Just let me finish that last sip of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo from Moncaro, £8 from the pizzeria down the street. Mmm, OK. Bit light, but perfect with the pepperoni pizza from last night. The dough was a bit too salty though, but the Italians who made it know more than Dominoes…8.4 points

The 2003 Tukulu Pinotage, the South African hybrid grape…cost about £7 at Oddbins. The wine is neat because is smells of banana, as well as the typical ripe vine fruits of a typical red wine. However, the taste is smokey and oaky. It’s really nice for the price. It is a fascinating wine, the body is weak but the structure is strong, just like the Superdome: 8.7 points.

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Got an e-mail from the States:

“Got 2 new bottles. Sweet Bitch from California ($9.99) and Justin Vineyards Syrah Paso Robles ($25.99) Both 2004. The Sweet Bitch claims “slightly sweet” however, they meant to say “sugary sweet”. Almost undrinkable. We may just decide to cook with it.”

At any rate, next time try the Justin ‘Isosceles’… it’s a Meritage, rhymes with ‘heritage,’ the pretty Californian name for a wine made with the three main grapes of Bordeaux: Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc and Merlot. Never had a bad bottle of the stuff, or a single bottle, for that matter. Only ever tried it at wine tastings.

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While not terribly bad, the 2005 Wolftrap is an awkward mish-mash of Syrah, Cinsault, Mourvedre and Viognier. The aroma swirls with black pepper and tastes of too much oak. It would be a challenge for any expert to taste it blind and say, “Yup, that’s a South African blend of red and white grapes.” My guess is that they would guess South Australia Shiraz. 8.2, not for flavour, but for lacking guts. Also, it’s too early for it to be on the shelves. Too tight, don’t drink before 2007. Around £7.50 at Oddbins.

The Glen Carlou, one of my favourite South African wine producers, 2004 Tortoise Hill Red is also a blend…predominately Cabernet Sauvignon, 69 percent…so big miss there. Syrah is in there, but not Cinsault, at 12.5 percent. Zinfandel and Merlot are there, at nine and four percent… but the big surprise is the Portuguese bad boy Tourega Nacional fills out the rest of the bottle.) With all those grapes, it’s disappointing… and, oddly, tastes South African. Berries, fruity, oaky, tannic and tight. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. 8.0, because I expected better. Less than £8, also at Oddbins.

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I told him I only had five pounds. He sent his girl upstairs. She came back with a bottle: 2002 Chateau Lafitte Mengin, Premieres Cotes de BORDEAUX…”Good structure, body a bit heavy, but that’s just the oak. Ripe fruits. Vine fruits. Blackberry mainly. Some pepper.” Bordeaux: 8.5.

Rustling about, as if the wine bottles are hidden under 45 layers of taped-up bubble wrap, she hands me the 2002 Beronia Rioja Crianza. That means it’s been aged in oak a bit to mellow the tannin. Fresh and damp. Predictable and sincere. Oaky and oompfy. With, hold the phone, that characteristic smell of dill. The euphoria washes over. The simplicity of the wine. A choice made just for me: 8.8.

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Interwined: episode 1 (note: maybe start every episode with someone involved in the debacle giving some sort of exasperated apology)
Scene opens on older man, grey hair, very proper. He is identified by a label that appears on screen: “Sir Terrance Worthington-Hume, Creative Director, BBC”.
TWH: I don’t think anyone expected it, how could we? We had […]

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Drinking the 2004 Montana Marlborough Riesling £6 at Costcutter: Not Bad, but the grape needs a cooler climate. The warmer weather has crowded out the grace and mineral structure of its superior, German counterparts. Strong tropical fruits, pineapple, melon. Light and easy, with a somewhat interesting dry finish that lasts just long enough. 8.5.

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IDEA: Next time you’re making a cup of tea, don’t brew by the clock or by the colour, instead brew by the SMELL. Keep sniffing at that bag floating in the hot water until it stinks like a perfectly brewed cupa. Apply to other forms of food preparation where necessary.
Now, Jacob Gaffney has been called […]

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The 2004 Portal de Aquia contained four grapes: Tinta Roriz, Castelao, Syrah and Alicante Bouschet. The wine was thin, rusty, musty, and seemed like it was reclining in the shade, instead of working in the field. Lazy bugger: 8.0.

On the other hand, the 2004 Quinta Vista – Castelao, Tinta Miuda, Camarate – was around the same price, £5. But it was a different wine altogether. Juicy, pleasant with hints of overcooked caramel. And guess what? It tastes like wine! No identity problems here. Straight shooter: 8.6.

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A bottle of the TTD Pinot Grigio was on-sale for less than £5. Grassy, crisp and clean. One of the best wines for the price, unbelievably. 8.9.
At Budgens, for less than £5, is the Da Luca Merlot/Primitivo blend (Primitivo is basically Zinfandel’s ancestor, and is remarkably similar). It does not have a vintage, so the grapes come from multiple years, and it is an ‘Indicazione Geografica Tipica,’ or from a typical, but not special, Italian region, in this case Tarantino (a little wine from Taranto, related to the Hollywood director), Apulia – hot and southern.

It’s a blockbuster, just like many of Quentin’s movies. Also, no grace, strong in will and sometimes surprising, but with a big finish. It is a heavy, clumsy, large wine and it tastes great. 8.9.

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The party wine was a 2003 Premiere Bordeaux Chateau Haut Rian: a bit thin, not notable. Light airy, aloof, like many at a party. Little oak, less earth; slight aroma of berries, mainly black, and that is about it: 8.2 points. Perfect for a party. Easy drinking, inexpensive red. Didn’t complain of course, yet the host said ‘this one’s for you.’

A bottling from Austria; forgot the vintage. Made mainly from a grape called St. Laurent. Also Merlot, Zwigelt. Cool climes for cool times. Seemed a bit bland at first. Let it breathe. The strong tartness gave way to sublime bitterness. Dig the dark chocolate. The wine found its soul when finally set free. Almost desperate to impress; excellent: 8.9.

Drank a bottle of Montepulciano di Abruzzo from Marks and Spencer, £8. Italian wine is a minefield. Montepulciano, for example, was the grape used in the wine from Abruzzo. However, Montepulciano is also a town in Tuscany, which makes Vino Nobile, made from Sangiovese. Huh? What’s that? Make sense. Please.

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