RAISE A GLASS
I’M doing that autumnal sneaky thing that women do – turning up the central heating when no-one is looking. For some reason the house is still on late summer settings but I’ve definitely moved into cuddle-me sofa blankets and slippers. A trio of red wines has helped my seasonal transition, as I watch the October skies loom gloomily through the window.
Sous le Soleil du Midi
Merlot (£5.99, Waitrose, 13.5%abv) This unassuming red is delightfully easy to sip. It’s a red for a friend’s surprise visit, for a Wednesday night, for a bowl of beef stew. It’s a fruit-forward wine, with red fruits, damsons and brambles with a couple of subtle layers such as vanilla and mocha, probably because some of the wine was allowed to sit on the lees and some matured with American oak. Pisano Progreso Tannat 2015 (£7.95, thewinesociety.com, 13% abv) The grape tannat – homeland in Madiran in the south west of France – is rustic, with dry tannins. This wine is a much softer affair, like someone has had a word in its ear. The fourth generation of the winemaking Pisano family in Uruguay has taken this grape and created a wine which is oh-so fruity on the nose, brambly and jammy, with the tannins calm and less astringent than its French cousins. A relaxing, warming, and surprising red. Warwick Estate Cape Lady Cabernet Sauvignon 2015 (£8.50, Morrisons, 14% abv) The nose of this Western Cape wine is a flashback to the blueberry my mum used to buy. There’s a good lick of vanilla, a hint of eucalyptus and blackberries. It is soft in the mouth, with some cab sav savoury, woody bitterness offsetting the black fruit. The eponymous lady is Norma Ratcliffe who, with her husband Stan, planted cabernet sauvignon when they bought the South African vineyard in 1964.
ALSO IN MY GLASS…. A few months ago I voted for something close to my heart. No, not a general election, or even Brexit (though obviously I voted in those) but for a wine.
I mentioned it here at the time; I cast my vote for the style, look and feel of a new wine to be created by members of the Co-operative society.
Six months later, this democratically designed wine is appearing on the shelves.
People were asked to select the grape (chardonnay, pinot grigio and a chardonnay-viognier blend) and later its name and then the label design. The Members’ Choice Pioneer Pinot Grigio (£6.99, 12% abv) is now born. The name Pioneer was selected as a reference to the pioneers of the co-operative movement; and the bear label because it references the Californian wine, as the bear appears on the state’s flag. What of the wine? It has light aromas of pear, lychee and apple, with more of the same to taste. It is lacking intensity in flavour or acidity to make a memorable impact when you taste, but hey, it’s pleasant enough. In store from October 19.