Euro Trip Dozen
I know, you’re not alone. Everybody envies our Mofo Wine Buyers. But they really do work hard, finding the best of the best vinos for you. They have to taste through a lot of sub-par wine to find the gems like these, and then negotiate their little hearts out to get you the best value around. Mofo value.
Each dozen contains TWO of the following wines:
Red
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- GSM
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- Languedoc-Roussillon
- GSM
- Languedoc-Roussillon
Fortant make bloody good shiraz grenache like this and do it with panache on a daily basis, but this is something special. Vegan as well as certified biodynamic itself, it’s a collaboration with two-Michelin-starred chef Jean-Luc Rabanel to create a wine to specifically match vegetarian organic food. Don’t ask me why, just enjoy the outcome. It’s a 50/50 blend but certainly seems grenache-driven, with loads of raspberry, red cherry and rhubarb fruit, cloves and spices to boot. Shiraz sings a plummy chorus that underscores the red fruit, but it never gets beyond medium-bodied, even with serious, food-worthy tannins that dry and lengthen out the wine.
Red
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- Other Red
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- Puglia
- Other Red
- Puglia
In the glass is a dark, hyper intense, swirling beast of a wine. Blackberry jam, licorice (both flavour and that silken texture), warmingly rich asphalt notes and cocoa-like tannins. Everything’s a slick production, and an assault on the senses. It’s tannic but silky, sweet but drying, rich but refreshing. With this family celebrating 80 years of fine vino in 2018, let’s raise a rich glass of intense red to their impressive experience and the luscious results. Grab a hefty chunk of beef and a hunk of cheese and you’ll curled up happily on the couch before you can say ‘appassimento’ ten times quickly.
Red
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- Other Red
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- Montsant DO
- Other Red
- Montsant DO
From a co-op of 300 lucky people who are now collectively Montsant’s biggest landowners, Celler Masroig is considered among the region’s elite. And this 100% carignan shows how. From steep, south-facing slopes, hot days and cold nights make the grapes strong. As they say, ‘the balance lives in the intense landscape of Solà Fred.’ And as Decanter said (along with 97 points and a platinum award) the result is world class. This is much more ripe, wonderful plum, prune and herbaceousness than the more feral side of carignan, and it’s strung together tautly by fine acidity, with plush fruit equally matched by drying tannin. Much to carry on about with this carignan.
Red
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- Grenache Blend
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- Languedoc-Roussillon
- Grenache Blend
- Languedoc-Roussillon
When a producer as prolific as Roquebrun (Red Winemaker of the Year at the 2015 International Wine Challenge) does ‘entry level’, you know it won’t be run-of-the-mill. So they’ve selected some merlot, cabernet, carignan and grenache, given it a tickle of carbonic maceration (Beaujolais-style), and you end up with a wine that expresses all the blueberry and melted chocolate of the Languedoc, along with the strawberry-and-spice slipperiness of the winemaking techniques. It’s harmonious but still powerful - loads of aromatics and spice, and loads to like. Three gold medals (so far) don’t say otherwise.
Red
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- Nero d'Avola
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- Sicily
- Nero d'Avola
- Sicily
This nero had a little over two weeks on skins prior to ferment, to brings out all the potential aromatics that become apparent during the following fermentation. So while simpler neros are all sour cherry and rustic tannin, this has layers of aroma and a fineness that reminds you why nero is regarded as the king of grapes in Sicily. Its acidity lends it to fatty foods, say, a plate of meats and cheese? A bit of sunny, dry weather, and you could almost imagine the island life. You’ll be one step nero to it, at least.
Red
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- Tempranillo
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- La Mancha
- Tempranillo
- La Mancha
This stuff is super bright and full of pretty red and black fruits - strawberry, damson plum, sour red cherry. The protocol here is to have some in the cellar at every moment, for any occasion. There won’t be a time you don’t miss it on your table, for its affable juiciness. The ever-flamboyant and hard to please James Suckling reckons: “Some gently tarry and spicy aromas across a swathe of dark-berry aromas. This is a succulent and juicy red with medium body and a fresh, lighter-berry finish. Drink now.”