đFUN WINES FOR FUN TIMEZđ
by Megan Jones
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Whatâs up winos,
Last week was fun, ey? All those allocation drops? Fending people off in the DMs? Trying to coordinate Instagram story posting with making wines live on the website? Did a lot of deep breathing and we made it to the other side. To those who managed to grab a Bruyere-Houillon or an Allante & Boulanger, I salute u. It was a hard fought battle.
On to slightly less hard to get but equally fun to drink things!
Itâs been a while since weâve had any new natty glou-glou on our shelves, so I went ahead and rectified this egregious error by picking up a couple of wines from Malauva, who did some time at Le Coste before striking out on their own. Not a bad place to do your work experience! Got four bottlings for you, each of them fun, interesting and complex, if you want them to be. The Tierra could be a white or a skinsy, depending on your mood, and is super fresh, salty and fleshy in texture - the perfect pairing for a plate of seafood pasta, if youâre the seafood-pasting-making kind. If youâre not, itâs the perfect pairing for you + your sofa + your wine glass. Fionn and I smashed a bottle of the Rosarella on Friday after clocking off (okay, maybe we opened it five minutes before clocking off, we work really hard, okay?) and it went down a treat - strawberry yoghurt vibes kept balanced by a nice savoury backbone. Donât chill it too hard, this one got better and better the longer it sat out on the table (which admittedly wasnât for very long). I filed the Rosso in Comune under âred wineâ (coz it says Rosso in the name, and who am I to disagree with the winemakers?) but given itâs a Sangiovese/Chardonnay mashup you could also call it a rosĂ©. Itâs made in conjunction with Jacopo from Ajola and Trish from Gazzetta (get the name now?) and itâs chock-full of raspberry fruit, sitting on a bedrock of minerality with a hint of funkiness that I wasnât mad about. Itâs natty glou glou, as I said, funk is to be expected. Last up is the Osarella, which has complexity in spades if youâve got the patience - liquorice and herbs plus this salty, olive-y brininess underlying a core of ripe, plummy fruit. Iâm all about these wines. Cute labels too, if you care about that sort of thing (and I know u do).
Also fresh off the pallet are these two cuvĂ©es from Alex Moreau, the first vintage he's bottled under his own label rather than under the ludicrously prestigious Domaine Moreau label - a puckeringly sour yet rounded Aligoté with an almondy undertone, and a rich, generous Chardonnay thatâs kept balanced by a beautifully fresh acid line. Burgundy at this price is no joke, so quit messing around and add 2 cart. Speaking of no joke, we also just got in the entry level bottling from king of Cornas, Frank Balthazar - how nice is he to make a wine that most everyone can afford? A great chance to get a taste of an iconic producer at a snip of the price.Â
Got a little re-stock of the AMI wines as well, coz I was on a shopping rampage and I couldnât resist. Whether itâs this Pinot Noir/AligotĂ© coupling, dubbed Burgundy-Nouveau by whoever wrote the product description (must have been Dan, Iâm not clever enough to think of that), this belter of a Chardonnay, this spicy Riesling/Gewurz/Pinot Blanc bomb or the peachy, iced tea-like AligotĂ© Skin, these are wines that remind you that Burgundy can be fun, too. Theyâre not all crusty old guys over there.Â
Last up is an honourable mention of this AligotĂ© from Marthe Henry, for no reason other than I tried it for the first time this weekend and it was ace. I had intended to share it with my housemates but I cracked it open while I was making them dinner and⊠well. There wasnât much more than a dribble left by the time the food was ready. Stupid slow cooker. If you fancy murdering a bottle on your own sometime, I highly recommend this one. Sheâs got a gorgeous Fleurie too, if youâre more of a red wino, or if youâre a general wino, get both. No judgement here.
Oh and PS., donât forget to get your mitts on some tickets to our numerous February events. Youâve all been paid now, thereâs no excuse, especially with a lineup like this. Fondue by Jumi on Valentineâs Day, Fedellos on the 26th, and dinner with Terroir al Limit @ Kenâs on the 28th, the menu for which will be going ~live~ on Insta this week, maybe. Youâll have to keep refreshing I guess, much like when you were trying to score a bottle of Bruyere-Houillon. Too soon? Heh.
Love u!
xoxo
Megan