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Majestic Press Tasting 2001 - Sparkling & White Wines

A selection of sparkling and white wines from a Majestic Press Tasting. For my tasting notes on the red wines, dessert wines and Ports, click here. (14/11/01)

Tasting Notes

Tasted in November 2001. Click to locate stockists:

Champagne

Brossault NV: A suggestion of crisp white fruit on the slightly austere nose. Similar good clean white fruit on the palate. Good mousse, fresh balanced acidity and a touch of elegance. Has some character. 15.5/20 (£12.49, buy two save 20% at £9.99)

De Telmont Grande Réserve NV: This nose is somewhat vegetal, with some green and white fruits. The palate follows this beginning, with a gentle mousse complimented by balanced acidity and a light body. The flavour profile all seems somewhat green and this would benefit from some more bottle maturation. 15+/20 (£14.99, buy three 33.3% at £9.99)

Nicolas Feuillatte Brut NV: Fairly restrained fruit aromas on the nose. On the palate, an elegant mousse sits with clean fruit, a good body and balanced acidity. Pleasant drinking. 15.5/20 (£17.99, buy three save 33.3% at £11.99)

Canard-Duchêne Brut NV: This is fresh, but has more toasty and yeasty aromas than the previous wines. Round and full on the palate, with fairly sharp acidity and a foaming mousse. Some power to the yeasty character. 14.5/20 (£17.99, buy two save 25% at £13.49)

De Telmont Vintage 1997: This wine has a prominent bead but a fresh and delicate nose. Another big and foaming mousse, with some clean white fruit and quite sharp acidity. It has an appealing creamy edge. 15/20 (£16.99, buy two save 25% at £12.74)

Sparkling Wine

Codorniu Cuvée Raventós NV: A fresh and biscuitty nose with some white fruit. The mousse appeals but fades rapidly. Nevertheless ther are some good biscuit notes and a fresh flavour profile. 14.5/20 (£7.99, buy two save £6 at £4.99)

Louis Roederer Quartet NV: This is quite classy, with restrained aromas of strawberry and melba toast. The palate is loaded with fruit, although it maintains a suggestion of elegance. Good toasty and peppery character, with a creamy mousse developing. 16.5/20 (£17.49, buy six save 20% at £13.99)

Gloria Ferrer Royal Cuvée 1991: This has a vegetal edge to the powerful, yeasty nose. A strong mousse, which fades rapidly, sits with quite sharp acidity and more vegetal character. 13.5/20 (£18.49, buy six save 20% at £14.79)

Loire Valley

Joseph Mellot Quincy 2000: A fairly classic, fresh and grassy nose. Quite obvious, prominent fruit on the palate, somewhat New World in style. Clean and pleasing fruit on the palate, a touch soft and round, with good acidity. 15.5/20 (£5.99, buy 2 save £2 at £4.99)

Domaine Fournier Menetou-Salon 2000: A very pale wine, with grass and greengage fruit. This has more structure, with a steely edge and crisp acidity supporting a good layer of fruit. 15.5/20 (£7.99, buy 2 save £1 at £7.49)

Roger Neveu Sancerre 2000: Ripe, clean and appealing fruit on the nose, with flinty and smoky nuances. More good clean fruit on the palate. This is quite a classy, structured wine, although approachable rather than austere. 16.5/20 (£7.99)

Cave Co-op de Vins de Sancerre Sancerre 2000: Restrained grassy aromas on the nose. A clean and icy fresh palate, perhaps a touch austere and ungiving. Quite sharp acidity. Although drinkable, I found this wine lacking in character and a tad unbalanced. 13.5/20 (£7.99, buy 2 save £1 at £7.49)

Domaine Serge Laloue Sancerre 2000: A weedy, greengage fruit nose. Quite full in the mouth, building some richness towards the endpalate, but with a sharp and fresh acidity throughout. 16/20 (£8.49, buy 2 save £1 at £7.99)

Chateau de Sancerre Sancerre 2000: This has a restrained nose, of green fruits rubbed over stones and minerals. Great balance on the palate, with fresh acidity and good fruit sitting well with just a touch of rounded richness. Quite stylish. 16.5/20 (£9.99)

Domaine Bourillon D'Orléans Vouvray Demi-Sec 2000: Hints of toffee and wet wool of the nose here, with some acrid notes in the background. Round, off-dry richness on the palate, with a slightly oily feel and crunchy acidity striking quite a good balance. Nice apple and toffee character. 16/20 (£5.99, buy 2 save £1 at £5.49)

Burgundy

Domaine Servin Chablis 1999: Crisp fruit on the nose. Weak on entry to the palate, and although it develops quite a good texture it has an unimpressive level of somewhat herbaceous fruit, and lacks depth. 13.5/20 (£6.99, buy 2 save £1 at £6.49)

La Chablisienne Chablis 1997: There is more fruit on the nose here, but again a weak entry. Clean fruit and soft acidity. An unimpressive wine, with no development of character on the palate. 12/20 (£15.99 for a magnum)

