£15.20, Tanners Wines
It's not just a beguiling name for a pretty wine. Good Fleurie has hidden depth, often ageing well for four or five years, sometimes more. Not exactly an iron fist in a velvet glove, but more to it than you might suppose at first sip.
This one, from the Colonge family's 7ha of vineyards at the foot of the village, is perfect at two and a half years old: enticing floral and strawberry perfume, succulent summer-pudding fruit, delicate spice and Gamay's mineral freshness. And beneath the velvet-textured generosity there's the backbone to give another three years of drinking pleasure.
The wines from Beaujolais ten Crus, the top villages, are wonderfully versatile (as I never tire of saying). You could drink this with seared tuna, charcuterie in its widest sense – not just pork-based but bresaola, smoked duck et al – with steak tartare, barbecued lamb, spanakopita, griddled vegetables, mushrooms, roast chicken and much else. Serve cool. 13%.
André Colonge et Fils Fleurie 2017, Fleurie, Beaujolais, France
£15.20, Tanners Wines
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