Wine with Leslie: what's the best wine for Easter feasts? - plus a €7 Portugese vinho verde
Wine with Leslie: looking at the best wines for Easter
Easter and roast lamb just seem made for each other but what to drink with it? To be honest this question has more than one answer depending on your nationality.
New Zealanders would likely opt for a Marlborough Pinot Noir, although some might suggest a Hawkes Bay Gimblett Gravels Syrah, especially with a slow roast or spiced version.
Anyone from Spain will insist on Rioja or Ribera del Duero, especially as roast suckling lamb is a speciality of Northern Spain - both work well with Rioja working best with Spring Lamb given its delicacy.
Italians would stick to their local red but the more open-minded might opt for a Brunello di Montalcino or perhaps a Chianti or Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Personally, I love red Bordeaux with lamb, and most French would probably agree.
Whelehan’s Wines in Loughlinstown organised a tasting recently of the wines made by the Cuvelier family who own Château Léoville Poyferré and other properties in the Médoc and Argentina, so I recommend two of their wines this week - the second wines of Château L. Poyferré and of Ch. Moulin Riche.
Ch. Moulin-Riche itself (€55) is also recommended - still young but the mint-tinged dense blackcurrant fruits offer lots of pleasure even at this stage in its development.
Mint chocolate, red pepper purée and touches of liquorice mingle with the black fruits and it has at least ten more years.
Château Le Crock 2018 (€49) from St. Estephe meanwhile was also quite young and taut, but red fruits and blackberry flavours gave it its own charm.
Château Léoville Poyferré 2017 (€139) presented sweet blackberry fruits on the nose and seemed ripe and open with more charm than many of the 2017s but I confess I preferred the Léoville Poyferré 2014 (€139) which seemed to have all its elements knitted together better - I think the 2017 just needs more time.
The 2014 Poyferré had inky dark fruits with blackberry, blackcurrant and touches of mint. Concentrated but still elegant, with lingering crème de mûres and cassis flavours and an open-fruited generosity on the mid-palate.
Recommendations this week are three red Bordeaux and three wines from the Aldi Spring-Summer collection including a rosé, a vinho verde and an old favourite - Aldi’s Veuve Monsigny Champagne.
Warmer days recently had me looking to rosé to match a rich pâté, and this is a bit of a bargain. Made from a blend of 30% each of Grenache, Syrah and Cinsault, plus a little Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Candied red fruit aromas, ripe red berries on the palate with a touch of strawberries and cream and a dry finish.
Yes, that price is correct. Don’t expect miracles, but I did like this lively crisp wine from Northern Portugal, especially for the price. Ripe lime aromas mixed with green apples, more lime and apples on the palate with a whisper of pétillance, clean and crisp. Try with some fish & chips or perhaps with some moules-frites.
You probably know this already but Aldi’s Veuve Monsigny really does punch well above its price point - the rosé is also good and some stores may still have some left after Christmas (it is seasonal). Lively mousse, light brioche and citrus aromas, lime and lemon on the palate with a biscuity softness, crisp and zingy with extra apple-skin tang on the finish.
This is the second wine of Château Moulin Riche which is in the same ownership as nearby Ch. Léoville Poyferré. Creamy cedar aromas mixed with red and darker fruits, especially blackberry - full flavoured with good fruit density and ripeness. Dried berries appear on the mid-palate and linger on the finish. My top wine recommendation this week.
The 2nd wine of Ch Léoville Poyferré and still young so you perhaps decant, or better still lay it down for a couple of years. Aromas of violets and dark spicy fruits, creamy silky blackcurrants hit first, next some chewy tannins but with the ripe fruit holding its own - concentrated, mouth-filling, dense and pure with good complexity and length.
I featured Château Lanessan 2012 more than once, but most shops now have the 2014, arguably a riper and better year. Always one of the best value Médoc Château, this is softer and fuller than the 2012 but with the same cedar tinged blackcurrant fruits. Elegant and layered with lingering black plums on the finish.
Mark Jenkinson is one of the heroes of the Irish cider world particularly known for his excellent Cockagee keeved cider made by the difficult French method whereby the ferment dies naturally leaving some balancing residual sugar.
This gorgeous dry Perry is crafted from Irish grown French pear varieties ‘Plant de Blanc’ and Poire de Cloche’ - two of the very best perry pears. This pours a delicate light gold with floral pear and white peach aromas, with hints of aromatic spices. Fruity, creamy and lively on the palate with a mouth-tingling sparkle, lemon zest and sherbet touches, and a layered long dry finish. Extraordinarily good.
