Five superb wines with a few chosen to complement this week’s Weekend Magazine soup recipes.
2011 Tanners Merlot, Pays d’Oc, France (£6.90, www.tanners-wines.co.uk). This is one of the most impressive, inexpensive merlots I have tasted this year – it’s a must buy! Tanners is a superb company and their expertise is on display in every sip. Cherry fruit and a velvety texture mean that this wine goes with any dish you can think of including this week’s Roasted tomato soup.
2012 The Liberator, Special Edition The Lone Ranger, Piekenierskloof, South Africa (£8.95, The Wine Society tel. 01438 741177). This super-cool, thoroughly engaging wine is a blend of chardonnay, chenin blanc, sauvignon blanc and viognier and like any well-crafted fruit salad it is a heady concoction of well-assembled ingredients. With a luscious aroma, creamy mid-palate and a bone dry finish it would make a great partner for the fabulous Roasted sweetcorn recipe.
2011 Skillogalee, Gewurztraminer, Clare Valley, South Australia (£15.50, Great Western Wine tel. 01225 322810, www.swig.co.uk). This is the finest Aussie gewurz of the year from one of the most incredible estates in the Clare Valley. With a wistful aroma of lychee, rose water and fresh ginger and a straight-jacketed, uplifting finish this is a phenomenal creation. Drink it with Asian dishes or the Creamy leek and potato soup.
2009 Pinot Noir, Paparuda, Cramele Recas, Romania (£5.70, Adnams Cellar & Kitchen tel. 020 7580 2443). Hold the front page! Pinot Noir simply cannot be this good this cheap! This wine breaks all of the rules and yet there is a perfect, red fruit bouquet, slippery palate and spine-tingling finish on this Romanian superstar and the price is definitely not a typo!
2011 Les Boudalles, Côtes de Ventoux, Brusset, France (£8.95, www.harperwells.com, Stony Wine Emporium tel.01908 267373). Laurent Brusset is a phenomenal winemaker and his power-packed, sensual red Rhône wines are amazing. This is the newly released, entry level red in his portfolio and it is a gem, borrowing expertise from wines four times its price. Do not miss out on this incredible find.
