Wine with Leslie: Some winter-warmer wines including an impressive red for €10
Leslie's wine choices this week will help you cope with the cold snap.
A lot can be learned from looking into a hole in a vineyard. And one person who knows this more than most is Martin Kaiser, the much-lauded viticulturist of Doña Paula in Argentina. I visited him in 2015 and spent a good bit of time looking into holes, sometimes climbing into them, to examine contrasting layers of soil structure, often within the same vineyard. While geologists are adamant that no minerals make their way from the soil into the wine, wines from different types of soil in different locations do taste different and Martin has made it his mission to figure it all out.
Late last year, Doña Paula showcased a fascinating selection of wines from plots at different altitudes in the Uco Valley over a Zoom seminar. We were all sent miniature samples and it was hugely interesting to taste wines made in much the same way but sourced from different altitudes and plots.
These altitude-specific wines are made in small quantities and mostly not available here; however, I do recommend a Doña Paula Altitude wine which is only available via a new online retailer called Bodega 695 (bodega695.com). I also recommend a relatively rare Chilean Carignan. This new site stocks wines from €15 to €150 but concentrates on premium wines including library stock (old vintages), experimental, and small production lines. The site has a connection with the distributors of Santa Rita, Carmen and Doña Paula so if any more of their micro-plot wines become available it is likely to be here. There are also wines on the site from Spain, Portugal, and elsewhere and there are plans for online tastings and events.
Selections this week are all winter warmers to help you cope with the cold snap. I’ve looked to Chile and Argentina — countries that don’t get enough attention on this page given how well they sell in Ireland.
As we are all sticking to local shops I’ve included three wines from the Spar-Mace-Londis group who really do put effort and thought into their wines — I’ve been on trips with their wine buyer, Gill O’Meara, and she is extremely particular. Spar doesn’t play the game practiced by the big supermarket chains of half-price deals that we all know are not really half-price at all but you will find more realistic 15-20% discounts.
This was a star winner the under €10 category in last year’s Gold Star blind tasting. While Argentinian Malbec is generally reliable at all price levels this has more depth and subtlety than is usual at this price point — bright black and red fruit aromas, supple and ripe with pleasing smoky notes on the finish.
Carmenère can be a difficult grape to love, especially in youth but the five years' aging has knocked some corners off this fairly typical version from Spar. Aging in French and American oak provides some spice and toasty notes but Carmenère’s typical leafy-edged plum fruits dominate the nose with creamy pomegranate and blackberry flavours on the palate and a refreshing hit of blackcurrant leaf on the finish.
All the La Celia Malbecs are worth a try: the Elite Malbec at €18 is particularly rich but the Pioneer is nearly as good for a few quid less. Grapes are macerated for 24 days to improve texture and fruit intensity and this spends time in second use French Oak. Blackberry and violet aromas, ripe creamy juicy Malbec fruits with good intensity for the price.
A blend of 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Syrah plus some Cab Franc, Petit Verdot and Carmenère — each of which is vinified separately. This is a big rich winter warmer with lots of French oak influence (90% is matured in new medium-toast 225-litre barrels). Black fruit, spice and vanilla aromas, ripe and round with pleasing chocolate and blackcurrant intensity and lingering liquorice and mint.
Carmen, founded in 1850, is Chile’s oldest longest-established wine producer. Chilean Carignan is hardly common but there a few around and all are worth trying — it needs a warm dry climate so grows well in many parts of Chile. Aromas of crushed red berries and blackberry, fruity and vibrant on the palate with lingering ripe red fruits and a streak of freshness on the finish.
Doña Paula’s winemaker and viticulturist have dedicated themselves diligently to finding micro plots of terroir to eke out different flavours from their vineyards and one of the elements they play with is altitude. The 1100 is from three separate blocks and a blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah with big dark fruit flavours with cacao and dark plums and lots of silky intensity.
Despite having only been in existence for a couple of years, Grace O’Malley has already released several iterations — I particularly liked their rum cask which I mentioned last summer. This blend is from a selection of batches, mainly double distilled, and finished in casks with a dark heavy char to bring out extra sweetness.
This pours a light gold and has big punchy aromas of vanilla, butterscotch, and coffee but with some of the malt character still hanging in there. Honeyed and soft on first sip, creamy and easy-drinking at first but with a pleasing bright crisp spice kick on the finish.
