Autumnal Favourites

With temperatures dropping and night’s drawing in this is the time of year when wines with a little bit more body and fuller flavours start to take centre stage. To give you a few ideas about what we think suits the season here’s a few suggestions that we reckon will work pretty well.

October’s the time when richer, warming, comforting foods come to the fore and good wine choices to go with these sorts of things certainly follow that lead. Medium to full-bodied wines with a gentle warmth to their character that complement the deep and mellow flavours of the season.

Red Wines

The dark-skinned Carmènere grape, originally from Bordeaux, but now very much a Chilean mainstay makes some beautifully rounded, smooth and silky wines, as our Caliterra Reserva Carmenere 2018 at £9.00 as part of a mixed 6 well demonstrates.

Moving over to Navarra in Spain Castillo de Eneriz Reserva, Navarra 2013, very well priced at £9.50 (mixed 6), is a blend of mainly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot which, in character, is not unlike many of its near neighbours in Rioja. It spent 18 months in oak and is full of warming cedar spiciness.

Staying in Spain, but moving down to Jumilla in the south-east around Murcia the intriguingly named Time Waits For No One 'Stone Elephant', Jumilla 2019 from Finca Bacara (£13.00 mixed 6) is a superb example of Monastrell which excels in the hot, arid climate of these parts. Bold and robust it’s just made for full-blooded red meats.

Merlot is also one of the grapes which can make excellent Autumnal wines and from California, our Ironstone Merlot 2018 (£15.00 mixed 6) is a fleshy, plump and very easily drinkable example of what we mean. It has just a little bit of oak character which goes with the luscious fruitiness superbly.

The southern Rhône where Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah hold sway is a great place for more firm and spicy which can pack a bit of punch, but where good examples balance that with an elegance of touch that suits feathered game, or venison really well. For a good case in point, this Gigondas, Domaine de la Haute Marone 2018 (£20.50 mixed 6) certainly fits the bill.

The Thistledown Wine Company headed up by two Masters of Wine is a bit of a boutique operation based in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. They make quite an array of top quality small production wines but to our minds, their Vagabond Old Vine Grenache 2019 (£22.50 mixed 6) which has a savouriness that complements the bright red fruit flavours tremendously suits things like a Moroccan Tagine but is also superb to drink all by itself.

White Wines

Not forgetting white wines Kardos Dry Furmint, 2019 (£10.00 mixed 6) from the Tokaj region of Hungary (where the famous dessert wines come from) is a firm year round favourite, but its layers of mineral complexity on top of the ripe fruit flavours make it a foolproof partner all sorts of oven-cooked poultry.

White Rioja can come in a number of styles, but this old vine, barrel-fermented Luis Canas Blanco Vinas Viejas, Rioja Blanco 2019 (£14.00 mixed 6) is a particularly good example of the ripe and rounded type perfect for Autumn. Its generous, creamy, vanilla notes make it a splendid comfort wine.

From Chile’s Casablanca Valley our Signos de Origen 'La Vinilla' 2018/19 (£15.00 mixed 6) is a complex and multifaceted white blend composed mainly of Chardonnay which has a warm, honeyed quality and lashings of tropical fruits. It’s made by the renowned Emiliana Organic Vineyards one of Chile’s leading sustainable wineries.

Staying in the Southern Hemisphere, but moving over the Atlantic to South Africa we’ve picked this Chenin Blanc from Stellenrust (£19.00 mixed 6) as an Autumnal winner. Chenin Blanc has become a very popular wine in recent years and can be made in a number of ways. This barrel-fermented example is not, in fact, unlike a good white Burgundy (at a fraction of the price) with an outstanding array of honeyed fruit flavours and a creamy smoothness.

These are just a taster of what’s on our shelves at this time of year and you can rest assured that we’ll have something that’ll make a superb pairing for any meal or occasion as we go into the colder months. We’d love to you have a browse in-store and our staff are on hand to help you make the perfect pick. And on the website, we’ve got the full range ready and waiting for you as well.