Held at Ray & June’s on Monday 20^th March where we once again enjoyed our hosts excellent hospitality.

 

WINE NO 1.   2021 FINCA LALANDE ORGANIC MALBEC.   MENDOZA ARGENTINA.    14%.VOL.        PURCHASED FROM WAITROSE AT £8.

This offering had a bright healthy appearance, with a ruby colouring. The bouquet was pleasant with a little, medium intensity. We found it difficult to suggest a character to the wine.

There was sweetness on the tongue, and with balanced acidity and good tannins it had a medium body. Good fruit taste in the mouth gave it a long lasting flavour.

We enjoyed this wine and gave it a score of 8.5/10.

 

WINE NO2.   2021  AMANDLA SHIRAZ/ZINFANDEL BLEND WESTERN CAPE SOUTH AFRICA.  14%VOL.    PURCHASED FROM WITROSE AT £8.

 

Celebrating the African people this wine celebrates the rallying cry of “Amandla”  and the women who produce this wine. Blended by Praisy Diamini  it has a healthy, medium appearance. Showing red/ruby notes..

A medium, week bouquet, it had a red fruit finish. There was lots of sweetness showing with balanced acidity. Good tannins were also evident. It had a medium body with strong fruit taste in the mouth. The flavour lasted well

We gave this wine a score of 7.5/10. 

 

                                                                                                            JOHN BENFIELD. 

 Held at Dave & Molly's on 23rd February 2023.  Our excellent hosts provided us with excellent foods & good wines.

Wine No1.  2020 Villages Beaujolais La Camensard, France, 13% vol. Purchased from Asda at £7.50.  With a bright ruby appearance of medium intensity, this wine had plenty of sweetness evident with balanced acidity & some tannins & light body.  There was fruit taste in the mouth with a little lasting flavour.  This offering received mixed reviews but had a good 7/19 score.

Wine No 2.  2021 Pinotage Western Cape South Africa. 13% vol, purchased from Asda at £5,50.  This intense juicy offering with a bright ruby appearance had a pleasant bouquet & plum character.  There was strong sweetness, balanced acidity & strong tannins evident.  It had a medium body & good fruit taste in the mouth.  The flavour did last & we enjoyed this wine which attracted a score of 8/19.  Good value for the price.

John Benfield

                                                                                                                                                                                               WINE TASTING GROUP.

HELD AT PAT’S AND HOSTED BY JENNY ON 28^TH JUNE 2022, WE HAD AN EXCELLENT AFTERNOON OF FOOD, WINE, AND GOOD CONVERSATION.

 

WINE NO 1.       2020 CAMPO VIEJO  GARNACHA RIOJA  SPAIN. 14%VOL  PURCHASED FROM MORRISONS AT£6.50.                                                                                     

 

This wine has a bright healthy appearance with red/purple tones. A pleasant bouquet with had good sweetness on the tongue, balanced acidity and some tannins. It felt light with very good fruit taste in the mouth, and the flavour did last. We all enjoyed this wine and it attracted an average score of 8/10. Recommended.

 

WINE NO2.      CARNIVOR ZINFANDEL CALIFORNIA USA.  14.5%VOL.  PURCHASED FROM SAINSBURYS AT £8.

 

With notes of dark cherry, blackberry jam and toasted oak, this healthy ruby coloured offering of medium intensity, had a strong sweetness with balanced acidity. There was some tannins evident and medium body. There was lots of fruit taste in the mouth and it had good lasting flavour. This wine was also enjoyed with an average score of 7.5/10. Only one members guessed the country of origin.

 Held at John and Sheila’s on Tuesday 17^th May 2022 where we hope that our members enjoyed the afternoon.

 

WINE NO 1.    2020 MAR I MUNTANYA EMPORDA GARNACH SPAIN. 14.5%VOL. PURCHASED FROM LIDL AT £5.99.

This offering had a good healthy appearance with a strong red colour. The bouquet was pleasant but week. There was a strong sweetness with balanced acidity, little tannins and a medium body. Good flavour was evident with some lasting taste. This wine was enjoyed and attracted an average score of 7.5/10.

