The Twitter Bottleswap - Serafini & Vidotto, Phigaia After the Red 2017

An unusual Italian red from Harper Wells

So, what exactly is Dan Kirby's twitter bottleswap?

The who

Dan Kirby is bearded East Anglian hipster with too much time on his hands; more formally, he is the self-described wine guy for @Tavershams & @suffolkcellar.

He's also crowd-funding to become a Master of Wine.

The what 

In a wine-related lockdown secret Santa, Dan arranged for 20 of us to post a bottle of wine to another person and in turn receive a bottle from an unknown swapper.

Then, at an agreed time, we all met up on Zoom to taste our wines and attempt to guess our mystery benefactor.

My wine swappee was Manchester-based PR, Francesca Gaffey and the wine I had chosen for her was an unusual aged southern Rhône from Cambridge Wine Merchants which you can read about here.

Francesca said of it: Really unusual style - lots of liquorice and blueberry / dark red fruits. It was almost brown / mahogany in colour.

The how

I had included a clue with my wine by wrapping it in paper from Cambridge Wine Merchants before boxing it up. With CWM owner Hal Wilson also taking part, I figured that at least I had narrowed it down to two people.

Once Francesca had guessed me correctly, it was then my turn to go.

Unfortunately for my swapper, Sam Howard of Norwich-based wine merchants Harper Wells, an overly assiduous warehouse hand had added a strip of corporate gaffer tape to the box before couriering, thereby rendering the sender instantly recognisable.

This left little room for guessing, but allowed more time for Sam to explain the origin of both the wine and how he had come to sell it.

The wine

Phigaia is a play on the super-Tuscan tendency to name their wines Sassicaia, Ornellaia and so on. The wine is a Veneto take on a super-Tuscan using French grapes and methods.

Cut out all the middle bits and essentially what you have here is a Bordeaux-style red from north east Italy. This makes it French with an Italian accent - or Italian with a French accent.

Serafini & Vidotto was founded in 1986 by school friends  Francesco Serafini, an exuberant extrovert, and Antonello Vidotto, the quieter of the two and most at home in his vineyards.

Together they have created one of Veneto’s finest wineries at Nervesa della Battaglia, in the heart of Prosecco country just north of Venice. But they have done a better job of making their wines than telling their story, as they remain somewhat under the radar.

The wine is a blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with 13 to 18 months in French oak and at least a further year in the bottle before release.

Serafini & Vidotto, Phigaia After the Red 2017 (c. £20, HarperWells, Harvey Nichols) sour cherries and blackcurrants, green herbs and peppery spice with coffee and vanilla; fresh and fruity with rounded tannins; elegant, supple and long.

Good.

Match with roast red meats or beef stews.

Ten Years - Sara Rawlinson

A guest post by Cambridge-based fine art photographer Sara Rawlinson (pictured, at work, above)

A combination of a ten-year wedding anniversary, lockdown and a socially-distanced road tour give Sara a challenge to find the right wines for a romantic meal à trois.

Ten years.

We were so excited for our anniversary trip to Sardinia - what better way to celebrate 10 years than by soaking up some much-needed sunshine and amazing wine. But it was not to be: covid claimed yet another plan.

During the consolatory (and amazing) three weeks of hiking through our old stomping grounds in the rural parts of northern Scotland, I stumbled on our old favourite - the 15-year-old Mortlach. A bit on the sweet side, but with such a variety of flavours I’d be sure to create a fantastic meal with it and have at least half the bottle left for a bit of a present.

You see, the plan had been for each of us to cook a surprise dinner for the others. Yes, plural. Our 7-year-old munchkin wanted in on it too!

Nick created a dish for us based on firey fish on open flames. Little Esther cooked nachos - and was very proud!

And then it was my turn.

I wanted a three-course meal, with the Mortlach to shine for each. Research required!

I did some tasting and reading to try to figure it out - apple, caramel, pineapple, toast, honey, cherry, and of course the lovely peppery warmth. I dug into my Scottish memories for what pairs well with whisky and consulted a few of our favourite cookbooks.

