Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Mon have a go at expert choice
BUOYED by the fact the lads on The Wine Show were raving about the same Malbec I plugged last week I’ll be moving forward with an air of supreme confidence.
My taste buds have finally made it, you might say, meaning I can sniff, slurp and glug with the best of them. What I need to do next is come up with some kind of quirky, off-beat idea for a wine programme which will allow me to roam the planet drinking only the finest vino.
Driving about in vintage cars like 2CVS and old camper vans is a bit last year, so many another mode of transport is needed. Could a Belfast Bike take me to the South West of France?! Possibly. But by the time I got back, there might be a hard border. I’d be like Joanna Lumley tying to get into Iran on her Silk Road trip.
Obviously, the backstop plan would be a wee bottle for the border guard who’d likely be still awaiting guidance about what he or she is supposed to be letting in without the right paperwork.
I’d like to head to the South West of France, mind you, in search of some amazing Gros Manseng. If you’re using this grape as a conversational gambit in polite society, the S is silent and the first syllable in Manseng is more like the ‘mon’ in ‘c’mon now, catch yerself on’. So Gro-mon-seng, so it is.
You’ll find it a few areas in this lesser known corner of France (in wine terms anyway), but the one I tried was a Jurançon which is an AOC centred around the town of Pau. That’s pronounced Po not Pow.
It was rich, mouthfilling, perfumed. The fruit was like melon balls you used to get as a starter in the 80s with a hint of that sort of jellied fruit you’d find on a Christmas cake, but, obviously, with the right balance of acidity to make it lip-
Backstop plan would be a wee bottle for the border guard who’d be awaiting paperwork
smackingly good.
To be honest I had it with a fish supper, but if I had to make a recommendation befitting of this wine I’d maybe go with pan-fried chicken (skin on) with a creamy, porcini sauce sweetened slightly with roughly chopped prunes. Take that Jamie!
While looking out for this grape you might come across Petit Manseng which is largely used for sweet Jurançon. Both have thick skins. The Gros stuff pops up in a few areas, but you’d likely get a cheaper example in a Côtes de Gascogne which is an IGP (Indications Géographique Protégé) in the Sud-ouest.
It also turns up in interesting blends. Try one of these and see what tour palate thinks.