Press Reviews: April 2021

by Eve-Marie Letondel

Press-reviews featured image april 2021

Our latest press reviews: The Times, The Mail on Sunday, Vineyard magazine, Jamie Goode’s blog & Matthew Jukes’ website.

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.

The Times, The best wines for outdoor drinking this spring, Will Lyons, 28/04/2021:

2019 Anjou rouge sur la butte
2019 ANJOU ROUGE Sur La Butte Château de Plaisance
£19.50 | £17.50
Review: ‘Produced by Vanessa Cherruau, who recently took over at Château de Plaisance, this promises a bright future for the Loire estate. It has hauntingly enticing aromas, a little spice and a generous fleshy texture.’

VIEW WINE

MatthewJukes.com, Two terrific ‘rosés’ and a host of Californian superstars!, Matthew Jukes, 28/04/2021:

2018 RIDGE Geyserville Ridge Vineyards
2018 RIDGE Geyserville Ridge Vineyards
£56.25 | £50.50
Review: ‘Lovely and really complex, with multi-layers and stunning juiciness, this is still young but it is a great Geyserville.’

VIEW WINE

The Mail on Sunday, Olly’s summer superstar, Olly Smith, 25/04/2021:

GRÜNER VELTLINER 2019 Hochterrassen Salomon Undhof
2019 GRÜNER VELTLINER Hochterrassen Salomon Undhof
£13.95 | £12.50
Review: ‘Stylish with uplifting refreshment and soaring zing.’

VIEW WINE

The Guardian, Is this the red wine you didn’t know you were missing?, Fiona Beckett, 23/04/2021:

2019 Anjou rouge sur la butte
2019 ANJOU ROUGE Sur La Butte Château de Plaisance
£19.50 | £17.50
Review: ‘Blended with its fellow cab, cabernet sauvignon, this vivid, biodynamic red is just that bit more blackcurranty than straight cab franc, but still has that delicious, herby edge. Lovely with lamb chops.’

VIEW WINE

wineanorak.com, Loire red review: 13 wines from Saint Nicolas de Bourgeuil, Jamies Goode, 18/04/2021:

Malgagne Amirault
2019 SAINT NICOLAS DE BOURGUEIL Les Malgagnes Amphore Domaine Yannick Amirault
£34.95 | £31.25
Review: ‘Organic farming. Deeply coloured. Wonderfully pure and intense nose of sweet blackcurrant and black cherry with notes of chalk and clay. There’s even a hint of blackberry jam. The palate shows lovely concentration, with a fresh, grainy, chalky edge to the sleek black fruits. It’s fully ripe, but also has freshness, with a very subtle jamminess as well as the brighter fruit notes. Amazing structure and finesse, but it also delivers a lot of pleasure. 94/100’

VIEW WINE 2018

The Times, The best Kiwi chardonnay to buy now, Jane MacQuitty, 17/04/2021:

2019 Kumeu River Chardonnay Estate
2019 KUMEU RIVER ‘ESTATE’ Chardonnay
£24.95 | £22.50
Review: ‘The other producer that never puts a chardonnay foot wrong is Michael Brajkovich of Kumeu River, from a spot just north of Auckland on the north island. Even his 2019 Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay is a stone-fruited joy.’

VIEW WINE

wineanorak.com, Malbec study: four top wines from Argentina, Jamies Goode, 17/04/2021:

2019 Malbec Colome
2019 AUTÉNTICO MALBEC Bodega Colomé
£32.95 | £30.95
Review: ‘This is from a very high altitude vineyard at 2300 m, and it has no oak influence, to try to let the place speak. It’s a rich, bold wine with sweet blackberry fruit and some black cherry aromatics. The palate is bold and dense with some tannic grip but also lovely richness: as well as the fresh fruit, there’s also amazing sleek, concentrated black fruits with some notes of chalk, fig and olive. 93/100’

VIEW WINE

matthewjukes.com, Matthew Jukes, Wednesday Wines – Episode 55 14/04/2021:

