Cosy nights with heart-warming glasses of red are on the agenda for Thirsty’s Elodie Cameron this month. She picks out some of the best wines to hibernate with
Move aside summer of ’76, surely summer of 2018 will be the one by which we will measure all future weather. It has been such a long and glorious summer, giving us mild days and evenings right through to October. But now the nights are drawing in and we are apparently set for a long, cold winter, and I for one am looking forward to it! The evenings of rosé, white wine and sitting in beer gardens with friends late into the evening are morphing into thoughts of bonfire night, cosy suppers by the fire and heart-warming glasses of red wine shared with friends, a good book or perhaps a boxset.
I want to eat shepherd’s pie, toad in the hole with rich gravy, jacket potatoes with melting butter – and I want my wine to be hearty and warming.
As luck would have it, among the new wines at Thirsty I have found a few bottles that will keep me out of trouble for the autumn and possibly a good chunk of the winter. Modern stylish wines with gusty hearts. The first is an edgy yet fruity Malbec, which hits the spot; it’s called La bonne Franquette, which literally means simple in a homely way. It’s a sort of does-what-it-says-on-the-tin type of wine, fresh and fruity (and farmed sustainably) to make deliciously easy-going wine. I’d pair rogan josh or aubergine parmigiana with this one.
Another new discovery is Rioja Lanave from Laventura (50% Grenache and 50% Tempranillo). I have to say that new-look Riojas are right up my street; brighter and livelier than some more traditional styles with a lighter lick of oak allowing the fruit to shine through. Bryan MacRobert, the winemaker, in his quest for a purer, more elegant style of Rioja, treats his tempranillo grape as you would in a cooler region. Only 20% of the fruit sees any oak barrels and those are old, which essentially means less intensely oaky and less vanilla-infused. Instead you can enjoy the delicate red fruit, soft tannins and silky finish. It’s hard to think of a lamb dish that doesn’t work well here; shepherd’s pie or Lancashire hotpot must be on the list, but I have to say that moussaka is my culinary indulgence when I have an evening at home to myself so I’ll be keeping a bottle of this handy – just in case.
If you love extra power and structure, plus dark red and black fruit matched with plenty of spice and complexity, then I recommend Vivir Sin Dormir from Bodegas Arraez in Valencia. The name translates as ‘living without sleeping’ and make no mistake, this is a big wine made from organic Monastrell (Mourvèdre) grapes. It would have to be beef with this one: braised short ribs and creamy mash would be just the ticket. It’s time to submit to those creature comforts…
