Martin de Rusett on why summer means lazy days sipping Cru Beaujolais.
Summer in Sevenoaks means lazy days in Knole Park, sunshine and deck chairs unencumbered by mud, umbrellas and horizontal rain.
Now a Pimm’s can be sipped without the certain knowledge that, after a
couple of mouthfuls, the borage will be glistening with raindrops.
At last, summer drinking can be seriously devoted to chilled white
wines for hot weather and, dare I say it, cooled red wines too. Yes!
Seriously! Put a bottle of Chinon, or a Cru Beaujolais, like St Amour
or Chiroubles, or a red Sancerre in the fridge for just forty minutes
and the wine, and your life, will take a turn for the better.
It’s time to break a few generational habits and risk going out on an
imbibers limb; after all, we’re quaffing rosé again now, without
expecting to make a table lamp out of the empty bottle, so why not
savour the delights of light red wines cooled to perfection. Personal
favourites, for the moment, are Denis Barbelet’s St Amour, at £9.49 per
bottle, a charming, seductive, Gamay from the most northerly of the ten
Beaujolais Crus and Jean Pabiot’s Sancerre Rouge, at £11.25 per bottle,
a pretty, medium bodied, Pinot Noir from the extreme eastern end of the
Loire Valley.
And another thing, as we’re on the subject of breaking generational
habits, when did you last drink Riesling, or Pinot Blanc, or Dry
Muscat, or Gewurztraminer? We’ve elevated them with the generic
description of ‘aromatics’ now but, my goodness, don’t be put off by
that, or the little voice that tries to remind you of luke warm,
off-dry wines from your student days.
Quite apart from the traditional, and superb, Rieslings from the Rhine
and Mosel, there are some wonderful dry Rieslings from the ‘new world’
regions in Chile, South Africa and New Zealand which are well worth the
effort to track down. My ‘find’ for the summer is Frostline Riesling
coming, as its name suggests, from the frost line of the Swartberg
Mountains, in South Africa; at £12.99 per bottle, it stretches the
budget but it also broadens the horizon
Whilst the aromatics from Alsace are still held in very high esteem,
there is no doubt that the commitment and enthusiasm shown by a few
‘boutique’ wineries in New Zealand is now paying off. These very
drinkable, high quality Muscat, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris (Tokay in
Alsace) and Pinot Blanc wines have a slightly higher acidity than their
European relatives, giving the wines a very appealing light, crispy,
freshness; just the job for picnicking in the car park at Wimbledon,
for sipping at Glyndebourne or for sharing at the poolside. Kim
Crawford makes a delicious Pinot Gris, from Marlborough, selling at
£10.99 per bottle.
If you cannot quite manage to bring about such a dramatic change from
the habitual Chardonnay and Sauvignon then look more closely at the
dramatic changes that have already been made by the winemakers of ‘old
world’ Spain and Italy. Fine, long established vineyards have made
minor adjustments to quantity with remarkable effects on quality. I’ve
found an extraordinary Catalonian wine, made from fifty year old
Garnacha Blanca vines. Lagrimes de Tardor sells at £8.99 per bottle and
I am very keen, too, on a delightfully gentle, fruity, Gavi de Gavi
Nuovo Quadro, at £8.25 per bottle, from the Piemonte region of north
west Italy made using the local Cortese grape variety.
All my recommendations may be purchased by good old fashioned,
dependable, human contact over the telephone on 01732 350198 along with
many other wines that may take your fancy.
It’s summertime! Time to raise your horizons, raise your hopes, raise your budget and raise your glasses. Salut.
Martin de Rusett owns Winelines, a corporate wine tasting and events company www.winelines.co.uk
