It Must Be Wine O'clock

Old and wise – a Carignan vieilles vignes wine to tempt your palate

If you enjoyed the Gascony white wine I recently reviewed, why not try this Carignan Vieilles Vignes (old vines) from neighbouring Languedoc? Carignan is an often under-rated grape variety of the Languedoc-Roussillon region but has lots to offer the wine enthusiast with its depth and vibrancy, and its notes of red and black fruits. Grapes from old vines tend to produce smaller volumes of wine per hectare but the grape juice is more concentrated in flavour, producing better balanced wines with greater depth and intensity.

This Roche de Belanne Carignan Vieilles Vignes 2018 from Pays d’Hérault is made from 100% Carignan grapes from 40-year old vines. It is a dry medium-bodied wine with high acidity, medium tannins and medium alcohol. With aromas of ripe strawberry and cherry, and a hint of vanilla, on the nose, and flavours of strawberry, blackberry and a touch of liquorice on the palate, this is a well-balanced wine with a long finish. A very good match for grilled meats, or a hearty casserole, it will also go very well with firm cheeses.

Available from Sandhams (£8.99)

Gascony – a quiet corner of France that punches above its size

As regular readers of my blog will know, I am quite partial to wines from South West France, where you can find a real abundance of interesting and often unusual grape varieties. The huge diversity of grape varieties and wine styles found in this region is what makes it so compelling for the wine enthusiast.

Domaine La Hitaire ‘Les Tours’ 2019, Côtes de Gascogne

Ugni Blanc, Colombard and Gros Manseng are three grape varieties in this white Gascony blend and they complement each other very well. Ugni Blanc, known as Trebbiano in Italy, is a widely grown but relatively bland grape variety on its own but is often used in blends where it can contribute its natural acidity and floral notes. It is also used as the base wine for Cognac and Armagnac. Colombard brings with it flavours of peach and nectarine and Gros Manseng is an aromatic grape variety bringing crisp, slightly spicy flavours to a blend.

This is a dry wine with relatively low alcohol and a crisp, refreshing acidity. It has aromas of lemon, grapefruit and apple, with floral and herbaceous notes on the nose, and flavours of peach, nectarine and lychee, with a hint of spice on the palate. Well-balanced with a long finish, this is a perfect apéritif wine, and will go well with goat’s cheese, seafood, or a slightly spicy dish.

Available from Majestic £8.99 (£7.99 Mix Six)

A note for your diary – a virtual wine tasting: Wednesday 5th May 2021, 7pm

CLIMBING GOD’S LADDER: THE WINES OF PRIORAT, MONSANT AND TERRA ALTA

If you’d like to learn more about the wines of Catalonia, Steve Hovington from Cambridge Wine Academy is running an online tasting session in May.

Steve is a very knowledgeable and entertaining presenter and this promises to be an interesting, informative and very enjoyable evening. I recently attended one of his virtual wine tasting sessions featuring SW French wines and it was a lot of fun.

Wine samples and tasting notes will be delivered or posted to your home and a Zoom link to join will be provided.

For details and to register, here is the link.

An interesting blend from Lebanon – the Domaine des Tourelles Blanc 2019

If you tried and enjoyed the Lebanese red wine I recently reviewed, you might like to try this interesting white wine blend from the same winery, the Domaine des Tourelles Blanc 2019. The vineyards are in the Bekaa Valley, at an altitude of over 1,000m.

This is a blend of Viognier (65%), Chardonnay (20%), Obeidi (10%) and Muscat d’Alexandrie (5%). Obeidi (or Obaideh) is a grape variety indigenous to Lebanon and is a grape that is high in sugar and low in acidity. Known for its flavours of honey and lemon, Obeidi is traditionally used in producing Arak, a grape brandy. Viognier is an aromatic grape variety with pronounced floral aromas and stone-fruit flavours; it is particularly associated with wines of the Rhône Valley, and at its finest in Condrieu in the Northern Rhône.

The Domaine des Tourelles Blanc is a dry, medium-bodied wine with high acidity and medium alcohol. It has a distinctive golden hue and pronounced aromas of jasmine and blossom on the nose, with flavours of pineapple, peach, apricot, and a touch of spice on the palate. It’s a crisp, refreshing, well-balanced wine with a medium (+) finish.

We had it with Nasi Goreng and it matched very well. It will also go well with grilled fish or light starters.

Available from Slurp (£10.95)

A Balkan treat – a little gem from North Macedonia

Although the wines of North Macedonia are not particularly well known outside the Balkans, wine production in the region has a history going back some 4,000 years and the country produces some high quality wines from a range of indigenous grape varieties such as Vranec, Stanušina and Kratosija for red wines, and Žilavka and Smederevka for white wines.

