Raeburn Fine Wines tasting

by Tom Cannavan, 05/02

I belong to the Wine Advisory Group for a large Scottish institution, and this was a tasting on their behalf of wines from UK merchant Raeburn Fine Wines. Raeburn, owned by enthusiast Zubair Mohamed, is one of the country's most exciting wine merchants, previously Which? Wine Guide's independent merchant of the year. My happy task here was to spend lots of someone else's money on fine wines in the Ł10-Ł20 bracket ($15-Ł30) for drinking and cellaring over the next five or six years. The wines are for use in formal banquets and when entertaining VIP guests.

This was part one of the tasting: please also see mid-priced Clarets.

This tasting was not conducted blind, and I have quoted retail prices in pounds sterling. I have also marked those wines we chose to purchase with an asterisk.

tasting notes

Château Potensac (Bordeaux) Médoc, Cru Bourgeois 1996 - Ł17.99
Fine, quite subtle cherry and cassis nose. Quite deep and plummy notes emerging, but refined. The palate has a little espresso bean note, black fruits and medium body. Good, correct claret with quite a sophisticated appeal. Very good, but question over value for money?

Henri Prudhon (Burgundy) St Aubin 1er Cru les Frionnes 1999 - Ł12.50
This has lovely minerality about the nose, with woodsmoke and vanilla underpinning red fruit. There's a lovely, inviting, strawberry-pulp character. On the palate that soft, juicy strawberry persists, with smoky supporting oak and a modern, fruity, quite light style. Stylish and quite long, if a little one-dimensional. Very good at the price for red Burgundy.

Valli Estate (New Zealand) Central Otego Pinot Noir "Colleen's Vineyard" 2000 - Ł18.99 *
Big, complex, mushroomy Burgundian nose with lots of ripeness, sweet cherry and moderate toasty oak. Very sweet fruit on the palate; lots of deep, chewy, violet-edged strawberry, raspberry and undertones of vanilla and cedar. Medium- to full-bodied, with ripe tannins and good balance, with a pleasantly earthy finish. Very good indeed.

Torbreck Cellars (Australia) "Juveniles" Barossa 2001 - Ł16.99
Zingy, vibrant crimson colour. Terrifically aromatic nose, with kirsch, flowers, cherries and lots of strawberry and parma-violet sweetness. The palate adds a chocolate and plum depth and silky texture, though there is freshening acidity and a pleasantly rough, plumskin tannin into the finish. Impressive and very good in a big style that might not suit the banqueting needs of this purchase?

Tardieu-Laurent (France) Cuvée No. 3 Castelmaure Corbières 1998 - 12.99 *
Very deep, inky crimson. Hugely toasty, coffee bean and vanilla pod character, with an ethereal, floral edge to a solid underpinning of cassis and cherry fruit. The palate is medium- to full-bodied, and has a superb, mouth-filling weight of spicy cherry and blackcurrant fruit, more coffee and a full, glycerine-rich base of plummy fruit. Good tannins, and spicy length. Very good indeed.

Domaine Tempier (France) Bandol 1999 - Ł14.95 *
Deep colour and lovely southern Rhône nose with schisty qualities, pepper, and very creamy mulberry and cassis fruit. The palate is cool and classy, with a great purity of red and black berries, rounded tannins, and a long, elegant finish with good balance. Very good indeed.

Bodegas Artadi (Spain) Rioja Crianza "Gain" 1998 - Ł11.99 *
Very pure, clean, deep mulberry, blackberry, rich fruit with hints of vanilla and tobacco. Very classy palate, with pencil-shaving nuances over solid blackcurranty fruit and a long, focused, clean finish with crisp tannins and fine balance. Very good indeed.

Vecchie Terre di Montefile (Italy) Chianti Classico 1997 - Ł13.99 *
Lovely nose, redolent of tobacco, woodsmoke, leather, sweet cherry and custardy vanillin. There's a real depth of smoky berry fruit. The palate has fine, sweet, cherry, raspberry and chocolate flavours and is deliciously ripe and full with concentrated blueberry notes. Dense and deep, there are fine tannins and a very long finish. Very good indeed/excellent.

Ashton Hills (Australia) "Obliqua" Adelaide Hills 1998 - Ł11.50 *
A blend of 40% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. Very ripe nose; dense, even overripe mulberry and eucalyptus fruit, with silky plum-pie notes. Lovely mouth-feel, with a big thwack of clove and spices over solid, ripe black fruit. Quite dry and dusty tannins kick in, but the balance is good and this is long and savoury. Very good indeed.

Bodegas Briego (Spain) Ribera del Duero Reserva 1996 - Ł19.95 *
I last tasted this in a "meet the winemaker" piece, and liked it a lot then, but felt it needed time. There's a fantastic baked plum and crisp black cherry melange on the nose, with plenty of sweet vanillin. Lovely velvety, soft texture in the mouth, and packed with clean, concentrated black fruits. Superb length and a really pure, elegant, long finish. Very good indeed/excellent.

Podere Colla (Italy) Bricco del Drago Langhe 1995 - Ł13.99
Coffee, currants and a slightly medicinal, tarry quality over crisp, clean, red cherry and currant fruit. There are sweet and sour cherry flavours on the palate, bolstered by a little toasty oak. Good balance and a good length of finish, but didn't quite sing for me.

Niepoort (Portugal) "Redoma" Douro 1995 - Ł14.95 *
Extremely dark, dense, crimson/black colour. Beautifully sweet, direct, fruit-driven nose with juicy, thick black fruit, jammy ripeness and little floral nuances. Big background of fudgy oak. The palate is deliciously rich and dense, with a wonderfully soft, chewy, silky texture and terrific length and sweetness of fruit. Fine balance, and very good indeed/excellent.