Monday 11 December 2017

Red Wine chat and Christmas Suggestions


As a heathen and a non-parent, Christmas never feels as much to me as I’d like. A time of excitement, tradition and love usually manifests itself as just a bit of self-indulgence and guilt so in the spirit of giving which is what Christmas should be, I’m going to hopefully entertain and perhaps enlighten you with a few wine suggestions. It’s hardly turning water into wine, but never mind. And these wines are for life, not just christmas.
            Four wines, four countries, the Latin countries; France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Where else of course, if you know my tastes. Now what you having for Christmas dinner? Turkey? Beef? Game? Fish?
Can’t really help you with the last one, actually, I’m talking about reds. The first wine is a fascinating one to start with. A red from Rioja? So far, so dull you say but wait. This is anything but dull. Single varietal – rare in Rioja- and it’s rather rare for this grape in general, as a singleton, that is, it’s usually used a blend. A wee ménage-a-trois with Syrah and Mourvèdre, for example.  A grape called Mazuelo. Never heard of it? Maybe you have under a different name. Carignan, in France or Carineña is other parts of Spain. The Spanish like to use their own names sometimes. Just to confuse things further Cariñena is also a region in north-west Spain.
Now Carignan doesn’t have a great reputation. Too much acidity, too much tannin, too much alcohol, not enough fruit or charm. Not quite the Theresa May of the wine world in terms of popularity but perhaps not far off. Thankfully, in the right hands, in the right place, it can be delightful. This one I tried from the Quinta de la Cruz vinery in Rioja was tremendous. Silky, some spice, red and black fruit, full of character and not quite a normal Rioja which is the ultimate excitement, as much of the fun is discovering something surprising.  You will find it on the High street, as a single varietal, most likely from Spain, it’s native home, or perhaps France where it grows in Languedoc.  Some tips, it should be hand-harvested, it’s doesn’t like machines and you'll need to spend at least a tenner or more but it’ll be worth it. They say lamb goes best with this grape but the one I had would have been delighted to spend some time with a pheasant, a partridge or even a turkey as long are there is some cranberry.
Second wine is a Frenchie. Cairanne, Côtes du Rhône Village.  Côtes du Rhônes are easy. If it has a specific name, such as Cairanne, it comes from a specific village, in this case, Cairanne, naturally and that almost certainly guarantees a step-up in quality from the regular Côtes du Rhône. Lower yields, more attention to detail, a little more ageing makes for happy wines. Classic Rhône grapes are involved here, Grenache, Syrah and some of our old friend Carignan, creating a smooth, beautifully balanced and immediately palate-friendly wine that will match beef, venison, partridge but has enough finesse that it’ll partner a turkey. Expect to pay a tenner, fifteen will get you a cracking wine.
Third. Portugal. Southern Portugal specifically. No, not the Algarve you tacky tourists.  The Setubal peninsula. Near Lisbon. A placed called Palmela. A grape called Castelão. I didn’t know this grape and don’t normally drink wine from the southern coastal part of the country. They can be a bit fruit –driven and tannin lacking for my tastes.  You’ve never heard of it, either. Course you haven’t, not really grown outside Portugal and far less well known than say, Touriga Nacional or Tourica Franca etc., the Port grapes. Now most Portuguese wines are mostly grown only in Portugal, making them rather unique. This is their best feature. Uniqueness combined with perfume, weight, lots of fruit, spice and nice tannins would describe these wines at their best. The one I had for example had all these things in abundance.  And again in a nice twist, it’s rare for wines from Portugal to be done as a single varietal. Similar food pairing to the Cairanne, I’d say. I’m not sure how easy the wine I had would be to find so Douro, Dão wines and Alentejo should give you little bit of what you fancy, these being the three best known regions and best represented.  Portugal has lovely, uniquely flavoured wines.  Douro can be a little heavy and alcoholic for my tastes, it is after all the same grapes they use to make Port but if you like that, go for it. Either way dive in, don’t let that flashy and petulant Ronaldo put you off the country’s more noble charms. The wines are anything but.
And finalemente, perhaps the star of today show: a wine from southern Italy! A wonderful and unique grape called Aglianico from a denomination called Taurasi in Campania, South-West Italy a place of mountains and volcanic soil. So romantic and rugged the south of Italy and wines like these are no different. Big powerful tannins, dark fruit such as blackberry and plum and a hint of chocolate. As well as unique minerality from the volcanic soil. That volcanic ash may have killed people in the past as at Pompeii so make sure you raise a glass to those poor soils who died for your pleasure. Wonderful combinations that just shout, TERROIR! Try with it venison or hare if you eat that type of thing. Or strong cheeses. Or beef. You’ll be fine. This one will require decanting to really open up. It’s twin, Alglianico Del Vulture from nearby Basilicata is equally impressive. Either way, expect to pay a bit more for this, but it’s worth it, really.
            Christmas shouldn’t just be about pleasure and self-indulgence but a little bit won’t do any harm.