WINE OF THE WEEK: Avamposti Cerchi Slarina 2022, Monferrato Rosso, Piemonte, Italy

£15.50–£16.95, ND John, NY Wines, St Andrews Wine Co, Drinkmonger, Svinando, Yorkshire Wines, All About Wine

If you like elegant, lithe, pure-fruited red wines with wild-strawberry fruit, subtle spice and sappy, herbal notes, you’ll love Avamposti Cerchi Slarina 2022. I can see it being one of my wines of the year and almost certainly my discovery of the year. And it’s still only February.

The name may look impenetrable, but actually I've simplified it by omitting the producer for once. There was enough going on without making the wine name longer and more complicated. In fact, the producer is Tenuta Il Cascinone, an estate owned by the progressive, quality-minded Araldica co-operative.

Let me unpack the rest. Avamposti, the label explains, are the advance positions towards an objective and Cerchi was chosen to evoke the circle of life (i cerchi – circles in Italian). Creation, nature, the seasons… you’re getting the message.

Slarina – this is the exciting bit – is a grape variety, an extremely rare native of the Monferrato hills in eastern Piemonte. It has been revived in recent years after almost disappearing, but there are still barely 5 hectares in total. Il Cascinone has 0.5ha of them. Fingers crossed that, despite its low productivity, more Slarina will be planted.

I first tasted the 2022 Avamposti Cerchi Slarina in Almanac, an excellent, small, neighbourhood restaurant in Glossop, a Peak District town that’s fast becoming a great foodie destination (I can also highly recommend The Two Hares restaurant and Mettrick’s Butchers).

Served cool – once I'd asked for an ice bucket (never be shy of doing so) – I tried Avamposti Slarina with spicy mutton merguez, hare and smoked pig’s head bourguignon, and pork collar with parsley sauce. It wasn’t cowed by any of them, or by pease pudding, mint, carrots, onions, swede and parsley, among other things.

I even tried it with creamy poached, salty haddock and cockles. It wasn’t a match made in heaven but it didn't clash because the tannins are so light, feathery and hardly there.

Since then, I"ve paired it with piperade au jambon de Bayonne (olive-oil stewed peppers, tomatoes and onions, with beaten eggs stirred in at the end and crisped, dry-cured Bayonne ham served on top or alongside). All in all, it's a delicious and hugely adaptable wine. 13.5%. Empty bottle weight:

Il Cascinone Avamposti Cerchi Slarina 2020, Monferrato Rosso, Piemonte, Italy

£15.50–£16.95, ND John, NY Wines, St Andrews Wine Company, Drinkmonger, Svinando, Yorkshire Wines; £82.74 for 6, All About Wine

#wine #Italy #Slarina #wineandfood #winepairing #red #rarity