Red Wine
- Details
- Published: 03 April 2018 03 April 2018
Maybe often seems a much-overlooked wine and not for any good reason. Recently I have stumbled upon a few that have given us bags of pleasure! The same grape expressed individually, from Cahors, Hawkes Bay New Zealand, and the Colchagua Valley in Chile.
Each of these places is worth investigating in more detail in their own right but if you are thinking of branching out in the longer spring evenings then give these malbecs a try.
Chatons du Cèdre, Cahors, 2014 Malbec

Lovely dark inky complexion. Blackcurrant/cassis and bramble aroma. Silky full bodied with good tannin for roast duck with red cabbage that we are having. Very tasty wine & new fave at ~£11 from @oddbins
Excellent value: £10.50 from Oddbins
Caliterra, Tributo, Malbec, 2015.

Lovely scent of rosè and redcurrant. Fresh tasting zing of fruit and spice with a food smashing note of tannin. Serve with rich red meat dishes or roasted vegetables covered in herbs. Great drop.
Bargain price range: ~£12. Buy in the UK from Field & Fawcett, the Leamington Wine Company et al.
Hawkes Bay 2014, Left Field Malbec

Wow, a very luxurious concentrated red. 4yrs old & good to go. Blackcurrant, dark chocolate, full-bodied succulent velvety soft tannins.
Perfect with equally succulent red meats. Vines are grown in the very special Gimblett Gravels in New Zealand. If you see it ... grab it.
It’s hard to not mention the incredibly stylish labels that the Left Field range has commissioned. These beautifully executed illustrations have been commissioned across the range. View the website for more information.
Great price: ~£17 www.nzhouseofwine.co.uk, Fenwick Newcastle, Noble Grape Wines, Auriol Wines
Ribeira Sacra, Wines of Galicia: Heroic Viticulture in the Cañón do Sil
We rolled out the rug on a small patch of grass etched between the steep cascade of Roman terraces, with neat lines of vines both rising above us and falling away to the tranquil water below. Between each vine, the ground was covered in shrubs, flowers and buzzing insects. The panoramic view across the Sil Canyon, in this stretch of Ribeira Sacra, with tins of sardines in olive oil and a makeshift salad, offer a rustic experience of sublime dining.
Discord in Odesa; pruning at Shabo goes on!
Last week a picture was posted on Twitter of vines in Shabo, a large estate that lies to the west of Odesa on southern Ukraine’s Black Sea coastline. The image seemed benign at face value but the reality, of course, is that the city of Odesa has been bracing itself for attack by Russian forces.
Artichoke pasta and very fine Pigato
Britain’s lamentable exit
On the eve of Britain’s official departure from the EU, my partner and I decided to explore a small town on the Italian Riviera where thewintry cold doesn’t feel so much like cold war bite.
I had warned my significant other that I would be having an inverse departure party, a release of the sanity valve if you like!
Soave: volcanic wines with elegance and longevity
Sitting inside the ancient castle walls inside the town of Soave, a short drive from Verona in northern Italy, the unique slightly almond aroma of the indigenous grape, Garganega, rises gently from my glass. The castle sprawls up the side of an extinct volcano that gives the region its variant soil structures that mark out the better quality of Soave wines.
An American In Paris; Tanisha Townsend (@GirlMeetsGlass) discusses podcasts, Paris wine bars, & what she's drinking at the moment
Tanisha Townsend decided to move to Paris 4 years ago after regularly passing through the city en route to the world’s most famous vineyards. In fact, it was about 2 years ago at the Printemps de Champagne Bouzy Rouge tasting in Reims that I saw (who we shall now refer to as) GirlMeetsGlass chirpily speaking to her web followers on Snapchat.





