Paul Goerg Champagne Brut Premier Cru Tradition NV

This was given to me as a gift and I chose to open it for Mother's day.

Appearance: Creamy yellow. Bright.
Aroma: Delicate pink fruits.
Flavour: Dry, elegant structure and moderate acid.
Beautiful strawberry bouquet, granny smith apples.

This is an expensive wine but is certainly not just a 'bottle of bubbly'.
Expect gentle red berries and a shy, elusive biscuit flavour, all coaxed to the surface by strands of fine, persistent bubbles.

Wine Name: Champagne Brut Premier Cru Tradition

Producer: Paul Goerg

Grape/Blend: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier

Vintage: Non-vintage
Alcohol: 12%

Country: France (Champagne)

Bought at: Laithwaites

Price: £22.99

Value for money: ♦♦♦♦ Very Good
Over all rating: ♦♦♦♦ Very Good

Tesco Finest Chablis 2009

Appearance: Pale straw yellow with green/brown tinge.

Aroma: Nutty and dusty - maybe a bit of egg, too!
Flavour: Simple, medium bodied example. Just enough acidity and nice bitterness to keep things light. Good balance, excellent long finish. Reminiscent of toffee apples and lemon.


A solid Chablis with distinct varietal characteristics - will divide a group into lovers and haters! When fresh out the bottle, it smelt quite musty and eggy. However, once it had breathed a bit (and warmed up, too) it presented itself a bit better. This was another bottle bought just before Christmas 2010 and I can't remember the price. The usual price is just under £9 and I know it was on offer. I suspect it was discounted by about £3. Not perfect but at this price, it's worth the money.

Wine Name: Finest Chablis Cuvée Calude Dominique

Producer: Tesco Finest own-brand

Grape/Blend: Chardonnay

Vintage: 2009
Alcohol: 12%

Country: France

Bought at: Tesco

Price: Around £6

Value for money:♦♦♦ Good
Over all rating: ♦♦♦ Good

Virtue Chardonnay Colombard NV

Next up is a white blend from Waitrose, marketed under its Virtue brand. In order to reduce carbon emmisions, Waitrose is bulk shipping wines in huge 24,000 Litre tanks from wine producing countries and bottling on British soil using partially-recycled thinner glass bottles.

Appearance: Palest yellow, bright.
Aroma: Appealing citrus fruit.
Flavour:  This is a young, zesty, unoaked wine. It is stongly acidic and I felt this was too much to bear, even with food. Not much else going on: lemon and green, leafy flavours predominate.

Wine Name: Virtue Chardonnay Colombard

Producer: Waitrose own-brand

Grape/Blend: Chardonnay Colombard

Vintage: Non-Vintage

Vintage: 13%

Country: Australia

Bought at: Waitrose

Price: £4.17

Value for money: ♦♦ Average
Over all rating: ♦♦ Average

35° South Latitude Chardonnay Sémillon 2010

Last night my family and I sat down for a meal and chose to drink this Chardonnay Sémillon, made by Viña San Pedro, Chile's second largest wine producer. We bought it just before Christmas 2010 from Sainsburys for £3.99, half of the usual price of £7.99. Bargain!

The fancy-looking white label invited us to Take a journey to a new Latitude and then described the tropical fruit aromas we would find such as pineapple, banana, peaches and melon as well as notes of ripe grapefruit and vanilla in the mouth. We couldn't wait!

Unfortunately, we found out that behind the label is a bog-standard wine, cleverly marketed to the public.

Appearance: The wine looks absolutely fine; in the glass it is light yellow, clear and bright.
Aroma: On the nose however, it seems flat and dull though there's nothing particularly wrong to point out - I just expect more.
Flavour: Agressively bitter. The wine doesn't show off any of the individual characteristics of Chardonnay or Semillon. It is unbalanced and is dominated by fermenting over-ripe fruit flavours. It's possible to discern some grapefruityness though everyone around the table agreed on the lingering bitterness and solventy finish (one mentioned nail varnish remover) once it is swallowed.

Although the full price in Sainsburys is still £7.99, this wine seems to be constantly on offer. In fact for Christmas 2009, it was reduced to £2.99 per bottle. At this price, it is a fairer reflection on the quality of the wine.

Wine Name: 35° South Latitude Chardonnay Sémillon

Producer: Viña San Pedro S.A.

Grape/Blend: Chardonnay Sémillon

Vintage: 2010
 Alcohol: 13%

Country: Chile

Bought at: Sainsburys

Price: £3.99

Value for money:♦♦ Average
Over all rating: ♦♦ Average