Three Wines From Tanners

Three wines from Tanners

The best businesses combine heritage with innovation; Tanners, a family-owned independent wine merchant run by 4th-generation Tanner, James, dates back to 1842, but feels unpretentiously contemporary.

The company specialises in sourcing good value, every-day drinkers from regions like Southern France and is happy to be considered a traditionalist, but in the best sense of the word.

Marketing Manager Hannah Schwarzer explained to me: "We look to be at the forefront of establishing new, dynamic wine regions and led the vanguard in championing the Douro.

We have have also been merrily promoting the joys of sherry for decades, through that category’s boom and bust times (hopefully coming back round to boom!) and we have a great German range which sets us apart from most.

They sent me a case of their wines to review - here are the first three:

Mariscal Manzanilla Sherry (£8.70) gutsy and expressive tangy Manzanilla made by Hidalgo - a textbook Manzanilla with bags of salty personality. Great value.

Match with the usual tapas; jamon, bread and oil, manchego cheese and shellfish.

Tanners Merlot, IGP d'Oc 2013 (£7.50) lifted damson and raspberry fruit, easy-drinking juicy freshness with a gentle lick of oak. Good value.

An easy drinker that does not need food, but will stand up to herby sausages, salamis or even, slightly chilled, picnic food.

Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese Nr13 Grey Slate, Hain, Mosel 2011 (£16.70) golden sandy yellow, aromas of roasted peach skins, ripe citrus and some cellar mustiness. Sweet ripe peaches and apricots, baked apples with spice and fresh, zesty acidity; the incense, beeswax and old leather books of a high mass.

Complex and harmonious with the benefit of a few year's age - will improve further. Really lovely indeed - Very Good.

 

We matched it very successfully with Austrian tafelspitz followed by mature hard cheeses.

 

Conclusions

So far, it's three out of three for Tanner's - well-made, characterful, inexpensive wines below £10 and a real stunner of a Mosel Riesling; all fairly priced.

Fans of German stickies will be pleased to learn that the current Summer Sale list includes some unusually large discounts on sweeter German Rieslings - full details here: http://www.tanners-wines.co.uk/top-offers/summer-sale.html

Other related articles
2012 Loeb Mosel En Primeur Tasting‏
CVNE Imperial Gran Reserva 2005 from Tanners
Château de Tiregand Pécharmant 2006, Bergerac from Tanners