Flights of Fancy Menu #7
Though the weather's looking hot Flights of Fancy has got a cool new menu for this weekend. Among the things to look out for are 3 English wines, a sparkling, white and rosé; a light and mellow German red and, a bit off the beaten track, a mature red from Armenia that's a terrific barbecue wine if you're grilling some meat.
Open from 4pm Friday, 12pm Saturday and on Sunday afternoon. Call us to make a booking, or just rock up.
Just £8 per flight of 6 tasters. Scroll down for the full selection.
Why not broaden your vinous horizons!
This lovely prosecco is termed 'Frizzante' which means it's lightly sparkling (Spumante is the fully sparkling version) and nicely soft on the tongue. On the nose it has aromas of blanched almonds and white flowers giving a quite heady quality. On the tongue it's ever so slightly off-dry with a lovely softness and a touch of poached apple flavour along with zesty sherbet and candied fruits. For a modestly priced Prosecco there's certainly plenty going on here.
Light and fresh, it makes any occasion a bit special and is great in a Bellini cocktail.
Made in the traditional method, just as in champagne, this is a bit more than just 'bubbly'. It's made from a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Muller-Thurgau, which though a little known grape these days, contributes to giving this delicate hints of honeysuckle and a zesty citrus character. Aged on its lees for 18 months to give a real richness and classic yeastiness for the modest price there's a lot to admire.
Fresh and lively with a touch of richness it's perfect alongside roast chicken, or turkey.
Crémants are sparkling wines made in different regions France outside of Champagne, but the method of production is the same and means the best examples certainly bear comparison to their Champenois cousins. This example from Burgundy is made by the excellent cooperative in the Mâconnais village of Prissé. Being a Blanc de Blancs it's made entirely from Chardonnay, which is the main white variety grown in Burgundy. It's dry, light and crisp with delicately perfumed and floral aromas that lead onto a clean and fresh palate with notes of white flowers, honeysuckle, peach and pear.
Its light touch and lovely florality make it a very versatile sparkler.
The vineyards this wine is grown in are in the sandy soils of Alcamo, west of Palermo, nearly 300m above sea level. It's made from the local variety Catarratto which, when ripe, is picked early in the day keep the acidity and freshness needed to make a bright and crunchy wine. It undergoes a short maceration on its skins which adds an extra depth of flavour and golden tinge to the colour. Clean and fresh and with a complexity and depth way beyond its price point it's full of ripe citrus and stone fruit, minerality, with notes of spice and herbs and a great balance.
Flavourfilled everyday drinking, it's great with prosciutto, salami and all types of cured meats.
Often considered red wine territory, the impressive Domaine Lafage also make some top notch whites from their vineyards around Perpignan and the foothills of the Pyrenees. This one made with 80% Grenache Gris and 20% Roussanne from vineyards near the sea in Canet en Roussillon certainly deserves plenty of attention. Mostly aged in stainless steel, 30% spends time in new French oak barrels which gives extra texture and complexity. On the nose it's full of citrus, peachy and floral aromas which follows nicely on the palate together with a subte hint of spice. Medium bodied, it has a good length and rounds off with gentle, fresh finish.
With its ripe, round flavours it makes good stand-alone drinking and also goes nicely with grilled fish, or poultry dishes.
This delicious white made by Agustin Garcia Farrais, who currenty runs the bodega started by his grandfather, is composed of Listàn Blanco (aka Palomino Fino in southern Spain) which is well suited to the islands and makes wines of real individuality. Here it's harvested by hand in small boxes to prevent bruising and while most of it is vinified in stainless steel a small proportion is aged for around 3 months in French oak. It has a light, pale straw-yellow colour while, on the nose there are clear notes of green apple and a hint of pineapple. In the mouth there's a well-balanced acidity, more green apple, with a touch of fennel and pineapple and a floral aftertaste. The crisp mineral edge at the finish makes it tantalisingly moreish.
The tropical flavours and minerality here go well with seafood and also suits spicy south Asian cuisine.
Gunderloch is one of the top wineries of the Rheinhessen region and their vineyards which line the western bank of the Rhine just south of Mainz are the source of some excellent Rieslings of which this, their Dry Estate Riesling is a prime example. The word Trocken that appears on the label translates as 'dry', but that doesn't mean austere. This is clean and crisp with powerful, citrussy and zesty flavours, a great minerality and a hint of sherbet lemon bite. A benchmark example of modern German dry Riesling.
The depth of flavours here make this a good match to pork and firm white fish dishes.
Pinot Gris is a variety that's starting to get more traction in English vineyards. And, as with this example from West Sussex based Kinsbrook, it's not difficult to see why. It's got the characteristically English cool crisp acidity but with Pinot Gris's signature mouth-coating richness that creates a gloriously rounded texture. The nose is clean and soft, with ripe stone fruits. The stone fruits continue through to the palate, where orange peel and white peach also show. Its clean texture in addition to the dryness creates an altogether well-crafted wine.
Pairs well with white meat, fish, or shellfish dishes.
Gravina is one of Italy's oldest white wines, having been made for over 2500 years, and Botromagno are the only current producers of it. Made from a blend of Greco and Malvasia, this white has a lovely straw-yellow colour in the glass while fragrant aromas of apple, peach, apricot and pineapple fruits follow onto a rounded palate which has a real freshness. To close, a few nutty notes join the fruits lingering at the pleasantly leisurely finish.