The Tikveš region in central North Macedonia is home to the Kratosija grape. Genetically similar to the Primitivo grape associated particularly with southern Italy, and the Zinfandel grape grown in the United States, the Kratosija grapes produce intensely fruity, high alcohol wines with medium tannins.

The Tikveš Kratosija Crveno Macedonia (2019) wine is produced by the Tikveš Winery, one of the biggest and oldest wineries in the Balkans. Founded in 1885, the winery has benefitted from massive investment in the last twenty years and if you are looking for a fine example of wine from North Macedonia, this fits the bill perfectly.

This is a dry, full-bodied wine with medium (+) acidity and medium tannins. It has aromas of raspberry, blackberry, plum and blueberry on the nose and flavours of blackberry, cherry and plum on the palate, with overtones of vanilla and spice. A well-balanced wine with a long finish, it is a perfect match for roast lamb.

Available from Slurp (£8.95)

Two Sauvignon Blanc wines from the Loire Valley

The vineyards of the Loire Valley produce a diverse range of white, red and rosé wines from the Central Vineyards in the east, through Touraine and Anjou-Saumur, to the Nantais sub-region by the Atlantic coast in the west. Each of the four sub-regions is subject to different climactic conditions better suited to certain grape varieties: Sauvignon Blanc in the Central Vineyards and Touraine; Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc in Touraine and Anjou-Saumur; and Melon Blanc in Nantais, for example.

Notwithstanding the excellent Chenin Blanc wines from Vouvray or the refreshing Muscadet sur Lie wines from Sèvre-et-Maine, for me the Loire Valley is synonymous with Sauvignon Blanc and since becoming first acquainted with Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé wines as a student many years ago, I find myself coming back to these wines time and again.

The Hauts de Perrière Pouilly-Fumé (2019) from Waitrose is a very good example of what a fine Pouilly-Fumé should be. This is a crisp dry wine with high acidity, medium alcohol and medium (+) body. With aromas of apple, pear, lemon and honeysuckle on the nose, and flavours of apple, gooseberry and pear on the palate, with a smoky flintiness on the finish, the wine is well-balanced and has a smooth, velvety texture. It’s ideal as an aperitif or with a seafood dish.

Available from Waitrose. £16.79

Touraine Sauvignon Blanc Le Vin des Copains 2019

And if you like the Hauts de Perrière Pouilly-Fumé, you are sure to like this – Le Vin des Copains. This is another fine Sauvignon Blanc, this time from Touraine, just to the west of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, and is a refreshing, fruity wine to enjoy by itself or with food. A dry wine with high acidity and medium (+) body, it has aromas of blossom, apple, pear and lime on the nose, and apple, pear, grapefruit and peach on the palate. A well balanced wine with a long finish, it went down a treat with grilled mackerel.

Available from Waitrose. £8.99

Why not try something out of the ordinary this Easter: a dry Furmint and a Lebanese red

With Easter fast approaching, here are a couple of unusual suggestions to enjoy with your food over the holiday weekend.

Royal Tokaji Dry Furmint, Hungary 2019, Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference

You may know Furmint as the grape used for the excellent Tokaji sweet wines from the Tokaj region of Hungary but it can also be used to make premium dry wines with refreshing acidity and flavours of apple, pear and peach, and a hint of minerality.

Tokaj, in the north-east of Hungary, has a moderate, humid climate conducive to the development of noble rot, hence the long-standing reputation of Furmint for producing premium botrytised sweet wines. But in recent years, this versatile grape variety has been gradually building a name for itself as a dry white wine with a character of its own – think sassy Bohemian with a touch of nobility. It’s a wine that can certainly hold its own with Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.

This Dry Furmint from Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference range is an excellent find. With high acidity, it is a medium bodied wine with a medium (+) finish and a smooth texture. It has aromas of apple, pear and peach, and flavours of apple, lemon, peach and pear, with hints of vanilla and an attractive minerality. An excellent match for grilled fish or other seafood dish.

Available from Sainsbury’s (£10)

Domaine des Tourelles Rouge 2018 (Lebanon)

Wine is probably not the first thing we normally associate with Lebanon but wine has been produced in the country for thousands of years. Archaeologists know that the Phoenicians were trading wine across the Mediterranean from what is now modern-day Lebanon for centuries before the birth of Christ, and as we read in the book of the prophet Hosea (780-725 BC): ‘People will dwell again in his shade; they will flourish like the grain, they will blossom like the vine – Israel’s fame will be like the wine of Lebanon’ (Hosea 14:7).

