Wine Review: Mouton-Cadet Bordeaux Rouge 2005

Posted: 01 February '10 by Niall

Kelly and I picked up this Mouton-Cadet 2005 from our local Sainsburys off-licence a few weeks ago – although we’d never tried this particular red before we thought we were on safe ground: a Bordeaux red; a young wine from the famous Baron Philippe de Rothschild; and it was also on offer, one of the frequent Sainsburys discounts being reduced to £5.00.

The Details

• The Wine: Mouton-Cadet 2005
• Producer: Château Cadet, Baron Philippe de Rothschild
• Region: Bordeaux, France
• Grape: 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Cabernet Franc
• Alcohol: 13.3%
• Cost: £5.00 (on offer – normally £5.99)
• We bought it in: Sainsburys

Tasting Notes

The first thing that you’ll notice when pouring the Mouton-Cadet is the colour – an appealingly intense burgundy or dark cherry which promises great things to come. As you’d expect this colour carries to the rim of the wine, suggesting a young wine.

The bouquet matches the appearance with dark cherry and blackcurrant aromas, with some spice and a little vanilla in there for good measure.

Perhaps a little lighter-bodied than more expensive wines from the region, it is still full of ripe dark fruits and powerful tannins. The Cab Sauv and Cab Franc give the wine more complexity than might be suggested by the price tag. Although slightly tart, the Mouton-Cadet 2005 is fairly smooth and well-balanced, lingering pleasantly on the palate.

Our Verdict:

A pleasant wine that is suitable for everyday drinking, one that you’d be happy to enjoy alone or to serve to friends with a meal – not necessarily one for impressing, mind you.

At the price, particularly when discounted, you’d be hard pressed to find a much better alternative. Buy it when you can – Sainsburys typically stock a wine for a while and once gone it’s never seen again.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Other Information:

The Mouton-Cadet 2005 really benefits from being decanted and left to breathe for an hour or so – the bouquet and taste will only develop and reveal the complexity of the wine.

Mouton Cadet is the biggest-selling Bordeaux in the world and is the staple offering from the Baron Philippe de Rothschild house. It is not sophisticated or refined enough to be called a “Chateau Mouton Rothschild” – instead, it is classed as a “Mouton Cadet” (cadet meaning younger son in French)

Tags: red wine, wine

Wine Review: Sangre de Toro 2006

Posted: 21 October '09 by Niall

On a horrible wind-swept and rainy evening, Kelly and I thought we’d cheer ourselves up with a cheeky bottle (or two!) of wine. Amazing how wine can do that.

The Torres wines are firm favourites of ours: consistently good flavours, and not too hard on the pocket. And depending on your choice, you also get a toy – a kind of Kinder Egg for adults!

With the plastic bull safely stowed away, we opened our bottle of Sangre de Toro 2006..

The Details

• The Wine: Sangre de Toro 2006
• Producer: Don Miguel Torres
• Region: Castilla y León, Spain
• Grape: 65% Grenache, 35% Carignan
• Alcohol: 13.5%
• Cost: £6.49

Tasting Notes

The wine is a pleasant deep cherry-red in colour, and the spicy cinnamon and berry notes are immediately noticeable on opening the bottle.

In terms of flavours there are the usual forest-fruits in there (and a lot of them), but also something a little sweeter.. strawberries maybe. With all of this going on, it’s a nicely balanced wine – savoury, with a slightly sweet edge.

The tannins aren’t particularly smooth and there is a bit of an alcoholic kick – a solid, rustic, substantial wine.

Food Pairing:

This wine would be well-paired with any meaty foods: red meats and game, and roasts/stews/casseroles in general.

Our Verdict:

The Sangre de Toro 2006 isn’t a particularly complex wine, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s very “gluggable”, has plenty of flavour, goes particularly well with food, and with the £6.49 price-tag, it’s hard to find a better entry in the “everyday” category.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Other Information:

“Sangre de Toro” means “Blood of the bull” – and explains the plastic bull attached to the foil.

You can click here to visit the Torres website.

Tags: red wine, spanish wine, wine review, wine reviews

Wine Review: Cotes du Roussillon 2008

Posted: 17 September '09 by Niall

Along with the interesting menu in St John (more of that later) you’ll also find a lengthy and mouth-watering wine-list.

