Category: Wine Reviews

  • Monsigny Champagne No III

    Monsigny Champagne No III Brut (Aldi) Review

    When we heard Aldi were releasing more of the Monsigny Champagne, we had to get a bottle and see if it still lives up to the hype. Aldi have a reputation of selecting wonderful cheap, and very affordable, champagnes. Around holiday periods, they'll often put a lot of thought into finding a good champagne for bulk purchase, so when they went for Monsigny Champagne again, we decided we had to get a crate in the FineWineMaster office and see if it still lives up to the hype. Continue reading

  • Wine tasting

    Everyman’s Guide to Wine Tasting

    Swirl the wine, smell it, and taste it! That’s what all sommeliers do. So what’s the big fuss, right? Well, not exactly. There is a bit more than just that. Luckily you got us to help you learn how to taste wine the right way.

    That doesn’t mean you will become a master wine taster overnight. But you will be able to build a solid foundation on which you can later build and refine your newly acquired taste for wine. Continue reading

  • Château Musar Gaston Hochar Thumbnail

    Château Musar Gaston Hochar Review

    Founded in the 1930s, Gaston Hochar spent time in the Bordeaux region, where he refined his wine making abilities, and often leads to comparisons with the Château Musar wines being compared to Bordeaux or Burgundy wines - and we can definitely see why.

    While the wine is made from a variety of grapes each year (Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsault forming the main grapes, with Carignan and Granache filling the remnant), this wine is far more than a simple blend. However, this does mean that there is both significant bottle variation and strong ageing potential - although the price tag might make this hard to stomach, we’d recommend buying a crate if you’re able to and enjoying them over time... Continue reading

  • Porta 6 Lisboa Thumbnail

    Porta 6 Lisboa Review

    James Martin, famous celebrity chef and wine aficionado, recently caused a “rush” on the Porta 6 during a televised interview while extolling the virtues of the wine. As a famous British chef, we figured that his expertise was worth heeding, so we decided to place an order for the Porta 6 and see for ourselves what all of the fuss was about... Continue reading

  • Rustenberg RM Nicholson Stellenbosch Label

    Rustenberg RM Nicholson Stellenbosch Review

    With a dusty, almost incense-like quality to the smell, the wine exhibits some of the classics of the Stellenbosch terroir, displaying mineral notes (less common in reds by tradition than their white counterparts) such as graphite. Well balanced tannins combine with a slight acidic quality to produce a versatile wine almost reminiscent of a mild, less fruity, Malbec. The juices stride proudly through the tasting notes and push forward the fruity profile of the wine as the mineral notes begin to fade away to give rise to the true underlying flavor profiles... Continue reading