Drinks of the Month

Two massively drinkable natural wines for under £10

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on January 27 2022 at 08:14

I’ve long been a fan of natural wine but can’t argue with the fact that it’s expensive. For good reason - it’s often made on a very small scale by artisan producers but that generally takes it out of the realm of everyday drinking.

So hats off to natural wine pioneers Les Caves de Pyrène who have collaborated with winemaker Luca Hodgkinson to make two delicious wines you’d be as pleased to drink on a midweek night in as to find in a wine bar.

The red, La Cueva, a blend of pais, carignan and cabernet sauvignon from the Maule valley, is a light juicy vin de soif I’d be inclined to chill and which would be great gulped down with a selection of mezze or antipasti.

But it’s the white, La Patagua a hazy blend of semillon and moscatel from the Colchagua valley with a lovely taste of fresh pineapple which really excites me. It would be great with all sorts of seafood and salads but at 14.5% it’s more alcoholic than it tastes so watch it!

Both the wines come from the 2021 vintage, are made from organically grown (but uncertified) old vines and vinified with natural yeasts. You can buy them for £9.05 from Les Caves or online from Lola in Leamington Spa for £9

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