Majestic .... times two !

Our town is geographically in the centre of four Majestic wine stores, each being just under 20 miles away.

We have limited trains from our town but as there is a good service to Leicester for many years it's been our go to Majestic.

We've had many many tastings with the fab Leicester wine team; showcases, focused wine, fine wine, beer and private group tastings - all superb and at which I have discovered many new things.

We (myself, Hubby and two friends) recently went to their latest Showcase - not the best night for travelling anywhere..... the photo isn't blurred it's rain!

Such dedication hee hee

Ignoring the wet cold weather, once inside our tasting began with a Lambrusco..... a red Lambrusco made from Grasparossa grapes. 

Nivola Lambrusco had a super purple froth, plenty of bubbles with a fruity nose. It was surprisingly a dry wine, plenty of blackcurrants with an edge of leafiness.  The dryness lessened when paired with the delicious Maderia cake the team served. 

Nivola Lambrusco - Italy - £9.99

Moving further in store to the next tasting station we discovered three very different white wines, and an extremely pale rose. The first white was Pecorino Terre Di Chieti, a 13% wine from Italy. Quite a light wine with floral notes and a hint of lemon peel. Certainly a summer wine, for me it needed a longer finish. 

Bellingham Series Viognier was our second white, I've tried quite a few wines from this South African Estate. A darker colour in the glass this was a creamier texture with a flavour of peach and hint of oak. A great depth in this with a longer finish which had a slight mineral after taste. 

Our third white had me searching, I love Sancerre wine but had I been given this blind I would not have said it was from this appellation. Feeling the need to cleanse/change my palate I nibbled on the selection of cheeses offered ..... and yes it worked. Still a light Sancerre the flavours of gooseberries and citrus appeared. A good amount of acidity with now more length on its finish. 

Pecorino Terre Di Chieti - Italy - £7.99
Bellingham Viognier - South Africa - £8.99
Jean Max Roger Sancerre - France - £17.99

The rose wine was so clear it was almost a white, the clear stylish bottle matches it perfectly. It was a light wine, fruity with a zesty high note. It had a lovely finish and this wine would be my choice for a summer's picnic.

Logerill Gris De Garilla Rose
£8.24

There were more nibbles of cheese, spicy sausage and bread sticks at the red tasting station. The Leicester team always provide a good selection of food that compliment all the wines. 

The spicy sausage was particularly good with the Avior Malbec and the Ena Dva Tri Cabernet Sauvignon. Avior Malbec from Argentina was full of blackberries with a kick of spice. It was slightly tannic which I think would soften if left to breathe a while.

Eva Dva Tri Cabernet Sauvignon was my favourite wine of the evening, however as usual with this grape it needed food ... cheese and biscuits to the rescue. At 15% this Slovenian wine was full of bold dark fruits with pepperiness. A great depth and long finish, all I needed was a comfy armchair. 

Vale Do Corgo Douro from Portugal had smoother tannins, still a hit of pepper but with sour cherries. It was a very easy drinking wine that would be great for summer BBQs.

The final red was Cimagoccia Giverno Toscana which is not a wine I have tried before. It had plenty of sour fruit but not a wine for me as I wasn't keen on the burnt amber, herby flavours. 

Avior Malbec - Argentina - £5.99

Vale Do Corgo Douto - Portugal- £7.99
Ena Dva Tri Cabernet Sauvignon - Slovenia - £9.99
Cimagoccia Governo Toscana - Italy - £10.99

Thank you Majestic Leicester, shame about the weather but another great tasting night.

However .....

..... there has been a development on the train situation and we can now travel direct to Leamington Spa, so to test out the journey (why else, wink wink) we also went to Majestic Leamington Spa's Showcase Tasting.

If it was a competition Leamington would win weather wise as it was a dry sunny day, if a little windy.

Ready for our Leamington tasting

Everyone was very welcoming, staff and fellow tasters. We were greeted with a glass of Aperol Spritz made with equal parts Aperol and Prosecco topped up with soda water and finished with orange slices. It's a very refreshing drink that reminded me of our recent European holiday.

La Gioiosa Prosecco  - used in the
Aperol Spritz - £9.99

We tasted two rose and two white wines at their first tasting station. I recognised the first rose, we discovered this at a private tasting at Majestic Weston-Super-Mare in April 2018 as part of our Cuvée Reserve Wine Weekend. You can read about Zingo Malbec Rose in my previous blog post.

Zingo Malbec Rose - France - £7.49

Poste Resante Organic Tempranillo Rose was certainly eye catching, it's blue top and label contrasting with its bright rose colour. Plenty of strawberries, good acidity and a subtle fizz, although its finish could have been a little longer.

Poste Resante Organic Tempranillo
Spain - £7.49

I don't have a photograph of the first white wine we tasted, Domaine St Ferreol Grand Reserve Viognier. This southern French wine was quite pale in colour with a slightly oily texture. Its flavour was full of apricots and honeysuckle, medium bodied with a good finish. Mixed six price £15.99

Being a Sauvignon Blanc fan I was keen to try Last Batch from New Zealand. It had a nose of lemon sherbet which followed into the mouth with gooseberries and passion fruit. This was my favourite wine of the evening.

Last Batch Sauvignon Blanc - New Zealand - £6.99

The Leamington team had also supplied a variety of nibbles; salami, pate, crisps and cheese, again matching well with the wines and appreciated by all judging by the empty plates.

The red wines in the tasting included the Avior Malbec and Cimagoccia Governo Toscano which I have mentioned above.

My favourite red of the evening was Down the Lane Shiraz Tempranillo. I'm not a great fan of Tempranillo but this wine was delicious. A big hit of Shiraz with cherries and spice followed by the Tempranillo's fruitiness. It was quite light in tannins making it more suitable to my tastes, with a smooth finish.

Down the Lane Shiraz Tempranillo - £8.99

Thank you Majestic Leamington Spa for a lovely evening. The train journey was easy so we will be visiting again.

Which venue did I prefer ..... neither ..... both evenings were superb! Hubby and I are the winners as we now have two Majestic Wine stores just a train ride away!