Mr Vine Tasting Panel #2: The results

Mr Vine Tasting Panel

The second Mr Vine Panel Tasting was another eclectic mix of wines from a variety of different independent wine merchants. The panel and I ploughed our way through 14 different bottles, and these are the five we thought most worthy of your attention. The Oxford Wine Company performed particularly strongly, bagging three of the top places.

The top wine of the tasting was totally stunning and worth tracking down immediately. Dry Hungarian Tokaji is still a little-known style of wine in the UK, but it can be wonderfully hedonistic and great value for money; the Château Dereszla is both of these things.

The results

First place: Château Dereszla Dry Tokaji 2013 (Tokaj, Hungary; 14.0%; £12.34, The Oxford Wine Company)
This unusual white is bursting at the seams with honeyed apricot, baklava and rosewater flavour. Rich, ripe and lush but it remains vibrant. Totally non-mainstream and so much the better for that. A jewel of a wine. 92 points.

Second place: Château Peychaud Cotes de Bourg 2012 (Bordeaux, France; 13.5%; £10.40, The Oxford Wine Company)
Very appealing on the nose – blackberries, cedar and Havana cigars – coupled with loads of concentrated dark fruit flavour. It’s not always easy to find good value in Bordeaux but this is very impressive for the price. Considering the relatively obscure appellation it’s a thoroughbred. 88 points.

Third place: Domaine du Haut Peron Touraine Sauvignon Blanc Vieilles Vignes 2013 (Loire, France; 12.0%; £10.79, The Oxford Wine Company)
With fistfuls of gooseberry, kiwi and green pepper, this couldn’t be anything but Sauvignon Blanc. It wasn’t unanimously loved but those that did enjoyed its soft fruitiness, intense fruit flavour and vibrant acidity. 88 points.

Fourth place: Weingut Josef Bründlmayer Grüner Veltliner Loessterrassen 2014 (Kremstal, Austria; 12.0%; £10.99, The Real Wine Company)
A good introduction to the Grüner grape. Pithy and citric with a green apple tang and a characteristic whiff of white pepper. Vibrant lime juice acidity provides plenty of refreshment through the clean, mineral finish. 88 points.

Fifth place: Weingut Martin Kohl Zweigelt Classic Red 2013 (Niederösterreich, Austria; 13.0%; £8.99, The Real Wine Company)
Wow – the first thing you notice is the lip-smacking acidity, but there is plenty of perky, crunchy red berry fruit and piquant spice underneath. The label might be rather plain but this has lots of personality for the money. Try drinking it lightly chilled – it’s a stunner for the summer! 87 points.

Mr Vine is a free iPhone app that helps you discover and buy the kinds of wine you like from a marketplace consisting of over 1,000 wines across a dozen different independent UK wine shops. Each month, a panel of five drinks experts (Richard Hemming, Helena Nicklin, Nathan Nolan, Zeren Wilson and me) meet up to taste a selection of wines available via the app in order to sniff out some gems. We score the wines out of 100, provide a tasting note and – perhaps most importantly – pick our top five of the night. These won’t necessarily be the highest scoring, just the wines we feel most excited about bringing to your attention.

For more info on the app and how it works, check out mrvine.co.uk.