12:00.002Z

The good people at LoveFilm sent me a voucher for £40 of any wine I like at Virgin Wines. That was kind, but as it's for 'brand new customers only' it's of no use to me. If it's of use to you (in the UK) go to www.virginwines.co.uk/lovewine27, the code is LOVE27 and the password is Discovery. It claims a use by date of 30 days from now. Enjoy.

Echo Falls

2011-09-12T11:25:00.003Z

The end of the summer means the end of students in the house, and the end of Echo Falls bottles in the recycling. Echo Falls is cheap, when on offer you can pick up three bottles for £10. These two came here on a two for £7 deal. Unfortunately it doesn't taste great, particularly not served at just a little below room temperature. It needs to be ice cold, with ice, and maybe muddled with some strawberries to be tolerable.

Oddly the student drinkers know it is unpleasant, and can tell the difference between this and better wine, but drink it anyway. Strangely it's not a question of price entirely. A £7 bottle of wine would taste much better, and would be more enjoyable, but would involve drinking half as much. That seems to be a key buying decision - if I buy cheap I can drink more.

One of my nerdier chums did a study in his youth of price per ml of alcohol. He recommends 'British Sherry', last seen wearing a 'Fortified British Wine' label, or own brand vodka if that's the key deciding factor, although he new brews his own excellent cider from the spare apples his neighbours give him - theoretically free booze, but he's spent a lot on high end kit to make a superior product. The students prefer ciders made from high fructose corn syrup and flavourings. It's sad.

Willy Willy Shiraz 2009

2011-08-20T09:01:00.003Z

OK, so in Australia 'Willy Willy' may refer to a localised dust storm, but here in England is just means willy, twice. I am not yet sufficiently mature that a wine called Willy Willy does not amuse me.

With that out of the way, the wine is actually good. It's a rich purple colour, with an oaky, spicy smell. It has oodles of mouthfeel, with ripe soft tannins and a good slug of alcohol. There's berries too, of a loganberry, blackberry style, and pepper which tames the vanilla a bit.

It's worth the £7 asking price, and you get to say willy a lot too.

De Meye Shiraz Rosé 2009

2011-08-09T19:10:00.004Z

One of the big bonuses of summer is the ability to sit out in the garden and drink pink wine whilst chatting as the sun goes down. My personal preference tends to be towards Spanish pinks, but I'm open to ideas.

We had a bottle of South African Shiraz Rose. I don't normally seek out South African wines, living in Europe it doesn't make a great deal of sense. This one was lively colour, just off dry it smelled of strawberries and cream, with a floral hint. It tasted almost like strawberry ice cream. It had a pop-like quality, easy to drink.

I wouldn't go out of my way to find this wine again, but I certainly wouldn't avoid it.

Domaine de Raissac Muscat Petits Grains

2011-07-09T11:44:00.003Z

Buying wine because the bottle is pretty is not always the most effective stocking strategy, but this bottle was really pretty. The wine was a pretty colour too, a sort of orangey yellow, not brash, more autumnal.

It smelled of honey made from fragrant garden flowers. That flavour carried through with some apricot-peachiness which complemented the colour well.

Despite the honied fruit, rich colour and good legs, it was dry, which worked well. I'm not going to claim this was my favourite wine in the world, but I'd happily drink it again.

Altano Tinto Reserva 2003 Douro

2011-07-03T14:48:00.003Z

I like port. There, I've said it. I also like wines that have the taste of port without the full on alcohol hit. The good people of the Douro have been working hard over the last decade to do more of that. That's probably why I think they are good people.

The good people at Berry Bros & Rudd recognise that not everyone is a mega-rich fund manager, so whilst they have a beautiful shop in St James' they also have a friendly outlet warehouse in Basingstoke.

Bringing these two thoughts together I bought a bottle of Altano Tinto Reserva at the outlet store for £7.50. Then I forgot about it for a while. This usually isn't smart because if it's being flogged off cheap it normally wants drinking in 6 months tops, but I left this one a year. It didn't die, but I suspect my actions were not kind to it. The colour seemed to have softened and lost some vim. It smelled good though of festive fruits and spices. It tasted good too. Not great, but good. The fruit had a dried quality, concentrated, but not intense. There was a good slug of prune. I'm sure a kinder writer would call it 'dried plum', but dried plums are prunes and you know what? I like prunes.

There was oaky flavours too, some vanilla but a bit more nutmegishness, although I couldn't quite pin it down.

Drunk a year ago I'm sure this would have been great value at £7.50, now it's a bit tired and past its prime, but still an interesting bottle. I feel like I let it down by not taking good enough care of it.

CVNE Rioja Reserva Viña Real 2005

2011-06-28T19:46:00.004Z

I'd planned on saving this bottle for when Real Madrid come to Leicester for a game at the end of July. My plan failed. The trouble with having wines I know I like in the house is that I'm going to drink them. The notion that I could buy a bottle of Vina Real and expect it to sit quietly, undisturbed in the wine rack for six weeks is absurd. We drank it.

