High Street Wine Challenge: Co-op "Truly Irresistible" Sauvignon Blanc

I have heard very good things about The Co-operative's wine selection so I popped into my local branch today. The choice on offer was pretty limited, especially in the white wine chiller where I was looking. I was faced with the choice between a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand or Chile, both at £6.99, so I decided to go with Chile as you tend to get a lot more "bang for your buck" with Chilean wines.

More specifically this is from Leyda, which is a beautifully cool valley just west of Santiago, producing very good quality wines. On the nose, I got intense passion fruit aromas. This tastes of everything you would expect from Sauvignon Blanc: citrus fruit, green peppers, passion fruit and asparagus. In fact, if I'd tasted this blind, I'd have guessed this to be a good quality New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. I now want to go back and check out their £6.99 kiwi savvy as I'd put money on it being nowhere near as tasty.

Happy Swigging!

Priorat: Spain's greatest wine region

Last week I had the great pleasure of meeting one of Priorat's top winemakers, Sara Perez from Mas Martinet (http://masmartinet.com/). Talking to her and tasting her wines reminded me why I love Priorat, and so I thought I'd write a bit more about it so that maybe you might go try it yourself.

 

What's so amazing about Priorat?

For me, Priorat is all about perfect balance. This region gets a lot of sunshine and very little rain, which can result in wines with very high alcohol content. But instead of being massive fruit bombs, the best Priorats have a beautiful acidity and minerality which lift them to be wines of great depth and complexity. Granted they are still big wines, the dark fruits are still ripe, but the acidity and minerality make them much more pleasurable.

 

How come they're so great?

The key defining characteristic of this region is its soil. Known locally as "llicorella", this dark sparkly slate soil reflects the light, conserves the heat, and also gives the wines their mineral zing. The best vineyards are those on slopes which face northeast in order not to get too much sun but instead to bask fully in the refreshing sea breezes. The main grape used is Garnacha (aka Grenache), often blended with Carinena and a selection of international varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. 

Photo of Priorat vineyard, courtesy of http://myemail.constantcontact.com

 

Will I like them too?

If you're a fan of powerful Rhone Valley reds (such as Cornas or Cote Rotie), Australian Shiraz, South African Pinotage or Argentinian Malbec, chances are you will enjoy exploring what this region has to offer. And if you like these wines but can't stretch to a bottle of Priorat, check out the wines of Montsant which is just next door.

 

It is also worth noting that Priorat is only a very short drive from Barcelona - mini break, anyone?

 

Happy Swigging!

High Street Wine Challenge: Cotes du Rhone Rosé, Sainsburys

Following on from my last blog post, I thought this week's high street pick should be a bottle of the pink stuff. So on today's Sainsburys shop I ventured to the Rosé aisle and (unsurprisingly) was pretty disappointed by the selection on offer. I nearly picked their Taste The Difference Provence Rosé which is currently on offer at £7 instead of the usual £8, but decided to venture a little off-piste and picked this little number from the Rhône at £6.

The reason for my choice is that the Rhône valley is just north of Provence (where my favourite rosé comes from) and the grape varieties used are similar - Grenache, Cinsault, & Syrah. On the nose, I get aromas of pink grapefruit and peach. On drinking, the wine is dry but balanced by lots of ripe fruit flavours such as watermelon, raspberries and cranberries. Very easy drinking, it was perfect with our chicken & chorizo traybake but would also be just as delicious sipped on its own in the sunshine.

Happy Swigging!

Think Pink

The sun is shining which can only mean one thing: it’s Rosé o’clock!

Rosé (aka “Lady Petrol” amongst some of my classy friends) is a really evocative wine. One sip will transport even the most serious wine critic to the Cote d’Azur. A lot of this is to do with the fact that we only really drink rosé in the Summer, so us sun-deprived Brits associate it with happier, sunnier times. No surprise then that its popularity is going up, up, up!
 

Most rosé wines are made from black grapes, and the usual method of production is by crushing the grapes and leaving the juice in contact with the skins for just enough time to extract the desired colour. Then the wine is fermented, like a white wine, off the skins (whereas red wine is fermented on the skins to extract full colour).

 

Obviously there are a lot of different styles of rosé, from the palest salmon to the deepest fuschia pink, from bone dry to sickly sweet. So how do you know which one to pick?? Generally speaking the darker the hue, the closer to red wine in structure and taste it will be. Old World versions tend to be dry, but for New World styles make sure you ask the sales assistant just to be sure. A good indicator of sweetness is the alcohol level: lower than 12% ABV is likely to be off-dry.

Everyone’s palate is different, personally I’m a fan of the lighter, drier styles. So if you have similar taste here are the wines that I regularly buy for BBQs at home.

 

Provence Rosé

Recently made even more popular by “Brangelina” who now own Chateau Miraval estate (available at multiple retailers including M&S for around £18). The classic Provence style is a lovely pale pink colour (think onion skin through to poached salmon), dry and refreshing, full of redcurrant and wild strawberry flavours with a hint of citrus. Perfect with salads and grilled veggies, tuna steak, or simply on its own.

 

If you’re looking for a bargain, the rosés of the Languedoc region just next door are normally very similar in style but considerably cheaper as they don’t have to abide by the rules and regulations of the Cotes de Provence appellation.

Sancerre Rosé

We all know white Sancerre, that deliciously crisp and mineral white wine made from Sauvignon Blanc. The same appellation can also produce reds and rosés from Pinot Noir and Gamay grapes. The reds I will talk about another time (yes, another personal favourite) but the rosés are definitely worth searching for as they are similarly pale and dry but with more minerality and a silky smooth finish. The perfect, sophisticated picnic accompaniment.

If you like this style it’s also worth searching for rosé from Burgundy, a little harder to come by but they’re made from the same grapes, still dry and a touch fruitier in style.

 

Rioja Rosado

Yes, Rioja comes in rosé and white forms too. Their rosés are predominantly Tempranillo and Garnacha blends, dry in style and fabulously fruity. Absolutely perfect served with paella (funny that) and BBQ-ed meat.

 

Rosé Champagne

Ok, ok, I’m an expensive date – I absolutely adore pink Champagne. Unlike still rosé, the Champagne version is made by blending red and white wines together before secondary fermentation (when the bubbles are made). The UK’s most popular brand of this is Laurent Perrier Rosé but I personally think it’s massively overrated (too much style, not enough substance). Instead look out for Ruinart Rosé, Billecart-Salmon Rosé, or even the great value Oeil de Perdrix Rosé which Majestic is currently selling at £19.99 per bottle (normally £30!)

Happy Swigging!