Award Winning Wines at Dunell's

We would like to keep you up to date with all the award winning wines we have here at Dunell's so whenever we receive notification that an award or special accolade has been achieved, it will be listed here.  This is your shortcut to purchasing special award winning wines.....

Starting with the most recent....

20.09.09 - Seghesio Zinfandel 'Sonoma County' 2007 - This wine made No.10 in the Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2008!  This is remarkable when you consider the company it shares on this list is generally associated with very low production and extremely high prices. The Sonoma Zinfandel is an outstanding value and consistently well-made wine. Wine Spectator rating - 93 points!


15.08.09 - Received notification from the lovely Despagne family that their Chateau Tour de Mirambeau Reserve Blanc 2008 has received 88/100 points from Wine Enthusiast and 4 Stars from Decanter.  Wine Enthusiast writes: 'Hugely herbaceous, this appeals now for its currant, green plum, pink grapefruit and lime character.  Otherwise, age for 2-3 years to soften the forward burst of freshness and bring out more subtle notes.'  Decanter wrote: 'The lively Despagne family are behind this white.  Aromatically pure, great freshness, and classic cut-grass and citrus expression of Sauvignon.'  Excellent write up we think and at £8.95 per bottle, it is great value too.  Click on the image to view more information and to purchase.


05.06.09 - Received an email from the lovely Mariela from Catena Winery, Argentina, to give us the following news:

Mariela wrote - 'I wanted to share with you the latest accolades given to Alamos Chardonnay 2008 by The Wine Gang (Anthony Rose, Tim Atkin, Johana Simon, Tom Cannavan, Olly Smith) - 'Catena Alamos Chardonnay 2008 - Top value from the house of Catena! Posh Burgundian nose with further Burgundian nuance on the palate.  It's deft and with well-judged oak and at seven quid one of the best examples of this style of mildly oaked Chardonnay with peachy crisp fruit. Fabulous with creamy fish dishes. Score 88/100 and One of this month's Bunch of Five Best Value Wines'  Click on the bottle image to see more details and to purchase!

Decanter World Wine Awards 2009
(We have only listed wines here that are currently available)

South African Pinot Noir over £10 Trophy

Bouchard Finlayson Galpin Peak, Pinot Noir 2008 @ £18.75 per bottle (Only currently available In-Store) Hemel-en-aarde Valley, Walker Bay, South Africa (Red - Still) Dunell's Comments: Now we're talking!  Wow, this is good.  Indeed, this is a much more expensive wine (£18-£20) but it is lovely in its league.  Firm but deliciously elegant. Fragrant rich with exuberant fruit and long lasting palate profile.  This is a stylish wine with lovely acidity, complexity and length.  Our favourite red of the tasting session!

South African Sweet over £10 Trophy

Paul Cluver Weisser Riesling Noble Late Harvest 2008 @ £9.95 per bottle (Click on the image) Elgin, South Africa (White - Sweet) Tim Atkin writing in The Observer Sun March 25 2007, he said: 'Yquem may occupy the pinnacle of the sweet-wine world, but there are lots of well-priced alternatives. Three of my current favourites, made from Riesling, Chenin Blanc and Muscat respectively, are the complex, apricot-scented Paul Cluver Weisser Riesling Noble Late Harvest, Elgin.  Not a bad thing to be considered the first alternative to Yquem! This wine shows dried apricot, spices and honey characters on the nose. The mouth feel is full and big and very balanced with a long lingering aftertaste. The sugar is very well balanced with the acidity and is not cloying. This wine will gain complexity after 2 to 5 years in the bottle.'

South African Chardonnay over £10 Trophy

Rustenberg Chardonnay 2007 @ £9.95 per bottle (Click on the image) Stellenbosch, South Africa (White - Still) Dunell's Comments: This wine has a complex array of flavours and aromas which are continuously changing as the wine spends more time in bottle. Currently the nose shows nuttiness and marzipan with underlying citrus (grapefruit, nartjie) and hints of white peach aromatics. A firm palate gives backbone to concentrated fruit and the richness of the wine. This wine will develop in bottle, leading to new nuances and flavours and continual drinking pleasure for years to come.

