England: Furleigh Estate, Dorset

"I think we need to train these
solar leaf panels a bit higher!"
www.furleighestate.co.uk

Amid an ever increasing amount of talk about English sparkling wines and news of medals being won in international tasting competitions, Furleigh Estate was a new name for me until I tried this bottle of really rather good fizz. Another Champagne look-alike made from the same grapes, grown in sunny Dorset (well, perhaps 2012 was a challenging year as it was elsewhere for English and Welsh winemakers?), in the same traditional bottle-fermented and lees-aged way (their Classic Cuvée is left in bottle slowly ageing on the fine yeast lees for 15 months in fact, before being removed). The vineyards come to 85 rolling acres (34 hectares) across south-facing slopes surrounded by farmland, woods and lakes too in Salway Ash near Bridport, with well over half of that area planted with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier for sparkling wine production. They also make a red wine, a few whites and other sparklers including a rosé. The 2009 Classic Cuvée costs £25 a bottle, which might seem a bit dear but is about the same price as a half-decent Champagne brand; it works out at £2.50 a bottle less though if you buy a case of six, so perhaps not a bad idea for Christmas and New Year quaffing. Vineyard tours and tastings are available too on Fridays and Saturdays: click on their web link underneath the photo to find out more.

Classic Cuvée 2009 (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier; 12% alc.) - lovely fruity nose with complex toasted oat and floral oily notes, this has a very attractive combo of a little richness from those toasty yeasty bready flavours with rounded creamy texture vs crisp and refreshing bite and subtle fine bubbles lingering on the finish. Actually went surprisingly well with quite spicy Chinese and Thai king prawn dishes.

CLICK HERE FOR LATEST ON FURLEIGH.

Rhône: Domaine de Mourchon, Séguret

Walter McKinlay and family bought Domaine de Mourchon and, at the time, its 17 hectares (42 acres) of old vines up on the stoney hillsides (at about 350 metres altitude) of the breathtakingly picturesque Les Dentelles de Montmirail in 1998. They immediately got to work on constructing a new winery, as the vine-land was previously owned by a co-op grower so there wasn't a cellar, in time for the following year's vintage. Being noticed by American wine critic Robert Parker, publisher of the Wine Advocate, among many others probably hasn't done them any harm, nor for the reputation of the relatively recent Côtes du Rhône Villages subzone of Séguret. This cute wee old village lies to the northeast of Avignon not far from Gigondas or Rasteau. The McKinlays also have a handsome-looking Provencal stone gite available for holiday rentals, standing right next to the cellar (handy for a little in situ sampling): see website link below. I actually went to the estate, on a day-tour of the lesser-known southern Rhone wilderness way back in 2003 (the year they purchased a few more vineyards in fact), and met Walter for the first time; and had the opportunity to catch up with him and taste his latest vintages and releases a few months ago at the London International Wine Fair. My thoughts back then (click here to read an article written at the time, scroll right down to the bottom almost) were probably on the lines of "quite good wines with much more potential," and trying them again nearly 10 years later confirmed that they do indeed merit the attention of our Rhone Valley tinged taste buds.
www.domainedemourchon.com

2011 La Source white Côtes du Rhône (35% Grenache blanc, 25% Roussanne, 15% Marsanne, 15% Viognier, 10% Clairette and Bourboulenc) - rich honeyed vs floral and mineral touches, full and rounded vs juicy and crisp, attractive style.

2011 Loubié rosé Séguret Côtes du Rhône Villages (60% Grenache, 40% Syrah from 40 year-old vines) - attractive creamy red fruits vs juicy and crisp mouth-feel, very quaffable rosé and quite elegant actually.

2010 Côtes du Rhône red (60% Grenache, 40% Syrah from 40 year-old vines) - nice fruity juicy spicy style, hints of black cherry and liquorice with a bit of grip vs attractive peppery fruit underneath. €6.25 cellar door.

2009 Tradition Séguret Côtes du Rhône Villages (65% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 10% Carignan from 40 year-old vines) - funky nose with rustic edges vs rich and dark side, pretty firm still vs lush mouth-feel and savoury flavours to finish.

2010 Grande Réserve Séguret Côtes du Rhône Villages (65% Grenache, 35% Syrah from 60 year-old vines) - closed up on the nose to start, leads on to a very concentrated palate with solid structure, firm vs lush vs spicy finish; serious wine, closes up again on the finish but very promising.

