RAISE A GLASS
THINK of me as the scouting party in your wine world. The person you send into a pub or restaurant to check out the “vibe” before you decide to spend your money there or not.
This week I’ve been scouting around the latest Lidl wine range as their autumn Wine Tour will be in shops from September 27.
Many wine retailers now run a “WIGIG” theme – a wine which is on sale for a limited time and “when it’s gone it’s gone”.
Lidl has a few WIGIG tours every year and the one coming up has an emphasis on regional French wines. Here’s a small selection...
If you pop along to this small corner of my world on a regular
basis, you’ll know that I love
my fizz. Jean Truffot
Crémant de Bourgogne (£7.99, 12.5% abv) is bubble-tastic. It is a pale lemon colour with notes of fresh apples, dried apple flakes and a flirt with cinnamon. It has good acidity, a slight mineral finish and long-lasting fruit notes.
Summer might have gone but there’s always a reason to enjoy a lovely pink with memories of seasonal fruit. Côté Garrigue Rosé (£5.99, 13% abv) is a
blush pink and a classic blend of grapes from the Languedoc – grenache, syrah, cinsault, carignan and mourvèdre. It has a nose of strawberries and cream with a peachy perkiness. It isn’t as fruity to taste as it is on the nose, but it is a pretty glass to share with friends.
I’ve included Clos des Batuts Cahors (£6.99, 13% abv) mainly to get you thinking outside the box. If you enjoy a glass of malbec, nine times out of 10 you’ll be drinking one from Argentina which has made that grape its own. Malbec, however, originally hails from France and Cahors is its region. This is an inky ruby colour, but slightly “see through” so it is not full bodied. It
has a nose of wood, herbs and plums and there’s a good fruity finish with a dash of spice.
Finally, a white which is one of my favourite styles – a Bordeaux
blanc. Château La Peyrère Bordeaux Blanc (£5.99, 11% abv) is the perfect glass for a midweek wind-down (or maybe wined down). Sauvignon blanc makes up 70% of the blend with semillon and muscadelle playing a lesser part. Grapefruit, herbs, peach and honeysuckle play on the nose and there’s a good, dry finish and a dabble of fruit.
■ Also in my glass… I couldn’t resist Scapegrace Gin (RRP £40, Majestic, Amazon, Ocado) when I saw it is produced using water from the New Zealand Alps.
I was there earlier in the year – oh how that time has flown.
Scapegrace is distilled with these botanicals – cloves, angelica, orris and liquorice roots, orange and lemon peel, coriander, nutmeg, juniper, cardamom, cassia bark, cinnamon sticks and dried tangerine. Phew.
Juniper aromas lead from the front, with a hint of cloves and a peep of liquorice; then it’s citrus all the way. It is soft to taste, rounded and warming. Scapegrace recommend you pour over ice, top with tonic and garnish with an orange wheel and a sprig of thyme. ■ Jane is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers. Find her on social media and online as One Foot in the Grapes.