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Rosebank 1991 [Lowland]

£40.00

Sadly this distillery is no more, but there's a bit of the best of the lowlands left. Floral, light and honeyed - great after a heavy meal!
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Ledaig, 1990 [Islands]

£30.00

Situated on the island of Tobermory, this distillery now bears that Island's name. Light and perfumed with floral aromas and a spicy, nutty palate
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Carpentiere - Castel del Monte 'Come d'Incanto' 2007

£11.00

This is the only white wine in the world made from the Nero di Troia grape. A bold but successful move from this innovative Puglian winery, resulting in a full bodied wine, full of tropical fruits when first breached, but opening out into something spicey and green with stewed gooseberries, ginger and a hint of something herbal - fresh tobacco?
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De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc, 2006

Online Catalogue | Sipped and Savoured | De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc, 2006

The 2005 De Grendel won a huge award in Decanter magazine so we were expecting great things of the 2006 as it was a far superior year in South Africa. And boy, does it deliver! Most wine folk associate great sauvignon with New Zealand in the New World and the Loire Valley in the Old World, but we forget South Africa at our peril. Pitched somewhere in between, their wines have the upfront fruit and racy acidity of the Kiwi versions married to a more subtle minerality and vegetality so typical of good Sancerre. We had this on one of our Saturday tastings during the recent 'summer heatwave' and it went down a storm, quenching many a customer's thirst! And many a Reservist's too…

Grapes 100% Sauvignon Blanc

Region Cape Town, South Africa

Winemaking Hutton-oakleaf soil. The grapes were picked in six different lots, vinified separately then blended later.

ABV 13%

Tasting Note Uncork (ok, unscrew!) and pour. Swirl a few times to aerate and release those complex aromas. Stick your nose in and take a big sniff. Wow! The nose is huge - masses of gooseberry and capsicum. Have a glug. On the palate the acidity grips like a vice before revealing more green pepper, gooseberry and a turbo-charged vegetality. This is not a sauvignon for the faint-hearted. How much, £7.99? Ridiculously good value for such quality winemaking. Now did someone mention Cloudy Bay….

Cellaring Perfect now but from such a ripe year as 2006 this should keep for another year or two.

If You Like.. From the Loire, try Domaine Des Ballandors Quincy, 2006 (£9.99) for a more restrained interpretation of the grape. Or splash out on one of New Zealand's best and try the Isabel Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2006 (£11.99) for lots of passion fruit and gooseberry. Sauvignon nirvana!

Online Catalogue | Sipped and Savoured | De Grendel Sauvignon Blanc, 2006