Drinks of the Month
Alheit Limited Release Red Blend 2018
'Dry red wine' doesn’t sound the most compelling description for a wine, especially one that costs £14.99, but when it comes from Chris and Suzaan Alheit, two of the most highly regarded winemakers in the Cape you sit up and take notice.
They’re better known for making the cult wine Cartology, a chenin-based blend which fetches around £35 a bottle. There’s a chenin in this lower-priced range too which they’ve named Paxton Kellerman but I don’t think it’s as interesting as the red, a joyous, vividly fruity cinsault-based blend that you’ll love if you’re a Beaujolais fan. I’d chill it lightly and drink it with summer barbecues and other grills - fish or meat.
As always with Majestic it makes sense to buy on their Mix Six deal on which it costs £14.99. A single bottle is £19.99 and much though I like it I don’t think it’s worth that.
Mas des Chimères Oeillade 2014
You don’t expect to find a wine like this on a supermarket shelf, even in their upmarket in-store cave but that’s exactly where I discovered this delicious organic red in my friends’ local Hyper U.
It comes from the Coteaux du Salagou an appellation to the north-east of Clermont l’Hérault, is made from cinsault (currently one of my favourite grapes for everyday drinking) and at just 12% is one of those incredibly quaffable vins de soif you come across in France these days. I can’t remember the exact price but think it was around €8.
Mas des Chimères, which was set up in 1993 is run by the handsomely moustachioed Guilhem Dardé, his wife Palma and his daughter Maguelone. They recommend the Oeillade with ‘grillades’ - in other words simply grilled meat.
Frustratingly it doesn’t appear to be available in the UK (maybe someone would like to remedy that?) but you can buy it online in France from 1907.fr which sells it for €7.50 - or from the cellar door. Louis Dressner imports it in the US.
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