Olly Smith —
Wines of the Week
Reasons to celebrate 2011 – 11 December 2011—
Best Bubbly – Champagne Herbert Beaufort Grand Cru Champagne (M&S, £30.00) This is absolutely brilliant fizz – heroic numbers of tiny bubbles with rich, full flavour.
Best bargain bubbly – Tesco Brut Cava (Tesco, £3.99) Made in the same traditional method as French Champagne, but with local Spanish grapes, it’s a simple bubbly with an apple-y freshness.
Best gin – Sipsmith (Sipsmith.com, £25.00) With a crystal brightness and purity, this gin is like sipping an elixir from the highest godly mountains.
Best fortified wine – Taste the Difference Sweet Pedro Ximenez (Sainsbury’s, £7.99) This is a thick, rich, syrup of a wine. If you’re a fan of figs, dates and raisins, sip this chilled.
Best red wine – Odfjell Carignan Orzada 2008 (sipplondon.com, £13.95) With wild-berry flavours and striking intensity, this powerful red kicks out concentration and verve.
Best white wine – Blind River Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (Majestic, £9.99) Splendid upbeat tropical and citrus flavours make you wish you had a ponytail to unleash and rock out in celebration.
Best beer – Thornbridge Jaipur (Waitrose, £1.99) I just keep coming back to this brilliant beer, which is packed with intensity and brightness.
Best whisky – Dun Leire 8 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey (Sainsbury’s, £19.99) Sweetly fragrant with mellow caramel hints and a warming finish.
Best bargain – Cuvée Chasseur 2010 (Waitrose, £4.13) The price is unbeatable for the quality on offer. It’s my bargain of the year for its easy drinkability, fragrant appeal, excellence and value.
Best English wine – Ridgeview Grosvenor Blanc de Blancs 2008 (ridgeview.co.uk, £24.95) This sparkling wine is off the chart. It does what every first class bubbly should – refreshes, invigorates and delights.
These recommendations also appear in Olly’s column in Live, The Mail on Sunday. For the full column click here.
All prices, stockists and availability correct at time of going to press.