Red Wine Trio

Selection our trio of red wines for this month that tick all the boxes for the red wine lover.

WINEMAKER : Samantha Bailey

REGION : Beaujolais, France

GRAPE : Gamay 100%

VINTAGE : 2020

ABV : 13.5%

NOTES : Vegan

Saint Amour is known as the most romantic of the Beaujolais Cru and we love a good gamay at the restaurant, so what better to put out for a February offering! The Bataillard family who own the vineyard are cemented in the northerly Beaujolais Crus and own plots all over the region and understand the terroir as well as anybody. The wine itself is fabulously balanced between forward fruit aromas of wild strawberries and berries, great structure and subtle backbone of liquorice and pepper. It’s smooth and silky but with a complex and lasting finish. Fantastic Beaujolais that’s lack of chunky tannins will sit wonderfully with richer indian dishes where the sauce offer a deep fruit beneath the spice while also sitting comfortably with a buttery Makhni.

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WINEMAKER : Alpha Box & Dice, Sam Berketa

REGION : McLaren Vale, Australia

GRAPE : Tempranillo 100%

VINTAGE : 2022

ABV : 13%

NOTES : Vegan

The team at Alpha Box & Dice are an interesting bunch but exceptional production putting them in some of the world’s best cellars! They have a project of producing a wine for every letter of the alphabet showcasing a different style, technique or varietal with the view to have a full collection showcasing the incredible variety of Southern Australias wine scene. You can see they’ve got great ambition and a modern point of view… mostly down to the youth of head wine maker and local Sam who joined in 2016 at just 26 years old! All of their wines of innovative but exceptional and very drinkable looking. This Tempranillo riff is no exception but is deceptively subtle to begin with. It’s got figs, plums and a little bit of spice on the nose. To begin with, it’s reluctant to play but a unique blend of black olive and salted plum join the party with strong, chalky tannins leave an exciting playground in your mouth. With the strength of character for some Indian seafood courses, it’ll make a nice combo. Also anything with a round, warm, lasting heat like our kashiphal!

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WINEMAKER : Andrea Pesaresi & Nazzareno Pieroni

REGION : Montefalco, Italy

GRAPE : Sagrantino 100%

VINTAGE : 2016

ABV : 15.5%

NOTES : Vegetarian, Organic

The Di Fillipo family vineyard is like taking a step back in time to a dreamy nostalgic view of an Italian wine producer where you would half expect Woody Allen to make a dainty romance film about the daughter of an old Mario looking farmer and American sommelier student who can’t speak any Italian. There’s no machinery, everything is mostly animal assisted with horses ploughing the fields and geese apparently bred to clean the vineyard and no doubt act as bouncers for any visitors (400 of them apparently…cue comic relief scene where 400 geese attack the American student and he bumps into said daughter in a haystack). We digress anyway, the wine is epic! Sagantino is a beautiful grape not seen enough and it thrives in the terroir and hot summers. This wine is rich and sumptuous. Big berry fruits come through with a touch of spice and oak and sleak tannins that last! It’s also where Saint Valentine was born… more ammunition for the screenplay we’ve now decided to write. Pairing wines, go big and chunky. Rich on rich. Working with a chunky hearty beef dish will release all the hidden chocolate and fruit notes in the sauce and the fine tannins won’t overload the hits of chilli.