Drinks of the Month

Wine of the week: Gentilini Eclipse 2013

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on November 23 2015 at 08:07

I must confess a sentimental attachment to Gentilini who I visited on the beautiful island of Kefalonia back in 2001 when I was researching a feature on Greek food.(Kefalonia - or Cephalonia as it's sometimes spelt - is where the book and film Captain Corelli's Mandolin was set.)

Up to now the only wine I’d come across of theirs in the UK was Robola, an appealingly aromatic, floral white but Oddbins, who stock that too, recently sent me this stunning red to try.

It’s made from the local Mavrodaphne of Kefalonia but tastes more like a good Bordeaux which helps to justify its relatively expensive £17.50 price tag* (still ony £3 a standard 125ml glass for those who think that sounds a bit toppy). Wine is sometimes described as velvety but this one really is with gorgeous dark, damsony fruit. It would go really well with roast lamb and middle-eastern-style meat dishes so is exactly the sort of wine you should buy if you’re cooking up an Ottolenghi-ish style feast.

Perhaps a bit left-field for Christmas drinking so enjoy it before you get swept up in all the madness.

* At the moment you only appear to be able to find it in store - but I do know it's there as I checked in my local branch!

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