Here are five particularly delicious wines with which to celebrate and spoil your mother on Mother’s Day.
2011 Moscato d’Asti, Nivole, Chiarlo, Piemonte, Italy (£6.99, half bottle, Booths Supermarkets). At only 5% alcohol, this feather-weight, sparkling sweet wine is the cutest and most innocent wine of the week. With pristine grapey, juicy fruit and a delightful prickle on the palate, Nivole is one of my favourite moscatos of all and it is incredible with fruity or chocolate-based puddings.
2010 Saint Clair Premium Merlot, Marlborough, New Zealand (£11.99-£12.99, www.nzhouseofwine.co.uk, Hanslope Wines tel. 01908 510 262). I have a wonderful pair of wines this week to compare to each other. This delicious, silky, red berry and plum-drenched merlot from New Zealand is a pretender to the Bordeaux throne and it does a stunning job, too. Merlot is a tricky grape and this is one of the most sumptuous around.
2008 Saint-Emilion, Christian Moueix, Bordeaux, France (£12.99, Marks & Spencer). This brand new wine admittedly has a dull label, but there are two very important words on it – Christian Moueix. Made from 85% merlot and 15% cabernet franc by the aforementioned superstar winemaker this is one of the most elegant and classic wines of the moment. And it’s a great foil to the Saint Clair!
2010 Mâcon, Terroir de Charnay, Domaine Cordier, Burgundy, France (£10.99, reduced to £9.99, if you buy two bottles, until 23 April, Majestic). Cordier is a very talented winemaker and 2010 is a spectacular vintage for this incredibly suave chardonnay. Silky, rich, lusty and layered, this is an extremely posh flavour for a sub-tenner price. Hurry – it will sell out fast.
2010 St. Hallett, Poacher’s Blend, Barossa Valley, South Australia (£7.79, reduced to £4.99, until 10 April, Waitrose). This offer starts on Wednesday, so mark it in your diary! Poacher’s is a delicious, intriguing blend of semillon, sauvignon blanc and riesling and it is a wondrous, hugely talented food matching concoction of pear, lime and apple fruit tones.