It was a rich, warm red colour, more cardinal than bishop. It smelled gooood, like a big bowl of warm fruit with real vanilla ice cream on it. It was dry with smooth ripe tannins, with a feel almost of wood tannins as there was lots of oak. It was full bodied with a really pleasing mouthfeel, lots of rich vanilla with soft blackberries and plums. The flavour lingered well, slowly losing the vanilla to fruit and finally a little spiciness.

I paid £18, which is still a lot cheaper than the £26 one ticket to see the galácticos at the crispbowl costs.

San Gimignano Sangiovese 2007 Passoni

2011-06-18T12:04:00.005Z

I love San Gimignano. It is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. I cycled through on my way to Rome and one of my abiding memories of that trip is sitting in the square in my cycling kit, tired and sweaty, drinking a glass of San Gimignano Vernaccia. In neighbouring towns I'd drunk delicious, fresh as a cherry Sangiovese, served in tumblers, fresh out of the barrel. It made me absurdly happy, and drunk.

This Sangiovese from Majestic reminds me of those wines, although it doesn't taste the same, it's like their older, more sophisticated brother. There's plenty of juicy cherry, but it has a balancing spice, and more rounded tannins. This is a good alternative to Chianti, offering much of Chianti's inherent goodness, but without an appellation to charge for. I don't think it will be long before the reds of San Gimignano have their own appellation and price tag, so enjoy this now before the price goes up. That said, remember to enjoy it when Majestic are running one of their Italian wine offers as it can usually be snaffled up for under a tenner.

Swiss Army Wine

2011-06-12T14:45:00.003Z

So it's the Tour Of Switzerland this week, what better time to drink Swiss wine? Oh yes, last weekend, when England played Switzerland at Wembley.

I've had a bootle of what I can only describe as 'Swiss Army Wine' sitting in the rack for almost three years. I bought it during a stopover at Zurich airport. I was tired, bored and a bit hyper. It went into my basket with a Toblerone, a snow globe and some cow bells. I wonder how much stuff is bought by bored people at airoprts, and how much of it ever gets used?

I hadn't had much excitement for trying this wine, which explains its long rest in the rack. It was wrapped in a Swiss Army type bottle, and I only use my Swiss Army knife for emergencies, or sorting out problems, I thought the wine would fall into that category.

Given that build up the wine was actually pretty good. It was a pale, almost rose colour, somewhere between a rose from Rioja and a Pinot Noir. It smelled of wine gums, and to my mild amusement it tasted of wine gums too. It was bordering on swett and tasted of artificial fruit flavourings. If you were going to make a wine to appeal to ten year olds this would be it.

Next time I'm in a Swiss airport, I'll probably just stick to the Toblerone, but this was an interesting adventure.

Mas de Valbrune Dans Les Bois

2011-05-28T15:19:00.005Z

We've had a burst of warm weather, unusual for the UK in April and May, but it came to an end this week, giving me an opportunity to dip back into the 'winter warmers' selection of wines. Mas de Valbrune Dans Les Bois is a bit of an oddity, a Cabernet Sauvignon varietal from Languedoc in France.

It's a rich deep purple colour, that just emits warmth. It has good legs and smells of juicy black fruits topped with black pepper. With ripe tannins and a full mouth feel, the blackcurranty fruit tastes great, but avoids being overwhelming with a reasonable alcohol level and balancing spice.

Summer is great, but I do miss wines like this enjoyed whist snuggled up under a blanky.

Montaria Alentejano 2009

2011-03-17T20:37:00.002Z

We got a copy of Vinhos, a wine game, from my Board Game Geek Secret Santa. We haven't had many opportunities to play it, but we thought a Portugese wine would be the perfect choice to accompany a learning game.

We opened the bottle and put it to one side as we ran through the rules. There are a lot of rules, and I'd been told the wine needed time to breathe so that was OK. When we got around to pouring it was a deep, dark red, it looked almost viscous. It smelled fruity, thick and goey. It had thick colourful legs.

There was a slight unripeness to the tannins, but there was plenty of smoothness too. The alcohol level was squarely in the middle range for a red wine.

This was a big and fruity wine, it wasn't my favourite, but it worked well as a background accompaniment to the game.

Castillo Del Ciego Rioja

2011-02-17T19:03:00.002Z

Last night we settled ourselves in to watch Arsenal take on Barcelona, two teams who like to play football in a way that people like to watch. We opted for a Spanish wine, although a Catalan one would have been a better match. Our tiny work gambling syndicate had a couple of quid on Arsenal at 3/1, and although I secretely wanted Barcelona to win because they were just so good in the first half, I happily won the bet.

