It Must Be Wine O'clock

Topa! Cheers! Try this Basque delight!

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A few years ago, some very good Japanese friends of ours introduced us to the Basque wine Txakoli over dinner and I was hooked. They had just returned from visiting San Sebastián and highly recommended it for a city break. And then when my wife and I visited for ourselves, we realised why – it’s a charming city on the Bay of Biscay, surrounded by lush green hillsides, with attractive beaches, a delightful old town, and some stunning architecture.

But that’s not all. San Sebastián (Donostia as it is known in Basque) is a top culinary destination, famed not only for its dozen or so Michelin-starred restaurants, but also for its pintxos bars. All around the narrow alleys of the old town, you can try these tasty culinary bites held together by a cocktail stick, or pintxo. And all washed down with the local white wine, Txakoli. What’s not to like?

Made from the indigenous grape varieties Hondarribia Zuri and Hondarribia Beltza, Txakoli is a light, refreshing, zesty, slightly effervescent, dry white wine, perfect for drinking as an aperitif, with pintxos, or the fresh fish and seafood dishes for which the Basque Country is famed.

It’s not always easy to find Txakoli in the UK but I recently saw that Slurp were stocking this Txakoli de Getaria, one of the three Txakoli sub-regions and the closest to San Sebastián, and I had to try it. And I’m so glad I did!

With intense aromas of apple, pear, lemon and grapefruit, and a hint of blossom, the Hiruzta Txakoli Hondarribia 2019 is a delightfully refreshing wine. It is light and zippy, with an attractive effervescence and a hint of sea breeze, a wine which has the taste of summer written all over it.

Relatively low in alcohol, it is a well-balanced wine with a long finish and is a perfect match for seafood. We had it with some home-made pintxos, and it made me want to book the next flight to Northern Spain. If only we could … but at least we can get a bottle of Txakoli!

Available from Slurp. £14.95

Sunshine and spice from the Southern Rhône – Esprit des Trois Pierres Costières de Nimes 2019

Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras – well-known wines of the Southern Rhône region of France, characterised by vibrant, fruity wines with a touch of spice and earthiness. The terrain is known for its stony soils, covered in ‘galets’, the round pebbles shaped by the actions of the Rhône Valley glaciers and the River Rhône over millennia.

These stones are key to the successful ripening of the grapes – not only do they absorb the heat from the daytime sunshine and release it again during the night, they also protect the vines and the soil from the strong winds known as le mistral.

These conditions are perfect for the Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre grapes that dominate the vineyards here. Grenache is the mainstay, bringing concentrated, spicy red flavours to the blends. Syrah adds extra colour and tannin and Mourvèdre brings intense black fruit flavours, and often gamey, meaty notes.

This Esprit des Trois Pierres Costières de Nîmes 2019 is from the most southerly AOC of the Rhône valley, and one which is somewhat overshadowed by its more renowned regional neighbours. It has the characteristically robust, spicy flavours of red wines from this appellation.

A dry, medium-bodied wine with high alcohol and medium tannins, this is a well-balanced wine with a medium (+) finish. It has aromas of raspberry, blackberry and plum, with hints of spice and pepper on the nose, and blackberry, pepper and liquorice on the palate.

An excellent match for grilled meats, casseroles, and goat’s cheese.

Available from Waitrose. £8.99

A chance to discover the wonders of English wine – join a virtual wine tasting on June 2nd, 2021

Itching to know more about English wines? Then this online wine tasting organised by Steve Hovington from Cambridge Wine Academy is just the ticket.

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.

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.

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