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Monastrell is a grape I’ve been intrigued by lately, thanks to increasingly diverse expressions. For a long time, it was in my head epitomised by the friendly Lunatico Monastrell that features as one of SuperValu’s Signature Range, with its plump dark fruits and tannins smoothed by sweet spiced French oak. (It’s regularly on promotion, currently at €15 from €20 until March 20 in SuperValu’s Spanish wine sale.) This wine is produced by Bodegas Casa de la Ermita in DO Jumilla, a small but up-and-coming wine region in Murcia just inland from nearby Valencia.
February can be fickle. Is it winter or spring? No wonder there are two camps on that question it seems even the weather itself can’t quite decide. It ain’t summer, that’s for sure, so it can be a fine time to seek out the heat of some bottled sunshine, something that Sicily delivers with gusto.
Pet Nat is having a moment, quickstepping into the mainstream of wine drinking from the natural wine fringes, where it’s been a darling of hipster wine bars for some time. You’ll still only really find it in independent retailers rather than supermarkets, but it’s worth seeking out to share with your Valentine or Galentine this week.