Cenosilicaphobic Cat

One of my favourite brands has always been d'Arenberg. I like the posh-sounding name, the somehow expensive-looking red slash on their labels, and the inventive and memorable names they come up with for their wines. Therefore I was delighted when S, invited to dinner at the last minute and promising to bring a bottle of something, turned up with one of the most interesting wines I've had in a good while.

The red stripe was there, as expected, as well as the interesting name; "The cenosilicaphobic cat", inspired by a winery cat who developed a taste for red wine. The best part, however, was that this wine is a blend of two obscure varieites - Sagrantino and Cinsault. Cinsault I've heard of (though not tried before), but Sagrantino was altogether new to me. I would love to taste each of them unblended to try and discover what each of them brought to the mix, because together they were divine.

The nose had aromas of liquorice and mulberries, rich and spicy. Violets, red berries and cigar-box contributed to a big, round, velvetty palate, which is not overpowered by the strong, lingering tannins. This is most definitely a food wine. It is also handmade in the traditional method (thankfully I detected no trace of unwashed foot), and retains some sediment, so decant it if you can. There was also no fining in the process, which is good news for all the wine-loving vegans out there.

Price: $25-30 a bottle

Food: A hearty spaghetti bolognaise.

Fern Gully Chambourcin

There are few better reasons to open a bottle of wine than celebration of good news (there are few worse reasons either - to me, any reason is a good one). When feeling excited and happy, the "foomp" of the cork coming out of the bottle is the icing on the cake. The same effect is not really acheived with a Stelvin cap, which is of course one of the main reasons we need to keep using cork for at least a few wines in this country.

At any rate, to celebrate some happy tidings yesterday we foomped the cork from a bottle of Chambourcin from Fern Gully, a very small winery in the Shoalhaven region which makes - and bottles - all its wine by hand. As I have mentioned, Chambourcin is a bit of a rough grape that grows well in that region, but Fern Gully have done wonders with it. The grape produces wines of rich, almost purple colour, and this particular example has flavours to match. The nose reminded me of cherries, dark chocolate and cinnamon, and the palate was full-bodied and smooth, with velvety tannins.

We made what I now think was a mistake by eating cajun-spiced lamb with it, which I think made the wine taste a bit sharp - certainly that sharpness wasn't there when drinking the wine on its own. It would be better matched with kangaroo with a plum sauce. I honestly think this is the best example of Chambourcin I have tasted in its price range, and if I had the cash and time I would nip back down to Termeil and pick up a case.