The past week in Dublin has seen some unusual weather patterns – a big yellow disc has been seen in the sky and admittances to hospitals for hypothermia are on the wane. In short, Spring has sprung!
The first thing any Dub does is to assess whether it’s warm enough to sunbathe – and to be honest it’s still marginal. The second thing is to fire up the barbecue! Who knows if we’ll get another chance to use it this year?
If you’re wondering what you could be drinking with your charcoaled oops I mean chargrilled food then this delicious South African Shiraz could be right up your street.
Disclosure: Sample was provided, but opinions are entirely my own
Bellow’s Rock Coastal Region Shiraz 2013 (€15.49 down to €9.99, O’Briens)
As you can see the Coastal Region is a large region, with a considerable distance between the littoral and most inland parts – expect quite a big temperature variation.
South Africa makes quite a range of styles of Shiraz, and the style in the bottle is sometimes – but not always – indicated by the use of Syrah (more Northern Rhône) or Shiraz (more Australian).
This is firmly in the latter camp, with big, sumptuous, sweet berry fruit and a little vanilla oak on the finish. It’s closed with a handy screw cap and was still drinking very well five days after being opened.
It tastes like a premium wine and €15.49 is a good price, but €9.99? Get several while it lasts and your BBQ reds are sorted for the whole summer!
And as an aside, here’s my regular soundtrack to the summer – at the first sight of sun each spring I always play Chicane’s “Behind The Sun”
This Summer’s BBQ Wines:
#1 – Bellow’s Rock Coastal Region Shiraz 2013
#2 – Château Michel Cazevieille Origine 1922 AC Saint Chinian 2012
#3 – and #4! Domaine de Maubet IGP Côtes de Gascogne 2014 & Venturer Côtes de Gascogne 2014