The best of red wines

The Tenuta Sant'Antonio Amarone 2013 (Rs 6,825 in Bengaluru) is sublime and complex, with a full-bodied taste and lots of ripe fruit and spice on the palate

Continuing my round-up of what wines to drink each week in 2019, I’ll cover red wines from around the world. We should start (of course) with the red wines of France, the home of Bordeaux and Burgundy, as well as some terrific reds from the Rhone Valley.
 
In France the wines are named after the region, so “Bordeaux” is both the region as well as the name for the wines produced there — mainly from a blend of three grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc — with minute quantities of Petit Verdot and sometimes Viognier to provide the “zing”!
 
Red wines from the Medoc region of Bordeaux were classified in 1855 according to price (and quality) — 61 chateaux in Bordeaux received a “growth” tag, with the top four (now five) being termed “Premier Cru” (First Growths): Lafite-Rothschild, Latour, Margaux, Haut-Brion and Mouton-Rothschild. Over the years another 371 chateaux have received official classification — out of some 7,000 chateaux in the region!
 
So, have a classed (“Grand Cru Classe”) Bordeaux in your wine bucket list — prices of a decent Bordeaux should be upward of Rs 5,000 (in India), although the classed growths would start at around Rs 8,000 and go rapidly skywards.
 
Next would be the red wines of Burgundy (“Bourgogne”) and the Rhone Valley. The reds of Burgundy are famously lighter and more elegant than wines from Bordeaux as they are made only from Pinot Noir, and the best (and of course the most expensive) are termed “Grand Cru”: any wines with the terms “Corton”, “Chambertin”, “Clos”, and of course “Romanee” on the label will set you back a considerable sum.
 
In contrast, the wines from lower down the Rhône river are made from a variety of grapes but mostly Syrah and Grenache and so are full-bodied and complex. Look for a Chapoutier or E Guigal from the Northern Rhone, any Châteauneuf-du-Pape and a Chateau de Saint Cosme from the Gigondas region.
 
Lastly, there would be Beaujolais Cru (made from the Gamay grape), also from the Rhone Valley: look for wines from Bouchard or Drouhin or even Louis Jadot.
 
Next, I would go to Italy, which has three wines from three different grapes on my to-do list: Barolo, made from the Nebbiolo grape in the Piedmont region of north-west Italy; Chianti and Super Tuscans, made in Tuscany using mainly Sangiovese grapes; and Amarone made using mainly the Corvina grape in the Veneto region of north-east Italy.
 
Look for Vietti Barolo, Querciabella Chianti Classico, Sassicaia or Tignanello, and Tenuta Sant’Antonio Amarone — all available in India.
 
And how can this sampling be complete without wines from the Iberian Peninsula? Spanish Rioja is made from the Tempranillo grape and Reserva/Gran Reserva wines are lovely: look for wines from Bodegas (“winery” in Spanish) Roda, Muga or Breton as well as Marques de Caceres and Marques de Murrieta.
 

Then there’s Port, made from a variety of local grapes (of which Touriga Nacional is the best-known) in a process that involves adding brandy to fortify the wine, which leaves it sweet enough to be used as a dessert wine. Look for Vintage Ports from producers like Cockburn, Croft, Dow, Harveys or Sandeman.
 
Mind you, we’ve just looked at the principal red wines of just four countries in Europe: so many wines, so little time!
 
Wines I’ve been drinking: A friend from Terroir — The Madras Wine Club (who’s recently relocated to Bengaluru) was generous enough to host an intimate evening with some terrific wines — of the three wines quaffed, two stood out: the Tenuta Sant’Antonio Amarone 2013 (Rs 6,825 in Bengaluru) was sublime and complex, with a full-bodied taste and lots of ripe fruit and spice on the palate, while the Rioja Roda Reserva 2013 (Bodegas Roda, Rs 6,242 in Bengaluru) displayed a surprising finesse, with ripe cherries, some minerality and a great finish.
 
A great way to start the New Year. Cheers! Alok Chandra is a Bengaluru-based wine consultant