eastern Slovenia: "taking on New Zealand..."

"Yet another catchy-titled tutored tasting... featuring wines from eastern Slovenia, which threw up several lively and/or unusual aromatic white wines... Slovenia has perhaps grabbed a bit of attention for certain intense styles of "macerated" and "natural" whites from the west... bordering northwest Italy and trendy regions such as Collio..." Expect Renski Riesling, Laški Rizling, Šipon, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurz... Favourite wineries include Protner, Valcl, Kupljen, Steyer and Simčič... Read this feature here on WineWriting.com.
Picture from vino-kupljen.com.
NB - new feature on Slovenia coming soon in 2014...

Douro, Alentejo, Algarve and beyond...

New on WineWriting.com! Focus on Portugal with over 50 smouldering Atlantic wines reviewed including a "Douro masterclass" and eight featured producers from the Douro, Alentejo, Algarve and Vinho Verde... My best wines at a glance: Crasto, Favaios, Graham's, Duorum, Lagos, Outeiro Mouro, São Miguel, Quevedo, Dona Matilde. Also have a look at my "winery snapshots" page for more detailed Portuguese "profiles"... Photo = storks from herdadesaomiguel.com

Red of the moment: "Cellar Reserve" Fitou

2008 Mont Tauch Fitou Vieilles Vignes "Terroir d'Altitude" (old-vine Carignan, Grenache, Syrah) - smoky and spicy with tobacco and leather edges; chunky palate with quite rich blue/black berry fruits, fair grip and bite vs lightly coconut texture, nice peppery finish too.

Available in the UK at Morrison’s for £7.99.

More Mont Tauch wines and profile via Languedoc 'winery A to Z' in the right-hand column, under 'M' (doh!).

Red of the moment: "Cellar Reserve" Fitou

2008 Mont Tauch Fitou Vieilles Vignes "Terroir d'Altitude" (old-vine Carignan, Grenache, Syrah) - smoky and spicy with tobacco and leather edges; chunky palate with quite rich blue/black berry fruits, fair grip and bite vs lightly coconut texture, nice peppery finish too.

Available in the UK at Morrison’s for £7.99.

More Mont Tauch wines and profile here:

french med wine.com