2009 Family Reserve Syrah Séguret Côtes du Rhône Villages (100% Syrah from 60 year-old vines) - pretty chocolate oaky to start with layered with thick texture of concentrated peppery black fruits, that oak blends in in the end thanks to its very rich vs solid framework. Wow.

2010 Family Reserve Grenache Séguret Côtes du Rhône Villages (100% Grenache from 60 year-old vines) - not much on the nose initially, moving on to lovely pure peppery Grenache fruit, 'sweet' and lush vs punchy and firm-textured, again very concentrated. Wow-er.

Portugal: a couple of Ports of the moment

www.fonseca.pt

(Updated Feb 2013).
I suppose it's that time of year, when our thoughts start turning to Port and with it Portugal's stunningly landscaped Douro Valley vineyards, where these heady wines are created, and the pretty wee city of Porto, where most of the Port ageing cellars still watch over said river as it floods out into the Atlantic. Although it's a pity we don't tend to sample it all year round, as e.g. a chocolate partner or with soft fruit desserts or mature hard cheeses (but not necessarily Stilton: not convinced about how well they go together. Try it again and you'll see what I mean...). And why don't more Port wineries sell these in half-bottles (you can find some if you look hard enough), as 75cl is too much in one go unless sharing with a few like-minded big sweet tannic red quaffers. Admittedly, the two I've picked here should keep just fine for a week or two once open (but not until next Christmas though!). Here we go then:

2007 Graham's Late Bottled Vintage Port (about £13 Tesco and Asda, £10 on offer). Grape varieties: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and others. Graham's, part of the mighty Symington Family Group, is perhaps more famous for its complex elegant aged Tawny Ports (10, 20, 30, 40 year-old even...), but this  one is a very nice example of this popular 'vintage' look-alike style, which is drinking well now although should soften out a little with a few months or more in bottle. Quite powerful and lush (2007 was a very good vintage) with its 20% alcohol coming through at first, it gets smoother and finer on the finish (especially after being open for a few days) showing an enticing mix of solid dark spicy sweet fruit and tannins set against lovely maturing savoury edges.
Fonseca Bin 27 Finest Reserve (£11.99 Morrison's, Tesco) - equally attractive chunky Port, probably made from a similar blend of varieties as above, this house is now owned by the Fladgate Partnership (Taylor's, Croft). This apparently historic blend (click on their web link under the photo above to discover the story behind it) is definitely a posh Ruby, towards LBV style with plenty of rich dark plum and liquorice, firm tannins nicely balancing out the sweetness and spicy finish with lingering meaty and tobacco notes.
Added Feb 2013: Taylor's 2007 Late Bottled Vintage Port (about £13-£15 Tesco, Asda etc.) - goes to show, in line with the Graham's above, that 2007 was a lovely vintage for this fruity vs structured style of Port. Rich and tasty with dark plums, liquorice and lightly baked / meaty / leather tones, chunky firm tannins vs lush sweet fruit vs oomph and warmth. Very nice with dark chocolate-coated dates and prunes, chocolate mints and blueberries too actually.

More Port articles and winery snapshots are HERE (e.g. Niepoort, Quevedo, Dona Matilde).

Rhône: La Célestière, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

www.lacelestiere.fr

I couldn't find anything on their site (see link below photo, which I pinched from it) saying who owns La Célestière (I tasted the wines in London a few months ago and can't remember who was there pouring); but there might be a connection with quite well-known Chateau Dalmeran in Baux-de-Provence, as both ranges are sold in their on-line shop. Anyway, this 26-hectare property (65 acres), which has had some money spent on it by the looks, spreads over a few different parcels on the north, west and east sides of the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation, including a fair amount of 100+ year-old vines all farmed organically since 2010 (so another vintage to go before they get 'certified' and can call it "organic"). All their wines are created from mostly Grenache - I should hope so too - plus a splash of Mourvèdre and/or Syrah depending on which cuvée. I'll update this blurb when I find out where you can buy them.

La Célestière 2009 Tradition (15% alc.) - powerful nose with ripe juicy fruit and white pepper vs liquorice notes, same on the palate with punchy structured mouth-feel vs rich fruit then attractive bitter twist of tannin. €19

La Croze 2009 (selected vines planted around 1920) - lovely pure Grenache nose, big mouthful with grippy vs oily texture, powerful finish that closes up a little vs underlying concentration. Yum.

Les Domaines 2009 - coconut and vanilla oak tones, again it's big and concentrated with attractive liquorice and spice flavours; finishes a tad hot and bitter perhaps.

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