Weekend wine with Blake Creedon
This is certainly true for wine, and it was underlined again at a recent press tasting of part of Marks & Spencer’s wine range.
For instance, take the accomplished pinot noir made by Corriente del Bío (whose sauvignon blanc is featured below). This is a straightforward delicious pinot noir, and not bad value at all at €10.99. However, it is so far surpassed by the rounded, elegant Tasmanian Pinot Noir 2009 (€14.99) that you wouldn’t quibble with the extra €4.
There were plenty of examples of good bottles vying with each other on price and quality — but one stopped me in my tracks. In a deviation from the usual wine running order (from white to red via rosé, and from cheap to expensive) M&S tasting placed the Rosso di Puglia (below) next to a serious reserve Rioja. And the everyday Italian costing €6.29 suffered not at all in comparison with the wine priced at €33.50. I’m not saying it’s the same as the Spanish bottle, but it is a remarkable achievement, given the contrasting aspirations of the two wines.
The Rosso di Puglia raises another interesting aspect about wine-buying. We enthusiasts are led to believe that the best wines are made in cool climate regions; that in those marginal conditions, the fruit develops more complexity as it matures. In contrast, we’re told, the blazing heat of warmer climates sets the grape off on a headlong rush to ripeness, laying down little but sugars.
It does make some sense, and the evidence is there in classy wines from regions whose climates are cool, or at least are punctuated by hot-and-cold daily cycles.
However, outright hot regions can excel too, particularly when modern viniculture is married to local traditions of trellising and pruning. And that is certainly the case with the handsome Puglian — grown as it is in the traditional local heat-defying albrello trellising.
Corriente del Bío Sauvignon Blanc 2010 €9.49
The cool Bío Bío Valley in the deep south of Chile is emerging as quality, the result of the recent investment by Bodegas Y Viñedos Corpora (also known for Veranda and Viña Agustinos): a fab fresh zingy mouthwatering grapefruit at a very good price.
Reserve de Saurine Rosé 2010 €9.99
You may already know Laudun Chusclan Vignerons from their excellent Rhône reds, such as the cracking Domaine de la Violette which Dunnes used to have. Here they are again with a deliciously tart, dry rosé, a blend of typical local grapes — grenache, cinsault, carignan and syrah — and merlot.
Rosso di Puglia 2010 €6.29
Casa Girelli makes wines in six contrasting regions all around Italy and certainly seem to have brought the spirit of their more upmarket offerings to bear on this inexpensive bottle from Puglia in the heel of the country. It’s a great value light, bright mouthwatering red with a lovely mineral edge.
Ken Forrester “Workhorse” Chenin Blanc 2010 €10.49
Chenin blanc is a grape worth seeking out, whether grown at its ancestral home in the Loire, or in this case by Ken Forrester (his chenin is also one of Tesco’s stars). Mostly it’s fermented cool, crisp and unadorned, but a small portion spends time in oak, adding beautiful breadth to the delicious aromas of ripe red apple.
Ebenezer and Seppeltsfield Shiraz 2009 €14.99
Accessible yet complex, this super shiraz is made by the bespoke St Hallett winery in Australia’s Barossa Valley. It opens with amiable berry flavours, bedded in a deceptively soft texture, but these give way to a never-ending parade of intriguing notes of cocoa and spice.
Rioja Perez Burton DOCa 2007 €13.29
While I wouldn’t turn my nose up at the much more simple Bodegas Age 2009 Tempranillo Garnacha also at Marks and Sparks, this classy Rioja is well worth the extra €3 — a taut, fine red that would blossom beautifully in the bottom of your biggest glasses as the roast lamb comes out of the oven.
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