The Shortlist by McGuigan Wines

I was invited to the launch of The Shortlist range of wines from McGuigan Wines and quite an event it was. Held in the splendid surroundings of The Roof Garden in Kensington Neil McGuigan was in fine form pouring us a sparkling rose wine which he said was a "secret" and telling us all about The Shortlist range and how come Majestic came to take the whole allocation of the wines.


Due on shelf in late May, the premium range has been listed by Majestic with an RRP of £14.99. Majestic has taken on the entire UK allocation of the limited release label in what is one of the largest orders of premium Australian wine ever placed by the retailer. 


The highlight of the evening of course was the wines and although there was talk around our table of "ABC" (Anything But Chardonnay) it was the chardonnay that was my favourite. Although slightly buttery it had lovely primary peach fruit aromas and quite a touch of apple on the palate. Creamy but with decent acidity this was quite a match for many Burgundies. Mind you although I say my preference was the Chardonnay, I thought the '05 Riesling we had from the Eden Valley was pretty special too.


I judge at both the IWC and IWSC so know how demanding the competitions are so for Neil McGuigan to achieve both IWSC Winemaker of the Year and IWC White Winemaker of the Year in the same year is an amazing achievement and gives an indication of the exacting standards he works to.


A wonderful evening and I'm sure Majestic will have no problems selling all the allocation.