Whisky Kitchen by Sheila McConachie & Graham Harvey:

Morocco by Paula Wolfert

Soup by Nick Sandler & Johnny Acton

Then I did what I do best; I mixed them all up and found my flavours. I wanted:

- mussel+saffron+whisky starter, followed by

- fish+pineapple+whisky, and 

- dessert of shortbread+fruit drizzle+whisky.

Woah, how on earth am I ever going to pair wine with this?! I had better ask Tom and Cambridge Wine Merchants for help.

Starter

A semi-regular Mussel and Saffron Soup recipe was adulterated with a drizzle of a reduction-concoction containing mostly saffron, Mortlach, shallot, lemon. It was served with our standard homemade “pot bread”, but of course since I always have to shake things up a bit, it was modified slightly to be almond-chia pot bread (we were out of hazelnut flour, or I would have used that instead of almond).

We almost added chillies to the soup to offset the sweetness but decided to let the saffron-Mortlach reduction shine instead.

Despite my attempts to get the exact wine that Tom recommended, someone else beat me to it. CWM recommended instead the Dr Leimbrock Riesling Spatlese 2006 - which was quite a nice accompaniment although a bit too sweet.

Main

For the main course, I had a tough time combining the flavours into one recipe but decided to just have fun and cross my fingers that it would work out. It was my munchkin who suggested it could be like a pineapple upside-down cake - which turned into a brilliant suggestion. I used a fairly standard fish tagine recipe from Wolfert’s (totally fantastically amazing!) book, but of course added a few flavours to make it my own.

The base flavour focused on red onion, cashews, pineapple, and chickpeas. At the last minute before popping into the oven, I added more fresh pineapple rings topped with the salmon, which in turn was dusted with crushed cashews, salt and pepper.

The fish had crisped so nicely, that I decided to serve the pineapple upside-down salmon upside down, or rather, right side up. This was all served with the saffron-Mortlach-lemon drizzle from above, and leafy salad with honey-mustard dressing. 

From both Tom and CWM’s advice, we ended up with Domaine Bouchard Beaune du Chateau Premier Cru Blanc 2016. This was the perfect combination - slight sweet oak with a touch of lemon. The wine was the perfect pair, nicely complimenting the pineapple, salmon and saffron-whisky.

Dessert

Dessert was Italian shortbread in a doughnut shape topped with a circle of honey-oak ice cream and artfully drizzled with a trio of coulis - pineapple, grapefruit and lemon - served with a dram of the Mortlach. The flavours were a delightful combination.

We all voted that the lemon coulis was the best with the pineapple a close second. Poor grapefruit was a resounding last (or should we just throw it out). Besides the excellence of the flavours, I’m afraid to say the dessert wasn’t a resounding success. The shortbread was indeed flavourful but sadly had fallen flat in the oven (oops) and the homemade honeyed ice cream was way too honeyed. Oh well.

We have a motto in our house: what we lack in skill, we make up for with enthusiasm. So while the dinner wasn’t perfect (is anything?), it was full of enthusiasm and encouragement - the sort that we’ve been sharing with each other for over ten years.

web: https://www.sararawlinson.com

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La Tirela Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2014 DOCG, Veneto, Italy

An inoffensive, almost personality-less, Italian red from Laithwaites / Sunday Time Wine Club

My usual complaint about my parents' wines from Laithwaites is that they are overextracted, with too much of everything apart from subtlety, restraint or elegance.

Just occasionally, the opposite proves true and you find a wine that is technically well-made, without rough edges and not too much of anything.

Unfortunately, what gets lost with the bathwater of over-extraction here is the baby of personality. What's there with this wine is pleasant enough, it's just it is lacking in fruit expression and - ironically, any noticeable amarone character (the richness that comes from using partially dried grapes in the fermentation).

Interestingly, there is quite a bit of behavioural nudging going on with the packaging - the bottle is heavy, the label sophisticated and there's that paper DOCG tag which coneys an artisan feel.

Picking up the bottle and pouring it in the glass unthinkingly, I found myself (with hindsight) primed to expect something superior; when the first couple of sips were underwhelming, I instinctively wondered if I was missing something and thought "I need to pay a bit more attention to this, there must be more to it".

In practice I wasn't missing anything. There was nothing more to it and it is just another mediocre wine.

La Tirela Amarone della Valpolicella Classico 2014 (Laithwaites) dark fruited with cherries and plums; harmonious, supple and moderately substantial with little if any amarone character.