The wine, despite being a cheap and cheerful non-vintage, was surprisingly good too. It wasn't a fine classic Rioja by any means, but it was a good fruity Tempranillo with a smidge of vanilla spice. At about £7 a bottle it was a good Rioja-impersonator for a midweek treat.

Marques de Caceres Antea Rioja Blanco 2008

2011-01-29T12:07:00.004Z

I really like white Rioja, it's a white wine that really means business, but it is perhaps under represented on Britain's wine shelves. I was excited to see a version I hadn't seen before on Majestic's shelves. Marques de Caceres is a reliable supplier of all things Rioja, and this one promised something a little different. There's some Malvasia in with the Viura and it's barrel fermented. It also had a 'buy two bottles save some cash' sticker, so I did.

It tasted good. There was some soft apple/pearishness and some blossom to go with it, and a smooth creaminess that almost pushed into ice cream at a certain temperature point. It felt quite full, which was fruit drivan as at 13% the alcohol wasn't dominant.

At £7.50 a bottle this was great value. Sadly when I stopped back in for more they were out of stock, but I'll keep an eye out for it in the future.

Waitrose Palo Cortado

2011-01-09T12:53:00.002Z

One of the great things about Christmas is that it's the one time of year I can drink sherry without ridicule. I drink sherry year round, I'm used to being mocked, but at Christmas it's like Mardi Gras - I can drink my sherry with pride.

This year I spotted a Palo Cortado, it's a great sherry. Somewhere between the dry, crisp seaside-y heaven of a Manzanilla and the rich Christmas cake-y delight of an Amontillado, but nothing at all like a Harvey's Bristol Cream, it just warms the festive soul.

It's not a sherry that seems to be on the shelves all year round, and I'm not sure I'd want it to be, it's great to keep as a Christmas treat, it's no more expensive than a good Fino, meaning it's spectacular value. Add a bottle to next years Christmas wish list, grab a good book and settle down in front of the fire with a nice cold glass.

Vin Santo del Chianti Rufina

2011-01-03T14:10:00.003Z

OK so I don't have the plague, I just have a cold, and it's miserable to have a cold at Christmas. Therefore, a historic 'cure' for the plague seems like a great drinking choice.

Vin Santo is just such a product, and when served with cantuccini biscotti for dunking it take on a sort of strange quasi-religious quality.

My Vin Santo 2000 was from Marks & Spencer, sold in a half bottle gift pack with the cantuccini attached to avoid disappointment. Ordinarily this pack of heavenliness sells for £15 which is a bit steep, but it's often marked down in the week before Christmas at £7.50 which is an absolute steal. I don't understand why the don't just sell it at £10 year round. That's a fair price, and it's not like a bottle of 10 year old sweet fortified wine is going to go off real quick.

Look out for it next December, you're never sure when you might exhibit plague-like symptoms.

Waitrose Ripasso di Valpolicella Classico Superiore

2010-12-16T14:34:00.002Z

There are some wines that just have a wonderfully calming, soothing effect. The wine equivalent of eating toad in the hole or rice pudding, or watching It's A Wonderful Life again, or re-reading Charlie & The Chocolate Factory just one more time. Ripasso di Valpolicella is such a wine.

This Waitrose version is pretty good. It makes me happy, I can now buy it locally and it's reasonably priced. What's not to like?

Asda Manzanilla

2010-10-15T18:48:00.004Z

Here's the thing, I like sherry. Particularly fino, and especially Manzanilla. The idea of coming home for dinner and finding we've run out is distressing to me, it's the kind of thing I have nightmares about. The OH is aware of this and feels similarly, so when he found himself in Asda on a day when there was no sherry in the house and no Tio Pepe on Adsa's shelves he panicked a bit. Should he buy Asda brand sherry, or should he make a trip to another store, abandoning a child to wait, teary-eyed, outside school, alone in the rain. He took the brave decision of buying own brand sherry.

I wasn't convinced. My day hadn't been great and to top it off, there was only Asda sherry available. I was brave and didn't cry. It tried a sip. It wasn't bad. I had had a two hour meeting from hell with a self important fool who spoke only in management cliches and was unable to make any sort of decisions, so I suspected I was making allowances, but another sip confirmed that it was really rather good. Not the finest sherry on the market, but at a fiver, remarkably good. We've bought it since and it wasn't a fluke. Who knew?

Monestario de Santa Cruz Monastrell 2007

2010-09-20T09:44:00.002Z

Autumn has arrived and that tends to mean a growing need for thick warm red wines. This one came as part of a mixed case, and falls at the economy end of the price spectrum. Mostly Monastrell (which may or may not be Mouvedre - awaiting final DNA testing) it has a splash of Tempranillo.

It's deep red with damsons and some blackberries. There's a medium body, with medium high alcohol which gives it a bit more mouth feel and warmth. There's some spice but not enough to make it real winter warmer, but just enough for an early autumn level of cosiness.