Norrel Robertson MW, known as the Escocés Volante (Flying Scotsman), is making some of the most distinctive wines in northern Spain right now. Manda Huevos – Spanish slang for “no way!” – is a remarkable, barrel-fermented cuvée of Macabeo and 5% Garnacha Blanca from an 85-year-old vineyard at 850 metres in Calatayud. Creamy, spicy and stylishly wooded, it has notes of beeswax and citrus zest, stony intensity and a hint of vanilla spice.
Food Match: Pork
2023 Lyrarakis Orange Wine, Crete
( £11.99, 13%, Majestic )A wine to sip while you’re reading Peter Pharos’ article about Crete last week, this is my kind of orange wine. Made from a judicious cuvée of Assyrtiko and Vidiano, it has the freshness of its 500-metre site in Heraklion, subtle tangerine, quince and lemon zest flavours, a hint of quinine bitterness and a tapering finish. Appealingly versatile with food.
2021 Santa Tresa Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Sicily
( £11.50, 14%, The Wine Society )Cerasuolo di Vittoria often tastes as if its comes from a cooler place than the south-east corner of Sicily. This one from Santa Tresa is fuller bodied than some examples of the DOCG thanks to partial raisining on the vine, but retains the freshness and perfume that are so distinctive. Pairing Nero d’Avola and brighter, more charming Frappato, it has red cherry, plum and wild Meditteranean herb flavours, savoury tannins and a refreshing finish.
2022 Kanakaris 10³ Agiorgitiko, Nemea
( £19.99, 13%, Cambridge Wine Merchants )I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to feel a little more autumnal, so I’m switching from the crisp, dry whites of summer to medium-bodied reds like this Agiorgitiko from the Greek Peloponnese. Made by brothers Stefanos and Michalis Kanakaris, it has an appealing bouquet of incense and sweet spices, enough tannin to give it some structure, a dab of oak and flavours of plum, redcurrant and summer berries. Surprisingly versatile with food.
2021 Gallina de Piel Manar dos Seixas, Ribeiro
( £23.98, 13%, Shelved Wine, The Fine Wine Company )David Seijas was the sommelier at El Bulli, considered the best restaurant in the world at the time, for 11 years, but is now making an excellent range of Spanish wines under his Gallina de Piel label. This is brilliant cuvée of mostly Treixadura with lesser amounts of Godello, Albariño and Loureira, sourced from the granite soils of the Ribeiro region. Intense, stony and bone dry, it has flavours of lemongrass and pink grapefruit, plenty of grip and intensity and top notes of green tea, chamomile and juniper. Utterly delicious.
2019 Tesco Finest Chianti Classico Riserva, Tuscany
( £10, 13.5%, Tesco )Chianti Classico is one of those wines that it’s easy to take for granted. It’s the kind of thing that often gets overlooked in our scramble to try new things. But when it’s good, you remember why it’s a staple of the wine world. This very lightly wooded Riserva, made by Melini, is a blend of Sangiovese with 15% Canaiolo and Malvasia Negra. Plum, red cherry and sweet spice flavours are completed by bright, tangy acidity, polished tannins and a lingering finish. The perfect treat with a plate of pasta.
2022 Villard Grand Vin Le Pinot Noir, Casablanca Valley
( £21, 13.5%, The Wine Society )The best Pinot Noir yet from Chilean-based Villard père and fils, Thierry and Charlie, this is the sort of thing that should have Burgundy lovers reaching for their wallets and purses. Fermented with 10% whole bunches and aged in 20% new wood, it’s sappy and intense, with a waft of vanilla spice, subtle reduction, raspberry and black cherry fruit and a thrilling mineral core.
2022 Guímaro Tinto, Ribeira Sacra, Galicia
( £17.33, 12.5%, Joseph Barnes Direct. Shrine to the Vine, Les Caves de Pyrene, Tivoli Wines )Blending components from the steep-sided Sil and Miño Valleys, this wonderfully gluggable, organically farmed red is based on Mencía with bits and pieces of other co-planted grapes, according to Pedro Rodríguez. Engagingly intense and floral, it’s a white wine drinker’s red in some ways, with lots of zip and acidity, violet and rose petal aromas, refined tannins and layers of raspberry, pomegranate and wild strawberry. Drink lightly chilled.
2019 I Ciacca Nostalgia Maturano, Val di Comino, Lazio
( £28.68, 12%, Shelved Wine )Something a little different this week. Maturano, not to be confused with Spanish Maturana Blanca, is a new Italian white grape variety to me. Sourced from vines at 600 metres inside a national park between Rome and Naples, it’s very much a southern style, with some appealing bottle age adding complexity. Lees fermented and aged in concrete, it’s appealingly unwooded, with musky, baking spice aromas, a palate of pear, honey and orange zest, some underlying, food-friendly grip and much more acidity than you think on first acquaintance.
2020 Domaine Joseph Burrier Juliénas Beauvernay, Beaujolais
( £17.50, 13.5%, The Wine Society )Juliénas has always been one of the more highly regarded of the ten Beaujolais Crus, and rightly so in my book. Showing the structure that often seems to feature in the granite-based wines of the northern Beaujolais, this is a complex, layered, intensely perfumed Gamay that’s all about fruit rather than oak, with plum, bramble and raspberry flavours and enough tannin and backbone to develop further in bottle.Lip-smacking stuff.
2021 Santa Venere Cirò Rosso, Calabria
( £10.95, 13.5%, The Wine Society )Wines from the southern Italian region of Calabria are comparatively rare in the UK, but this great value, unwooded Gaglioppo from organic vineyards close to the Ionian Sea makes you wonder why. Spicy, earthy and bright, it has has bramble, black tea and red cherry flavours, supple tannins and a dusting of wild herbs. A wine that massively overdelivers at its price point.
Planeta Mamertino, Sicily
( £20.79, 13.5%, The Great Wine Company )I have a recent podcast with Alessio Planeta to thank for introducing me to this delicious wine from northern Sicily. Mamertino was famous during Roman times – Julius Caesar was a fan – but it’s less well known today, even among Italophiles. Made from Nero d’Avola, arguably the island’s best red grape, and much rarer Nocera, this has flavours of clove and sweet spices, plum and red cherry fruit, savoury tannins and tangy maritime acidity. Quintessentially Mediterranean.