Domaine Montrose 2017 - Top 100

A Top 100 rosé from Sud de France

Provence is the classic home of rosé - the style I most associate with the area is soft and gently fleshy. Master of Wine, and author of Rosé: Understanding the pink wine revolution Elizabeth Gabay notes that this style is essentially that of an entry-level négociant rosé, made from a blend across the region.

The Montrose, she notes, aims to be Provençale in style and is more like the terroir-driven wines of La Londe or Pierrefeu.

At under a tenner, it represents good value for the quality; a blend of Grenache noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, it is very well made with plenty of southern French substance and characterful mineral linearity.

Domaine Montrose, 2017, Côtes de Thongue (Justerini & Brooks, £8-£9.99) red berries and soft red fruits, with a mineral freshness; textured, elegant and characterful.

Good and Good Value.

Works equally well as a garden sipper during the heatwave as with picnic foods and even spiced dishes.

Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2015

A complex, dense and ageworthy South African Cabernet from Kleine Zalze

South Africa's Kleine Zalze dates back more than three centuries, but it is the estate's most recent history that is most relevant.

Owned and run for the past 20 years by Kobus Basson, Kleine Zalze has built up a reputation as one of the leading family wineries in South Africa and one of the most-awarded wine producers in Stellenbosch.

 This adept Cabernet shows what the estate (and the country) is capable of.

Kleine Zalze Vineyard Selection Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 (£16.35 independents) dense, ripe dark berries, balsamic, oaky, peppery spice and cigar box; black cherry, cassis and plum fruit with a dense, muscular core of firm, assertive tannins. Complex, fresh and mineral.

Youthful and primary, it will benefit from decanting and repay cellaring.

Very Good.

Match with roast red meat and darker game.

The Cider-Off

A cider-off  with two entry level ciders from Bacchanalia

For a change, we tried a couple of entry-level ciders. These two are very different in style.

The Crones is more of an expressive crowd-pleaser; the Angry Wasp, more focused and hipster.

Angry Wasp on paper, technically the better cider. Cloudy yellow; sharp, crisp, grapefruity and rather neutral with a touch of musky appleskin. Somehow, a little thin.

Either it's an acquired taste or it needs more time to fill out with age.

Crones pale amber with musky apple skin and yeast aromas. Complex bitter roasted and brown apple flavours balanced with sweetness and citrussy acidity. Plenty of interest going on - enjoyable, even if it doesn't hang together completely harmoniously.

Match either of these with pork dishes - stews, roasted, with cream and mustard or in cider sauce.

La Belle Angele Sauvignon Blanc 2017

A Belle Epoque-inspired Sauvignon from Badet Clement, available at Majestic

Plenty of places do Sauvignon and each has its own style - from steely Loire, to pungent NZ.

This Belle Angele Sauvignon has southern French warmth and substance with zippiness; fruited and easy-drinking, it is full enough to match with food.

La Belle Angele Sauvignon Blanc 2017 (£8.99 or £7.49 mix six at Majestic) ripe tropical fruits, florality, zippy lime and gooseberry, leesy minerality and expressive aromatics. Rounded with good underpinnings.

Match with seafood or sip while watching summer sport.

Cleefs Reserve Collection Chardonnay, Kleine Zalze 2017

A classy saffer Chardie from Kleine Zalze

South Africa has not so much a quality problem as an identity problem - it makes all sorts of perfectly good and occasionally very impressive wines, but what does it stand for?

In this case, it is a modern classic - a classy, restrained New World oaky Chardonnay with plenty of fruit and substance but also harmonious elegance and subtlety.

I'm not clear why family-run estate Kleine Zalze decided they needed to bottle this wine under a different label, but don't let that put you off.

Cleefs Reserve Collection 2017 Chardonnay, Kleine Zalze (£12.95, Lamorbey Wines) orchard fruits, melon and citrus with well-integrated toasty oak, creamy leesiness and minerality; fresh, full, supple and savoury. Harmonious and adept.

Will age.

Very Good.

A versatile food wine, match with chicken, creamy pasta and roast pork.

Henkell Trocken Sekt

German fizz: a sekt from Henkell

Champagne this is not.

I have yet to find an alternative to a good Champagne; other fizzes are often perfectly adequate as alternatives, but are still defined by their relationship to Champagne.

This sekt is very different to Champagne, yet equally enjoyable; more fruit forward, it is more of an elegant table wine with bubbles.

Henkell Trocken NV floral with yellow stone fruit, citrus and a fine mousse. Substantial, crisp and refreshing with a mineral finish. Good underpinnings and no rough edges. Will improve with age.

Good.

Drink as an aperitif; a great match with fish and chips or curries.

La Belle Angele

Two summery, Belle Epoque-inspired wines from Badet Clement, available at Majestic 

When the weather makes it feel like you are in the south of France, Mediterranean-style wines become all the more appealing.

These two Belle Angele wines are fresh, elegant and fruit foward - perfect for summer sipping, picnics and barbecues.

Both are vins de France, with no specific regional indication; the Sauvignon is grown on limestone and aged on the lees for a rich fullness. The rosé is a blend of Grenache and Cinsault, aged in vats for just a few months to maintain the fresh fruit aromas.

The labels are inspired by tourist posters of Paris, Lyon and the Mediterranean from the Belle Epoque era.
 
- La Belle Angele Sauvignon Blanc 2017 – (New in store Nov 2017) £8.99 or £7.49 mix six at Majestic

- La Belle Angele rosé 2017 Grenache/Cinsault –(New in store in May 2018) £8.99 or £7.49 mix six at Majestic