Smokey wines for the perfect Guy Fawkes night
It is, clearly, no coincidence that around this time of year, wines with inherent smokiness tend to appeal. Not only is there the joy/forced sort of fun/unimaginable horror (delete as applicable) of Bonfire Night on the horizon, but the weather does lend itself to hunkering down, cosying up, and doing whatever else it is people do next to a fire.
Which in our case that does naturally mean opening a bottle of wine and letting the good times roll. If there's some cheese in play, all the better. Did someone mention chocolate? Count us in. Is it churlish to remind you that these things are both available in the add-ons on the app? Who knows.
What we do know is that wine with a little smokiness to it - your Syrahs, your Pinotages, some oaked whites - really do just hit the nail on the head in these moments, and so we've chosen a few examples from the app for you to get in amongst. Have at 'em.
Available now in all of our bottle shops across London or via the app for delivery within an hour (Central London) or next day around the UK
WHAT: Lismore - Syrah - 2008
PRODUCER: Samantha O'Keefe, an exiled Californian. She owns and runs the place.
WHERE: Cape South Coast is a pretty vague description of where she is based. The winery is about a 2 hour drive east of Cape Town, in the mountains of a nature reserve. We're not jealous...
WHY: We're absolute suckers for this kind of wine. A touch geeky maybe, but, sometimes you can't help yourself. Clean, spicy, earthy, made in tiny quantities - There's a spot in there that gets hit every time.
WHAT: You F&@K my Wine - Jurancon Noir, Merlot, Malbec - 2021
PRODUCER: Fabien Jouves is something of a wild child of Cahors. Rather than forsake his eclectic mix of old vines that once proliferated here, he decided to declassify the wines and make them how he wants. Hence this being a VDF as opposed to a Cahors wine.
The wine's name is a nod to his frustration on the stringent appellation laws governing the area.
WHERE: Cahors, birthplace of Malbec. Toasty part of France.
WHY: Fruit forward and fresh, this makes for a pleasing alternative to the often more robust red wines of the area.
WHAT: Tandem - Syrah - 2015
PRODUCER: Wine Royalty - Alain Graillot, King of Crozes Hermitage, is in partnership with the local growers here. It is made in Morocco and moved to Crozes for storage and shipping
WHERE: It's made in, well, Morocco obviously, - in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains more specifically. It's hot, but cool at night.
WHY: Rich, juicy and full of spice and leather notes. More than you bargained for.
WHAT: Bitoku - Treixadura,Loureira - 2019
PRODUCER: Adega do Demo was started by Laura Rodríguez and Carlos Lorenzo in 2005, where the profusion of varieties they grew in carefully managed soils were sold to local wineries. In 2017 they started to vinify grapes themselves, and made 1,300 bottles of Bitoku (Treixadura, Loureira) and other wines in a friend's cellar. Lucky friend.
WHERE: Galicia, lovingly called 'Green Spain' because its so cool and green there. The land of great seafood and brightly refreshing wines.
WHY: Textured, herbaceous and just a little saline, this is Galician wine in a nutshell. Or bottle. Whichever you prefer.
Find all these wines on the Drop App
We’ll delivery expertly curated wines from your local Drop to your doorstep within an hour or for a delivery window that suits your plans if you are within Central London.
Next day delivery around the UK.