| You will note that all the wines below are fully annotated. I hope that this helps you in making an informed and enjoyable choice, and perhaps tempts you into trying something unfamiliar – very often, you will encounter better value and quality by not focusing overmuch on the ‘classic’ areas or varietals – by trying something different, I hope you have a more rewarding experience.
Please also note that we strive to avoid vintage changes, but wine merchants-and I am on close, friendly terms with all of our suppliers-will frequently change vintages without consultation or even notice: annoying, maddening even, but a fact of life for the average restaurateur. I merely comment that, fortunately, vintage variations are far less marked than in the past (not a cop-out but plain fact-better wine-making, better hygiene, better transport and storage all help) and that when a substitution is sneaked past us, I will always taste to ensure some stylistic consistency with my tasting notes: if there is a marked difference, I will either have reprinted the list by the time the change gets to you, or, when dramatic, simply de-list the wine in question. However, it is always worth remembering that only the tiniest fraction of the wine produced in the world is designed for the long haul: so far as most of our whites, and many of our reds are concerned younger is better-the exceptions are, sorry to say, the more expensive reds, the white Riojas, the Torres Sauvignon, etc.
Lee Hulbert, Oct. ‘09
N.B. All wines by the glass are 175ml; sparkling wines, dessert wines and sherries 125ml.
SEE OUR DESSERT MENU FOR OUR FEATURED DESSERT WINES
Wines by the glass (see the main list for a fuller description) |
| Whites |
|
| 1. House white |
£3.35 |
| 6. Blanco Flor 2008 - soft, full yet gentle and dry, hint of aniseed |
£4.40 |
| 8. Vall Maijo, 2007 - full, ripe, aromatic |
£4.50 |
| 9. Crego e Monaguillo 2008 - fresh, gentle, tropical fruits |
£4.65 |
| 10. Peregrino Verdejo 2007 - full, New World Sauvignon style |
£4.95 |
| 60.
Mescahe Blanco 2007 - rose-spicy, lime-y freshness |
£5.00 |
| Red |
|
| 2. House red |
£3.35 |
| 20. Rioja Tinto, Navajas 2007 - vanilla, strawberries, gentle oak |
£4.70 |
| 25. Mencia Alma De Tinto 2007 - black cherry, zesty, lighter style red |
£4.65 |
| 27. Damana 5, Ribera del Duero, 2007 - plush, rich, elegant |
£5.95 |
| 28. Gandesa 2006 - smoky dark fruit, herbs, liquorice |
£4.25 |
| 29. Marques De Aragon 2007 - fruit-driven , easy drinking |
£3.95 |
| Rosé |
|
| 19. Orvalaiz
Rosado 2008 - clean, raspberry-scented, gulpable! |
£3.75 |
| Vinos
|
| Vinos de la casa – House wines |
1. WHITE - Somada Verdejo de Castilla 2008
Lovely zippy, fresh, green, Sauvignon-like Verdejo from Castille - fragrant and great value
|
£12.95/£3.35 glass |
| 2. RED - Valdecaz, n/v Vino De La Tierra De Castilla
I never rave about house wines, generally bought to meet a price point and settling for a generally-acceptable blandness, but this rocks! Essentially de-classifed Toro (vines too recently planted to qualify for D.O. status) this is an explosion of dark fruits with an edge of liquorice on the finish and is fabulously balanced with fruit, soft tannins and acidity all in equilibrium – just incredibly drinkable! |
£12.95/£3.35 glass |
| Vinos Espumosos |
3. Vera De Estenas, Cava Brut Nature, n/v
Produced in Utiel according to the “traditional” method (nearly all Cava comes from much further north, in Catalunya) this is an elegant, delicate fizz, with citrus and brioche notes and a really delightful, soft mouth-feel, so different to the swingeing acidity of most Cava: the cynic in me suggests that this is because these guys have decently ripened, high-quality fruit to start with. Brilliant as an aperitif and all-round good time wine!
|
£26.00 |
| 4. Jean - Noel Haton Classic Brut n/v
This is well balanced, has a delicate mousse and lots of fruit, not rich but elegant and complex champagne that is ideal as an aperitif, but has enough weight to acccompany seafood.
|
£49.50 |
| 5. Jean - Noel Haton Extra Rose n/v
Very fine rosé champagne, bursting with black cherry and raspberry fruit, full bodied with a nose of freshly baked brioche and a juicy, mellifluous mouthfeel.