A wine that works well by itself, or drink with shellfish, or lightly spicy Asian cuisine.
Bodegas Ontañon make some outstandingly good value Riojas and this rosado is a perfect example. Made from 85% Tempranillo, the classic Rioja grape variety and 15% Garnacha it's macerated for just 8 hours to extract just enough colour while keeping the tannins low. It's then fermented as a white wine would be. The result is a classic 'strawberries and cream' summer rosé, with a lovely fruit character and hint of spiciness on the finish. It's one of our longstanding favourites and remains very good value.
It's great with food - think white meats, pasta and seafood - and just as good all by itself.
Niepoort first made a rosé in 1999 with the aim of showing these can also be good quality wines and more than just pleasant summery gluggers. Made from old vines and fermented in barriques it has the freshness of a white combined with the complexity and structure of a red and is a wine well suited to accompany food. The 2021 has a slightly paler colour than previous years. On the nose there are red berries and a delicate smokiness which is followed by a dry and fresh fruity character on the palate with a mouthwatering acidity and minerality.
With parallels to a stylish, light pinot noir this is excellent with fish, poultry, all sorts of vegetarian dishes, salads and cheese.
Simpsons Wine Estate is located in the heart of the North Downs, near Canterbury. This is a wine made with as little intervention as possible. The hand-picked grapes are whole bunch pressed and cold settled for 48 hours prior to the alcoholic fermentation happening. It has beautiful pale colour, reminiscent of Provençal rosés. However, this is a typical English rose in the retained crips and vibrant characters. There is plenty of fresh aromas of watermelon and lychee, with hints of stone-fruit showcasing. Prior to bottle the wine spent some time on fine yeast lees, which has helped to build a smooth mouth-feel texture on the finish.
This is a wine perfectly made for summer drinking. Great for accompanying a BBQ with chicken or other white meat.
Beaujolais is the product of the Gamay grape and comes from the part of France in between Burgundy and the city of Lyon. This is whole bunch fermented using traditional carbonic maceration and a short maceration to keep the juicy fruit character. It's an exuberant fruity red with juicy crushed strawberries, cherry characters and an intriguing savoury twist. The palate is soft and approachable with vibrant acidity and a mouthwatering floral, morello cherry finish.
Made for alfresco dining it's an excellent summer picnic wine.
Dornfelder is a German variety that was developed in the 1950s and makes wine with a good depth of colour, good acidity and a touch of florality. This example from the age old Louis Guntrum estate is one that certainly displays its best qualities. Light bodied and with a slight touch of floral notes there follows a big rush of sweet cherry and blackberry fruit which lead the palate with touches of spice to follow. Altogether it's nicely soft, smooth and rounded with a pleasing hint of sweetness at the lingering finish.
To get the maximum from this it's best just slightly chilled on it own or with a plate of cured meats.
Castelão is the grape variety here, which in the past has been seen as one of Portugal's workhorse grapes, but here in the Setúbal peninsula's sandy soils are used to make a really fruity and mouthfilling wine. Naturally fermented with no added yeasts it was then aged in cement tanks. No oak ageing is carried out and the aim is to preserve all the zippy fruit character. It shows cherry and bramble fruits on the nose with some green herbs, and has a fresh and juicy texture on the palate. The crisp acidity and grippy tannins give it a good weight and mineral edge.
It's a perfect match for things like slow-roast lamb or toad in the hole.
Armenia, which sits just east of Turkey among the Caucasian mountains is, along with its neighbours, among the oldest wine producing countries in the world. Karmrahyut is one of their native varieties, of which they're justifiably proud, and it produces deeply coloured wines with plenty of body and flavour. Here it's been made in an unoaked style to highlight its ripe red fruit character and with a generous time spent on its lees during maturation contributing to the creamy texture. On the nose it has quite intense red fruit aromas accompanied by a touch of spice while on the palate it's quite powerful with an excellent balance between firm tannins and crisp minerality. On the lingering finish it rounds off with a touch of honey and herbiness.
Something from off the beaten track that's well worth seeking out; it'll go well with grilled, or roasted lamb, spicy stews, or mature cheeses.
Cannonau, one of Sardinia's signature red grapes is known as Grenache, or Garnacha in French, or Spanish speaking circles. From this Mediterranean island it does, however, have its own distinct character. After hand harvesting the grapes were fermented in stainless steel before being matured in bottle. The result is a wine with a deep, rich colour and lashings of ripe red fruits and a hint of spice on the nose. On the palate it's pleasingly dry and elegant in character, while still having plenty of body giving a good weight to it.
Nicely full bodied it pairs really well with most roasted, or grilled red meats and is also good with cheese.
Dirk Niepoort's idea behind the Drink Me label was to create an easy drinking red but without compromising the complexity, minerality and depth of classic Douro wines. We thinks he's done a pretty good job here. It's a blend of mainly Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz, all native Douro varieties. After fermentation about half the wine is aged in oak for six months, while the remainder matured in stainless steel and this gives a good balance between fresh fruitiness and a touch of silky elegance. There's a fresh minerality along with bright red fruits on the nose while the palate is oozing with more crunchy red fruit flavours set off by a certain lightness and elegance which makes it easy to appreciate and very drinkable.
Its easy going nature makes it very likeable indeed. Lamb, or beef whether barbecued, roasted or grilled are good partners here.
