Most of us have heard of Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Shiraz and Chardonnay, but have you heard of Treixadura, Assyrtiko, Carricante or Trollinger?? No! Me neither, well that is until my wine journey turned into an adventure, delving deep into the unknown, looking for exciting new lands and their native grapes. Did you know there are over 10,000 grape varieties in the world?!
Many of these rarer grapes are grown in small plots, concentrated within historic vineyards and it’s great fun to track them down, although you can often only sample them by visiting the local area. That is why I love merchants like FineWineToMe.com, who pride themselves on tracking down weird and wonderful wines, taking the hard work out of my armchair explorations!
One such wine is Flower and the Bee, made from 100% Treixadura, grown in the oldest registered vineyard in the Spanish peninsula of Ribeiro. This deep golden yellow nectar has a powerful smokey nose, with generous helpings of honeyed apricots, plump golden raisins and hay. The nose would suggest time in oak, but it is deceptive as the wine has been deliberately kept away from oak in order to preserve it’s fresh and aromatic flavours. With the first sip you are rewarded with pears, apricots, a touch of lime zest zing and lots of tongue tingling spice. This is a bone dry wine with medium acidity and a not unpleasant herbal bitterness on the finish.
This is a great wine which challenges the senses and takes you to another land. It has a wonderful earthy minerality which would be great with beetroot and soft goats cheese. So cheers to travelling the world and seeking out adventure, all from the comfort of my deckchair!
Get yourself a bottle of The Flower and the Bee now and we deliver free.
Blog posted by Tori – Follow her on Instagram