Mr Vine Tasting Panel #3: The results
Here are the top five wines from a tasting of 14 at the last Mr Vine panel tasting. This is the first time we’ve had the two top spots bagged by the same producer – Domaine Lafond Roc-Epine from the Southern Rhône appellation of Lirac. These were entered by Nickolls & Perks, an excellent independent merchant based in Stourbridge near Birmingham that’s been run by the same family since 1797. Well not literally the same family. Members of the same family. You know what I mean.
By the way, if you’re going to Taste of London this Friday (19th June), the panel will be doing a live tasting for anyone that’s interested at 1.30pm at the Mr Vine Wine Theatre.
The results
First place: Domaine Lafond Roc-Epine Lirac Blanc 2013 (Rhône, France; 13.5%; £11.30, Nickolls & Perks)
A peachy mélange of three much underrated white grapes from the Rhône: Roussanne, Grenache Blanc and Viognier. More ripe stone fruit flavours like apricot and nectarine in the mouth give it a lovely lush texture. This would work well with fairly rich dishes but is deliciously drinkable by itself. Plenty of impact but perfectly balanced – a very successful blend. 90 points.
Second place: Domaine Lafond Roc-Epine Lirac Rouge 2011 (Rhône, France; 13.5%; £11.30, Nickolls & Perks)
Another generously flavoursome Rhône blend from this reliable producer, this time red: Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Carignan. Rich and intense with forest berries, cigar tobacco and hung game, this is a wine in a deep red smoking jacket. It really won us over; it’s hearty without being heavy. 88 points.
Third place: Domaine Bourdon Saint Veran 2011 (Burgundy, France; 13.0%; £12.60, Nickolls & Perks)
Lots of attractive, gentle apricot and peach here – there’s a touch of honey and caramel too but thankfully it hasn’t been clobbered by oak. It has a lovely, silky, rounded mouthfeel and impressive intensity of flavour. A lot of wine for the money, which is relatively rare when it comes to white Burgundy. 89 points.
Fourth place: Caligiore Malbec 2013 (Mendoza, Argentina; 14.0%; £10.49, Vinceremos)
There’s a lot of samey Malbec out there, but this isn’t one of them. It has layers of dark chocolate, concentrated blueberry, succulent plum and coffee bean flavour. A wine to cosy up with that’s crying out for steak – it’s a muscular Malbec that would happily stand up to a juicy ribeye. 88 points.
Fifth place: Bodegas Parra Jimenez ‘Parra’ Verdejo 2013 (Castilla-La Mancha, Spain; 12.5%; £6.99, Vinceremos)
Verde-who? This white grape is native to Spain and makes pungent, herbal styles of wine with loads of personality. It’s like a trek through the tropics: guava, greengage and pithy grapefruit. Not exactly subtle, but it’s a fun, sunny BBQ party wine that’s a shoe-in for lovers of Sauvignon Blanc. 85 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.