Press Reviews: November 2020

by Eve-Marie Letondel

Our latest press reviews from Lockdown 2.0: The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & The Times of Tunbridge Wells.

Benefit from our case price discount in red by buying any 12 bottles from this selection – in a mixed case of your design or simply by the dozen.

You Magazine, Christmas cheers: Olly Smith’s 30 best festive drinks, Olly Smith, 29/11/2020:

2018 GRENACHE-CINSAULT Rosé Domaine Saint Félix
2019 GRENACHE-CINSAULT Rosé Domaine Saint Félix
£8.50 | £7.95
Review: ‘Now you’re talking! Seriously good rosé with a seamless elision of peach, red fruit, summer berries and a long fragrant finish of vitality and refreshment.’

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The Telegraph, The best red wines to buy for Christmas 2020,Victoria Moore, 28/11/2020:

‘You will find a concentration of bottles from three places: Lea & Sandeman, The Wine Society – and Tesco. You can add more from last week. Lea & Sandeman and The Wine Society will come as no surprise.’

NV-ROSSO-DI-MONTALCINO-Ginestreto-Fuligni
2017 ROSSO DI MONTALCINO Ginestreto Fuligni
£29.95 | £26.95
Review: ‘Fuligni makes very evocative wines. In this, a rich tapestry of flavours from old saddle leather to red and black cherries and dusts recalls Tuscany with every sip. You don’t need to bring in the rib of beef to enjoy it; a glass of this will make a feast of a bowl of pasta.’

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2019 LANGHE NEBBIOLO Cigliuti
2019 LANGHE NEBBIOLO Cigliuti
£24.95 | £22.75
Review: ‘Charles Lea was horrified when I asked to taste this – “It’s so young, it’ll be – “ he squeaked and did one of his full-body horrified tasting notes. It IS young but 2019 seems to be a generous vintage and this nebbiolo is also fruity and wonderfully perfumed. I liked it; Charles liked it.’

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 MUNIA TORO 2018 Roble 8 Meses Bodegas Viñaguareña
2018 MUNIA TORO Roble 8 Meses Bodegas Viñaguareña
£11.95 | £10.75
Review: ‘From the Spanish region of Toro, which sits on the Duero river close to the Portuguese border, a spicy and warming red. There’s oak here, a suggestion of autumn leaves, licorice root and roasted fruits, almost cinnamon and the effect is fragrant not sticky.’

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2016-LEA-SANDEMAN-Bordeaux
2016 LEA & SANDEMAN Bordeaux
£11.95 | £10.50
Review: ‘Meet your house claret for the winter. “That’s good!” was my response when I reached this in a tasting line-up. And it is – a single-estate claret from the Entre-Deux-Mers, from a cracking vintage (and it shows) with a cedary nose and a soft nap of fruit.’

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2019 LA PETITE SYRAH Domaine les Yeuses
2019 LA PETITE SYRAH Domaine les Yeuses
£8.50 | £7.95
Review: ‘Syrah is responsible for the deep and wild wines of the northern Rhône and its aristocracy shines out in this humble Languedoc incarnation. There’s no oak here, but you do feel a touch of spice amidst the dark fruit. Excellent.’

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The Times, The 50 best red wines for winter, Jane MacQuitty, 27/11/2020:

2019 LANGHE NEBBIOLO Cigliuti
2019 LANGHE NEBBIOLO Cigliuti
£24.95 | £22.75
Review: ‘This Langhe nebbiolo is so blooming delicious and polished that everyone should buy a bottle this Christmas. Fragrant with rose petal, oregano and sweet tobacco, this is barbaresco in all but name.’

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2015 CHÂTEAU PUYBARBE Cuvée Apanage Côtes de Bourg
£12.95 | £11.75
Review: ‘Lea & Sandeman is a treasure trove of not so well-known bottles, and this humble Côtes de Bourg, a hop across the Gironde River from Haut Médoc, is one of them. This dashing, new-in L&S claret, from a good Bordeaux vintage, is all big, beefy, meaty, cedary charm. Buy it!’

