Tag Archive for: Malbec

Hannibal’s October Newsletter – 2021

HANNIBAL’S NEWS  –  OCTOBER 2021

With a glorious September behind us, we can all sense the chill of autumn descending upon us.  And with it the subtle changes of mood.  We say ‘cheerio’ to our beloved barbecues and a wholehearted ‘woohoo’ to tasty  casseroles around the fireplace.  Out go the glugging rosés and in come the flavoursome, richer whites and reds to tantalise our tastebuds.

Note that we never stop selling rosé wines – they’re listed throughout the year – but you just won’t hear us talking about them quite so much during winter.

Our ‘Bounce Back’ Open Air Consumer Wine Event was a resounding success.  We were delighted to welcome back customers to our open air event in Wimbledon in September.  Ensuring safety first, we only got slightly soggy in the beautiful garden of Saint Mark’s Church, before the moon came out to much cheer.   Noteworthy wines of the evening were Akurra ‘Unoaked’ Chardonnay and Jacques Bruere’s Cap Classique Sparkling (Champagne Method) – the latter at just £17.99 is an absolute steal and will give any Champagne twice it’s price a run for its money.

Date for your diary – 9th December 2021 – Hannibal’s Christmas wine event – more details soon.

Our Weird Weather  –  as October arrived, the squalls have come at us with gusto.  The grapes of all English wine estates are now picked and we wish all our domestic winemakers the best of luck with what our climate has dealt them in 2021.  Some estates will undoubtedly fair better than others, but it’s fair to say don’t take the English 2021 vintage for granted – it’s had its challenges and the wines will reflect that.

Hannibal’s Wine of the Month –  this month, we are launching a series of new wines from South America.  Look out for El Relator from Argentina and an absolutely stunning Syrah from El Secretto in Chile.  These were featured at our Bounce Back event and are now available here>

Recipe of the Month –  how about Beef Empanadas to go with those new South American listings? Rich, meaty flavours for a match made in Heaven.  Check out our recipe section> on our website at hannibalbrown.com

News of Finn McCool –  who’d have thought the our resident pooch would be such a delicate rose?  On a recent trip to Suffolk for a sneak mushroom preview, the beast came a cropper with a nasty rash brought on by bramble, heather, ferns, you name it.  Just like us humans, antihistamines came to Finn’s remedial rescue and you’ll be pleased to learn that normal ‘bonkersness’ has since resumed.

 

 

 

Cheers for now!

 

Hannibal Brown

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Spring 2019 Wine & Food Tasting

The weatherman encouraged me this morning to believe that Spring really is just round the corner, with today’s weather not too dissimilar to that of northern Spain.

So it seemed appropriate to unveil the first of our consumer wine tastings of 2019…..  entitled Malbec & Masala, it’s our Spring pairing of fine wines with tempting food types using spices from around the world.  It’s hot on the heels of last year’s hugely successful Pinot & Paprika tasting.  Such was the popularity of this event, that we’ve decided to run a similar theme, albeit we are pushing the boundaries yet further – Six devilishly delicious food types paired with six artisan wines.  And a raft of other wines to taste and discover at your leisure.

For the concerned few, remember,  not all spice is hot!

We want to share the secret of wine and spice with our guests.  After all, what’s life without a bit of wine and spice thrown in?!

Venue :  Trinity Hall, Wimbledon, SW19

For more details and tickets – call us on 020 3876 8008 or click on the link HERE>

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Celebrating World Malbec Day

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The Malbec Grape

The big day is 17th April!

Malbec with no added sulphites

Malbec with no added sulphites

Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (the 7th president of Argentina) is the man to thank.  In 1853 he decided it was time to kick the Argentinian wine industry into action!  On the 17th April 1853 he submitted a proposal which would put Argentina on the world wine map.

It was that year, 1853, that the Malbec grape was introduced to Argentina.  10 years later the Phylloxera plague started killing off vines all across Europe and the Malbec vines in the Southern Rhone were taking a real battering.  Whilst that was happening, the vines in Argentina were adapting to the varied soil types and were starting to produce Malbec wines which were better than those from its homeland of France.

By the 1950s, Argentina was the only country left growing original Malbec vines of French origin.  The Malbec wines of France were hard and tannic, and the wine was quite often used for blending – just a small percentage added to other grape varieties to give those wines some tannic structure.

The Malbec wines of Argentina (especially the Mendoza region) are world famous, the wines are fruity, approachable, well balanced and offer a spectrum of styles.  From light and fruity to the more serious wines, aged in oak and with much raging potential.

Argentina is now easily the biggest Malbec producer in the world with 76,600 acres of vineyards planted across the country, followed next by France’s 13,100 acres.

So, it’s time to crack open a bottle and raise a glass to the Argentinians for the amazing transformation of this world class grape variety.

You can view our Malbec wines on our website here >

We often show Malbec wines at our wine tasting events, if you fancy a fun evening with your friends or event a get together with your colleagues then we would be happy to tell you all about our wine tasting events, simply get in touch.

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Why everyone loves Malbec

Having recently introduced (by popular demand) another Argentine Malbec to our range, we started asking ourselves the question… “why do people love Malbec so much?”

It’s a funny one… most people seem to think Argentina when discussing Malbec.  Yet Malbec originated in France, where it is a relatively obscure and minor component in Bordeaux blends; and then it produces a bruiser of a ‘black’ wine further south.  Furthermore, Malbec only really became a major Argentine varietal in the mid ’90s (although it was introduced as far back as the late 1800s). Healthy Malbec

Price-wise, the Argentine offering starts at a relatively inexpensive price point, which is always an attraction.  Whilst Argentine examples are relatively consistent from vintage to vintage, character-wise, Malbec can vary hugely : fruit-driven, soft and elegant, to tannic, spicy, full-bodied with plenty of structure.

For us, we think the words ‘fresh’ and ‘mellow’ are key to the general love affair.   Malbec doesn’t bite – the acidity is generally balanced and the berry ripeness is fresh and vibrant.

Whatever the reason for loving Malbec, who really cares? – let’s get stuck in!  Today’s offer>

To read more about Malbec and other varietals, go to Hannibal’s Enclycopedia>

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