Charles Lea's Wine List
Wines I Like - Spring
New vintages of whites and rosés are inevitably to the fore as we look forward to a bit of summer warmth, so the 2021 vintage whites from Italy are coming on stream.Given the ever-increasing prices in Burgundy following a series of small harvests, of which 2021 is merely the smallest, I have been encouraging everyone to have a close look at Champagne. And I don't mean the big brands really, but the produce of the growers who are continuously working on quality to make wines of great individuality which can provide a vast range which those of us who are easily bored can explore. Very often you can find you are drinking a sophisticated wine with a bit of age on it at the price of a one or two year-old Chablis 1er Cru or a top Montagny, so these can be a regular treat.
Have you tried Fino or Manzanilla with crab? Give it a go! The season's en rama releases are a perfect excuse.
For red - well the evenings are stlll chilly so there's no reason to go super-lightweight - but elegance is good, so Italy provides a lot of our more regular drinking and the northern Rhône is a great source of youthful, vibrantly expressive and texturally lush wines from the Syrah grape - the lesser wines from Côte-Rôtie producers who make some 'vin de Pays' alongside.
2020 RIESLING Trocken Qba Weingut Lehnert-Veit
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Germany 11.5% White
Riesling.
Lovely to smell my favourite grape! So pure and refreshing. Fairly tight and dry on the end but this would be a great house wine, as at home with food as without. Very pure. Lime juice dominates. GV
Jancis Robinson OBE MW
2021 MIP* Classic Rosé Made in Provence
Provence France 12.5% Rosé
Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah. Vegetarian, Vegan
Tasting with Guillaume Philip at our latest tasting really brought in to focus what we already know, these really are a serious set of wines. The MiP Classic with just a touch more pink to the colour this year, was as sl...(read more)
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2021 PAZO DA MAGA Karma do Sil
Ribeira Sacra Spain 13% White
Godello.
Now labelled 'Pazo da Maga' after a certain famous Rioja producer thought it sounded too similar to their name, this Godello seems to go from strength to strength. Gorgeously textured, but never too weighty - so bright a...(read more)
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2020 VERDICCHIO CLASSICO SUPERIORE Classico Superiore dei Castelli di Jesi Andrea Felici
Marche Italy 13% White
Verdicchio. Practising Organic
The 2020 Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore lulls you in with ripe orchard fruits, yellow florals, almond paste and hints of smoke. It’s soft-textured yet quickly gains in tension, as stimulating acidity...(read more)
Eric Guido, www.vinous.com
2020 PIESPORTER GOLDTRÖPCHEN Riesling Kabinett Weingut Lehnert-Veit
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer Germany 8.5% White
Riesling . Low-alcohol
Delicate and beautifully balanced. Spring in a bottle. Blossom and minerals. There is pure fruity sweetness but the acidity perfectly counters it.
Jancis Robinson OBE MW
TIO PEPE FINO 2022 RELEASE En Rama Gonzalez Byass
Sherry Spain 15%
Palomino.
Bottled on 23rd March this year, this epic En Rama won this year’s taste-off against La Gitana’s Manzanilla version by the slimmest of margins. While La Gitana is typically lusty and involving, Tio Pepe’s Fino En Rama is...(read more)
Matthew Jukes www.matthewjukes.com
2021 MIP* COLLECTION Premium Rosé
Provence France 12.5% Rosé
Grenache, Rolle, Syrah. Vegetarian, Vegan
With the MiP Collection the volume goes up so to speak. Here everything is delivered with more power, intensity and weight. Deeply fruity, with tangy nectarine, wild strawberry and fragrant wild flower notes. In the mout...(read more)
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2020 SOAVE CLASSICO Roccolo del Durlo Le Battistelle
Veneto Italy 12.5% White
Garganega, Trebbiano di Soave.
From a single vineyard on volcanic soils in the heart of Soave Classico. The Dal Bosco family are doing great things, cultivating some of the oldest vines in the region, on steep slopes that have led to the use of Eroica...(read more)
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2020 CHIANTI CLASSICO Poggerino
Tuscany Italy 13.5% Red
Sangiovese.
Lovely nose, bright bramble, dark cherry fruit, nice oak mocha & coffee. Palate has great grip, rich black fruit core, fine tannins, some sweetness and bright acidity, leather and cedar. This wine, that Piero calls h...(read more)
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2019 GRAN AUTÒCTON BLANC Autòcton Celler
Catalunya Spain 12.5% White
Xarel lo, Malvasia de Sitges. Certified Organic
The top white here is from 50-90 year old vines vineyards, 90% Xarel-lo, 10% Malvasia de Sitges, fermented and aged for 10 months in 300 litre French oak barrels and a small number of amphoras, with weekly batonnage. The...(read more)
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2020 VIN DE PAYS Les Agathes IGP Domaine Rémi Niero
Northern Rhône Rhône France 13% Red
Viognier, Syrah.
If you ask every year, sometimes they give in. Every vintage I enquire what we can have an every year the answer is none. The Niero IGP Syrah comes from a small parcel on the flat lands by the river, Syrah in Condrieu, w...(read more)
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