Wine with Leslie: Six white wines that are perfect for this weekend's warmer evenings
Don't be so shellfish - share these crisp whites!
White wine, I’ve been neglecting you. I have largely been ignoring you in favour of red wines in recent weeks so this week I am giving the column over to whites, especially those suitable for serving with seafood.
I cook fish all year round but I definitely cook more once the evenings brighten and on warm summer days. The warm sunny days will probably take a while to arrive but all this extra light in the evening has me optimistic and I’m sure the sunny days are on their way.
Here, I recommend a selection to drink with shellfish and seafood in general. I have included two dry Sherries as I love the intense salty zing of a good Fino or Manzanilla with a bowl of mussels, a plate of oysters, sushi or some beer-battered hake.
I’ve recommended a classic light Fino and an aged Manzanilla should you wish to compare. Fino is from Jerez and Manzanilla from the coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Manzanilla always seems a little saltier than the Fino from Jerez — but it could be wishful thinking as the albariza soil is as responsible for salty flavours as much as the sea air.
I have particularly fond memories of a large plate of boquérones fritos (or Fried Whitebait as we would call them) eaten on the terrace of a bar in Malaga near the cathedral a few years ago. As you might expect, the baby fish had been simply tossed in seasoned flour and deep-fried and the Fino Sherry cut through all the oil and fried fish flavours rather brilliantly, lifting these humble little herring onto a more astral plane.
Speaking of food memories I recently drank an aged Riesling I found in my cellar (cupboard) — a Carl Ehrhard 2015 from the much-missed Karwigs. I served it with some flash-fried rare tuna with a salty soy and chilli dressed salad and the Riesling’s briny mineral freshness was a perfect foil for the rich meaty Tuna and could cope with the salad better than you might expect — the Grüner here would also work I suspect.
Also here are some classic dry whites from France and Italy more suited to pan-fried plaice or sole perhaps but don’t forget that there are few more classical matches than Chablis and Oysters. An old memory is a bottle of Vermentino consumed in a park in New Orleans many years ago with a fried Oyster Po’Boy sandwich — try it sometime.
Barbadillo was the first company to bottle its Manzanilla — this is unfiltered (en rama) and aged around 9 years (four years longer than most Fino/Manzanilla).
Pale straw colour, fragrant full-on aromas of seawater and yeast with a taut lemon complexity and lingering zesty freshness. , smooth and polished with iodine touches, dried herbs and huge length. Extraordinary (in a good way).
Lustau can do no wrong in my book so as you might expect I find their Fino pristine and elegant. Lustau provides the (oloroso) barrels for Redbreast Lustau Edition and also makes excellent Vermut.
This Fino is lighter in style with lemon peel and bread dough aromas, textured and complex with lingering lime and preserved lemon notes — a fine introduction to Fino.
Winner of the Gold Star Old World White under €15 in last year’s NOffLA wine awards I tasted this again recently and felt it needed another mention. Vermentino can be found as far north as Liguria but can also cope with warmer areas like Sardinia and Puglia as here.
Grapefruit, lime and citrus aromas with a touch of peach: creamy, zesty freshness with a bonus salty kick on the finish.
Tin Pot Hut hasn’t appeared here recently but I also rate their Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir.
This has bright lime, pomelo and citrus aromas with a hint of floral — grapefruit and slightly sweeter apple and pear flavours hit the palate first, followed by mineral-tinged zingy acidity and bright tangy lemon on the finish.
Türk is based to the west of Vienna and has been around since the early 18th century. In the past, I have featured their Riesling and Blauer Zweigelt and their dessert wine.
This has pleasing lime, citrus and salt and pepper notes on the nose, crisp and brisk on the palate with pleasing fine-boned acidity and balance.
Better still is their €33 version which brings in some creamy supple notes.
The Chablisienne CoOp is one of the best in France with remarkable consistency across its range.
You might find this harder to find than the 'La Pierellee' which is a little leaner with more citrus mineral notes. Both are recommended but for some reason La Sereine has more almond and creamy wet wool notes sitting atop the lime and lemon chalky base.
Glendalough was founded in 2011 and I’m a fan — I adore their gins made from wild foraged Wicklow botanicals, especially their dry rose-scented pink gin. Back in 2018 Glendalough released a 13-Year-Old Mizunara cask whiskey so this is their second time using this rare exotic wood which is notoriously leaky and difficult to use but adds complex exotic flavours.
This pours a very light yellow gold with aromas of dark cocoa powder, roasted orange peel and hints of sandalwood and chocolate. Sweet honey hits the palate first followed by pepper, dark chocolate and orange with lingering chocolate notes and fine luxurious length.
