the times Saturday April 30 2022
Food + Drink 13
2020 The Best
Primitivo, Italy,
13.5 per cent
Morrisons, £8
Pauper’s amarone —
the same rich, sweetly
fruited, black cherry and
Victoria plum spice, for a
lot less money.2016 O’Leary Walker
Polish Hill, Australia,
12 per cent Waitrose,
£9.99, down from £12.99
Clare Valley riesling,
including this gorgeous
greeny-gold, waxy, spicy,
marzipan and kerosene-
spiked ’16, is a must-buy.2020 Finest Central
Otago Pinot Noir,
New Zealand, 13.5 per
cent Tesco, £13
Keenly priced, seductive
pinot noir from Villa
Maria, with fleshy, red
berry and smoky
clove-styled charm.The best rosés to buy now
Jane MacQuitty
top estate in Château d’Esclans (see
best buy), with exacting winemaking
including barrel fermentation and
maturation, smack more of a grand white
burgundy domaine than a pink producer
and, unlike others, can age gracefully.
Last summer Italy almost pushed
Provence off its pink perch but few this
year have hit the spot. Tuscany has
triumphed, though, with a delicious,
savoury, full-flavoured, tea leaf-perfumed
rosato, from a highly regarded chianti
producer, the 2021 Poggiotondo Rosato
delle Conchiglie (oldbridgewine.co.uk,
£19.99). Spain continues to be a great
source of robust, characterful rioja
rosados, with the sort of smoky-oaky
charge that makes them great barbecue
and big food-friendly bottles, and
Ramón Bilbao is a steal (see best buy).
Hot Mediterranean countries have
long made good rosés, with Greece a
good source. New this year is the
richly fruited, rose petal-spiced 2021
G & L Moschofilero Roditis Rosé
(thewinesociety.com, £8.50), with a dab
of red agiorgitiko. Or fly to California’s
Monterey for the 2020 Diora Pinot Noir
Rosé (Aldi, £9.99), with its jolly, sweet
strawberry and citrus zest fruit.2021 Auzells, Costers del
Segre, Spain, 12 per cent
thewinesociety.com,
£10.95 Mostly macabeu,
enriched with riesling,
this unusual racy,
elegant, lemon zest and
orchard-fruited Spaniard
is a winner.R
osé is on a roll. Everyone
wants to drink this pretty
pink wine shade, so much
so that last year we sank a
record £717 million worth.
Alas, a beguiling hue does
not guarantee a great taste
and while the quality of rosé has never
been better, finding one with real finesse
and flavour is way more difficult than
rooting out a decent white or red.
France still rules the rosé roost and
while posh, pale Provençal pinks hog the
limelight, twice as much Languedoc rosé,
IGP Pays d’Oc, is made every year, and
now we also have IGP Méditérranée,
which could come from anywhere in
Provence or Corsica but is made to less
stringent standards than other rosé from
Provence. Given that last year Provence
was beset with frosts and fires, it’s a
wonder that the 2021 vintage turned out
as well as it did, but some IGP
Méditérranée 2020 rosés are still going
strong, including the fresh, fruity,
bargain-buy, pink grapefruit-scented
2020 Rose Marie Méditérranée (Asda,
£6.50). Increased competition in France
has encouraged everyone to up their
game. Great wines like Les Clans, from a2021 Rosé Bonbon,
Côtes de Provence,
France, 12.5 per cent
leaandsandeman.co.uk,
£18.95 Starry rosé,
bursting with vibrant pink
peppercorn, mint and
zingy citrus fruit.2021 Ramón Bilbao
Rosado Rioja, Spain
12.5 per cent Tesco, £8
Tasty, smoky, meaty
pink rioja, with the
oomph and attitude
to cope with strong fish
and meat dishes.2020 Les Clans, Côtes
de Provence Rosé,
France, 14 per cent
finewinedirect.co.uk,
£45 Dreamy pink with
wood-smoke, vanilla
pod and tobacco
leaf-perfumed fruit.Top
pinksServes 4-8, depending on appetites
Ingredients
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 tbsp olive oil
200g cherry tomatoes
4 tbsp sherry or dry white wine
Juice and zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
1 broccoli, head cut into florets and
inner stalk trimmed and cubed
Sea salt and black pepper
Lemon wedges, to serveMethod
1 Season the chicken thighs
on both sides and set aside
for 15 min while they reach
room temperature.
2 Heat a large, heavy-based
frying pan over a medium
heat and, when hot, add the
oil, followed by the thighs,
skin-side down.
3 Fry for 20-25 min, draining
the fat into a heatproof pot
every 10 min or so and
checking the colour of the
skin. If it looks as if it is
colouring too quickly, turn
the heat down a little.
4 Once the skin is crisp and
golden, turn the thighs
over, add the tomatoes and
sherry, plus half the lemon
juice and zest, and cook on
the other side for 10-15 min,
or until the chicken juices
run completely clear.5 Bring a saucepan of water to the boil
and steam the broccoli for 6-8 min,
then add to the pan with the remaining
lemon juice. Flip the thighs over on to
their skins to warm, serve scattered
with the rest of the lemon zest.
Tip Chopped preserved lemon and
green olives are a great way to add
more complex flavours to this dish. Add
to the pan in place of the tomatoes.Crispy chicken thighs
by Thomasina Miers
2021 Le Bijou de Sophie
Valrose, Coteaux de
Béziers, France, 12.5 per
cent Waitrose, £6.99,
down from £9.99
Delicious, dry, floral, pale
salmon pink, with lively,
herby citrus peel pizzazz.Increased
competition
in France has
encouraged
everyone to up
their game
This week’s star buys
DAVE KOTINSKY/GETTY IMAGES; ISSY CROKEROttolenghi baked beans