Wine with Andy Cronshaw
GIVEN the price of lamb these days I’m reassessing my options this weekend and may well be opting for fish; perhaps a paella or a fish tagine.
It’s certainly a great option going forwards for the Easter break with seafood and white fish at its best.
Here’s a round-up of wines I’ve been sampling recently that will fit the bill over the for fish next couple of weeks but also some great bottles to grab easily over the weekend to match that lamb roast.
BORGO THAULERO PECORINO, TERRE DI CHIETI 2022 (£11.99 MIX 6 LAITHWAITES)
Pecorino is an Italian variety almost unheard of anywhere else. Given its once relative obscurity it’s quite surprising Pecorino has now forced its way onto supermarket shelves.
But given its propensity to produce perfumed, herbal wines with a slightly waxy texture it’s not surprising to find it has become increasingly popular.
This is a very good value example with punchy apricot fruit, great balance, and excellent acidity.
MAR DE FRADES ALBARIñO 2023 (£17 TESCO)
I often point towards independent wine merchants for the ultimate boutique wines which will impress your guests or hosts.
But in this case it’s Tesco that offers this very select Albarino from Spain’s Atlantic coast. Talk of ‘terroir’ may raise a few eyebrows among many shoppers but the term seems very apt in relation to this wine.
Although high rainfall and breezy conditions challenge winemakers in this area of Glacia, Paula Fandino at Mar de Frades embraces them, vinifying juice that exemplifies the wild, seasalt-sprayed landscape of the coast.
A mix of floral aromas, lime and stonefruit notes and mineral verve make this a wonderful wine for a seafood feast.
CUNE CRIANZA 2020 (£8 SAINSBURY’S, £10 MAJESTIC, OCADO)
Great value Rioja from the Alta subregion with bright Tempranillo fruit. American oak adds only a discreet coconut edge to this wine which is very much in a modern vein with a bold, fleshy palate that offers a little spice. Great, of course, with lamb and a pretty versatile allrounder.
LES COTEAUX COTES DU RHONE VILLAGES BOUTINOT 2021 (£11£12 KWOFF BURY, LAPWING DELI, WEST DIDSBURY, AND OTHER LOCAL WINE MERCHANTS)
This wine made by wine distributors Boutinot in the Rhone has long been a favourite of mine and is a very consistent wine. Despite a vintage blighted by frost, this blend of Syrah and Grenache is focused and lithe with juicy bramble flavours and a character that belies its price-point.
MOULIN DE GASSAC CLASSIC 2022 (£12.99 CARRINGTONS, CHORLTON)
This entry level wine is just a taste of what this renowned estate in the upper Gassac Valley, in the Languedoc, can produce.
Assembling typical Languedoc red grapes it offers an elegant expression of the area with grapes grown in conditions likened to Burgundy.
Savoury on the nose with a very herbal and generous palate with luscious fruit but a little bit of grip to the tannins. Excellent with Merguez sausages and lamb.