The Bean Counter
An exceptional wine – Italy’s Appassimento style made from Spain’s Monastrell and France’s Marselan grapes.
An unconventional name – conceived after a Finance Director took issue with a few restaurant receipts incurred during very enjoyable, no-expense-spared, buying trip to Spain. To keep him sweet, a promise was made to name a wine after him. Sadly, “Brian the Accountant” didn’t quite have the right ring to it, so in his honour, they settled on this suitable alternative: “The Bean Counter”.
Old vine Monastrell grapes from chalky soils are picked slightly later in the season. A short maceration for just 3-4 days, then pressed and fermented in stainless steel. It is blended with about 10% of the fresher Marselan variety, grown locally, with a light filtration before bottling.
There is no drying of grapes as per a true appassimento. They are left on the vines to over-mature a little and then made in a more conventional way with some added grape must for extra body and a little more sweetness.
Intense ruby red in colour with powerful concentrated red fruit nose plus some chocolate and vanilla. Floral notes are hinted at on the palate with ripe strawberries giving way to darker fruits such as blackcurrant.
Full and creamy with mocha and soft, smooth tannins. Rich and velvety with an excellent balance and a long, elegant finish that – with some opening – adds liquorice to its complexity.
About the Producer
Citizen Wine
“Tradition, heritage, history… these are not words that particularly inspire us at Citizen Wine. We prefer words like excitement, enjoyment, change.”
Citizen Wine was set up in 2020, mid lock-down, by a close-knit group of industry experts (including several Masters of Wine) to breathe some much-needed life into an all-too-often rigid and stuffy wine sector.
Every new wine bought on board is an individual project with one common goal in mind… citizen satisfaction.
They believe wine should be made with just one purpose in mind; to be enjoyed not revered, removing the stigma of stuffy, cloned wines and replacing it with an innovative new approach to wine making and marketing.
But they do have “values” – only partnering with producers that are fully committed to sustainability and, wherever possible, source wines that are sustainably grown and organically produced.
