Candour wine: taking canned wine seriously
Website: https://candourwine.com/
Candour wines is a new venture trying to do something a bit different with canned wine. Instead of offering inexpensive, simple wines in this format, the brand owners Kat Mayhew (a sommelier) and Guada Oliver (who works in wine marketing) decided to offer some more serious wines in this format. The first two releases are both from quite serious, limited-intervention producers – Sem Igual in Vinho Verde and Les Clos Perdus in the Languedoc. This is how they describe their offerings:
“We offer limited editions of carefully selected, well-made wine from small European producers. And we package them in single-serving aluminium cans as a more sustainable and convenient alternative to traditional glass bottles.”
Four cans cost £29.90 from their website, and can be mixed in pairs. I really like this project and look forward to seeing the next editions!
#001 Crisp White Sem Igual 2022 Vinho Verde, Portugal
12.5% alcohol. This is a blend of Arinto and Azal. Wild ferment in stainless steel. Fruity and lively with lovely pure citrus fruit held in nice tension by good acidity and just a touch of dissolved carbon dioxide. There’s a little green apple, pear and grapefruit character as well as vivid lemony notes, and this has lovely presence and focus. 90/100
#002 Earthy Red Les Clos Perdus NV France
14.5% alcohol. A blend of 2020 and 2021, this brings together Carignan, Grenache and Mourvèdre from the Languedoc. Wild ferment, low sulfites, no fining or filtration. Ripe, bold and quite rich with sweet black fruits, but also a savoury, slightly earthy, spicy meaty edge to the fruit, as well as a slight tingle from the dissolved carbon dioxide. It’s quite a ripe, burly wine: bigger than you’d expect to find in a can. And the meaty wildness also adds an extra layer. Hearty stuff with lots of personality. 89/100