Pleasant enough.

Pretty In Pink - Two Provence Rosés

Two classy rosés from Provence

Rosé has been increasing in popularity for a long time now and it's not difficult to see why; it combines the freshness of a white with a bit of red-wine texture, giving it the flexibility to be an aperitif or versatile food wine.

In stylistic terms, rosé can be seen as kiwi Sauvignon's more-attractive sibling; prettier in pink, it often has Sauvignon's aromatic zip with a bit of skin-contact tannic buzz.

A good rosé will combine substance and style, being both instagrammable and enjoyable to consume. These two meet the brief perfectly and will work well with a range of autumnal and even wintry foods - think prawn risotto, smoked salmon with scrambled eggs for Christmas breakfast, or Boxing Day cold cuts.

Both these wines are old friends: I first tried the Sanglière around a decade ago; I have tasted Le Grand Cros' wines a few times, notably at this Chinese food and rosé event.

La Sanglière, Cuvée Speciale, Côtes de Provence, 2019, (£22.95, South Down Cellars) floral, spicy and slightly toasty with ripe, fresh yellow stone fruits, spices and pink grapefruit. Savoury and concentrated, supple, well structured and long.

Good.

Drink as an aperitif or match with posh picnic foods, cold cuts or shellfish.

Le Grand Cros, L’Esprit de Provence, Côtes de Provence, 2019 (£17.95, BBR) bright and crisp with wild strawberries, pink grapefruit, redcurrant and verbena; floral with white pepper and minerality; focused and precise.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Drink as an aperitif, or match with any of the following:

- salads

- seafood pasta 

- pea, courgette and artichoke risotto.

- fragrant Thai curry 

- Provençal herb and lemon roasted chicken.

Two Organic Yalumba Wines

Two organic wines from Australia's Yalumba

Yalumba is based in Australia's Barossa Valley; it was founded in 1849 and remains a sixth-generation family-run company with a strong focus on sustainability.

Yalumba was one of the first major Australian wineries to put organic wine on the market back in 2006. Minimal intervention winemaking is a natural fit for sustainable practices and Yalumba is committed to making as little impact on the natural environment as possible during the winemaking process, from the vineyard to the cellar. For every hectare of vineyard Yalumba owns, they dedicate at least one hectare to native vegetation.

Their teams are continuously trialling new ways to reduce their water consumption and lessen their impact on the environment. In recognition of their efforts, Yalumba has been awarded 43 accolades globally for sustainable practices, including sustainable wine growing.

The Sauvignon Blanc is zesty and somewhat kiwi in style; the Cab-Merlot is ripe and fruit-forward, but with good underpinnings. Both wines are clean and pure with a deft muscularity.

Yalumba Organic Sauvignon Blanc, 2019 (The Co-op, £10) organically grown grapes from the Carypidis Family vineyard located in Virginia, on the outskirts of Adelaide.

Aromatic and expressive with exotic fruits, lemongrass, white-pepper spice and toastiness; juicy tropical fruits, cut through with citrus, fennel and herbaceous celery leaf. Full, supple and long; very well made.

Good.

Match with salt and lemon pepper squid, stuffed courgettes with ricotta and lemon zest, or with a rich creamy cheese or a pesto pasta. 

Yalumba Organic Cabernet Merlot, 2019 (£10, Tesco) fermented with 100% wild yeast with grapes from four family-owned, organically certified vineyards located throughout South Australia. 

Ripe cassis, black fruits and red-berry compote with blackcurrant leaf, liquorice and herbaceous, minty fennel and spice. Supple and long with very fine, well-integrated tannins. Vibrant and juicy with lots of ripe up-front fruit initially; with extended aeration, the more complex underpinnings become apparent. Harmonious, adept and well-made.

Good.

Match with red meats, especially rosemary and garlic lamb or bbq burgers.

Wine Pages' Tom Cannavan reviews the Cab-Merlot here: Review of two organic wines, both priced at £10 in UK supermarkets - YouTube

Barbadillo Pastora Manzanilla Pasada En Rama

A very special Manzanilla from Barbadillo

Barbadillo is one of the great sherry houses, a 7th-generation family-run business  based in San Lucar, the home of Manzanilla.

