2017 - an interesting year

2017 was certainly a year full of surprises - I would say both Hubby and I could not have ever imaged how it would be and how we are now moving in 2018, life changing for us both in many ways.

It has been a year of great things too - lovely holidays, meeting great friends, fabulous wine events and of course the enjoyment of a 'few' good bottles. Here's a few of my 2017 favourites:

Wishing you all a Happy New Year - let the corks fly in 2018 

Pre Christmas enjoyment

My latest two tastings for Aldi were just perfect for us - a Sauvignon Blanc for me and a Spanish red for Hubby.

It is a real privileged and treat to be chosen to be a member on their Tasting Panels.

The Project Sauvignon Blanc 2017 is from the Western Cape South Africa and is as geography suggests: not as smooth, subtle and sophisticated as the French yet not as hard hitting and full on like the New Zealand.


A lovely pale yellow in the glass with the base having a slightly green hue. It's nose had plenty of tropical fruits, soft and inviting with that recognisable sauvignon gooseberry nose.

A light taste again sitting between Old and New World, plenty of citrus with pineapple overtones; a very enjoyable wine to drink alone or paired with a light chicken dish, great value at £5.99



The Toro Loco Edicion Memoria 2015 is a brand we have enjoyed before, an exclusive wine at just over £10.

Its dark brooding label is a pointer to its blend of Bobal, Tempranillo and Merlot, giving a deep cherry red that is slightly opaque.

A light peppery nose with hints of oak could have initially offered a little more but did develop as the wine rested in our glasses.

Medium bodied with plenty of red fruits, it was easy drinking, which suited my palate me. However as its oak and tannins did develop so I would prefer to drink it straight away before its length had developed.

Staying with Aldi the tasting for this month at Cuvée Reserve is Maynard's Pink Port.


It was my choice this month and I chose it because although I have (and do) enjoyed Tawny and Ruby Port I have not seen Pink Port before and was intrigued, especially at the reasonable price of £7.99.

It has taken a while to find a bottle as not all stores stock but on a recent trip to Nantwich we found it in their store. I'm looking forward to trying this with a mince pie .... or two.

The reviews will be on Cuvée Reserve from 20th, I wonder what we will all discover.


Late summer we had a lovely holiday in the South of France https://aimetus.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/two-special-vineyards.html during which we visited Domaine Paul Mas. We have been enjoying his wines for quite a few years so were very pleased to be able to visit their caveau.

There were so many wines we had not seen before including a sparkling Picpoul de Pinet and the label Claude Val with its beautiful artwork.

Cote Mas Frisante had all the fun of Southern France beginning with its label, followed by its lively bubbles in the glass.

It was Picpoul de Pinet with added zest - plenty of citrus with that hint of the sea that makes Picpoul the perfect wine with fish.

Not dry or biscuity like champagne, not sweet like prosecco this bottle of bubbles is perfect to be enjoyed on its own, with seafood or even with some soft French cheese - a definite winner for me - I hope it is available in the UK.




Claude Val's label is very eyecatching depicting the ancient town of Pezenas. This brand of three wines, red, white and rose, is a blend of noble and established grapes but is easy drinking without the complexity of higher priced wines.

Claude Val blanc is a blend of Grenache Blanc, Vermentino, Chenin Blanc, Chasan, Mauzaca and Sauvignon Blanc.

A very pale colour in the glass with a nose of soft white fruit, this wine is so smooth, so easy drinking, it's just lovely.

I can feel a return trip happening as both these Domaine Paul Mas wines are on my to buy again list. I'd love to try these in the garden in the summer as if they were good indoors in the winter I'm presuming they will be even better chilled on a summer's day.

Trio and a selection

My trio were from Aldi as I have been chosen to be a member of their 17th Tasting Panel and our first three tastings arrived earlier this month.

Exquisite Collection Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc
This had a lovely pale pear colour with aromas of crisp fruit. I loved its smooth tropical flavour with lime highlights - great with chicken wrapped in bacon. 

·    Exquisite Collection Plan de Dieu

A lovely dark red Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre wine with a slight nose of bramble fruits and a touch of spice. 

It's mouth is plump with sour cherries, the bramble fruit, a hint of herbiness and a peppery spice. Good body with a lengthy finish, very slight tannin that adds to its depth. 
 

·    Specially Selected Irish Cream Liqueur

This was very creamy with a kick of whisky. I enjoyed it neat, over ice, in my coffee but my favourite was as the topping for my Baby Guinness cocktail. 

My selection was for our end of year wine tasting at Scouts - these events are so popular. Over the 4 years I've been doing them we've certainly developed our palates and wine preferences. 

This time I took advantage of Tesco's 25% off 6 bottles of wine and purchased all twelve in store. I don't have many tasting notes for these as most are wines we've had before so I didn't note anything down. 

Wine tasting selection 

Louis Delaunay Champagne - plenty of bubbles, not too dry, hint of yeast and very very moreish - a great start to any occassion. 

Quirky Bird Chenin Blanc, Semillon, Muscat - a favourite of the groups, light, refreshing, middle range, easy drinking with good depth of flavour.

Quirky Bird Shiraz, Mouvedre, Viognier  - full of fruit, blackberries, smooth in it's texture and finish, a touch of spice making this a very drinkable wine.

Brancott Estate Sauvignon Blanc - full nose of kiwi, melon and lime, great citrusy crispness with a long finish, a great sauvignon blanc that everyone enjoyed. 

Torres Sangre de Toro - a Spanish wine with slight tannin, plenty of blackberries, hints of pepper and a touch of vanilla, light with good length

Tesco finest Pecorino - crisp refreshing citrus wine, perfect at the end of our buffet as it refreshed our palates  

Bellingham Chardonnay - a lovely smooth wine with vanilla notes, plenty of peaches and white stone fruit, a full flavoured wine with a lengthy finish

Louis Jadot Macon Villages - a silky wine in the glass, full of colour, clean and fresh with apples and pears,  good with goats cheese

Bellingham Pinotage - great dark colour, full of fruit, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, a good hit of oak with subtle tannins

Yalumba Y Series Shiraz - berry delight with added chocolate, one of my favourite red wines, perfect level of spice, good weight and finish 

Ca'Mone Appessimento - deep red in colour, light nose of fruit with pepper and leather, full of cherries, some tannin, leather and smokiness

Concho y Toro Late Harvest - our dessert wine was rich and syrupy, plenty of apricots and nectarines with honey highlights, perfect with our profiterole pud

Our pud this time was Lidl's Croquembouche, 60 profiteroles in all, 40 plain and 20 chocolate. 

The box included everything needed: an easy to assemble silver card tower, caramel, chocolate and nutty topping. 

It certainly made a centre piece and was perfect with our dessert wine.


Another great evening with good wine, good food and great friends. I wonder what wines we'll be discovering at our 2018 tastings.