01-08-2025
Wine with Leslie: Three bottles for your August bank holiday barbecue
The August bank holiday weekend is my favourite of the year. I love the warm days and warm evenings with just a whisper of autumn in the air.
The 'season of mists and mellow fruitfulness' has begun as Mr. Keats said.
I should also mention that my birthday falls on August 2, which happens to be Saturday, the first time I've written a column for my birthday since 2014.
So, yes, I like the August bank holiday in part because I get presents, I love presents!
Everyone imagines I open fabulous, expensive bottles for my birthday but this is rarely the case.
I'm mostly looking for fruit-forward aromatic whites that might match prawns (or lobster) simply grilled on the barbecue.
This could be a Pouilly-Fuissé with a bit of age or maybe a Viognier or a Greco di Tufo.
If I'm cooking a butterflied lamb or sirloin steak (never fillet) on the barbecue I could go for red Bordeaux, but it's more likely I'm drinking a lightly chilled red such as Eric Texier's Chat Fou or the Azul y Garanza wine featured below.
For my last roundy birthday I did serve aged Bordeaux with steak-frites to some wine appreciating friends, but more importantly we began with lobster and vintage Champagne, the biscuity intensity of aged fizz is a perfect foil for meaty sweet lobster.
I promise that such extravagance is a rarity, I'm just as likely to be drinking a pet-nat with some prawns.
So when do I open the good bottles, you might ask? Well, honestly, it could be any day of the week, but is most likely going to be a Sunday when I've cooked a roast and I'm trying to distract myself from the fact that the weekend is over.
Fine wine is a lovely distraction.
Suggestions for the bank holiday weekend are assuming you will be having a barbecue.
L'Ostal Cazes Rosé, Minervois, France, €11.96
L'Ostal Cazes Rosé, Minervois, France, €11.96
O'Briens
Bank holidays and rosé go very well together and O'Briens have their annual rosé specials on offer until the end of August with 25% reductions. From the Cazes family of Ch. Lynch-Bages, this pours pale salmon pink with subtle rose petal and red fruit aromas and a touch of tropical fruit balanced by citrus freshness. I also recommend Delheim (€11.96), Gaia (€14.96) and Petit Bourgeois (€14.96).
Domaine la Sarabande 'Misterioso' Faugères, France, €15-17
Domaine la Sarabande 'Misterioso' Faugères, France, €15-17
Matson's Bandon, Grange and YoughaL (€15); O'Briens; Whelehans
Made by Paul and Isla Gordan, an Aussie-Irish couple who grow organic old-vine Carignan, Grenache and Syrah in a remote part of the Languedoc. Minimum intervention, wild yeasts and always respecting terroir their wines are delicious; this is fruit-focused with cherry and blackberry scents, herbal smoky notes and soft dark fruits. Perfect for grilled sausages, also watch for the blanc and the juicy PIG red.
Azul y Garanza Naturaleza Salvaje 2021, Navarra, €24-26
Azul y Garanza Naturaleza Salvaje 2021, Navarra, €24-26
Mannings, Little Green Grocer; Vintry; Bubble Brothers;
This organic minimal intervention wine is from 35 year old Garnacha vines grown in the Desert of Bardenas Reales in Navarra — hot days, cool nights and poor soils. Wild yeast ferment, part amphora aged with light plum and red currant aromas, supple and juicy and suited to light chilling. I'll be serving this with grilled free-range pork from the bbq this weekend.
Spirit of the Week
McConnell's Whisky, 5 Year, Sherry Cask Finish, 46% ABV, €49
McConnell's Whisky, 5 Year, Sherry Cask Finish, 46% ABV, €49
Celtic Whiskey Shop Dublin and Killarney (and online).
Two-time winner in the blended category of the Irish Whiskey Awards, so long due a mention here. Founded in 1776 but revived more recently with a new distillery (and visitor experience) in the old Crumlin Road Gaol.
Aged 5 years in Bourbon cask and finished in Oloroso. Fruitcake, chocolate and dark honey aromas, sweet black fruits on the palate, supple, balanced and delicious.