The Barbadillo Pastora Manzanilla Pasada En Rama was the first Manzanilla ever to appear on the market in bottle, back in 1827 when Manzanilla was mostly sold in local wine bars by the glass, and to customers who bought in their own containers to be filled.

Pastora Manzanilla Pasada En Rama was resurrected by Barbadillo in 2015 to replicate the original sherry, and it is made in the traditional style, using a solera system, a process for ageing sherry by fractional blending to maintain a reliable style and quality.

This Manzanilla is special for two reasons:

- it is aged for an extra two years to give more complexity and depth; the standard Manzanilla is aged for six years, whereas this is eight years old (on average)

- it is bottled En Rama (meaning ‘raw’); this is, without fining or filtration so you are effectively tasting a barrel sample. 

Barbadillo Pastora En Rama (£9-£14, half-bottle, Avery’s, Roberts & Speight, Fareham Wines, VINVM, Laithwaites, John Lewis, Harvey Nichols, Amazon) bright gold in colour; yeasty with a complex, salty floral tang; toasted hazelnuts, crisp green apple, salted butter and bitter herbs with chamomile tea; dense, mineral, concentrated and savoury. Fresh and energetic. Very elegant.

Very Good.

It positively demands food, such as roasted almonds, jamon, oilives and bread with olive oil. Also think smoked salmon canapés, 

It also comes as a Barbadillo Pastora En Rama and Olives gift box from Laithwaites (£35) and Amazon (£28.90).

Whites from NW Spain with Tim Atkin MW

Notes from a Masterclass tasting with Tim Atkin MW of Three Wine Men interviewing three Spanish winemakers

Covering the northern half of the central Spanish plain known as the ‘meseta’, Castilla y León is among the most diverse wine regions of the country, encompassing 9 DOs, the most famous of which are red-wine areas - Ribera del Duero and Toro.

However, this area also produces some 40% of Spain's white wine, notably in Rueda, due to altitude and diurnal variation giving a longer, cooler growing season.

Climate is varied here, with influences from both the Mediterranean (warm and dry) and the Atlantic (cool and wet). An "Atlantic" year is not a good one for local winemakers. The grape varieties grown are a mixture of Spanish classics, international varieties and a some vary rare grapes.

The three wines, some of Tim's highest rated, included a unique white Rioja, a high-altitude Rufete Blanco and a Rueda from vines over 100 years old; each one was introduced by the winemaker and all three showed excellent winemaking from superb fruit with a deft elegance and poised precision.

Cuatro Rayas Viñedos Centenarios 2019 (£10, 93 Atkin Points, Bibendum)

The winery dates back to 1935 and is a co-operative with over 300 members. The vines are 80 - 100 years old. The wine is 50% barrel-fermented and 50% SS with 5 months on the lees. Made from varietal Verdejo, an ancient grape native to this part of Spain. 

White peach and orchard fruit with pink grapefruit and wild herbs; concentrated, savoury and fresh. Very pure and poised.

Very Good.

A versatile food wine, match with roast pork and meaty white fish.

Hacienda El Ternero Barrel Fermented White 2017 (£16.95, 90 Atkin Points, Ellis Of Richmond)

High-altitude grapes from a cool site, hand-picked and barrel-fermented in new French oak with 6 months on the lees. The wine is a Rioja, even though the winery is located in Burgos

Bruised apple fruit and a sherry-esque tang with citrus, white stone fruits and oaky-leesy savouriness; fresh acidity and a long, savoury finish.

Very Good.

Match with pork dishes or mushrooms and cream with pasta.

Cámbrico Rufete Blanco Granito 2017 (£29, 94 Atkin Points, Berkmann Wine Cellars)

Based in a high-altitude natural park with granite soils that give structure; the Rufete Blanco grape is extremely rare, almost unique to this winery. With thick skins and pips, it produces a textured, almost tannic wine with the concentration of 100 year-old vines. The grapes are picked early for freshness and alcohol is only 12.5%. Fermentation is in SS for freshness with lees aging for savouriness.

Textured, focused and saline-mineral with leesiness; white peach and conference pear fruit with linear acidity; textured, substantial and fresh.

Very Good.

Match with lighter game, such as partridge, salmon or scallops.