Virgin wines 2

I have been tasting some more of the wines that I purchased from Virgin wines. I have already reviewed one of these. This month briefer comments on several more. I have been very busy with work, and also travel commitments, so not had time to do full reviews. Instead, mainly commenting on which ones I will buy again. But first…

In praise of Jana and Isaac

I have spoken to the Virgin wines representative, Jana on a few occasions since signing up with Virgin wines. Only chatted a few times as I have been too busy with big work deadlines, and booked trips abroad. The conversations that I have had so far with Jana have been a real joy.

Jana is helpful, polite, charming, and knowledgeable about wine, a delight to talk to. Going forward I hope to chat more as the conversations that I have had so far with Jana have been a real joy.

Jana has now moved to another area of the business, so recently chatted with the equally good Isaac. Again I was impressed with his knowledge of wine, and how helpful he was at selecting new wines for me to try. (But sorry Isaac, not got the same delightful, and dare I say it, alluring voice that Jana does).

As with my purchases in France, I purchase wines that I have bought before and know I like, and then try some new ones. I did like the Torre Aguila that I reviewed here recently. So my last purchase, I bought 6 more of these, plus a nice malbec.

This month I will look at some of the others that I have purchased. These will be shorter reviews than in previous posts, mainly just to decide if I will buy again or not, but there will be more of them.

Order 1

Reviewing more from my first order. I already reviewed the Torre Aguila, and at £12.99, I thought a very nice wine. Here I am also doing short reviews of, Wild Elevation Malbec, Tufflers’ Tipple Shiraz, and Zafferino Pinot Grigio.

Wild Elevation

• Argentina Malbec 2022
• £15.99 from Virgin Wines (less on offers)
• 13.5%

Very nice…

Tufflers Tipple

• Australian Shiraz 2020
• £11.99 from Virgin Wines (less on offers)
• 14.5%

Disappointing, a bit sharp and sour. This is the only wine from Virgin that I did not like. Will not buy again

Zafferino

• Italian Pinot Grigio
• £9.99 from Virgin Wines (less on offers)
• 12.5%

A very nice crisp and fragrant Pinot Grigio. I tasted with Johny, who does not normally like white wine as he often finds them a bit sharp, but he thought that this was good, and found it smooth. I have purchased more of this wine from Virgin wines since. ( A little side note about Pinot Grigio white wines. I have said that one cannot really go wrong with these. But I was at a company Xmas event, and there was free wine included. The white was a Pinot Grigio, and it was pretty dire. So yes, there are some rough and sour ones about).

Order 1 Conclusions

I have not reviewed all the wines from my first order, but some comments on those reviewed so far.

Of the three reds tasted, I really liked both the Torre Aguila Gran Reserva and the Wild Elevation Malbec. Missing from the Torre Aguila review in August was details about the type of wine. It does not seem to have a specific name, but it is mainly a Cabernet Sauvignon grape. I have since purchased more of both of these. I think I slightly prefer the Torre Aguila, and it is also cheaper. I was not that keen on the Tufflers’ Tipple, and I am not adding that to my ‘buy again’ list.

I have also purchased more of the Zafferino Pinot Grigio. A very nice light crisp wine. Not reviewed above, but I also liked the Côtes de Provence rosé (Cuvee de L’Aubade). Regular readers will know that I only buy Côtes de Provence rosés. This was also very good, but at £13.99, I will probably stick to those that I buy at Auchan in Boulogne at less that half that price, and just as good (if not better).

Order 2

Really order 3, as my second actual order was more of the Torre Aguila and Wild Elevation. I ordered more of what I like, plus a few more to review here. By the Hand Cabernet Franc, Via Gloria Appassimento, and AKA Reserve Malbec. All reviewed (briefly again) with Johny who is staying at mine whilst waiting for a completion date of a house that he is buying.

By the Hand

• Argentinian Cabernet Franc
• £16.99 from Virgin Wines (less on offers)
• 13.5%

We both really liked this wine. I found it very nice, with fruity red berry flavours. Maybe just a bit sweet. Johny also liked this, and preferred it to some of the other wines recently drunk from France.

Via Gloria Appassimento

• Italian Negroamaro Blend
• £16.99 from Virgin Wines (less on offers)
• 14.5%

Again, we both really liked this. We tasted this a day after finishing By the Hand wine. I did slightly prefer this one. Unfortunately currently out of stock at Virgin Wines, but will consider buying again if it is back in stock.

AKA Malbec Reserve

• Chilean Malbec
• £12.99 (less on offers)
• 13%

Quite nice, but I found it a bit sharp and sour. Not as good as the Wild Elevation Malbec reviewed above. So if I was wanting a Malbec, I would purchase that one again instead. Johny also found it a bit sharp but did like the spiciness, and it did complement the curry that he was cooking. (He is very good at cooking curry, makes it from scratch, with the coriander, cumin and other spices, does not use those sauces.)

Order 1 Conclusions

I enjoyed the Appassimento and the Cabernet Franc very much. I may put them on my buy again list, but they are quite pricey. I did prefer the Wild Elevation Malbec to the AKA one, so I will leave out this one in future.

Overall, I am really enjoying subscribing to Virgin Wines and recommend that you have a look at there site here. It is great to talk to their representatives and they make some good recommendations.

Also when you subscribe, you normally get offers and discounts, and I have mentioned this when listing each price. And I just got an email from Virgin Wines saying that they have gifted me £10 to my account. Thanks very much.

Going forward, I will look at the website in more detail and make some of my own selections for my next order. (And I will of course be reviewing some of them in future posts.)

5 years of this site, and a slight change

Looking back at previous posts, I see that my very first one was November 2018. So last month it celebrated its 5th anniversary. I was thinking of doing a post about this, but in case you have not noticed, there was no October or November post. I am going to change from monthly posts to quarterly posts. This is mainly due to other work commitments, plus using Airbnb to promote my house in France as I do not get bookings from the ‘Rue de la Providence’ website.

So this is my ‘Winter 2023’ post. Next post will be a ‘Spring 2023’ post, planned for March 2024.