Wines

Winelist page was last updated Monday September 19, 2011 at 4:34 pm

House dry 125 ml Bottle
Villa Moncaro Marche Bianco, Italy 2.95 14.95
A crisp, clean apple fresh wine which makes for very easy drinking.
Light and crisp
Marchesini Pinot Grigio, Italy 3.20 17.75
Classic Pinot Grigio with a touch of almond making an exceedingly quaffable vino.
Domaine de la Jousseliniere Muscadet sur Lie, France 17.95
A blast from the past - but this is groovy wine that deserves to be re-discovered. Like flares, for instance, or hot pants.
Tierra Sauvignon Blanc, Chile 3.45 18.95
This is herbaceous in style with a distinct nettley aroma: a fine demonstration of Sauvignon's varietal characteristics.
Tokara Sauvignon Blanc, South Africa 21.95
This is typical of the crisp, elegant minerality often associated with Cape Sauvignons, and is reminiscent of Sancerre rather than the more blousy style found elsewhere in the new world.
Terre Cortese Verdiccio, Italy 18.95
This is a light, fresh style of white with bright acidity and citrus flavours with aromatic grassy and nutty notes adding complexity.
Joseph Mellot Sancerre Les Collionettes, France 29.95
Crisp, clean and refreshing: an elegant and lean wine that avoids any harshness or austerity. This is just as God decreed.
Rounded but still clean
Kleine Zalze Chenin Blanc, South Africa 3.10 15.95
Bags of yellow tropical fruits leap out like gazelles from the bush. One step up from dry, but it never cloys.
Armidale Estate Hill Grove Unoaked Chardonnay, Australia 3.30 17.95
Good Chardonnay flavours which remain fresh throughout as a result of the absence of the old oak tree.
Pouilly-Fumé Cuvée du Tronsec, France 28.95
Massive gunflint on the nose, with a slightly citrus edge to the Sauvignon that keeps it fresh but rounded: an aristocrat.
Rich and full bodied
Tintara Horseshoe Row Chardonnay, Australia 3.30 17.95
A great big shaggy dog of a wine that licks you all over.
Chablis Lucien Tardieu, France 29.95
Tradional old-school Chablis - it's as French as Gérard Depardieu in a beret with a string of onions round his neck, pedaling his bicyclette home from the rugby having lost to Les Rosbifs.
Macon l'Aurore, France 19.95
Some less expensive white Burgundy can get a bit ponderous, but not this little number with its figure-hugging cloak of oak.
Maison Champy Pernand Vergelesses, France 44.95
A superior white Burgundy from a small organic estate. This wine has top end credentials, backed up by deliciously rich, buttery Chardonnay flavours. Totally on the money.
Aromatic
Etchart Privado Torrontes, Argentina 16.95
Juicy and fragrant. If I had but £20 left in the world, this is what I would do with it. Then I'd put the change on an accumulator at Lingfield so I could buy some more later.
Gavi di Gavi La Toledana, Italy 24.95
Delicate floral bouquet with green gooseberry and great texture - this is unoaked, fresh and minerally.
Rueda Analivia Verdejo Pagos del Rey, Rueda, Spain 18.95
A mouth-watering find from Spain with tropical fruits that don't cloy, with honeydew melon on the finish.
Raimat Alberino Vina 24, Costers del Segre, Spain 22.95
Alberino is all the rage these days, and this is a peach of a wine, showing delicate aromas of citrus, dried flowers and spice with a hint of sweet vanilla. The palate is well rounded and the finish refreshing.
J & H Selbach Riesling Hochgewachs, Germany 19.95
A gentle sweetness and a clean clip of acidity makes this a delicious aperitif and a wonderful partner to salmon and other oily fishy things.
Riverstone East Coast Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand 3.45 19.95
Classic Kiwi kit - gooseberries and nettles, with lots of elegant tropical fruit that just keeps going and going. Mouth-wateringly scrumptious, and excellent value.
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, New Zealand 39.95
The icon of New Zealand Sauvignons, this still sits at the pinnacle. Okay so it's expensive, but you might pop your clogs tomorrow.
Rosé wines
Ardesia Pinot Grigio Blush, Italy 3.20 16.95
A classic picnic wine, this has good raspberry overtones and is most agreeable. Great on a sunny day.
Vendage White Zinfandel, USA 3.20 16.95
Strawberries and cream in a glass.
Pudding wine
Chateau La Fleur Des Pins, Graves, France (1/2 btl) 6.00 17.95
Good, Sauternes-style desert wine, with oodles of honey and lemon.
Tokaji Aszu 1/4 btl, Hungary 18.95
This intriguing and beguiling wine is an intense honeyed mouthful with hints of orange marmalade and a kiss of ginger.

