Great light red bottles -- for warmer days

Now’s the time to give your wine rack a spring spruce up, says Will Lyons

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/six-great-light-red-bottles-for-warmer-days-qqmhw8r6t

https://archive.ph/McjH8



As you reorganise your wardrobe at this time of year, pushing sweaters to the back, so your wine rack needs a bit of rebalancing too. I’ll be replacing unctuous, full-bodied winter warmers such as Argentine malbec, Californian cabernet and Australian shiraz with vibrantly fruited reds that can be enjoyed on their own or with the light dishes that lend themselves to spring. In France they have a lovely expression for these wines — vin de soif, which loosely translates as “thirst quencher”: something good and honest that will wash down a salad niçoise and the like. France also has the best region to scour for them: Beaujolais, where the gamay grape thrives. The juicy, spicy 2022 Beaujolais-Villages by Louis Claude Desvignes (Berry Bros & Rudd, £15.50) will be near the top of my shopping list.



Spring also leads me to grape varieties such as pinot noir, with elegant notes of cherry to the fore. A good budget option is Morrisons’ 2022 Paul Mas Reserve Pinot Noir (£9.50), which is full of lovely summery flavour. I also enjoy the bright acidity and tart red fruit of cabernet franc from the Loire and further afield. The fragrant 2021 The Mira Cabernet Franc from Stellenbosch in South Africa (Museum Wines, £24.99) is a gem. Let’s not forget Spain either, where the garnacha grape can do a similar job. Lidl’s 2020 Agramont Old Vine Garnacha from Navarra (£6.49) is packed with lively raspberry and cranberry. Other, albeit more recondite, varieties to keep an eye out for include the exuberant, cherry-infused zweigelt grape popular in Austria (try M&S Found’s Zweigelt, £8.50) or the light, soft cinsault grape. An excellent example is the 2019 Domaine des Tourelles Vieilles Vignes from the Bekaa Valley in the Lebanon (WoodWinters, £19.50). Here are six more light reds to get spring off to a sprightly start.