Wine O’Clock Wines
The Mistress of Wine Recommends:
Gaia Wild Ferment Assyrtiko 2022 Santorini, Greece
£34 @ Hic!
Assyrtiko is very much on 'the up' and I've chosen this grape variety (and this EXACT wine for an event tonight!) for a number of tastings recently. It is a fantastic summery wine, full of citrus and floral notes and a touch of apricot and stone. Refreshing, with zesty acidity this wine is fermented with wild (as opposed to cultured) yeast for extra complexity and interest and has also had some oak influence as evidenced by the enticing notes of spice.
Mandrarossa Frappato 2022 Sicily, Italy
£11.95 @ The Wine Society
As we find ourselves - rather unexpectedly - in a late summer heatwave, this juicy, floral, aromatic, soft & silky red is ideal to pop in the fridge chilled and can be enjoyed with a wide range of different dishes; we paired it with steak and salads at the weekend! Incredibly perfumed with aromas of roses and violets but underlying notes of black cherries too, this could just as easily be on the Soft & Juicy branch of The Tree.