Fast forward to more modern times when in the 1850s, Jesuit monks re-introduced viticulture with the planting of Cinsault cuttings in the Bekaa Valley where it had largely disappeared since the 16^th-century when Lebanon was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire and wine-making was forbidden.

The rest, as they say, is history. These plantings, in what is now Château Ksara, were the foundation of the modern Lebanese wine industry which is thriving, with some 50-60 wineries nowadays in a country the size of Wales. Today, Château Ksara, together with Domaine des Tourelles, Château Musar, and Iksir, is among the top producers in the country.

Most grapes are grown at altitudes of over 1000m to counter-balance the hot, dry climate, and Lebanese wines are attracting attention from discerning wine drinkers around the world. The influence of French wine production is strong and Mediterranean red varieties such as Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Carignan and Cinsault, together with the Bordeaux varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, dominate.

This wine from Domaine des Tourelles is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cinsault and Carignan. A medium (+) bodied wine, with medium (+) acidity and medium tannins, it has pronounced aromas of red cherries on the nose, and flavours of cherry, blackberry and plum, with a hint of spice, on the palate. It is a smooth, fruity wine, with a medium (+) finish that goes very well with lamb. It’s a perfect choice for Easter.

Available from Slurp (£11.95)

Pedro Ximénez: a dessert wine that’s a dessert in its own right!

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Pedro Ximénez

There is so much more to sherry than its image of that rather fusty bottle of Bristol Cream that lives at the back of the drinks cabinet and only makes an appearance when Granny has a glass at Christmas.

Indeed, sherry is an incredibly versatile and varied wine, ranging from dry fino sherry, pale lemon in colour, with aromas of apple and almond, and bready flavours from the yeast used in the ageing process, to the dark, lusciously sweet Pedro Ximénez sherry with its pronounced dried fruit flavours, made from the eponymous Pedro Ximénez grapes that have been concentrated by sun-drying.

And in between, there are the oloroso and amontillado dry sherries, and the pale cream, medium and cream sweet styles. The common denominator is that the wines that are used to make sherry must be matured in the Jerez region of Andalucía, and more specifically in the towns of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa Maria, and Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

Pedro Ximénez (PX for short) sherries are pure indulgence in a bottle. They are intensely sweet wines which are aged oxidatively and are deep brown, almost black, in colour. PX sherries typically have pronounced aromas of dried fruits with honey, coffee, chocolate, and caramel, perhaps liquorice. Treacly on the palate, with dried fruit and caramel flavours, there is sufficient acidity to balance the sweetness and create a velvety, long finish.

This Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Pedro Ximénez is a fine example of a PX sherry which ticks all the boxes. Honey, raisins, and toffee on the nose, almost like a mince pie, with coffee, caramel and toffee on the palate, this is a full-bodied wine that has been aged in a network of oak casks in a solera system.

Perfect as a dessert in its own right, it is also a match made in heaven for a chocolate mousse or a strong blue cheese. Or why not simply drizzle it over vanilla ice cream – delicious!

Available from Sainsbury’s . £8 (half bottle)

A is for Austria, Z is for Zweigelt

Although Austria is perhaps best known for its white wines, notably Grüner Veltliner and Riesling, it also produces some very good red wines from local grape varieties such as Zweigelt and Blaufränkisch, and a distinctive rosé (Schilcher) made from the indigenous Blauer Wildbacher grape in Western Styria.

Zweigelt is the most widely planted black grape variety in Austria but is a relatively new grape variety. It is a cross between Blaufränkisch and St Laurent, created in 1922 by Dr Friedrich “Fritz” Zweigelt, and typically produces deeply coloured reds with soft tannins and black fruit flavours. The St Laurent brings bright cherry aromas, and from Blaufränkisch, the wines take on a slightly spicy character and fresh acidity. If you like Pinot Noir, you should give Zweigelt a try.

Zweigelt, Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference (2018)

This Zweigelt from Sainsbury’s is a perfectly good example of Austria’s signature red wine variety. Produced by the Huber family, now into their tenth generation as wine producers in Niederösterreich (Lower Austria), the wine has aromas of tomato leaf, cherry, plum and blackberry on the nose, and flavours of plum and bramble on the palate, with a dash of spiciness and a hint of smokiness.

It is a well-balanced wine with medium (+) acidity, medium tannins and a medium (+) finish. A good match for lamb and poultry dishes. We have tried it with moussaka, and roast chicken, and it has worked very well.

Currently on offer at Sainsbury’s. £8