Greetings, salutations, felicitations and warmest wishes for the festive season! As the big day steadily marches forward, the time for preparations is starting to wane. I hope by now, you have the present buying under control and the house suitably decorated? Good. Let's turn our attention to the next important job.
This week's review is a little different. I have been busy sampling tasty tipples in the search of great recommendations in the hope you may be tempted to put one or two down on your Christmas shopping list. I have taken a pragmatic approach and decided to select wines from the same place so that sourcing these wines doesn't become a chore either. If you like the sound of them, I could also have the Christmas booze covered from every angle. So, without further ado, I bring you my very own special Christmas review of four Sainsbury's wines.......
Name: Sainsbury's Blanc de Noirs
Champage
Grape: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier
Price: c. £21
Country: France
Region: Champagne
ABV: 12%
Whether it is to be opened on Christmas morning or just to be had in the house for whenever the feeling arises, bubbles are an essential festive ingredient. Finding the right fizz is important as a costly bottle with nothing to offer could make the magic morning a bit flat, whereas a good drink will make the day sparkle. Have I overdone the bubble based metaphors yet?
Made from the two black grapes that make up Champagne, this Blanc de Noirs (meaning White of Blacks) from Sainsbury's is really quite special. On the nose are distinctive buttery notes, accompanied by fresh dough or hot toast. Working in parallel is crisp and fresh green apples along with sweet hints of red fruit and strawberry. A very pleasing combination. To taste, it is beautifully dry, crisp and refreshing. The 'Brut' badge earns it's keep but the hint of red fruit sweetens the peripheries of the palate, ensuring the dryness isn't remorseless. The background contains hints of the buttery/doughy texture and the aftertaste holds well without decaying or turning sour. For the price, this is reliable, interesting and tasty. It will please Champagne lovers but may also turn the heads of loved ones who think all sparkling wine is expensive, dry nothingness.
Name: Ascheri Gavi di Gavi 2011
Grape: Cortese
Price: c. £14
Country: Italy
Region: Piedmont
ABV: 13%
Christmas is a good excuse to maybe push the boat out a little further than normal and there may be a time when you want to open something a little bit special. The white I have chosen is just under £14 at full price but this is for a good reason. It is quite simply delicious. Refined and well structured, this Ascheri Gavi di Gavi 2011 is perfectly priced to be an affordable Christmas treat and sophisticated enough to take up valuable table space next to the turkey. A classy bottle for a classy bird.
This bottle is marked with the Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG) which is the Italian appellation model that signifies a high quality of produce from a specified region, using defined methods and that it satisfies a defined quality standard. If that isn't enough, Italian officials also taste and verify the quality before sealing the top with a bonded sticker, ensuring nobody tampers with it. Gavi is indigenous to Piedmont, being made throughout the entire region with a wide ranging spectrum of quality and drinkability. Gavi made from within the commune of Gavi has long since been considered one of the best, if not the best place to find the finest examples. All of a sudden, the £14 price tag seems more reasonable, doesn't it.
On the nose is delicate lemon and grapefruit, accompanied with hints of melon. Also detectable is almond or walnut notes. Overall, the smell is refined but quite mild. To taste, the first hit comes from lemon zest, fresh apple and grapefruit. As with the nose, a mild nutty texture works alongside the fruit, adding support and structure to this light-bodied, crisp, dry white. Acidity is noticeably high but well balanced. It is possible to imagine that other Gavi di Gavi's with a few more years under their cork would produce some outstanding and complex flavours but this 2011 really has a wonderful presence about it and an incredibly enjoyable mouth feel.
Name: Chateau La Tulip De La
Garde '09
Grape: Merlot, Cabernet Franc,
Cabernet Sauvignon
Price: c. £10
Country: France
Region: Bordeaux
ABV: 14%
My choice for the red wine lovers is a cracking value Bordeaux called Chateau La Tulipe De La Garde. Heed my warning though, this wine must be decanted and allowed to come up to room temperature. If this wine isn't given time to breathe, it will not perform and you will feel like you have eaten a pencil sharpener and wasted a tenner. Pulling the cork out and leaving the open bottle for half an hour won't cut it either. This bad boy needs at least half a day to stretch it's legs and limber up. My advice would be to decant in the morning, just after opening presents but before the arguments start. This wine will be ready for mealtime, three or four hours later but will be at it's best for the start of Doctor Who.
On the nose is bramble fruits and pencil shavings in equal, prominent measures. In the background is a more discreet layer in the form of vanilla and perhaps also liquorice. If decanted well, the taste is firstly dominated by warm and smooth red fruits, matching what was detected during smelling. The grippy tannins balance the fruit well and add power to this full-bodied red but never take the limelight away from the fruit. The aftertaste is lengthy and provides an opportunity for tertiary flavours of spices and vanilla to make an appearance, however, this is short lived and difficult to detect. The strong alcohol content is very obvious on drinking and provides that enjoyable warming feeling that extends to your legs. A great wine to go with food or for playing 'catch-up' once the kids are in in bed.
Name: TtD Mulled Wine
Grape: Tempranillo, Merlot
Price: £6.50
ABV: 12%
My last choice is a true winter warmer. Some die hard wino's might turn their nose up at this drink but it is slowly winning over the hearts of the masses and is increasingly becoming the drink people look forward to having during the cold autumn and winter months. There is a clear link between mulled wine and the upsurging of 'german markets' that seem to inhabit most town centres and the best thing about my recommendation is that you can have an entire bottle of the good stuff, for the same price it would cost for a mere mug, served from a shed with faux icicles and a giant stuffed, singing moose head.
The secret of the drink would appear to be focused on the blend of spices, rather than the quality and integrity of the wine, which in this case, provides the warming, pleasant backdrop for the orange, cinnamon and cloves to shine through.
The orange can be noted from heating the wine up, all the way through to drinking. The cloves add a very gentle spice but the cinnamon is not detectable at all. Despite this, it is delightful to drink and the orange makes a well matched but outstanding flavour. There is simply no red or white wine that could compete when looking for a rich, warm, alcoholic drink to hold during any external celebrations, or for simply curling up in front of the fire as Christmas starts to lose the fight against Boxing day.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all. I look forward to our continued adventures in the new Year.
Sainsbury's have an enormous presence in the UK. To find your nearest store, simply walk down a road, any road, it will eventually lead to one. Alternatively, you can find them on line by pressing this link 'here'...........ha ha, just joking, I meant 'here'........no, 'here'.....or do I mean 'here'. Ok, I'll stop messing about. Try clicking 'there' instead.
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