Three wines that skyrocket as you turn the temperature dial down.
Many moons ago, I ventured down to the South of France for a day trip, of all things, to discuss chillable reds with a notable winemaker. I brought with me six very carefully selected bottles in my luggage.
I nominated wines from different corners of the earth and ensured they were made from a wide range of grape varieties. It was a fascinating day tasting with one of the most renowned winemakers of the time, and we both agreed that red wines need a very particular make-up to work well, or perhaps even better, at cooler temperatures than one might expect.
Every wine was a winner, and while we scratched our heads for the eureka ‘recipe,’ it transpired that there was none; it was just a very specific style of fruit tone, precision, and delivery. I aimed to show that it might be possible to make red wines intentionally for being served chilled – it was the French Riviera, after all – but I am convinced the theory holds for all parts of the world, especially as the days seemingly get hotter and the summers longer.
Of course, we are all used to asking for an ice bucket for red wines when the mercury rises, but this is usually to avoid the inevitable soupiness and that awful high-tone alcohol burn that one often experiences, usually on baking hot Summer hols or, equally, in cold Scottish lodges when the claret is mistakenly left too long next to the fire to warm up! However, these various vinous crimes are not the subject of this month’s sermon.
I have long been convinced that there is a sizeable market for cleverly made red wines that come alive at cooler temperatures. My curiosity in this field started in the gastronomic arena, as is so often the case with my wine eureka moments! I first took a serious interest in chillable reds when I spent a decade consulting for a famous group of Indian restaurants in London. The various spicy dishes demanded cooler temperature wines to romance their complex ingredients while elevating the overall pairing, and I was convinced that this meant that alongside the obvious whites and rosé wines, reds should be able to be served cool, too. It did not take long to crack the code.
These wine lists went from being an afterthought in the Indian arena to being fundamental to the guest experience and responsible for many accolades, including Michelin recognition. Chillable red wines were the foundations of this movement. So, this month, as we approach June, here are three wines that perform admirably at ‘normal’ temperatures, but which also skyrocket as you move the dial down!
2022 Missing Gate Vineyard, Two Horse Land Pinot Noir
£47.50 www.missinggate.com
Ben Smith at Itasca makes Missing Gate Vineyard wines, and you will all be aware of his Jedi skills.
2022 was one of the warmest and driest growing seasons on record, and pristine grapes were brought into the winery three weeks ahead of those in 2021.
The wine was carefully destemmed, cold-soaked and fermented on skins with daily pump-overs and gentle punch-downs to achieve perfect extraction, and it was rewarded with ten months in barrels, of which 14% were new.
This is one of the most alluring and complex English Pinots I have tasted, and it comes alive at ‘cellar temperature’! I realise this is not a cheap wine, but if you are keen on this variety, Two Horse Land is a hidden gem showcasing precisely what its owner, Jack Speakman, set out to achieve.
He told me that in most of the local low-lying Crouch Valley region, the land was historically described as ‘one horse’ – relatively easy to plough. This changes with elevation as you move out of the lower reaches from the alluvial topsoil of a decent depth to the igneous-based clay paste that they have with little or no topsoil. You then need more horses! It is here where Missing Gate harvests more serious and complex fruit, hence this wine’s name.
I am told there is a Three Horse on the horizon. Given the heavenly flavour of this wine, I will be first in the queue!
2023 Balfour, Luke’s Pinot Noir
£30.00 www.balfourwinery.com
I have circled Luke’s Pinot for a few years, wondering when I should pounce. Until this vintage, I felt the wine was lacking, not quite as complete as I would have liked, and slightly too difficult to love. This has all changed with the 2023!
Everything about this wine appears to be in harmony, starting with the names of the vineyards from whence its fruit is derived. Is there a more English quintet of vineyard names out there than Brenley, Foxwood, Springheath, Middle Strackney and Wood? With these patriotic-sounding plots all singing in harmony, Fergus Elias has managed to weave a cunning combination of French and American oak through the core of this Pinot to great effect.
This is a perfumed wine with resplendent hedgerow notes and a darker core than many. This mid-palate thrust allows it to embrace cooler temperatures. I can see legions of keen gastronomes plunging this wine into a bucket for 20-30 minutes before performing a grand reveal ahead of an excellent, traditional, summery pub lunch! Of course, it can handle snooty grub, too, but I feel it would be best served, carefully chilled, with charcuterie, cheese, crusty bread, chutneys, and pickles all sourced and made no further than a 20-mile radius from the winery!
2023 Biddenden Vineyards, Gribble Bridge Dornfelder
£16.70 www.biddendenvineyards.com
Is this the finest GBD made to date? It certainly tastes like it, although we are spoilt for choice.
This wine is always one of the finest value English reds of the year and while many will hose down bottles with all manner of dishes, all year round, I have a penchant for Biddenden’s boisterous Dornfelder, served chilled (yes, this wine can be served at rosé temperature), whereupon it dons a cape and becomes a super-red, capable of being drunk as a beautiful aperitif or with any dish on earth!
You could throw down a sea bream, a pork chop, a lamb pasanda or a retinue of the highest-grade tuna sushi, and this magnificent wine would lap them all up! Bright, clean, seamless and juicy, this Zen master involves black, red, purple and blue fruited notes in its performance and the texture throughout is pure gossamer.
Hats off because at seventeen quid, you have no excuse to avoid charging through a few bottles this summer!