House Red 125 ml Bottle
Villa Moncaro Sangiovese Cabernet Sauvignon, Italy 2.95 14.95
A delightfully gluggable Italian charmer.
Light and fruity
Escale Pinot Noir, France 3.45 18.95
This all that a Pinot should aspire to: warm and loving with a good level of fruit that's had sun on its back. This has been given a little extra time on the vine to put on some rock and roll into the bottle.
Rufina Chianti Rosso, Italy 21.95
Very drinkable. This is Chianti as it used to be, before they started stuffing it with Merlot to sell to jam-loving Americans. With its easy-going nature, this is a quaff-meister.
Louis Jadot Cõte de Beaune Villages, France 34.95
The earthy nose of cherry and liquorice tells you this is proper kit - the subtlety of this fine Burgundy is a welcome relief from those interminable New World fruit-bombs. 'This is a sniper's rifle amongst a sea of howitzers and mortars' (JC).
Smooth and earthy
Aresti Cabernet Sauvignon, Chile 3.00 16.95
Fantastic value from Chile, this has good fruit, a supple body, and a lovely finish.
Chateau Lyonnat, St. Emilion, France 29.95
St. Emilion proudly flies the flag for merlot, stiffened by a breeze of cabernet sauvignon. See if you can catch a scent of cinnamon and summer pudding on the nose..
Solaguen Rioja Crianza, Spain 3.30 17.95
Soft in the mouth, this is warm and friendly and can be enjoyed with or without food, for dinner, lunch or breakfast.
Chateau Lamothe Bergeron Haut Medoc, France 39.95
Deep garnet red in colour with a complex bouquet of red fruit, cinnamon and vanilla. Soft and round on the palate with good concentration and an oaky aftertaste.
Merlot Vin de Pays d'Oc, J Moreau, France 3.10 16.95
This is a pub favourite, and slips down a treat. One bottle just isn't enough.
Chateau La Croix Du Duc, France 19.95
This has a leafy, bosky character. The balanced tannins leave the mouth feeling clean: this is best as a food wine, when it will shine.
Sierra Cantabria Reserva Rioja, Spain 33.95
Clear dark ruby colour, this has pleasant scents of black cherries and oaky vanilla, with good crisp fruit and sweet oak on the palate.
Warm and spicy
Mont Gras La Paz Merlot, Chile 2.95 17.75
Cherry and chocolate on the nose, with smooth dark fruit and currant flavours in the mouth.
Salice Salentino, 35 Parallelo, Puglia, Italy 17.25
A herby, stalky nose introduces a complex, hot wine that's not at all overbearing. Interesting stuff.
The Pavillion Shiraz Viognier, Boschendal, South Africa 18.95
This is the blend made famous by Cote Roti in the Rhone, and the boys in Boschendal make the wine sing in the glass. A gorgeous drop.
Tintara Horseshoe Row Shiraz, Australia 17.95
If the Starship Shiraz fell into a wormhole in the space/time continuum, this is how it would emerge at the other end, with all its bits re-arranged. This has a nose made of Eucalyptus leaves, with chocolate eyebrows, marzipan ears and a tongue fashioned from nutmeg.
La Scala Valpolicella, Italy 18.95
There is a red berry quality to this Italian stallion, which is alive and vibrant on the tongue.
Chateau Sainte Roche, France 19.95
A very friendly and approachable wine, this Rhone has a soft velvety mouth feel and a most accomodating manner.
Rich and plummy
Santa Ana Malbec, Argentina 2.90 15.95
A goucho with a bit of a swagger, this has chocolate, vanilla and blackcurrant, kept honest with soft tannins.
Peter Lehmann 'Art Series' Shiraz, Australia 3.40 19.50
This is typically Aussie Shiraz, wearing a high-vis jacket in a crowd of brown corduroy. Full, fruity and juicy, but avoiding any jamminess, this will set your pants on fire.
St Joseph Domaine Gaillard, France 34.95
A handsome wine with opulent, perfumed violets preceeding a supple tannic frame and rich dark fruit. Compared to all those shouty Australian reds jumping up and down and waving their arms about, this is a harmonious male voice choir.
Crasto Duoro, Portugal 21.95
Portugese wine can be a bit of a hooligan on the block, but this wine is all that you think it isn't going to be. Full bodied and slightly grunty, this is vibrant and muscular but it's not overbearing and has been known to help old ladies cross the road.
Champagne and sparkling wine
Baby Astoria Lounge Prosecco, Italy 6.95
200ml of fun. The number one Prosecco sold in restaurants across Italy.
Villa Domiziano Prosecco, Italy 18.95
Perfect Prosecco. A unanimous winner at a recent Prosecco tasting.
San T'Ousole Sparkling Pinot Grigio Rosé, Italy 19.95
This lovable Italian thoroughbred has the mereist lick of red grape that gives it a kiss of light blush. Dry, fresh and fruity, an all round well-balanced specimen.
Louis Dornier et fil Brut, Champagne, France 29.95
This is full and rounded, with flavours to savour. A real find for us.
Veuve Cliquot Yellow Label Brut, France 49.95
Fruit, finesse, style - a rich and dry Grand Marque.
Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque, France 120.00
The famous 'flower bottle' contains Perrier Jouet's most distinguished Champagne, a single year vintage ennobled by the patrician Chardonnay grapes from Cramant.