Well, the first meeting since February 2020. Held in a members garden, allowing 30 to come under the lockdown rules. The weather was kind, the meeting having been postponed from the 20th when it tipped it down
A successful evening, and so nice to get back together again.
The wines were all presented by Phil, the chairman, with a theme of slightly unusual wines you can get from the supermarket, not too expensive.
Wines:
Whites:
Bellingham Barnard Series: Roussane, Franschoek 2019. £10.25 Sainsburys
My score: 8/10
La Burgondie: Bourgogne Aligote, Burgundy 2018. £9
My score: 9/10. Many Aligotes can be pretty acidic. This one inst, full bodied, well rounded.
Paul Mas Vinus: Clairette, Laguedoc 2015. £8.25
My score: 7/10. OK. Vegan.
Masseria Pietrose: Verdeca, Puglia 2015. £8.50 Morrisons
My score: 8.5/10. Quite different. Very Minerally.
Reds
Stellenrust Manor: Cinsault, Stellenbosch 2018. £10 Waitrose
My score: 7/10. relatively light/thin
Fieler-Artinger: Blaufrankish (AKA Limburger/Kekfrankos) 2016. Burgenland, Austria. £11 Waitrose
My score: 8/10. A quite light wine. Try this for something a little different
Cannonau di Sardegna (AKA Grenache): 2016. Sardinia. £10 Waitrose
My score: 8/10 Medium bodied
Priorat 2014: Grenache/Carignan/Syrah, Catalonia, Spain. £10 Morrisons
My score: 9/10. Very full bodied, solid wine
Of the 8 wines, all were perfectly drinkable: the 2 best would be the Aligote, and Priorat – well worth buying. The 2 that might be marked as “could do better” – the Stellenrust Cinsault and the Paul Mas Vinus.