|
£69.00 |
| Vinos Blancos |
| 6. Vera De Estenas, Blanco Flor, 2008
Soft, peachily rounded yet dry white from Utiel, 90% Macabeo with a really characterful quality, fresh and lively with just a hint of aniseed on the finish, perfect when you want a low-acid but well-fruited dry white that just tastes of, err, wine…
|
£16.75/£4.40 glass |
| 7. Irius Absum Gewürztraminer/Chardonnay/Pinot Noir 2006
Delightfully quirky blend from Somontano, the three varietals cold-fermented separately then assembled for just three months in new French oak, this a pale straw coloured number with a minerally nose that recalls Friuli, but with an arresting floral/lychee note from the Gewürz., a certain voluptuousness from the Chardonnay and some red-fruit backbone from the Pinot. One of my beloved “different but very good SO TRY IT!” squad. |
£26.40 |
| 8. Vall Maijo Cellar Batea, 2007
95% Garnatxa Blanca, 5% Muscat, clean as a whistle on the nose with a fresh, floral scent from the Muscat, good ripe mouth-feel, interesting spearminty note on the finish combined with fresh, sherbetty acidity. Good choice with seafood or, indeed, with nothing at all! |
£18.00/£4.50 glass |
| 9. Crego e Monaguillo, 2008
From Monterrei in Galicia, a fresh, gentle young white with an intriguing fruit-stone character on the nose, but a beautifully balanced soft yet refreshing acidity and discreet tropical fruit – guava, papaya – on the finish. |
£18.95 /£4.65 glass |
10. Peregrino Verdejo, Castilla-Leon, 2007
Wildly pungent, bracing Verdejo from Leon in central – northwest Spain. A riot of fragrant greengage fruit with a beautifully full mouth-feel yet restrained lime-zesty acidity – brilliant, clean, modern Spanish dry white wine, with a pointed similarity to a high-class Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc |
£19.50/£4.95 glass |
11. Albarino, San Campio, Terras Gaudas, 2008
Made from the rare Albarino grape, possibly related to Riesling, but effectively native to Galicia, this is a terrific example, fragrant, exotically perfumed with generous peach, apricot and spice scents and a soft easy mouth-feel. A favourite of ours for drinking without, or with subtle fish and seafood plates. |
£29.00 |
12. Nerola Blanco, Catalunya, 2006
Old vine Garnacha Blanca and Xarel-lo, this is redolent of nothing so much as a top class Northern Italian white: dry, but rounded and almost indefinably vinous. It displays great equilibrium, a thrilling balance of voluptuousness and great freshness, gently spicy on the nose and with a whole bowl full of citrus and orchard fruits on the palate, followed by the merest note of fennel on the finish. Modern wine-making can produce too many bland, anodyne, cookie-cutter whites-or it can transform hitherto pedestrian grapes and production areas beyond all recognition: this is firmly in the latter camp |
£22.00 |
13 Rioja Blanco, Finca Allende,2005
Highly impressive white Rioja,, 60% Viura and 40% Malvasia (with the latter adding a wonderful silken softness and a jasmine – and – honey aroma) aged for just three months in second year French oak, exceptional, polished, elegant wine making |
£39.95 |
14. Torres Fransola Sauvignon Blanc, 2007
Fascinating, big-framed, complex Sauvignon, barrel fermented but with the oak so carefully integrated that it serves only to add a suggestion of roundness with no clumsy heft-firm, ripe, herbal-spicy (mint, green peppercorns and grapefruit zest) with a silky, almost creamy overlay and the most mouthwatering white peach finish: better than many a Cru Classé Bordeaux Blanc Sec at several times the price. |
£32.75 |
15. Guitian, Godello de Valdeorras, 2007
Another Gallego wine, this time from further south in Valdeorras, and produced from the even more obscure Godello grape. This is a real cult wine in Spain, and we count ourselves extremely fortunate to be given an annual allocation of 15 cases! Palest yellow, the nose explodes with an almost effervescent zippiness leading to the mouth-watering palate of brown sugar sprinkled pink grapefruit. I promise I’m not trying to parody Jilly Goolden, this is just the most gulpable, refreshing white around. Don’t worry about what to drink it with, just drink … |
£28.25 |
16. Castillo De San Diego, 2007, Antonio Barbadillo
Deliciously straightforward, 100% Palomino from Andalucia, steely dry, almost austere but beautifully balanced, a delicate walnutty creaminess on the finish to counterpoint the lovely floral/citrus front palate, lemon zest and perhaps jasmine on the nose, just an outstanding aperitif, and very good with seafood – in Cadiz, its home town, you’ll see this thrown back by the bucket load with the best prawns and whitebait in the world (because, refreshigly these days, it’s only 11% alcohol, wonderful for those long summer lunches…) |
£15.00 |
17. Ameztoi, Getariako Txakolina, 2008
Included partly because I’d like to hear you pronounce it! Really Chacoli (cha-ko-lee for the remedial class) is the Basque country’s quintessential accompaniment to tapas. Bracing, almost shocking green – apple sour – sweetness, palate cleansing acidity of the most invigorating kind and a hint of spritzy bubbles (entirely intentional) this and our Manzanilla would be my desert island choices to have with tapas on a summer’s day – or to recreate that feeling on a grey December evening.