Vocoret Chablis 1er Cru Les Forêts Vieilles Vignes 2000: There is much more character on the nose here. Some juicy white fruit, with a rich and sweet edge. The richness is immediately apparent on entry, with a soft but balanced acidity. There is plenty of sweet white fruit, with herbaceous and even tropical nuances. Drinking well although somewhat exuberant at the moment. 16/20 (£10.49)

Pinson Chablis 1er Cru Mont de Milieu 2000: This has a much more restrained and elegant nose. Pleasing lemony fruit. On the palate there is a touch of fatness to the round and rich edge. The wine benefits from slightly more acidity than the previous one. 16+/20(£11.49)

Chateau du Cray Montagny 1er Cru 2000: An aromatic nose, although with a suggestion of elegance. There is some class on the palate, with a sweet edge to the soft, rounded white fruits balanced out by soft yet correct acidity. Quite stylish, and good value. 16/20 (£8.99, buy 2 save £2 at £7.99)

Vincent Girardin Rully Blanc 1er Cru Les Cloux 1999: This wine shows class on the nose, with notes of mealy oak underpinning some lovely fruit. Rich and rounded on the palate, with plenty of character. More mealy, savoury oak with a touch of honeycomb. Good acidity and structure. Great value for money. 16.5/20 (£9.99)

Vincent Girardin Meursault les Narvaux 1999: This is buttery, mealy and honeycombed on the nose, with a lovely quality of white fruit. A barrel ferment nose. Quite well structured, but with soft acidity, and overall perhaps just a little loose or open-knit. Lots of fruit with cinder toffee barrel notes although the wine is in no way blowsy or overdone. Spice showing through on the finish. 16.5+/20 (£18.99)

Vincent Girardin Puligny Montrachet Les Enseignières 1999: This wine is tighter and more structured than the Meursault. It has rich and expressive fruit on the nose. A very well defined palate, tightly structured with just some mineral and lemon fruit showing through. 16.5+/20 (£19.99)

Rhone Valley

Domaine des Sénéchaux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 2000: This is fairly unexpressive on the nose. Quite rounded, with simple fruit on the palate. A suggestion of a creamy edge, with moderate acidity. May come better with time. 14/20 (£8.99)

Alsace

Materne Haegelin Pinot Blanc 1999: This is not greatly expressive on the nose. The palate is soft and round, with low acidity. It has some herbaceous notes but otherwise lacks character or flavour. 12.5/20 (£5.49, buy 2 save £1 at £4.99)

Materne Haegelin Riesling Bollenberg 1999: This has a soapy, almost perfumed nose, with a smearing of limes in the background. Not an enticing Riesling on the basis of the aromas found here. Nevertheless quite pleasing on the palate, with plenty of lime fruit, good texture and refreshing acidity. 15/20 (£6.99, buy 2 save £3 at £5.49)

Materne Haegelin Tokay Pinot Gris 1999: This has a typical pineapple nose. A rounded texture, with a lot of fat and just a touch of perfume prevails on the palate. Lots of tropical fruit. A balanced, fresh and fun wine. Very good value for money. 15.5/20 (£7.99, buy 2 save £2 at £6.99)

Materne Haegelin Gewürztraminer 1999: Typical floral and spice aromas promise something here. Nice weight on the palate, with some floral, pineapple and bacon flavours and soft, peppery acidity. If anything perhaps a touch blowsy. Again, very good value for money. 15/20 (£8.99, buy 2 save £3 at £7.49)

Germany

Michael Schäfer Burg-Layer Schlossberg Riesling Kabinett 1991: This has a very expressive lime and honey nose. The palate is quite big, full of honeyed sweetness with some notes of blossom and petrol coming through. Correct acidity completes the picture. This is the first in a line up of more bargain German wines from Majestic. 16/20 (£3.99)

Friedrich-Wilhelm-Gymnasium Neumagener Rosengärtchen Riesling Kabinett 1994: This is a more austere, powerful and musky wine. There is a nicely structured palate, with great flavour and character backed up by a good balance of sweetness and acidity. There is even some length at the finish. 16/20 (£4.99)

Dr Hermann Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese 1998: Honey, slate and smoke here. Great character. A fat roundness gives a great texture, with a lovely depth of classic flavour as suggested by the nose. Refreshing acidity provides the necessary balance. 16/20 (£4.99)

Dr Hermann Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese 1998: This wine has a more powerful and expressive nose, very openly showing bags of fruit. This follows through onto the palate, with even a tropical edge to the flavours, with spice complexity. Good balancing acidity. 16.5/20 (£4.99)

Michael Schäfer Burg-Layer Rothenberg Riesling Auslese 1992: Here we have a more austere and classic nose. Nevertheless, quite aromatic on the palate, with plenty of fruit and a honeyed, petrol character developing. Although showing signs of maturity this wine seems so fresh. Correct acidity. A honeyed, slightly toffee-like mealiness peeks through at the finish. 16.5/20 (£5.99, buy two save £1at £5.49)

Dr Hermann Urziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese 1996: A complex mealy edge to the fruit on the nose here. Fantastic fruit on the palate, with cracking acidity. A limey richness with a splash of petrol. Lovely spice. This is delicious stuff. 16.5+/20 (£5.99, buy two save £1 at £5.49)

Click here for my tasting notes on the red wines, dessert wines and Ports.