The Sommelier Wine Awards 2012 were a great success
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Found 12 wines
Approachable and seriously complex, this was one of very few wines to do the treble, picking up not just Gold, but a Food Match and Critics Choice. Bramble fruit mixes with fennel, cardamom, graphite and a touch of smoke on the nose. The palate shows medium tannins and elegant cooked fruit, while the garnet tones suggest some ageing, but still a good freshness. 'An amazing choice,' said Terroirs' Emilie Courtois.
£9.98 Enotria&Coe
Fantastic to see Axel Pauly, this rising star of the German wine world scoop not only Gold but a Critics' Choice award. Refreshing and balanced, this marries the minerality of some of the Mosel's steepest slate slopes with pure stone fruit from a low yielding year. Fresh and understated, the apples, zingy acidity and mineral and citrus flavours come together beautifully with what River Cafe's Emily O'Hare calls a 'tickle of sweetness'.
£9.95 Liberty Wines
Not just quality and balance, but intrigue garnered this wine a Critics' Choice rosette as well as a Gold. Plenty of aromas – think 'roses and Opium perfume', said Roganic's Sandia Chang – this has an elegant body with liquorice and savoury notes alongside high alcohol and acids. 'More supple and juicy than a Burgundy,' this make the wine very pleasant,' said Galvin La Chapelle's Marco Feraldi. Foodwise, think slow cooked shoulder of lamb, tomato and lamb stew or Chinese sticky pork.
£10.34 Italyabroad.com
Texture and complexity of flavours won this well-priced white not just Gold but a Critics' Choice award. While some found tropical fruit aromas, for consultant Angela Reddin it was a 'salty seashell nose, almost Traminer-like with its spiciness'. The depth on the palate with its mineral freshness alongside white fruits makes it good for fish dishes of all sorts.
£7.32 Enotria&Coe
Looking at the flavour and texture for value ratio, it's not hard to see why Kleine Zalze's Chenin is the most garlanded of all the 2012 wines. With notes of honeycomb and lemon alongside hints of candied peel and jasmineon the nose, the well-balanced, creamy exotic palate sports light oak and some minerality, finishing with a citrus-infused flourish. Head to the Food Match pages to see it triumph against a challenging Thai prawn curry.
£5.69 Matthew Clark
Fragrance meets power in this, Elephant Hill's second Gold, with its spicy ripe fruited now with methold and tobacco notes. 'Brooding and broad, with good tannin management,' said Kofler and Kompanie's Nigel Lister. 'Very scrumptious, with a rich mid-palate of peppery luscious fruit,' said Laura Ward, Vivat Bacchus. No wonder it also scored a Critics Choice rosette.
£23.26 Coe Vintners
Elegant flavours and stand-out value for a Pinot Noir wins Bulgaria its first Gold – and a coveted Critics Choice award too. Pale ruby with tawny hints in the glass, this is Pinot-esque with gamey aromas of redcurrants, cherries and berries. Rich and fruity in the palate, with bright raspberries alongside clean blackcurrant fruit, soft tannins and a slight cranberry bite on the finish.
£6.90 Swig Wines
Another amazing flavour-to-value winner from the denizens of Bodegas Hidalgo. No wonder this refreshingly sophisticated salty seadog of a Manzanilla came home laden with both a Food Match and a Critics' Choice gong. While Angus Macnab found 'salt and iodine plus good weight and texture on the palate', Andrea Bricarello felt this was 'complex yet rich, with fresh dough notes on the nose and a good balance'. For food, start with garlic prawns, move onto mushroom risotto – see our Food Match chapter for why – and finish with cheese and nuts.
£8.15 Size: 75cl Mentzendorff & Co
The flagship wine from the Jumilla's ambitious El Nido collaboration, despite its price, this was the wine passed around to all as a superlative example of Spanish wine. 'Coal, Christmas pudding, chocolate, almost a treacle note…' consultant Angela Reddin was getting carried away. Packed with opulent ripe fruit and sweet spices on the palate, this is international in style, with fine, new well-integrated oak, leading to a long finish. Back to Reddin: 'The palate is wonderful. It takes no prisoners - I cannot fault this.' Where's my glass?
£75.00 Boutinot
Such fun to see this wine wow the judges at every stage! 'Spicy sweet fruit, a touch of residual sugar with zingy acidity,' noted Mike Harrison, Hotel du Vin, Henley. 'Blackcurrant, liquorice, pepper, pencil lead, with rich, ripe fruit. Well balanced with good acidity and a touch of sweetness,' said Laura Ward, Vivat Bacchus. And food? Well why not, since the wine's distinctive flavours offer such scope. Fillet of venison with blackcurrant or red fruit sauce was the considered opinion.
£16.67 Alliance Wine
The first Gold for an English sparkler in SWA - and what a wine. The red fruits, brioche and spices on the nose open up to a complex, textured palate, with an abundant fine mousse and savoury notes. Good acids balance the experience, which closes with pink grapefruit on the finish. Obviously accomplished enough on its own, consultant Frédéric Billet recommended summer berry jelly as its perfect match, while The French Table's Stéphanie Dhont took the savoury route, suggesting scallops in bacon.
£19.74 Enotria&Coe
A complete star, despite the price - 'mindblowing' and 'delightful' were just two of the adjectives bandied about. A complex bouquet of toffee, coffee, roasted almond and marmalade, this has a good acid structure to back up the palate full of caramel, fig, orange peel and Christmas cake. Ideal with toffee cheesecake or blue cheese. Enjoy! Price quoted is for 37.5cl.
£23.85 Size: 37.5cl Bancroft Wines