Wine with Leslie: Would you drink a box of wine? I did, and it was fantastic
Did you drink better wine over the lockdowns? I know I did and most off-licences noticed a higher spend per bottle as did supermarkets. It will be interesting to see if this means we are more or less willing to up our wine spend in restaurants.
My hope is that restaurants will also see an uptick in fine wine sales and if you can afford it please do buy that better bottle if you can afford it - you will enjoy your meal more and restaurants could do with the extra few quid. Remember that a lot of the profits in restaurants is generated by drink rather than food sales.
I would also love to see restaurants offering some fine wines at perhaps a set mark-up of say €20 per bottle rather than adding a percentage to the wholesale price. If there is a set list in place I would encourage restaurants to experiment with interesting ‘wines of the month’ with a fair mark-up to encourage diners to experiment. Don’t be shy about suggesting this to your local restaurant if you are bored with their regular offering.
Most wines below are making their debut this week although one appeared in bottle form before rather than box. We can be terribly snobbish about boxed wine but remember that it is fine for inexpensive, quickly consumed wines and certainly more environmentally friendly than bottles.
I recommend a good value Tuscan perfect for summer plus a Muscadet born to be served with crab, lobster or mussels. Then there is Atelier des Sources ‘Le Retour’ Cinsault made by the same Irish trio that make “Les Deux Cols” Côtes du Rhône. Cinsault is more often used to add perfume and fruit to blends in the Rhône and Languedoc but is rarely bottled on its own - it is just too difficult to coax enough flavour from the grapes.
A little learning: grapes for Le Retour are grown in the Commune of Laurens in Hérault just 25 minutes north of Béziers. They were destemmed to reduce green tannins and given a 12 day maceration to extract as much flavour as possible. Remontage (gentle pumping over) and Pigéage (the punching of the cap that forms during fermentation) all helped extract flavour and the unfiltered, unfined wine was aged in 3rd-fill Burgundy barrels for a year. All this gives a fruit-driven but layered wine that will give a lot of pleasure, perhaps with some grilled lamb maybe with hummus and fresh pitta bread.
Yes, this is a boxed wine, please don’t be alarmed! Provided the wine is drunk quickly (within 8-10 days is my guess), it should taste consistently fruity and ripe and much the same as the bottled version. I first recommended this fruity Lisboa red a few years ago and it is remarkable value, luscious, soft and easy drinking with a touch of clove and spice on the finish.
We forget sometimes that Pinot Grigio is actually a pink skinned grape that will produce a light pink wine with some skin contact. This organic wine is from the same family that make Musella Amarone which I’ve recommended in the past - it’s reduced from €16 for the summer. Dusky pink hue, aromas of red currants and rosehip, textured and ripe with a lemon and mandarin, tangy-crisp finish.
This is a hold-over from last week’s column on Beaujolais - I’ve featured Fessy Fleurie before but I think this is the Villages version’s first appearance. Black cherry and blackberry aromas, supple and ripe with pleasing crunchy textured strawberry fruits on the palate and tasting not unlike a good Cru Beaujolais for significantly less money.
This is imported by David Whelehan for his wonderful shop in Loughlinstown in Dublin (not far from Carrickmines) - definitely worth a pilgrimage. Luneau-Papin Muscadet is bio-dynamic and organic and a benchmark for the region. Stony, mineral and pear aromas, textured and complex with an almost luxurious mouth-feel packed with layers of elegant white fruits and flowers and bonus confit pear on the finish. Just add Lobster or Crab.
This lesser-known but ancient Tuscan region is always good value and its southern coastal location produces Sangiovese that is rounder and softer with a savoury tang. Meaty and savoury dark fruit aromas with cherry and plum fruits on the palate, medium bodied with poise and not a little elegance.
A French wine made by Irish guys in Hérault near Béziers. Cinsault needs careful handling but the lads have coaxed every micron of flavour to produce a perfect summer red. Bright purple-red colour, red fruit aromas with a touch of autumn forest, juicy and lithe with fine-boned acidity and a gentle tannic overlay. Delicious.
Blacks Kinsale began as a brewery and has often appeared here - most recently their fab Pink Grapefruit IPA. In 2018 they released an Irish rum distilled from scratch in Kinsale - the 2nd release ‘Golden Rum’ even took a Gold at the World Rum Awards.
Now comes 563 numbered bottles of cask strength, 18 Year Old Single Malt Whiskey aged in Irish Rum barrels, (a first). Vanilla, Yorkshire Toffees and cedar aromas, creamy and supple with Breton Butter biscuit flavours, butterscotch, spice and tropical fruits, and a raisins, pepper and clove tinged finish. Yes it’s exclusive but better this than BitCoin!
