Top 10 wines for Valentine's Day
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, IWSC have teamed up with Harden's restaurant guide to bring you our top 10 award-winning wines (and whiskies) to celebrate with - and don't miss the top six dos and don'ts this February 14
Cheval des Andes 2012
Deep dark red with garnet rim. Ample, ripe bouquet infused with spices, dried orange peel and enhanced by tarry oak aromas. The palate is massive, full bodied, concentrated, silky smooth and offers lavish, mellow flavours reminiscent of licorice, creamy texture and hugely seductive, leaving a long lasting after-taste. Seriously good and perfect to drink now.
Where to buy: Woodwinters Wines and Whiskies, £60
Aromas of red cherries, liquorice, anise with a hint of herbs and vanilla. On the palate, rounded full bodied with soft tannins and length and elegant finish.
Where to buy: Majestic Wine, £40
Lovely delicate pink with persistent slow fine mousse. Plenty of fruit and full of Pinot character, savoury strawberry aromas. These combine with beautiful yeasty autolytic notes of freshly baked bread. Zesty fresh acidity balances the rich apricot flavours. Elegant and long finish.
Where to buy: Just in Cases, £31.50
Pale yellow with greenish glints. Citrus peel, rising dough, crushed pistachio nuts on the nose. Beautifully dry in the mouth, the flavours are very long and elegant.
Where to buy: The Wine Society, £9.50
Champagne Piper-Heidsieck Rare 2002
Delicate and very persistent bubbles roll sensuously over the tongue revealing flavours of yellow plum, apple, with brioche, toasty savoury nuts. The palate is layered with a chalky texture. Remarkably fresh and youthful for age, will go on and on.
Where to buy: The Whisky Exchange, £145
Evolved rose gold colour with fine persistent small bubbles that burst on the nose with aromas of wild strawberry. A delicate and elegant wine with long finish and layers of complexity from yeasty almond Danish and brioche notes, intense but not heavy gives a light touch to the lengthy finish.
Where to buy: The Whisky Exchange, £162
Champagne Jeeper Grand Rosé Brut NV
Pale rose-salmon tinted with fine yet powerful bubbles, nose is delicate with apple fruit, fresh yeast and lovely dried flower accent. On the palate, vinous, textural depth and concentrated flavours, bracing acidity, hint of orange zest. Multi-layered wine.
Where to buy: The Champagne Collection, £55.20
Reif Estate Grand Reserve Vidal Icewine 2015
Lemon colour. Fragrant nose of burnt sugar and pineapples. Mouth watering acidity with lemon curd, caramel and candied apple. Long honeyed length.
Where to buy: Reif Estate Winery, $120
Fancy something stronger? Try a trophy-winning whisky…
Bunnahabhain 18 YO Single Malt Scotch Whisky
The aroma is firstly driven by a unique distillery character, which pairs with the oak to give foam penny banana sweets, ought hints of tobacco and some mint. the palate has some additional green veg, freshly steamed and just ‘al dente’ enough to retain flavour with the finish giving some seas salt and milk chocolate notes.
Where to buy: The Whisky Shop, £110
Dalmore Valour Single Highland Malt
Velvety notes of plums and damsons, with some quince jelly and a wholesome note of delicately smoked meats. The palate gives a richness of cookie dough, creme bruluee topping, more plums and some sour cherry. The finish adds a hint of spice and more cherry notes, this time sweet and fresh cherry.
Where to buy: Master of Malt, £63.90
The IWSC 2018 is now OPEN - enter now to be in with a chance of winning a gold medal this year. For more information or expert help, email info@iwsc.net.
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