Two Well Recommended Red Wines. An Old Roots Cinsault from Chile and a GSM from Minervois.

Three Well Recommended Wines. Eight Grape Varieties 

Montes “Outer Limits” Cinsault 2017 DO Valle del Itata Chile, 13.5%, 

€24.99 Baggot Street Wines, Blackrock Cellar, The Corkscrew, Wineonline.ie, Ely Wine Store (Maynooth).

This juicy vibrant Cinsault has a bright mid-ruby colour. Ripe red and darker berries in the aromas, just a hint of the time in oak, floral notes too. Bright fruit again prominent but acidity too in a harmonious palate, a decent wash of spice, and quite a pleasant mouthfeel too. Plus a persistent finish. This blend - there is 15% Mourvedre there also - is Very Highly Recommended.

Food pairings suggested include: Rabbit stew, slow-cooked legumes such as lentils, and very juicy cuts of red meat and game are ideal with this great wine. Serve at 12º to 14ºC (53º-57ºF).

This southern French variety has been planted in southern Chile for well over 100 years, but has only recently been making wines as good as this juicy, peppery and wonderfully vibrant red, quite a few of the better examples coming from Itata.

This ‘Old Roots’ Cinsault is made from dry-farmed, head-trained vines grown in the Itata Valley, where the first grape varieties were planted in Chile 500 years ago.

Aurelio Montes has been regularly lauded as one of the pioneers of top class Chilean wine. Wines of South America: “It's hard to express in a paragraph the extent of Aurelio’s impact on modern Chilean wine. Rightly recognised as Chile’s patriarch of quality wine-making…”

He is always pushing the boundaries as he said in a recent Zoom masterclass. “If you don’t go to the limit, you won’t know what you can achieve.” Aurelio says he is always seeking quality through innovation, never afraid to employ new technology. See more of this maestro’s masterclass here. 

Domaine Luc Lapeyre “L’Amourier" Minervois (AOC) 2018, 13%, €16.15 Wines Direct

Dark and deeply so. Aromas too speak of dark fruits, rich purple plums and intense red cherries, a hint or two of the wild garrigue, a touch of liquorice. And the fruit-driven palate is no less intense, though the flavours now reflect a softer alliance of berries, soft tannins too, all wrapped in a fresh and attractive juiciness. Open my collar, the better to enjoy this complex harmony. I could be here for a while with my new and Very Highly Recommended ami. 

“ Lapeyre has an unmistakable gift for creating wines that are intriguing, charming, elegant and refreshing.” I cannot argue with that in the face of this excellent blend of Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah. Wines Direct say it pairs well with Pork and Poultry, Hearty Roots, Game plus Beef and Lamb. Reckon it could also handle spicy meals.