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Lay & Wheeler Spring 2005 Range - Part 2

Following on from my assessment of the sparkling, white and sweet wines available from the Lay & Wheeler summer catalogue, there follows tasting notes from a selection of red wines drawn from their list. There's a wide range of styles here, from Old World and New. As with the whites, it's a solid range, again with many worthy rather then thrilling wines. Nevertheless, there were several wines here I could drink with genuine pleasure.

Prices from Lay & Wheeler are given in brackets, and I have also included wine-searcher links for transparency. (8/6/05)

Tasting Notes - Red Wines

Tasted in May 2005. Click for stockists:

Marquis d'Angerville Volnay Premier Cru Clos des Ducs 2001: Cherry fruit. Evolving, meaty, gamey notes. Very primary at present. Full, peppery, black cherry leaf palate, with smoky, stony nuances. A little seam of dry tannins in the background. Firm acidity. Nicely rounded. Good potential here; needs 3-5 years. 16+/20 (£38.95)

Domaine de l'Arlot Nuits-St-Georges Premier Cru Clos des Forêts 2000: Meaty and mushroomy nose. Full, ripe, plump mouthfeel. Slightly chalky character. Starting to show some secondary development. Very firm acidity though. Dry tannins. Will improve over the next 2-3 years. Good potential. 15.5+/20 (£26.45)

Domaine la Roquette Chateauneuf du Pape 2000: Sweet, smoky, fried cherry notes. Classic style here. Full texture. Nice weight. Sweet cherry notes, slightly medicinal. Ripe tannic structure, good acidity, creamy. This is good. Needs 3-4 years. 16.5+/20 (£15.95)

Chateau La Tour du Mons (Margaux) 2000: The first was horribly corked. Despite this other tasters had drained two thirds of the bottle - the mind boggles! The second was much better. Closed at present, but with some minerally, gravely, floral aromas. Soft, round, a creamy edge. Nice tannins and soft acidity. Good style and typicity here. Needs 2-3 years to show its mettle. 15.5+/20 (£17.95)

Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou (St Julien) 1997: Good nose, classic, slightly gravelly, slightly hard. Soft, moderate weight, on the lean side if anything. Integrated tannin. Correct acidity. Gravelly fruit. Classic style, but it lacks impact, richness, and the complexity of a truly mature wine. Ready now. 16/20 (£29.95)

Enzo Boglietti Dolcetto d'Alba Tiglineri 2003: Sweet, leafy, black cherry fruit. Plump palate, with a soft ripeness, moderate acidity and a gentle tannic grip. Nice sweet fruit on th palate. This is good, with a more serious note than would be found in many Dolcettos. It needs 1-2 years to open out. 15.5+/20 (£11.95)

Mannucci Droandi Ceppeto Chianti Classico 2000: Soft, slightly floral, custard powder and black fruits. Nice character. Good fruit acids, with a ripe, rounded style. Quite open and a little grippy. Quite decent. Has some potential. Good, especially in the context of he vintage. 15.5+/20 (£12.95)

Salcheto Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2000: Muted, but a little floral. Ripe, full texture. Good structure. Sweet black fruits. Floral edge. Some really grippy tannins here. This has good potential again, and is another impressive wine. 16+/20 (£13.95)

Podere Poggio Scalette Il Caronaione 1999: Meaty, floral fruit. Expressive and interesting. Stony, mineral quality. Good character. Fine balance. Finesse. Still rather primary, with some cherry fruit. rounded. Broad. Expansive. Firm acids. This has lovely potential. A great vintage of course. 17+/20 (£29.95)

Pio Cesare Nebbiolo d'Alba 2001: Showing some age here. Gamey. Hung pheasant aroma, with floral, chalky, talc side notes. Soft, integrated palate. Slightly oily. Firm, midpalate tannins. Drinking now though. Good. 16/20 (£16.95)

Elio Grasso Barolo Ginestra Vigna Casa Mate 2000: Firm nose. Meaty, gamey, minerals and chalk. Full, weighty palate. Very firm, prominent, but ripe tannins. Some style here. But quite backward at present. Needs time - 4-6 years in the cellar. Good potential. 16.5+/20 (£33.95)

Tommaso Bussola Amarone della Valpoicella Classico BG 2000: Ripe, macerated fruit, with tangible depth. Full, cherry fruit, creamy style. Very powerful, firm, dominating tannins. Good acidity. Sweet, burnt cherry finish. Needs 5-6 years. Should be very good though. 16.5+/20 (£27.95)

Bodegas Murua Rioja Reserva 1999: Bright, fresh nose. Vanilla pods, meaty aromas. A little finesse. Good balance. A little weight. Freshness of fruit, a real bonus. Toasty, meaty, elegant, smoky oak. Despite the complexity this is quite understated. I like this. Drink now. 16.5/20 (£11.95)

Fromm Pinot Noir Clayvin Vineyard (Marlborough, NZ) 2001: Sweet, peppery red fruit nose. Nice texture. Medium body. A fresh vibrancy. Strawberry, with a hint of caramel and toast beneath. Fine acidity. Soft tannins. This is good. Drink now and over the next few years. 16/20 (£21.75)

Dominique Portet Shiraz Heathcote (Victoria, Australia) 2001: Peppermint and black fruit nose. Medium body. Simple black fruit character. Ripe tannic structure. Minty edge, with dark chocolate nuances. Good acidity. This is one that grows on you. Needs 3-5 years yet. 16+/20 (£12.95)

Henschke Johann's Garden Grenache Mourvèdre Shiraz (Barossa, SA) 2002: Muted nose. Sweet cherry fruit. Leafy. Very much Grenache-dominated. Good cbody here. Nicely textured. A little plump. Sweet cherry character on the palate. Good structure too. Pure cherry finish. This has potential. 15.5+/20 (£16.45)

Grosset Gaia (Clare Valley, SA) 2001: Good primary black fruits. Quite open. Full, textured, quite together. Almost seamless. Balanced, although somewhat prominent alcohol. Creamy edge. There is potential here as well. 16+/20 (£19.95)

Mitolo GAM Shiraz (McLaren Vale, SA) 2002: Creamy nose, with a lovely depth of warm, chocolate, slightly minty fruit. Full, opulent texture. Some style here. Decent acidity. Lovely presence on the palate. Fine, ripe tannins. This is very good indeed, and has very good potential. 17+/20 (£25.95)

Frog's Leap Zinfandel (Napa, California) 2002: Peppery, sweet, plump, brambly fruit. Good presence of forest fruits on the palate, with a black pepper edge. But rather a hollow midpalate. Good acidity though. But not the texture the nose suggested. A touch too sweet and simple. Good. 15.5/20 (£16.95)

Part 1: White wines from the Lay & Wheeler Spring 2005 range.