What Was Your Most Recent Bottle of Wine?

[french frank]

Caramba! I've never come across the term onglet (thought it might be a French fish). Also I once saw a 15% ABV bottle of red (LIrac) but apart from sweet whites I've never come across anything as strong as 15.5%. Sounds like some feast.

[Belgrove]

Being a blend, Châteauneuf-du-Pape is a bit of a mongrel wine, but unlike some single variety thoroughbreds, it is less temperamental, highly strung or austere than those, and more amenable to being matched with wide range of foods; and it lasts for ages if you have the patience. Domaine de la Janasse from 2005 is now in its late middle age (and the case has been untouched). The local deli had a fresh delivery of dinky new season Saint Marcellin cheeses, all bloomy and wrinkly in their ceramic dishes; so it was to be onglet steak, topped with the cheese and flashed under the grill to make an instant mushroomy/savoury sauce when combined with the pan juices; the obligatory sautéed potatoes and braised lettuce to accompany - all done in 1/2 an hour. In its 19 years slumbering at 12C, the wine has thrown a considerable sediment, so required decanting. Seemingly opaque, it nevertheless revealed a gem-like carbuncle red when held to the lamp. Its aroma changed with prolonged exposure to the air, progressing from dark berry fruits with a hint of herbs through pepperiness to a subtle liquorice/spicy/smoky quality, but always underpinned by fruit; to say it is complex is an understatement. Age has knocked the edges off the tough tannins (probably all that sediment), leaving a silky softness whilst still retaining a depth of structure that made a taste last for ages, a complex amalgam of dark fruits, herbs and even raspberries. It didn’t even seem especially alcoholic (in spite of its quoted 15.5% ABV). Like all good wines, this changed its character as the meal progressed. Good things come to those able to wait. One down, eleven to go.

[french frank]

Recently, for a dessert in a restaurant, I had a Sauternes accompanying a roasted pineapple. In truth, I didn’t have much of it since everyone preferred it to their own dessert and dug in. But what I did have was an unexpectedly harmonious and delicious pairing.

What I gathered from reading around the subject (of which I know little) is that you can go for harmonious and contrasting pairings, so with sweet or salty. One suggestion was to have the Sauternes with crispy roast chicken. Being vegetarian I had to make a special visit to the butcher as I didn't want an entire chicken and Coop officiously removes the skin from their chicken breasts. The butcher sold me what he called a 'boneless leg' (I would have said it was 'boned' rather than 'boneless'). I cut it into three pieces for three meals and did enjoy the wine with it . It also went with the Coop Roquefort afterwards. If I'd poached a peach I would have drunk it with that too.

[smittims]

The big change in my wine-drinking has been the move from Claret to Malbec. This has been prompted partly by the 'cost-of-living crisis' , leading me to look for more value for money, but also from a change in taste.

I've always been opposed to the idea that an enjoyable wine has to be expensive, and although very cheap wines can be unsatisfying, it's worth working one's way gradually upwards until one finds one that is. After wondering whether my claret was really worth its price, coming home from Hereford one day I asked the steward if he had any red wine and he produced a can of Argentine Malbec which was so delicious I was converted on the spot. I recommend Trivento, available from ASDA and Tesco at around £7 to £9, which I find most enjoyable.

None of this will surprise experienced wine drinkers of course, but I know there are many people about who would like to eplore inexpensive wine but who are bewildered by the number of names and labels, and settle for a bottle of Blue Nun (do they still make it?). .

[Belgrove]

I have been researching what I could eat with my Christmas Château Suduiraut 2015, and to my surprise the answer is - anything: apéritif, digestif, with hors d'œuvres, entrées, cheese (esp. roquefort) and dessert. My theory is that you actually forget what you're eating while sipping this bevvy.

Recently, for a dessert in a restaurant, I had a Sauternes accompanying a roasted pineapple. In truth, I didn’t have much of it since everyone preferred it to their own dessert and dug in. But what I did have was an unexpectedly harmonious and delicious pairing.

[gradus]

Just bought a Wine Society dozen white special offer, they are so reliable that I feel sure the selection will be good.

[french frank]

I have been researching what I could eat with my Christmas Château Suduiraut 2015, and to my surprise the answer is - anything: apéritif, digestif, with hors d'œuvres, entrées, cheese (esp. roquefort) and dessert. My theory is that you actually forget what you're eating while sipping this bevvy.

