Wonderful Wines at The Case, Leicester

I’ve been having a lot of fun checking out all the new foodie hotspots in Leicester, such as those Burger Barons over at Crafty St Martins, or the Meat Maestros at Marco’s, but sometimes it’s time for us to take stock and return to our old favourites, tried and true. I did that last week when I returned to The Case. The Case has been a solid part of my Leicester experience during my 11 years here. I remember it fondly as my favourite hangout with fellow student whilst doing my masters at the University of Leicester. Nothing screams post graduate decadence more than a delicious drop of champagne to work away that essay stress.

Wine!

For the past 25 years, The Case has been providing a chilled out, high quality drinking experience at their shop on Millstone Lane and also top notch eats at their restaurant and bar on Hotel Street. With my birthday coming up and a DIY food and wine pairing experience planned (more on that soon…) I popped in to pick up my final wines. I was blown away by the team’s friendly manner and excellent knowledge and spent a very happy hour discussing wines, spirits and biodynamics. I love talking about wine SO much. I think I could quite happily sit in there for the rest of my life, learning new things and trying delicious wines.

Get your cocktail on

They are not just any wine shop though. As well as a huge selection of vino, they also offer a vast array of really high quality and unusual spirits as well as all the kit you’ll need to whip yourself and your mates up some kooky cocktails, with the spirit selection bringing a sense of theatre to your home booze cabinet. They have also just redone their upstairs rooms at the shop and now have their own art gallery space, which is part of the new Greyfriars heritage initiative in a wonderfully quirky old building. You can nip in and see some works by Leicester artists Olwen Hughes and Kevin Humphrey right now and I understand that they are inviting other artists to contact them to show their work in the future. Culture-tastic!

The building has some super historic features, like this lovely carved balustrade. You can use the upstairs room to chill out with friends or that special someone and they even have a big screen up there, so you can connect your laptop and settle in to watch your favourite film, or even do the big presentation in there. I can’t imagine what clients wouldn’t be impressed by being wined and dined in there, or fail to be impressed by the biggest desk lamp in the world. Seriously, I couldn’t even fit it all in to shot on my camera its so big – go and see it for yourself, I guarentee you’ll be impressed.

The highlight for me during my visit was the wine of the week. Each week you can visit The Case and try a specially selected favourite by the glass fo £4.75. Although this week it was a white, I still ended up falling in love and taking a bottle of it away. It is priced at a very reasonable £14.50. Perhaps it’s the fault of my now firmly set obsession with American wines…

Chateau Ste Michelle
Gewurtztraminer, Columbia Valley, Washington, 2012

This pale wine has a light floral nose with a lychee opening cut with a dash of orange zest. This is followed by a surprising punch to the palate that disappears almost without trace. It is rounded with slight spice of stewed apple but the acid balances it out really nicely. It has complex floral notes, perhaps even a hint of honeysuckle? Very beautiful, delicate wine.

This definitely gets my seal of approval. I look forward to drinking it in the sunshine, perhaps accompanied with something spicy and creamy, like a thai green curry. Delicious.

We also tried a pinot gris with a bit of punch from the new world, which I wasn’t as deeply in love with but I still enjoyed and think would have a lot to offer you in a BBQ situation…

Tinpot Hut
Pinot Gris, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2014
A very slight lemon, barely there nose on this wine belies the much crisper, tart flavours held within, which brings a tingle to the mouth. More complex and open than the Gewurtztraminer, this has lots of tart apples and pears, which hangs around for a while. Perhaps not quite as accessible a wine, this is one for people looking to experiment with a new and complicated wine with lots of secrets to reveal.

Domaine Catherine & Didier, Tripoz
Macon Charnay, Clos des Tournens, 2013
Another light wine, with a slight nutty aroma right at the back. It is sharp on entry into the mouth, quite a pointed wine that then softens despite the absence of sweetness. The surprising thing about this wine for me was the blocky, square texture, quite granite like in taste – like licking a rock (in a nice way of course). I think this would be a great match for seafood. Definitely worth a try if you’re curious about my description!!

Another wine which I ended up taking home was an Austrian red, with a deliciously surprising flavour characteristic! I had to try it, as I’d never had an Austrian wine before. You have to try something new every day, it’s the law, so get down and get yourself a glass.

Peter Schweiger
Weingut, Zweigelt, Austria 2012
Deep, dark and savoury on the nose with hints of cherry and tobacoo, this has a nice level of tannin with a savoury spicy flavour which is full of dark berries and even a slight blue cheese like tang. It is full of body with a moderate finish that leaves you with a slight whispered tang. Something a bit different and hugely enjoyable.

So get yourself down to The Case and try something new. Marvel at their selection of gins, rums and whiskies that you’ve never heard of before and can’t buy anywhere else in town (as well as some old favourites that you can). You can even pass the time by trying to figure out just how they get the pear in that bottle. Best booze gift ever. Many thanks to David for being such a gracious host. I’ll be back.