More Aussie Red

We tried another sparkling red that I ordered from Drinks Direct the other night. This was the 2007 vintage Black Queen sparkling shiraz from Peter Lehmann. My husband liked this more than I did, as to me it smelled and tasted like raisins, which instantly ruins a wine for me. My husband thought it had 'port-like' flavours (yes, raisin-y port!). At any rate, it was nowhere near as good as the Turkey Flat we had just previously drunk, I would recommend that over this wine.

This Was No Turkey

I love it when a wine exceeds my expectations. I had ordered a mixed case of wine from Drinks Direct, which included several sparkling red wines. Good sparkling reds are fantastic, but bad ones are really horrible. They're kind of a niche drinking market, so there's not that much information out there about them and it can be a bit hit or miss. But I took a chance and ordered several that I hadn't seen before. We tried the first one last night - and it was wonderful!!

This was a sparkling shiraz from Turkey Flat Vineyards. It had loads of fizz when we poured it and smelled of plums, ripe cherries, and a touch of chocolate. My mouth was watering, hoping it would taste as good as it smelled. It tasted of cherries, with a bit of prune finish - and it was completely desert-dry, not a touch of sweetness to it. What a relief, and what a pleasure to drink.

Funnily enough, I had spotted the still shiraz from the same vineyard at a shop and bought it thinking it would be interesting to compare the still to the sparkling wine. I'm really looking forward to trying the still wine now...and to ordering more of the sparkling!! This is one I'll enjoy all summer with grilled steaks, the perfect accompaniment to a BBQ.

This Won an Award?

We tried the last of the bottles that I bought from Ocado - a rose cava from Marques de Monistrol. I was surprised to see that this wine had won a silver in the 2011 International Wine & Spirit competition, as I didn't think it was even worth the £10 I paid for it. It had the slightest fragrance of strawberry, but no flavour whatsoever and almost no bubbles, just a tiny bit of fizz. Perhaps for the very fainthearted, this is an award-winning wine - but I just don't get it.

Sparkling Burgundy

Another pleasant surprise from the bargain case that I bought from Ocado - this one being a brut sparkling burgundy from Cave de Lugny. This was a very refreshing blanc de blancs, not any really distinctive flavours, but a bit of mild lemon tart to it. The bubbles were more fizzy than proper bubbles, but it was a lasting fizz, so I was OK with that. Nothing spectacular, but very drinkable, and again, another nice non-champagne alternative for anyone on a budget.

Two More From Ocado

We tried two more bottles from the bargain case of six that I bought at Ocado.

The first was a bit of a surprise - Cuveee Royale cremant de limoux, a chardonnay, pinot noir, and chenin blanc blend. This had great bubbles and a big hit of ginger on the finish. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, but the flavours were not quite what I wanted from a sparkler.

The next was Waitrose own-label brut cava, a blend of macabeo, parellada, and xarel-lo grapes. This wine was a bit of nothing, all fizzy bubbles, a bit of grape-y flavour, and very drink-able. With the discount from Ocado, I paid less than £7 for this bottle of wine, which is really a huge bargain. It's not going to 'wow' anyone who drinks it, but if you need decent bubbles on a budget, this is one to buy.

I Knew I Could Heart NY

Finally!! A sparkling wine from Chateau Frank that we liked - the 1999 Brut Prestige Cuvee, a classic champagne blend of chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier. The flavour of this wine was very nice, with rich apples, a bit of yeast, a little bit of hazelnut, and just a touch of slightly-sweet apricot. It didn't have anywhere near enough bubbles for me, but considering that I really wanted to find a like-able Chateau Frank sparkling wine, I can overlook that.

No Real Bargains

Ocado was running a special on wine - 25% off if you bought 6 bottles. I find their selection of bubbles a bit difficult. It tends to be either big names at top prices or unknown makers for less than £10. I didn't feel like buying £100's of wine, so I bought 6 bottles of bubbles for less than £60. I'm always hoping something will surprise me.

The first bottle did, but for how much I disliked it - La Gioiosa prosecco, which was billed as 'extra dry'. The first thing I noticed about this wine was how much it smelled like lemon-scented floor cleaner, but this was mostly due to the fact that the bottle exploded in my hands on opening, leaving me to wipe up about a third of the wine from my kitchen floor. While demonstrating excellent fizz, it was not a good start. The next thing that struck me was how sweet this wine was, surprising because it still somehow managed to retain an almost-minty dryness. My husband thought this was a 'sipper for a hot day'. I think it was a 'leave on the shelf for someone else'.

The next bottle was better - a Cremant de Bourgogne, Blason de Bourgogne Brut Rose, a pinot noir/gamay blend. It smelled of strawberries with a hint of vanilla. It tasted like red berries, with a touch of tart cranberry. The downside was that it was a little bitter at the end, and had no finish. The bitterness disappeared with food, though, so I would recommend this with some nibbles. The bubbles were great, once again disproving my preconceived notion that cremants tend to be too flat. While this still isn't the best rose I've ever drunk, it's not bad for the price point.