The choices for our main courses, which were offal-y good (sic), cried out for a full-bodied red – and the Cotes du Roussillon 2008 certainly fit the bill.

The Details

• The Wine: Cotes du Roussillon 2008
• Producer: Domaine Boudau Le Clos
• Region: Roussillon, South-West France
• Grape: 50% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 30% Carignan
• Alcohol: 14%
• Cost: £7.99

Tasting Notes

The wine is juicy and rich, with jammy, spicy notes on the nose with a hint of minerals, while there are definite flavours of herbs, black cherries and damsons on the palate.

The 2008 is a little young, and the texture is slightly rough when compared to the smoother, older vintages of the same wine, where the tannins and acid mature into a smoother combination.

Food Pairing

Meat, meat, and more meat. The wine is very full-bodied and needs strong flavours to stand up to it – beef, boar, and venison will all be complemented by the dark-fruit flavours of the Cotes du Roussillon.

Other Information

These full-bodied reds always benefit from being served at or just above room temperature, and from being allowed to breathe in order to release all of those mature fruit flavours.

Our Verdict

I have to confess to a fondness for French reds, and the Cotes du Roussillon 2008 is a fine example of the price-to-quality wines coming out of the Languedoc-Roussillon regions recently. An extremely enjoyable wine – in aroma, flavour, and in price.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Tags: red wine, wine, wine review, wine reviews

Wine Review: Monte da Peceguina 2008

Posted: 10 September '09 by Niall

Another Portuguese wine – but this time it’s a hearty, full-bodied power-house of a red.. Monte da Peceguina, 2008.

The Details

• The Wine: Monte da Peceguina 2008
• Producer: Malhadinha Nova
• Region: Alentejo
• Grape: Aragones, Alicante, Cabernet
• Alcohol: 14%
• Cost: £14.50

Tasting Notes

The Monte da Peceguina is a brooding crimson red in colour, with powerful aromas of dried herbs and jammy, dark fruit.

On the palate the wine has robust flavours of dark chocolate, coffee, winter berries and notes of sweet vanilla oak and cinamon spice. This is complemented by smooth tannins which gives a velvet-y finish, but with a notable alcoholic warmth.

Food Pairing

This is a bit of a heavy-weight, and needs flavoursome dishes to stand up to those strong flavours of dark chocolate and fruit. I think game or beef would go well with the Monte da Peceguina.

Our Verdict

A delicious, robust red. A word of warning though.. that high alcohol content will get you in the end!

Rating: 4 out of 5

Tags: portugal, red wine, wine review, wine reviews

Wine Review: Muralhas de Moncao 2008

Posted: 10 September '09 by Niall

During our holiday in Portugal we came across the Muralhas de Moncao 2008 and “Vinho Verde”, both of which were new to us. We thought you might like a quick review..

The Details

• The Wine: Muralhas de Moncao 2008
• Producer: Adega Cooperative Regional de Monção
• Region: Minho, Portugal
• Grape: Alvarelhao, Pedral and Vinhao
• Alcohol: 11%
• Cost: €4.50

Tasting Notes

The Muralhas is an enjoyable Portuguese white wine full of fruity peach and apricot aromas, it is well balanced with subtle citric notes, and is quite dry. Like all Vinhos Verdes (which translates as “Green Wine”, refers to the wines youth and freshness rather than the colour) the Muralhas is light and fresh, and is lemon- or straw-coloured.

Although it’s not a sparkling wine, there is some effervescence.

Food Pairing

We tasted the Muralhas with shellfish and fish, and complemented both perfectly. Beyond these ingredients however, I think that you’d struggle to find a natural pairing – the wine is so fresh and light that it would be completely overpowered.

Other Information

The Vinho Verde region is characterised by its many small growers – there were over 60,000 of them in 2005. Many of these growers train their vines high off the ground, up trees, fences, and even telephone poles so that they can cultivate vegetable crops below the vines that their families use for food.

Our Verdict

A pleasant, light white wine – perfect for hot summer days, and ideal for serving alongside seafood. And at €4.50, an extremely attractive price!

Rating: 3 out of 5

Tags: portugal, white wine, wine, wine reviews