|
£19.90 |
60. Mesache, Bodega Pirineos,
2007
Fascinating blend of late-harvest Macabeo, Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer from Somontano, just south of the Pyrenees. Intense buttercup yellow, penetrating notes of spice and mango, a dash of limey freshness and a heady, delightful rose scent at the finish. Really lively, indeed invigorating apertif, but certainly enough sustance to be great with seafood, arroz a banda, chicken and vegetarian dishes. |
£19.95
/ £5.00 glass |
61 - Naia, Bodegas Naia, Verdejo De Rueda, 2008
The great asset of Rueda Verdejo is its assertive, intensely aromatic, “in your face” character: its disadvantage is that this is frequently overdone, resulting in a pastiche of a green, acidic, cat’s pee Loire Valley Sauvignon. Here, the combination of battonage (stirring the resting wine on its yeasty lees) and the judicious addition of a few new oak staves to the stainless steel fermenting tanks result in a big, mouthfilling white which is a beautiful amalgam of fresh, May-blossomy aromatics, vanilla, almonds and a touch guava on the palate and a ripe, super-smooth mouth feel. Lovely stuff which carries its weight with grace and balance. |
£27.30 |
| Vinos
Rosados |
18. Alquézar Tempranillo - Gamacha Rosado, Somontano 2008
A blend of Spain's two most widely-grown red varietals, really intense fuchsia pink, truly enticing toffee or butterscotch nose but wonderfully full, spicy, strawberry/raspberry fruit on the palate. A properly flavoursome rosé, voluptuous and mouth-fillingly delicious. |
£16.00 |
19. Orvalaiz Cabernet Sauvignon Rosado, 2008
Clean, raspberry-scented rosé, well balanced, light, full of fruit but dry and so easy to quaff!
|
£14.50/£3.75 glass |
69.Rioja Rosado, Bodegas Muga, 2008
Lusciously salmon pink, lively and crisp (unusually for Rioja rosé, this has 30% Viura, a white grape) yet with a good deal of fruit – red apples, passion-fruit and fresh citrus, a tiny touch of honey, even, rounding things out. Gourgeous summer drinking.
|
£19.50 |
| Vinos
Tintos |
20. Rioja Tinto, Bodegas Navajas, 2007
I’ve always liked the expression “does what it says on the tin”: a bit bluff, a bit blokey, but you know where you stand. This archetypal young Rioja is all gentle strawberry and vanilla fruit, just enough oak, soft enveloping tannins, a little lively rosehip note on the finish and so, being totally typical of what it’s meant to be…does what it says on the tin. |
£18.00/£4.70 glass |
21.Viña Marro, Rioja Vendimia Seleccionada, 2005
Focused, modern wine- making, effectively a semi-crianza, spending half the time in oak (60% new French oak, however) of a regular crianza, and all the better for it: beautiful aromas of warm brioche or croissant from the gentle use of wood, a core of really intense liquoricy, brambly fruit and a heady spiciness on the finish. |
£23.00 |
22. Paso a Paso, Tinto De La Mancha, 2006
100% Tempranillo from La Mancha, amazing, spice – laden nose: I was instantly and powerfully reminded of, not just cinammon, but of cinammon chewing gum! Spices continue on the palate, accompanied by copious amounts of dark, hefty fruit and some serious, but well-knit tannins. Great chewy red with grills, braises, game. |
£23.40 |
23. Carchelo, Bodegas Carchelo, Jumilla, 2008
A blend of 40% Monastrell with Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a lush amalgam of sweetly herbal/spicy palate with a beguiling nose of softly ripe black cherry and raspberry notes with a lovely purity enhanced, but not masked, by two months in French oak. Not at all hefty, wears its 14% alcohol lightly, just a totally charming, elegant red.
