At Decanter we all love our wine, and every week members of the Decanter team - from editorial assistant to publishing director - tell us what they've been enjoying at home and when they go out...
Guy Woodward
Editor, Decanter
Clos du Val, Zinfandel, Napa Valley 2005
Ideally, I wouldn’t be drinking a California Zinfandel on an August evening in the UK (I’d be drinking it in California), but such is the tragic British summer that this is what it has come to. And Clos du Val’s style, which remains resolutely true to its French roots, does at least veer away from this being a winter wine – elegant, restrained, but richly imbued with a spicy, generous, fruity core. So much so, that, over a very enjoyable, relaxed pub dinner, I completely discarded any thoughts of picnicking in the local park, and transported myself, instead, to Napa.
Christelle Guibert
Tastings Director, Decanter
Loimer, Riesling, Kamptal 2007
This is the perfect wine for a hot summer day. This bone dry Riesling is packed with grapefruit and apple characters and a steely minerality. The palate is powerful but it’s supported by a pure and lively acidity; a very enjoyable glass of wine on its own.
Adam Lechmere
Editor, decanter.com
Angoves Coonawarra Vineyard Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2007
A huge, ripe, inky-hued wine. Fine with robust food at the moment but a crime, really, to drink it when it should be ready in five years at the least. Blackberry and mint nose and very dense black fruit on the palate, with very concentrated ripe tannins. Superb though, and very much of its kind.
Tina Gellie
Sub-editor, Decanter
Bernd Heiling, Merry Widows, Sämling 88 Dessert Wine, Neusiedlersee, Austria NV
What to drink with Shakespeare? That is the question. For an outdoor performance of Twelfth Night at Ham House, surrounded by a picnic blanket groaning with tasty treats, I figured this might do the trick. Like the play – both cerebral yet fun – this is a luscious, textured, intense wine, full of candied citrus peel, spun sugar and honeyed fruits, yet with enough body and mouthwatering acidity to make it suitable for savoury foods as well as sweet, say a chicken and preserved lemon tagine, for example. None of that at our picnic, though, but this wine still hit the spot with everything from cheese to chocolate. No wonder it won a Regional Trophy at this year’s Decanter World Wine Awards. So, don’t be scared by the unfamiliar grape (Sämling 88 is just Austria’s name for Scheurebe) or that is says Dessert Wine – sweeter styles have a wider repertoire than just after-dinner tipples.
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