Drinks of the Month
Colomban Muscat de Saint-Jean de Minervois
If you’re a fan of dessert wines here’s an absolutely cracking bargain from Lidl’s latest limited edition release which went on sale on Thursday.
It’s an award-winning* Muscat de Saint Jean de Minervois from the Languedoc for just £5.99 a 50cl bottle which is plenty for 4 and could even stretch to 6.
Although it doesn’t have a vintage on the label it’s beautifully light and fresh with a lovely apricot fruit flavour. Perfect now with in-season apple and pear tarts but at this price it would be worth laying in a couple of bottles for Christmas.
Another wine you might enjoy is a fresh-tasting Touraine Sauvignon Blanc from the 2016 vintage which compares favourably to some of the Sancerres I’ve tasted recently. (2016 wasn’t a fantastic vintage in the Loire but at £6.49 this is an decent buy)
Look out for my Guardian column next weekend for my pick of the Lidl reds
* a silver medal from the Concours General Agricole
Pillitteri Cabernet Sauvignon icewine
One of the Christmas bargains last year was a Pillitteri vidal icewine which Lidl was managing to sell for an astonishing £14.99 a half bottle, probably cheaper than you could find it from its country of origin, Canada.
My friend Jenny scoured all the branches in Bristol for weeks to pick up every available bottle.
This year they’ve added a cabernet sauvignon ice wine at £15.99 to their Christmas range which is, if anything, even more appealing - a pale dusky pink which tastes of rose petals and would be a fantastic match for a box of milk chocolates or a milk chocolate dessert. I say milk because I think it would show off its delicate flavours better than dark chocolate. A few raspberries on the plate wouldn’t go amiss.
The range went on sale last Thursday so I’d pop into Lidl and snap up enough to last you not only through Christmas but Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter as well*. If you can keep your hands off it until then! With its elegant bottle and box it would also make a lovely gift.
* There's also a £4 off if you buy 4 bottles deal at the time of writing. The Monbazillac and Tokaji Szamorodni are also worth buying at £6.99 if you have a sweet tooth.
Shepherd Neame & Sigtuna 2014 Collector’s Edition Barley Wine
After the excesses of the Christmas period I always reckon January drinking should be about quality rather than quantity with a small sip of something strong and flavourful being infinitely preferable to several glasses of something weak and bland.
Even though it’s generally considered a session drink I think that applies to beer too, hence my choice of this barley wine which I found when I was going through my beer stores and which I’m not even sure is still available.
For those who are not familiar with the style it’s a strong beer of at least 10%, designed for keeping - similar in style to a fortified wine like a madeira or tawny port
This limited edition bottle which was brewed in collaboration with Sigtuna brygghus in Sweden and aged in bourbon barrels is just luscious, deep amber-coloured, rich malty and slightly sweet - I’m sure I can detect some honey in there. It would be - as any barley wine would - a terrific match with cheese especially a strong cheddar or blue like Stilton or with a piece of old fashioned fruit cake like a Dundee - or as a nightcap though it's so intense I wouldn’t want much more than a third of the 33cl bottle. The 'drink by' date is not until February 2016.
Limited edition bottlings seem to be getting more popular - as they are with whisky ‘expressions’ - so you generally need to get in quick when they’re released. Apologies if you can’t get hold this one but it was so delicious I couldn’t resist flagging it up. Other barley wines would hit that late night spot too.
Alcyone Tannat Dessert Wine
Although this site is called matchingfoodandwine.com you may have spotted it contains a fair few other drinks including beer, cider, spirits and soft drinks. So I’ve been thinking for a while of creating a weekly slot to showcase some some more off-beat bottles and bevvies I come across.
This week’s selection is in fact a wine but about as obscure a one as you can get: an aromatised sweet red dessert wine from Uruguay made from Tannat. It’s made by a winery called Vinedo de los Vientos and is apparently named after Alcyone the goddess of calm and tranquillity (who knew?) who is depicted on the rather beautiful label.
It’s made by a family of Italian origin and modelled on two Italian wines - Barolo Chinato and Marsala and fortified with brandy up to 16%. Like Barolo Chinato it’s aromatized with different roots and herbs about which the label and website is studiously vague, waffling on about “being touched with a bouquet of winter flowers, Madagascan vanilla bean and wild apple mint indulged with a warmth and savor of white cacao soufflé".
Whatever. It’s utterly delicious with a rich hit of ripe cherries and a definite hint of vanilla, chocolate and some kind of spice (allspice?) though don’t run away with the idea that it’s spicy. Much like a vintage port only richer, less alcoholic and more caressing. It would be absolutely wicked with almost any kind of dark chocolate dessert which of course makes it a perfect pick for Valentine’s Day.
You can buy it from Wines of Uruguay for £19 a 50cl bottle. For stockists in the US and Australia check out the Vinedo de los Vientos website
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