Author: Round & About

Round & About’s wine columnist shares his love of wines and picks out eight bottles that will steal your heart.

Oh, For The Love Of Wine…

It’s February, so it’s time to talk about love. What Saint Valentine would make all of this, I can only wonder. Being a celibate bishop who became the patron saint of beekeepers, logistics and epileptics, you’d have thought his interests lay elsewhere… 

Whatever the case, Valentine’s Day is a good excuse to celebrate a love of wine, and these beauties are worth rejoicing in.

Fizz

First up, a fizz. The Graham Beck 2019 Rosé (Majestic £21 on a mixed six). While the Graham Beck Rosé (Waitrose £14) is my house fizz, the 2019 rosé is my celebratory fizz of choice. Made from 100% Pinot Noir and given extended bottle age, there’s a wonderful intensity to this wine. 

The bouquet charges from the glass, bringing raspberries, redcurrants, strawberries, and lime cream. These are all present in the mouth, joined by grapefruit, lemon, and a savoury, biscuity edge. All Beck’s wines are impressive, but with this, they have taken New World fizz to new heights.

White wine (with a Provencal detour)

Over the last year, I’ve fallen for Sicilian wines. Historically, I’ve found them to be good value, but rarely worth writing home about. Discovery wines from producers such as Mandrarossa are definitely worth shouting about, though. I’ve had half a dozen of their wines, and all have been superb. 

One of their best whites is their Fiano (Vinum £12.65). Fiano is an increasingly widely planted grape owing to its love of heat, yet it gives wines that are bright, crisp, and packed with flavour. 

Mandrarossa’s is a delight. Pale green gold, floral and citrus aromas are followed by piercing flavours of pear, green apple and white peach, married to a custard apple tone toward the finish. A stylish aperitif, it would be sublime with shellfish, white fish or creamy mushroom dishes.  

P.S. I was tempted to recommend the Mandrarossa Nero d’Avola (Loki £13.99) or the Bonera (Svinando £15), both of which are dazzling wines that combine quality and value.

Provence is best known for its rosés, but it’s also an area that produces exceptional red and white wines.  Production-wise, these are bit players, the whites accounting for less than 5%, but when they are good, they are amazing. 

Take the Domaine de la Croix Cuvee Irresistible (Perfect Cellar £19.95). Produced from Rolle (Vermentino), this pear and nectarine flavoured wine gently balances richness with freshness, fruit with savouriness, and approachability with style. Beyond the ample orchard fruits lie minerals, peach stones, and clean lemon acidity – just the thing to serve with oysters or chicken.

Rosé wine

Sangiovese rosé is a rarity. No, let me rephrase that. Good Sangiovese rosé is a rarity. Lake Garda-filling amounts of dross abound, wines with all the character and charm of the Oxford ring road at rush hour. The Icario Nysa Rosato 2024 (Perfect Cellar £21.56) is a great Sangiovese rosé. 

Plump and juicy, it harnesses Sangiovese’s cherry and herb tones while trading its customary stalky bitterness for a damson juiciness. With its peachy texture and clean citrus acidity, it’s everything you could want in a rosé. Lovely on its own, I’ve had it with cheese tartlets, smoked fish, and salty hors d’oeuvres, and it’s always proved a marriage made in heaven.

Red wine

Red wine is supposed to be good for the heart, in which case I’m in cracking cardiac condition. A red that always gets my heart beating faster is the Achaval Ferrer Malbec (Hic! £22). Created from fruit from selected plots across the Cuyana province, this is Malbec at its most alluring. 

Deep violet, from the off you get a sense of purity and freshness. Floral and black fruit notes dominate the bouquet, and these seep onto the palate. The blackberry, plum, cherry and chocolate flavours are lifted by fragrance and anchored by liquorice and the silky, dry tannins. The overall effect is mesmerising and leaves you wanting a refill. Enjoy this with a steak or a rich tomato-based dish.

Want to spice up your night? Reach for a bottle of Journey’s End Griffin Syrah 2016 (Ocado £24).  Journey’s End’s decision to call this Syrah rather than the more commonly used Shiraz is appropriate. This is a refined, nuanced, old-world-facing wine that has more than a passing resemblance to a fine Rhône. Plum coloured, the nose is gentle yet full, with black fruits, flowers, leather, and spices combining harmoniously. 

This gentility extends to the palate, where the plummy, blackberry and cherry tones are given lift by cranberry and currants, and depth by black pepper, earth, and cooked meat. Give it a couple of hours open and serve with hearty foods such as spiced sausages, casseroles, and slow-roasted veg.

I fell in love with Yalumba’s wines back in my Harrods days. Over the years, I’ve tried most of their range, but one I keep coming back to is the Vigil (Waitrose £30). A blend of Cabernet/Shiraz aged in oak for 22 months, it could easily become too much of a good thing.

The charm of this is that it’s restrained, subtle and detailed. Inky blue-black, the nose is an intricate mix of cassis, red berries, smoky vanilla, mint and herbs. In the mouth, there is an initial surge of spiced black fruits, but there’s an undercurrent of cherries, prunes, peppers, and cranberry acidity. Ideal for a well-cooked red meat, it would also pair brilliantly with game or a veggie lasagne.

Champagne

I can’t talk about Valentine’s wines and not recommend a Champagne. What if you’re popping the question?  You don’t want to look back and say we celebrated with a bottle of Tesco Cava, do you? I recently re-tasted the Cattier Premier Cru Rosé (Majestic £42 on mixed six), and it was a delight. 

This family-owned house has been producing champagne for over a century, with their wines being renowned for their fruitiness, generosity, and precision. It opens with a heady summer pudding nose with yeasty tones adding interest. 

Soft and juicy, on the palate there are plenty of strawberry, blackberry, and redcurrant notes, with citrus and a slight, dusty chalkiness on the long, lingering finish. Serve this lightly chilled on its own, or with salmon, pork, or prawns.

Well, here’s to the love of wine. Next time out, I’ll be looking at wines for Easter.

Cheers!

Giles