The Wine Savant

Another sign of the times: In recent years Champagne producers have been scouting for land in southern England. There you find the same chalky soil that you find in the Champagne region of France, and because southern England is just a little farther north, some Champenois are eyeing it as a bolt hole of sorts—a place where they can continue to make exemplary sparkling wines if climate change undermines the quality of the sparkling wines that they produce at home.

Mourvèdre Like Cabernet Franc, Mourvèdre is a widely planted grape that deserves more respect than it gets. A thick-skinned, slow-ripening grape, Mourvèdre is believed to be native to Spain, where it is known as Monastrell. It is also found in California, where it is sometimes called Mataró, and in Australia, too. But Mourvèdre is used to greatest effect in France. It is one of the primary grapes of the southern Rhône Valley, where it is a key component in Châteaneuf-du-Pape.

Lagrein is finally getting some well-deserved notice. It is a grape that turns out rich, highly aromatic reds that pair well with meat dishes, cheese, and yes, pizza. Not unlike Barbera, which is grown in the Piedmont region on the other side of northern Italy, Lagrein tends to be brisk in acidity but fairly modest in tannins, which helps make the wines approachable in their youth.

Aglianico This is a fascinating grape that yields rich, soulful wines that with their spice and herbal notes proudly wear their southern Italian origins. Aglianico was brought to Italy by the ancient Greeks, and it was apparently the mainstay of Falernian, which was the grand vin of Roman times. These days it is cultivated mainly in Campania and neighboring Basilicata and is considered southern Italy’s noble grape, its answer to Nebbiolo and Sangiovese. The better Aglianicos show bright, zippy dark fruit, brisk acidity, and muscular (one might even say rustic) tannins. With all that structure, they can reward cellaring, but they are also deliciously exuberant in their youth.

Godello For the past few years, as a bit of Albariño ennui has set in, Godello has been touted as Spain’s new “it” grape, and not without justification—it can produce outstanding wines. Search around enough and you will see it being compared to Chardonnay, Riesling, Chenin Blanc, and even some other grapes. Here’s what we can say about Godello: it turns out wines that manage to be crisp but also a bit round and generous, a sensational yin-yang effect.

At its best, Blaufränkisch yields wines that show lots of ripe berry flavors, excellent acidity, and a good spicy bite on the palate. It is a grape that lends itself to different styles; some Blaufränkisches are fairly light and delicate, while others have a rich, robust quality.

The vineyards on Santorini are composed of volcanic ash and pumice, and the Assyrtiko vines are trained in the shape of a basket so they can withstand the harsh winds that sometimes blow across the island. Needless to say, Assyrtiko is a resilient grape, and one that manages to maintain its robust acidity even as it reaches peak ripeness. The wines it produces on Santorini are zesty, bone-dry, and incredibly refreshing. These are archetypal Mediterranean white wines, and they speak to Greece’s winemaking potential.

Assyrtiko This is a white wine grape native to the Greek island of Santorini and makes what I think are the most compelling wines coming out of Greece.

Mencia This is a red grape indigenous to northern Spain, where it is found in the Bierzo, Ribeira Sacra, and Valdeorras regions. It was once thought to be related to Cabernet Franc, but that turned out not to be the case. It produces relatively light, wonderfully perfumed wines. In addition to strong floral character, the wines often have a pronounced gamey note, and the best examples also show a strong mineral edge. While a few Mencias are ambitiously priced these days, most remain very affordable, in the $20–$30 range.

For much of the twentieth century, the Basque country was a viticultural basket case. The local quaffer, known as Txakoli (cha-co-lee) or Txakolina, a white composed primarily of the indigenous Hondarrabi Zuri grape, was a fairly nasty garage brew produced in minuscule quantities by mom-and-pop vintners. But increased investment in the 1980s and ’90s led to a big improvement in the quality of the wines, and consumer interest, undoubtedly encouraged by San Sebastián’s emergence as Europe’s gastronomic mecca, has soared.