24 Jul 2024
A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of catching up again with Gordon Clunie at Paramount Wines in St Albans and hearing how his business is going from strength to strength.
As well as delivering to his local customers in and around St Albans, he’s also the man keeping the country’s sports stadiums stocked with booze. Wembley, Arsenal, West Ham and Fulham FC all have Gordon to thank for keeping their fans well hydrated.
I was particularly keen to explore his red wines from America, in search of fantastic quality without breaking the bank and he’s hit the mark much more accurately than President Trump’s hitman.
First up is Nielson by Byron Pinot Noir 2018 (£24 from Paramount Wines).
These wines go back as far as 1964 when Uriel J. Nielson planted his first vineyard, determined to create the perfect Pinot Noir in the cool, foggy area of Santa Barbara County. Despite being met with much scepticism, he persevered and in doing so helped cement the region’s place on the world wine stage. But it was Ken Brown, back in 1984, who founded Byron with a simple plan, to produce spectacular Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Santa Barbara County.
I’m a huge fan of Pinot Noir from this part of the world, it’s significantly cooler than other parts of California and is well-suited to growing premium Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The low-lying fog covering the vineyards during the day encourage the slow ripening of the grapes and yielding wines with concentrated fruit and high acidity.
This particular Pinot is punching well above its weight when you compare other pinots from the same vintage, giving you the finesse of Burgundy and the power of California. It’s fruity, juicy with a lovely mineral character. It has an abundance of strawberries, bright acidity and some gamey notes. Perfectly paired with lamb cooked pink or mushroom risotto.
CLINE Old Vines Zinfandel 2020 (£13.35 from Paramount Wines)
Whilst a lot of varieties are grown in this region, Zinfandel is regarded as California’s ‘own’ grape, and Lodi is the home of some of the oldest and best Zinfandel vineyards in the state.
Cline Cellars is a family-owned vineyard and winery in Sonoma’s Carneros Valley.
Established in 1982 by Fred Cline, a descendant of Italian US settlers, he originally founded the winery in Oakley, Contra Costa County, cultivating Rhône varieties and Zinfandel on vines dating back to the 1880s. In the 1989, the family moved their winemaking operation to a 350-acre ranch in Carneros Valley, adopting sustainable farming. By 2018 their vineyards and winery became Certified California Sustainable and Sonoma County Sustainable.
Using 35% new French oak and ageing for eight months contributes a delicate toasty vanilla character to the wine without masking the abundant sweet fruit of strawberry and black cherry. The tannins are smooth and there’s a hint of spice such as star anise and clove. I’m pairing this wine with a range of cheese and charcuterie, whilst Gordon enjoys this one with roast pork belly.
Paramount Wines have recently relaunched their Wine Club. Each month you receive three or six wines, carefully selected by Gordon, seasonally appealing and curated to expand your tasting experience. Currently the wine club has a sale on and new customers subscribing to their newsletter will receive 10% discount on their first order.
