Drinks of the Month
Wine of the week: Maruxa Mencia 2019
I’ve got a bit of a thing about mencia at the moment so this bottle really hit the spot and for under £10 (on Majestic’s mix six deal) it’s great value
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the grape variety mencia is a vibrant juicy cherry-flavoured red from the north of Spain you’ll love if you’re into Beaujolais, or fruitier styles of pinot noir (though it’s not quite as sweet). It’s made by one of the best known rioja producers, CVNE, and has a really cool label too.
It’s great, as I recently discovered, with steak fajitas but also with a lot of Spanish food as you can see from this post.
The best food pairings for mencia
It would be great with a barbecue too.
While you’re in Majestic - and from much the same area - pick up a couple of their Winemaker Series Godello from Monterrei. Again Godello is native to that part of Spain and is generally quite similar to chardonnay but this version, which is made by the Rias Baixas winer Martin Codax, has a lovely fresh citrusy acidity that should appeal if you like sauvignon blanc. (Note it was the 2019 I tasted - I haven’t tried the 2020 yet)
It should go well with seafood as I suggest here, beetroot-cured salmon, and, perhaps surprisingly, caesar salad.
Audacia Godello 2012, Les Trois Amis, Valdeorras
I don’t often get the chance to taste wines from the northern supermarket chain Booth’s but fell hook, line and sinker for this gorgeous Spanish white they served at their pre-Christmas lunch this week.
It’s a Godello from the Valdeorros region of north-western Spain made by three winemaker friends* (hence Les Trois Amis) and is a glorious citrus-burst of wine though softer, richer and less aggressive than many sauvignon blancs.
It was a brilliant match with a ‘shrimp crumpet’ (a crumpet topped with buttery Morecombe Bay shrimps, a poached egg and hollandaise) but would be great with pretty well anything fishy, especially prawns.
The particularly good news is that although it’s normally £15.49** Booth’s has a 3 for the price of 2 offer on wines over £10 currently so you could get it for £10.33 plus another 5% off it you buy six bottles of wine in total. The offer applies in store only until October 7th so lucky you if you have a Booth’s near you!
* Dominique Roujou de Boubée, Laura Montero and Franck Massard
** Berry Brothers match this price if you buy a case of 12 but charge £17.19 for a single bottle.
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