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By Jeremy Randall, Managing Director of Wine Direct and
Wine Portfolio
A good friend once told me that what defines class is not
the amount of money that you may have in your pocket, but
how you choose to spend it. Wine is a very good barometer
of style; after all you can very easily buy what is often
quite adequate wine in your local supermarket, but what about
something a bit more special?
In our household we generally have a few superb meals over
the holiday period, when we want to be sure that the food
and wines are of the highest quality. The rest of the time
we try to eat well but simply - such a meal makes little demand
on the cellar. A simple red or white, or even a good glass
of beer, is all that is required.
For the important meals, everyone’s menu choices will
be different, but there are some constants. For instance the
starter might be soup or something fishy, and my wine choice
would be a really classy Muscadet. This is one of France’s
biggest appellations and produces masses of wine, much of
which is at best mediocre. However if you choose one like
La Sablette, that comes from one of the most renowned growers
in the Loire Valley, it is an education. Marcel Martin is
the man behind this wine. His lunches, which were always taken
at home, were superb; his wife was a magnificent cook. Her
specialty was Beurre Blanc, a delicate sauce for fish, which
usually curdles when I try to imitate it.
Marcel makes the wine the way it should be done - by pressing
the grapes promptly, and letting the juice remain on the sediment
right through until the spring following harvest. This way,
the wine picks up so much more flavour and complexity. This
technique is obligatory if you wish to claim that the wine
is ‘Sur Lie’, and stated as such on the label.
If the starter is more highly flavoured, or if the fat content
is higher, then I like to go for something fuller bodied and
less dry than the bone dry Muscadet - perhaps a Chardonnay.
The compromise that I am suggesting here is an interesting
one. Take a great piece of land in the South of France and
put it under the control of one of Australia’s greatest
wine makers, Michael Goundrey, and see what results. The answer
is Foxwood Chardonnay, Bruno’s Block (this is the name
of the vineyard, not his chopping board), and what a fascinating
wine it is. It has all the finesse, quality and breeding of
a classic French wine, but has the added dimension of a little
more fruit extract which the New World wine makers seem to
excel in. Creamy, smooth and very satisfying!
Moving on through the meal, I am happy to admit that I like
turkey, so long as it is properly cooked. We try not to be
obsessed with size, and buy a local free range modestly sized
turkey, which we then roast upside down in the oven to preserve
the moisture in the meat. Do everything you can to preserve
the integrity of the skin - succulent juices will escape from
every little nick, so make a good job of sealing up both ends
with a good freshly made stuffing. Whether you choose to eat
turkey (actually, I am told that we are having goose this
year) or a rib of beef, we need really satisfying claret.
I cannot do better than to recommend our old favourite Château
Montlau. Armand Schuster’s great wine from the 1999
vintage is so out of its class that it really stands out like
a beacon among its neighbours. Here you have wine, which is
nicely dry, lots of taste, and a long lingering flavour, which
is all wrapped up in a beautifully mellow finish.
The cheese, ideally from a truckle of Mr Kean’s Cheddar,
will follow the main course. We shall also have a soft cheese,
my favourite being Epoisses which you have to scoop out of
its little wooden box with a teaspoon - deliciously wicked.
For a wine we need something mouth filling and velvety soft.
After all, it is Christmas, and the fatted calf rule applies.
If we had all thought ahead about five years ago, I would
have told you to open one of Eric Bonnet’s Châteauneuf
du Pape wines from Domaine de la Bastide. But lets be honest,
we did not plan ahead, so what can we do that is affordable
and will offer similar satisfaction levels? There is a solution
on a strictly one off basis - let me explain. Eric is a wonderful
wine maker who has a small estate in Châteauneuf du
Pape. He makes a reasonable quantity; certainly enough to
earn a good living with his wife Marie. However, there is
quite a lot of wine from his estate which for one reason or
another he cannot sell as Châteauneuf du Pape, and which
he rather misleadingly puts in a bottle and calls Côtes
du Rhône. Please do not confuse this with the Cotes
du Rhone you may have tasted before - this is a very serious
wine indeed. It is very intense and could even be described
as rich, but above all it is very, very smooth, a real mouth
filling wine. I am working on Eric to see if he will let us
have enough to make this a stock item, but it will take another
visit down there in the south of France to secure it.
After the cheese comes a chance to indulge my love of great
dessert wines. As long as you avoid chocolate and citrus fruits,
then you should be bang to rights with a bottle of Chateau
Fayau from the region of Cadillac, which sits on the opposite
bank of the river to Sauternes. Jean Medeville is the wine
maker, and he makes beautiful honeyed wines. Don’t worry
if a bottle is too much for you - just put a stopper in the
bottle and pop it in the fridge and enjoy another glass when
the spirit moves you. It will keep for a week or two with
no problem.
For the sake of those of you who prefer your cheese after
your pudding, we had better include some Port. I am thrilled
with the quality of Royal Oporto’s latest offerings
- their Late Bottled Vintage 1997 throws no sediment, so just
uncork it and have glass when you feel like it. It keeps very
well on the sideboard - and I need not tell you that it cries
out for a good wedge of Stilton.
For less formal moments, a first class Rioja, red and white,
is ideal for casual get-togethers or to use when you tackle
the inevitable leftovers.
Let’s finish off with the Cognac. For as many years
as I can remember, my favourite Cognac house has been that
of Renault-Bisquit, which has been distilling fine cognac
for more than 150 years. They have come up with a beautiful
gift idea under their Renault Cognac label, comprising of
a drum containing five 20cl bottles, each containing a different
age of Cognac. There is a bottle of each of the following:
Compte d’âge 2, this the youngest you will ever
taste, it has had ten months in new oak before being transferred
to used barrels for the final ageing - it is unblended.
Trois Etoiles, a traditional 3 star Cognac, which stared with
a year in new oak.
VSOP has also spent a year in new oak then had a longer aging
in old barrels before being blended and then receiving further
ageing in cask.
Carte Noire, a blended Cognac, which averages about twenty
years of ageing - smooth and classy.
Carte d’Argent, a magnificent prestige Cognac that has
seen about 35 years of ageing, sublime quality.
The idea of this range is to give the drinker a real insight
into the stages and ageing of Cognac - you get a full litre
of Cognac, complete with cellar masters notes, and it makes
a wonderful gift.
Jeremy’s recommended wines are available as a Christmas
selection case, at exclusive member prices, from the ok50
Winecellar.
If you have any observations, contributions or recommendations
about wine, or drink in general, I would be glad to hear from
you.
E-mail me at: sommelier@ok50.com
As with anything, moderation is the key - we do not encourage
the abuse of alcohol. It is far better to remember having
a good time! In the words of a celebrity...... "If you
drink, don't drive. Don't even putt." Dean Martin
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