Lamodoro, Salento Bianco, 2009.  A complex nose with many fruity aromas bound up together, but an ultinate impression of citrusy, lemony notes.  The palate is rich and weighty, despite the relatively low alcohol (12%.)  Flavours linger long in the mouth…including an unexpected and not unpleasant saltiness.  If that sounds strange, it doesn't taste strange.  It was great with a fish stew, though I imagine it would also match chicken dishes and creamy pasta.  Would retail for between £8 and £9, which makes it a very interesting wine at a reasonable price.

Masseria Pietrosa, Salice Salentino, 2008.  Opaque in the glass, but with a lively purple rim.  A lovely nose of berries and red fruits, with just a touch of bitterness - no doubt from the Negro Amaro grapes.  A touch of sweetness, to balance that bittterness, on the mid-palate…almost like cherry jam.  Coming in under £10, this is again a great value wine from an increasingly recognised area.  (And a great label!  It depicts a scene from Aesop's fable about the fox and the grapes.)  This is the one Tam will like!

Sometimes you try wines at a trade tasting in some distant city and like them, only to find them less impressive when you order a case or two to double-check once you get home.  But in this case, both are more impressive than I remember.  Two thumbs up!

Enter [short fanfare] Torrontes!

Torrontes is only really grown in Argentina (and to a small extent in Chile.)  It seems to be related to Malvasia, a fairly unexciting white grape grown in various parts of the Mediterranean countries and on Madeira - half way to South America you might say.  I would NEVER have guessed that the town wines I've just tasted had anything to do with Malvasia - if anything, I might have guessed they were related to something headliy aromatic like Albarino or even Viognier.  Anyway, down to specifics:

Nieto Senetiner, Nieto Reserve Torrontes, 2008.  An immediately attractive nose of peaches and apricots.  Or, on reflection, the stones of these fruits.  (Though having said that have I ever held these up to my nose and inhaled?  Must do when next I get my hands on some.)  Nice refreshing acidity at first sip leads on to a slightly sweet tinge mid-palate.  And the finish is slightly peculiar, and not the best bit of the drinking experience.  Hmm, it started better than it finished.  But still, quite an interesting wine, and not at all unpleasant.  And so on to:

Vinedos de la Posada, Torrontes, 2008.  Before you even sniff it, the label catches your eye: organic AND Fair Trade. (Both positives in my book - though  I know some folk aren't impressed by such badges.  But such things won't sway me if the wine's no good!  Wow, what a fantastic aroma!  That peach stone perfume again, but in great billowing clouds floating out of the glass.  On the palate: fresh and crisp on the attack, balancing the fairly full, mouth-filling palate.  A clean finish.  Very enjoyable, and great for the price!  (Well under a tenner.) 

Both these wines are great with fish (as we tried them) but the Posada in particular would be a perfect aperitif.  Give it a go, folks!

So let's start as we mean to go on with a bottle that is both new to the shop, and extremely interesting:Glenguin, Aristea, 2003 vintage.

Glenguin is located in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia.  It's owned and run by a Scotsman, Robin Tedder.  I've never met the man, but he seems to have an interesting history, being born in Fife, a hereditary baron (the red wine baron?), a former racing driver, one of only 15 Masters of Wine in Australia…altogether one of the more striking characters in Australian wine - not an area short of a character or two!  Most of this I learned from an old Scotsman article, which you can look up yourself if you're interested: http://living.scotsman.com/features/Lord-of-the-winemakers.2505220.jp

I only started searching out background info after I'd tried the wine and been blown away by it.  It's 100% Shiraz, from old vines and an excellent vineyard site in Pokolbin.  And 2003 was a very good vintage in the Hunter Valley.  The end result is a marvellously complex wine, with layer after layer of flavour unfolding as you sip a glass or two.  When it was younger it was probably a bit bruising, but with age its mellowed into really a rather subtle wine, its long finish coming wrapped in very fine tannins.  I've been lucky enough to try a lot of the most famous and highly rated Australian wines (something I can't say about most countries) and I have to say this is up with the best.  Apparently 3000 bottles were made in 2003; I have five of them left, and it's something I am going to be recommending wholeheartedly to serious wine lovers.  Why do they have to be serious?  Because it's £30 a bottle!  Though I have to say I think that is great value for money, compared to other great Shiraz/Syrah-based wines from other areas, e.g. the Northern Rhone.  Drink now or for at least the next five years, I'd say - probably longer.  Big enough for steak, but refined enough for roast chicken.

Here's Glenguin's website if you want to read more and see some lovely pictures: http://glenguinestate.com.au/