Messenger December 2017
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30 Wine<br />
One Foot in the Grapes<br />
This month sees the start of our new monthly wine column<br />
by journalist Jane Clare...<br />
Christmas is simply the best excuse to push the boat out and try some wonderful<br />
wines. I’m excited now, just thinking of crunches of sweet parsnip, huddles of<br />
sprouts, my favourite lemon-dashed, herb-mottled stuffing … oh, and the turkey.<br />
All of those flavours will be demanding my attention and then wine will add another<br />
layer of complexity for my palate. Which wine to choose?<br />
My Christmas dilemma was eased when I was invited to a wine pairing Christmas lunch<br />
and it would be rude of me not to share some ideas with you.<br />
Gosset Grande Reserve NV<br />
Our festive occasion began with the most wonderful champagne,<br />
Gosset Grande Reserve NV (RRP £45-£49, widely<br />
available including Selfridges and Harvey Nichols) from the<br />
oldest house in Champagne. It had a classic brioche nose,<br />
dappled with sweet spice, and shivers of fine, elegant<br />
bubbles delivered citrus flavours with an elegant biscuity<br />
backbone.<br />
I carried my champagne to the table and it sipped seamlessly<br />
with our starter of marinated<br />
salmon, Dorset crab in pink<br />
pickled ginger and lemon<br />
dressing. It wasn’t meant to<br />
be the wine star of the<br />
show; I’ll now introduce you<br />
to a sauvignon blanc and an<br />
Australian white blend.<br />
Seresin Estate Sauvignon 2015 (£14.99,<br />
winedirect.co.uk) This is a lovely sauvignon blanc and<br />
it isn’t one of those heady New Zealand wines which<br />
grapples with your senses. The reason is there is 11 per<br />
cent semillon in the blend, which<br />
calms everything down and brings<br />
Mchenry Hohnen<br />
Amigos White 2012<br />
a touch of Old World order to this<br />
New World wine. It has tropical and<br />
citrus aromas, with some classic gooseberry<br />
notes and a delicate creaminess.<br />
Seresin Estate Sauvignon 2015<br />
McHenry Hohnen Amigos White 2012 (£15.99, winedirect.co.uk)<br />
This was a wow with the crab and salmon. It is a<br />
blend of chardonnay, marsanne and roussanne from the<br />
Margaret River region. Murray McHenry and David Hohnen<br />
are brothers-in-law, with Hohnen having a fantastic pedigree<br />
as founder of the iconic Cloudy<br />
Bay winery. This wine wants you to<br />
sit up and notice it … and I did. It<br />
has notes of peaches, nuts and<br />
waxy lemons with a heartbeat of<br />
minerality.<br />
Over to the main event, the traditional turkey and<br />
trimmings. I always opt for a pinot noir with my Christmas<br />
lunch and so I was very much open to new ideas.<br />
Viu Manent ViBo Vinedo Centenario 2013 (RRP £16.99,<br />
oddbins.com) A clue to this wine is in its name - the grapes<br />
are grown in vineyards planted over 100 years ago in Chile’s<br />
Colchagua Valley. Old vines are the wise things of the vineyard. They<br />
don’t produce lots of grapes, but the ones which are harvested<br />
have a special concentrated quality. It is a blend of 51% cabernet<br />
sauvignon, with malbec and a dash of petit verdot. It is<br />
intense with blackcurrants but there is an element of mint,<br />
of freshness, of complexity, of subtlety, which didn’t overpower<br />
my plate.<br />
Vidal-Fleury Cairanne 2012<br />
Viu Manent ViBo Viedo<br />
Centario 2013<br />
Vidal-Fleury Cairanne 2012 (RRP £13.50, also Oddbins)<br />
Shiraz takes the blending lead in this Côtes du Rhône Villages<br />
red, with grenache and mourvèdre following along<br />
on the coat tails. It is bold with black and red berries, but<br />
earthy and herbal too, which contrasts nicely with the<br />
powerhouse fruit. Oh, there was spice (and all things nice)<br />
which gave a good bit of extra bite.<br />
Finally, if you want some inspiration for cheeses, how about a<br />
Jane Clare is a journalist who has followed her heart with the launch of One Foot in<br />
the Grapes - writing about wine and offering fun, immersive, informal and informative<br />
wine tastings.<br />
The former editor and creative editorial director first began writing about wine 10<br />
years ago and is now published in more than 30 newspapers and lifestyle magazines<br />
across the UK.<br />
Jane is a member of the Circle of Wine Writers and is studying for the Wine & Spirit<br />
Education Trust diploma. She can be found as One Foot in the Grapes on social<br />
media and online; or contact Jane on 07795 121 003 or<br />
email jane@onefootinthegrapes.co.uk<br />
Beaujolais wine, Henry Fessy Brouilly 2015 (RRP<br />
£12.99, Waitrose) Beaujolais is great with many cheeses<br />
because it is fruit-forward and light in body. It offers a<br />
raspberry medley with the cheese and doesn’t demand<br />
a palate battle.<br />
For your pudding? Well one of my favourites is Madeira<br />
and Blandy's 15 YO Bual (RRP £25, also Waitrose) I love<br />
the story behind Madeira, which is a fortified wine and<br />
aged under heat. Centuries ago it was discovered that<br />
wines were “cooked” when shipped across the heat of<br />
the equator and were much better for it, not just in<br />
flavour but in robustness. The underlying notes of nuts,<br />
raisin and caramel are perfect for your Christmas pudding<br />
and hard cheeses.<br />
Have a wonderful Christmas and I’ll see you in<br />
January.<br />
Medeira and Blandy’s<br />
15 YO Bual