Chateau Musar 1999 Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

This beauty was my ‘Friday night’ tipple and I must admit it’s an interesting wine. I was about to go for my normal ‘claret with steak’ choice but then spotted this Lebanese treasure. It’s a cabernet sauvignon blend with the fruit grown in a baking hot climate and this really comes through on the palate – baked fruit that with bottle age have started to develop secondary, dried fruit characteristics.

It has some pretty chewy tannins so the first sip or two we had while preparing the food were quite rough. Then the amazing thing happened – which is why food and wine matching is so much fun – the wine when taken with the food (steak, roast potatoes, a green salad) became soft and smooth. The baked fruit flavours and slightly rustic palate worked in great harmony with the not too heavily seasoned food. I really recommend giving this red a try but do remember that it is currently about eight years old and definitely needs decanting before serving as there is a quite heavy sediment in the bottle. Stockist: Waitrose, Majestic, Systembolaget £14

Australian roundup

Below are a few Aussie wines I had at recent tasting that I thought worthy of a mention. Australian wine is often associated with discounts and bargains. However, while the cheapies can be a decent glass of wine, if there is a price range that really represents good value it's Aussie wines between the £8 to £15 mark. Here you find some really characterful and individual wines, which is a lot harder to find in say Bordeaux or Burgundy in the same price range.

d'Arenberg The Galvo Garage 2003
A fabulous red with a ripe and intense nose, and a spicy and an earthy palate – really should be drinking this one more often… Stockist: Oddbins, Waitrose £11.99

The Fergus 2004, Tim Adams
This intense red has been a favourite since I first tasted it about two years ago. It’s minty and plummy with a good grip and is quite a mouthful! Stockist: Tesco, Systembolaget £10.99

Climbing Merlot, Orange, New South Wales
Great clean and fresh Merlot boasting some excellent refreshing berry fruit flavours! Stockist: Majestic £8.99

Philip Shaw No.11 Chardonnay 2005
Ok, it’s a bit pricy I admit that but it has some really lovely, clean Chardonnay fruit with subtle and well integrated oak – it’s a big wine yet very elegant and offers some real finesse! Stockist: Tesco £15.99

Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling 2006, Clare Valley
This is an excellent dry and fruity Riesling – pear, citrus and a bit of apple with a seriously mouth watering finish. Keep it for a year and it will show some complexity or enjoy it now while young and fresh! Stockist: Oddbins, Virgin Wines £9.99

Rose of Virginia 2006, Charles Melton, Barossa Valley
Australia is famous for putting bubbles into red wine and it’s a bit of a strange sensation the first time you try a sparkling red. I really liked this one because it was not as heavy, sweet and monstrous as some of them are – this was more feminine with nice bubbles and a delicate and soft palate of cherry and berry fruit. Enjoy it chilled! Stockist: australianwinesonline.co.uk £12.30

Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, Pian delle Vigne, Antinori 2000, Italy

When drinking this wine with a big juicy steak last Friday it made me think of a Spanish proverb ‘good wine ruins the purse; bad wine ruins the stomach’. Now, thanks to Neil and Laure this one didn’t put too much strain on my purse, which may have made it taste even better. However, I doubt that the seductive nose or the dark cherry palate with big, yet soft tannins, and refreshing acidity could get much better, besides perhaps a few more years of bottle age – the fruit, tannins and acidity will definitely survive another five years (in wine lingo this means good quality!). This brilliant beverage that will get many Linda points can be found at BWC Berkmann Wine Cellars, London N7 (020 7609 4711), around £25.

Danie de Wet Earth & Sky 2006 Chardonnay, Robertson, South Africa

Crisp, fresh with a modest price tag (£6.99) and just a bit too easy to drink – a very promising candidate for becoming this year’s picnic wine! While we wait for warmer weather though, let this South African gem made from pure chardonnay and no oak whatsoever wake up your tastebuds.

With this wine and its citrus and apple fruit I am thinking more in line with Chablis than ripe New World chardonnay, and although I don’t particularly like comparing regions, it really does have that crisp and slightly minerally style. I had it on its own before dinner, which was great but I could see it being a great match to shellfish. Stockist: Waitrosewine.com

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

During Christmas I had a discussion about Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the ins and outs of how to buy this sometimes delicious and sometimes very disappointing red wine. There are a lot of Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines out there and they are usually quite expensive, even the less good ones.

Decanter Magazine (decanter.com) has a really good article in their February issue (in shops now) and I recommend getting a copy for some good advice on which Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines to go for. The review is of the 2004 vintage, which in most cases is a bit too young for drinking now (you still can just make sure you decant the wine for an hour or so before serving). However, the Decanter review is a good guide to which producers to go for to minimize disappointment. As always – let me know what you are drinking!

Beautiful Burgundy

Went to a Burgundy tasting yesterday and here is the deal. When we go to a restaurant we easily spend £25-£30 on an average bottle of wine, right? Nice food, half-ass wine. Now, I propose that the next time you make a really nice dinner at home (and I know a lot of you enjoy cooking) spend on wine in a shop what you would have spent in a restaurant, and if you like to taste real, sensual, mouth-watering and deceivingly delicious Pinot Noir try one of the two below (about £30 each). A male friend once described a really nice white Burgundy as a ‘Burgundy wet dream’, as I am a woman I can’t really use that expression but if I could I’d say these two reds are damn close. Enjoy!

Beaune Premier Cru, Clos des Mouches 2003 Joseph Drouhin (red): Fabulous aromatic, warm and sexy pinot nose! Brilliant – good acidity, bit of tannin and nice berry and sour cherry flavours. Good length – the pinot fruit lingers and lingers. Stockists: waitrosewine.com, Justerini & Brooks –justerinis.com, systembolaget.se

Pommard, Les Petits Noizons 2005 Domaine de la Vougeraie (red): Enticing, lovely nose. Quite a big pinot yet gentle on the palate – sexy and silky! It has good fruit and a just a tad of farmyardy notes on the finish, kind of giving a hint about how it will develop with a few years of bottle age. Stockists: Berry Bros & Rudd – bbr.com, waitrosewine.com

Château de Seguin 2004, Bordeaux, France

This great little wine (thanks Inge) was enjoyed with a lovely green peppercorn stew at a recent dinner back in Sweden. Mom and dad (who really enjoyed it), you can find it at systembolaget for 89 Swedish crowns (nr 3958). For those of you in the UK looking for a good drop of Bordeaux at a decent price this one is stocked by frenchwinepeople.co.uk. Another favourite inexpensive Bordeaux is Château Segonzac 2004 Premières Côtes de Blaye stocked by waitrosewine.com. It’s a lovely, full-bodied red with a nice plummy palate and a good grip. Both are good food wines matching red meat dishes or, for my vegetarian friends, perhaps try it with a hearty bean stew.