|
£23.00 |
24. Allende Tinto, Rioja, 2004
The humble appellation belies the quality of this exceptional wine from perhaps the most impressive producer currently working in Rioja. 100% Tempranillo , aged in predominantly French oak (unusual in Rioja) for thirteen months, this has firm but silky tannins balanced by great depth of cigar-box spiciness and eucalyptus, a twist of liquorice, tremendously persistent dark, plangent fruit, elegance and length. A great personal favourite, drink with grilled or roasted meats, game, pierna de cordero, cochinillo, etc.
|
£39.95 |
25. Mencia Alma De Tinto, Adegas Pazo Das Tapias, 2007 –
Pungently fruity young red, black-cherry juicy with well-tuned balancing acidity and gentle tannins, made from the Mencia grape, indigenous to the Monterrei area. Mencia was once thought to be a clone of Cabernet Franc, and this certainly has the same silky, easy structure, and a certain slaty minerality of a good Chinon or Bourgeuil. Spain produces many excellent reds, but they do tend to a certain heftiness: this is a lighter, more delicate and, perhaps, more food-friendly style, just great lunchtime-and summertime-drinking. At the risk of banging my head against the wall of British intransigence, PUT IT ON ICE FOR TEN MINUTES (please…)
|
£18.50/£4.65 glass |
26. Masdeu, Collita, Montsant, 2007
Since Priorat – admittedly on the back of some pretty wonderful wines – has become this month’s participant in the ‘Mr Parker-thinks-we’re-wonderful-so-let’s-rip-everybody-off’ game this, from the neighbouring appellation of Montsant, is as close as you’ll find to a good-value Priorat. A Garnacha/Cariñena blend, spending 12 months in barrique, this is all oozy prunes, figs walnuts and a certain old-fashioned medicinal quality on the nose with a long, full, coffee-and-herbal palate: robust, rustic, outstanding. |
£33.00 |
27. Damana 5, Ribera Del Duero, Cosecha, 2007
Plush, fruit packed young offering from the Ribera del Duero, only 5 months in a mixture of new French and American oak, beautifully pure Tempranillo fruit – wild strawberries, blueberries – with a dark, glowering intensity from the firm, well-balanced tannins (beefed up by 5% Cabernet) on the finish. Outstanding young Ribera that pulls off the difficult trick of balancing ripe, accessible fruit with a structure of tannin and acidity with great verve. |
£24.85/£5.95 glass |
28. Grandesa Tinto Joven, Terra Alta, 2006
80% Tempranillo/20% Garnacha blend from Catalunya’s southernmost vineyards, smoky dark fruit, notes of garrigue herbs, liquorice, well-knit tannins –really good value. |
£16.00/£4.25 glass |
29. Marques de Aragon Garnacha, Calatayud, 2007
Dense, smokey Grenache from this little-known appellation in Aragon, robust cherry jam, cinnamon and nutmeg notes with a soft, round finish – eminently drinkable. |
£14.60/£3.95 glass |
30. Taurus Roble, Bodegas Marco Real, Toro, 2004
Distincly meaty/yeast extract nose (possibly just indicating great suggestibility on my part as this emanates from Toro, but I don’t think so…), really dense, chunky, fruit packed palate - think figs, damsons, brambles – soft tannins, dense, chewy almost. As it opens in the glass, the nose becomes more conventional, less Bovril and more dark chocolate, coffee and cinnamon. Really excellent winter warmer, big but not outfacing, lovely fruit with just enough tannic struture that it is soft and accessible, yet focused rather than flabby, great with fabada, estofado, etc. |
£19.99 |
31. Viña Zorzal Graciano, Navarra, 2007
100% Graciano, elegant, bright, bramble-and-white pepper fruit, truly gourgeous, mouth-filling black cherries (indeed, so well rounded that it’s actually more like black cherry yoghurt) on the palate, satin-smooth tannins softened by four months on its lees in new French oak, just a hint of something darker and more “balsamic” (mint, a little liquorice) on the finish. Suave, well balanced and a graceful, polished counterpoint to the heftier feel which is the stock-in-trade of many Spanish reds. Perhaps the best value red currently on the list. |
£19.99 |
32. Viña Sastre Roble, Ribera Del Duero, 2007
7 months in 2 year old American oak,this is a big, extractive but fruitily approachable wine with smooth, mellow tannins, hefty cacao, spice and cassis fruit and a vigorous, smoky, brambly nose. Good value for the appellation, brilliant with stews, lamb cutlets, strong (not blue) cheeses. |