Sparkling UK over £10 Trophy

Hush Heath Estate Balfour Brut Rosé 2005 @ £35.95 per bottle (Click on the image) Kent, United Kingdom (Rose - Sparkling) Located near Tenterden in Kent, Hush Heath Estate is home to 400 acres of woodland, a five hundred year old Tudor house, countless apple trees (they also make fabulous apple juice) and some of the finest terroir outside Champagne for the holy trinity of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The estate's owner Richard Balfour-Lynn is the inspiration behind their single-minded pursuit of excellence in English Wine making. Hush Heath were thrilled to receive a gold medal for Balfour Brut 2004, their debut vintage, at the International Wine Challenge, the only English wine to win gold in 2008. Characteristically pale and elegant with fine mousse and good persistence. The palate boasts soft, delicate red fruit flavours leading to a crisp, dry and focused finish.

Gold Awards

Avignonesi 2005 @ £16.25 per bottle (currently only available in-store) Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano, Tuscany, Italy (Red - Still) Made from Prugnolo Gentile, Canaiolo Nero and Mammolino grapes this wine is aged in oak barrels for 24 months and then refined in bottle for a further 6 months.  Vino Nobile is garnet red in colour; its bouquet is delicate and intense, with a slight scent of violet; the taste is dry with a hint of tannic.  This important wine is ideal with roast and grilled meat, game and mature cheeses.

Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage Rosé 2003 @ £39.95 per bottle (Click on the image) Champagne, France (Rose - Sparkling)  A superbly crafted vintage Champagne with luxurious honey and yeast flavours with just a touch of spice on its long, elegant finish. Though Moët's NV can be seen in just about every country in the world, it is with their vintage expression that this great house founded its quality reputation. Fresh white fruits such as peach and pear appear on the nose along with dried fruits, hints of toast and malt notes.The palate is inviting and firm with ample and fleshy fruitiness. This generosity grows, stretching to caramelised and almost mineralised citrus fruits.After hand-picking, the grapes were pressed very gently - only the best juice from the first pressing was used. Grapes from different 'crus' were pressed and fermented in stainless steel tanks separately to imbue complexity to the final blend. After malolactic fermentation, the vats were blended and bottled to undergo secondary fermentation. Aged for 4-5 years on the lees before disgorging.

Silver Awards

Alamos Seleccion Malbec 2008 @ £6.95 per bottle (Click on the image) La Consulta, Mendoza, Argentina (Red - Still) The Alamos Malbec has a deep, dark violet color with blackish inky tones. The nose offers rich blackberry aromas with light notes of violets and vanilla. The mouthfeel is full yet soft, with ripe, concentrated dark berry fruit flavors and a touch of sweet spice from light oak aging. This finish is long and lingering, with sweet, inviting tannins.

Bruno Paillard Rosé Premiere Cuvée NV @ £48.95 per bottle (Please call for details) Champagne, France (Rose - Sparkling) A delicate, elegant copper-pink Champagne with subtle Pinot Noir redcurrant and cherry fruit balanced by some creamy, citrussy Chardonnay - all of which is carried by a soft, refined mousse.

Cave de Ribeauvillé Riesling Grand Cru Osterberg 2007 @ £19.95 per bottle (only available in-store) Alsace, France (White - Still) At a recent tasting in the UK it was noted that this wine was complex with Lemons, oranges, musk and white flowers. Incredibly elegant, structured and long, long finish. Super concentration. The lower sugar level in this wine means it’s great with food and will age well.

more to follow....(last updated 17.07.09)

Matthew Jukes Top 100 Australian Wines - http://www.matthewjukes.com/

Matthew Jukes is wine correspondent of the Daily Mail and is read each week by over 9 million readers. He has won The International Wine and Spirit Competition’s Trophy for Communicator of the Year, writes best selling wine guides in the UK and Australia, as well as being a wine buyer and internationally respected wine judge.

