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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

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