Wine with Leslie: Chill these red wines and enjoy a cool drink on a hot day
Chill: do remember that when we say ‘room temperature’ we are talking about the temperature of an unheated room — 16-18°C is about ideal for Bordeaux and Burgundy
As you may have read last week I am recently back from a driving holiday in Northern Spain, spent mainly in cities but also in a few mountain villages. The weather was hot everywhere so you might think we drank white wine with our lunch and dinner but, in fact, it was probably 80% red over white.
We were in Northern Spain so we did of course drink some white Verdejo from Rueda, Albariño from Rias Baixas and Godello from Ribeira Sacra and Bierzo, but we also drank lots of local red wine and it was invariably served chilled or at least cool — usually 8-10°C.
Mencía is the great red grape of Galicia and Castilla Y Léon and is usually served cool to bring out the fruits, but we also drank a delicious Pesquera Crianza Ribera del Duero in a meat-focused restaurant in Valladolid which is only 50 minutes from the vineyard (see below). Crianza implies oak and yes this did indeed have some spicy cedar and vanilla but being served at around 10°C brought out the dark fruit flavours even better.
Traditionally red wines served cool are wines with little or no oak such as Dolcetto, Bardolino or Beaujolais. The French almost always serve Beaujolais chilled but it can go too far — fridge temperature of 4-5°C is too cold except for the cheapest wines — I’m still a little cross that that glass of Fleurie in Charles de Gaulle Airport in 2013 was served at around 3°C.
There is no point serving very expensive or aged and delicate wines chilled as you will not get any of the subtleties: but do also remember that when we say ‘room temperature’ we are talking about the temperature of an unheated room — 16-18°C is about ideal for Bordeaux and Burgundy.
Inexpensive wines work great chilled as the cold temperature evens out flavours. For example, O’Briens cheapest wine Giaconda Rosso, currently on offer at €8 works well as the bright cherry fruits taste even better chilled. Similarly, O’Briens’ Porta 6 Portuguese red from Lisboa (€36 for 3 litres) is small enough to be placed in the fridge. Aldi’s Toro Loco and neighbouring wines such as Viña Albali Valdepeñas or Lunatico Monastrell also work well.
From Italy seek out Dolcetto and Corvina-based wines from the Veneto; from Portugal look to Alentejo and Lisboa; and inexpensive Pinot Noir from Romania and the Languedoc also works brilliantly.
All the wines here can be chilled but feel free to serve at whatever temperature you wish!
I know I mentioned this wine a few months ago but it never lets me down — I rarely spot it on a wine list without ordering it and sometimes with an ice bucket to bring the temperature to around 10°C.
This is ‘natural’ with zero added sulphur and minimal intervention so expect soft bright primary fruits, floral and juicy, blueberry and plums.
I featured La Maldición (‘The Curse’) in 2020 for obvious reasons There are now 2 more wines in the range: a lively taut dark rosé ‘Clarete’ and a super-juicy El Secreto de la Garnacha.
The 2020 is as good as usual — perfumed berry fruits, supple and fruit-focused — perfect for chilling.
I mentioned the Baer Riesling and Pinot Blanc recently but I’m not sure I have ever mentioned their Pinot Noir. Very light in colour (almost dark rosé), with lively raspberry and strawberry aromas and hints of earth and spice — soft on the palate with a taut tang of cherry skin on the finish.
This is the wine that Alejandro Fernandez used to kickstart a full revival of the Ribera del Duero region (plus its sister brand Condado de Haza). Don’t go for an overnight fridge chill on this: 90 minutes in the fridge should be fine. Dense textured ripe dark smoky plums with a touch of tobacco and liquorice — crunchy, fruity and delicious.
This is reduced from €21.45 this month and as you would hope (given its name) is a solid representation of the Beaujolais Fleurie Cru which is often floral in character.
Supple red fruit aromas with a touch of cranberry, rose petals and red currants. Lively dark cherries hit the palate first followed by pleasing bright fruits and pleasing textures, lingering cherry skin on the finish. Once again, 10°C is about perfect.
Mencía is found in Galicia (Monterrei, Ribeira Sacra) and in Bierzo which borders Galicia. You will also find fragrant textured Godello in these regions as a perfect complementary white. This is fragrant and floral with violets, red and dark fruits and a touch of liquorice — vivid and lively in the glass with bright supple fruits and pleasing texture and length.
If not this one then try any Mencía you can find.
This is the second release in the Estate Series and is named for Powerscourt’s Italian Garden — limited to 6,000 bottles. It was a surprise when Master Distiller, Noel Sweeney, left Powerscourt but the new head of whiskey & product development, John Cashman, seems on top of things. Here he has married 19-year-old Single Malt Amarone Cask with 11-12 Year Old Grain Whiskey in first-fill Bourbon.
Light candied lemon aromas with honey and orange plus a touch of cream soda: sweet grain flavours hit the palate first followed by red fruits and spice with lingering clove and honeycomb notes. Balanced and immediately pleasing.
