Wine with Leslie: Raise a glass to love this Valentine's Day

From seductive sparklers to juicy soft reds — my selections this week will all work for Valentine’s Day

Dunnes Stores has 20% off all sparkling wine and Champagnes which means Moët for €45 and Moët Rosé for €51.

Valentine’s Day is upon us once again and I can think of few greater pleasures in this world than a home-cooked meal with a good bottle of wine.

Myself and the Engineer have never gone to a restaurant for Valentine’s Day and I have almost always done the cooking.

The last couple of years I have cooked fish with a champagne sauce but you can use prosecco or cava instead.

I lightly flour the fillets of turbot, sole or whiting (her favourite fish) and then sauté them quickly in a mix of butter and olive oil until just cooked.

Remove the fish to a warm plate and deglaze the pan with a good splash of fizz which can be white or rosé. (I even used Dom Pérignon one year to the horror of some people on social media.)

Once the fizz has reduced a little, add a splash of cream and stir in a knob of butter. Stir any bits on the pan into the sauce for extra flavour and spoon onto the fish. This works nearly as well with a fragrant white wine as with Champagne.

I realise Champagne is never cheap, but all the supermarkets and multiples have special offers on fizz for Valentine’s Day so you might as well take advantage. O’Briens have their tasty Beaumont des Crayères Grandes Reserve for €33, Piper Heidsieck for €43, and Charles Heidsieck for €62.

Dunnes Stores has 20% off all sparkling wine and Champagnes which means Moët for €45 and Moët Rosé for €51 (see review, right).

I would urge you to go for the rosé as I think it is a bit of a steal at that price and I much prefer it to the standard blanc.

Tesco also have Moët at €45 and the underrated Mumm Cordon Rouge for a mere €42 — SuperValu has its Pierre Darcy Champagne for €34 and some good cava on offer as part of their Spanish wine sale.

My selections this week will all work for Valentine’s Day. There are some seductive sparklers and some juicy soft reds from the SuperValu sale and a solid inexpensive rosé.

Wines Under €15

Laudum Nature Organic Petit Verdot 2020, Alicante

Laudum Nature Organic Petit Verdot 2020, Alicante - €10.00

Stockist: SuperValu

This is a bargain given the quality of the (organic) juice, and the fact that it was aged for 8 months in new French oak. Crunchy, taut dark fruits with blackberry and cherries. Herbal, garrigue notes mingle with the dark berry flavours, and this manages to combine structure with elegance and lingering black wine gum flavours.

Años 3000, 2017, Monastrell-Syrah, Bullas

Años 3000, 2017, Monastrell-Syrah, Bullas - €15

Stockist: SuperValu

One of my favourite wines from the SuperValu sale. From an 800m altitude vineyard in Bullas DO in Murcia in Eastern Spain. This is 50-50 Syrah-Monastrell, with the Monastrell vines 70-100 years old. Ripe blackberry fruit aromas with dark chocolate and herbal touches, a fruit-driven palate with a touch of prunes and a smoky edge.

Delheim Pinotage Rosé, Stellenbosch, South Africa

Delheim Pinotage Rosé, Stellenbosch, South Africa - €11.21

Stockist: O’Briens

This is reduced from €15 and is a steal at this price. From early picked grapes and free-run juice this pours a light pale pink with floral and red fruit aromas — strawberries, red currants and raspberries. Fruity and lively with more red fruits on the palate and a touch of cherry-skin tartness on the finish. Thai Red Curry perhaps?

Wines Over €15

Torres Salmos Priorat 2016, Spain

Torres Salmos Priorat 2016, Spain - €20

Stockists: SuperValu

Valentine’s Day needs seductive wines and Priorat is about as seductive as it gets. This is reduced from €33 or so, as is Torres ‘Purgatori’ from nearby Costers del Segre — both are recommended. Ripe cherry and bramble aromas, silky and supple with a pleasing juicy richness and good weight. I drank this wine with a juicy cheeseburger recently and it was sublime.

Tour des Gendres Pét-Nat, Bergerac, France

Tour des Gendres Pét-Nat, Bergerac, France - €21.95

Stockists: L’Atitude 51, McCurtain St. Wine Bar, Bradleys, Green Man Wines, Le Caveau www.lecaveau.ie

A gorgeous Pet-Nat (Pétillant-Naturel) made from primarily Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc grapes in South West France. Lightly sparkling and a little cloudy with rich creamy pear and citrus flavours and a pleasing leesy character — lithe, seductive and delicious.

Moët et Chandon Rosé Impérial Champagne, France

Moët et Chandon Rosé Impérial Champagne, France - €51-66.00

Stockists: Dunnes Stores, widely available

Dunnes has this on offer for just €51.20 for Valentine's Day which is a steal. This is a jump up from the standard Moët Brut Impérial Blanc and pours a gorgeous dark salmon pink with cherry, citrus and red berry aromas, a crisp fruit-driven palate with an underlying rhubarb creaminess and lingering red apple peel.

Spirit of the Week

Whistler PX I Love You Single Malt

From Boann Distillery in the Boyne Valley in Co Louth who are rather killing it at the moment — their Solstice release last December was also excellent. This is made from 100% malted barley and was aged in ex-Bourbon casks before being finished in PX (Pedro Ximinez) Sherry casks for 9 months.

Muscovado sugar, caramel and cooked honey aromas, sweet on the attack with raisins, walnuts and dried fruits coming next, honey, spice and sweet sherry notes on the long finish. If you order from Boanndistillery.ie on Saturday, 11th this should arrive just in time for the 14th.