Dark chocolate tart with 10 year old Tawny

One gets so used to partnering dark chocolate with sweet red wines, most notably port, that it’s easy to overlook other equally successful options. This was a brilliant combination I came across - somewhat improbably - at the game and Burgundy dinner I reported on last week.

The ‘tawny’ was not Portuguese but a delicious Australian ‘sticky’ made in the Barossa Valley by Grant Burge. It was slightly sweeter than most tawny ports, almost more like an oloroso sherry with a delicious rich raisiny character that was just perfect with the rich, dark, dense chocolate and its accompanying scoop of vanilla ice cream - like rum and raisin ice cream in a glass.

You can apparently buy it for about £15.49 from independent stockists such as Amps Fine Wine, Ann et Vin, Hailsham Cellars, Kingsgate Wines and www.southaustralianwines.com