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FINANCIAL THRILLS Sky has announced that internationally renowned actor Josh Hartnett (Penny Dreadful) is to star in the taut new Sky Original thriller The Fear Index based on the best-selling novel by Robert Harris. Adapted by Paul Andrew Williams and Caroline Bartleet, and directed by David Caffrey (The Alienist, Peaky Blinders), the fast-paced four-part limited series will begin filming this month in Hungary and will air on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW later this year.
Hartnett will star as Dr Alex Hoffman, a computer scientist and genius who is ready to make a killing. Alongside his Hedge Fund business partner and best friend, Hugo (Ali), he’s launching VIXAL-4 to investors - an AIdriven system that exploits fear in the financial markets and operates at lightning speed to make big returns. The promise is billions, the rich are ready to get richer... but this is not the day Alex and Hugo had planned on. What follows is a fast-paced journey through the worst 24 hours of Alex’s life - cutting across reality, memory and paranoid fantasy, forcing him to question everything he sees with his own eyes.
In the pulse of Geneva’s financial district, Alex’s sanity is shaken after he is viciously attacked at his home by a man who knows all of his security codes. After more unexplained occurrences, Alex becomes convinced he’s being framed. But as secrets surface from his past, will anyone believe that he isn’t just losing his mind? Detective Leclerc (Montel), assigned to the case, struggles to work this former CERN scientist out, Hoffman’s talented artist wife, Gabby (Farzad) might just be losing patience this time, whilst Hugo’s only concern is the billion-dollar business on the line.
Zuccardi Los Olivos Malbec 2019, Mendoza, Argentina, £10.99, Taurus Wines
A leading light, Zuccardi produce some of the most thrilling malbecs in the country, and this is a glorious example of how silky and pure the wines can be. Soft as a velvet cushion, with enticing aromas of fresh berries and violets, a generous core of cassis, blackberry and plums topped with a twist of pepper, it’s beautifully balanced with great depth and lovely, long, finish.
TTD Morador Malbec 2019, Mendoza, Argentina, £8.50, Sainsbury’s
Fairtrade producer La Casa del Rey are the mastermind behind this solid own-label malbec. Big, rich and round, with soft tannins, pronounced blackcurrant and damson fruit with violet notes and a flick of spice, it’s free-flowing, lots of fun, and great value.
La Mechita Familia Zuccardi Malbec 2020, Mendoza, Argentina, £11.99, Virgin Wines
From the same famed producer, and another perfect parcel of fruit just begging to be drunk, here we have what’s cited as a modern malbec – think fruitforward and full of vivacity and freshness, rather than heavy and flat. Ripe black fruits are lifted by a perfumed, cherry nose, with hints of vanilla, spice and cedar riding on the bright, fruity finish.
Opi Malbec 2020,
Mendoza, Argentina, £9.99, Laithwaite’s
It’s easy to see why this bestseller flies off the shelves. An excellent example of how the mighty malbec doesn’t have to weigh you down with too much intensity, it still stimulates and feels luxurious and velvety. With pretty notes of blossom, purple fruit and spice, it’s expressive with ripe blackberry, plums, touch of smoke, vanilla, and for delicate palates, elegance on the finish.