Chateau Musar Red 2004

Wine:  Musar Red
Winemaker: Chateau Musar
Vintage: 2004
Varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignan & Cinsault
Price: £27
Buy Now: Roberson Wine

As with many other 04's I've enjoyed, this example had the same youthful nose, not something one can often associate with Musar; very Bordeaux in style: blackcurrant and blackberry, with earthy notes and a subtle hint of leather. In the mouth: sweet raspberry, sour chalky cranberry, developing into sweet blackcurrant and bitter blackberry, rounded off with a heavily spiced finish.

A full bodied wine, with a healthy, but linear acidity, moderate intensity and fine silky tannins. All in all lacking the intensity of other 04's I've enjoyed, but bottle and vintage variation is common in Musar and for me, one of the many reasons I adore the uniqueness of the geniuses from Lebanon.

This wine is developing nicely and should evolve to it's peak sometime between 2020-2024. Will accompany fillet of beef or roasted shoulder of lamb beautifully and should be served around 18'c and decanted a couple of hours prior to consumption.

Enjoy!

Affordable Wines To Get You Through January

With the euphoria of the plethora of above average wines undoubtedly consumed by us all over the festive period, now a mere distant memory and the come down of the New Year and the bump back to reality well and truly present, we at Sypped thought we'd bring you a handy list of our top five affordable wines to help restore some equilibrium to proceedings and help you fend off the wolves from the door, with some tip-top inexpensive recommendations that taste the part, but don't break the bank.

Pedroncelli Friends Red, Sonoma County 2015

Wine:  Friends Red
Winemaker: Pedroncelli
Vintage: 2015
Variety: Merlot
Price: £9.50
Buy Now: Wine Society

This fantastic Cali Merlot from Wine Society will definitely help ease those January blues, with it's gorgeous silky palate and seemingly never ending finish. Full of boozy dark fruit and a moreish vanillin thread make this more than a match for any adoring fans of the more fuller bodied red wine. It's brilliant as a stand alone wine or perfect to marry with slow cooked rib of beef or pork loin and at less than ten quid a bottle, what's not to love!

Mud House Sauvignon Blanc 2016/17

Wine:  Sauvignon Blanc
Winemaker: Mud House
Vintage: 2016/17
Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
Price: £9.49
Buy Now: Majestic

One of my 'go to' Marlborough Sauvignon Blancs, a real stand out performer in what is an emerging market absolutely saturated with average and below average examples. Hugely pungent tropical flavours and aromas will engulf your senses, with a zingy citrus kick that keeps everything in check and adds fine balance and depth of flavour. Made for Thai and Cantonese cuisine, my personal choices would be salt and chilli squid with pad thai noodles, heavy on the peanuts. Available at Majestic for a little over £8 a bottle, you won't find many better at this price point.

Terre Di Faiano Organic Primitivo

Wine:  Primitivo
Winemaker: Terre Di Faiano
Vintage: 2016
Variety: Primitivo (Zinfandel)
Price: £9.99
Buy Now: Waitrose

If you like warm, rich, sun drenched reds, it doesn't come much better than this. Apparently the only organic Primitivo made using entirely the Appassimento method, whereby the winemaker will excessively dry the grapes, naturally, extracting full flavour and producing a wine fuller of flavour and sweeter than usual. The oak influence in this tempers the sweetness beautifully adding some wonderful toasty notes. Waitrose have pulled off a blinder putting this on their shelves!

Stumble Vineyards Cinsault Rosé 2016

Wine:  Rose
Winemaker: Stumbles Vineyards
Vintage: 2016
Variety: Cinsault
Price: £8.99
Buy Now: Laithwaites

It's not often that I doff my cap to a rosé, the last one was a fantastic example from Provence and that was nearly a year ago and whilst this Western Cape Rosé bares very little resemblance to it's French counterpart, I'm as equally enamoured, with it's vibrant palate filled with luscious strawberry and raspberry notes and a stunning floral elegance that brings everything together perfectly. You could do worse than popping down to your local Laithwaites or getting online to snap up a few of these beauties.

Simpsons of Servian Blanc de Blancs 2016

Wine:  Blanc de Blancs
Winemaker: Domaine Sainte Rose
Vintage: 2016
Variety: Chardonnay
Price: £18.99
Buy Now: Naked Wines

I know Charles and Ruth, the owners of Domaine Sainte Rose, very well, I've been drinking their wines for a good few years now and rarely have I been unimpressed with anything in their range and this unique BdB made in the Languedoc, which is an unusual pairing to say the least, is no exception, in fact it's exceptional! The Chardonnay coming through in this crisp, buttery, bubbly, beauty really had me going and I'm positive it'll do the same for you too! C+R recommend oysters or sushi to pair with this, I wasn't quite up for oysters, but can verify that this belter is best friends to Californian lobster rolls! Naked Wines are pitching this at £18.99 or £12.49 if you subscribe to become an 'angel' if I'm honest £18.99 is a damn good price, £12.49 is a steal!

Barboursville Cabernet Franc Reserve 2013

Wine:  Cabernet Franc Reserve
Winemaker: Barboursville
Vintage: 2013
Variety: Cabernet Franc
Price: £30
Buy Now: From GP Brands

Virginian Wine is certainly not something we come across often in the UK, in fact very few people even know that Virginia produces wine - but they should. It may not have the gleaming trophy name of Sonoma and Napa, but the various wine regions throughout Virginia are producing some outstanding wines, take this beauty for example. 

The nose is flooding and oozing with dark berry brambles. There’s blackcurrant, dark cherry and ripe black plum bound together with a sweet freshness on the nose, a little fresh grass and a slight toffee. Top marks for expressing some key characteristics on the smell which continue to evolve as the wine opens up. 

Upon taste you’re presented with a plethora of fresh meadow berries, ripe for picking with a lovely finesse. Dark brambles, black cherry and a fresh blackberry licorice hit the mid-palate with slight tannins reaching the back of the tongue. There’s a little cedar oak element that works well alongside the freshness to cover the entirety of the palate. The tannins kick in briefly at the very end, a slight coating on the tongue as the finale of the experience. 

In summary, there’s a lot to be said for Virginian wines and more effort should be made to locate and explore them. Make it your mission in 2017 to try something you’d never otherwise have thought to experience. 

Nyetimber Classic Cuvee

Wine: Classic Cuvee
Winemaker: Nyetimber
Vintage: NV
Varietal: Pinot Noir/Chardonnay (undisclosed %) 
Price: £32.99
Click Here To Buy

With English sparkling wine becoming increasingly more fashionable by the day and rivalling our French cousins across the pond in Champagne for quality, this classic cuvee blend from Nyetimber is a stand out performer in what has become and is continuing to grow into a fiercely competitive market in the UK.

Citrus and white stone fruit on the nose, with just a feint hint of green fruit and some wonderful bready notes. The palate is crisp and vibrant, whilst remaining elegant and has a restrained style that oozes class. Packed with lemon, fresh apricot and nectarine, all bound together with a refreshingly rasping acidity; the finish is long lasting and complex, with some lovely toast, a seaside salinity and lovely nutty flavours.

Elegant, characterful and perfectly poised. A wonderfully fine mousse, amazing, a truly joyful experience!