Zinfandel ‘Heritage’, De Loach
De Loach was founded in 1973 by San Francisco Firefighter Cecil De Loach. The estate was later taken over by Burgundian Jean-Charles Boisset, who has converted all their vineyards to organic and bodynamic practices.
This wine is unusual in that it presents great Californian wine at a sensible price, usually there is the mass-produced stuff at the bottom end of the market and then a big jump to the premium £30+ end. This is a great wine at a great price. Medium/full-bodied with loads of juicy bramble fruit and smooth, velvety tannins. A crowd-pleaser and a great pizza or BBQ wine.
Cremant de Loire, Chateau des Cosse NV
Three Lions Chardonnay, Plantagenet
Cedre Heritage Malbec, Cahors
Pascal Verhaeghe of Chateau de Cedre has been the driving force behind the Cahors “Quality Charter” and quality oozes from these wines.
The estate was originally created by Charles Verhaeghe on vineyard land devastated by the frosts in 1956 in Viré-Sur-Lot.
His sons Pascal and Jean-Marc duly studied winemaking, the former in Burgundy and California, the latter in
Bordeaux. Ecological viticultural methods eschewing weedkillers and chemical fertilizers, yield reduction by serious
pruning, leaf stripping for greater sun exposure and air circulation, harvesting the grapes on the verge of overripeness
yield the superb raw material essential to create fabulous wines.
In the cellars the Verhaeghes aim for softness, richness and harmony through gentle extraction by long vattings and limited pigeage, malolactic fermentation and sensible use of oak.
The Heritage du Cèdre is the Pugsley in this Addams menagerie. The family traits of abundant dark brooding fruit are evident; the heart is black but the flesh is youthful. Its lunchtime and you could murder a Cahors, but you don’t fancy taking out one of the big guns. Heritage is for you, a bonny ruby-red, the Malbec softened
by plummy Merlot soothing to the gullet.
Great with sausages, in fact, any grilled red meat!
Fantasia Malbec, Mauricio Lorca
Mauricio's high density, high altitude vineyards are in his beloved Vista Flores in the Uco Valley; and his ever expanding, though still relatively small, winery is situated in Luján de Cuyo. It's a no-frills operation with the energy and solid work ethic of every employee channelled into getting the job done.
100% Malbec from Mauricio Lorca's own vineyards in Vista Flores in the Uco Valley, 30% of which is lightly oaked. High density, high vertical vine training, just under 7,000 vines per hectare, approximately 2 bottles of wine per plant, this is the Fantasia philosophy.
A really expressive, dark and rather serious Malbec for the money with masses of plush black fruit on the nose and the all freshness on the palate that the Uco Valley will give to the right winemaker. Superb, great value Malbec.
A great wine for BBQ's or any grilled meat!
Herdade Sao Miguel Tinto
This is a family run winery, in the heart of Redondo, in the Alentejo region, with a deep love and understanding of the viticultural heritage of their region. Alexandre Relvas started in 1997, and his two sons Alexandre Jr and António now run the show, ably supported by Head Winemaker Nuno Franco.
Herdade São Miguel is the original, flagship estate which comprises 35 Ha of vineyard as well as Cork forest and olive groves and a heathy flock of Merino sheep.
A blend that changes slightly each year, the last few vintages of this wine have been on fire. Beautifully defined dark fruit (there always seems to be a generous lick of cassis in this wine, even when the Cabernet component is actually quite modest), just a frame of toasty oak (although that roasted Alentejo character amalgamates with that too), and just enough Alicante crunch to keep it all fresh and energetic.
Older vintages are still drinking well, and with the improvements in this great value wine, there's no reason more recent vintages won't last even longer.
A great wine for a hearty roast or BBQ.
Lavradores de Feitoria Tinto
Grapes - Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Tinta Barroca
Lavradores de Feitoria is a unique project, created in 2000. Resulting from the union of owners of 18 Quintas spread throughout the best terroirs in the 3 sub-regions of the Douro region (Baixo Corgo, Cima Corgo and Douro Superior). Together, they have a total area of vineyard of more than 600 ha.
The aim was to show the best of what the Douro can offer and to offer great value; this wine really sums up the Douro for me.
A typical Douro blend of grapes offers real character, and the modern winemaking creates a smooth rich wine. Together, we have a wine of great balance and finesse.
Goes well with grilled meats and vegetables and can handle a bit of spice!
‘La Magendia’ Jurancon Moelleux (37.5cl), Clos Lapeyre
Jean-Bernard Larrieu makes some of the best wines in Jurancon at Clos Lapeyre. This isolated area lies inland in the foothills of the Pyranees and is home to some of the best sweet wines France has to offer (without paying Sauternes prices). Petit Manseng is the main grape for producing these delicious, honeyed wines and it's bright acidity is what makes it so successful; no matter how rich and unctuous the wine, it still feels fresh and mouth-watering on the finish. In case you were wondering, La Magendia means 'the best' in the local Occitane dialect; very fitting, as this is truly stunning.
Perfect with fruit desserts (rhubarb or apple crumble...?) and is a star with blue and rind-washed cheeses.
Vina Ilusion Rioja, Plaza Medina
Ilusion is a project brought to life by Martín Alonso and Gloria Plaza in the Rioja Baja sub-zone of the region.
Here, in their chalky, iron laced clay soils at around 700m of altitude, the two organically farm their 5 hectares with the utmost care
according to the Fukuoka (author of “One Straw Revolution”) method. While it has been called “do nothing farming” for the
lack of additions (neither chemical nor organic fertilizer) and general outlook that healthy cultivation is more about long-term
planning and careful observation than it is about attempting to micromanage and control agriculture, Fukuoka farming has
become trendy with some very respectable vignerons.
Way before this came to pass, and before current luminaries such as Michael Pollan namechecked him, Alonso travelled to Japan nearly 30 years ago to learn from Fukuoka himself. Farming ideology aside, we should mention that this wine is a delicious, gulpable expression of Rioja: full of mixed berries and red fruits, juicy, delightful to drink.
A great party red, and a guaranteed crowd pleaser!