White Slimy Tameran, Gran Canaria, Spain 2020 (£48, thesourcingtable.com) You can track the change in footballers status over the past 30 years in the kind of wine-related side business and retirement projects they take on. When the traditional ambition of former professionals was to run a bar, today’s players were more likely to end up owning a vineyard or winery. Or, at least, that’s what a certain breed of gamer—specifically the kind of Southern European with the thinner boot that commentators tend to describe as sophisticated—does it seem to end up. Examples include Italian walker Andrea Pirlo, who shares his family’s vineyard, Pratom Collier, near Brescia in Lombardy, and Barcelona and Spain demonic winger Andres Iniesta, who has the name Bodega that he runs with his father in the Spanish Manchuilla region of Castilla. no mancha. By far the most impressive playmaker I’ve tasted so far, is the white Manchester City and Spain international David Silva of Gran Canaria.
Studio by Miraval Rosé, Provence, France 2020 (£12, Tesco, Asda) What makes Silva wine so special is its exquisite interplay of ripe quince, strong lemon and the quality of mouth-watering smoky salty minerals with gravity-defying balance and richness contrasted with its light frame at 12% abv: the perfect reflection of Silva’s petite beat. Gifts as a footballer, and also on display in the other Taméran wine I’ve tried: Mavalsia Volcánica 2020. Both wines are made by the very talented winemaker Jonatan García, who works admirably on his Suertes del Marqués project in Orotava in Tenerife Valley too worth looking for . Choosing the right collaborator is what characterizes most of the best celebrity wines. Definitely partnering with the Perrin family – makers of the best Châteauneuf-du-Pape Château de Beaucastel among other excellent Rhône wines – to make their elegant roses, it has to be one of the best life decisions of the now-broken Brangelina halves of the brand.
Two Paddocks Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand 2019 (£31.95, hhandc.co.uk) The quality of Tamerán and, to a lesser extent, Miraval, makes them exceptions to the general rule of celebrity wines, wherein the wines are not worth much as mentioned in passing were it not for the glamor of the name purchased on the label. However, the list continues to grow with stars of sports (Ian Bothham, golfer Ernie Els), pop and rock (Kylie, Pink, Sting), and film and television (Sarah Jessica Parker, Graham Norton) all involved to varying degrees in wine of varying degrees. Not bad. Cut above, likely because he is closely involved in the day-to-day management of the estate and is clearly a die-hard wine aficionado, is New Zealand actor Sam Neill’s Two Paddocks farm in central Otago. Neil specializes in Pinot noir wonderfully expressive, light and luminous. It pairs well with a showcase of his film best: the reluctant father figure in New Zealand colleague Taika Waititi’s touching comedy-drama, Hunt for the Wildernesses.
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