The example we tested was loaned to us by Brooke Kensington and is currently for sale at pounds 22200

The example we tested was loaned to us by Brooke Kensington and is currently for sale at pounds 22,200.I took delivery at midday on Tottenham Court Road in London and before the car’s wheels had touched tarmac, crowds had formed on both sides of the street, and the traffic was at a standstill. At one point during the subsequent weekend, as I drove past my local park, an entire football match ground to a halt as the players stopped to look and smile in unison. Aromas of red fruits and the pure berry flavours are well rounded by a subtle oak-infused sweetness.. Four years ago Volkswagen unveiled a funky

piece of retro-whimsy called Concept 1 We
weren’t stupid. We realised that it was in fact a new Beetle and the response from press and public was so ecstatic that VW was practically forced at the consumer-power equivalent of gunpoint (cheque-point, perhaps) to manufacture it for real. Now the first cars, made in Volkswagen’s plant in Puebla, Mexico, have been delivered to lucky customers in the all-important US market.UK drivers won’t be able to buy the new Beetle until next year, and even then, we will have to make do with left-hand-drive (right hookers are a year away at least).

With few exceptions, barrel-fermentation is better suited to Rioja’s Viura grape than the traditional style of white Rioja, which is aged, but not fermented, in oak. The modern treatment here produces a yellow-gold white with ripe, honeyed aromas and a rich dried fruits character freshened by Viura’s lemony tang.Red of the week1996 Mas Collet, Tarragona pounds 4.99, Majestic Wine. This polished red from Celler de Capcanes in north-eastern Spain is distinctly Catalonian, a pure, well-proportioned red using Garnacha, Tempranillo and a dash of Carinena and Cabernet Sauvignon. Distinctively Aussie, with aromatic notes of vanilla and eucalyptus complemented by velvety-textured plum-like fruitiness and polished oak treatmentWhite of the week1996 Artadi, Vinas de Gain, Rioja Crianza pounds 5.99, Majestic Wine. With a touch of woodsmoke, this is a plush, powerful Chilean red with plum and blackcurrant on a firm backbone of tannin and substantial alcohol.1996 Temple Bruer Reserve Merlot pounds 9.99, selected Tesco’s. Deep purple, with the scent of herbaceous borders, an undertone of green pepper and a deeper, sweeter core of juicy blackcurrant fruit.1996 La Palma Reserve Merlot pounds 6.99, Fuller’s. Ironically, because of the French preoccupation with vineyard, its appellation system refuses to allow the M-word on the label.Mellow Merlots1996 Richemont Old Vine Merlot Reserve Vin de Pays d’Oc, pounds 4.49, Safeway.

Sweet wood aromas and chocolatey Merlot fruitiness combine in spicy Languedoc red made in a mini-Saint-Emilion style.1997 Errazuriz Merlot El Descanso Vineyard Curico, pounds 5.99, Tesco, Wine Cellar, Berkeley Wines, Victoria Wine, Thresher, Fuller’s, Wine Rack, Bottoms Up. Between the two, it’s promising in the Languedoc, parts of northern Italy, Navarra, and even Bordeaux itself. In fact Bordeaux, with the biggest plantings of Merlot in the world, has the greatest potential. America in particular, has gone overboard for Merlot (“Mrr-lo”). In their desperation to supply the market, big companies are falling over themselves to track down supplies from anywhere. Raids on stocks in Chile, in the Languedoc, wherever it grows in fact, are often controversially combined with labelling cunningly designed to disguise the fact that the origins of the wine are not Californian.That Merlot is relatively bland, and sometimes plain boring, doesn’t seem to matter. On a value-for-money level, Merlot delivers the most flavour from Chile at the moment, the least from California.