[Barbirollians]

I think it very much depends on who you are visiting . I tend to think taking a nice bottle does not mean you think your host will be serving bad wine more that you know their food will deserve it and that you are not bringing plonk.

[french frank]

I think one would have to be bit touchy to feel that a guest presenting you with a wine of their choice implied that yours was inferior.

Indeed, though I wasn't quite thinking of that (and only going from hearsay in the first place; that is, someone else's experience which might or might not have been common). The suggestion was that in the first place a host could absolutely be relied upon to have provided a good wine to go with whatever meal was being served; but also that it wasn't expected that a guest would bring an unnecessary bottle of wine anyway. Perhaps any gift from a guest is a surprise? Or perhaps there are more usual gifts, like flowers or chocolates? My knowledge of French etiquette is deficient here.

[smittims]

I think one would have to be bit touchy to feel that a guest presenting you with a wine of their choice implied that yours was inferior. But I do feel that if you drop in on someoen and they ask you if you'd 'like a glass of wine', it isn't done to ask what they've got and start turning up your nose at the first few suggestions. I once knew someone who did this. Perhaps worse, when offering people a glass of champagne he would accompany it with a long anecdote about how cheaply he got it!

[french frank]

I think it very much depends on the occasion.
When our neighbours drop in for a 'kitchen supper' (ha ha) we're quite happy to drink whatever they bring, and if we're invited to theirs we often pop back home for another bottle once we've glugged whatever they had and/or we took (mind you, it's only cheap Aldi Spanish red: not as cheap as it used to be now the new tax has been added ).

Yes, in this country I don't think there is any etiquette. There may be no wine at all provided in which case they'd be grateful to have a bottle of plonque. I do tend to splurge out a bit if anyone other than me is likely to be partaking, chez moi or chez eux.

[Pulcinella]

I did read that one did not do this in France as it implied that they would not be offering a good wine to go with the food they were preparing. I don't think in this country there is the inference that you expect your wine to be served with the forthcoming meal. More to go in the cave for a later date. Don't know how true this is. Perhaps flowers are a better guestly present?

I think it very much depends on the occasion.
When our neighbours drop in for a 'kitchen supper' (ha ha) we're quite happy to drink whatever they bring, and if we're invited to theirs we often pop back home for another bottle once we've glugged whatever they had and/or we took (mind you, it's only cheap Aldi Spanish red: not as cheap as it used to be now the new tax has been added ).

[french frank]

I always appreciate Belgrove's rhapsodies. However, sorry to pollute the thread with the name of the Coop. I bought a bottle of this Rhône as a gift for a lunch invitation* yesterday (did not realise it was blended). Coop staff always know that if the £££ are in double figures I'm buying it for someone else

I did read that one did not do this in France as it implied that they would not be offering a good wine to go with the food they were preparing. I don't think in this country there is the inference that you expect your wine to be served with the forthcoming meal. More to go in the cave for a later date. Don't know how true this is. Perhaps flowers are a better guestly present?

[smittims]

I've always been a disciple rather of Malcolm Gluck, who insisted that shopping around in cheap wines often produced pleasant and surprises of lasting satisfaction, than of Oz Clarke, who famously said that if you spend less than £50 on a bottle of wine (amd this was over 20 years ago) you're wasting your money (and how the wine retailers must have loved him for saying that).

I've been a claret drinker for many years but coming home by rail a few months ago I asked if they had any red wine and I was shown a can of Argentine Malbec. I was pleasantly surprised , and I expect I will enjoy more in my remaining years. Maybe after 40 years it's time to forgive them for invading the Falkland Islands.

My 'last' bottle of wine was Pinot Grigio; my current one Cotes de Gascogne, both from ALDI.

[Belgrove]

A tasty, herby mushroom medley topped a sweetcorn polenta, enriched with a little feta, required something Italian to wash it down. A 2017 Filetta di Lamole is a chianti produced by Fontodi. It comes from a beautiful and sheltered single vineyard that we visited a while back, located at an unusually high elevation in the Tuscan hills, surrounded by woods where wild boar roam. It’s noticeably different from the winery’s principal wine (which is also very good), being more elegant yet weighty. The Filetta is dark garnet in colour with a heady aroma of cherries and a tantalising back-note of violets. Its tannins have softened to provide a firm, slightly leathery backbone to the sour cherry and plum flavoured fruit. Delicious paired with food, especially the earthy mushrooms, soft cheese (and probably wild boar) but certainly too tannic for drinking on its own. At its peak now and worth seeking out if you can.