Les Petits Diables2020 LES PETITS DIABLES ROSÉ Côtes de Provence Domaine des Diables
£13.95 | £12.50
Review: ‘Super clean, fresh, lifted and bright, this is an easy wine with cantaloupe melon and rhubarb notes.’  (Rating: 17)

VIEW WINE

2020 Rose bonbon2020 ROSÉ BONBON Côtes de Provence Sainte Victoire Domaine des Diables
£17.95 | £15.95
Review: ‘Ultra-pale and ‘white-wine-shaped’, this is a terrifically refreshing and clean style with a super-classy feel about it. Stick to aperitif duties or lighter dishes like sushi and sashimi because this is a rapier-sharp wine as opposed to a foodier number. I love the design, too!’ (Rating: 17.5)

VIEW WINE

2020 MIP Classic rose2020 MIP* Classic Rosé Made in Provence
£14.95 | £13.50
Review: ‘This is the most well-known wine in the range and I also think it is the most accomplished all-rounder, too. With a little more flesh and succulence this is certainly
a jack of all trades and it is super value, too.’  (
Rating: 18)

VIEW WINE

2020 MIP premiun2020 MIP* COLLECTION Premium Rosé
£17.50 | £15.50
Review: ‘The square-shouldered bottle doesn’t do it for me and while this is supposed to be a cut above the ‘Classic’, I find it is seemingly trying a little too hard. A little too reserved and very dry, I am sure it will grow with a little more age, but I would like it to be at the top of its game right now, given we are in April! ‘(Rating: 18)

VIEW WINE

2020 Hydropathe2020 L’HYDROPATHE Élite Rosé Côtes de Provence Sainte Victoire Domaine des Diables
£20.95 | £18.95
Review: ‘A little more obscure, spicy and awkward, this is another wine that is a little closed and a little more structured and it certainly needs some time to iron out its acidity. I am not mad about the bottle shape either, but I know loads of people love its daring! Strangely, I think this is a wine that will taste more balanced in twelve months than it does now (hence the ‘plus’ in the score). But either way, it certainly makes an impression.’ (Rating: 17.5+)

VIEW WINE

2019 Rose des bois2019 ROSE DES BOIS Côtes de Provence Domaine des Diables
£33.95 | £29.95
Review: ‘This is certainly an impressive wine and given it handles the oak well and has one more year of age under its belt. It looks the part and while it costs a fair whack there is a lot of wine to hang onto here and it gives you a main course rosé to play with instead of reaching for a bottle of red wine.’ (Rating: 18)

VIEW WINE

2020 Felix rosé2020 GRENACHE-CINSAULT Rosé Domaine Saint Félix
£8.95 | £7.95
Review: ‘While this wine is not part of the MiP* family, it is still a stalwart rosé in the L&S cellar and I have followed it for a good few years. Delicious, spot-on, smooth and perky it is incredibly rare to find a wine at this price with this amount of flair and integrity! If you are looking to host a party this summer when we are all released from our homes and save a few quid, too, then Felix will not let you down!’

Rating: 17

VIEW WINE

wineanorak.com, Jamies Goode, 08/04/2021:

Rully blanc durheuil
2018 RULLY BLANC Domaine Dureuil-Janthial
£31.75 | £28.50
Review: ‘Wonderfully vivid nose with bright apples, lemons and matchstick minerality.Smoky, vivid and intense. The palate is laser-sharp and concentrated with lemons, some pear, keen acidity and a tingling minerality. A really vivid, expressive, complex white Burgundy with real precision.’

VIEW WINE

Vineyard Magazine, Green and Pleasant, Matthew Jukes, 07/04/2021:

 LANGHAM ESTATE Corallian
LANGHAM ESTATE Corallian Classic Cuvée Brut
£27.50 | £25.95
Review: ‘Based on the 2017 vintage, with a 62% Chardonnay, 29% Pinot Noir, 9% Pinot Meunier mix and a tweak of 10% reserve wine, which certainly makes itself heard, this is a strongly perfumed and robustly flavoured sparkler with a serious attitude and a world-class stance!’

VIEW WINE