After introducing you to the newest addition to the Wine Rascal cellars last week, we took a little wander around and reacquainted ourselves with some of our more established wines down there; wines that have stood the test of time and proved time and time again to be a favourite of ours, and our partners in the trade.
With so much quality down there, It would be impossible to choose just one Wine Rascal stand-out, so we thought we’d ask one member of our team at a time. Thus, in good and proper fashion, where else to start but the boss, Tony Stones – who went for the Canadian Baco Noir…
” The Baco Noir is my top choice as it’s a very versatile wine. It’s easy to drink on its own, with its lovely juicy character – black fruits and red fruits and a good clean raspberry acidity on the finish which leaves you wanting to keep on sipping. It works equally well with food – ideal to drink by the fire in late winter/early spring with a cheese board or equally at a summer BBQ with a burger – a really popular choice with our customers “
Here’s what the winemaker Dan Speck of Henry of Pelham had to say about the unique grape:
” Regional and autochthonic grape varieties are making something of a comeback. In our market California Zinfandel became the rage in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Then Australian Shiraz. Then Argentinean Malbec. For us, it’s Baco Noir.
Baco Noir is one of our main varietals and our best selling export. ”
That’s not all – for a higher price tier option, the old vine variation is a deeper and more sophisticated exploration of Baco that, after a few sips of the wine above, anyone would be eager to undertake.
The same distinct raspberry and berry notes are here, but with a handful of cracked black pepper and smoke thrown in. Perfect with food.