£30.00 |
33. Absum Tempranillo/Cabernet/Merlot 2005
From Somontano in the north-eastern province of Huesca in the foothills of the Pyrenees, this is a typically modern Spanish blend in an approachable, polisehed style:smooth tannins, blackcurranty nose and an easy, ample-but-structured mouth-feel:really good choice with a wide range of meats and cheeses. |
£26.40 |
34. Seleccion Penon de Ifach, Bodegas Mendoza, 2003
A wonderful – not typically Spanish! – blend of Cabernet, Merlot and Petit Verdot. This is robust, juicy, broodily fruited stuff reminiscent of a cross between a good old-fashioned ‘grocer’s’ Burgundy (the kind that really came from Northern Africa!) and a high-quality South Australian blend. A more individual character than most more anodyne, modern blends, this has lots of hefty cassis and black cherry fruit, some spiciness from the Merlot and a bitter/sour note just detectable enough to lift it out of the norm. Interesting and very good. |
£29.35 |
35. Soleon, Bodegas Conrad, Sierras De Malaga 2003
Made by a quality-obsessed Swiss on a beautiful finca in Ronda (in the hills above Malaga, hence the appellation) this is the classical blend of Cabernets Sauvignon and Franc with Merlot, given extra finesse by dint of the altitude of the vineyard (over 2,300 feet) the perfectionist winemaking and the judicious use of new French and American oak. This is potent, complex stuff – there are the usual dark, plum – and – blackcurrant notes, but also an underlying scent of violets and long, elegant tannins – and, given that I paid €75.00 for a bottle in Seville last October, an absolute bargain! (well, we did scarf the last 11 cases in the U.K……….) |
£36.00 |
36. Marbore, Bodegas Pirineos, 2003
A blend of Tempranillo, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and the local varietals Moristel and Parraleta (“ local” being the area of Somontano in mountainous Huesca, at the foot of the Pyrenees). The nose shows hefty black cherry and coffee fruit with an interesting funky, herbal note which I am told is characteristic of Moristel. Rich vibrant fruit on the palate, again the cherries coming through quite forcefully, finishing with firm, rounded tannins and a satisfying hit of fruity acidity and great persistence.
|
£40.00 |
37. Malbec 5-6, Casa Don Angel, “Multivintage”, Vera De Estenas
Fascinating out-of-left-field red from Utiel, in the mountains west of Valencia, an assemblage of two different vintages of Malbec, the wine makers achieving a deliciously harmonious, forward wine, very different to the sometimes harsh examples typical of Argentina. Bundles of dark, damsony fruit, good firm tannins, restrained balancing acidity and notes of coffee, liqourice and blueberries, even! I adore wines with idiosyncrasy, individuality, and this has those qualities in spades. Would excel with lamb, beef estofado and fabada, but just try it for its sheer character |
£27.60 |
38. Castillo De Sajazarra, Rioja Reserva, 2003
High-altitude grown Tempranillo from the property’s own best vineyards, 24 months in a mixture of French and American oak, really concentrated cedar-and-spice nose with lots of wild strawberry and blackberry fruit with a high-toned violet overlay. Excellent amalgam of old school Rioja nervosity with a more fulsome amount of fruit (and less reeky old oak) than you’d have found ten years ago.
|
£35.00 |
39. Mas Perinet, Priorat, 2004
modern, fruit-driven Priorat, Garnacha/Cariñena/Syrah/Cabernet/Merlot blend, 15 months in new oak, velvet-textured, its 15% of alcohol really well integrated and worn very lightly, huge amount of hefty, damson-y fruit with just a counterpoint of acidity and soft tannin-really accessible now, but with the structure to both age and to accompany really full-flavoured dishes. Polished, intense, elegant and classy (the last a somewhat ambiguous adjective…but this wine is.) |
£45.50 |
- An optional service charge of 10% will be appended to your bill
- All prices are inclusive of VAT at 17.5%
Mar I Terra
Blackfriars
14 Gambia Street
Waterloo
London
SE1 0XH
Tel: 020 7928 7628
Fax: 020 7928 7626
E-mail: info@mariterra.co.uk |
Mar I Terra
Soho
17 Air Street
Soho
London
W1B 5AF
Tel: 020 7734 1992
E-mail: info@mariterra.co.uk |
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