Drinks of the Month
Two massively drinkable natural wines for under £10
I’ve long been a fan of natural wine but can’t argue with the fact that it’s expensive. For good reason - it’s often made on a very small scale by artisan producers but that generally takes it out of the realm of everyday drinking.
So hats off to natural wine pioneers Les Caves de Pyrène who have collaborated with winemaker Luca Hodgkinson to make two delicious wines you’d be as pleased to drink on a midweek night in as to find in a wine bar.
The red, La Cueva, a blend of pais, carignan and cabernet sauvignon from the Maule valley, is a light juicy vin de soif I’d be inclined to chill and which would be great gulped down with a selection of mezze or antipasti.
But it’s the white, La Patagua a hazy blend of semillon and moscatel from the Colchagua valley with a lovely taste of fresh pineapple which really excites me. It would be great with all sorts of seafood and salads but at 14.5% it’s more alcoholic than it tastes so watch it!
Both the wines come from the 2021 vintage, are made from organically grown (but uncertified) old vines and vinified with natural yeasts. You can buy them for £9.05 from Les Caves or online from Lola in Leamington Spa for £9
Wine of the week: Bohoek Semillon 2017
One of the grape varieties that has impressed me most over the last few days in South Africa has been semillon and here’s a chance to try it at a really good price.
It’s the 2017 Bohoek Semillon which has been made for Marks & Spencer by Boekenhoutskloof and is on offer in store only at £8 (down from £12) as part of their Spring Wine Festival until the end of March
It’s a lush white with a lick of oak made in the style of white Bordeaux - i.e. smooth with a touch of fresh pineapple and other tropical fruit. It’s very drinkable now (with salmon, chicken satay or Asian-style salads I suggest) but will drink well for another couple of years at least. Not as good as the the winery's own superb semillon in which I may also indulge in at some point but then that’s over three times as much (£26.99 at James Nicholson)
While you’re in M & S you might also fancy the Caruso e Minini Perricone - a bright juicy Sicilian red which is selling for £6 instead of £9 and the 2017 Underwood Oregon pinot noir (down to £9.33) though the latter could do with another few months in the bottle, I reckon.
I’d serve both lightly chilled with seared tuna or, in the case of the perricone with a pizza.
Gundog Estate Wild Semillon 2015
As I pointed out in my Guardian column this week Australian wines are fetching some pretty steep prices but to drink a Hunter Valley semillon of this quality it’s absolutely worth it.
It’s a style of wine I love, with far more texture and richness than you’d guess from its modest ABV, in this case 9.5%. Unlike some Hunter Valley semillons which take time to develop their unique character the Gundog Estate Wild semillon is already richly flavoured.due to the fact that a proportion of the wine is fermented on the skins, as with orange and red wine. (Lush, fat, gorgeous were my tasting notes!)
What would I drink it with. I’m thinking rich seafood - like razor clams or grilled swordfish. It could also take south-east Asian spicing, especially Thai which is in fact what the website suggests
"Because the wine is so textural and carries some residual sweetness, the Wild Semillon is an interesting proposition with food matching" they say. "The wine should hold up well to spicy, Thai-style dishes where acidity, saltiness and chilli are often offset by barely noticeable sweetness. It also partners well to roast pork or lighter poultry dishes."
Retail it’s about £21-£22 at good independents including Uncorked, Butlers Wine Cellar and the Dorset Wine Company. Treat yourself!
RSS
Most popular
12 great wine pairings with salmon
My latest book
How to Drink without DrinkingFood & wine pros
What makes a vino da meditazione?
About Fiona
Events and appearances
Work with me
