šFUN WINES FOR FUN TIMEZš
by Megan Jones
·
Whatās 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!
Itās been a while since weāve 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. TheĀ TierraĀ 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 youāre the seafood-pasting-making kind. If youāre not, itās the perfect pairing for you + your sofa + your wine glass. Fionn and I smashed a bottle of theĀ RosarellaĀ on Friday after clocking off (okay, maybe we opened it five minutesĀ beforeĀ clocking off, we work really hard, okay?) and it went down a treat - strawberry yoghurt vibes kept balanced by a nice savoury backbone. Donāt chill it too hard, this one got better and better the longer it sat out on the table (which admittedly wasnāt for very long). I filed theĀ Rosso in ComuneĀ under āred wineā (coz it says Rosso in the name, and who am I to disagree with the winemakers?) but given itās a Sangiovese/Chardonnay mashup you could also call it a rosĆ©. Itās made in conjunction with Jacopo from Ajola and Trish from Gazzetta (get the name now?) and itās chock-full of raspberry fruit, sitting on a bedrock of minerality with a hint of funkiness that I wasnāt mad about. Itās natty glou glou, as I said, funk is to be expected. Last up is theĀ Osarella, which has complexity in spades if youāve got the patience - liquorice and herbs plus this salty, olive-y brininess underlying a core of ripe, plummy fruit. Iām 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 cuvĆ©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 roundedĀ AligotĆ©Ā with an almondy undertone, and a rich, generousĀ ChardonnayĀ thatās 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 theĀ entry level bottling from king of Cornas, Frank BalthazarĀ - 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.Ā
Got a little re-stock of the AMI wines as well, coz I was on a shopping rampage and I couldnāt resist. Whether itās thisĀ Pinot Noir/AligotĆ© coupling, dubbed Burgundy-Nouveau by whoever wrote the product description (must have been Dan, Iām not clever enough to think of that),Ā this belter of a Chardonnay,Ā this spicy Riesling/Gewurz/Pinot Blanc bombĀ or theĀ peachy, iced tea-like AligotĆ© Skin, these are wines that remind you that Burgundy can be fun, too. Theyāre not all crusty old guys over there.Ā
Last up is an honourable mention ofĀ this AligotĆ© 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 andā¦ well. There wasnāt 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. Sheās got a gorgeousĀ FleurieĀ too, if youāre more of a red wino, or if youāre a general wino, get both. No judgement here.
Oh and PS., donāt forget to get your mitts on some tickets to our numerous February events. Youāve all been paid now, thereās no excuse, especially with a lineup like this.Ā Fondue by Jumi on Valentineās Day,Ā FedellosĀ on the 26th, andĀ dinner with Terroir al Limit @ KenāsĀ on the 28th, the menu for which will be going ~live~ on Insta this week, maybe. Youāll 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