 

WINE NO 2.   2020 PONCE DE LEON TEMPRANILLO SPAIN.  14%VOL. PURCHASED FROM LIDL AT £4.99.

From Northern Spain this wine had a bright appearance, with deep ruby tones. The bouquet had a slightly musty smell with plum overtones, but was well balanced with strong tannins. It had a medium body and good fruit taste. The flavour did last and we gave it an average score of 6/10. There was a mixed reaction to this wine, which was perhaps understandable given the price!

 

                                                                                                               JOHN BENFIELD.

 

 

 Held at Molly and Dave’s on Tuesday 19^th April, where we had a great afternoon viewing Dave & Molly’s  old photos whilst being very well entertained.

 

Wine No1.   2020 Original Series Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot, Stellenbosch South Africa. 13.5% Vol.  Purchased from Asda at £6.50.

This blend brings a deep rich wine that has a pleasant healthy appearance appearance. With a deeply intense ruby sight, it had a pleasant bouquet with a dark fruit character  Good sweetness on the tongue allied to balanced acidity and little tannins, this wine had a medium body and good lasting fruit taste. We all enjoyed this offering.  It attracted an average score of 8/10.  Recommended.

 

Wine No2.  2020 Oyster Bay Pinot Noir Marlborough New Zealand.  14%Vol.  Purchased from Asda at £9.

Capturing the special cool climate of New Zealand this elegant wine has a bright medium intensity Red/Ruby appearance and has a pleasant bouquet. We found it difficult to identify the underlying character of this wine, but it had plenty of sweetness on the tongue, a tart acidity and plenty of tannins. With a medium body and a little fruit taste, it had a good length of flavour. We gave it an average score of 7/10. A pleasant wine.

 

                                                                                                                   John Benfield.

Held at Ray & June’s on Tuesday 29th March 2022, where we were treated to a lovely afternoon of good food and wine by our hosts. Wine no 1. 2020 Vall del Bio Malbec, Chile. 14% vol. purchased from coop at £8. This smooth Malbec from one of Chile’s southernmost winemaking regions offered a pleasant bouquet with a medium intensity. We all offered quite different views on fruit character. There was sweetness apparent with balanced acidity and plenty of tannins with a medium body and plenty of fruit taste, it had a good lasting flavour. One of us managed to guess the country of origin. This wine was appreciated by us all and attracted an average score of 8.5/10. Recommended. Wine no 2. 2020 Hardy’s Shiraz Mourvedre wine of Australia purchased from coop at £7.25. Made by one of Australia’s most renowned winemakers this offering had a bright, healthy appearance with ruby notes a pleasant bouquet with medium intensity, offering flavours of black cherry and mulberry, it had lots of sweetness and balanced acidity. There were some tannins evident and the wine had plenty of lasting fruit taste in the mouth. Our members gave it an average score of 7.5/10, and we enjoyed this wine. John Benfield.

 

WINE TASTING GROUP.

Held by Jenny at Pat’s on Tuesday 22^nd. February  2022  where we had a lovely afternoon and were well entertained.

Wine no 1.  2019 Graffigna Malbec Reserve, Argentina 13.5% vol. from Sainsbury’s at £7. (reduced from £10)  with a bright healthy appearance of deep intensity this purple offering has a mixed, pleasant, medium bouquet. There was some sweetness on the tongue, with a lasting fairly balanced acidity, with light tannins. The body was fairly light, and it had a good fruit taste with a lasting flavour.    This wine attracted an average score of 7/10 and had a mixed reaction.

Wine no 2. 2020  Beyerskloof Pinotage, Western Cape, South Africa. 13.5%vol.  purchased from Sainsbury’s at £6.  This wine from the Beyers Truter vineyards of the Western Cape has a bright deep intensity with ruby and purple hues. The bouquet was a pleasant medium offering with a very mixed character. Good sweetness on the tongue with a medium acidity and some tannins, gave this offering a good fruit taste, and a lasting flavour. It attracted an average score of 8/10 and was enjoyed by us all.  Recommended.

 

                                          JOHN BENFIELD.