Wine with Leslie: cool drinks from cooler climes - and an €11 Spanish white
A selection of wines from cool climes at cool prices this week
As our weather warms and winemakers (and wine drinkers) fret about the future, cool-climate wine regions are getting more and more attention.
Cool-climate regions are typically found at altitude, in coastal regions and at higher latitudes. Germany, Austria, the Loire and Champagne would be the best known in Europe, while parts of Chile, California and Australia all qualify. Much of the South Island of New Zealand is cool climate including parts of Marlborough, Central Otago and the Canterbury Hills region. I confess I knew less about the Canterbury Hills region until a recent conversation with Steve Smith MW who makes wines in all these regions.
Steve Smith MW is best known for creating Craggy Range whose wines have appeared here in the past. Two of Steve’s wine projects are imported by Curious Wines in Cork and he visited recently. Steve joined with investor and conservationist Brian Sheth to create Smith & Sheth Wines in 2014 and Curious brings in wines they make in Wairau (Marlborough), Hawkes Bay and Central Otago.
Curious also bring in the duo’s Biodynamic Pyramid Valley range which includes a Central Otago PInot Noir, and three from North Canterbury which I learned is actually the coolest of New Zealand’s wine regions (cooler on average than even Central Otago).
A couple of weeks ago I praised the Greywacke Wild Ferment Sauvignon and this week it’s Steve’s turn. I adored his Pyramid Valley Sauvignon which is from vineyards that have cool mountain breezes on one side and cold ocean breezes on the other - intriguingly the wine includes a few percent of skin contact Sauvignon, Pinot Gris and Riesling in the blend. On offer this month for just €20.
“It’s all about what the vineyard can do combined with the type of wines we want to make - how can we get there without being constrained,” he says. All the tricks are used it seems from wild yeast to wild malo-lactic and from amphora to oak fermentation and the results are seriously impressive across the range.
Selections this week are mainly from Curious Wines with two Spanish bargains and three cool climate wines from the Smith & Sheth stable. I also include a cool climate Leyda Pinot Noir I’ve been meaning to mention for around six weeks.
, Spain - €10.80
White Grenache deserves more love and attention and this wine should convince you. From one of Navarra’s oldest wineries and some of the region’s oldest vines grown at c.650m altitude. Floral and fragrant with melon and tropical fruits, creamy, juicy and lively with a lingering green apple skin tang. A total bargain.
From Bodegas Tempore who grow their organic 35-50-year-old vines in the harsh continental climate of lower Aragón, just south of the city of Zaragoza. Ripe berry fruit aromas, bright cherry and cranberry, with savoury dried fruits on the mid-palate plus a touch of candied strawberry. Bargain number two!
Leyda is a cool coastal region around 90km west of Santiago, and grapes for this wine grow just a few kilometres from the cold Pacific ocean. Smoky red fruit aromas with admirable restraint and subtlety, ripe red currants and black raspberry on the palate with spice hints and a pleasing minerality and freshness - this punches well above its price point.
This is reduced from €25. Wild yeast fermented in tank, amphora and neutral barrel with 8% fermented on skins for 2-3 weeks and 3 months lees ageing. Creamy apple and tropical fruit aromas with a tang of tangerine - kiwi, melon and apple flavours, layered and complex with gorgeous textural complexity and balancing acidity.
This is 100% barrique fermented old vine Chardonnay from vineyards in Hawkes Bay (including Gimblett Gravels). This is gorgeous; supple and almost luscious as it hits the palate with tropical fruits and layers of pear and melon - next comes the acidity and structure giving this tautness and vivacity and a long complex finish. Meursault needs to watch its back.
Grapes are sourced from five vineyards in cool-climate North Canterbury which has a mostly maritime climate. This pours quite pale with ripe cherry and wild herb aromas that follow through on the palate - vibrant, elegant and textured with savoury red fruits balanced by tension and complexity. Top-notch Pinot and fairly priced given the quality.
This won gold at the recent Blás na hÉireann Awards and was one of the most talked about products in the competition. Created by head brewer Kevin Byrne during lockdown with the aid of his daughter Rachel, this is made from “fermented ginger with a twist of lemon and a hint of botanicals” they say. Gluten, sulfite and preservative free.
This pours crystal clear with bright ginger and spice aromas - crisp pear and apple fruits hit the palate first followed by the lively hot tang of ginger and spice, and a lemony kick rounds out the finish. For cocktail recipes see www.zingibeer.ie