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The Financial Times, Jancis Robinson’s guide to the best festive bubbles, Jancis Robinson, 26/11/2020:

Longitude Larmandier bernier
LARMANDIER-BERNIER ‘Longitude’ Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 1er Cru NV
£42.95 | £40.50
Review: ‘Although this was one of the first so-called grower champagnes to earn an international reputation, its prices have not increased unduly and quality has been admirably consistent.’

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The Telegraph, The best champagne and sparkling wines for Christmas 2020, Victoria Moore,23/11/2020:

GONET-MEDEVILLE-Blanc-de-Noirs-Brut-1er-Cru-NN
GONET-MÉDEVILLE Blanc de Noirs Brut 1er Cru NV Star Buy
£35.95 | £32.95 | Reduced from £40.95 until 31/12/2020
Review: ‘For me blanc de noirs – made only with black grapes – is true winter champagne, sappy, structured, with a faint tinge of black cherries, a wine you can imagine drinking on a frosty day. This one has incredible finesse and charm. A real find.’

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CHAMPAGNE-LEGRAS-Blanc-de-Blancs-Brut-Grand-Cru-Chouilly-Lea-and-Sandeman
LEGRAS Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru Chouilly R & L Legras NV
£32.95 | £29.95 | Reduced from £35.95 until 31/12/2020
Review: ‘R&L Legras is a family grower – meaning they’re a producer who grows the grapes (rather than buying them in) as well as making the wines. This is serious quality for a very reasonable price – pale, lustrous, elegant all-chardonnay champagne.’

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The Telegraph, The best white wines to buy for Christmas 2020, Victoria Moore, 23/11/2020:

Saint Veran En Creches Barraud
2018 SAINT VÉRAN En Crèches Domaine Daniel Barraud
£23.75 | £21.25
Review: ‘Brother and sister Julien and Anais are the latest Barrauds to join the family domaine. This cuvée, from a south-easterly facing parcel of vines, is a more intense, bold wine than the Chagnoleau, barrel-aged and gleaming.’

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2018 Macon Villages Chagnoleau
2018 MÂCON VILLAGES Clos Saint Pancras Domaine Frantz Chagnoleau
£18.95 | £16.95
Review: ‘Whites from the Mâconnais have become much grander and more respected. I’ve picked two very good contrasting examples here. The first is from a small estate run by a husband and wife team (Caroline Gon is also winemaker at Comte Lafon). Delicate, elegant and detailed, yet it has a floaty feel.’

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The Guardian, Perfect pairings: books that combine wine and food, Fiona Beckett, 20/11/2020:

Longitude Larmandier bernier
LARMANDIER-BERNIER ‘Longitude’ Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut 1er Cru NV
£42.95 | £40.50
Review: ‘Elegant fresh growers’ champagne that would hit the spot with any kind of seafood.’

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The Daily Mail, Tom Parker Bowles and Olly Smith: Eating out, Olly Smith, 08/11/2020:

2017 Romainera Reserva
2017 QUINTA DA ROMANEIRA Reserva
£48.95 | £43.95
Review: ‘For a wine to wow, the spicy concentration in this Portuguese stunner is as memorable as it is magical.’

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Times of Tunbridge Wells, Raise a glass to sherry – the perfect winter warmer, James Viner, 05/11/2020:

Inocente Fino
INOCENTE Fino Valdespino
£15.95 | £14.95
Review: ‘One of the world’s most appetizing wines, Fino is a bone dry, full-flavoured sherry that has aged under a protective, bread-like layer of the film-forming saccharomyces yeast ‘flor’ that flourishes and lives on top of Fino/manzanilla sherry in a butt (a barrel usually made from American oak) five-sixths full. Along with manzanilla, Fino is the brightest, palest, freshest and most delicate sherry, making top-notch food wines. This is one of the best, a zingy flavour grenade of a rare oak-fermented, 8-10-year-old-solera-aged sherry from a single iconic (Macharnudo district) vineyard – think sea salt, crisp apples, herbs, salted almonds, vanilla, yeast and brioche. It makes a great, appetising apéritif and is also just the ticket for all kinds of tapas, salted nuts, paëlla, sushi, tandoori/teriyaki salmon, fish and chips, cured ham, smoked fish, sashimi, Westcombe cheddar, fish curry and shellfish. Always drink fridge cold (like champers) and consume within a week once opened.’

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