He recently announced his Top 100 Best Austalian Wines and we are delighted to stock two of them as follows:

  2008 The White Mullett by Pikes, Clare Valley, SA @ £7.45 per bottle
'Just to show that the South Africans aren’t the only people in the wine world to make ‘something out of nothing white blends’ so successfully, Pikes Mullet is a Riesling/ Viognier/ Sauvignon Blanc/ Chenin Blanc blend which confounds the sceptics and defies belief by tasting incredibly complex, as it should do, but also downright delicious at the same time (which most don’t). Mullets all round please. Importer: Seckford Wine Agencies; Stockists: Thresher Group; Dunells, Jersey; Noel Young, Cambridge'

 2007 Ten Minutes by Tractor, 10X Pinot Noir, Mornington Peninsula, Vic @ £18.95 per bottle
'With showy (almost slutty) fruit intensity and a ‘near-Barbera-like’ palate, 10X is about as boisterous and marauding as this variety has ever been. Welcome this frat-house Pinot with open arms though,  as long as you invite its sage uncle, 2006 McCutcheon Vineyard Pinot Noir as a chaperone. You will then see that TMbT has got all of the bases covered for this awesome grape.'

March 2009 - Decanter Magazine Tastings

  Rustenberg 'Brampton' Shiraz 2006 - 3 Star *** Recommended - 'Cigar box and sandalwood.  Big dollop of oak and black plum.  Correlation between aromas and palate.  Very good.  From 2010.  Click on image for more details and to purchase. £8.95 per bottle.

Glen Carlou Syrah, Paarl 2005 (Only available in-store at present) - 3 Star *** Recommended - 'Rich, ripe, velvety, blackberry crumble.  Same on palate, plus juicy, complex flavours of matured fruit and oak.  Drink up.  From 2009.' £11.95 per bottle.


February 2009 - Decanter Magazine lists their Top 50 Best Value Reds under £10

One of our wines was listed here, the St Hallett Gamekeeper's Reserve 2007 from the Barossa Valley, South Australia.  Sarah Jane Evans MW (wine editor of BBC Good Food Magazine) wrote 'Anything that has Touriga Nacional in it - even if only 4% - wins my vote, with its lifted violet aromas.  Ripe blackberry ffruit with an undertow of smoke and tar.' 

Click here to for more information and to purchase >>>

February 2009 - Decanter Magazine - Article on Paul Jaboulet Wines, Burgundy

Here it was noted that the 2005 La Chapelle, Hermitage from Paul Jaboulet Aine was awarded 5 Decanter Stars. We currently have 6 bottles of this wine available in-store only @ £99.95 per bottle ......'An oily, mulled-fruit aroma that is broad and entrenched.  There is some black-pepper snap, while the mix of cherry and blackberry sits securely on the palate and delivers a long thrust, with some power and a little punch around it.  It keeps going well, and provides Rhone guts, with live and quite punchy tannins that do not obstruct.  The tannins need a little time.  It has the fruit of the east end of the applelation but some noble lacing, and an extra tannic, granite grip as well.  2011-2030.'

AWARD WINNERS

Niepoort Drink Me 2006 (Portuguese Red) @ £9.95 per bottle
AVAILABLE IN-STORE ONLY

..."Blueberries and sweet vanilla oak. Very youthful. Round, smooth, velbety. Fantastic bright fruit character and long, spicy finish." 3 stars, Decanter Magazine. 

 
Taltarni Brut 2006 - (Australian Sparkling) @ £9.95 per bottle
AVAILABLE IN-STORE AND ONLINE


94 Points & 4,5 Stars - “Best value sparkling” - The Penguin Good Australian Wine Guide 2009 by Nick Stock
92 Points - Tyson Stelzer, Wine Business Monthly, May 2008
4 Stars - Winestate, Central & Western Victoria, Mar/Apr 08

Taltarni Brut Taché 2006 (Australian Rosé Sparkling) @ £9.95 per bottle
AVAILABLE IN-STORE AND ONLINE


Gold Medal - Royal Brisbane Wine Show 2008 - Epicure Wine Guide 
90 Points - James Halliday Wine Companion 2009
93 Points - Tyson Stelzer, Wine Business Monthly, May 2008

Wine Spectator’s 2008 Top 100

We have 6 wines available that were listed in The Wine Spectator's Top 100 of 2008.  Details as follows:

Rank 2 (97 Points) - Château Rauzan-Ségla 2005 - Only available In-Store.  We have limited stock of this wine -  £58.95 per bottle.