Lothlorien Feijoa Wine - Reserve product reviews

With its self-proclaimed stronger feijoa flavour and bouquet, I was fully expecting this to be my favourite of the Lothlorien wines... and yet I found it slid into a close second place. I can't quite put my finger on exactly why... possibly the extra sweetness, possibly the strong feijoa aftertaste that lingered a tad too long for me... I can't be certain. However, what I can say is that I was still very pleased by the flavour and it went very well in cooking.

Taking a note from a chef I saw at Fieldays - who claimed that no dish is complete unless at least one element has a splash of win in it - I added some of this to some mashed potatoes that were a little drier than ideal. Using half the amount of butter I normally would and a generous splash of this, I came away with a mash so smooth and creamy it was hard to match it up to the near-concrete it was only moments before.

The flavour this imparted to the mash gave it a new level of flavour - a sweet fruitiness that went so well next to the savoury mince and garlic steamed veges, balancing out their respective flavour biases and returning equilibrium to the meal overall. I found myself wishing for a second bottle, so I could try it in one of the #FoodLab cheesecakes, but alas with the taste testing and cooking, there was but a dribble left in the bottle, hardly worth considering anywhere else but in my glass.

Overall, a wonderful wine and probably one most suited to those who enjoy a wine at the sweeter end of the scale. Were it a little thicker, it may well do for a dessert wine, but either way it was a very enjoyable, if not my personal favourite, member of the range.